Chapter 3-10 : Tour Boat (part 2)
「Look, Kako ojou-sama, we can see the entire city now.」(Thea)
「Wow!」(Kako)
When Thea said that, I turned my head and looked back at the city. It looks so beautiful from here. I can see the port and hundreds of ships and boats docking in the harbor.
It hasn’t been long since we left the harbor, but the city looks so far away. I didn’t realize that we’re this far away already. This boat is really fast.
「This is a sailboat which is driven by the wind, right? How can it move so fast?」(Kako)
It’s oddly fast, even faster than a motorboat.
While I was wondering, someone behind me answered my question.
「This boat is fast because we’re using magic to move it.」(??)
I turned my head and saw a middle-aged man in a tour boat attendant uniform.
He reminds me of the flying stagecoach driver who talked to me all of a sudden. I wonder if the people in the transportation business like to suddenly talk and explain things to their customers like this.
When I responded to him with a smile, the man lowered his head and introduced himself.
「Thank you for boarding our boat, young lady. My name is Carmine. I’m the tour guide of this boat.」(Carmine)
「It’s nice to meet you. I’m Mayama Kako. Umm, what do you mean by using magic?」(Kako)
「It’s literally what I said. Do you see the other two attendants? They don’t look like magicians, but they are currently using magic to move this boat.」(Carmine)
There were three attendants in this boat, including Carmine, and it seems that the other two can use magic.
One is standing by the sail, and the other is sitting at the back of the boat.
「So they are the ones moving this boat?」(Kako)
「That’s right. The one standing by the sail is using wind magic to control the surrounding wind to blow on the sail, allowing this boat to move at maximum speed, while the one who’s sitting at the back is using water magic to create the current to control this boat’s direction and boost the speed even more.」(Carmine)
So it’s the combination of the power of wind and water that moves this boat. That explains why it’s able to reach the speed of a motorboat.
Magic really is amazing!
「I see. Thank you for explaining to me.」(Kako)
「You’re welcome. I can’t use magic like those two, but I can be your guide on this tour. Well then, young lady, I’m going to do my job now. Please relax and enjoy the tour.」(Carmine)
After I replied to him with a nod, the man went to the front and bowed to us, the passengers.
「Good morning, everyone. Thank you for boarding with us. My name is Carmine, and I will be your tour guide for today. I’m delighted to be showing you this beautiful sea. Before we start, I’d like to cover a few important points. First, please stay on your seats and refrain from standing while on this boat. Second, please keep your personal belongings secure, especially your wallets. Lastly, please stay hydrated because the temperature is quite hot today. You can ask us for water if you don’t have it.」(Carmine)
After doing the opening speech, the tour guide shifted his gaze to the side and stretched his arm in the same direction.
「Alright, let’s begin. If you look in this direction, you will see a view you can’t find on the land.」(Carmine)
Following his instruction, we passengers simultaneously turned our heads and looked in the direction he was pointing.
「Wow! What is that!?」(Kako)
I was shocked because I was seeing a tremendous amount of water gushing down in the middle of the sea. When I looked up, I saw a small black cloud floating in the sky. The water was coming down from it like a waterfall.
It looked like a cloudburst, but the scale was much smaller, and instead of a high-density hard rain that only lasted for a few seconds, the cloud kept pouring water in high amounts like a giant faucet floating in the sky.
As he said, you won’t be able to see this anywhere on the landー No, not just on land. I’ve never seen something like this in my previous life. Such an otherworldly sight!
「Kako ojou-sama, that’s a nimbusfall.」(Thea)
「Nimbusfall?」(Kako)
Thea told me what it was before the tour guide even explained.
「Everyone, you are now looking at a natural phenomenon that only occurs on the sea. We call it ‘nimbusfall’.」(Carmine)
Thea smirked as the tour guide said the same thing, as if saying, “I’m right.”
As expected from our studious super maid. Seems like she has studied this phenomenon too.
「The black cloud above is a high-density cloud that can continuously produce tremendous amounts of water for about an hour. This kind of cloud can appear anywhere at any time on the sea, so we have to be careful. It’s the navigator’s job to predict where the black clouds will appear so your ship won’t crash into the water falling from the sky.」(Carmine)
So this mysterious waterfall can appear randomly at the sea? That’s kinda scary…
「Nimbusfalls attract a certain species of fish in the sea. If you look closely at the water, you will see a school of fish climbing up the water.」(Carmine)
「Eh? Fish?」(Kako)
I squinted while looking at the waterfall. Certainly, I could see some fish, that looked like carp, swimming in the waterfall, trying to climb it.
「They are trying to reach the cloud, yet they never reach it. However, they never give up. They will keep trying to climb up the nimbusfall whenever it appears. Because they, for some reason, yearn to reach the cloud, we call them ‘nimbus fish’.」(Carmine)
They remind me of salmon, a kind of fish that swim against the current, but unlike salmon, they climb up a freaking waterfall that extends into the sky!
Those fish are truly challengersー no, warriors!
「They look delicious-nya~ Kako, let’s buy some nimbus fish when we return-nya!」(Nyat)
The nimbus fish earned my respect for their dedication, but Nyat sees them differently. He only sees them as food.
「What an amazing view…」(Thea)
Meanwhile, Thea was looking at the unreal scenery in awe. I feel kind of relieved that I’m not the only one who was amazed by it.
Even though Thea is this world’s resident, unlike me, someone who came from another world, she had never been on the sea before, so it’s only natural that she’s amazed by the view.
ーCowwーCowwーCowwー!
While watching the nimbusfish climbing up the water, I heard the cries of seabirds.
I turned my gaze and saw a big flock of seabirds flying toward the nimbusfall.
「Nimbus fish is the seabirds’ favorite food. They like those fish because they are relatively easier to catch than other fish since they swim mid-air in the nimbusfall.」(Carmine)
While the tour guide was explaining, the seabirds approached the nimbusfall and started catching the nimbus fish, which were still trying their best to reach the black cloud in the sky.
「Aah… Those poor fish…」(Kako)
I kinda like those fish because of their dedication to trying to do the impossible such as climbing up that waterfall, so it hurts to see them being hunted by those birds.
I wanted to save them, but there was nothing I could do. It’s just how nature works.
「Rest in peace, poor little souls…」(Kako)
I put my hands together and pray for them instead.
ーNya~ Nya~ Nya~
「Hm? Nyat, did you say something?」(Kako)
「Huh? I didn’t say anything-nya.」(Nyat)
「But…」(Kako)
I heard ‘meowing’ sounds while I was praying. Was it just my imagination?
ーNya~ Nya~ Nya~
No, I’m not imagining it! I’m really hearing it!
「Nyat, do you hear that? It sounds like you!」(Kako)
「Ah, it indeed sounds like me, but it’s not me-nya. It’s sea cats-nya.」(Nyat)
「Sea cats?」(Kako)
Is he talking about marine otters?
「Look. They’re here-nya.」(Nyat)
I looked in the direction Nyat was pointing and saw something in the water approaching us.
I thought I would be seeing some marine otters since sea cats is another name for marine otters. Howeverー
「Hm? Wait… Eeehhh!?」(Kako)
What I was seeing was cats, except… half of their bodies were fish.
That’s right. They are sea cats… literally.
「C… Cats…? In the sea…!?」(Kako)
「They are sea cats-nya. Cats that live in the sea-nya.」(Nyat)
ーNya~ Nya~ Nya~
「Ara~ They’re so cute~ Right, Kako-ojou-sama?」(Thea)
「Eh? Ah… Yeah…」(Kako)
They indeed look kinda cute, but weird at the same time.
The sea in this world sure is out of the ordinary…
「Mmm~ I wonder how they taste-nya.」(Nyat)
「What!? Do you want to eat them!? No, no, no! That would be cannibalism!」(Kako)
「Huh? What do you mean by that-nya? I told you I’m not a cat-nya!」(Nyat)
He denied it, but there’s no way I would let him eat these catsー no, these sea cats.
In the first place, are they even edible? I can’t imagine myself eating a cat, even though half of its body is fish.
「Everyone, as you can see. There are so many sea cats living in this area, and do you know what it means? That’s right! We are getting closer to the mermaids’ territory.」(Carmine)
Oh? Mermaids!?
Did the tour guide just say “mermaids”!?
It seems like we are about to enter the mermaids’ territory.
Finally! I can see mermaids soon!
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