Shell Out(turtle litrpg)

While waiting for Servante to purchase the tickets, I had a simple discussion with Borsche.

Truth be told, education had begun to take up more time than I had expected. Not only did I have to educate two young elves, but now I had a young sage of an orc to educate as well.

To say sages are hungry for knowledge is not an exaggeration, and for Borsche, who is a sheltered child, there exists an insatiable hunger for knowledge.

"What's that?" The young ork asked, pointing at a particularly spiky fish.

'Pufferfish. They're a delicacy to some, but poisonous if not prepared correctly' I responded calmly and he then turned to point at a small hermit crab with a glowing shell.

"What kind of monster is this?"

"Lantern crab. A common f-rank monster which is barely even a monster. It'd be more appropriate to call is a sub-monster between the rank of monster and animal.

They're commonly caught and sold by fishermen to tourists and young children as pets due to their fascinating golden shell. Unfortunately, the purchasers often get bored with lantern crabs, often releasing them into rivers, where they tend to grow huge and turn into actual monsters.'

"Interesting. Then would they be good as a beast companion?" Borsch asked curiously as he examined one with a blue glowing shell.

'If you're looking for an auxiliary companion, sure. They make good mobile flashlights. They're not bad fighters if you feed them enough, but it's not highly recommended as they just tend to grow bigger. '

If Borsche was curious because of his isolated society then the kids were curious by the virtue of being kids.

Everything is new to a child.

As a result, I was left to entertain the kids as I explained everything to the group of curious kids.

As for Lenore?

Yeah she didn't seem that aware either.

Observing both Lenore and Servante it became clear to me that many of the elves of the elven kingdom were not well versed in worldly matters.

To be frank, they knew some book knowledge, but real world knowledge? Not much.

Servante could pull out knowledge recorded in the libraries, but if you were to actually ask him about local issues or current relations between kingdoms and nobles, he'd be less informed.

Lenore knew even less as a warrior, seemingly either having no access or no interest in the libraries.

So isolated! At least that's my current impression of the elven kingdom.

I mean, I already knew that, but the more time I spend with them, the more I realize how little they know.

Yet this cult seems better informed, more involved in the world at large. And from what Servante said earlier, it wasn't' uncommon during the transfer of a high elf to the kingdom for them to be intercepted by other noble families.

If that's the case, then it's not the kingdom as a whole who are not aware of external affairs, but merely the royal family, whom Servante and Lenore represent as guards under the royal family, whom are ill informed.

There's a huge mess there, the more I think about it.

So I won't.

We toured the harbor for a while, even seeing a man selling turtles for food.

Turtle stew. I never had a taste for it then, and I've certainly lost the desire t try it again altogether.

I'm pretty sure the guy selling the turtles was eyeing me too.

We walked a little faster after that.

Eventually Servante returned tickets in hand, though he had a weird look.

"Hey Earl... Do you.... defecate?" he asked after a great deal of hesitation he finally asked.

'Of course. Why do you ask?' I asked, curious as to why he would ask such a question.

"Really? I've never seen you do it?" Lenore asked curiously and I shrugged.

'I used to bury it, though now that I have a subspace with crops growing I've chosen to use it to fertilize the crops.' I said straightforwardly, though everyone else looked a little weird after hearing it.

Leon said it straight: "Gross!"

Borsch simply asked: "So does it help the crops grow then?"

'Yeah. Monster defecation is good fertilizer. Nonetheless Servante, I'm curious as to why you raise this question?' I say, turning the topic back to the elf.

"Ok good. I found out that if you offer them fertilizer then the sailor taking us to our destination is willing to offer us 20 percent of our fares back for it. " He said sounding relieved.

I was confused.

"How much did you pay for fares?" I asked, and Servante responded naturally "25 gold coins of course." He said it as if it made sense.

'25 gold coins!? Are you mad! A normal boat ride to the Gamoceras estate costs 25 silvers! And that's if you're spending lavishly!'

No wonder he was relieved to hear that I produce fertilizer! 20 percent off of the price would give back 5 gold!

"Well of course it's expensive, but I refuse to pay a small sum and forfeit our safety." the elf said stubbornly.

'Who did you pay to help us across.?' I asked, worried that he'd been scammed.

"Gilbert Von Trapenjaw" the elf said calmly, yet with a hint of satisfaction.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Oh well in that case it's fine. I know him. He happened to be my fiance's cousin. I mean, most nobles in a local region are connected to some extent but he is a cousin of hers, and a competent one at that.

As a family blessed by Sobek, the Trapenjaws have always had god fortune on the seas. From what I know, they also happen to be blessed by Poseidon, the ruler of the oceans. It's just that their relationship with Sobek is closer, since they were originally an egyptian family of priests that worshipped Sobek.

Once the egyptian religion was absorbed into the empire however, and so were it's higher political powers, the Trapenjaws became a viscount family, and changed their name to Trapenjaw.

And since Sobek came to serve Poseidon, the Trapenjaws also have a close relationship with the clergy of Poseidon and Sobek, with the Trapenjaw family sending one child a generation to serve.

Basically the Trapenjaws have high water affinity.

Gilbert was the third son, so he inherited nothing, but did receive a large sum of money which he used to make a high level warship used to escort the powerful and particularly rich across the seas. The S.S. Satsobek, named after an egyptian queen.

Honestly the real question is why he's here. That guy usually only does well paying work.

It's a fair price mind you. That boat can fend off S level monsters, at about what cultivators would call the middle nascent soul stage, and has the ability to teleport in the worst of situations. Combined with its mass shifting ability, that boat can go anywhere pretty securely.

But usually the fare can be measured in platinum coins. The fact that he's allowing the fare to be a measly 25 gold coins for a party of 5 is weird.

What is he up to?

Well, whatever he's up to, it should be fine. That guy prides himself on that boat and his service. He won't disrupt it to do anything stupid.

Weird he's out here though.

"You sure he's around here?"

"I'm sure of it. I can sense him."

Hearing that, Gilbert couldn't help but sideye his cousin. His recently deceased cousin. His back from the dead cousin.

Her parents didn't know. She had a rocky relationship with her parents, and he wasn't exactly buddy buddy with the two of 'em so he had no problem keeping his mouth shut.

On the other hand, he'd been good friends with both Earl and Maria throughout their lives so the rapid in succession deaths had left him heartbroken, forcing him to stop sailing for a few weeks to cope.

Only for Maria to show up on his doorstep.

Alive.

He'd thought Maria had come back as a vengeful spirit and nearly fainted on the spot. Luckily she explained, that in fact, the lord of the dead had allowed her to reincarnate to chase Earl into his new life as a monster, and that her current body was in fact a monster body.

Naturally, he was mildly terrified by this fact, perhaps even more so once he realized she had already become an S-rank monster.

He was almost scared to ask.

"Me? Oh, I went on a mass hunting spree and slaughtered quite a few pirates." She said casually, causing his blood to chill.

Gilbert wasn't a fool, and could easily connect this statement to the conspicuous disappearance of countless pirate ships and the stories of a huge crocodile on the hunt for pirates, controlled by a snake.

Whichever one she was didn't matter.

It was chilling how decisive she was at times.

As for why she was doing it.

"I want to make sure that I can protect Earl this time. He was always protecting me back then, so I wanted to return the favor~"

Gilbert didn't refute, nor did he mention that after her death the family went into her journals to understand why Maria had committed suicide.

~Mine, mine, mine , mine, mine, mine

~mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine,

~He's all mine~

~I wish he wouldn't do such dangerous things~

~I love his bravery but my heart quivers whenever he goes out on subjugation quests~

~Why can't he just stay with me?~

~If I were stronger than him I could always hold onto him~

~And never let go~

Safe to say his aunt and uncle realized too little too late how "attached" she was to Earl.

He'd been there for the readings too, as they realized that the adoration she held, might've been a bit much.

Honestly, the suicide and taking Earl's killer with her might've been extremely generous on her part. If she had decided to take them all down with her....

~Shiver~

Of course, now he realized that she had in fact planned all of this with the intent of pursuing Earl.

But that was even more terrifying, with the bravery and fearlessness of Orpheus, but the obsession of Echo.

He wasn't sure whether or not he was relieved his cousin and cousin-in-law were alive and well, or scared that she might do something equally dangerous.

He was sure of one thing though.

Poor Earl.

"To think the God's would bestow upon you such a fitting skill." He tactfully commented, and Maria nodded seriously.

She seemed completely serious.

"How many people were able to offer monster fecal matter?"

"3 people were able to offer higher levels of fecal matter

a single adventurer and his evolved lantern crab,

a high level adventurer and a dragon horse,

and three adult elves, two elven children, and a turtle."

He said reviewing the list.

Indeed, the whole thing was set up so that she could locate him.

Unfortunately the spell was limited, and would not directly lead her to him, but a mere proximity.

So she had gotten Gilbert's help in order to locate him.

It had been obvious to her that Earl was heading towards his territory, so naturally she had set up this boat ride ahead of time.

In fact, this had been the third ride that had occured within the last week. She had told him to do this thre

Orcus had told her some info regarding Earl's situation.

Not all of it mind you. According to him, "it was more fun this way", but she did tell him that he was traveling in beast form. And not alone.

And despite the benefits of the spell, it only offered an approximate. Like currently, she was aware that he was within an 100 meter radius.

But after that, he was merely marked as "close". Which had resulted in heer having to resort to other methods.

In which case,she believed that this was the best way of sorting him out.

Her cousin was a man well known for escort service along the river.

Naturally she would make use of such an environmental advantage.

As for swimming across?

Nonsense! Her engaged may be a little reckless at times, but he was a cautious man.

Swimming across the river would be suicide! Not even the aquatic races would dot that without taking the proper precautions.

He would take the boat.

Hence the boat ride.

"So, do you think any of them are Earl this time?" Gilbert asked and Maria viewed the list thoughtfully before responding.

"The turtle" she said after recalling an old myth about the Camoceras estate.

"How do you figure?" Gilbert said, continuing the small talk.

"Do you know the name of Earl's estate?"

"The Gamoceras estate" he said with ease, and Maria nodded, before asking.

"And the name of his family?"

"Rudalius." (chapter one reference)

"Haven't you wondered why the name of the estate was different from the name of the family?" SHe asked and Gilbert shrugged.

"Not all families share their name with the territory."

"But those who don't often have a reason." she responded before continuing.

"While preparing myself to one day take up the mantel as co-head of the family, I studied the history of the Rudalius family, and discovered an interesting phenomenon from a century ago.

Seemingly, people across the territory heard a bellow akin to the mooing of a cow, while dreaming of a turtle the size of a mountain. This phenomenon was more intense the closer they were the mountain range within their territory. These bellows were said to be head before, causing the mountain to be labeled a haunted mountain, the appearance of the turtle in their dreams being a new event.

A name began to spread.

Gamoceras.

This phenomenon has continued to this day, though the reportings have decreased in their occurrence rate, but the effect was clear..

It became a memorable event. Many thought a powerful turtle had died there, leaving behind its unresting spirit.

It was a famous event for a bit, people referring to the Rudalius territory as the Gamoceras territory.

In fact, the territory is still the Rudalius territory on paper, but now it's only known as Gamoceras territory."

Gilbert didn't know this, so he was quite surprised about this difference between the territory's name and the families name.

Truly befitting of someone who was more than ready to fulfill the role of wife.

"So you think that he's been reborn as a turtle then?" he asked and Maria hummed thoughtfully.

"Who knows what the Gods are planning. There are clearly greater things at play." she said, admitting that besides this random tidbit of knowledge, her thought was mostly based on instinct, looking at the list, she felt that this time it was right

That it was him.

Maria returned to her monster form before entering the sea, preparing to go meet some of her new scaly acquaintances.

She'd have to go bother her new friends again to prepare a warm welcome for Earl.