As the time went on, at first, Eris was indeed very excited, but the novelty of being on a ship didn't last long. By the second day, she was suffering so badly from seasickness that she vomited half to death, and her whole demeanor wilted.
By the third day, she looked even more like death warmed over, collapsed in the private cabin inside the ship, utterly unable to move, only able to rely on Ash to continuously cast healing magic to slightly alleviate the symptoms of dizziness.
But seasickness after all isn't an injury or illness, and healing magic couldn't fundamentally cure it. It could only make her feel slightly better.
And so... at this moment, inside the cabin, Eris was drenched in sweat, her face abnormally flushed, the buttons of her white shirt having been undone at some point, revealing a large expanse of fair skin, with a snowy white straight path forming down the middle toward her navel.
Along the way, it even had to pass through a part that, even while lying down, still maintained considerable scale, like a deep ravine.
This scene, though it didn't expose any skin unsuitable for children and could be said to be on the boundary of decency, was nevertheless truly evocative.
This made Ash somewhat unable to look directly at the girl who was currently lying on his lap, who was still letting out pained gasps yet inexplicably exuding a certain... lewdness.
"Uuu... why... I'm so uncomfortable, and you won't even look at me properly... you even ran off just now...", Eris slowly opened her dazed eyes, her gaze unfocused as she looked up at Ash above her.
At this moment she was more fragile and pitiful than ever before, that pitiable appearance of hers would make anyone who saw it feel compassion.
This left Ash able to only continue casting healing magic while gently stroking her hair, saying helplessly, "What are you saying... I just went to eat a meal with Roxy."
"...Heartless...", Eris murmured weakly, her tone full of grievance, making Ash not know whether to laugh or cry as he emphasized, "It really was just a meal!"
"Uu, at... at least at a time like this, look at me properly...", The girl with moist eyes and rapid breathing, laboriously turned over, lying face-down on his knees, and even tried hard to raise her little head to stare at him, letting out a weak coquettish complaint, the sight was indescribably endearing.
And during this process, this soft body pressing on his thighs, along with the faint elegant fragrance from the girl's body, kept drilling into Ash's nose, making him feel as though his moral bottom line was undergoing a severe test, as if it could fall at any moment.
After all, normally Eris's personality was quite terrible, but at this moment she was so fragile, and had such a tempting posture of being ready to be plucked. This strong contrast was truly too much of a challenge to his rationality. Moreover, her figure was developed so well.
But making a move on Eris would truly be awful, and taking advantage of someone in their time of weakness was even more inappropriate, so... he chose a compromise.
"I know, at least for now I'll look at you properly."
Unable to bear disappointing her, he could only silently lie down and reach out, letting her lie in his arms, and reached out to gently hold her.
Strangely enough, not only did he feel very comfortable this way, but Eris's pained expression was greatly alleviated, and her expression even seemed to become floaty.
However, after making this move, Ash began to feel somewhat regretful about his behavior. After all, the soft, cute girl in his arms, the temptation brought by that soft delicate body... it felt like it had become even greater, making his heart panic, and he could only try hard to restrain himself.
On the other hand, Eris, though her face seemed to have gotten even redder, showed no intention of escaping from Ash's arms, only burying her face in his embrace out of embarrassment.
But for some reason, her breathing seemed to have become more rapid as well, and the whole atmosphere grew increasingly ambiguous.
This forced Ash to begin silently counting prime numbers in his heart, trying to use this to divert his attention and avoid any unnecessary situations.
And this rather delicate atmosphere, a situation of pain and happiness combined, did not last too long.
"Wha! What are you two doing!! There should be a limit to how close you are, even if you're on good terms?"
Roxy, after wandering around the ship for a bit, had thought to come back and find Ash to chat and play together.
Who would have thought that as soon as she pushed open the door and saw this scene in the room, she immediately let out a startled cry, and quickly strode forward, snatching Eris from Ash's arms, and glared at him angrily, her eyes full of reproach, "You still don't know any better! And you? Are you also this immature? How can you take advantage of her like this?"
"No... I didn't have any such intention...", Ash calmly sat up, and though he let out a sigh of relief, his face was also full of distress.
"Then why did you hug her? A-And! This girl is still dressed like this? T-Too shameless!", Roxy scolded Ash while instinctively glancing at the girl with her spring scenery exposed, and immediately, her fair face also flushed red.
However, Roxy, who had wanted to use this opportunity to improve her relationship with Eris, had just finished scolding Ash when she turned back to look at Eris and discovered... that Eris, who should have been saved by her, was now gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.
Whether it was an illusion or not, this stance felt like at any moment she would deliver a powerful uppercut to her chin.
'Am I in the way? No no no! But this is too weird! Ash is not like that?,' Roxy's mind was buzzing as she froze, yet she inexplicably shook her head vigorously, obstinately persisting in her own justice, pursed her lips and dragged Eris away, taking her to her own room to look after her.
Leaving Ash alone by the bedside, looking at the sea view outside the cabin, though somewhat regretful at being left alone, he also felt somewhat relieved... yet his gaze unconsciously drifted back to the hands that had previously held the girl in his embrace.
He had to admit, he slightly missed that feeling, but it should only be to the extent of normal human nature.
The sailboat traveled on the ocean for about five days.
During these five days, Eris was tormented terribly by seasickness, her whole person listless and dispirited.
However, when the sailboat finally arrived at the port of the neighboring continent, she couldn't wait to dash down.
Strangely enough, as soon as she set foot on land, she seemed to revive with full health, immediately recovering her spirits and running quickly ahead, raising both hands to celebrate her "rebirth."
And it was worth mentioning that the relationship between Eris and Roxy, though somewhat strained during this period, had also improved due to spending day and night together, as well as Roxy casting healing magic on her. Though one couldn't call it intimate, at least they could coexist peacefully, no longer as full of gunpowder as before.
———
The actual distance between the two ports was not too far. After only five days of sailing on the sea, the group arrived at the continent on the other side.
Though it was merely the opposite shore across the sea, the seaport of the Milis Continent gave them the illusion of having stepped into an entirely different world.
Compared to the desolate scene of the Demon Continent, with barren yellow-brown gobi everywhere, this place was completely different, even the distant land was covered in dense green.
However, compared to Eris's joy that was written all over her face, and Roxy's unhurried, calm and composed demeanor, Ash's behavior seemed particularly unusual.
Because he hadn't even stepped off the ship yet, and merely using his magic detection, he had keenly sensed that in the outskirts outside the port, beneath a wooden building, a mysterious tunnel was hidden, and within that tunnel, a group of children was imprisoned in cells.
That group of children were all beastfolk in appearance, and there was also a strange large dog.
"Could it be smugglers? Or slave traders?", he muttered, unconsciously stopping in his tracks.
"Ash? What's wrong?", Roxy, who had been smiling as she watched Eris cheering endlessly nearby from having regained her new lease on life, noticed him suddenly stop and couldn't help but put on a helpless smile:
"Did you forget your luggage? Really~ You're so careless~ Hurry up..."
"No, I just discovered a group of slave traders who kidnap children."
"Slave traders? Wh-where?", Hearing this, Roxy couldn't help but exclaim, and looked around searching, nervously gripping her magic staff.
He merely shook his head with a helpless smile, "It's still quite far, no need to be nervous."
"Th-Then... what do we do?"
Hearing this information, Roxy seemed somewhat troubled. If she hadn't known, she could have pretended not to hear, but now that she knew... taking action was actually quite troublesome.