Chapter 328

A Terrible Day

After saying goodbye to Bacon, we entered Mister Lontos’s store. It was big but rather dimly lit.

“Woah…”

And in the center of the floor, was a boat that appeared to be in the middle of construction. This wasn’t so much a store, but a shipyard. And like the sign suggested, Mister Lontos built and sold the ships here all by himself.

“I can see that you’re impressed, but I can’t sell you this one. It was ordered.”

“I’ve never seen a boat being made before.”

“Ah. And would I be correct in assuming you’ve never piloted one either?”

“Uh, yeah. But I think I could do it if someone taught me…”

“Haha. It’s not something you can learn overnight.”

Well, I happened to have this thing called ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None.’ It helped me with the basics. The rest was up to practice.

“Don’t worry. I have boats that should be easy enough for the likes of you. Come have a look. Technology these days…it’s quite impressive what they can do with magic tools.”

I see. So even boats used them now. A long time had passed since the age of ancient elves. But perhaps some of that technology was coming back. Who knows.

And so we followed after Mister Lontos. After moving through his workshop, we went outside the back where the river was running.

“Woah!”

“There are so many…”

Numerous boats lined the riverbank. There were boats that were about the size you would use for bass fishing. Some were monohulls and others multihulls. Some had sails like yachts even. I was surprised by the variety.

“All of my boats use magic tools. No one wants to row these days. Of course, I think that rowing has its own charm, but that doesn’t mean they’ll sell.”

While he seemed like a passionate craftsman, he was also willing to adapt to recent trends. Maybe it was because he made boats. You don’t fight the tide. …Wait, no. Boats do go against the current too.

“All of them have magic tools that use wind ore. Now, let me explain to you how they work.”

□ □ □ □

For the next three hours, we underwent Mister Lontos’s ‘Piloting Boats for Dummies! -Magic Boats-’ course.

“…But like I said, it took a long time for this final form to be complete. Are you still following?”

“Yes.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“You said ‘still.’ Does that mean you’re not finished yet?”

“Why, of course! I have only just briefed you on the history of the magic tools used in the boats. The next part of this story is how they were adopted by the rest of the world…”

“Uh, excuse me. But we really don’t have that much time…”

“WHAT!? Do you not realize that this is the most important part!”

“You must spare us the details…we’re in a hurry…”

It took some convincing after that to persuade Mister Lontos to skip his history lesson and teach us to pilot the boat. By then, it was past midday. It ended up taking two hours to teach us, which meant the whole thing went on for five hours… Daniela looked like she was about to die of starvation.

“Thank you. I think we’re good now. We know everything.”

“Thank you very much. There really is nothing more that you can teach us. Nothing at all.”

“That’s good to know. Still, aren’t you two forgetting something?”

“…?”

Mister Lontos said as he tilted his head. Daniela and I also had question marks popping up over our heads.

“You haven’t chosen a boat yet.”

“…Oh.”

So much for being in a rush. After that, he briefed us on each individual boat, their history, the pros and cons, and other personal opinions he had. It was a lot. It was too much. I was starting to really hate boats. And the thought of the upcoming boat ride was enough to throw me into the pits of despair.

Jack of all Trades, Master of None insured that I learned everything about piloting each boat. And for the first time ever, I was annoyed by it.

In any case, it was pretty simple. You could activate the magic tool by sending magic energy into the wind ore. There was an intake port above it that sucked in the air, which it unleashed through the exhaust ports that were under the water. That was it. And yet this guy managed to stretch it out until we lost the whole day. Needless to say, it was a lot of miscellaneous facts.

While I was grateful that Bacon went out of his way to help us, the neverending parade of useless knowledge was quite questionable. I ended up having to slam a sizable sum onto the desk in order to get him to shut up. And then we quickly put the boat away in the hollow bag and left.

Of course, it wasn’t a cheap purchase at all. And I had been expecting it. Still…five-hundred gold and eighty silver… Well, at least it came with the latest magic technology. But I felt like my perception of money was starting to get messed up recently. Damn it. This is what happens when you suddenly acquire a lot of money. This former part-timer can’t handle it…

“What are you doing, Asagi?”

“…Look, it’s not that I don’t like you. But I just need to be alone for the rest of the day.”

“And I do not exactly hate you either. And I wish I could just leave you alone. But sleeping on the floor is not good for your health.”

“…Right.”

Jack of all Trades, Master of None had been on full blast for hours today, and it gave me a headache. And since the floor was so wonderfully cool, I had ended up lying on it and became quite immobile after that. However, Daniela was right. It would be best for me to go to bed…

“Haa… What a day.”

“And to think that the plan had initially included some shopping at the market.”

“I don’t see how it could have been any worse…”

It had resulted in us talking to Miss Karamus and extending our stay by another day. We would have to shop for supplies tomorrow and depart the next day. I told a passing guard to relay the news to Bacon. Damn it.

And it was with tired bodies that we returned to the inn and were barely in time for dinner. But I didn’t have much of an appetite by then. It was the same with Daniela, which came as quite a shock to her. I could still hear her muttering in disbelief.

Still, we managed to eat just enough to replenish our energy. It was then that the drowsiness assaulted us. But I couldn’t allow myself to sleep until I’d taken a bath first.

“Obbgghgr…!!”

I frantically got out of the water before I drowned. Daniela must have been worried because she rushed to see what was happening. However, she was also taken by fatigue, and she just gave me a cool, almost dead look and then closed the door again. I could immediately tell that she hadn’t been all that worried. But you know…the love of her life was lying weakly on the ground without any clothes on. A little concern would have been nice.

Regardless, such things contributed to my current state. This had not been an enjoyable day at all…

“I’m so tired… But I’m sure things will be better tomorrow. Daniela…”

“Perhaps… I will try…mmgg…”

When I saw the side of her face as she fell asleep, I immediately wanted to follow her. And while thoughts of tomorrow still drifted in my head, I didn’t fight back. It was like sinking into a deep pit of mud.