I was accidentally injured by God and I just want to be an ordinary person

"Huh? So, it's not a dead fish... That's great..."

Jinghua came back to his senses and kept patting his chest and breathing slightly.

While smiling at Jinghua's actions, Ella walked towards the captain standing behind Iris and others. Although she was very hungry, she couldn't talk to the captain while eating dried fish. What's more, her identification skills showed that the other party was a noble from a distant country, so basic etiquette still had to be observed.

"This is the Captain, right?"

"No, no, Miss, you don't need to use honorifics. Miss Iris has already told me your origins. I'm so lucky to be able to hire a team of adventurers like this, a Crimson Gold-ranked team, to escort our merchant ship. Thanks to you ladies, once the cargo is loaded at noon, we can depart this afternoon."

Hearing the words of the Crimson Gold-level adventurer, Ella looked at Iris. The reason why they were able to reach an agreement so quickly and send snacks for free was probably because Iris and the captain had reached an agreement that they had to ensure the safety of the merchant ship, and the merchant ship had to provide free food and accommodation - maybe there were also gold coins, but those were irrelevant things and it was okay to ignore them.

Laughing loudly and patting his chest, the bearded captain, who was about forty years old, began to introduce himself.

"I am Ross, the master of this ship. Although I hold the position of lord in the western Kingdom of Lisjack, I am currently in another country. You ladies are rare and powerful people in this land. Please do not worry about unnecessary etiquette. It would be a great help if you could treat me as an ordinary merchant."

"Then I'll just call you Captain Ross."

Ella nodded slightly in greeting, and Captain Ross laughed heartily. With his shirtless outfit and unusually developed muscles, if he had covered his eyes with a black eye patch, he would definitely be mistaken for a pirate in his original world. In fact, Jinghua behind him was muttering to himself, "I didn't expect to see pirates in the real world."

"Although the route from the Kingdom of Untermil to the Kingdom of Kumiheim is relatively safe, we must not be careless. Normally, if you encounter bandits or small monsters, you ladies can simply leave them to the other adventurers I hired. However, if you encounter monster attacks in places with turbulent waters, you will need to rely on the Crimson Gold ranks."

"No problem, but is this okay?"

Not to mention that you might not encounter any monsters when passing through a place with fast-flowing water. First of all, even if you encounter robbers, you don’t need to take action yourself. Wouldn’t that make you seem too arrogant?

But the captain just nodded repeatedly, as if he was afraid that Ella would change her mind.

"That's good. That's good."

"Hmm, okay, if we're leaving in the afternoon, can I go to the inn on the shore and get something to eat first?"

"The ship's kitchen has prepared lunch. If you don't mind, you can enjoy it in the dining room on the second deck. Also, the first deck below is where you and your companions live. If you have any questions, you can ask the sailor in charge of cleaning directly."

"I understand. Captain Ross, if you need anything, you can just call me. My name is Ella."

For some reason, when Captain Ross heard Ella say, "You can call me directly if you need anything," the muscles on his face twitched, but in the end he thanked Ella, explained some precautions, and then disappeared from everyone's sight.

"What a strange man! He hired us but didn't let us deal with robbers and monsters."

"Of course, that's right. If we act on our own, it doesn't count. If the captain asks us to do something, we'll charge ten gold coins for it."

"ha?"

Ten gold coins can allow an average family to live a wealthy life for three or four months, which is definitely not a small amount of money.

Iris sighed slightly and explained with her hands on the deck railing.

"After all, they're Crimson Gold-rank adventurers, so this fee is quite cheap. I asked around at the docks before, and adventurer teams above level 30 are highly sought after in the kingdoms. Even if you beg for mercy, it's hard to hire them. If the state were the employer, it would cost at least one platinum coin to hire them, so ten gold coins is a pretty good price."

"No wonder Mr. Ross has that expression..."

Lotte smiled bitterly.

If it costs ten gold coins to go out once, of course you should try to avoid invitations, otherwise you will face the dilemma of losing all your money after a few times. However, compared to being attacked by monsters and losing your life, ten gold coins seem to be particularly cost-effective, and your group is a kind of insurance.

"It's fine even if I don't charge any fees. Iris is absolutely a devil..."

"It would be very troublesome if I were asked to do this all the time, so I decided to set up this insurance policy just in case."

"Wait, wait, where are the Kumi?"

Halfway through eating the dried fish, Jinghua suddenly remembered Kumi's existence and shook his head and looked around.

It was Mitis who answered the question.

"Olds said he wanted to earn the right to ride on the ship with his own hands, so he went with Kumi and the others to help transport the goods."

Because they were a labor force that did not need to eat, Captain Ross agreed to Olds' request without much thought. In fact, the Kumi were very popular workers in the kingdoms, second only to the skeletons among the undead.

"I see... I have a nagging feeling."

"No, no, Jinghua also has his own mission. Once we reach the capital of the Kingdom of Kumiheim, we will need Jinghua's help."

"But, can someone like me really become a saint? I've never received a proper aristocratic education..."

"It's okay. If you study hard, you'll eventually become a saint admired by everyone."

With an expression of deep understanding, Ella encouraged Jinghua.

Not long after, sailors walked onto the deck from the shore. It seemed that it was lunchtime. In addition to them, there were also some adventurers wearing leather armor or metal armor.

At first, the highest-ranking young man among the adventurers tried to strike up a conversation with Iris, Angelica, and Mitis, who were staying on the deck and not heading to the restaurant. However, after being blown into the river by Mitis with a casual flap of her wings, the adventurers withdrew their offensive gazes in embarrassment.

According to the terrain search, this ship of more than 30 meters is divided into six floors. From the top to the bottom, there are the captain's room, the second-floor restaurant, the first-floor restaurant, and then below the deck, there are the residences of adventurers, the captain and their families on the first floor, the sailors' rooms on the second floor, and the bottom floor is where weapons, cargo, and livestock such as horses are stored. It can be regarded as a very luxurious ship, much better than Ella expected.

Ella picked up a piece of braised fish from the dining cart placed beside the hall, took a bite, and frowned slightly.

"Princess, is the food not to your liking?"

Camisia asked softly.

"Hmm... It's not inedible, but the taste is still a bit subtle. The earthy smell of river fish is really unbearable."

"It would be nice if it could be treated with cooking wine. I'll try asking the chef next time."

After taking a bite of the braised fish, just like Ella, Lotte gave this opinion.

The second-floor restaurant seemed to be reserved for those of higher status, with even some lower-level adventurers barred from entering. As a result, the hall, which could accommodate nearly a hundred people, seemed rather empty. While there were fewer than ten dishes displayed along the wall, they were clearly meticulously prepared. Compared to the first floor, it felt like a completely different world—the first floor offered only simple black bread and fish soup, unlike the second floor's vast array of dishes.

"Well, Fukagan is more troubled than me."

Ella smiled bitterly as she looked at Fukagan who was at a loss as to what to do with the whole fish dish.

"Do you need to ask the chef to prepare something else?"

"...Just pick out the fish, don't worry about me, senpai."

Shen Gan used chopsticks to pick out the fish pieces in the bowl, leaving only the side dishes, frowned and whispered.

"I hate fish."

"Wow, don't waste it! Give it all to me!"

Jinghua stretched the bowl in front of Shen Gan, looking very anxious.

“Ahahaha…”

Ella could only watch with a wry smile. She could eat sashimi and grilled fish without blinking an eye, but when it came to braised and stewed fish, Fukama would look disgusted. Of course, compared to all that, Ella actually wanted to say, "You're a cat, but you hate fish?" But because she felt that would make Fukama angry, she could only keep the question to herself.

After about three minutes, people other than Ella and her group finally arrived in the hall.

"Hahaha, Rhine, you're really embarrassing."

"What can I do? If I had known it was Crimson Gold, I wouldn't have dared to approach her. After all, it was you who instigated me, saying you'd buy me a drink if I succeeded. Now even the copper coins I had on me have fallen into the river. You have to compensate me."

"I know, I know. It's my fault. I'll buy you a drink after this mission is over."

"Who knows if I can wait until the mission is over? You know, there's been rumors of a water monster downstream lately. I heard that even dragons can't do anything about it."

"Huh? There's such a thing? How come I didn't know about it? Tell me more."

Chapter 41 Monster Attack

Attracted by the conversation, Ella turned around and saw a group of people dressed as adventurers. Judging from the half-metal armor they wore, they should be the wealthier adventurers. The male in the lead was only wearing an ordinary short-sleeved shirt, and his wet short hair made him look like he had just crawled out of the water.

The adventurers who entered the hall did not notice the presence of Ella and her group, but continued to talk among themselves.

"Huh? Didn't Laura tell you? I only accepted the commission after everyone knew it was dangerous."

"No, no, Lola didn't tell me anything."

"It's all because you drank too much yesterday and couldn't hear anything I said."

The only female adventurer in the team said unhappily that judging from the wooden bow on her back, she was probably an archer or something like that.

The leading male sighed.

"There's no way to save the situation now. If we accept the mission and then abandon it, the fine would cost us everything, even our equipment. Now, let me tell you another story. Last month, a merchant ship suddenly disappeared in the middle of the river, as if it had been dragged into the lake by a sea monster and sank to the bottom in full view of the public. Although the Kingdom sent a special investigation team, they returned empty-handed. According to the crew members who escaped, there was nothing on the surface, but the ship was sinking irreversibly, and the powerful force of the sea monster was slowly breaking it apart. Even throwing a large explosive fruit down was useless. Because of this, some timid merchants have begun to choose to travel by land."

"Wait... isn't that bad?! Why would you accept such a dangerous mission?"

The young man showed a bad expression, but the leader named Rhine put his arm around the young man's shoulders with a mysterious look.

"Don't worry, our employer, Captain Ross, gave us this amount..."

When talking about the quantity, Rhine's voice suddenly dropped, and then the young man whose shoulders were held opened his mouth wide, his face full of disbelief.

"You're kidding, right? That's enough for three missions."

"Hmph, why else would I accept this? Besides, if we get any clues about the monster, we can submit it to the guild. If it's confirmed to be helpful information for defeating the water monster, they might even upgrade us to Mithril rank. If we don't encounter it, triple the salary will be enough for us to buy better weapons. It's a win-win situation."

"Well, if we die accidentally, everything will be gone. It's better to take turns on duty at night."

Laura on the side reminded, and the adventurers including Rhine nodded in unison.

"I see, a water monster? I heard a rumor that even dragons couldn't handle water monsters. Sounds like a real problem. I'll go check it out quietly tonight."

"Princess, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm just interested in water monsters."

"If you wish, I can bring it to you."

"Eh? No, no, not in that sense."

I just want to know the true identity of the water monster and have no intention of disturbing others. Of course, since it lives in the river, it must be related to fish.

"But it's just a fish. At this point, I've even seen strange creatures like the Deep Sea Lord. I don't think I'd scream "Ah!" even if an octopus suddenly appeared before me."

Just as Ella was thinking this, Jinghua suddenly pulled the corner of Ella's clothes.

"Um... although it's troublesome, why don't we try another ship?"

"Is Jinghua worried about the water monster those people are talking about?"

"That's a creature that even giant dragons can't defeat..."

"Oh~ Is this little girl Captain Ross's daughter? Don't worry, we will get rid of the water monster."

The adventurers who walked into the hall finally discovered the presence of Ella and her group, and interrupted the conversation as Jinghua finished speaking.

"I'm Rhine, leader of the White Fang, a white iron-class adventure group. As your employer's daughter, you can always give me instructions if you need anything."

It sounded like an ordinary greeting, but Ella detected a certain fanaticism in Rhine's eyes. Of course, it was not a gaze with impure thoughts, but a strange look with glowing eyes, as if he had seen something beautiful. If Ella was asked to find a similar thing to make an analogy, she could only think of the otaku with lolita tendencies in the previous world.

Also noticing Rhine's undisguised fanatical gaze, Jinghua was startled at first, then tilted his head in confusion.

"I think you've got the wrong person. I'm not Captain Ross's daughter."

"Uh...it's okay. Protecting defenseless girls is my duty, Rhine. If you're ever in danger, please ask me for help at any time. I won't charge you anything."

"That last sentence is suspicious."

With no intention of participating in this, Shen Gan muttered to himself with his back to the crowd while picking out the fish pieces from the bowl and putting them into Jinghua's bowl.

But this sentence caused a violent reaction in Rhine. As if he had seen a miracle, he pressed his hands tightly on both sides of his cheeks, opened his mouth wide and looked incredible.

"Ohhh! A second one! There's actually a second one! Although she's a bit older than the little girl, the combination of cat ears and aloofness is absolutely perfect. And she even picked out the precious food for her younger sister. Ahhh, such kindness is so dazzling..."

Is this guy out of his mind?

Watching Rhine wiping away his tears, Ella couldn't help but have such thoughts in her heart, but the other party neither touched Jinghua nor said anything unpleasant, so at most she could only treat him as a fool.

"Really? The leader is here again."

"I wonder when I'll be able to change this habit of rushing towards little girls."

"Always causing us trouble."

"I remember last year, a baron from the Dacia Kingdom sent people to hunt me all the way. I finally escaped to the Untermil Kingdom and got away with it."

"It's no use trying to teach someone else's daughter some strange knowledge. Anyone would do the same."

The remaining adventurers held their foreheads and turned their faces away, looking as if they didn't know this guy.

[Looks like she's a lolita con from another world...]

Ella sighed inwardly, then took a step forward and walked between Jinghua and Rhine.

"Excuse me, what can I do for you? For the time being, I'm this child's guardian...this child's older sister."

Saying the term "guardian" might be noticed by Jinghua, so Ella could only temporarily change to calling her sister. Although calling herself sister was really embarrassing, there was no more suitable title.

After looking at Ella for a moment, Rhine blinked dully, his lips humming and his pupils dilated.