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Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 1

Translator: Kurehashi Aiko           Editor: Queenie

There was a very peculiar bird flying over my head, with a long tail and white wings. While I was busy admiring its beauty, the other sailors that were going around the deck were saying things like “It looks absolutely delicious!” Now, I know that humans desire meat to eat, but that was downright mortifying to hear!

Still, even though the sailors could be pretty rude and insensitive at times, the old lady inside of me wanted to just wanted to ignore it all and admire the scenery that was surrounding me, especially since I had never been on a voyage like this before. I know that I’m still young, but that old lady-like mindset was not bad to have from time to time.

For a while now I have been doing nothing in particular, just looking at the sea scenery that was surrounding me. Together with that man we were on the balcony of a luxurious cruise ship that was going to take us to our destination.

Contrary to any normal vessel, this cruise ship was using magic stones to move forward without the help of the wind or muscle power. It was very Princess-like for the Princess to arrange us the tickets for a ship like that without any trouble. They say that friends in high places are a good thing to have, but only now was I seeing just how true this saying really was.

It’s been a few days since the Princess had asked us to go and investigate the Nibbiellata Isle. We were on board of the ship that was going to take us to the Isle.

My dress was carefully selected for the occasion. Since it was summer I decided to wear something brightly colored in order to prevent attracting the sun rays and getting a sunburn, and while the dress itself was fairly long, I ultimately decided to wear the one with short sleeves rather than long ones, since the heat was going to get to us sooner rather than later. But just to be on the safe side, I had my mantle stored away in my luggage.

The man was also not wearing his usual black robes, a symbol of his status as a Court Wizard. Instead, he was wearing grayish robes and a matching hooded cloak to that.

Additionally, he seemed to be strangely relaxed today for some reason. While I was admiring the scenery, his hand suddenly reached out to my waist and he gently pulled me inside of the cabin, causing me to shriek silently.

「What are you doing?」

He said that to me and then I laughed softly, realizing that it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I then bury my face in that man’s chest.

「You see, I have never seen the sea before. I never would have thought it was so big and beautiful? Have you ever seen it before, Edi?」

Of course my former “self” has seen the sea on numerous occasions, but it was the first time for “me”, Filmina, to see it in this world. I was born in the capital city and I was raised in the capital city. I grew up watching my father work hard and I read various books on many different subjects, so I can’t say that I was feeling a strong urge to venture somewhere. We were going into many different places during the vacation season, but I was mostly accompanying them so that they wouldn’t be sad or started complaining. And even so, I would always spend most of my time indoors instead of going outside, so even though I was on vacation, it didn’t really feel like a vacation in the slightest. But let’s not talk about this any longer.

That being said, the sea I remembered from the previous world was different from the sea I had right in front of me. This sea here was a beautiful and sparkling emerald color, whilst I remember it to be deep blue. The water here was so crystal-clear that you could easily see the bottom, and you could also see various fish swimming around our ship. I knew that getting excited over something like that was largely unbecoming, but I couldn’t help but to get excited. I wanted to see more.

As the man stares at me in amazement, he slowly shakes his head.

「No, for me it is the first time seeing it as well. While I was still at the Magic Academy they would occasionally send us to fishing towns and hamlets to conduct field studies there, but that’s about it.」

「Well then, I guess this means it is a first time for both of us as well.」

「Yes, and what about it?」

I laughed a little while placing my index finger on that man’s forehead.

「Fufu, isn’t that just wonderful that we are able to experience so many “first times” together?」

The man blinked a few times in astonishment before eventually turning his gaze from me to the vast sea that was spreading right in front of us. When I see that his ears are ever so slightly red with embarrassment, I couldn’t help it but laugh. No matter if it was a genuine reaction or not, it was still awfully cute of him. Oh my, what a scary look. In order to escape from it, I bury my face in his chest again. Staying with him like that, it was filling me with a feeling of inner peace and comfort. It was then when I heard a loud whistle.

Looking up from the man’s chest, one of the sailors was pointing towards something in the distance, where all of the seabirds were flying as well.

「It looks like we will soon reach our destination.」

「Yes. Sure looks like it.」

We could already see the harbor from the balcony. Going onto the balcony again, I could see our destination clearly, the Nibbiellata Isle. I gasped with excitement. As I mentioned earlier, the sea was quite beautiful here and the white sandy beaches were only accentuating this beauty. Behind the shore there was a town full of white buildings, then there was a thick tropical forest and then finally the mountains. Sea coral, emerald sea, blue skies, white beach and clouds, green forest. The sights were simply spectacular, and they were all complementing each other. It really looked just like a paradise on earth. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical when I heard that comparison for the first time, but now I know it was nothing but true. It was a shame that I had to stop looking at this marvelous sight, but we needed to get inside of our cabin and prepare to disembark.

***

What awaited us upon disembarking the ship was a huge carriage with a Nibbiella family crest on it, the governors of this Isle. There was a man standing in front of the carriage, wearing an unfamiliar uniform and a pair of shaded glasses. He also had long hair that was braided in some places. Looking closely at the citizens of this island, I could notice that each and every person was wearing a braid or two in their hair, regardless of their gender or age. It must have been a tradition of some kind around these parts.
Upon seeing us approach him, the elderly man seemed to be surprised. Maybe he was expecting us to look more representative? He looked as though he wanted to say something but when he opened his mouth one glare from that man was more than enough to make him stop. Then he just said: “My name is Agedilus Von Lancent and I am the Court Wizard sent by the crown on request of the governor.” That was more than enough for the elderly man to bow slightly to us, open the carriage door and take us to the governor’s manor.

On our way there, the elderly man spoke to us while trying his best to remain calm.

「I am the butler currently in service of the current governor of the Nibbiellata Isle, my name is Dinart Ponafan. My, who would have thought that Agedilus Von Lancent himself is going to grace us with his presence.」

Judging from the shaky voice of the butler, he must have been terrified of that man and the fact that he himself decided to come to the Isle. He was wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and he was doing his best to avoid looking that man in the eyes. It wasn’t that easy of a task, seeing how that man’s hood was so deep that the butler couldn’t really see where that man was currently looking.

He bites his lip to avoid showing us just how nervous he really was. On our way to the manor we passed by many different people from all around the world. Shortly before our departure we were warned about that by the princess, who told us that we need to be prepared to see people of many different races as well as skin colors. And although that man was one of the “Heroes Who Saved the World”, his scary reputation was apparently doing him no favors here. Still, it was also a good deterrent to anyone who would wish him ill. Thanks to that, our honeymoon here should pass pretty much without any trouble, but it was also a cause for concern when it comes to the way in which the governor of the Isle would receive us. So it might be wise to be prepared to be ready for anything here.