Chapter 1-38 : Trouble In The Sea (part 1)
「Yahoo, Lynette-san~」(Alice)
「Nyahoo, Alice-chan~! Welcome-nya!」(Lynette)
Lynette greeted me as soon as I entered her shop.
I thought she would have a pale face and look like she hadn’t slept in days, but she looks more energetic than usual today.
「Looks like you have gotten enough sleep.」(Alice)
「Nyahaha! Yeah, I took your advice and logged out to get some sleep once in a while-nya.」(Lynette)
「Good for you.」(Alice)
「Oh? Is that your new weapon-nya?」(Lynette)
Noticing I was carrying a different weapon, Lynette-san looked at the wakizashi on my waist with interest.
「Yeah. I did what you told me and went to see Walter-san.」(Alice)
「I see. What do you think of him-nya?」(Lynette)
「As you said, he was a bit weird, but he was very polite. He dressed and acted exactly like a butler, and he treated me as if I were a young noble lady or something.」(Alice)
「Nyahaha! That sounds just like him-nya!」(Lynette)
「I was surprised that he was an elderly man. I thought he would be much younger. It’s rare for an old person like him to play a VRMMO game like this.」(Alice)
「I know, right? Well, according to him, his son encouraged him to start playing this game-nya.」(Lynette)
「His son?」(Alice)
「Yeah.」(Lynette)
Lynette began to tell me Walter-san’s story.
It seemed that Walter-san used to work as a skilled wood craftsman and had a big workshop in Gifu Prefecture, but then retired due to his age.
His son, who has inherited the business, said that it was too dangerous for him to handle a hammer and carving tools anymore because his hands had gotten weak. However, Walter-san, who felt the joy from working as a craftsman, still wanted to work. His son then came up with an idea and recommended him ‘working’ in this game.
Since this is a virtual game, Walter-san won’t feel fatigue and won’t get hurt when handling a hammer, so he can continue ‘working as a craftsman’ without having his son worry about him.
*/TL : Gifu Prefecture in the Hida region of Japan is known for its woodworking tradition and has many skilled craftsmen.
「I see. So that’s how he ended up working as a blacksmith in this game.」(Alice)
「Well, he’s not actually working. He’s technically playing a game-nya. However, the feeling of joy from working is the same as the real world-nya.」(Lynette)
「Ah, I think I can understand that. By the way, I came for my swimsuit. You said you’ve finished it.」(Alice)
「Yup! Here it is-nya~」(Lynette)
After telling me about Walter-san, Lynette took out my new swimsuit and handed it to me.
It was a cute peach-colored bikini top with denim hot pants designed for swimming. Not only that, she also handed me a cover-up shirt, which was a plain white short t-shirt.
「Wow! It’s so fancy!」(Alice)
「I was thinking of a cute bikini at first, but knowing you, I thought you didn’t want to reveal your skin too much, so I came up with this design-nya. Do you like it-nya?」(Lynette)
「Un! I like it! You’re such a professional designer!」(Alice)
「Hehe~」(Lynette)
She scratched her head and smiled proudly.
Not only did she come up with this fancy design, but she also thought about me, the person who would wear it. She knew that I’m a bit shy and don’t want a bikini that reveals too much skin.
Moreover, the color is not too vibrant either, so it won’t draw too much attention. Such perfect swimwear for me.
「I’m going to try it now!」(Alice)
「Go ahead-nya~」(Lynette)
Feeling excited, I went into the fitting room.
I removed my kimono armor and other equipment, equipped the swimsuit, and looked at myself in the mirror.
This is very nice. I can confidently show up in front of other people in this kind of swimwear.
ーーーーー
Fancy Swimsuitr (Armor for swimming)
Creator : Lynette
DEF + 16
DEX + 2
Additional effect : Eliminate the heaviness caused by the water pressure and the buoyant force while you’re underwater.
ーーーーー
I was surprised because it gave me so much DEF for a swimsuit. It also has some kind of additional effect, but I don’t really understand what it means. Perhaps I should ask Lynette.
As I felt satisfied with the look of my new swimsuit, I came out of the fitting room and showed my new appearance to Lynette.
「Lynette-san, how do I look?」(Alice)
「Uhyuu~! You look cute as always-nya!」(Lynette)
「It’s thanks to your skills as a designer.」(Alice)
「No, no, no. A cute girl like you will look cute no matter what you wear-nya.」(Lynette)
「Hehe, thanks. You’re really good at complimenting. By the way, it gives me an additional effect. Did you add it?」(Alice)
「Nope. It’s the effect from the Squidspider’s thread you gave to me-nya.」(Lynette)
「I see. It says, “Eliminate the heaviness caused by the water pressure and the buoyant force while I’m underwater”, but I don’t really understand what it means.」(Alice)
「Hmm, it’s a bit hard to explain, but, Alice-chan, you realize that when you’re swimming, you feel a bit sluggish and your movements are much slower than usual, right-nya?」(Lynette)
「Well, yeah. Is it because of this water pressure and buoyant force thing?」(Alice)
「That’s right-nya. After all, the water in this game has the same concept and law as the water in the real world-nya. Even though you learned【Swimming】skill, as long as you’re underwater, you won’t be able to move as quickly as you do while on the land-nya. However, with that swimsuit, you won’t feel the water pressure and buoyant force that much and will be able to move much more faster-nya.」(Lynette)
「I see. So there’s an obvious difference between swimming in regular armor and swimming in swimsuit-type armor, huh?」(Alice)
「Exactly-nya. If you’re going to fight underwater, it will be better if you use that swimsuit-nya.」(Lynette)
This game has many water-type monsters, so I will be fighting underwater sooner or later. I’m so glad I ordered this swimsuit.
「Thank you for the explanation, Lynette-san. Anyway, here’s the rest of the payment.」(Alice)
After listening to Lynette’s explanation, I took out 5000G from my【Storage】and handed the money to her.
This swimwear costs 10,000G, but since I’ve already paid half as the down payment a week ago, I only have to pay the remaining half.
Lynette’s goods are expensive as usual, but her service and the quality of her products make it worth the money.
「Thank you very much-nya~! By the way, what’s your next plan for today?」(Lynette)
「Hehe, isn’t it obvious? I’m going to the sea!」(Alice)
「Nyahaha! That’s Alice-chan for you-nya!」(Lynette)
Now that I have a swimsuit, it’s time to put it into practice. I’ve leveled up my【Swimming】skill for this day!
「Well then, I’m going now. Thank you, Lyentte-san!」(Alice)
「Please come again-nya~」(Lynette)
ーーーーー
From Lynette’s shop, I went to the portal and teleported to the port town, Hafen.
As soon as I arrived, I walked down the street, heading toward the harbor. I was planning to rent a boat and went a little away from the land since I wanted to enjoy swimming without worrying about the waves.
However, when I got to the harbor, I noticed there was something off. I saw so many fishing boats docked on the piers all over the harbor.
I wonder if the fishermen are taking a day off today, but… I think it’s unnatural for the fishermen to take a day off on the same day all at once.
Looking around, I saw a crowd of muscular men who seemed to be fishermen. They were talking to each other with anxious-looking faces for some reason. Judging from their expressions and behavior, I could tell something bad was happening.
I was ready to enjoy the rest of my day swimming in the sea, but… I have a very bad feeling about this…
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