Chapter 3:
Open Waters
“MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH!”
“Nom nom nom!”
Dinner at the orphanage. Fran and Jet shoveled down Io’s curry with amazing fervor.
“What healthy appetites you have!”
Their enjoyment made Io smile, although I sensed that she was slightly worried about the state of their stomachs. I certainly couldn’t help them if they got stomachaches.
“You’re so fast, Fran!”
“And Jet’s not slacking off, either!”
Where had all the curry gone? Was it really okay for us to eat so much?
“There’s more where that came from. Fill yourselves up,” Io said, bringing out more food.
She had already done the math on how much she needed, I just wished she would stop giving Fran and Jet seconds. I was legitimately worried about them.
“Hm! I will!”
“Woof woof!”
See, they were already asking for seconds!
“How much do you want?”
“Extra big.”
“Arf.”
Fran and Jet didn’t know the meaning of restraint. As good as the orphanage was doing financially, there was a limit as to how much of their food budget we could eat. We definitely needed to repay them. Fran and Jet soon demolished an extra-large serving and received gasps of awe and admiration from the orphans.
Still, a cloud of sorrow hung over the children. Any leftover curry would be served as breakfast the next day, but there would be no leftovers after Fran scraped the curry pot. Some of the kids were betting on how many plates she could finish. The losers shook their heads in frustration.
“That was good.”
“Woof.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Hm. Real tasty.”
Fran smiled, and I almost felt jealous. She gave her belly a satisfied pat.
Was it really that good?
Hm! About as tasty as yours!
I see.
I glanced over to the kitchen and found nothing out of the ordinary—just ordinary spices and ingredients. They probably cost a fraction of the ingredients I normally used. Io used ordinary vegetables, ordinary pork, and ordinary spices you could get from the marketplace. In spite of all that, she managed to satisfy Fran to the point of praise… Io really was an amazing cook. She might finally win the cooking contest next year.
“Good night!”
“See you around, Fran!”
“Bye, Jet!”
The kids retired to their rooms or continued their antics in the playroom, leaving Fran and Jet alone with Io. Fran rubbed her belly and sat up. “I’ll be going now.”
“So soon? Won’t you relax and have some tea first?” Io stopped her before she could walk out the door.
“Your brew?”
“Yes. I have some cookies to go with it if you want.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Fran wasn’t going to let the opportunity slide by. She returned to her seat in one fluid motion and Jet followed suit.
“I have something for you, too, Jet.”
Io smiled at the direwolf’s silent enthusiasm. She really was a good person. The cookies couldn’t just be made from flour, sugar, and eggs. They were delicious. Fran and Jet’s reactions made that clear. Although Io used some of the cheapest tea leaves you could find, it was still delicious. Fran and Jet enjoyed its relaxing effects. Io smiled as she watched over them.
Before Fran could leave, Io bowed her head. “Thank you so much.”
“Hm?”
“I put a little bit more effort into cooking for you today… but I want to tell you that every meal is filled with smiles.”
Anyone would’ve taken those words as a boast on Io’s part, but we knew better.
“Before,” Io went on, “the children and I were always worried whether we would have enough to eat. They could still smile, but I could tell they were trying to be strong.”
The kids couldn’t be carefree when they knew the orphanage might be shut down at any given moment. They weren’t stupid—they could see the lack of supplies and the battered and broken building. Not to mention the thugs and loan sharks that dropped in on them from time to time. They knew perfectly well the condition their orphanage was in.
Seeing children in that kind of state was enough to make any adult worry, but that only made the kids feel more anxious about their conditions. It was a vicious cycle, but now the kids laughed loudly and without a care.
“Thank you so much for bringing the children back their smiles.”
“Amanda’s the one who helped.”
“Yes, and the orphanage is deeply indebted to her. But you were the one who told her about us, and for that we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Io bowed deeply.
“Hm…” Fran didn’t know what to do. She felt uncomfortable and had to force a wry smile, but I noticed her cheeks were flushed.
Io was embarrassed by Fran’s awkward reception. Fortunately, they enjoyed each other’s company, so the awkward atmosphere remained friendly and was soon replaced with warm conversation. Io talked about the children and Fran nodded happily, then it was time for Io to tuck the oldest of the children into bed. We needed to get going, too.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Thank you for coming to dinner.”
“No problem.”
Io saw her off to the entrance. Fran and I thought about how to repay her for all the food, but she refused to take our money.
“But I ate most of your pantry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Tonight’s dinner was meant to thank you. I can’t accept payment for that.” Io didn’t look like she would change her mind.
Teacher, what do we do?
Well, it would be very rude of us to pay off someone who wanted to thank us. Forcing her to accept our money would probably make Io sad.
So in the end, we thanked Io and left the orphanage.
“Bye.”
“Goodbye. Come again any time.”
“Hm. Definitely.”
“You’re always welcome here.”
Fran hummed to herself, in a good mood the entire walk back to the inn.
Was the curry really that good?
“Hm!”
Oh no! I’ll have to put my chef’s hat on!
“But that’s not all.”
Yeah?
“It was so much fun eating with everyone. With Io and all the kids.”
You’re right.
“Hm. That was really nice.”
Fran smiled. She sympathized with the orphans, having lost her parents, too. Seeing them happy really made her happy.
I’m glad to hear that.
“Hm.”
We had three days before we had to set off. We spent that time just chilling—walking around town looking for good eats and lazing about. We dropped by the orphanage again. Although Io only served us tea and biscuits at such an odd hour, that was fine for us. By the time we were done, we left Io a little something for the tea. And while we would never admit it, we left a little something for the curry, too. Since money was too obvious, we gave her a care package of flour, sugar, and spices.
The morning of our voyage finally arrived, and we made our way to the harbor.
We can finally go to the Beastman Nation.
“Hm. Looking forward to it.”
We’re on actual guard duty now. Don’t think you can relax like last time.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I remembered the last time we got on a boat. Fult and Satya, the royal twins of Phyllius, gave us a ride to Bulbola under the pretense of a guard job, but we ended up getting a lot more. I could look back on it fondly now, but at the time it was a series of very intense encounters.
First of all was our battle with the giant sea serpent, Midgardsormr. That monster took all of our strongest attacks and kept squirming. The only thing we could do was slow it down and try to get away. We had gotten a lot stronger now, so I doubted the smaller monsters would be able to stop us. But even Fran wasn’t sure if we could take down a Midgardsormr. She was more than ready to give it a shot, though, especially considering we now had a few tricks that could potentially roast the great serpent underwater. Still, Fran could only give me a shrug.
I don’t think we’ll run into that thing again. It’s quite rare.
We had to remain on guard for other sea monsters, of course.
When we arrived at the ship, the captain and his crew welcomed us. They halted their discussion when they saw Fran approach.
“Fran the Black Lightning Princess. We’ll be in your care for this voyage. Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Jerome, captain of the Algieba.”
“Hm. C-Rank adventurer Fran. Nice to meet you.”
Fran and Jerome shook hands and smiled at each other, seemingly on the same wavelength. Although, you had to know what to look for to notice Fran’s smile.
“You! Bring Fran to the first mate!”
“Aye, Captain.”
“I have embarkation protocol to take care of. He’ll fill you in,” Jerome said before going to speak to the port authorities.
Documentation needed to be filed before we could set sail. On Earth, ships couldn’t embark on a whim, and I was sure this world had similar protocols. And the sheer size of the Algieba would cause trouble for other vessels if it suddenly left for open waters.
“This way.”
“Hm.”
The sailor led Fran up a wooden ramp, although it was so big that it looked more like scaffolding. The thing wasn’t perfectly straight, and we had to zigzag our way up. I counted over a hundred steps just to get onto the ship—it really was gigantic. Sailors went about the deck, going about their business. Our guide called out to the one directing the whole affair.
“First mate!”
“Yes? Oh, is this the last of them?”
“Aye. This is Fran the adventurer.”
“C-Rank adventurer Fran, at your service.”
“I am First Mate Buffet.”
There were many variations of beastmen, and Buffet seemed to be the weaker sort. This was the first time I’d encountered someone with the head of a goat. However, despite his animal appearance, he was a perfect gentleman. He bowed courteously, although I had a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t of much use in battle. A quick Identify confirmed that he was much more suited to management. His only battle-related skills were Bow Mastery and Spear Mastery, but he more than made up for that with high levels of Trade, Rhetoric, Arithmetic, and Measurement. He was more than qualified to be Jerome’s first mate.
His beastman species really made me wonder. How could I not? The man had the head of a white goat. I worried about the possibility of him being eaten by more carnivorous beastmen.
“Captain Jerome told me about you. So you are the Black Lightning Princess that everyone’s been talking about… I’m sorry, but I still find it difficult to believe.”
“Captain said she’s the real deal, though.”
“Hm. You can check my ID.”
“Of course, and I trust the captain. But I am not a man of combat and you look like a greenhorn adventurer to me. I am sorry if I’ve offended you.” Buffet bowed his head in apology. Despite being unable to tell how strong Fran was, he trusted his captain’s judgment.
“Don’t worry about it. Happens all the time.”
“Ha ha ha. I’m almost glad to hear that. Alright, let’s round up the other adventurers so you can break the ice.”
“I’ll try.”
“Just wait here.”
The first mate signaled to one of the sailors to bring in the other adventurers.
“How many are there?”
“Twelve, including you. We have combatants among the crew, but the guild can get a little irritating if we don’t take some adventurers along.”
I remembered a conversation about cooperation between the Beastman Nation and the Adventurer’s Guild. While the guild didn’t force the boats to hire adventurers, it would cause relations to sour. The great galleon Algieba was a merchant vessel with a direct route to the Beastman Nation and it employed more than its fair share of adventurers, at least compared to smaller tubs.
“You’re the only solo adventurer today.”
“How strong are they?”
“I can’t say. There is a C-Rank party, a D-Rank party, and an E-Rank party. The leader of the C-Rank party is reportedly a B-Rank adventurer.”
Really? It sounded like we were in quite competent company. Although I worried about having to follow a chain of command. I didn’t mind another party taking the lead, but I doubted Fran would be willing to follow orders.
“There they are.”
The adventurers filed in. There were multiple parties in this one group.
“Strong…”
Yeah.
The fighter at the head of the group caught my attention. His skin tanned into wheat brown and his brilliant silver hair was tied into a topknot. Coupled with his height, the man looked quite imposing. His deeply carved face was more dandy than handsome. I thought he was in his forties. Either way, he was strong. Even his footsteps carried the weight of authority. This man was definitely the B-Rank.
Hmm?
His face felt familiar somehow, like I had seen him somewhere before.
I’ve definitely seen that blue armor…but where?
I couldn’t remember. Maybe I caught a glimpse of him in the guild hall? No, he’d left a deeper impression than that.
“Right this way, Sir Mordred.”
His name was Mordred. I hoped we would be alright, because his namesake was a traitor.
“Allow me to introduce you to our final guard.”
However, it was the smaller man next to Mordred who answered.
“Hey. Did you really have to bring our boss out here to meet this little girl?” The small man glared menacingly at the sailor. “She should be the one coming to his quarters!”
The tiny man was very annoying, but he had a point. Anyone looking at this exchange would think that Mordred far outclassed a little girl. His party nodded in agreement. Their value was hooked to their leader, and they were underestimated in the same measure.
The atmosphere turned awkward. To make matters worse, the small man took a step forward and even placed a hand on his weapon.
“Boss! Let me teach these guys a lesson for—”
“You’ve embarrassed me enough for one day, Surnin,” Mordred cut in before he could finish.
“Huh?”
“The weak have to pay respect to the strong. Which is why I came here.”
“Wh-what are you saying, boss!” Surnin balked in disbelief, and he wasn’t the only one shocked. The other parties were equally surprised. Fran was about the only one who kept a straight face as Mordred bowed his head in greeting.
“I apologize for my men’s rudeness.”
“Hm. Don’t worry about it.”
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mordred. Leader of the C-Rank party Breath of the Steel God.”
“Fran. C-Rank adventurer.”
Surnin and the others let out a surprised gasp. She was stronger than they were, but it was obvious to everyone present that Mordred was her better.
“Also known as the Black Lightning Princess, yes?” Mordred asked.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”
“I knew it. I saw you fight in the tournament.”
“You were in Ulmutt?”
“I fought in Ulmutt! Although Phelms knocked me out in the second round.”
I knew I had seen him somewhere before. We watched him fight in Ulmutt. The same flash of remembrance struck Fran.
“You’re the one with Steel Magic?”
We were quite impressed by it. Who knew that had been Mordred? We learned much of the possibilities of Steel Magic because of how expertly he handled it.
“You remember?”
“Hm. You put up a great fight.” The memories of that match were still fresh in Fran’s mind.
“Thanks. That means a lot coming from the one who beat Phelms.”
“Uhh…boss?” Mordred’s party were still puzzled and confused. Did they not watch the tournament?
“While you were busy in the Crystal Cage, this girl took third place in the Ulmutt tournament. She’s as powerful as an A-Rank.”
“What?!”
“Seriously?!”
“No way…!”
I see. So Mordred went to Ulmutt by himself.
“Yeah. She’s way stronger than I am.”
Mordred’s words didn’t take long to sink in.
“We’re so sorry!”
The adventurers fell on their faces in instant apology. I appreciated their humility. Fran didn’t look upset, either. Instead, she watched with fascination as the men prostrated themselves.
“I know they’re dumb, but they don’t mean any harm. Can you find it in your heart to forgive them?”
“Not even mad.”
“Thank you for your understanding, ma’am!”
Mordred’s men would’ve fit right in at an athletics club, although I thought the diving apology was a little much. Still, they executed it with perfect harmony, and it made me wonder if they’d practiced the maneuver in the past.
The adventurers of Breath of the Steel God sighed with relief. They introduced themselves meekly, with an aura of reverence. I was surprised that a single statement from Mordred was all it took. Usually, people insisted on underestimating Fran, despite being told otherwise. It showed how much the party trusted Mordred. They knew he wouldn’t lie to them.
I wasn’t sure if Fran was “way stronger” than Mordred. In her Awakened state, sure. But in her ordinary state, I didn’t think that there was a large gap between them. From what I remembered, he was an experienced warrior mage—maybe up there with Colbert. He shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“These four are my party members.”
“Very pleased to meet you!”
“Hm. Same. I’m Fran, and this is Jet.”
“Woof!”
“Wh-where’d that wolf come from?!”
“From the shadows, I think!”
“Ooh. He’s a strong one.”
“Hm. Reliable.”
Unlike his men, Mordred didn’t panic at Jet’s appearance. Instead, he smiled and nodded, appreciating the addition of strength. The other adventurers only stared at Jet from a safe distance, unsure what to think.
“I’ll introduce you to the rest. These guys are D-Rank party Red Earth.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Yo.”
“’Sup.”
I assumed the leader was the serious one, contrasted by the two lax men at his sides. Red Earth was a strange party. First of all, there were strange scales on the faces and arms of all its members—they were probably snake beastmen. Their bodies were of the same slender build, but what struck me as odd was that their faces looked remarkably similar, and all of them wielded dual blades.
“You all look the same.”
“Aha ha. We’re brothers, you see. We wanted to see the world and decided to be adventurers. We took this job because it’s time we came back home.”
The brothers had all been trained by their father, and they had the same skill set. Really, they were more like triplets than merely brothers. Hairstyle was about the only way to tell them apart. Although, I could just Identify who we were talking with to be extra sure.
They had scales where their eyebrows should have been and looked quite intimidating. However, they seemed like a good crowd, despite their thuggish appearance. The eldest was stern where his brothers were laid back. They didn’t seem to discriminate against Black Cats, either. I had a good feeling about these guys.
“And lastly, E-Rank party Crystal Guardians.”
“H-hello.”
“We met just the other day.”
“Aha ha.”
The last three adventurers introduced themselves sheepishly. They needed no introduction, of course. These were the rookies Fran demolished in the training room the other day. Miguel the greatsword wielder, Riddick the stoic spearman, and Naria the archeress.
“What, you’re already acquainted?”
“You could say that. She crushed us a few days ago on the training grounds.”
“I see… You’re the Guildmaster’s pupils, right? I have to admit, I’m jealous that you got to spar with the Black Lightning Princess. But it’s nice that you know each other.”
I was just thankful there weren’t any skeptics and that Fran didn’t have to demonstrate her powers.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“You made us realize, very painfully, that we were all still immature.”
“There used to be nine of us, and we got complacent because we relied on our numbers.”
“We decided to split up and train in groups of three.”
The sparring session bore fruit after all. The rookies had finally learned to fear death.
“I see. Good luck.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll do our best!”
“We hope you’ll continue to instruct us whenever possible!”
With the introductions out of the way, the rest of the adventurers left to give Fran and Mordred room to talk. The pack would willingly follow the orders of whoever ended up in charge.
“Now, let’s decide on who gets the final say. Personally, I don’t mind following your orders. How about it?”
Mordred deferred to Fran’s superior strength. He placed a high premium on combat, and he didn’t mind following a little girl’s orders as long as she was stronger than him. But a leadership position was impossible for Fran, and by extension, for me as well. Neither of us had the experience, nor the knowledge for it. I thanked Mordred for his honest appraisal of Fran’s abilities, but the B-Rank would be more suited for the job.
“I can’t give orders.”
“What now then?”
“You be commander. Just treat me as your shortstop.”
That was our greatest technique: give somebody else the pain-in-the-ass job! Shortstop was Fran’s shorthand for a role to do whatever she pleased. I just hoped Mordred would take the bait…
“Alright, that works. But I’d appreciate it if you inform me of whatever it is you plan to do.”
“Hm. No problem.”
“I feel weird giving orders to someone stronger than me,” said Mordred. “But you’ll probably have to follow them in case of emergencies.”
“Of course.”
“Alright then.” Mordred sighed. He knew that Fran had just given him more responsibility.
“I suppose that concludes your discussion,” said the first mate. “Allow us to show you to your quarters, Fran.”
“Hm. Thanks.”
The young sailor led Fran to her room. “Hope you don’t mind. The space is a little tight.”
“No problem. All I need is a bed.”
“Don’t worry, ma’am, a bed’s not the only thing you have.”
Fran’s room was located right next to a hatch leading to the deck. I supposed that this was the room they assigned to the stronger combatants, so they could immediately jump in if there was an attack.
“Right this way.”
“Hm. It’s a good room.”
“Thank you kindly, ma’am,” the sailor said, believing Fran’s words to be mere politeness.
Fran was serious, of course. I quite liked the room, too. I liked it a lot, actually. It was small, but it was a proper room. The bed came with clean sheets and a chest right next to it. There was even a proper desk and closet. Thanks the the light-emitting manatech decorating the ceiling, it was also classier than the cheap inns.
But nothing got my attention like the window. The porthole was perfectly round, the very picture of a ship’s window. Light streamed through the small portal, bringing light to the dark room. It was a simple sight, but it was enough to make me feel like I was really on a boat. Fran didn’t hate it, either. She sat on the bed, playfully flapping her feet about.
“I love this room,” she said in an excited whisper.
Me, too.
Fran lazed about the room until a sailor came to fetch her and led us to the captain’s quarters.
“Black Lightning Princess here to see you, Captain.”
“Come in!”
The captain’s quarters weren’t too far away. I suppose it allowed him to get on deck immediately. The captain had taken off his coat to reveal his rough exterior. He got up to greet Fran.
“I heard your first meeting with the adventurers went smoothly. Did it?”
“No problems.”
“Good.” The captain breathed a sigh of relief.
Was he really that worried? I supposed the rumors circulating about Fran didn’t paint her as the picture of patience. She was liable to grind some faces into the floor, if only to prove a point. And Fran was among the strongest of the ship’s escorts—if she came into conflict with Mordred, Jerome would’ve had to figure how to mediate. He would have had to side with one or the other of them—a difficult decision for any captain.
“We’ll probably run into monsters out at sea and maybe the occasional pirate. You’re free to do what you want until they show up. Just try not to let your guard down.”
The contract was quite lax. Really, this was the only way to satisfy all parties. Adventurers specialized in travel and exploration, and there were very few even acquainted with naval combat. There were even fewer experts who could immediately deal with the sudden appearances of sea monsters. Ships’ captains didn’t ask adventurers to spot monsters but to kill any that happened to be in the way. That meant a lot of free time, of course, on the condition that they sprang into action at the first sign of threat. It went without saying that hired adventurers were not allowed to drink or cause trouble for the crew. Such actions would be penalized.
“Hm. Got it. I’ll just explore the ship, then.”
“I don’t know if there’s anything to explore, but if it suits your fancy, go for it.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Well…as long as you don’t go messing around the crew’s quarters. And don’t go fiddling about with the propulsion manatech, either.”
“I won’t.”
“We don’t have anything to hide, but don’t make a mess of the storeroom and stay out of any place that says Keep Out.”
“So I can walk around? What if I steal something?”
“I have faith in our contract with the Adventurer’s Guild. Besides, I don’t think anyone of your level would risk demotion over something like that.”
In any case, we got permission to look around. I couldn’t wait.
“Anyway, do you have your Beastman Nation identification with you? I’ll check it now.”
“Here.”
“Timespace Magic…handy stuff. I wish I had it.”
“Hm. Convenient.”
“The ultimate magic for merchants…” Jerome muttered as he watched Fran’s Pocket Dimension. While he wasn’t a merchant himself, he was the captain of a merchant vessel. “Let’s see here…” Jerome pressed the ring on his finger to the emblem. The ring looked like it was used to authenticate the validity of the plaque. There was a faint pulse of mana emitting from it. “Yep, it’s the real deal alright.”
“Hm.”
“We’re departing around noon. Organize with Mordred in the meantime.”
“Sure. Where’s he staying?”
“It should be right next to your room. I could assign one of my men to take you there if you want.”
“I’m good.”
We had no trouble finding Mordred’s room. It was two doors down from ours and it fitted three people. Mordred occupied it with his subordinates.
The subject of our meeting was guard order: basically, there would be a night shift once every four days. We let him decide the best schedule for us, and didn’t raise any objections. He also went over some basics about guard quests that Fran didn’t know about—mostly regarding monsters killed on the trip.
All the materials and crystals acquired on the ride belonged to the client. In exchange, adventurers received a bonus according to the number of monsters they killed. The bonus would be distributed equally among everyone on guard duty, so as not to spoil relations. If bonuses were determined on individual performance, people might start slacking off. If adventurers wanted more pay, they would have to work together.
If there were still parties who insisted on slacking off, their pay would be deducted. However, the client would also report this party to the guild and undoubtedly would start telling all his friends. Slackers would only be making their lives more difficult.
We had no problems with the terms and conditions since Jerome had explained them to us when he issued the contract. Unfortunate as it was, I would have to give up on crystals for a while.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“Hm. Same here.”
The two shook hands, and Fran returned to her room. All that was left was to wait for the ship to leave.
Fran looked through the porthole and fluffed Jet’s fur. “Teacher.”
What’s up?
Her expression was grave. Did she sense a dangerous presence? “I’m hungry.”
Oh, of course.
I looked at the clock and saw that it was lunchtime. Fran’s stomach was always a reliable timekeeper. A knock came at the door just as we were about to go to the mess hall. Since it was Fran’s first day there, one of the crew members offered to take her. When we got there, a tough-looking man was serving plates to crew members and adventurers alike.
“Hey there! You an adventurer, too, little lady?”
“Hm.”
“Alright then! Now, I’m not sure if your tiny belly can handle this much food, but—”
“No problem. Give me more. That’s not enough.”
“Ga ha ha ha! That’s what I like to hear! Okay, but you better finish it all, or it’s the dishes for you!”
“Hm.”
Jet leaped out of the shadows, unable to restrain himself. He whined, begging Fran not to forget about him. “Bark bark!”
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot about you, Jet.”
“Arf…”
“Does that wolf want some, too?”
“Please.”
“One wolf-size portion, coming right up!”
Good thing they kept provisions for familiars. The chef recited the menu to Fran while she waited. It was all quite extravagant—at least as good as a restaurant. This world looked a lot like the Middle Ages, but magic allowed them to preserve food even without refrigerators. Keeping a fresh stock of ingredients didn’t take up a lot of resources. It was possible the scurvy didn’t exist in this world—the foods available certainly didn’t seem suited to prevent it. Since the Algieba was a big ship, the menu was even more luxurious.
What a great contract. It even comes with free food.
“Hm!”
“Woof!”
Delicious free food, at that. Fran and Jet greedily lapped up their pasta. The sailor-size portion was definitely enough to satisfy her appetite.
With lunch out of the way, Fran returned to her room. She couldn’t sit still for very long, but the room had caught her attention. As she lazed about in bed, the floor rumbled. Fran jolted upright and looked around, ridding me of any suspicion that I had just imagined it.
“Did you feel that?”
A little bit. I think the ship’s leaving port.
A tub this large wouldn’t be affected by small waves, but it wasn’t exempt from the usual shakes that all ships went through on leaving port.
“I’ll go and see.”
Sure.
Fran hurried to the deck, rushed to the side of the ship, and looked down. The wharf was already several meters away.
And we’re off.
“Hm.”
“Woof.”
The scenery moved past us. There was no cutting of tape or breaking of champagne bottles. The Algieba was not a passenger ship, and the port saw too much traffic for such ceremonies. No one was going to see us off.
We’re going pretty fast.
The ship was a lot quicker than I expected. All of the sails were still tied to their masts, and there were no powerful ocean winds to help us along. Our acceleration must have been due to the propulsion manatech. I wondered how big it would have to be to drive a vessel this size. Did it use physical propellers? Maybe it used jets of water or wind. The mystery of it intrigued me.
Let’s go have a look once things settle down.
“Explore!”
Sure.
Jerome approached as Fran watched the ship surge toward open waters. “Anything caught your eye?”
“We’re moving.”
The captain understood once he saw the light in her eyes. “Of course. Oooh, of course. You’re not used to being on boats, are ya?”
“Hm. I’ve never been on a boat this big.”
“I see.”
“This thing moves with manatech?”
“That’s right. She’s equipped with the latest in propulsion manatech. That’s not all she’s got, either. She also has a cloaking system to avoid large monsters, and eight manatech cannons.”
The Algieba sounded like it was armed with state-of-the-art technology. It looked like an old medieval ship, but it was definitely far more advanced. The manatech engine allowed the ship to move even in windless conditions, and probably came in handy for minute course correction. I wondered why they bothered hiring adventurers with a cloaking device on board.
Fran asked the question, and the captain explained that the cloaking field wasn’t perfect. It only shielded the ship from large monsters, which meant that other monsters were still fair game. It was designed primarily to avoid the creatures that lurked in the depths of the ocean—monsters big enough to sink the ship with little effort. But the Algieba still had ways of dealing with small to medium monsters—its bilge generated a pulse that warded off any curious monsters that came near. That said, it didn’t always work, and there would always be stubborn monsters that insisted on attacking.
But all of those measures were useless against pirates. Of course, a sensible pirate wouldn’t attack a ship in the royal armada—equipped with armaments and able to defend itself with lethal force. Attacking such a vessel was equivalent to slapping a nation across the face. Any pirate foolish enough to try would bring the wrath of a kingdom down on their entire profession.
On the other hand, pirates targeting Algieba might have armadas of their own. Jerome said it had happened more times than he cared to count. Naval combat broke out, and the crew of the Algieba had to put its manatech cannons to good use. Each vessel maneuvered for optimal firing position, though sometimes boarding was unavoidable. That was when adventurers earned their keep.
“Hope you’ll give us a good show, Black Lightning Princess.”
“Hm. You’ll get one.”
“Ha ha ha! I like your tone, kid! Looks like we’re in for a safe voyage!”
***
In the day after the ship left port, we quickly took to exploring the Algieba. Having made our rounds of the top deck, we went one level below. There wasn’t much to look at there, since the rooms mostly consisted of the crew’s quarters, which we were not allowed to enter. I guessed their quarters were concentrated near the top deck so they could react in an emergency.
“Another storeroom.”
It’s a merchant vessel after all.
“Hmm…smells good.”
This must be where they keep the foodstuff.
Below the crew’s quarters were the storerooms, filled with box upon box. They looked like they had been forced inside the room with manatech. I certainly couldn’t explain the impeccably efficient arrangement. Fran had fun peeking inside. She nodded and sometimes tilted her head in confusion at the contents. There were rare foods and artistic implements of strange design—more than enough to satisfy her adolescent curiosity.
“On to the next one.”
Sure.
We left the storerooms and walked to a room on the other side of the ship.
“I can see the outside from here. What’s this weird thing?”
Black steel spheres rested in a room with tall and narrow windows. They were lying next to a long cylinder that looked like an instrument of war.
“What’s this?”
Fran couldn’t tell. For anyone who hadn’t seen it before, it was difficult to understand. I could only figure it out because I had seen something similar in my past life. They were a staple in the video games I used to play.
Cannons, of the manatech variety. You use mana to shoot these cannonballs.
“Why go to the trouble?”
Well, I think it’s a matter of mana efficiency. Propelling a cannonball doesn’t take as much mana as a full-blown spell. But just because it operates on mana doesn’t mean it can run forever.
The prime advantage was that the cannon could fire mana as well as cannonballs. The cannonballs were for enemy ships, while manashot was for whatever monster the ocean threw at us. This dual action was probably what contributed to their sheer size. The cannons were a lot bigger than the ones on Earth.
We went down another level and arrived at the ship’s bilge. Half of it was taken up by the ballast, while the other housed a gigantic piece of manatech. The large machinery whirred and hummed, sending vibrations through the pit of your stomach. Several men in overalls tended to the giant manatech—they must’ve been the thing’s technicians.
“Who’s there?”
“Fran. Adventurer. Guarding the ship. I’m exploring.”
“Oh, I see. You’ve found the heart of the Algieba. Please don’t come any closer.”
“Got it.” Fran stopped and observed the machine from afar. “It’s big.”
This must be the propulsion engine.
“Hm. Real loud.”
So water comes out from there… It’s kind of like a giant pump.
The manatech functioned like a gigantic water jet, moving the ship by forcing water out of large tubes. These tubes were installed in several locations over the bilge, making it easier to turn tight corners.
That about covers the entire ship.
Hm! That was fun!
We returned to the upper levels. Fran was feeling restless, so she wanted to practice her swordsmanship. Can I do it at the top deck?
Don’t see why not. We’ll find a quiet corner so we don’t bother anyone.
The ship’s crew was hard at work when we surfaced. Jerome was giving them orders to unfurl the sails. “We’re a good distance away from port! Set sail, boys!”
“Aye!”
“Look alive, sea dogs! Full speed ahead to the Kraken’s Nest!”
With the port of Bulbola safely behind us, we accelerated rapidly. Something Jerome said had caught my ear, though. What was this about Krakens? Back home, that meant a sea creature that looked like a cross between a squid, an octopus, and a jellyfish. These sea monsters were famous for dragging ships down into a watery grave.
Fran approached Jerome to clarify. “What’s the Kraken’s Nest?”
“Fran. Did you have a good tour of the ship?”
“Sure did.”
“Good to hear! The Kraken’s Nest is exactly what you think it is. It’s the dangerous spawning grounds of the beast known as the Kraken!”
“And we’re passing through it?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
I knew the ship had a cloaking system, but wasn’t this asking for trouble?
The captain assured us that it wasn’t so. “Our route will only take us to the border.”
The Kraken was the apex predator of the sea. No other monster dared to come close to their territory, especially the medium-size monsters that were the bulk of a Kraken’s diet.
“As long as we’re careful, we won’t have to worry about any other monsters attacking us.”
“Okay, but what about the Krakens?”
A Kraken attack was serious business, but the ship’s cloaking system was designed to be especially effective against them. Fran pressed the subject, asking about other large monsters. The captain explained that the only large monsters that lived in that part of the ocean were the Krakens.
“Why?”
“Our course from Jillbird to Chrome mostly passes through shallow waters. Comparatively shallow, anyway—it’s still several hundred meters deep.”
Quite shallow, considering how deep the ocean could be.
“B-Threats live in deeper waters, not to mention the Whale King Leviathan and Sea Dragon Dagon. There’s a lot more food for them to snack on there.”
The shallows weren’t enough to feed such colossal beasts. That was why Krakens were the only large monsters in the waters between Jillbird and Chrome.
“Now, the Enchanted Ocean farther north is where the real monsters are. That’s where the S-Threat Leviathan lives.”
The Leviathan was the world’s largest creature, spanning a thousand meters from head to tail. Some attributed tsunamis to the Leviathan turning in its underwater bed. Not much was known about it, since sightings were so few. But the story went that a coastal kingdom once angered the creature and was wiped off the map overnight. The ensuing tsunami was so large that it destroyed all architecture, leaving nothing but an empty island.
The document detailing the attack went on to describe, to everyone’s shock, that the main diet of the Leviathan was Midgardsormrs, the A-Threat Sea Worms. Fortunately, even one was enough to satisfy the Whale King for a hundred years, which was why sightings of it were so rare.
The Enchanted Ocean was home to many other giant sea monsters, and no ship charted its course through there. Anyone headed to Brodin from Jillbird was forced to take the western route via Chrome to avoid it. This route was the safest we had. The Krakens had made their nest here, but at least we didn’t have to worry about getting caught up in a fight between a Sea Dragon and a Sea Worm.
“Don’t worry. We have ways of dealing with Krakens.”
“Hm.”
“You just keep us safe from the shrimp paste and pirates.”
“Will do.”
“Counting on you.”
***
A few days after departure, Fran and the other adventurers were living quite comfortably. As long as there were no monsters, they ate, slept, and enjoyed the fresh ocean wind as they went about their activities. The rooms were cleaned with Cleansing Magic and the food was well balanced. Item bags meant we could enjoy fresh salad even in the middle of the ocean.
In any case, we weren’t going to starve to death. Even if the ship were to run out of food, we could still fish. Today, the crew was fishing with vast nets, and Fran watched curiously as the sailors heaved their catch on board. She even muttered, “Heave!” in imitation of their shouts. It must have been her first time seeing such a thing.
“Ga ha ha! You look like you’ve never gone fishing before.”
“Hm. Not like this.”
“You don’t say! Well, take it in. You won’t get a catch this big on any other ship!”
“Really?”
“You gotta be on a large vessel. Operating manatech this big takes a lot of manpower.”
“I see.”
“You get a bigger catch with the bigger net, but it also means more monsters eager to steal it. You better know how to operate your sword when that happens. Monsters tend to get caught in these nets, too. One is all you need to wreak havoc.”
Maybe Fran and the other adventurers would finally see some action.
“I think our fighters have it covered, but get ready just in case.”
“Hm.”
The sailors safely hauled their catch while Fran watched over them. The fish lay on the deck like a carpet.
“Is that a fish?”
What? Did you spot a monster?
“That flat one over there.”
Oh. Yeah, that’s a fish. A monkfish.
Monkfish did look like monsters if you didn’t know what you were looking at. Foreigners were grossed out by octopus, but I still thought that monkfish were more terrifying.
“What’s that?”
That looks like some kind of hagfish.
“And that one?”
Probably a sea cucumber. Huge one, though.
So far, the fantasy fish looked similar to the ones back on Earth. It made me realize how gross sea life could get. In the depths, the line between monster and animal became blurred.
“What’s that?”
Which one?
“That.”
I couldn’t tell which one Fran was pointing at. She reached into the haul and picked up the creature of interest.
“This one.”
Ew, gross!
The thing squirming in Fran’s hand, trying to escape was the most grotesque of the creatures so far. It was like a lump of pulsing red-and-black flesh, and it looked more like stuffed intestines than an actual living thing. On one side of the alien’s body was a hole ringed with sharp, rotating teeth. I had never seen a deep-sea creature as strange as this… I was amazed Fran could hold it in her arms without so much as a second thought.
I screamed the moment I Identified it—I hadn’t felt that much panic in a long time. That thing’s a Midgardsormr!
“A Midgardsormr? You sure?”
I-I think it’s still growing.
“So this is a grub?”
I could never have imagined the hundred-meter-long Sea Worm started life as this tiny monster. Th-there’s another one over there.
“Where?”
It’s that long thing.
“This is one, too?”
Fran held the long ropelike creature in her free hand. The creature retained the red-and-black exterior of its smaller brethren, but it was much longer. The first specimen was only as big as the palm of Fran’s hand, while this second was over a meter long.
“So this turns into this?”
Probably… Urgh, those ridges are gross.
The juvenile Sormr wasn’t perfectly smooth. Its tubular body was ridged at regular intervals.
Jerome approached Fran as she inspected the future A-Threat. “That’s a young Midgardsormr!”
“Hm.”
The captain’s face grew grim. “A few months old by the size of it… Its parent might still be around.”
“I thought you said only Krakens lived here.”
“For the most part, yeah. We’ve had sightings of Midgardsormr here, too. Only once every few years, fortunately.”
“I fought a Midgardsormr once.”
“Recently?”
“Hm. When I was on the boat to Bulbola.”
“Are you serious? We can’t let our guard down, then…”
“What do we do in case of an attack?”
“Midgardsormr are very sensitive to smell. We’ll put out a chum bucket to throw it off our scent.”
The sailors had ways of dealing with Midgardsormr since they were liable to run into one on their voyages. Jerome seemed well acquainted with the creatures, so we asked for some further clarification.
“This thing grows up into this thing?”
“Yeah, though not the way you think. It doesn’t technically get longer by itself.”
“How do they do it then?”
“These small ones attach to one another to grow bigger. See these ridges on the bigger one?”
“Yeah. Gross.”
“That’s where they conjoin. Sormr grubs latch on to the butts of other Sormr and so forth. They grow longer and longer until they fuse to become a single Midgardsormr.”
While strange, this wasn’t completely unheard of on Earth. I thought I’d heard of some jellyfish or microbe that grew in a similar fashion… Jerome cleared up the question of multiple hearts in one Sormr, though. Although the giant worm looked like a single creature, it actually breathed as a colony. No wonder Death Gaze’s Instant Death couldn’t kill it.
“What do I do with this?”
“We’ll gather up and dispose of these pests. Put them in a separate batch if you happen to find any more.”
“Got it.”
We proceeded to look for Sea Worms. Since we had Identify and Mana Sense, finding Sormrs in a mountain of fish was easy. There weren’t any dangerous monsters among the catch, and the sorting went swimmingly. I couldn’t wait to see what the cook had in mind.
The only problem was Fran’s smelly hands. If she didn’t clean them properly, the stench would linger. I didn’t mind the smell, but I didn’t know what I would do if people started calling her stinky.
Teacher.
What’s up?
I want a bath. Fran sniffed her hands and recoiled. Even she was turned off by the fishy smell and the slime.
I’m not sure if there’s a bath on this ship…but we can make it work.
We could produce our own hot water with magic. No need to go through the Algieba’s reserves.
But what about the bathtub?
We couldn’t use Earth Magic, since there wasn’t enough earth to work with. A wooden barrel would be the next best thing, but was there anything else we could use? A steel barrel immediately came to mind, but I doubted the ship had any that weren’t in use. We could use a large cooking pot—Fran was certainly small enough.
But then we have to think about hygiene…
Even with Cleansing Magic, the idea of cooking with a pot that had been used as a bathtub was off-putting. Was there anything we could do?
“Hmmm.”
“What’s on your mind, Fran?”
We might as well ask Jerome. Maybe there was a big wooden barrel that lay forgotten somewhere.
But the captain told us that the Algieba was already equipped with a bath. I kept forgetting that this fantasy world functioned with magic and manatech. What sounded like a luxury was actually standard fare, even for medium-size vessels.
No one had used the tub in the last few days as sailors mostly didn’t go in for bathing. It was hard to imagine these rough and rowdy men relaxing in a bathtub, and they also had the convenient excuse of wanting to keep costs down. However, in the event of long voyages, health and hygiene became priorities, and the men would be forced to bathe. So far, they had yet to take their first dip. Jerome told us that we were free to use the bath, as long as we brought our own water. We left quickly to find it.
“It’s big.”
Big enough to cause a dent in the water bill.
The baths were large enough for several dozen sailors. There was the bath proper, along with several places to wash up. While Fran and I could conjure up hot water with little difficulty, the manatech took quite a bit of time and resources to prepare.
You do the water and I’ll heat it up.
“Hm!”
“Woof woof!”
Okay, Jet, come on out.
The captain allowed us to wash our direwolf as long as we promised to clean up afterward. Fran and Jet monopolized the large bath, feeling like royalty. We returned to our room completely relaxed.
Fran informed Mordred and the first mate that she was done so that they could use the bath. The first mate was quite pleased at being allowed to bathe and cheerfully asked her to do the same thing again tomorrow. Fran was taken aback at his dripping wet figure. Have you ever seen a wet goat? It was just like that.
We didn’t mind—preparing the bath cost us next to nothing and it meant that Fran could bathe daily. The fact that the first mate now owed us was a nice bonus. Of course, I drained the tub and replaced the water after Fran. I’d be in the depths of a scrap heap before I let some guy use the same water as her!
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