#117 Orc of the Sea

I am Orkubo, a humble servant of Saint Kidan belonging to the orc team.

For some reason, I’ve become their representative even though there are other senior orcs like me.

It is not something I desired, but now that I’m in charge, I make sure to do my best every day.

Everyone on the farm is my friend.

Lord Saint’s enemies are also my enemies.

As I spent my days working earnestly, my friends started calling me “Orkubo the Reserved” or something like that.

But why?

It’s not like I’m being silent on purpose...

Our team is often compared to the goblin team lead by Gobukichi since we’re both monsters, but we get along well.

Gobukichi, a.k.a “Gobukichi the Rowdy,” has been a long-time friend of mine since our arrival on the farm.

I take pride in the fact that I’ve been able to support Lord Saint without any serious mistakes thanks to my fastidious teamwork with him.

Enough about me. Let us go back to the time when we tried constructing something during winter—the ship.

Lord Saint’s farm is close to the sea so it has become a custom for those who are free to go to the beach to collect seaweeds and shellfish.

Until the waterway was drawn, our water supply solely relied on Lord Saint’s sacred power to remove the saltiness from the sea. The sea truly is a source of abundant blessings.

We plan to receive even greater blessings from the sea this time.

By going out to fish in a boat, we can catch all types of fish we weren’t able to catch before, and that too, in large quantities.

Wanting to increase our supplies in accordance to the steady increase in residents shouldn’t be a futile act.

“Huh? But we can just revert to our mermaid forms and catch fish in the sea...” said Lady Platy, however...

We’re still going to do it! It’s worth the challenge!

And so, we carried on with our plan.

The more options we have, the better!

We orcs are big and strong in nature, hence constructing and putting together large objects became our main job.

Under Lord Saint’s orders, we made the mansion that lies at the center of the farm as well as the waterway I just mentioned.

Thanks to this, we were able to accumulate experience and skills to make our longhouse.

However, this knowledge doesn’t apply to ships.

Building a ship requires skills that you don’t get from building houses or drawing a waterway, so you can only acquire them by hands-on experience.

The only ship I’ve ever seen was the one Lady Astres, now Demon Queen, came on.

However, when I heard from Lady Batemy that the ship was powered by magic, I realized that we won’t be able to use it for our reference.

In the end, we had to ask for advice from Lord Saint.

It never occurred to me to use a dragon bone in place of lumber as the hull to increase its strength or suspend a piece of cloth so that it moves by catching wind.

Lord Saint’s intellect truly has no bounds.

Thanks to this newfound knowledge, we were able to complete the ship.

Our plan has finally bore fruit.

After multiple attempts during the winter, we managed to finish it in spring, the perfect time of the year when fishes are plentiful.

Well then, let’s take this ship for a sail and catch fish offshore!

“Don’t catch the fries, it will ruin the ecosystem. All right?” gently warned Lady Platy.

After conducting several tests to confirm its safety, we finally set sail!

Those who were at the beach went out of their way to see us off.

“Don’t sail too far out, okay? Always look out for land, okay? Do you have a compass with you? Eat the lemons you brough on board every day, all right? Otherwise, you’ll get scurvies!”

Lord Saint was tremendously worried for us.

He can actually be quite the worrywart.

It’s not like we’ll be out in the sea fishing for days, My Lord. We plan to return by sunset.

“If you ever get lost at sea, ask a passing mermaid to help you. I’ve sprinkled an identification potion around the ship so they’ll immediately know that you’re related to me.”

We are grateful for your concern, Lady Platy.

But this ship isn’t the only thing we prepared during winter!

We made fishing rods out of the bamboo that Lord Saint grew in the mountain dungeon as well as nets made of straw!

Ten of us from the orc team went on board.

We will definitely come back with a huge haul!

＊　　　　＊　　　　＊

It has been three days since we set sail.

We’re lost in the middle of the sea.

We’re still lucky that we can still see some land, but its terrain is completely different from our farm.

We don’t know which way to go to get us back to the farm, so we’ve been stranded here.

Lord Saint told us that we should go along the direction that the compass points, but I committed the greatest mistake of my life by forgetting how to read it.

Wind hasn’t been blowing since yesterday, the ship isn’t moving an inch.

We have nothing else to do now but to devote ourselves to fishing.

“Leader, we caught another one!”

Call me “Captain” when we’re on the ship, not “Leader.”

As for me, I haven’t caught a single fish ever since we set sail.

“...I never would have expected that we’d end up adrift,” said Orkuma, a fellow senior orc who boarded the ship.

He’s also a team leader and a friend who’s been with me through thick and thin.

“I’m sure Lord Saint must be worried about all of us... Oh well, we’ll manage.”

That’s right, we’ll manage.

...Still no bite.

“Why did you suddenly come up with this, Orkubo?”

Come up with what?

“Building a ship to set sail and catch fish is what I mean. I’ve always thought you were the steadfast type who’s loyal to Lord Saint’s every word and prioritizes it more than anything...”

So, you weren’t expecting me to come up with ideas on my own?

...Our main task involves construction.

We managed to finish drawing the waterway after a long time. And now that the farm also has more than enough buildings, I thought that the orc team would fall out of work at this rate.

“That’s why you made up a new job?”

As the leader of the orc team, I cannot afford to keep my allies unengaged. There’s no point in being a leader if I’m just waiting for Lord Saint’s instructions.

Me and Orkuma’s teams are here drifting at sea while our fellow seniors, Orkura, Orkuninushi, and Orktober’s teams remain at the farm.

There are still enough personnel to do the labor.

“I see. Well, in that case, we’ll be sure to bring home a big catch and grace our leader’s idea!”

Considering the situation that we’re currently in, I feel like my plan has become a total disaster, though.

...Forget about that, I’m going to land a big one this time! I’ll live up to my title as a leader by catching a big...

There it is!

I pulled out of the water from my fishing rod and was now flopping around the deck.

It was as big as a person!

Actually, it was a person.

A mermaid, to be exact.

“Leader! Did you catch one?!”

“Amazing! Only Lord Saint could fish a mermaid!”

“As expected from our Leader! You rival even Lord Saint!!!”

The other orcs were rejoicing but... that’s not quite it.

This wasn’t the fish I was hoping to catch.

I only have a bad feeling about fishing a mermaid.

“Blasted land-dwellers! Why did you fish me?!”

I knew it, she’s angry!

“You’re going to pay for this! The revenge of Zoth Syra, Witch of the Abyss, is upon you!!!”