“Mmm” John let out as he woke up.

It was morning already. That meant that the ship to Atlas is arriving today, Serena didn’t say what time so John decided he should ask her now. He also didn’t know if he should mention anything about her being an elf, but he was curious.

As he tried to move his left hand, he felt that there was something heavy on top.

“This sensation… I could recognise it anywhere… Ariel.” John muttered.

John tilted his head to see what the cause of the heavy sensation was and he was right. It was Ariel.

‘How did she end up asleep on my bed when I saw her last night on hers? Wait, it’s better not to think about it.’ John wondered.

Under normal circumstances, John would have waited for Ariel to get up and enjoy letting her use his elbow as a pillow. But right now they have to make it to the Atlas ship.

“Ariel… Ariel, Hey Ariel wake up!” John said as he slightly shook her.

‘This girl… How can she be such a heavy sleeper?’ John wandered.

“Ariel, at this rate we might not go to Atlas…” He said.

The noise being made to wake Ariel, ended up waking up Serena. Serena silently got up and turned towards the direction of the sound before saying.

“Huh? Where is everybody?” Serena asked.

‘I’m sorry, I had no choice. This was a huge misunderstanding, and I’m enjoying my new life so I’d rather not die so early. The moment she got up I had cast ‘Furtim’ and ‘Silentium’.’ John explained to himself.

“Don’t tell me, they’re having breakfast without me!?” She said before getting up and rushing to the bathroom.

John let out a sigh of relief as he deactivated silentium and furtim.

“Look, Ariel, if you don’t wake up right now, I’ll die I’ll honestly di-” John said.

Before he could finish, Serena interrupted “You’ll what?” She asked with an icy smile on her face.

“G-g-good morning, Serena… There’s a perfectly valid explanation for this.” John said.

“Of course, couples sleep together, it’s normal. However, you’re too young to be doing that sort of thing, much less next to me!!! Even I was only allowed to this year!” She said.

“S-Serena you’re getting the wrong idea, I’m sure you remember right? Before you went to bed Ariel was sleeping on her bed.” John explained.

‘All right, that should have convinc-‘ He thought.ariel interrupted him

“So you ‘re saying you did those th-things to her while she was asleep!?” Serena said as she grabbed her wand.

‘Oi oi oi, wait a minute, didn’t I just make things worse… Crap, wasn’t that the wand she used in our fight? I’m not some beast!’ John thought.

“W-Wait, why don’t we c-calm down, I can explain! I didn’t d-” He spoke.

As John was about to explain, he was interrupted by Ariel, “Mn.. G-Good morning John.. Thank you for last night..”

…

“Oi… Ariel.. what do you mean by thank you?” John nervously said as he felt Serena’s piercing gaze.

“You were very warm…” She said with reddened cheeks.

‘Alright, mum, dad looks like I’m going to meet you. I’ve lived a life full of difficulties but I don’t regret it.’ John thought to himself.

“Your shoulder was..” She added on.

“Say that sooner! Serena’s already casting her spell!” John shouted.

—————————————————————

“I’m very sorry!” Said Serena as she bowed her head.

“It’s fine.. Mistakes happen, it’s partially her fault too.” John said as he looked at Ariel.

“Sorry!” Serena said as she bowed her head.

“So… Ariel, why were you even in John’s bed?” Serena asked.

“Why? We always sleep together..” Ariel replied.

“Don’t look at me! We were low on money and had only bought a room with one bed! But we didn’t do anything aside from sleeping together!” John said.

“Ariel, you shouldn’t sleep next to another guy, it’s dangerous.” Serena said.

“Oi.. Why am I the one that’s getting treated as the villain here..” John replied.

“No! John isn’t dangerous!” Ariel said.

“Ariel.” I said with teary eyes.

“Look, Ariel. I get it. All I’m trying to say is that a girl should only sleep next to a guy she plans on marrying or is engaged to.” Said Serena.

“Engaged… Marrying…” Ariel muttered as she looked at John.

‘Huh..? What’s that look supposed to mean..?’ John wondered.

“I-I understand, I won’t do it anymore” Ariel said as she stopped looking at John.

‘That was rather fast..?’ John thought.

“Serena… Since you two are good friends and you’re both girls. Please tell Ariel later why it’s only someone you plan on getting engaged to or marrying,” John requested.

“W-What..? Fine…” Serena said.

“What are you guys talking about?” Ariel asked.

“Don’t worry, Serena will tell you later.” John replied.

‘Not everyone goes through the same education, huh?’ John thought.

“Anyway.. Serena! What time does the Boat arrive?” John questioned.

“It arrives at noon from what I’ve heard..” She replied.

“Noon.. It’s been a while since sunrise… It should be arriving soon… Isn’t there anything which can read the time in this world?” John asked.

“You mean a clock? Yeah, but they’re mainly available for nobles.” Serena replied.

“Crap… So how do adventurers measure the time?” John asked.

“Hm? Like most, I track the sun’s position, others follow their shadow and I hear that there are people who look at the stars at night.” She replied.

‘So those basic methods work in this world too.. Good.’ John thought with a relieved expression.

“Alright, Everyone, pack your things. We’re heading to the port!” John said as he stared at the sun.

‘According to the sun’s position… There’s only an hour till noon.’ John estimated.

“Yes!” Ariel said as she started putting her belongings in a bag.

“Um John I- Are you alright? Your face looks a bit red… Why are you just staring at the sun?” Ariel asked.

‘My eyes are starting to hurt.’ John thought.

“Y-You know.. The sun is beautiful, staring at it calms me down.” He answered.

“O-Okay..? I just wanted to say that I forgot my belongings at the inn I was staying at.. So do you mind going with me to get them?” John answered.

“Of course not. You’re a member of our party now so no need to act so reserved around me…”

“John…” She said with a smile on her face.

“Yes?” John asked.

“It’s just… You would’ve sounded a lot cooler if there weren’t tears flowing out of your eyes as you said that.” Serena replied.

“Ah.. Don’t worry, it’s just one of the side effects from staring at the sun for too long. It also damages your vision.” John said.

“Like I asked, why are you staring at it?” Serena asked.

“There are times where a man must make sacrifices…” John replied.

“John…” She said again with a smile on her face.

“Yes?” John asked a second time.

“You’re crying.” She said.

——————————————————-

After Ariel packed her things, John packed his, and they followed Serena to her inn and waited for her to pack her things, before heading to the port.

“Ahhhh… Nothing beats the fresh breeze you can get from the sea. Ariel, what’s it like seeing the sea for the first time?” John asked.

Unlike what they expected, after entering the city through the gates, they weren’t able to see the ocean; they needed to head to the port to see it, but since they were busy, they didn’t have time. However, now she is finally able to see it.

“It’s beautiful…” Ariel replied as she stared at the ocean with sparkling eyes and a bright smile.

John stared at Ariel as her hair moved in motion with the breeze as it passed by.

“Yeah, it is. Hey ariel…” John replied as he looked at the sea.

“Hm, what’s wrong John?” Ariel asked.

“It’s nothing… Let’s move on.” He replied.

After they arrived at the port, they saw a few adventurers and merchants. There were around 50 waiting for the Boat to Arrive.

“There’s quite a lot.. Will we really be able to get in with this many?” John asked.

“Yeah, there’s no need to worry about that. They send 3 ships once a week which is capable of carrying 50 people each.”

“Ah, that’s good. Are you guys hungry? Looks like they’re selling sea food and drinks there.” John asked as he pointed at the food stalls.

“Yes!” Said the two girls.

And so they ate as they waited for the boat to arrive. And after half an hour it did.

“ID?” asked the boat guard at the entrance to the boat.

They spent 20 minutes waiting in life for our turn, so John handed the man his adventure’s card without saying a word. He just wanted to go inside as fast as possible. Ariel and Serena did the same.

“All right, that will be 3 Gold coins.” The guard said.

‘Expensive! Now I see why there are so many adventurers here in the port. Not everyone can afford the fees. But if you do, you should be able to make more in the dungeon, which is why the boat fees are so high.’ John thought.

“Yes… Yes… Wait a moment.” John said as he pulled out 3 gold coins from his magic tool box.

‘Wait… 3 Gold coins… Then that means it’s one Coin per person.’ John estimated.

“Oi… Serena… Give me a gold coin… I’m running low on funds.” John said.

“W-what.. are you talking about John… You’re the party leader. I believe this sort of fees are your responsibility…” She said.

“Why of course I’m responsible for the party, however any fees the members have to pay individually has nothing to do with me. Ariel is one thing, the money I have was made with her help as we went hunting but you just joined. Shouldn’t you be treating your seniors with more respect?” John replied.

Serena intentionally tried to avoid his gaze as he stared at her.

“You two stop fighting! Can’t you see that there are people in line waiting for us? Sorry guard, for wasting your time here.” Ariel said as she took the 3 gold coins off of John’s hands and handed it to the guard.

Seeing this the guard let them through and handed them 3 separate keys, with the numbers 31, 32 and 33 written on them.

“Sorry” they said to the guard as we passed by.

Seeing as how they were truly apologetic the guard said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What a nice guy… Now that I’m inside I’m starting to see how big this boat actually is…” John said.

“Of course! This boat is top-quality, It has food, drinks and it even has rooms for us to sleep in. Judging by our numbers our rooms are right next to each other. Why else did you think the fee was so high?” she asked.

“Yeah, the fees that I paid for.” John replied.

“Huh? Weren’t you the one who said that you were going to pay for anything yesterday to congratulate you and Ariel getting a new member? Besides, I already thanked you!” Serena said.

“That Was only for yesterday!” John replied.

As they continued to argue, they were both stopped as they heard Ariel chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” John asked.

“It’s just you guys look like you’re having a lot of fun. I’m sure you two are already close friends.” She said.

“Truce?” Serena asked.

“Sure.” John replied.

“Um… John… Sorry for getting mad at you, I’ve been very ungrateful…” Serena said.

“It’s fine… I was also being a bit childish. We’re party members thus we should help each other.” John replied.

“But you’re a kid? It’s normal to be childish.” Serena replied.

“Oh yeah that’s right” John said.

“pfft”

“haha”

The three of them laughed at his answer and just like that, they began their trip on the boat to Atlas. John didn’t mention anything about Serena being an elf, he was sure that she must have a reason not to tell them, but honestly he didn’t mind at all.. He really liked the elf race after all.