Chapter 72

Crew Member Vahnia

“This girl is a leviathan who is, let’s see, you may think of her as part of the crew of the leviathan we’re currently on . She’s Vahnia . ”

The girl called Vahnia splashed out of the bath .

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance . I am the leviathan Vahnia . I might look like a human now, but I take turns with my older sister Fahtra flying and doing maintenance work . It’s my older sister’s turn to fly at the moment . ”

That explanation was great and all but it was a little hard to take it all in since she delivered it completely stark naked .

Even so, she had a beautifully toned body… almost like a doll .

“Vahnia, you mustn’t talk in the nude . It makes you seem like a savage”

“Ah, I’m sorry boss!”

And so back Vahnia went into the bath .

“By the way, the water used in this bath is of the demon spring type, so please be careful everyone . ”

“Demon spring? I’ve never heard of a bath that uses that kind of water . ”

I’ve only ever heard of alkaline and lightly acidic kinds .

“Let’s see, if I had to describe it in a few words, it makes your skin really smooth . ”

“Ohh, yeah that’s hot spring water alright”

“However, if you happen to fall asleep and stay in the bath for too many hours, you’ll melt . ”

Scary!

“Of course, that’s only if you stayed for hours and hours . I doubt there’s anyone who would sit in a bath nonstop for 7 or 8 hours . There’s nothing for you to be so worried about”

Leica placed her hand on Harukara’s shoulder .

“Harukara-san, please refrain from entering the bath by yourself . Allow me to accompany you . ”

“Ah, again with this development where nobody trusts me!”

She’ll go in the bath dead drunk and pass out . The next day, there’ll be nothing left of her but a muddy soup . It was a situation I could clearly see happening . We’ll need to have some countermeasures to make sure it doesn’t become a reality…

“Later, Vahnia here will be overseeing the preparation of your food . As she’s already here, allow her to explain . ”

“Of course . For tonight’s meal, I’m thinking of serving mainly poultry dishes . ”

It’s more normal than expected . As I thought, they must be taking our tastes into consideration .

“First, since we managed to get our hands on an excellent cockatrice egg, we shall be having that . ”

“Er… can you even eat cockatrice…?”

I mean, it’s technically a bird, but is it really alright to eat? It’s not really something that’s circulated and eaten in human society .

“Leica? Have you ever eaten a cockatrice?”

“No, I have never had it before either…”

“Cockatrice eggs are a delicacy . The shell itself might be purple, but if you look past the shell, it’s very similar to a chicken egg . Please do look forward to it . We’ve also gotten our hands on a roc egg!”

An even crazier ingredient came out .

“Aren’t those absurdly huge…?”

“Yes . Since it’s far too large, before it’s carried aboard, several cooks portion it out and take their own shares . This ship has a contract with a roc that lays good eggs so do look forward to it .

“A contract with the roc itself you say…”

I’m experiencing culture shock from so many things…

“Since the vegetables we’ll be using were cultivated  by an alraune, they’re extraordinarily sweet top-class ingredients, and you can be sure to enjoy the sublime taste of the raw ingredients themselves . Please do look forward to dinner!”

The girl Vahnia had a cheerful smile .

I didn’t know how old she actually was but it was a smile that retained its youthful innocence .

“With that, all that remains is for Vahnia here to pen a reflective letter of apology for taking a bath while on duty . ”

Beelzebub, also with a smile on her face, said so with no hesitation .

“Ehh! No way… I even gave a proper introduction of the meal, please forgive me with just that…”

“I cannot . If you do a poor job then I, as your superior, will have to bear the responsibility . Be sure to write the apology . A proper one!”

With a final glance at the forlorn Vahnia, we left . If we hadn’t left, she wouldn’t have been able to get out of the bath after all .

“With this, the tour is more or less over . Now, since we happen to have the opportunity, let us head to the observation space . It’s best to look from it just before evening after all . ”

We went to the third floor of the building we were staying in .

The observation space wasn’t actually deck, it was just a normal room .

In place of windows, it had something like binoculars installed in all directions .

Since it was pretty easy to figure out what to do, we all peeked through the binoculars without needing to be instructed on how to use them .

“Whoa! What an amazing view!”

It was like the view I saw through the window of an airplane I rode a long time ago, but this was even wider .

The mountain and the town looked incredibly tiny . From here, I could see that half of the country’s land was green . The area the town occupied was really only a small portion of it . The humans were really immersed in nature .

“Woaahhh! What the heck! What is this! I’m starting to get dizzy!”

“Wow! Sharusha, look, look!”

“This is a scene that must be recorded . It needs to be described in painstaking detail . ”

“So we were actually this high up huh… Damn though, even this high up there ain’t no sign of heaven . ”

As everyone voiced their admiration, Leica alone was calm .

“As I’ve surmised, you’ve occasionally flown as high as this before no?”

“If one flies beneath the clouds, there is the occasional danger of getting struck by lightning . In those times, it is best to fly as high up as possible . It also reduces the risk of colliding with other dragons and the aforementioned rocs . ”

When I heard that, I could only think of how a dragon’s common sense was really something else .

“That brings an end to the explanations . If there is anything you need, don’t hesitate to let Vahnia know . I myself will be working over in the staff office . I will come by again once it’s time for dinner . ”

“Yeah, thanks for everything . I really wasn’t expecting to receive such hospitality during the trip to the demon territory . ”

Even if I were to use my abilities as a witch, I don’t think I’d have been able to provide something as welcoming as this . I mean, even if I got all of the people in the village or town to help out, there’s no way I’d be able to send off a leviathan .

“This is but proof of how significant your deeds truly were . We wouldn’t dispatch a leviathan for any good samaritan . To stop the long standing dispute between dragons that’s been raging on for so many years is a feat that deserves to be recorded in history . You can be more proud of yourself . ”

To be extolled to such an extent made me kind of embarrassed .

“I’ll do my best to not embarrass you at the ceremony . ”