The sky begins to cloud just as night falls, dropping the temperature enough that bikinis are no longer the deck wear of choice. So far, the sail has gone exactly to plan, the spells smooth, the weather just right, and the puppets competent enough to handle the sail without needing to use up the summons.
He can call nine different supporters now, with two spots currently occupied by the pairs of Sailors and a spot by the Spider Queen. Having two water and two wind-type casters works out very well for them. They can push their speed a little, knowing that they've got a backup, and they can swap out when they get bored.
Cain decides to pull a pair of maid-type puppets out of his inventory before dinner, having them prepare and plate everything. They've got ready-made meals in their inventory still, expecting some busy days without time to cook, and since they got started late, Cain decides this is one of them.
Down below the ship has a a unique sort of table, one that tilts to remain mostly level as you're sailing, with a tall lip around the edge to keep things from sliding off. The spell casters make the journey pretty smooth, but it's not an exact science. Once they've got the premade meal portioned out, Cain has the maids call everyone down to eat, with Vala cracking jokes about ostentatious luxury and Misha teasing Mythryll about maid costumes.
The puppets are all female Elves because that's what Symbia stocks, and they do look somewhat similar to Mythryll if you're not looking at the faces.
"Every man loves maids. I tell you, borrow one of the costumes from Cain next time you're trying to land one, and you're guaranteed victory." Misha jokes.
"Forget that; he'd likely pick the Puppet." Mythryll laughs back, sliding onto the bench that wraps most of the way around the table.
Nila slides in beside her, grabbing a hand full of grapes and feeding one to Mythryll.
"Puppets lack personality. Just wait; we'll show you when we get to Landis. It's supposed to be huge, and nobody will know you there, so fresh slate."
They're joking over dinner when a warning call comes from the deck. Sea Monsters have been sighted on the horizon. Evangeline immediately puts a shield around the ship's hull, one of her specialties usually used on the Tank type summons, and they all rush up top to see what is coming.
They're baby Kraken, or [Giant Armored Octopus], at level 27. They're at least ten meters long and could easily sink a small fishing vessel. Cain quickly records their form and calculates that the ship won't be getting much nearer to them on the track they're currently traveling.
They're the first Sea Monsters the Guild has ever seen. Nila recalls many of them, but that's part of the innate memories granted to high-quality Summons; this is the first she's seen as a Companion.
Not long after they pass by, the lookout spots the reason why they've surfaced: a gigantic Deep Shark, an entirely black carnivore, and level 100 is patrolling the area. The two juvenile octopuses don't stand much chance if it gets a bite of them, but at the surface, the shark is limited in the directions it can attack them from.
It too is added to the list of summons, which Cain notes is seriously lacking in Sea creatures. What did Gillibrand do with his time that he amassed so few records? Did he farm one dungeon his entire second advancement?
The Deep Shark charges the ship, intent on getting some type of food out of the day, and Cain decides to even the playing field. The Giant Armored Octopus is a Greater Golem level Summon, so Cain calls his full compliment of two dozen to clear the area.
At level 180, they are terrifying, a hundred meters long if you count the tentacles, with a beaked maw wide enough to swallow a human whole and containing rows of sharp teeth inside. The tentacles are thicker than Cain's torso, with claws at the end and beaks in the suckers. All in all, a living nightmare of the Deepsea. Even the body has enormous white armor plates, making it difficult to seriously injure.
The Deep Shark begins to flee when they appear, and Cain sets his summons on a search and destroys mission. They're incredibly fast in the water, leaving the ship in their wake and quickly closing the distance to the Shark. It dives down to evade the pursuit; the very lowest depths of the ocean are its safe space, as the name Deep Shark implies. Most creatures do well near the surface or far below it, but rarely both. The Deep Shark is one of the exceptions.
It is not far enough, though, and only a few minutes later, the Giant Armored Octopus brings back is a corpse, much to the delight of Nila and Vala.
"Shark fin soup and fried Deep Shark for breakfast? If we start the stew now, it should have an incredible flavor by morning." The Dark Elf recommends.
Vala gives her a toothy grin and drags the corpse further on board, rubbing the head of the Octopus that delivered it to them. "I'll start the oil to fry Shark for a midnight snack."
"Fry some for the Octopus too. They look hungry. They can have the remainder of the corpse when you're done." The Octopus is very excited to hear that, giving Cain affectionate rubs with the soft side of their tentacles.
They have no problems keeping up, so Nila doesn't slow the ship while the midnight snack is prepared, brisket-sized fried fish portions being thrown to the Octopus before platters of smaller pieces are brought up by the maids.
[Now, this is living the good life.] The Seraphim Cain is merged with declares after Cain leans back against the bench, belly full of Shark. Vala has tossed the corpse to the swarm of Octopus and rinsed off the deck, the puppets scrubbing it back to what they deemed a tolerable level of clean at Nila's command.
[This is what you were after? Just a full stomach and a soft cushion?]
[It helps that your Companions smell good, but do you need more out of life?]
That normally intense and borderline fanatical Inquisitor makes a good point. If you don't want much, you can appreciate the little things.
Thinking of little things, Cain pulls Misha into his lap, dozing off with her in his arms. They awaken as the sun comes up, shining in their eyes, and realize that at some point, someone covered them with a blanket, though they're still sitting upright on the bench.
"Morning, boss. No further danger to report from the evening. We've cleared the Eastern point and begin to turn south. By tonight we can be in the first planned stop along the desert coast. A resort called Pampa. White sand beaches, coconut trees, and not much else, but it's a good spot to stop and stretch your legs. There's a dungeon there too, though a bit low level for you."
Mythryll comes up on deck dressed in a green sundress the same dark shade as her bikini. "A few days on the beach sounds like a good time. Let's check it out. It would be terrible if everyone got sick of sailing before we got to our destination."
"Just let me wash up and change before we get there. I don't want people thinking we're a Guild of hobos." Misha insists, getting up to walk to the head. The ship doesn't have a proper shower, but with water mages on board, it's easy enough to create freshwater or even a makeshift shower if necessary.
"Are you going to wash up too? You smell like saltwater and Misha's perfume." Vala points out.
"No need. If I do this..." Cain unequips all his clothing, shifting between forms and then back before getting dressed.
"All clean instantly, and it even applies a hint of cologne. Very nice." Mythryll whistles, smelling the musky, manly scent.
"That's not cologne; it's just what Ancients smell like. Clean humans don't have much of a scent to most species, so it's more noticeable when he's first changed into one." Nemu laughs before sniffing at Cain.
"It's a good smell, though. Like Forest and wet rocks with a hint of animal."
That's news to him. As they say, you never smell your scent until it's awful.
Everyone is back on deck, dressed to play on the beach when Pampa comes into view on the horizon. It doesn't have a pier big enough for their vessel; everything seaworthy is anchored offshore, but that's great for them. It's quiet out here without the noises of civilization they'd all gotten used to.
Once the anchor is set, and they're almost ready to lower the dinghy and go ashore, a small sailing vessel full of uniformed officials comes their way. "Welcome to Pampa. Entry fee is one Gold each daily, including food and drink."
So it's something like an all-inclusive resort? Cain heard about those in his previous life, but this is the first time he's ever been to one. This is going to be great.
