C174: THE SEA PRINCE’S DEPARTURE

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Prince Arowana said he was going on a pilgrimage, which naturally shocked us.

After all, he’s the heir to the Mermaid Kingdom that rules the seas.
Moreover, the destination of his journey is on land.

He said he would visit various places on land to broaden his knowledge and gain exposure.

“Well then, may we meet again.”

He’ll start from our farm.
However, since the farm is surrounded by a vast expanse of uninhabited mountains and fields, he would first have to teleport to the Demon Kingdom’s capital and then tour the country from there.

Puffer is the most upset by this decision.

“No! I’m going with you!”

Even now, she still flails around whilst being restrained by the others.

She adores Prince Arowana so much that she looks forward to his visits more than anything else, so it must be torture to have that taken away from her, which leads her into thinking that she should just accompany the prince to have him all to herself.

…But that would be problematic for us.

“You are now an indispensable asset to our farm for the production of fermented foods and the management of the freezer, Puffer.”

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Being away for several days is still tolerable, but our food storage system will break down if she’s gone for several months.

“Puffer.
I appreciate your concern, but you and I both have missions to fulfill in our respective areas, and we must do our best to fulfill them, am I right?”

With the help of Prince Arowana’s persuasion, Puffer was able to calm down.

“Prince… Then, please take this!” says Puffer as she holds out a pendant of some kind.

It looks like a crystal pendant as clear as ice.

“Think of this as me and keep it close to you!”
“All right.
I’ll wear it around my neck at all times,” says the prince as he wears the pendant he had received.

Seeing their exchange, I realized that Puffer unexpectedly has a cute side to her.

“Prince Arowana, please take him as well,” I say as I introduce one orc.
“Let him accompany you.
Traveling alone poses lots of danger.”

He’s a mutated Warrior Orc helping us with farm work.
Though he’s not one of the leaders like Orkubo, he’ll still be of help if something goes wrong.

“I can’t possibly do that, Lord Saint! Isn’t he a valuable worker on the farm?”
“He’s been wanting to see the outside world for a while now, so please let him come and see the world with you.”

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All right, let’s give a name to the orc who will be accompanying Prince Arowana on his journey.

Orcs have a human-like face in this fantasy world, but back in my world, they were often depicted with the face of a pig.
Thus, the name I’m giving him is…

“Hakkai!”

My lame references still haven’t ended.

Prince Arowana, equipped with a shell shield and a crescent-blade pike like Sha Gojo, will have an orc named Hakkai accompanying him on his journey.

May they find the monkey and the monk during their travels.

And then, there’s Platy.
Even though she’s Prince Arowana’s sister, she only chose to appear now.

“I admire your decision to self-train to become the Mermaid King, but what are you going to do about our deal?”

Her farewell words are as harsh as ever.

“We’ve been relying a lot on the compounding tools and supplies you deliver from the palace.
What are we supposed to do once our supply is cut off?”
“Worry not, little sister.
I’ve already arranged for a substitute.”

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A substitute?

“He should take over during my absence.”
“He better be a decent one.
I wouldn’t want this place exposed.”

Platy’s serious look, however, quickly fades.

“Well, it would be boorish of me to complain any more than this when I should be seeing off my brother who is trying to improve himself.
Take care, okay?”
“Of course.
The next time we meet, you’ll see a fine mermaid king in me!”

With one last display of brotherly intimacy, Prince Arowana went on with his journey.
A journey of tribulations to become king.

“You’ll miss him, won’t you, sister-in-law?”

After Prince Arowana left, Platy immediately starts teasing Puffer.

“Well, it’s not like long-distance relationships don’t exist.
Just accept it and wait for my brother to return…”
“The pendant I gave the prince.”
“Huh?

Puffer’s tone of voice hints at something.

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It’s as if she’s confident of victory.

“When I heard the prince was going on a pilgrimage, I rushed to Sensei and made a pendant using the crystal I worked so hard to make.”
“Huh, what? Sensei, as in, Sensei the Lifeless King?”
“It was a combination of coincidence and miracle that will never occur a second time.
It’s a portable waypoint crystal pendant containing data on teleportation waypoints.”
“What?!”
“As long as the prince has it, I can use teleportation magic to go wherever he is since I also learned how to cast the magic from Sensei…” says Puffer as she smashes a test tube containing some mixture with her foot.

Smoke rises from its spilled contents and envelops Puffer’s body.

“Don’t worry.
I’ll return every day before I start making those pickles.”

With that, Puffer disappears with the smoke.
She’s probably with Prince Arowana by now.

“…But a portable waypoint crystal is unprecedented!’
“It’s enough of a historical event to overturn the Magic Research Association!”
“And she even said she learned how to use teleportation magic… So, she was able to infuse the demon race’s alchemy into the mermaid race’s pharmaceutical magic? Tell me that isn’t the work of a genius!”

Platy and the other mermaids who witnessed the scene are all stunned.
Even to my untrained eye, I could see that Puffer made a miracle of miracles.

That’s just how magnificent the power of love is.