Chapter 3-19 : The Pick-Up Is Here! (part 1)
Hearing there was a ship approaching this island, we moved to the beach.
I could see someone waving at us from the ship, and I knew that person very well.
「Kako ojou-samaaaaa!!」(Thea)
「Thea? It’s Thea!」(Kako)
I was so happy that I could finally see a familiar face. I raised my hands and waved back at her.
「Theaaaa!! I’m hereeee!!」(Kako)
Thea seemed to notice me and waved faster.
「Kako, is that your friend?」(Village Chief)
「Yes! She’s my maid!」(Kako)
「I see.」(Village Chief)
Learning that the ship wasn’t hostile, the chief signaled the mermaid watchman with a silent nod.
The watchman then dove into the sea and went toward the ship, probably to inform them that they were allowed to approach.
After the ship docked at the simple-made pier by the village, Thea got off and immediately ran toward me. She then embraced me tightly.
「Kako ojou-sama! Ahh, thank god you’re safe!」(Thea)
「Thea! I’m so happy to see you!」(Kako)
「Me too! Did they hurt you? Have you been eating well? You must have been scared!」(Thea)
「Calm down, Thea. The mermaids have been treating me well.」(Kako)
「What? But they attacked us.」(Thea)
「Yeah, but it was just a misunderstanding. Anyway, I have been doing well here thanks to them. They feed me delicious seafood every day.」(Kako)
「I see. I thought they were treating you like a prisoner. In that case, I have to thank them.」(Thea)
Seeing how healthy and energetic I was, Thea smiled with teary eyes. She then stood up and bowed toward the mermaids.
「Thank you for taking care of her.」(Thea)
「No, please raise your head. It was our fault in the first place. She wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t attacked your boat, and I’m sorry for that.」(Roan)
Roan bowed apologetically at Thea.
「You are… I remember your face.」(Thea)
「I was one of the mermaid warriors who attacked your boat. Forgive me.」(Roan)
「You… Kako ojou-sama almost died because of you!」(Thea)
「Thea!」(Kako)
I gently pushed Thea and shook my head, telling her not to be aggressive.
She calmed down immediately.
「Ahem! …Since you seem to have been treating her well, I’ll let it slide this time.」(Thea)
「…Thank you.」(Roan)
「It’s just a matter of course that we’re treating her well. Kako is our saviour after all.」(Village Chief)
「Savior?」(Thea)
Thea was baffled by the chief’s words.
「Yes. She saved our lives.」(Village Chief)
「What do you mean?」(Thea)
She must be wondering how a girl like me could save these people’s lives.
I haven’t told her about my ability after all.
「Aaah! We can talk about it later. More importantly, Thea, how in the world could you get here with such a splendid ship?」(Kako)
Roan told me that the people on the tour boat managed to escape that day, which means that I was the only person lost at sea.
It’s hard to think that anyone would lend a ship just to search for a girl.
In Japan, there would be a huge commotion, and search ships would be sent out if there was someone lost at sea, but this is not Japan. This is another world where monsters are common.
Normally, people would think that I had already been eaten alive by sea monsters and refused to lend a boat, let alone a ship.
「We got this ship because this woman did a really good job-nya.」(Nyat)
While I was wondering, a familiar big white cat got off the ship and walked this way.
「Nyat!」(Kako)
I immediately hugged him and buried my face in his fluffy fur.
「Aaah~ I miss my fluffy pillow~」(Kako)
「I’m not your pillow-nya!」(Nyat)
He hit my head gently with his paw as he denied it. He then shifted his gaze toward the mermaids.
「Uhooo~ What a delicious-looking bunch of people-nya!」(Nyat)
「Nyat, you can’t eat them!」(Kako)
「Nyahahaha! I’m just kidding-nya!」(Nyat)
「「……….」」(mermaids)
It might be a funny joke for Nyat, but for the mermaids, it didn’t sound funny at all.
「Geez… Anyway, what do you mean Thea did a good job? Did she prepare this ship?」(Kako)
「No, the city guards did, but only because she threatened them-nya.」(Nyat)
「What!?」(Kako)
Thea threatened the guards? What has she done exactly?
「Remember the tour guides? We asked them to help, but they were afraid to go back-nya. We had no choice but to ask the city guards for help, but they kept delaying it-nya. They said you were already dead and didn’t want to send a ship just to pick up your body-nya.」(Nyat)
「Well, that’s what people would normally think.」(Kako)
「True, but Thea insisted that you were still alive-nya. She would have gone with a small boat by herself if I didn’t stop her-nya.」(Nyat)
「What? I’m glad you stopped her.」(Kako)
I’m happy that Thea cares about me so much, but crossing the sea with a small boat is reckless.
「Nyat-sama, that information is really unnecessary.」(Thea)
「Nyahaha. Anyway, thanks to Thea we could borrow this ship-nya.」(Nyat)
Nyat suddenly bent forward and whispered to me.
「You should be glad you didn’t see her demonic face when she threatened the guards-nya. Uuuhh, it gave chill on my back-nya…」(Nyat)
「…..」(Kako)
「Nyat-sama, what did you tell her?」(Thea)
「Nothing-nya~」(Nyat)
「Ahaha…」(Kako)
I could somehow imagine what Thea’s face looked like back then.
「Kako ojou-sama, Nyat-sama said I threatened the guards, but I would call it negotiation. I simply told them they would be severely punished if the higher-ups knew they were abandoning a lady from a noble family. Of course, they didn’t believe you were a noble at first, so I had to raise my tone and change my expression a little to convince them.」(Thea)
“A little”, huh…?
I don’t think guards can be convinced by changing tone and expression a little…
「Blackmailing guards may be a bit extreme, but Thea did a good job at it-nya. As expected from a Marquis’ maid-nya.」(Nyat)
「There’s some points I have to deny, but thank you for the compliment, Nyat-sama.」(Thea)
Since Nyat praised her so much, it seemed Thea must have done quite an impressive job.
「I see. Well done, Thea!」(Kako)
「It’s my pleasure to serve you.」(Thea)
Thea smiled and lowered her head. She looked happy I praised her.
I could tell that she had been worrying about me so much.
On the other hand, Nyat looked nonchalant as always. Wasn’t he worried about me?
His easygoing face somehow pissed me off, so I punched him in the stomach.
「Hmph!」(Kako)
「Ouch! What’s that for-nya!?」(Nyat)
「I don’t know. I just want to punch you.」(Kako)
「What the hell-nya!?」(Nyat)
「Maybe because you don’t look like you were worried about me at all even though you’re my bodyguard.」(Kako)
「Nya nya!? I wasn’t worried because I knew you were doing well-nya.」(Nyat)
「What?」(Kako)
「Kako ojou-sama, please forgive him. I don’t know how, but he confirmed that you were still alive. That’s why I had the courage to threaー I mean ‘negotiate’ with the guards.」(Thea)
「I see. But, Nyat, how did you know?」(Kako)
I don’t remember making a call and telling him I was doing fine on this island.
In the first place, I don’t have a phone in this world!
「I knew you were alive from that clumsy goddeー」(Nyat)
「Hm?」(Kako)
He was about to say something but suddenly stopped.
「I mean… You know, it’s a hunch-nya. A strong one. We cattos have a strong hunch-nya.」(Nyat)
「Really?」(Kako)
I felt like he was hiding something, but before I could ask further, another person got off the ship.
It was an old man with a muscular body. Judging from the hat he was wearing, it was clear that he was the captain of the ship.
He looked at me while approaching.
「Can’t believe she’s really still alive.」(Captain)
「I told you.」(Thea)
Thea folded her arms and smirked smugly at the captain.
「Well, it’s my fault for not believing in you. Neverthelessー」(Captain)
The captain put his hand on my head and stroked it.
「I’m glad you’re alive. Not many people can survive when they are lost at sea.」(Captain)
「Umm, thank you, Sir.」(Kako)
He smiled at me and shifted his gaze toward the mermaid.
He glared at them with sharp eyes. I could somehow feel hatred from his eyes.
Noticing his strong gaze, Roan moved forward and glared back at him.
「You fish people… There’s a lot we need to talk about.」(Captain)
「Yeah, sure we do.」(Roan)
I could picture electric sparks coming out of their eyes and colliding with each other.
They seem to hate each other, but, ugh… I just hope they don’t fight…
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