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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.”