Let’s Start an Inn on the Dungeon Island! - Chapter 17

September 23rd, 2022

The canoe was ready by noon the next day.

Cecily really managed to finish it in just a little over a day.

“Shirou, do you want to try boarding the canoe now?”

“Sure!”

After I had Cecily explained how to use the paddle to row the canoe and what to do if it capsizes, the two of us embarked on the sea.

“Since the waves are calm, let’s go around the island along the coastline”

Perhaps because Cecily’s teaching method was good, our canoe glides smoothly across the sea.

Colorful flowers bloomed on the shore and entertained our eyes. I’ve walked along the coastline with Chris before, but it was the first time I’ve taken a good look of this island from the sea.

“Shirou, does this island have a name?”

“I wouldn’t know, since I got drifted here”

“Then you should give it a name. I think Shirou Island would be fine”

No way, naming it as Shirou Island would be a total embarrassment. I don’t want it to be named as Sanada Island either [1]

I have no desire to show off, but it’s true that it will be inconvenient if the island doesn’t have a name….

Let’s see, there’s mountain in this island so… Yamada Island? [2]

No, that’s too simplistic.

I know. Rather than using my name, let’s use Chris’ name as another discoverer of this island. Thus, let’s call this island as Monte Chris Island [3]

We departed from the cove of the Crescent Moon coast and headed for the south side of the island.

“Seems like there are many steep cliffs on this side”

“Aaah. Don’t get too close to the cliffs yet, you’re still unfamiliar with canoeing”

There were many cavities in the cliff, which have been eroded by waves and become like caves.

“That’s amazing; it looks like a secret dock. Don’t you think it could be used as a base for submarines or pirate ships?” [4]

“If the waves were a little calmer, it would be possible to hide a ship here. Huh?”

Cecily stopped paddling and stared at one of the caves.

“Is something wrong?”

“I thought I saw something like a stairway in the back of that cave.”

If there’s a stair, that would mean there’s someone on this island, right?  Even though it’s been over 10 days since I came to this island, I’ve never met a single person who’s a native here.

“Shiro, let’s check it out. It’ll be swaying a lot, be careful”

Cecily skilfully maneuvered the canoe into one of the caves. The waves were rough near the entrance of the cave but calmed down as we went deeper.

“Look, it’s over there”

Cecily, who created a fireball in her hand, was pointing to the left. It was a staircase carved out of a natural rock wall.

No matter how you look at it, it’s not something that happen naturally, but made with a human hand. Only that, it looks really old.

“Let’s go and check it out…”

Cecily jumped out of the canoe first, then pulled me up.

“There are no signs of monsters or humans but be careful. If something happens just stay behind me”

“Yes”

It’s okay, I’m nervous, but not to the point where I can’t move. I had enough space to admire Cecily’s slightly larger buttocks as she climbed the stairs ahead of me.

There was a large hole at the top of the stairs, and the sunlight was pouring down. It gets brighter with each step, and when we had climbed all the steps, we found ourselves on the sheer cliffs we had seen from the sea.

The sea was about 15 meters below us, and I was paralyzed with fear of height. It feels like my legs turned into jellies and unable to walk properly.

“I’m sorry, Cecily. Let me hold on to you for awhile”

I’m such a wimp, I can’t even handle high places. If it were on Earth, everyone would think of me as a miserable man, but Cecily just smiles and let me do as I please.

Rather, she seemed happy to be hugged by the waist.

Viva Isekai World!!

“Are you scared? It’s okay”

Cecily tried to embrace me but was a bit hesitant. Thanks to that we were now in an awkward position where the side of my head was pressed into her chest.

This is bad… in a different way. Now I’m unable to walk properly due to different reason.

——————————————————————–

After enjoying the scenery from the top of the cliff, I turned my eyes to the forest in the opposite direction.

“I wonder which part of the island we are currently now”

“Most probably, our position is around the south of your cave, Shirou”

I had never been to the south of the cave because it is densely forested. So if I keep going south from the cave, I’ll come out to this place huh. Maybe it’ll be a good idea to have Iwao to clear the path to here, since it seems I can catch a lot of fish here.

“Can we take a look inside the forest? There may be some fruit trees”

Cecily nodded with a smile.

After walking over the large rocks towards the forest, there was a stone pavement that was clearly man-made. The corners of the stone had weathered over the years, and the surface was partially covered with sand and grass, but the path continued into the forest.

“Cecily, this is…”

“I think we’ll be fine, but don’t let your guard down. Walk right behind me”

Cecily started walking with a slightly nervous expression.

Within five minutes of further walking, we came upon a clearing in the forest, and a large building were in front of us.

It’s a small ruin-like building made up of huge stones, and the stones themselves were decorated with reliefs.  The detailed pattern is no longer clear because it’s already weathered, but it must have been carved with an elaborate design at the time it was made. The height of the ruins was about 10 meters. There were five steps in front, leading to a stone door.

“It looks like a South American ruin”

I feel like it resembles the buildings of the Mayan civilization or the Aztec civilization that I saw on TV.

“No, this is not a ruin…”

Cecily was trembling, but it doesn’t seem to be because of fear, since she had a ferocious smile like a hunter finding a prey.

“Then, what is this building?”

“This is a dungeon! Never have I thought there would be an untouched dungeon in a place like this!”

Cecily, unable to contain her excitement, looked around the building. However, this made me uneasy.

“Dungeon is, you know, something with lots of traps and lots of monsters, right?”

“Yep! And lots of treasures too!”

They might be treasures there, but monsters are scary!

“Cecily, don’t tell me you intend to go inside?”

There won’t be any monster jumping out just as you try to open the door, right? I certainly hope not!

“Don’t worry. It would be unthinkable for me to try to enter the dungeon alone. I need to gather some friends first …and there are things I need to do before that”. Cecily’s face darkened.

“…is it… a revenge…?”

“Yeah… I have some debt to settle with them. Besides, that’s my damn ship”

I don’t think fulfilling her revenge will make Cecily happy. However, if she can’t move forward without doing so…

“Well, first of all, we’re going to need a ship if you want to get out of this island, right?”

“…you’re right”, Cecily said so without looking at me in the eye.

“Alright, I’ll make a canvas so you can use it as sail in your ship. I’ll help you get back into the sea”

“Shirou…”

＃＃＃＃

Item Production：Canvas

Category：Material Production

MP Consumption :　75

Explanation：A tough cloth used to make sails for ships. Size 4m x 8m

Production Time：14 hours

＃＃＃＃

Using the trees on the island, it is possible for Cecily to make a simple ship. However, a canvas is another thing, there’s no way she can create it by just using anything on the island.

Since she’ll be going to travel long distances, body reinforcement alone won’t be sufficient since she can’t possibly row all the way across the ocean. However, with sail made from canvas and wind magic I’m certain she’ll be able to reach her destination.

“Shirou… If I… If I have finished with my revenge, can I return here to this island?”

Certainly. At that time we will have another toast with mango juice. And next time, I would heal not just Cecily’s physical injury, but her emotional injury too.

I thought so from the bottom of my heart.

———————————————————–

1 His family name, just in case anyone forgot

2 Yama means mountain

3 There is a pun here, but lost in translation. Since in Japanese an island name has a suffix -tou, it becomes Monte Christou, or Monte Cristo. Monte Cristo Island does exist, by the way. It’s located in Italy, and it’s also a small island with a small mountain, so it has some resemblance to the island on the Web Novel

4 Pretty sure Cecily won’t know what a submarine is. Or maybe it does exist in that world, albeit in different shape/concept