The time I spent until it was time to leave was used very well in my opinion. I got to test out a shiny new skill I’d forgotten until I reminded myself by thinking of what I didn’t have.

Mattress springs.

My mattress was nice and comfortable, but it wasn’t as good as a modern one with springs. Or one made of gel or rubber. Before getting summoned, I’d seem a lot of ads for those Purple mattresses, but never got to try one.

I’d tried making springs and gel before this, but it didn’t go well. I’d had little time to craft, and when I did I’d had to make things related to keeping myself and my companions from getting killed, especially later on. If I’d had the time the last two years, I could probably have pulled it off, since my earth magic and magic control had gotten maxed out.

Metals come from the earth, so using earth magic to play with it is possible, though difficult and more mana intensive. I could easily mold non-magical metals like clay.

Besides having no time, until it was too late and I was preparing to return home to avoid politics, I also didn’t know how the springs were connected together.

Now it didn’t matter! I had this:

[Creation Magic]: Allows the user to substitute ingredients in crafting with mana, even allowing something to be created from nothing but mana. Can create items without the need for tools if desired. Must have a very clear image of what the user desires created.

I pulled out a large amount of iron ore, refined it into ingots, and added fabric and stuff for cushioning to the pile.

It was time to test my magic!

Should I have tried for something small first, like onigiri? Yes, I really should have.

Focusing on an image of a mattress, I activated the magic, and the materials started glowing and floating. They turned to motes of light and came together, changing shape into what I wanted!

A mattress became reality before plummeting towards the floor… of a very small room. One edge of it bounced of the bed while the rest of it came down on top of me and the rooms other furnishings. The table and chair were flimsy things, with the chair creaking when I’d sat down in it. With the weight and impact from the mattress, they fell apart, and since I was in the chair, I was crushed between it’s wreckage and my new mattress.

I might have extremely high defense, but uncomfortable things are still unpleasant. To get it off of me, I put the mattress into inventory, getting it out of the way, then surveyed the destroyed furniture, cursing.

Then I considered. I could try repairing them via creation magic?

Hmm, probably a bad idea, but so is having to deal with the innkeeper. Weighing my options, I decided to try a few other things first, and only then try it on the remains of the deceased items.

I started where I should have before. Small stuff. An onigiri. It was tasty, but cost more than ten mana points. I guess whoever made the skill didn’t read that web novel.

After a bit of practice, I learned how to do it right, then undid the damage the mattress wrought, and then some. If I was going to repair them, I’d at least make them sturdier. Creaky furniture was annoying, and I’d be there two days and nights.

After that, I kept playing with the magic, stopping only when I’d run myself nearly dry, or when I got hungry. I didn’t bother leaving my room for food, just dug into my storage for stuff I’d made in the past.

I could feed an army for a year with what I had, though most of it would require preparation and would be rather basic. I’d had to leave the battlefield to fetch food for a starving army in the past, so I’d taken to keeping plenty as reserves. We’d lost a lot of people while I was gone, and I hadn’t wanted it to happen again.

When night rolled around, I’d plopped my new mattress on the floor, the bed had been full of lice when I’d gotten there, and I wasn’t having anything to do with it, even after exterminating them, and laid down on it…

Before jumping back up as I was stabbed.

The springs hadn’t been attached properly.

Grumbling, I tested a few things on a smaller scale, then fixed the mattress and went to sleep.

---

I woke up early the morning my ship set sail, regretfully using the same method I had before. I had to stop by a high end magic tool store or workshop and see if they made clocks here, ones with alarms preferably.

Turning in my room key to the innkeeper, I headed to the docks. I wasn’t wearing my usual armor today, nor any of the clothing styles I’d used before. Today I was dressed in something I’d just made the day before.

Paying homage to my nerd roots, I was Link. Specifically Link wearing using the Champion’s Tunic from Breath of the Wild. I’d also shifted to my more preferred female form and made the matching Zelda outfit. I’d wear that after getting to Merrow, where I wasn’t being hunted.

I’d eventually get around to making all of the outfits from LoZ that Link and Zelda wore, as well as from a few other characters. OK, not all. The chiton-like one wasn’t to my tastes at all, so I’d be skipping that one. Or the Tingle armor. Ugh.

With the Master Sword to my back, and a bag with the pattern of the tablet at my hip, I headed to the pier that my transport was docked at. It was scheduled to depart at second bell, and it was barely after first, but it was best to be early.

I munched on some skewers of meat and veggies as I walked, brushing my dirty blonde hair back, I shaded my eyes and looked until I found the right location, then headed towards and up the boarding ramp. No one was at the bottom, so whoever I needed to talk to should be up here somewhere.

“You one of the escort?”

I’d been facing towards the upper deck, but the voice came from behind me. Turning, I saw a man dressed in blue shorts and a red shirt wearing a straw hat. He had a pair of studded combat gloves on his hands.

“Nope. Passenger. You who I show my ticket to?”

“Nope. That’d be the first mate, he’s below deck right now. I’m Kyle, I’m in charge of security, but if you ain’t here on a job, you’re not working for me.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lary. I’ll just stay out of the way till the first mate gets up here and notices me.”

“Works for me.”

He stayed nearby, keeping an eye on me if I had a guess. Or maybe just bored, since he had nothing to do. There were a few other people moving about, but I guess all of the preparations outside of passengers were complete, so there wouldn’t be much to do till it was nearly time to depart.

A few minutes later a man dressed in nicer clothing than the others came up from below with a sheaf of paper in his hands. Spotting me hanging around the boarding ramp, he made his way over.

“Request form?”

“Passenger, not escort. Here’s my tickets.”

I presented my tickets to him. Taking them, he checked them against the papers in his hand.

“Where’s your companion?”

“There is none. I wanted a cabin to myself, and the guild told me I had to buy both tickets if I wanted to ensure that, so I did.”

“Understood. Kellie! Come show this guy below. Cabin 3.” Making a mark on his papers, he had one last thing to say. “Please remain in your cabin until you are notified you can come out.”

One of the meandering crewmen came over and escorted me below. There were sconces on the wall with candles, but none of them were lit, the sunlight streaming through the hatch providing the only light. It was dark, but not terribly so. Especially since I had night vision.

The skill was great when there was little light… unless it came to details. Things were slightly blurred at the edges, which is why this skill was useless for reading. All the letters blended together.

There was another sconce on the wall in my room, also unlit. If I closed my door without it lit or another light source, the place would be in darkness, with only a touch of light coming from below the door.

I shut the door. Then I put up wards, starting with a shadow ward to prevent light from escaping, then lit the place up. There was no way I was going to just sit or lay down on either of those bunks the way they were. While not lice-ridden, they were still not very clean.

I enclosed one mattress, which was really just a bag stuffed with old hay, in a barrier and moved it onto the other bunk. Then after cleaning the empty one, I dropped my own mattress. Sadly, not the new one. It wouldn’t have fit. I had small ones I used in confined spaces, like this was.

The room went about eight feet long and wide, and six high. Each of the beds was around a yard wide, leaving the space between them at around two feet. There were some cubbies below the bed in which luggage could be stowed, as the beds were set at about waist height.

The place was cramped.

It’s a good thing I don’t have claustrophobia, since this place would set off anyone who did.

Finishes setting things up, I killed the magic light and lit the candle. Now that there was no chance of catching moving bedding on fire, a candle’s light would suffice. I dismissed the shadow ward and silencing, but left the others intact. I’d put enough juice in the room’s defenses to last the trip, unless someone actually attacked the room, in which case they’d have to be refreshed.

I considered propping the door open to see who the other passengers might be, but decided not to, laying back on the bed and meditate instead.

I vaguely heard some people passing by, but ignored the sounds until there was a knock at my door. We hadn’t set sail yet, there was only the slight swaying of the ship still tied to the dock, so I was curious who it could be.

“Enter.”

The door opened and a crewman stood in the doorway.

“First mate wants to talk, c’mon.”

Not the nicest way to speak to a paying passenger, but sailors were not known for their manners. Still, I did as requested and followed him back up to the deck and over to the boarding ramp.

“Ah, Mr Lary. Thank you for joining us.”

He wants something, and I can guess what. There’s no other reason for him to speak that nicely when he’d been brief and business-like before. I got straight to the point.

“You want to put someone else in my cabin, I’m guessing?”

“Hmm, yes. It seems that one of our other passengers wasn’t able to obtain enough tickets for their last companion and wanted to negotiate with me to let her share a bunk, but since there is an empty one, I thought we’d have them talk to you.”

Looking beyond the first mate was a group of people. There were five of them. All female, one a little kid. The adults were built and armed like adventurers, but their swords were all identical, though some carried other weapons as well.

Inwardly sighing while keeping my face from showing my irritation, I beckoned them off to the side and out of the way, another group was approaching. The women also noticed the approaching group, and hid the kid from view.

Crap. They’re trying to get her away for some reason, and those guys seem to be involved somehow. Add the matching weapons…

I put a notice-me-not field on the six of us. It didn’t affect those who’d been paying attention to us, but otherwise it would be difficult to realize we were there.

“Explain.”

Just one word, with a glance between them and the approaching group of men.

“They’re criminals trying to kidnap this child. We can pay you for the extra ticket, but please help us.”

Before making a decision, I did something I absolutely hated doing. I appraised people.

Appraisal magic isn’t as neat and tidy as light novels make it seem. If you’re just looking for the name of an item, it’s not too bad, but beyond that it’s a mess.

It gives a LOT of information, most of it useless, and it can take a bit to get through. It gets worse the older or more complex something is. There are few things more complex then living beings.

Frak. As I’d feared. A cliché.

“We’ll talk more in my cabin, number three.” Then I turned to the first mate, who’d been out of earshot. “I’ll let one take my spare bunk. I’ll take them down, what are the cabin numbers?”

“The other four will be in five and six.”

“Understood. And by the way.” I passed a small purse to the man. “We’ll rely on your discretion. Please don’t disappoint me.”

He opened the pouch and grinned at the glint of gold. It was far more than they’d make carrying passengers, but it came with a warning. When I said the last sentence, I shot a small amount of aura at him. Enough to make him pale, but not go weak at the knees.

I beckoned the women to follow me and we went below. There were six cabins at the back of the ship under the captain and mate’s quarters. Odd on the left, even on the right, as the ship sailed, not as we came down the stairs. Ushering them into the cabin, I followed them in and shut the door behind us, before putting up a silencing ward.

The women had taken seats on the beds, with the girl furthest from the door, and me.

Although they showed a relieved appearance, I could still see how tense they really were, ready to attack at any moment should I try and do anything.

I took the last available seat, which was sadly on the piled dirty straw mattresses, not my nice one with clean sheets.

“So, how about an explanation why you were being chased by temple knights?”