NOVEL WEB Chapter 55: Iramar Palam
[Good grief. Looks like we’re going to get what the princess wants huh.]
The staff, who had been worried that Amanda’s urgent request wouldn’t be fulfilled, breathed a sigh of relief.
In the morning haze of the city’s harbor, they were able to find a number of cruisers with the class they were looking for.
The southernmost cape in India is a world-class tourist destination, and a wide variety of vessels, from small sightseeing fishing boats to large cruisers for deep-sea fishing, were anchored in the harbor, expecting tourists from all over the world.
As there were also cruisers with classes that would satisfy Amanda, the staff contacted Amanda via smartphone to get her approval and immediately struggled as they began negotiating with the greedy and experienced Indian boat owner for a long-distance rental.
However, when the staff member told them about their destination, the shipowner who had been in a good mood until then, saying “Alright, alright. It’s not a problem <Okay, no problem>.”, he suddenly changed his mind, telling them “No good, no good. Nothing, nothing. I’m not going to Ceylon”.
(T/N: Italicized words are spoken in engrish)
[Why not? We’ll pay you what you want. How much do you want?]
[It’s not about the money. That place is dangerous right now. It doesn’t pay.]
The shipowner told the flustered staff unpleasantly.
（●）
As she placed the nearly finished dosa on her plate, Amanda asked.
[……So? Why can’t we take the cruiser directly there? Now, you want me to go back to Mumbai, 2000 kilometers away from here, and travel by plane?]
Amanda, who would always yell at the staff when she didn’t like something, asked in a calm voice that was different from usual.
[T- They used to allow that. Disguising themselves as sightseeing tours and fishing tours, going from Southern India to Ceylon for a short time and then coming back. Some bribes on the coast guards and border control people they might meet along the way for them to turn a blind eye. That way, both customers and ship owners can omit the troublesome procedures, while the soldiers can earn pocket money and everything will be fine. That’s how the work was done.]
Hearing the explanation from the staff members in charge of the negotiations, the other staff members nodded more in agreement than Amanda herself.
Even at that moment, they wondered how much the hard-headed bureaucracy of India, its voluminous paperwork, and the bribery habits of the public servants in the field bothered them during their filming tour.
Now, just by looking at the uniforms and ranks of those approaching their shoot, they can tell what kind of 《《nitpicks》》 they brought and the market price of the bribes they’re asking for.
[However…… I heard that the Sri Lankan government has changed its attitude. Moreover, they did it quite suddenly.]
The Sri Lankan government, which had been famous for being controlled by a single family and corruption of its public servants, after a certain point, they began to take maritime security seriously.
They energetically drove the latest patrol boats from China and cleaned up illegal maritime traffic with the latest radar and night vision equipment by China.
The boats the Sri Lankan government found were seized, had its owners imposed huge fines while the boats were stripped of all equipment before being returned. The shipowner’s business associates suffered heavy losses as a result.
As for those shipowners, with scowls on their faces, they warned the staff: “If you find your lives valuable, then you should stop pursuing this matter. Phir Milenge.“
[Hmph……]
As she listened to the report, Amanda swallowed the rest of her dosa.
（●）
[……Apparently, there are rumors that a major terrorist attack or something that hasn’t been publicized occurred there. The Sri Lankan government believes that those terrorists were sent from Southern India.]
The information that another staff member had gathered wasn’t good news.
As she popped another serving of Uthappam into her mouth, Amanda asked.
[Terrorists? The Indians follow Hinduism, right? Ah, more chai please.]
Hearing Amanda responding in a way expected from an American, the staff explained confidently.
[Rather than religious, the cause was apparently because of an ethnic conflict. Sri Lanka has been in a civil war for 20 years between the Tamils in the North and East, and the Sinhalese, the main ethnic group in the rest of the country.
And so, to complicate things, there are a lot of Tamils in Southeastern India as well. It seems that the ethnic groups that used to live between India and Sri Lanka across the sea also got divided when the countries separated. It’s the same with the Kurds. The map shows them separated, but it used to be possible to cross between India and Ceylon on foot.]
[Ara, that sounds wonderful. Is it still possible to cross through there now?]
[A big storm hundred of years ago caused the coral reefs to collapse, so it’s no longer possible to cross it on foot. Around here, that place was still called “Iramar Palam”.]
(T/N: Iramar Palam/Rama’s Bridge)
[Iramar Palam huh. What does it mean?]
[In the Indian epic Ramayana, it’s said that the bridge was built by Prince Rama to save his princess. It used to be possible to cross it by vehicle and ferry back then, but now, it’s impossible due to political conflicts.]
[That sounds wonderful. It’s a pity that it isn’t crossable now.]
After stuffing the rest of the Uthappam into her mouth and sipping on her chai, contrary to her words, Amanda expressed her impressions lightly, sounding like she doesn’t find it unfortunate at all.
[……Are we giving up on 《《that》》 then? The coordinates of the land in the photo are right in the middle of Tamil forces, you know?]
The beach in the photo, their destination, is located in Northeastern Ceylon.
Indeed, the place being winstaworthy, her career, and their business are important, but they aren’t worth risking their lives for.
They can just make another land as the roots of yoga or some such nonsense.
However, Amanda, the leader of the group, seems to have a different idea in mind.
[No way, we’re going to that beach. We’re going to the roots.]
[……That could be dangerous though?]
[What about it? I’ll go, even if I’m alone.]
The words Amanda declared had the firm conviction and charisma of a deeply religious person.
Amanda was supposed to be nothing more than a moody, egotistical woman.
Just like how she had changed since last night, the staff couldn’t hide their bewilderment as they couldn’t decide whether she was really possessed by some mystical entity, or whatever was clinging to her was a harbinger of some kind of evil.
[In any case, let’s eat first. Leave what to do later.]
When Amanda declared so, she stopped paying attention to the topic and ordered meals for the staffs.
Meeting over breakfast had been a custom since the film crew had arrived in India.
Breakfast at the hotel was served in the Southern Indian Indian Style, with a veggie meal for Amanda, while the other staff members were served set meals of non-veggie long-grain rice and various curries, with plenty of desserts and drinks.
The staff members are all gormandizers who are proud of their strength. They eat a lot and talk to each other to keep their spirits up for the adventurous work that is about to begin, drowning out any anxiety they may be feeling.
[Ummm…… Amanda, with all the food you’re eating, are you good with body weight control?]
One of the staff members asked Amanda.
Amanda has been eating all on her own since this morning.
The pressure to succeed. The enthusiasm for her work. The long stay in a foreign country to which she isn’t accustomed, with no clear future in sight.
It’s only natural for her to turn to food as an outlet for her stress.
Thus, they had no intention of saying anything about her food intake but……
[Hmmm, I wonder about that too. I’ve been very hungry lately. Was it stress, perhaps?]
[I- I guess so……]
The number of empty plates and food piled up on Amanda’s table was extraordinary.
Just the amount of food she ate may have been more than enough for all the several gluttonous male staff members present at the moment.
Although she was tall for a woman, the staff member asking this couldn’t help but wonder where she was fitting all that food on her slender body, which had been under strict weight control.
She, who had been spending her time in New York on vegetable smoothies and vitamin pills for her strict weight control, piled her plate like a mountain, scooped up a heaping pile of rice with vegetable and bean curry on it with a spoon, and rather than eating it, it looked more like she was pouring it down her throat.
As they looked at Amanda, who looked like she had a hole in her stomach, the staff was overwhelmed by her ferocious appetite.
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