Chapter 1-17 : The Girl And The Cat Are Boarding A Ship
「Mmm~ It feels good~」(Elle)
The refreshing sea breeze that was brushing her face softly, the strange yet pleasing smell of the sea, and the magnificent view of the vast sea in front of her.
Experiencing all that for the first time, Elle couldn’t help but stretch her arms to the sides and take a deep breath.
It would take three days to reach the destination, and Elle thought of enjoying every second of her trip across the sea.
「Dear passengers, the cabins are now available for rent. For those who want to rent, please come to the reception.」(sailor)
After enjoying the view of the sea for a while, Elle heard a sailor call out to the passengers.
It seemed that the cabins were ready and available to rent.
Following the other passengers, Elle and Yoyo went to the reception and joined the queue.
There was a wooden board on the wall showing the rental price for each cabin.
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First-class cabin costs 1 gold coin per night | A huge private room with a bathroom and a large luxury bed for one person or a couple.
Second-class cabin costs 1 silver coin per night | A medium-sized room with a decent bed for one person.
Third-class cabin costs 5 copper coins per night | A small room with a simple mattress for one person.
Fourth-class cabin costs 3 copper coins per night | A sharing room with four simple mattresses for four people.
Fifth-class cabin costs 1 copper coin per night | A huge sharing room for ten people. It doesn’t have any bed or mattress, but the guests will be provided blankets to sleep on the floor.
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「Elle, you better avoid shared cabins.」(Yoyo)
「Yeah, I don’t want to sleep next to strangers. I think a third-class cabin is the best choice here.」(Elle)
Because Elle was at the last part of the queue, it took her a while to get to the reception.
After queuing for almost an hour, she finally got her turn.
「Sir, I want to rent a third-class cabin, please.」(Elle)
「Third-class? I’m sorry, but the only available ones are the second class, the fourth-class, and the fifth class.」(receptionist)
「Eh?」(Elle)
「All the first-class cabins are rented by the feudal lord and his entire family members. Apparently, there’s an event going on for nobles in the royal capital, so they are gathering there. The third-class cabins are the most popular, so all of them are filled already.」(receptionist)
「I see… A second-class cabin costs… a silver coin, huh…?」(Elle)
「If you don’t have money, you can sleep in the cargo hold for free, but you will be sharing the room with poor passengers and… some rats.」(receptionist)
「Ugh…」(Elle)
Elle shivered and shook her head when she imagined herself sleeping while being surrounded by strangers and rats.
She wanted to avoid sleeping in the cargo hold at any cost.
She got some money from the villagers as thanks for saving them, but it wasn’t much. The villagers wanted to give her more, but they had already lost so much money because of those scammers in bird masks.
A silver coin per night for a cabin was a bit expensive, but Elle had no other choice.
「Then… Umm… A second-class cabin for three nights, please.」(Elle)
「Ah, so you do have money. Alright.」(receptionist)
「I don’t have to pay for my cat, do I?」(Elle)
「Your cat?」(receptionist)
「Nyaa~」(Yoyo)
Yoyo meowed, pretending to be a normal cat when the reception turned his gaze to him.
「Haha. Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay anything for a pet. By the way, cats are welcome here. They can help us reduce the number of rats on this ship.」(receptionist)
「I see.」(Elle)
「Anyway, a second-class cabin for three nights will be three silver coins.」(receptionist)
「Okay.」(Elle)
Elle took out three silver coins and three copper coins from her wallet and handed them to the reception.
「Hm? Little Lady, this is…」(receptionist)
「It’s a tip for you. Please don’t tell anyone I’m renting a second-class cabin.」(Elle)
「Ah, I see. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. You have my word.」(receptionist)
Children with money were easy targets for bad people.
Elle thought that the three copper coins she gave to the reception as the hush money wasn’t much if she could avoid getting into trouble.
「Thank you. And here’s your key. I hope you enjoy your stay on this ship, Little Lady.」(receptionist)
「Thank you.」(Elle)
「Next person, please come forward!」(receptionist)
After receiving the key, Elle left the reception and looked for her cabin.
This was a huge ship that could hold five hundred people.
It had four floors. The first-class cabins were on the fourth floor which was the top floor. The second-class and the third-class cabins were on the third floor. The fourth-class cabins, the fifth-class cabins, and the dining room were on the second floor. Lastly, the first floor was entirely used as the cargo hold.
The cargo hold was the most spacious room in the ship, so it was open to the public free of charge, but the condition was extremely poor.
Elle climbed up the ladders to the third floor and got into her cabin.
There was a decent bed that looked quite soft, a single sofa, and a small rounded wooden table with porcelain tea utensils, a bottle of cheap whisky, and sweets arranged on a three-tiered plate.
There was also a window on the wall. She could see the view of the sea from there.
「Whoaa…」(Elle)
「Hmm, it’s not bad at all.」(Yoyo)
「Yeah, I think it’s worth the price.」(Elle)
「Yep, but we don’t need the whiskey. It’s too early for you.」(Yoyo)
「I know. I will return it later. Hm? What is this?」(Elle)
Elle found a piece of paper next to the plate of sweets on the table. It was a notice for the passenger.
It seemed that you could ask a cabin crew to bring you food, snacks, tea, or wine anytime if you paid an additional fee.
Elle was a bit overwhelmed by the simple yet luxurious room, but the thing that caught her attention the most was the sweets on the three-tiered plate.
「Look, Yoyo. There are so many sweets!」(Elle)
「Judging from how bad the guy who sold us the boarding pass was, I thought we wouldn’t get any good service, but I was wrong.」(Yoyo)
「Yeah, I thought so too. Anyway, let’s enjoy these sweets together!」(Elle)
「Alright.」(Yoyo)
There were scones on the first tier, some baked bread smeared with cream on the second tier, and fresh-looking fruits on the third tier of the plate.
「So these are scones. I’ve seen them in a book. Mmm~ It’s sweet and fluffy!」(Elle)
The fluffiness of the scone and the rich flavor of the lingonberry jam inside spread in Elle’s mouth as she took a bite.
「Hmm. I see, I see. So this is what a scone tastes like.」(Yoyo)
「I wonder if nobles eat delicious sweets like this every day.」(Elle)
「Most likely. By the way, Elle, if you were to be reborn, would you like to be a noble lady?」(Yoyo)
「Hmm… I don’t think I want to be a noble lady. If I were to be reborn, I wanted to be an ordinary girl living peacefully with her parents and her cat in a small village.」(Elle)
「I see.」(Yoyo)
「How about you, Yoyo?」(Elle)
「I think I wanted to be a normal cat who lived peacefully with a girl and her parents in a small village.」(Yoyo)
「Fufu.」(Elle)
Hearing Yoyo’s answer, Elle couldn’t help but giggle.
After enjoying the sweets, Elle took a bath and slept early.
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「Mmmhh…? It’s morning already…?」(Elle)
The sunlight pouring in through the window woke Elle up.
She raised her upper body and yawned.
「Fwaaaaahh~」(Elle)
「Good morning, Elle.」(Yoyo)
「Good morning, Yoyo. Aaahh~ I slept like a log. I didn’t even dream.」(Elle)
「It’s probably because your mana hasn’t completely recovered. You used too much mana when you healed those villagers. You remember how many people you cast magic on?」(Yoyo)
「Umm… I don’t really remember.」(Elle)
Elle got off the bed, did some stretching, and looked out the window.
「Whoaa! Yoyo, look! I think those things are called icebergs!」(Elle)
Yoyo used his ability to fly and approached the window.
「Wow, those are huge chunks of ice.」(Yoyo)
「It’s weird to think that even vast sea can freeze.」(Elle)
「You’re right.」(Yoyo)
Elle and Yoyo were fascinated by the icebergs floating on the sea.
At the time, they still had no idea that those icebergs would cause a terrible incident in the future.
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Titanic incomeing XD