Chapter 524 – #110_The Deep Sea Witch (4)
#524
1.
Ruelle, who was walking about three steps ahead up the stairs, spoke in a solemn voice that was truly befitting of a queen.
Though, considering the content, it sounded more like a senior employee talking to a new recruit.
“How was your first day?”
“So far, there have been no difficulties, Your Majesty.”
All he had done was polish the corridor after being told to clean diligently.
Even that was something he had taken the initiative to do.
He didn’t think he should be hearing this kind of talk already…
“Have you been informed of the precautions?”
“I regret to say, I have not, Your Majesty.”
Ruelle continued to speak, as if she didn’t care about such things.
“Do not, under any circumstances, enter the lower engine room, which can be accessed by ladder, as it houses the reactor and magic power generator. Furthermore, you must not touch the external control consoles.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“As you may have guessed, Akula, my workshop and kingdom, is a romantic, unprecedentedly large super-submarine. It is 172 meters long, 23 meters wide, and do you know its underwater displacement? A whopping 48,000 tons! 48,000 tons!”
Her voice was very excited.
Should he play along a little?
“No, way! Such a large submarine exists! I have never heard of such a thing!”
The back of Ruelle’s head, with a small tiara perched like a crown, stopped abruptly.
She turned around quickly.
Was it just his imagination, or did her expression say, ‘You’re the first one to react like that!’?
She carefully scrutinized Siwoo’s reaction, enunciating each word.
“As I mentioned earlier, it uses a modified OK-650 pressurized water reactor as its power source.”
“Are you saying… it’s a nuclear submarine?”
He gave a reaction as if he had just learned an unbelievable fact, his jaw dropping, and Ruelle’s shoulders trembled as if she was in ecstasy.
“There’s nothing so great about it. A reactor is essential to smoothly supply power to a submarine of this size.”
“I can’t believe it… I just can’t.”
“Originally, it should be manned by 160 crew members, but through system automation, it can be operated by only 25 elite crew members under my command.”
“Only 25 people… operating such a massive submarine! To be able to serve as a slave in such a magnificent kingdom, I am humbled by Your Majesty’s great benevolence.”
They say praise makes even whales dance.
Ruelle’s eyes sparkled with a satisfied expression, as if she had completely forgotten the previous bad blood.
“I see. I must show you more of Akula, no, introduce it to you. Follow me.”
“It would be an honor!”
And so began the submarine tour.
He had roughly expected it when he was peeking at the funeral, but he couldn’t help but gape at its enormous scale.
It didn’t have the very sophisticated feel of Gehenna’s interior, but the various rooms were decorated in a way that could never be called modest.
If the corridor that Siwoo had been cleaning with a mop had sacrificed convenience for functionality, the upper floor, which seemed to be her living space, felt like it had gathered all sorts of luxuries that were not normally available on a submarine.
Ruelle walked ahead of Siwoo, bragging about her kingdom like a real estate agent.
First, there was a long table with shelves stacked with liquor bottles like a fortress wall.
Perhaps it was due to the peculiarity of being a ‘bar,’ but despite the slightly outdated design and lighting, it had a strong classic feel.
“This is one of the prides of the kingdom, Malt Vine. It is a collection of all sorts of rare whiskeys that cannot be tasted now.”
However, the liquor bottles displayed under the fancy lighting were too classic.
Even if the label designs were old-fashioned, many of the labels were worn, and the bottles had too many scratches, making them opaque.
They were closer to antiques.
“This is amazing! They all seem to be great vintage wines!”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Was he being too obvious?
Ruelle shook off the insincere flattery with a serious expression.
Just as he was getting a little anxious, wondering if he had made a mistake, Ruelle continued.
“The liquors displayed here were all salvaged from shipwrecks. While liquor is usually limited by storage conditions, they have all been aged to perfection by the water pressure and optimal temperature of the sea.”
Ruelle went behind the bar table and showed him each bottle.
Honestly, just by looking at the shape and condition of the bottles, they looked like they were used to store sesame oil…
“This one is a 120-year-old cognac, this one is a 140-year-old liqueur, and this one… is a whiskey that was found on the Titanic, which you may know about.”
Only then did Siwoo realize the value of this bar.
This bar was not just displaying old liquor, but cognacs that could no longer be obtained and whiskeys that contained history.
“Oh…”
Ruelle seemed satisfied with his sincere admiration.
“A wise king must keep away from sweet flattery. So, do not try to please me with shallow words.
Even if you do not try to praise me, my greatness will make you utter sincere admiration.”
Despite saying that, Ruelle was very pleased with the shallow praise, but it didn’t matter.
He had been drinking only poor-quality wine that didn’t even have any solids in it lately, so he was curious about what the whiskey found on the Titanic tasted like.
But unfortunately, he didn’t get to taste the liquor.
Ruelle quickly put the liquor back on display and set off for the next destination, as if she was in a hurry.
“This is the central bathhouse of the kingdom. Can you believe it? A bathhouse on a submarine.”
He wondered why the place he had just entered was a bit humid, and it turned out to be a bathhouse.
“I warm myself here and contemplate the proper affairs of state.”
The bathhouse itself was nothing special.
It was clean and tidy, but it was nothing compared to the bathhouse in Levana, or even the twins’ personal bathtub.
However, the fact that it came with a fancy sauna was quite a culture shock.
He had thought that life on a submarine was supposed to be based on strict asceticism.
He didn’t know if it was the power of magic, or if the technology was originally this advanced.
Ruelle also showed him a theater, an arcade, a library with tens of thousands of magic books, and a dining hall.
It was as if she had crammed an entire small shopping center into the submarine.
“Finally, I will show you what you need to do.”
The last stop on the submarine tour seemed to be this huge wooden door.
The door, decorated with elaborate ornaments, looked like the most effort had been put into it.
As soon as Ruelle stood in front of it, the door opened automatically.
Behind it was her bedroom, which was larger and had a higher ceiling than any room he had seen so far.
“……”
He didn’t even have the energy to think, ‘A bedroom, out of the blue?’
Because the ceiling and both walls of the bedroom were reflecting a dark, pitch-black space like the universe.
Siwoo realized that it was the scenery of the deep sea.
Perhaps the deep sea really was like the universe, in that it was an unknown realm where one could not see an inch ahead, where not a single ray of light reached.
Since this was a deep place, wouldn’t it be possible to see a fantastic view if he just went to the sea where a little light came in?
“Isn’t it beautiful? Through special alchemy, we can see the outside view from the inside. Anyway, this is not our destination, so keep following me.”
But the bedroom itself didn’t seem to be the destination, as Ruelle quickly moved on.
Passing by the huge bed and luxurious furniture, they went through her bedroom and into another room that was directly connected to it.
“This is where my most precious treasures are kept.”
Ruelle said in a low voice and slowly opened the door.
The place was filled with dazzling light and was completely covered with white tiles from the ceiling to the floor.
And in the middle, piled up like a mountain, were…
“Your duty is to judge the value of the items in here.”
Junk.
It was junk itself.
There were very old-looking machines, crumpled magazines that he couldn’t identify, pottery, and something that looked like a half-burnt part of a high-tech device.
Pottery, washing machines, metal objects placed in crates, and so on.
Even though Ruelle didn’t say it directly, Siwoo knew where these items came from.
From the bottom of the sea, probably.
Still, they were very clean, having been washed and dried, so they weren’t just left as they were when they were salvaged.
“One of my hobbies is to salvage treasures buried in the sea. The items gathered here were all collected in that way. But I have little knowledge of the modern world. So, starting tomorrow, you will come here to evaluate the value of the items, classify them, and create a list.”
Honestly, it was hard to understand how she, who had rattled off the specifications of a submarine that Siwoo didn’t even know, had little knowledge of the modern world.
“Then… is this in addition to my cleaning duties?”
As he spoke in the historical drama tone that he was slowly getting used to, Ruelle waved her hand and replied.
“That’s not necessary. Akula is equipped with a function that automatically maintains hygiene. Isn’t the air so clear? This is a much more important duty than cleaning. Be careful in carrying it out.”
“I will obey your command.”
And so, Siwoo’s position was promoted from corridor cleaner to warehouse keeper in just one day.
