It was truly a city of water, just like you’d expect from an undersea resort. The whole thing was charming, but at the center of the town was a structure more beautiful and elegant than any of the other buildings.
“This is Ryugu Palace.”
“Whooooooooa...”
The longer I craned my neck looking up at it, the longer my gasp of awe became. It was a real palace, not just some themed hotel. It looked like Osaka Castle or Nagoya Castle, but with brighter colors and more extravagant decorations. There was even a moat and a splendid front gate. I could already see why this was considered the best place on the planet to stay. It probably cost hundreds of thousands of yen—if not millions—for a single night here.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Rekka, Iris.” Rain welcomed us at the entrance with a polite bow. “Please come this way.”
“Thanks, but are you really sure it’s okay for us to be staying in a place like this for free?”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Although... I’m afraid there was only one large room available, so you’ll all have to stay together.”
“Huh?”
“Aww, that’s fine.”
“It doesn’t bother me.”
I froze in shock, but Iris and Rosalind didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m glad. We’ll make sure you have an excellent time here to make up for it.” Rain smiled gently, her long skirt swishing back and forth as she climbed the stairs.
Hmm... Well, we’re all pretty close now. I guess it’s okay. I was the only guy, so as long as I made sure I was careful, it should be fine. In fact, I felt better about it when I saw that the room where we’d be staying was absolutely massive. The floor seemed to be made of wood, but the sensation on the soles of my feet was warm and slightly springy.
“Rekka, please come here and look at this. It’s amazing.”
“Hm?”
After I set down everyone’s things in the corner of the room, I went over to the window to see what Tetra was talking about.
“Wow, that is amazing.”
From the window in our room, we could see almost all of Ryugu Palace City.
“This is the third floor, right? It’s pretty high up.”
“Ryugu Palace is built on higher ground than the surrounding area, and each of the floors has a high ceiling,” Rain, who had been listening to our conversation, explained.
“I bet the higher floors have an even better view.”
“The top floor, where my mother and I live, lets you see clear from one end of the town to the other,” Rain said.
“Rekka, why don’t we go check out the town a little?” Iris suddenly interrupted.
“I want to go, too!” Tetra said eagerly.
“Me, too.”
“Me, too!”
“I’ll give you all a tour, then,” Rain offered.
Everybody had so much energy...
“I shall pass. I’m a little tired. Suzuran, if you want to go, feel free.”
“You’re sure you’re all right?”
“Making you stay by my side won’t make me feel better. I’m just a little under the weather. Don’t worry about me. Just go.”
And so Rosalind stayed behind in the room to rest while Rain took the rest of us on a tour of the city.
▽
“Would you rather walk or take a tour in a gondola?” Rain asked.
“What do you guys think?” I asked, turning to the girls.
“Since we’re here, why not take a gondola tour?” Tsumiki said.
Everyone agreed, so we headed to a shop where you could rent gondolas. Only after we got there did I realize that the gondolas were actually pulled by some kind of fish that looked like a round stingray.
“I will be their guide, so we’ll only need the boat,” Rain explained to the shopkeep.
“Understood, Princess. Please take care.”
The merfolk at the rental shop watched us go as we split up into two separate gondolas and headed off.
“That’s the undersea theater. There’s an aquarium there where you can see underwater plays and dance performances.”
Each time we passed a building, Rain would give us a clear and concise explanation of what it was and what was inside. Ryugu Palace City had all kinds of fascinating events and unusual places to see. It was no wonder both the streets and canals were filled with tourists. The reason the beaches felt so empty must have been because everyone was down here all along.
“This place is amazing. There’s no way you could see it all in a day.”
“If you’d like, Rekka, you’re welcome to stay longer,” Rain said with a sidelong glance in my direction. “I don’t normally get the chance to talk with people my age, like all of you. If it’s possible, I’d love for you to stay so we can chat more.”
Oooh... Now I understood why Taro Urashima didn’t want to leave the Ryugu Palace he visited. It would be really hard to refuse a request from a beautiful girl like this...
That is, if it weren’t for the seven pairs of eyes I could feel boring holes into me in cold silence.
“I-I appreciate the offer, but I have to pass. I’m no Taro Urashima, and if I stay any longer, I’m going to get an unexcused absence from school.”
Guys, thanks for helping me with my self-control. I appreciate it, but I’d appreciate it more if you didn’t look like you were all about to strangle me!
“I see...”
I saw Rain try to hide her disappointed expression with the sleeve of her kimono.
“W-Well, you know...! Planet Berano is a really nice place, though!” I quickly tried to cheer her up. “The sea’s beautiful and clean, and there’s all kinds of things to do in town. I’d love to come back.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah. I want to go to all the places I didn’t get a chance to visit today. Once school’s out for summer vacation, I’ll come back.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. Was it just me... or did everybody look about three times madder than they had been before?
Apparently if I tried to make one person happy, I just made someone else angry. What’s a guy to do?
“Uh... R-Rain! What’s that shop there?”
“That’s a gift shop.”
“Cool, let’s check it out.”
I was glad to change the subject, but everyone agreed to the idea. We all got off the gondolas and went into the gift shop. I decided I should pick up something for Rosalind since she was stuck in the hotel room. I didn’t have any space money, so I figured I’d have to borrow some from Iris or something.
The souvenirs were a cross between what you’d see at an aquarium and what you’d see in Kyoto. It was your standard line of novelties, but considering we were in space, the designs on everything made me raise an eyebrow. Were these weird creatures even real?
The girls were all clustered around the key chains and stuffed animals. Suzuran in particular was staring at a dolphin-like plushie, completely unmoving. Satsuki was standing a little further away from the others, looking at... Was it a wishing stone? I guess those were popular both in Japan and outer space. There seemed to be all kinds of them, including ones for your well-being and luck in your love life.
“Hm?”
Hibiki, however, had walked away from the group. It looked like she was just wandering around the store.
“Hey, Hibiki,” I called to her, curious what she was up to.
“Rekka? What is it?”
“Nothing, really. I was just wondering if you found anything good.”
“I don’t know about good, but there’s certainly some interesting stuff here.”
“Sure is.” I laughed a little. “But you’re not going to look at the stuffed animals with everyone else?”
“...I’m not really into that stuff. I’d rather get something useful than something that will just sit in my room.” Hibiki chuckled and pulled on her cream-colored short-sleeved shirt a bit. “Clothes, ma
ybe. Lately I’ve been wearing things like this... but I don’t think they really look good on me.”
“I think you look fine. Your swimsuit was cute, too.”
“Wh-What?!” Hibiki suddenly staggered back two or three steps, covered her mouth with one hand, and pointed at me with the other. “Wh-What are you trying to say?!”
“Uh... Did I say something weird?”
I’d just said what I was honestly thinking... Was that a mistake? Oh, wait! That’s right. Hibiki got mad when I was staring at her chest at the beach. Did she take my remark about her swimsuit the wrong way?
“N-No, I didn’t mean it in a dirty way!”
“Now I really have no idea what you’re saying!”
Yeah... That and some other stuff happened, but Iris paid for everybody’s stuff when we all left the store.
“Huh? Where are the gondolas?”
Both of the gondolas we’d left at the edge of the canal were missing.
“Oh! I forgot to tie them up!” Rain gasped. “Normally the guide does that, so...”
“Hmm, I bet those stingray things that were pulling the boats made off with them. Think the rental shop will get mad?”
“I think it’s probably okay. They’re well trained, so they should go back to the store on their own.”
“I see. That’s good, at least.”
“I’m sorry, everyone. I should have been more careful...”
Rain was genuinely apologetic, but nobody really complained. We were still within sight of Ryugu Palace, so all it really meant was that we had to walk back for the rest of our tour. But it wasn’t a bad thing. If anything, there was probably more we could see on foot than from the canal.
“...You know, I guess a lot of aliens aren’t that different from people on Earth. I was expecting something more like octopus people or little green men. I mean, even that King Satamonia guy was kinda humanoid,” I said to Iris as I watched the people passing us by.
“It’s weird, but you’re right. Some people say it’s because all life in the universe began in the same place, but nobody—not even scientists—knows the truth.”
“Hmm... Couldn’t Satsuki use her Magic of Omniscience to find out?”
“Probably, but it would take a really long time.”
So she could find out if she wanted to, huh? I hadn’t thought about it before, but if Satsuki wanted to, couldn’t she win a whole bunch of Nobel Prizes like that? As I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard what sounded like a loud impact in front of me.
“A dine-and-dasher!”
There was a woman shouting as a man in flashy clothing jumped out into the street.
“Hey, he’s coming this way!”
Iris noticed first, but the dine-and-dasher was indeed headed in our direction. The street was filled with people, but he was expertly dodging them as he ran. I got in front of the girls and told them all to stand back so they wouldn’t get hurt. The man seemed to notice me, and we locked eyes for a moment.
“Kyah!”
“Oops!”
But he must’ve been too busy staring at me, because he failed to properly avoid a blue-haired girl on the street and was staggered off balance right in front of me. Wait, if he was some petty criminal, I was supposed to catch him, right?!
“Take this!”
LARIAT!
“Gwah!”
My lariat hit him hard, and he went flying back.
Plink!
“Huh?!” ...Gulp.
Something flew right at me, and with my mouth open in surprise, I accidentally swallowed it. Maybe a pebble or something got kicked up in the scuffle?
“Wow, Rekka! That was so cool!”
“Iris! If you pull on my arm that hard, your chest...”
“Right, right. Knock it off, you two.”
As Satsuki pulled Iris off me, the woman who was shouting in the street a moment ago came running up to us.
“You caught him for me? Thank you so much!”
She was probably the owner of a shop. She was a mermaid, too, and really pretty. She thanked us and brought the dazed man to his feet.
“You’re coming with me. If you don’t have money, there’s plenty of work to be done, so I sure hope you’re ready to get your hands dirty!”
“Oww... Don’t get so mad, miss. It’s a waste of a pretty face.”
“Shut up.”
“OWW!”
The man let out a pathetic shriek as the woman twisted his arm and raised it up. He seemed feisty, and we didn’t want him trying to run again, so we followed the woman back to her shop nearby.
“Oww... Miss, stop. Please. Please, just stop for a second.”
“If I do, you’ll just run away again, won’t you?”
“No, no. Not with that scary guy right there, I won’t. Can you at least let go of one arm?”
The man sounded so desperate that she took pity on him and let go of one of his arms. With his newly freed arm, the man made a flower appear in his hand like magic and handed it to the girl he’d run into a moment ago.
“I’m sorry for running into you, miss. Please take this as an apology.”
“U-Um, thank you!”
The girl, who wore glasses and had her blue hair tied into braids, took the flower a little hesitantly.
“Are you hurt? If you are, I’d be happy to nurse you back to—yeoowwwwch!”
“You’re going to be too busy washing dishes for me.”
The man’s pickup attempt came to an abrupt halt when the owner grabbed his arm again.
“Um, I’m not hurt, but I think I dropped my ring...” the girl said. She was forcing a smile, but she clearly seemed upset about it.
“Is the ring important to you?” the store owner asked.
“Yes. I think it slipped off my finger when he bumped into me...”
Wait, don’t tell me that ring was...
“Um, I think I might’ve swallowed it.”
“What?!” several people shouted at once.
“Well, something got into my mouth back there. I guess I accidentally swallowed it...”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s it, then. I saw the ring land on the ground and roll away.”
“Then maybe it’s under there?” Hibiki said, pointing to what looked like some kind of space-age vending machine.
“I thought so, too, but it was too dark to see anything when I looked...” the girl mumbled.
“Just leave it to me!” Tetra interjected.
“That’s right. You can see in the dark, can’t you, Tetra?” I asked.
“You bet!”
Tetra got on the ground to take a peek, let us know she’d found it, then slipped her hand underneath the machine.
“Is this it? It looks like some kind of toy,” she asked as she pulled it out.
“I’m so glad... This ring’s been precious to me ever since I was a little girl. Thank you... Tetra, was it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m Shirley. Shirley Madagascarwel Blood.”
Shirley happily took the ring from Tetra and smiled.
▽
Shirley said she was an astrogeneticist and astromechanical engineer who worked on all kinds of things, from genetic modification research to clones, robots, and cyborgs. She’d come to Berano for a vacation. Apparently, she went out for a walk and had gotten a little lost. She was trying to find her way back when that man ran into her. Talk about a bad way to spend your vacation.
“Ryugu Palace City has a lot of canals, so the streets often come to abrupt stops. If you’re here on your own instead of with a tour group, I recommend taking a gondola,” Rain said.
“Um... I haven’t been on a lot of trips, so I’m not used to stuff like that.”
“Want to go around with us, then?” I asked.
Shirley looked a little surprised at my offer.
“Can I?”
“Sure, I don’t mind. If you run into any more problems like that on your own, it might ruin your whole vaca
tion, right?”
“...All right. I guess I’ll take you up on that.”
And so Shirley joined our Ryugu Palace City tour. Since we were still basically strangers, she stayed behind the group and seemed a little tense at first. But fortunately, this was a resort town. There was a lot for us to do to have fun together. After watching a show of performing fish and trying some of planet Berano’s famous desserts, she opened up and joined in more freely. Tetra in particular seemed to take a liking to her, and they spent a lot of time talking to each other.
“So you’re the chief researcher at your lab, Shirley? That’s amazing.”
“But you’re leading a whole village and helping them grow, right? That seems a lot more amazing to me.”
Maybe they’d bonded over the ring, but Shirley seemed to take a shine to Tetra, too.
“Would you like to head back to Ryugu Palace, everyone?” Rain asked. “It will be dinnertime quite soon.”
“Yeah, I guess we can head back. Shirley, where are you staying?”
“Um, I’m staying at Ryugu Palace, too.”
“Oh, my,” Rain said.
What a coincidence. Wait, if she was staying there, did that mean Shirley was really rich?
“Then why not eat dinner with us?” Tetra volunteered.
Nobody objected. Our room was big enough that adding one more wouldn’t make a difference. We headed straight back to the hotel after talking about it, where we found Rosalind moping around the room still.
“Hahh... Here’s yet another girl.”
“Hey, you don’t need to sigh right in front of her!” I said to Rosalind under my breath.
“You don’t even understand why I’m sighing.”
Huh?
Well, whatever. Even if she looked unhappy, it didn’t seem like Rosalind was opposed to Shirley being there. We ended up inviting Rain, too, and everyone changed into yukata-like outfits before all 11 of us dug into a delicious dinner at Ryugu Palace.
“I didn’t expect there to be sashimi in space.”
“Tsumiki, isn’t this the octopus we saw from the turtlebus?”
Tsumiki and Tetra both worked in a restaurant, so they were curiously discussing each dish as it came out. They even asked Rain about a few of them.
I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 5 Page 4
