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Chapter 309: To the Island

「I don’t think it’s Arina’s Bough. No, you should just forget the Bough entirely. 」
While I was stumped for a moment, Orlando the Hustler came to the rescue and persuaded Arina!

Orlando-kun, you’re amazing for telling her off like it’s nothing.

「But Boughs are better than people, you know? They’re uh, charitable? Too. 」
「People are also wonderful, just like Heinz-sama here, isn’t that right? 」
Orlando kept his stance.

… Please be normal, okay? You’re not pushed around by Gramps, are you? Ah, but I guess even if Gramps is extremely pushy, as long as the others are normal then it’d be fine, he’d still be acceptable as Soleil’s tranquilizer. Probably.

Oh, but if we go along with that premise then that would mean Asmomee is also passable, but nah, she’s still out. Arina’s vibes seemed pretty off too…

X-Stick’s Bough seemed to be the type to do whatever it wants the way it wants, so it’ll probably ignore someone like Asmomee no matter how intense she might be. That scene would probably be a headache to the people around them…Well, Orlando-kun’s currently have it hard.

「Sorry for making you deal with a child. 」
Gramps muttered. Zabuton was sticking out of his waist, or should I say groin area. Oy, stop it, seriously, he looked like he’s wearing a ballerina tutu.

Zabuton gestured something — hey, stop moving around while still in that area, will you — not for me or Gramps, but for Arina.

『Sorry, I’ll explain later. But I’m sleepy now… 』
Someone spoke from Arina’s pocket.

A snow white weasel poked its head out before diving back right in and weakly waved its tail. It then burrowed deeper into her pocket. So Arina was also possessed by a spirit!?

Zabuton was trying to send signals to the weasel, not me, apparently. So, was there something that had to be explained then? I didn’t understand what was going on, but let’s set it aside for now.

「Sorry for saying this now. Although we set off early, it will still take some time before we return from having lunch on the island. Is it okay for Arina to stay out late? 」
「Yeah. Both of Arina’s parents are very busy, and the guardian who takes her home always arrives at dinner time. 」
Gramps said.

Arina’s parents apparently run a fairly large trading company, and it seemed that they occasionally leave Arina at the『Fae’s Bough』where her aunt is. The fees they had to pay for entrance on top of the fees for the Bough’s Room were no joke and they would also give offerings during the annual festival each year.

Arina apparently spent the most time with Asmomee among her relatives, even more than her parents. Even if the places she could go to was limited to the confines of the temple, Asmomee was naturally busy, so —

「Listen carefully, okay, you should be playing and interacting with kids your age if it’s outside your study hours, alright!?」
The task of babysitting Arina fell to Orlando-kun.
Do your best, Hustler!

「Oh hello, good to see you. Please take us to the island. There’s four of us today, is that okay?
I felt relieved to see Grandpa Boatman here.

I have experience rowing a boat, but only with Grandpa Boatman as my passenger since he’s the one who taught me, so I was actually nervous.

「Ou, it won’t be balanced, but leave it to me. 」
I climbed onto the boat as he replied.

「Excuse me. 」
Gramps followed after.

「Even if we go to the island via boat, they won’t let us near the pier, you know? It doesn’t matter even if you have lots of money, nothing would change. 」
Orlando was obviously discomfited, but even so, he pulled Arina’s hand and they boarded the boat.

「Hahaha. Bro here doesn’t seem to know who you are, huh. 」
「I already know he’s rich. 」
Gramps Boatman chuckled at Orlando’s stern reminder.

The sea was breathtaking, as always, with not a hint of breeze. Our boat swayed a bit because of the waves from the wake of the huge ships arriving from and departing to Nalluahdid, but other than that, everything was alright. The ocean currents near the shore should be tricky to navigate because of the invisible coral reefs but even so, the bay was magnificent.

「Welcome back. 」
The security officer and taxman bowed towards me when we reached the wharf.
We collect fees for using the wharf in the guise of taxes. Grandpa Boatman pointed to the chessboard, or should I say Shogi board, indicating that he would wait for us while playing with the taxman. The security personnel are busy since there’s a limit to the number of people who are allowed entry to the island, but the taxman is very free.

「I’m back. Oh, and add the three of them to the record, please. 」
「Yes. 」
Checking of people for arrival and departure is also part of the taxman’s job. Orlando was stupefied, while Gramps looked on with admiration.

By the way, the taxman is actually a broke artist and he’s great at drawing portraits. Don’t look too weird or else he’s gonna draw you guys.

「We will be handing these out for assurance. 」
It was a beautiful tiny plate adorned with a strap. The intricate floral pattern on the plate was stunning, but really, it’s just an ID, plain and simple.

The plate serves as some sort of identification tag, but they would have to leave it behind when departing the island. Normally, the one in charge of verification would get the foreigner’s identification documents, and the plate’s number would be recorded as their registration number before it’s handed over.

「Alright, have some lunch or whatever with this. And please distribute these too. 」
I handed some tip that was enough for buying drinks for two and some candy to Grandpa Boatman, then we left the wharf.

Several kids waved their hands at me while grinning ear to ear as they circled around Grandpa Boatman as if they already knew I gave the candies to him. I’m not doing food delivery service; it’s just that I usually grab the kids and ask them on errands.

「Wait. This is strange. 」
「Whatever do you mean. 」
The Orlando-kun wobbled after us, but he suddenly straightened up as he voiced out his doubts. It’s admirable that he was still holding Arina’s hand firmly despite tottering like that.

「It’s understandable that they didn’t have to check your identity since you seem to be a resident here, but what about us!? What about the island entry fees!? What happened to verifying who we are!? 」
「It’s already done so you don’t have to worry about that. 」
I dismissed his words with a wave.

「Seems like Nii-dono isn’t simply a resident, but perhaps a taxman himself. 」
Gramps commented.

「Ehh!? But wait, it’s unbelievable for someone in charge of the island’s border control to act that way…huh? — No way, perhaps you’re someone with a high status within this land…? But, no, wait, apart from Soleil-sama, who’s rumored to be the absolute boss, the rest of the hierarchy in this island seemed to be vague enough… 」

Orlando started mumbling!!