When Odeta heard what Emilia said, she immediately hugged me from behind and started doing what I suppose was a Heimlich manoeuvre.
I said ‘suppose’ because she was pressing against my boobs instead of my stomach.
“Spit it out, Sister Aster!! Hurry, hurry!!”
“Ueegghhh…Wai–uueeghh… Ode–uueegghh…”
Emilia sighed, “Don’t bother, Miss Odeta… Anyone who ate that much Grey Powder would already be dead… So either there wasn’t any in the first place which is highly unlikely… Or Lady Aster is somehow immune to it as well…”
Ah… I guess that would be my [Iron Gut] at work?
Good thing I already predicted something like this happening to me because of my love for sweets, which was why I picked this boon in the first place.
Heh, with this perk, I can eat practically anything without worry for poisons, drugs or anything like that~
Hey, at least I recognised my shortcomings and took measures to deal with them… That’s something, right?
Odeta turned me around before lifting me up by my armpits to hold me at her eye level, “Are you ok Sister Aster?! Is your tummy hurting?!”
“I’m ok, really. You can put me down,” I assured her.
She didn’t look convinced but let me down anyway.
Emilia looked at me up and down again, “So do you feel any different? Maybe… A feeling that you can jump through dimensions or something?”
I shook my head, “Nope. Not even a little bit.”
Just to be sure, I even used [Screened] on myself to check if there were any changes to me.
[Name: Aster Nilm
Title: Young Mistress of Nilm Family, Dragonslayer, Most Adored Young Mistress, Lover of Sweets
Race: Meslatar
Gender: Futanari
Stats:
452 Strength
437 Dexterity
450 Endurance
470 Magic
Skills:
Hunting (Tier 2), Cooking (Tier 2), Alchemy (Tier 1), Martial Skill-(Dagger Proficiency (Tier 2), Unarmed Proficiency (Tier 2), Bow Proficiency (Tier 2), Sword Proficiency (Tier 2), Polearm Proficiency (Tier 1), Axe Proficiency (Tier 1))
Magic Skills:
Mana Management (Tier 2), Umbramancy (Tier 2), Electromancy (Tier 2), Lumenmancy (Tier 2), Pyromancy (Tier 1), Hydromancy (Tier 1), Aeromancy (Tier 1), Geomancy (Tier 1), Iatromancy (Tier 1)
Unique Skill:
Mind Shield]
Looks like my Strength and Dexterity went up by a point each, but aside from that there weren’t any– Hold on a minute… What’s with this new ‘Unique Skill’ section? This was definitely not there before…
[Mind Shield – Ability to use mana to protect the mind from external influences. Strength depends on the user’s Magic ability.]
Ok… I’m guessing that was from me trying to listen to Delmare’s singing… But wow, there’s unique skills in this World? This opens up a whole lot more questions.
Am I the only person who is able to use this skill? Am I able to teach it to someone else? How do you get other unique skills? Do they belong to a branch of magic or is it something else?
Most importantly… Is there a limit?
Putting that aside though, I don’t see anything new related to travelling to that ‘In-Between Planes’ or whatever it was Emilia had said.
“Why would they have chocolate packed alongside these Grey Powder though?” I asked.
“To smuggle them of course,” Emilia explained. “It may be illegal in every civilised settlement around here but there are people who will pay a lot just to get their hands on this.”
Odeta looked confused, “Why would anyone even want something that can kill them?”
“There’s other effects of the drug too. If prepared in certain ways, they can be taken to induce a sense of euphoria and grant people an unnatural high they would not be able to get otherwise. Some people also say that it allows them to peer into the future or see other Worlds too.”
So… Basically some kind of hallucinogenic or something?
I shifted my gaze to the crates filled with the drugs, “So where do they even come from? Some kind of plant?”
Emilia shrugged, “No one knows actually. Or rather, anyone that knows isn’t sharing it. The people dealing in them get them from a source who gets them from another source who would in turn get them from another source and they would have gotten them from… You get the idea. That’s why I have a feeling these pirates stole this bunch from a merchant that was smuggling them too.”
“They must come from somewhere, right?”
“There are some people who theorised that one of the Gods may be the one making them and leaving them around.”
I tilted my head, “Why would any of the gods even do something like that?”
“Come now, Lady Aster. The Gods have always been incomprehensible to mortals like ourselves… Is what those priests and priestesses might tell you. If you ask me? I’d say they just like to mess with us for their own amusement.”
She said it like she had experience with them…𝔬𝔳𝔩xt.𝚌𝑂𝑚
Odeta cracked her knuckles, “Alright! What should we do about them? Throw them into the sea? Burn them?”
Emilia gasped, “No way! Are you crazy?! Of course we aren’t going to do that! We’re going to smuggle them ourselves of course! Think of how much money they’re worth!! All these crates can easily get me at least ten thousand Creas per crate! I could get more if these were refined but unfortunately I don’t have the skill to do so and my contacts are out of reach considering our current situation.”
“Hold up,” I interrupted her. “We’re going to smuggle this stuff?”
“Did you think I made all my money clean, Lady Aster? Even the ship you were sailing on had contraband items you know? That’s where the money is! I’m definitely no stranger to smuggling~ In fact, if there’s anything you need, I’ll be sure to get it for you for the right price~”
Ok… I forgot that she would do pretty much anything for money… So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that she would do illegal stuff too…
“I’ll keep that in mind… Though I think we should go tell the others about our change of plans… They’re probably wondering if we abandoned them or something…”
Emilia nodded her head in agreement, “That’s true… In that case, could you go get them, Lady Aster? Miss Odeta and I can prepare the ship for departure.”
I looked at the crates, “You’re going to store them on the ship like that?”
The Amrap lifted one of the chests proudly, “Leave it to me, Sister Aster! I can carry these no problem!”
That’s not what I was worried about but… Whatever I guess… Worst case scenario, I’ll just take Odeta and fly off into the sunset.
Or you know… Throw them inside my Pack of Folding which I was starting to realise might be the perfect tool for smuggling… Until I remembered they do have magicians posted at city gates to check the contents of enchanted bags like this.
Nevermind then.
I went back outside and since the dress I was wearing was already ruined, I didn’t hesitate to spread my wings again to fly back to the cave. Too bad I don’t have a skill that allowed me to breathe underwater or I would have wanted to explore the underwater caves a bit more.
The place already looked amazing from the small sections that Delmare showed me and I felt regretful that I won’t get to see the rest of it…
Oh wait! I should just make a note to return to this place once I learn a skill or spell to help me breathe underwater! Yep! Let’s do that!
I continued flying towards the cave and surprisingly, I found Delmare sitting by the lake just outside of the cave entrance.
She immediately perked up the moment she saw me land.
“Ehhhh?! Aster?! You can fly?!” She gasped, staring at my wings with wide eyes.
“Umm… Yes? I’m a Meslatar. Did you think I was a Mahun?”
“Ohhh! It’s my first time seeing one! Your wings are so beautiful! Can I touch them?”
I felt a little shy but nodded before turning my back to her so that she could reach them.
She started caressing them with her slender fingers, making ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ sounds as she touched my wings.
It was a little ticklish but it actually felt nice to be touched there, like someone was caressing my arm or something.
“They’re so beautiful, Aster… I wish I had wings… But I can only swim underwater…”
I turned back to her, “Eh? But I was just thinking how nice it was to be able to swim and explore underwater! You must see a lot of amazing sights down there right?”
“Ehehehe~ If you’d like, I can take you there through the lake instead of the cave~ In return, could you fly me sometime?”
I gasped, “I would love to! Ah… But it isn’t very far, is it?”
She shook her head, “Not at all~ It’s even closer than moving from the library to my kitchen~ Do you mind getting wet again?”
“To get a chance to see the underwater caverns again? It’s worth it~”
“Ehehehe~ In that case, come here and hold my hand, I’ll bring you to my sisters~”
I complied, taking her by the hand and allowing myself to be pulled into the water.
The irony that I’m willingly allowing myself to be pulled into the water by a Siren was not lost on me. At least I wasn’t being drowned by her~
Now I just need to explain about the change of plans to the other Sirens and bring them to the cove before we can set off from this island~