Chapter 5:
Sea Dragons
I WONDER WHO’S ON BOARD the new Sea Dragon.
“Miriam?”
Can’t be. Different flags.
“Sellimea?”
That’s even more unlikely. I don’t think they’ll let the queen sortie.
The yellow-flagged Sea Dragon looked as if it were on course to meet us, so Fran and I were riding Jet out first. They signaled with their flags that they were friendly, but we went ahead just in case. Our last encounter with a Sea Dragon had been rough, to say the least. We needed to make sure whose side this ship was on.
We might end up in another fight. Don’t let your guard down.
“Hm!”
“Woof!”
We slowed as we made our approach so as not to spook them. This vessel looked exactly like Miriam’s. I could already feel the Sea Dragon’s mana at the end of the chains. The crew readied their weapons, but they didn’t seem intent on attacking. We stood watching them as they watched us.
I can see Seedrun’s insignia on their armor.
So they’re actually part of the navy.
Probably…
Seedrun probably sent them to apprehend Suarez. They knew that it would take one Sea Dragon to capture another. Using anything less would sentence the sailors to a wild goose chase.
Hey, is that…?
What is it, Teacher?
I recognize someone on board.
Which one?
The one at the bottom of the center mast. See that fighter in green armor?
The man had short hair and bronze skin and muscles that made him look like a bodybuilder.
I see him… Who’s that supposed to be?
Fran had forgotten, of course. I didn’t blame her for once—I barely remembered him, either.
That’s Bike. One of Miriam’s charges.
“Bike?” His name didn’t refresh her memory.
You know, the one back in Seedrun! He didn’t stand out much, but he was with Miriam and Carla!
“Uh.”
We beat up the bad guys together!
“Uhhh.”
You know what, never mind. Just…act like you know who he is.
“I can do that.” Fran nodded. I didn’t think she would’ve completely forgotten one of Miriam’s charges.
Anyway, his being here means that this ship’s on official Seedrun business.
I just hoped he remembered us. He probably did, considering what Fran did in Seedrun. He would’ve needed to be hit in the head with a particularly heavy object to forget about the revolution.
Take us down slowly, but stay sharp. I was ready to throw up a barrier if things got hairy.
“Hm. Jet.”
“Woof!”
Jet drew circles in the sky and descended. We aimed for the middle of the deck, where Bike was. The crew hadn’t attacked us, and I wasn’t getting any hostility from Bike, either. In fact, he took notice of Fran.
He’s waving at us. Fran, wave back.
“Hm.”
Bike smiled as we drew closer. When Jet landed, he walked over to us. “Fran! It’s been ages!”
“You, too…Bike?”
“You remembered me!”
“Hm.”
Bike smiled. Sorry, Bike. Fran had completely forgotten. Fortunately, the man couldn’t look past Fran’s poker face.
“What are you doing here?” Fran asked.
“We’re chasing after a criminal.”
“Suarez?”
“That’s right. Sounds like you had a run-in with him.”
“So he was really on that Sea Dragon?”
“Yeah…he stole it after breaking out of prison.” The incident was enough to mar the dignity of his country. “It happened two weeks ago.”
Suarez had escaped their maximum-security prison with the help of his supporters. Although most of them were locked up with him, some were only placed under house arrest because of a lack of evidence. They’d quietly called on Suarez’s supporters from out of the country and organized the jailbreak.
“The idiot king has that many supporters?”
“Idiot as he is, he still used to be king…”
Even rotten royalty was still royalty. The tyrant still had pawns.
“In addition, he still has the backing of conservatives who refuse to be ruled by a woman. Once Queen Sellimea dismissed these sycophants from their posts, they immediately returned to their former tyrant.”
Sellimea and the others expected instability to follow revolution. Good men were hard to find in Seedrun right now, and Suarez had used that chaos to escape.
“So did you end up running into Suarez?”
“Hm.”
“Sorry you had to go through that…”
“He escaped before he could make contact.”
“He probably noticed we were coming.”
The Sea Dragons could likely identify each other from a mile away. With us in the picture, the situation was definitely not in their favor. Escape was the only reasonable option.
“Are you the captain?” Fran asked him.
“Oh, absolutely not! I am a mere lieutenant on this ship. The Sea Dragon will only listen to royal blood.”
I figured that was the case. So there was Seedrunian royalty on board?
“Princess Marle, third daughter of Seedrun, is the captain of this Sea Dragon.”
“Marle? Who’s that?”
The crew members murmured to each other, glaring at Fran dangerously.
“She called Princess Marle by name…”
“Who does that girl think she is…?”
While I appreciated their loyalty, this situation could easily get out of hand.
“Still the same, I see…” Bike only gave her a wry smile. He wasn’t surprised. The man had heard Fran address Sellimea and Miriam without a shade of formality. “Listen up, you lot. This adventurer is a friend of Queen Sellimea and Princess Miriam. Treat her well.”
“What? Are you sure, Lieutenant?”
“Of course I’m sure. This is the secret force behind our victorious revolution,” Bike said.
Some of the sailors gasped.
“Oh, no wonder she looks familiar!”
“Y-yeah! She was with the princesses!”
“Now that you mention it, that wolf was there, too!”
Many of the freedom fighters recognized the adventurer who’d fought alongside their then-princess.
“I see. So you are the adventurer Fran. My sister has told me many things about you.”
Fran turned around and saw a girl. “Who are you?”
She looked about Fran’s age and height. Presence Sense informed us of someone coming on deck, but we hadn’t expected a little girl. She had typical Seedrunian bronze skin and long and unkempt black hair. She was intimidating, despite her age and size. Her thin smile looked more like a predatory grin, especially in the light of her large golden eyes.
She was wearing some kind of uniform that set her apart from her men. The collar of her coat was stiff and raised, and her hat had a visor. While she wasn’t decorated with medals, the Seedrun crest was displayed proudly on her chest. Her uniform was like a submarine captain I’d seen in a movie once. That was the best my poor imagination could do. She looked good in it, though, reminding me of the military-uniformed lolis you saw in anime—though unlike the lolis, this uniform suited Marle perfectly. A saber hung from her waist, and it did not look decorative.
“My name is Marle Amarillo Seedrun. I am the captain of this Sea Dragon.”
“I’m Fran. Adventurer. Are you Sellimea’s sister?”
“You really do talk like that to everyone.”
“Hm?”
“Well, if my sister Sellimea allows it, then I shall as well. You may call me Marle if you wish.”
Marle’s speech was definitely military. She reminded me of Miriam, who combined the royal vocabulary of a princess and a tough fighter. Would Seedrun ever produce a conventional princess? We hadn’t known each other for five minutes and Princess Marle was already making concessions for Fran.
Fran, say thank you.
“Hm? Thank you?”
“It’s quite alright. I have some matters to discuss. I hope you don’t mind.”
We had questions to ask her, too. Good thing she initiated the conversation.
“Sure.”
“You’ve had the misfortune of running into the rat bastard’s Valussa. Did you find anything out?”
“Rat bastard? Valussa?”
“You know of my fool brother Suarez. If he isn’t a rat bastard, who is?”
“I see.”
“That treacherous fiend drew his sword against my beloved sister Sellimea! Arrogance is his only talent! I swore to chase him down to the corners of hell and make him regret ever crossing her!”
Marle was very animated. She waved her little fists as she declared her death threats. The hatred contorted her face to hideous proportions. She was fiercely loyal to Sellimea (with an emphasis on “fierce”).
“Ahem…excuse me.” Marle cleared her throat, calming herself. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“That’s okay.”
“Valussa is the name of his Sea Dragon. Mine is called Wishkar. I’ll introduce you,” Marle said and took a step forward. She shouted to the waters. “Wishkar! Come say hello!”
“Krrr!”
A large shadow broke the surface of the sea. It was a Sea Dragon, alright, and it looked quite similar to Miriam’s Aqouis. Wishkar still differed enough to set it apart, of course. The scales of Miriam’s Aqouis were dark blue, and Suarez’s Valussa was ultramarine. Wishkar was a bluish purple. That was the only way I could tell them apart. I needed a closer look at the other two dragons to make a meaningful comparison.
Wishkar looked at us. Although it was stern, it looked over Marle like a loving parent. Sea Dragons were said to be under contract, but it seemed like they were consenting parties.
“What do you think? That’s a tough-looking snout, isn’t it?”
“Tough” was a bit of an understatement. “Intimidating” was more like it. The way Marle talked about her dragon showed how much she cared for it. Miriam had shown the same care for her Sea Dragon. These creatures were more than mere weapons of war.
“Hm. Very cool.” Fran looked at Wishkar with sparkling eyes. She was still a tomboy at heart and complimented the majestic beast with the first word that came to her mind.
“Right? You’re smarter than you look!”
“Wishkar is its name?”
“Krrr!”
“Hello.”
“Krrr.”
The Sea Dragon bowed its neck to bring its face closer to Fran. It looked at her with its large pupils. She wasn’t scared, despite having a dragon breathing right in her face. She walked toward Wishkar to pet its snout.
“Hm. Very, very cool.”
“Woof woof!” Jet ran around Fran’s feet, rubbing his body against her legs to draw her attention.
“Jet?”
“Arf!”
Fran looked down at Jet, who immediately sat up and gave her his most dignified pose. He laid on his stomach, then desperately tried to stand on his hind legs.
“Woof…”
He wanted Fran to say he was cool, too. Our direwolf was a little jealous.
“That’s quite a direwolf you have there. He looks a little foolish, but I can see that’s part of his charm.”
I couldn’t tell whether that was meant to be a compliment or an insult. Marle cracked a smile. Despite her militaristic speech, she still acted like a girl.
“We’re getting off topic,” she said. “I don’t suppose you have any information concerning the rat bastard.”
“Like what?”
“Anything will do. His base of operations, the number of his men, anything.”
Marle didn’t know anything about the situation yet.
“I didn’t think we’d get so close just as we were about to launch a full-scale investigation.”
“Why did you come to these waters?”
“A tip-off from our merchant vessels. They said we were most likely to encounter pirates here.”
While the Seedrunian sailors hadn’t spotted the fugitive Sea Dragon, they had a good hunch about where it would go. It was the right decision. They got really lucky sighting the vessel they were looking for right away, and we were even more lucky that the Wishkar came when it did.
“You’re on board a Beastman Nation merchant vessel, right?”
“Hm.”
“I see…I would like to speak to the captain. Do you mind playing the middleman?”
Teacher?
Sounds good. I didn’t think we had any business refusing. We might end up with extra guard work if the discussion went well.
“Alright,” Fran said. “I’ll go back and tell Jerome.”
“Thank you.”
We returned to the Algieba. The Wishkar started its approach, albeit more slowly than before.
The crew of the Algieba was on tenterhooks.
“Fran! You’re alive!”
“That took you awhile. How’d it go?”
“It went alright.”
“So I see…”
“Marle’s the captain.”
“Marle?”
“Hm.”
“Uhh…”
Now we were in trouble. A lot of things happened on the Wishkar and I doubted Fran could be bothered to explain.
Fran, repeat after me.
Sure.
I spoke through Fran to tell everyone else about our encounter. We started by explaining who Marle was, then I moved on to how this Sea Dragon was hunting down the fugitive former king. Finally, I told Jerome how Princess Marle wanted to talk to him.
“A princess…? Oh man…well, I guess I should’ve seen it coming. Only royalty can control the Sea Dragons.”
“What will you do, Captain?”
“Can’t exactly refuse, can I?”
“Indeed. We might get into more trouble if you did.”
Not only was she the princess of a powerful naval country, she was also packing the greatest naval force in the world.
“You’re sure they’re friendly?”
“Hm.”
“A friendly Seedrun ship…hmm…” Jerome seemed reluctant to talk to them.
“Is there a problem?”
“The Beastman Nation and Seedrun aren’t exactly on friendly terms.”
The previous Beastman monarch forged good relations with Raydoss by shipping them a steady supply of slaves. Seedrun lay in the middle of the two kingdoms and was therefore subject to pressure on both sides. Tensions arose whenever their ships crossed paths. For Seedrun, the Beastman Nation was virtually an enemy state. Accepting an invitation from such a party was reckless.
“We are in a state of emergency, though, so I doubt they’ll try anything funny… Alright. We’ll talk. I’ll go over to their ship myself. Sorry, Fran, but can you tell them for us?”
“Sure.”
Fran, Jet, and I really earned our keep after that—mediating between the Wishkar and the Algieba. It was tough, and anyone who thought I had it easy because I was just strapped to Fran’s back was badly mistaken. Fran did the talking, but I had to tell her what to say. Without my help, I don’t think she would’ve lasted the five trips we made. As things played out, it only took thirty minutes.
We were meant to take a smaller boat to the other ship with a representative. That was how negotiations like this usually played out. It was the best way to safeguard against sudden betrayals, but things were a little different this time round. The Wishkar was clearly stronger than us, whether it be in the pedigree of its captain or its firepower.
“They’re faster and stronger than us. They can blow us out of the water even at full speed. We’ll listen to what they have to say,” Jerome said, resigned.
If the Wishkar betrayed us, the Algieba was fish food.
Jerome decided to get close enough to be dangerous if push came to shove. The two ships approached each other and lined up. The distance between us was less than a meter now. Suddenly, the helmsman gave a panicked shout.
“C-Captain! I’ve lost control of the ship!”
“That’s alright. The Sea Dragon is controlling the current so we don’t ram them.”
“A-aye, sir.”
The Sea Dragon really was the most powerful vessel on the waters. Controlling water currents was definitely an advantage.
“Bridge is down!”
“Thanks!”
The Sea Dragon dropped its ladder and Jerome stepped on with a look of determination. The two ships were both large, though the Algieba was a little bigger.
Marle stood at the head of the greeting party, a reluctant Bike behind her. He couldn’t help being apprehensive. The lieutenant was quite upset at the princess for making herself known to Fran. Still, Marle had to be in front to show Jerome their goodwill.
Our landing party was made up of Jerome, Fran, and Mordred. If things deteriorated into a melee, the Algieba would have the upper hand. In that sense, the two vessels balanced each other out.
“I am Marle Amarillo Seedrun. Third daughter of the crown of Seedrun and captain of the Sea Dragon Wishkar.”
“I am Jerome. Captain of the Beastman Nation’s merchant vessel Algieba.”
Marle and Jerome smiled confidently and shook hands. Things looked to be off to a decent start.
***
Ten minutes later.
“I like you, Captain! You do understand!”
“Your talents are wasted as a princess, Captain Marle!”
Marle and Jerome were already good friends. She’d taken a liking to him, considering him a model man of the sea. Meanwhile, he approved of her un-princess-like behavior. Jerome slapped his knees and Marle let out a bellow of laughter that was neither ladylike nor childlike. I imagined they would’ve clapped each other’s shoulders, but with such a huge difference in size that didn’t seem likely.
“So you want us to help you blow that Sea Dragon out of the water?” Jerome asked.
“Indeed,” Marle replied. “While I am confident in the abilities of my ship and crew, it would be much easier with your help.”
“Really? So you got a plan?”
“I do.”
Marle proceeded to lay out her battle plan. As it happened, the Wishkar had an advantage in the battlefield. Valussa’s wounds still hadn’t completely healed and the vessel wasn’t completely equipped. To top it all off, the Wishkar had an anti-Sea Dragon weapon, which would explain why the Valussa turned tail.
“We definitely have the better chance at long range.”
Capturing Suarez would be a difficult task, however. Suarez’s ship was manned with escaped convicts who knew how to fight.
“We might have to end up killing Valussa.”
“But it’s one of your precious Sea Dragons. Are you sure about that?”
“I don’t have much choice. Setting it free would have terrible consequences. National shame aside, it would definitely end up affecting shipping routes across the waters. We must prevent that from happening.”
“Fair enough.”
“But now that you’re here…” Marle grinned at Fran and Mordred.
I didn’t know how strong Marle was—using Identify on royalty was a bad idea—but I could tell that she was strong. The mana emanating from her suggested that she could use magic, but she was probably just as handy in a swordfight. In any case, she was strong enough to sense Fran and Mordred’s strength.
“With Fran and a B-Rank adventurer on our side, we have the upper hand in a melee. Just leave the spotting to us!”
Marle’s plan involved having the Wishkar hold the Valussa in place while Fran boarded to capture him.
“Hmm…” Jerome gave it some thought.
As dangerous as the Valussa was, it was nowhere to be seen. The Algieba could now easily continue on to the Beastman Nation. Participating in the hunt for the blue Sea Dragon was a risky venture. What was more, Fran and Mordred were only contractors and not part of his official crew. Without the looming threat of the Sea Dragon, he wasn’t sure whether he had the authority. It was like hiring adventurers to escort you from one town to another, then asking them to root out a thieves’ den. It was out of contract, and they might even be excused for leaving. The problem now was that Mordred and the others had no way to leave. The adventurers could mutiny, but it would sour the relationship between guild and government.
Marle understood his predicament. “You won’t be doing this for free, of course.”
“Oh? Go on.”
“Assist me, and I will see to it that we discuss a potential trade route with your nation.”
“What…!”
“Our cabinet ministers will participate in the negotiation.”
“And…you’re going to make this deal in the middle of the ocean?”
“Would you rather I waited till we reached land? Besides, capturing this criminal is far more important.”
The two kingdoms were not on speaking terms, but that was mostly because of the Beastman Nation. Jerome was quite shocked by Marle’s magnanimous gesture. It was like a former victim telling her bully that she would forgive him. Jerome might be excused for thinking that she had an ulterior motive. He looked conflicted. I didn’t know much about politics, but dealing with Seedrun would definitely have ramifications.
Jerome was a captain of a ship, but he was also an official of the Beastman Nation. He couldn’t help thinking about the implications of such a deal. I didn’t think he’d noticed, but Seedrun wanted to be on good terms with the Beastman Nation again. It had completely cut ties with Raydoss and wanted to deepen its relations with Granzell. Now the Beastman Nation was an independent kingdom and an ally of Granzell, forging relations was a matter of national policy and defense. With the Beastman Nation’s help, they could better fend off any Raydossian attack.
“What do you say? I think it’s a good deal,” Marle said, without mentioning the implications to Jerome.
The princess had a knack for sudden negotiations. Whichever side showed weakness now would be at a disadvantage. For what it was worth, Marle looked absolutely confident. While Jerome was an excellent captain and sailor, he didn’t know much about the finer side of politics. He couldn’t make out what Marle stood to gain.
“I-I suppose so…”
“Captain, let’s discuss this further before we go on,” Buffet whispered. The first mate knew what Marle was after.
She caught the gesture and grinned. “Sailing with us would be your safest bet,” she said. “As long as you don’t know where that rat bastard’s Sea Dragon is.”
“Hrmph…” The first mate smiled wryly.
Marle was right. The Algieba had no way of beating the Valussa. Even our best-laid plans had no guarantee of succeeding. Buffet had no choice but to concede. If we upset the Seedrunians here, we would have to make the rest of the voyage on our own. In fact, we might even end up having to fight the Wishkar.
“But do go and talk about it first. I know that I am asking much.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Buffet bowed his head. It looked like the first mate was used to handling the captain’s negotiations for him. “I thank you in the name of the captain.”
“I would clarify one thing before you go. I will not destroy you if you do not wish to cooperate. My sister owes her life to Fran.”
Jerome breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Marle wouldn’t lie, but she hadn’t finished yet.
“However, we will have to part ways. Finding that rat bastard is my top priority. I hope you understand.”
Jerome looked disappointed, and Buffet sighed at the captain’s blatant display of emotion. Despite his best attempts at a poker face, Jerome had given away his intentions.
“We’ll return to our ship and talk about it.”
“Go ahead.”
“Come along, Captain.”
“R-right.”
The first mate dragged Jerome back to the Algieba. The discussion of what we should do next took place on the Algieba’s deck.
“So what do you think, Captain?”
“As a sailor, I think it’s too dangerous…but as a Beastman National, it’s too good to pass up.”
“Yes, I would like to accept their offer if possible.”
“Much as I would love to…it’s not going to be easy…”
“I agree.”
Both captain and first mate turned their gazes to Mordred and Fran.
Jerome wasn’t one for subtle negotiation and decided to make the request clearly. “Fran, Mordred, I want in on that deal. Will you help us? We need your strength, so please!” He bowed his head.
Buffet followed suit. “We’ll add to your reward, of course.”
Captain Jerome was a romantic. He made a good pair with his practical first mate. The price was quite handsome, but even without it, Fran was always ready for a good fight.
Teacher, can we join?
It’ll be dangerous. You saw what that Sea Dragon could do. Are you sure?
I don’t want to run away.
Yeah, I figured. We gotta pay those bastards back.
Hm!
As much as I wanted to run away, it was difficult given that we were smack in the middle of the ocean. I couldn’t tell how far we were from land.
Mordred’s eyes went slightly wide. Then he shrugged and put his hands up in the air. “I guess we’re in, too.”
His participation seemed dependent on Fran’s. Mordred knew that her presence would contribute a great deal to the operation’s success. His party didn’t raise any complaints. They completely trusted in their leader’s decisions.
“A-are you sure?” Buffet asked.
“Hm.”
“We have a chance of winning with the Black Lightning Princess on our side,” said Mordred. “If she wasn’t here, I would’ve refused.”
“How come?”
“We wouldn’t be able to do our jobs if she bailed. Might as well be a suicide mission.” Mordred had considered the possibility Fran might leave after witnessing Jet fly through the air. He probably didn’t know that Jet couldn’t fly over long distances.
“Thank you,” said Buffet. “We should ask the rest of your party.”
“And if they don’t want to?” Mordred asked.
“Unfortunately, we would have to refuse Princess Marle’s offer.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“We have no choice. Forging a relationship with Seedrun is important, but not at the cost of sacrificing our relationship with the Adventurer’s Guild.”
The first mate smiled confidently. He knew how to conduct negotiations. The other adventurers were summoned and casually accepted their new quest. Crystal Guardians, Fran’s temporary students, declared that they would go wherever their master went. The brothers of Red Earth were even more casual about it. They happily accepted after hearing about the raise. Buffet had expected this turn of events. The adventurers were more than ready to board a Sea Dragon, even before we made contact with Wishkar. They were even less afraid now that we had a good chance to win.
“Listen up, you scallywags! We may be up against a Sea Dragon, but we have a Sea Dragon on our side, too! Don’t you get cold feet!”
“We won’t, Cap’n!”
“That Sea Dragon’s about to become an oversize chum bucket!”
“You said it, Cap’n!”
“Don’t let me down, boys!”
“YEEAAAAAH!”
Jerome fired up everyone—sailor and adventurer alike. Honestly, the whole speech sounded like it could’ve come from a pirate captain. Well, being angry was better than being afraid, I supposed.
“Yeah.”
Fran raised her fist in the air. It was nice to see her having fun.
***
“We have finished setting up the Dragon Enhancer, Lord Suarez.”
“You’re late!”
“I am terribly sorry.”
“Hmph. So the repairs are complete?”
“Well, we don’t have any engineers on board, so…”
“You’ve already given me this excuse! If we don’t have technicians, then get the mages to fix it!”
“They can’t, sir. The only thing mages can do is prepare magic circles.”
“Do something about it.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“Get them to fix the parts the engineers should be fixing!”
“Impossible. It could become irreparable down the road.”
“Confound it all! You’re all useless!”
“Also, Varthez and Voluze are going mad again.”
“Again? I thought we just gave them pirates to play with.”
“They’ve been going through them a lot faster these past few days. They’ve been killing them just to calm their nerves.”
“Tch! Then pick some people out and toss them to them.”
“Are you sure, sir? We don’t have any pirates left.”
“We still have soldiers from the old country, don’t we?”
“Are you absolutely certain about this?”
“Will there be a problem?”
“It will affect morale, sir.”
“The men are nothing but a waste of resources. They can serve me best by dying so they don’t take up any more food.”
“I shall make the arrangements.”
“Just pick whoever you want as long as those brothers don’t go berserk.”
“As strong as those lunatics are, they remain dangerous. Even when captive.”
“They are Valuza’s successors after all.”
“What about the course then, sir?”
“Can’t we go back to the island?”
“I don’t think so…not with Wishkar nearby.”
“Do you think they’re equipped with the means to find us?”
“Most definitely.”
“We can’t keep on going underwater. Valussa needs to come back up for air!”
“It’s risky, but shall we try that island?”
“Hmm…I suppose we can reach it if we push Valussa a little.”
“I think so, too.”
“Make way for the Kraken’s Nest, then. It will delay Valussa’s full recovery, but it will have to do. We’ll stop there before going into Raydoss!”
“It’s a shame that our detour south to throw your sister off the scent was for nothing.”
“Cursed usurpers! I’ll make her regret the day they crossed me!”
***
“Lady Marle is about to lay out the plan, so listen up!”
The crew of the Algieba was back on the Sea Dragon for the mission briefing. The manatech had a limited range, so the sooner we set off, the better.
“Our mission is simple, but whether we succeed depends on your effort.”
The adventurers were quite startled when they saw that the captain of the Wishkar was a girl of fourteen or fifteen years old. But they turned to Fran, an even younger monster, and any doubts they had melted away.
The operation was simple enough. The Wishkar would hold the Valussa in place with its anti-Sea Dragon manatech. The adventurers would then board the Valussa and apprehend Suarez. Simply attacking the enemy vessel from the Wishkar would be difficult—it had to be a significant distance away from the target. Wishkar risked enraging Valussa if the Sea Dragons came too close. That was where the Algieba came in.
“Commence operation!”
“Aye!!”
“My handpicked mariners, your enemy is a Sea Dragon! As such, we are on a level playing field! Let them taste the fruits of your training!”
“Aye!!”
“We thank our brothers in arms for aiding us in our time of need! We thank the brave adventurers and crew of the Algieba! Go and make me proud!”
“Aye!!”
Marle’s speech roused everyone present. Men of the sea seemed like they were an easy bunch to pump up.
“Aye,” said Fran.
“Aye, indeed, Master!” her cadets added.
“We’ll do our best, too!”
“We’ll show them our training!”
Sailors were a lot like adventurers in that regard. Fran and her students pumped their fists, despite not fully understanding what Marle was talking about.
***
Two hours later, and we were on our way to the Kraken’s Nest—with the Algieba in tow behind the Wishkar. The area suited its name perfectly, with gigantic Krakens practically crawling beneath the surface of the water. Fortunately, the Sea Dragon was too fast and left them in the dust.
“I see it! Sea Dragon ahead!”
“Where?”
“Right there!” Jerome pointed to a dot on the horizon.
I couldn’t see it from here, but the sailors were used to it.
“It’s trying to run, but it’s not going as fast as it can.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know…but this is our chance!”
“Get everyone ready.”
“You got it! Come on, you scallywags! It’s time for action!”
Everyone on board the Algieba prepared by checking their equipment and encouraging their friends. Everyone was raring to go. At least we didn’t have to worry about deserters. If anything, we should worry about reckless behavior. In the meantime, the Valussa was getting closer and closer.
“It’s finally time, Master.”
“Time to try everything you taught us!”
“We’ll get the enemy commander!”
“Don’t force yourselves,” Fran warned. “Focus on not dying.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Fran made a pretty good teacher, all things considered. I didn’t want any of these kids to die.
“I’ll give the order, Black Lightning Princess. Feel free to do your own thing.”
“Thanks, Mordred.”
Mordred was now commander of the Algieba’s combatants. Jerome had personally requested it. Despite only being acquainted for a short period of time, they both knew that putting Fran in charge was a recipe for disaster. And now we were free to do what we wanted.
“Contact in a few minutes!”
“Hm!”
We were now close enough that the enemy vessel was visible to the naked eye.
“Sea Dragon Wishkar has flashed their signal!”
Marle had successfully locked down Valussa, although it came at a cost to the Wishkar’s own mobility. We needed to move quickly—the seal wouldn’t last for long. We still had Krakens to be wary of, and the Kraken-warding manatech wasn’t perfect. We needed to finish this job as fast as possible.
“The enemy looks ready,” Mordred said, pointing to the armed men on the deck of the Valussa.
They stood with their bows at the ready. While Fran and Mordred would easily survive the initial volley, I doubted the same would be true for the rest of the crew. Fortunately, we didn’t have to open with a frontal assault.
“Black Lightning Princess!”
“Hm!”
I activated Dimension Gate, careful to act as if Fran was the one casting it. A black hole the size of a door appeared when she thrust out her hand. The blackness shifted into the deck of a different ship.
“Did it work?”
“Hm.”
“Alright! Take down the archers!”
Normally, people hesitated before jumping through a mysterious portal, but that wasn’t the case with adventurers. On Mordred’s command, everyone poured through like an avalanche. The pirates were already screaming on the other side. Though greater in number, they were no match for Mordred and his men.
“We should go, too.”
Yeah!
“Woof!”
As we stepped through, pirates were running for their lives. There was confusion as an archer tried to flee Mordred’s spear. They expected the Algieba to board, but they didn’t expect it to be from the inside. Fran quickly dispatched the errant pirates.
“Haaaa!”
“Gods, there’s more of them!”
“Gyaaaa!”
She decapitated two with one swing and kicked their headless bodies into their shipmates. Fran went deeper and hacked away. We couldn’t use magic without hitting our allies, but a sword was more than enough. Fran dashed in, and screams and blood soon followed.
Fran, we should start looking for Suarez.
Hm.
This place is too big for a random search. Grab one of the pirates and ask him where the captain is.
Got it.
Fran scanned the dock and fixed her gaze on a man who looked like he was in charge. His equipment was certainly extravagant, and I assumed he was one of Suarez’s knights. Fran dashed toward him as he panicked.
“Wh—gah!”
The commander was only slightly stronger than the pirates. He reacted to Fran’s sudden appearance with a surprised yelp. She grabbed his neck with her left hand and slammed him into the deck. He coughed and choked, but she showed him no mercy. She raised her free hand, balled it into a fist and beat his face.
“Aaah! St-stop it!”
Fran gave him a down payment of pain. She would usually take more time with the interrogation, but we had none to waste.
“Hey.”
“Aieee!” The man shrieked as his nose bled. He was terrified, and Fran was Intimidating him for good measure.
“Where’s Suarez? Answer me or I’ll kill you.”
“Y-you—eeergh!”
“Heal. Waste my time and I’ll kill you. Beg for mercy and I’ll kill you. Where is Suarez?”
“Aah…gyaaaaah!” The man became unintelligible.
Unfazed, Fran grabbed his hand and crushed it. It looked like she was shaking his hand, but she could crush metal with that grip. “Heal. Where’s Suarez? Answer me and I’ll put you out of your misery.”
“Th-the command room!”
“Good. I’ll put you out of your misery now.”
“What?”
The man misunderstood Fran in his panic. She proceeded to put him out of his misery permanently by chopping his head off.
“Master, that was ruthless!”
“She’s so cool when she’s merciless!”
“We have much to learn.”
The newbies seemed a little too enthusiastic. Well, you couldn’t be too safe around pirates, so I guessed this was a good lesson for the rookies.
Now, to look for Suarez.
“Hm.”
Do you know where the command room is?
“No.”
I’ll lead the way.
Fortunately, the layout of this Sea Dragon was exactly like that of Marle’s Wishkar. The command room should be toward the bow.
“Jet, help us find him.”
“Woof!”
We split up to cover more ground. The Algieba’s fighters should have no trouble recognizing the direwolf by now. Anyone who attacked him was clearly an enemy.
We’ll take the bow, you take the stern.
“Woof.”
Capture him if you can, but come back if things get rough.
“Bark bark!”
“Let’s go.”
We parted ways and went down into the ship. There were guards posted along the corridors, but Fran disposed of them as she went. We searched until we felt a strong battle aura in front of us. Someone was fighting here.
Fran!
“Hm!”
She quickly followed the sounds of battle and kicked in the door to what turned out to be an empty storeroom. Adventurers and pirates stared each other down in there, but only the two in the middle were clashing weapons. We recognized the first as Mordred, which meant the man he was fighting must be Suarez. This was our first encounter with the former tyrant, and I must confess that he was quite strong. He had Advanced Ax Mastery, so he knew how to fight.
“Fools. Did you think you would leave this ship alive?” Suarez demanded.
“I’ll admit the Sea Dragon is the most powerful vessel in the ocean. But all I have to do is take down its captain.”
“Gya ha ha! That’s a funny joke! I’ll grind you up into paste and feed you to the fishes. Just like all the others!”
Just like all the others? So he frequently tortured people before tossing them overboard? Suarez couldn’t have been a pirate for very long and he had already done so much harm…
As I pondered that, Mordred and Suarez lunged at each other again.
“Raaargh!”
“Hmph!”
Suarez brought his battle-ax down on Mordred’s head. His attack was quite fast—if he was an adventurer, he would have made a decent C-Rank. But I wasn’t the least bit worried for Mordred.
“Too slow.”
“Impudent fool!”
Mordred drove his spear into the flat of Suarez’s ax. The diversion made Suarez sway, but he held his ground and swung again. An ordinary adventurer wouldn’t be able to dodge, but Mordred was no ordinary adventurer. He calmly deflected the fierce attack.
Suarez was a decent fighter in the grand scheme of things, but Mordred was an honest-to-gods B-Rank. And one who specialized in combat, at that. His skills and stats were leagues above Suarez. There was no way he would lose a fair fight.
“Curse you!”
Suarez charged again, refusing to accept it. He charged in recklessly, but just as he was about to cut Mordred in half, Suarez changed the course of his swing and attacked one of Mordred’s companions, instead. The mage was ill-prepared for close quarters combat.
“Gua ha ha!” Suarez cackled.
If Mordred let the attack land, he’d put his comrade’s life in danger. If he tried to stop it, he’d endanger his own life. That was Suarez’s plan.
“Fiend!”
“Gya ha ha! Give up!”
Suarez laughed as he saw Mordred’s desperation. Mordred thrust out his hand, as if he was helpless to prevent the attack. The ax came down on his right arm, but of course it wasn’t a desperate act at all.
“Metal Control.”
“Wh-what is this?!”
“Your ax is mine.”
The giant battle-ax folded into itself like clay. And the surreal scene didn’t end there. The fluid metal pulsed and writhed as if it were alive.
“Gaaah! Magic?!”
“Be bound by your own weapon.”
Mordred used his Steel Magic to wrap Suarez’s ax around himself.
“No, no, NO!”
Suarez struggled, but to no avail. He was soon wrapped up in his own battle-ax. Once the liquid metal encased his top and lower body, Mordred commanded it to solidify. Even Suarez, who prided himself on brute strength, had no way of escaping. If anything, Mordred had made the metal even harder.
“Aaaaargh! Let me go!”
“Save your energy and stop struggling.”
The tyrant was now in chains. The pirates moved in to help their leader.
“L-Lord Suarez!”
“Let go of him, you bastards!”
“Hold it.” Fran cut them all down before they had time to react.
“Gyaaa!”
“Guaaah!”
“Nice,” Mordred said.
“You, too,” said Fran. “I didn’t even get to fight.”
“Only because the ambush went well. Save the compliments for later. We’ve got a Sea Dragon to stop.”
“Hm.”
Mordred and Fran looked down on Suarez, but the former tyrant hadn’t lost his arrogance.
“You! Get me out of here, this instant!”
“Why?”
“Wh-who do you think I am, you boorish adventurer?!”
“A scumbag pirate captain?” Fran asked.
“Someone who exists only to cause trouble?” Mordred added.
“I am the King of Seedrun! Do you understand?!”
“Hmph.”
“Bastard!”
Mordred ground his heel into Suarez’s head. An excellent gesture from the veteran adventurer. Fran wasted no time in following his example.
“Stop this foolishness! Bow down to me and I’ll make you a minister!”
Was Suarez dropped on his head as a baby? How did he have the balls to make claims like that? Didn’t he understand the situation?
“I am the King of Seedrun and captain of this Sea Dragon! Lick my boots and all is forgiven!”
Suarez’s inability to read the room went beyond ordinary social awkwardness. I was amazed that he had managed to survive this long. Then again, perhaps this very arrogance was what allowed him to usurp the throne. To be honest, this kind of intimidation was probably effective against pirates. They were stupid enough to be impressed, especially with the commandeered Sea Dragon in tow. Suarez probably promised them all rewards, but that wasn’t going to work against Fran and Mordred.
“You used to be king. The current queen is Sellimea.”
“To hell with you! I am the king!”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am! I am the rightful King of Seedrun! Me! Sellimea is nothing but a dirty usurper!”
Suarez’s childish rejection sounded more unbecoming because he was so huge. Then again, perhaps he was still a child on the inside. As the only legitimate child of the crown, he was showered with undeserved praise and benefits, and had become more crooked with each day.
“Enough of this.”
“Yeah. We’re wasting our time.”
Fran and Mordred agreed their words were wasted on him. They ignored Suarez’s complaints and cranked the Intimidation.
“You. Stop the Sea Dragon.”
Fran did the talking while Mordred backed her up. I thought it would’ve been more effective the other way round, but Mordred let Fran have first dibs.
“Hmph!” Suarez turned away. Call it royal stubbornness or fighter’s spirit. Honestly, I thought Suarez was dense beyond salvation.
“Hrm.” Fran ground her heel into Suarez’s face again, harder than before.
“Gaaah! That hurts! Stop it, girl!”
How dare he! I knew people who would be beside themselves with joy if Fran stepped on them. But I supposed that, for people who weren’t so inclined, this torture was indeed painful.
“Last warning. Calm the Sea Dragon.” Fran glared coldly at Suarez, clearly displaying her murderous intent. The Intimidate of two high-rank adventurers should be enough to cause a normal person to wet himself.
Unfortunately, Suarez only glared back. “Cease your talking and let me go!”
He really was stupid.
“Alright.”
“Good, now hurry up and—”
“I’ll stop talking now.”
Suarez screamed in pain as Fran gouged his calf with her sword.
“Heal. Now, the next leg.”
“St-stop! Stop this!”
“Say ‘please.’”
“You basta—”
“Hrmph.”
“Gyaaaa!”
Fran continued healing and stabbing. It took a good five rounds before the man finally realized that the little girl was in the position of power.
“St-stop! P-please!” With fear of death back in him, Suarez pleaded for his life. Those weren’t the words we wanted to hear, however.
“Calm the Sea Dragon. I know you can command it from here.”
“Alright! I’ll do it! Just stop—”
Stab.
“Eeeegh!”
“Heal.”
“Aaaargh! Please, stop!”
“Shut up and do as you’re told.”
“Alright!” Suarez nodded, pale from resisting pain. “I-I, Suarez Azul Seedrun, command thee—”
“Gyaaa!”
“Hrm.”
A scream cut off Suarez’s incantation, but it didn’t come from the Sea Dragon’s captain. It came from one of Mordred’s men. He’d been stabbed in the stomach and he crumpled to the floor. The one who stabbed him was one of the enemy soldiers lying on the floor.
“Come on, Your Majesty. Are you giving up already?”
“V-Varthez! There you are!”
“You made for a decent show.”
“Where’s Voluze? Whatever! Hurry up and take care of these vermin!” Suarez suddenly regained his spirit. I was really beginning to think that this kind of confidence was some kind of mental disorder.
“Okay okay, quit shouting.”
There was something strange about Suarez’s champion. He looked to be one of the men who’d been knocked unconscious. I didn’t have the time to Identify all of our enemies, but there was something odd about the way he carried himself. He had not looked this dangerous before.
The man in front of us had typical brown hair and bronze skin, slender but toned. He was also emitting a fierce aura, one that Suarez couldn’t hope to match. This change told me that the man called Varthez was not to be trifled with. He could mask his abilities.
“Honestly, boss, I don’t know if I can win. But if now’s your time to go, then it’s your time to go, right?”
I had a feeling of déjà vu when he grinned. I had felt this aura before.
Fran recognized it, too. “Valuza?”
The man we’d fought a fierce duel with back in Seedrun. He was the kingdom’s foremost fighter, and a blood knight at that. He had far more skill and experience than Fran. If his blade, Soul Drain, hadn’t made me lose control, I wasn’t sure we could have won. Valuza was that strong. Fighting him was one of Fran’s great milestones.
“Oh? Are you the girl who killed my master?”
“You’re Valuza’s student?”
“You could say that. I was very disappointed to hear that a little girl took him out. But I suppose I can see how you beat him.”
“Stop talking and help me!”
Varthez smirked at Suarez’s barking. He had no respect for his employer. “Come now, don’t rush me. I’m enjoying this.”
“I’m not,” said Fran.
“Don’t say that, girl. How can you resist baring your heart to the man who is going to kill you?” Varthez’s eyes darkened. He might have been Valuza’s student, but the pupil had a deeper darkness. Varthez was an insane and sadistic murderer, and made very little effort to conceal it.
Fran, we need to heal Mordred’s mage before he dies.
“Hm…Mordred.”
“Yeah?”
“What?” said Varthez. “No one-on-one?”
“I have no time for your games.”
“Oh, this one?” he said. “You can have him.”
“Gaah!”
Varthez kicked Mordred’s teammate over and Fran caught him. Blood poured freely from his wound and she wasted no time in healing it. His face was still pale. A deadly poison had gotten into his system. Fortunately, we could still heal him.
Varthez looked surprised. “Wow, you can use Healing Magic, too?”
“Thanks, Black Lightning Princess,” said the mage.
“Hm. You have to rest now.”
“Alright.” Mordred’s man thanked her. He wouldn’t be able to fight for a while, but he would recover from the poison.
“Nice. Shame, though. I was about to give him some new friends,” Varthez said as multiple magic circles appeared around his feet.
Several figures began crawling out of them.
“Vaaaaargh…”
Necromancy. The man had reanimated the dead fighters. They retained their physical strength, but were as as tough as regular zombies. While easy to dispose of individually, they were quite dangerous in a mob. Varthez was as good at necromancy as he was at fighting. He was at least a mid-rank mage at Level 7. In fact, he could prepare this spell and delay its casting while lying on the floor.
Varthez’s mastery over magic might make him more dangerous than Valuza. Valuza had drained his enemy’s mana, but we didn’t really have to look out for any weird spells. At least Varthez wasn’t likely to be as dangerous at melee range.
Team up with Mordred and flatten him. We don’t have time to waste.
Varthez looked disappointed when both Fran and Mordred readied their weapons. “I gave him back to you. Hold up your end of the deal.”
“I don’t remember making any deal.”
“That’s right.”
“Hee hee. What a shame. But are you sure both of you should be here? I think my brother Voluze should’ve reached the other Sea Dragon by now. You should lend them a hand.”
“What?”
Mordred hesitated. He couldn’t tell whether Varthez was lying. Essence of Falsehood told me that he wasn’t.
“He should be enjoying himself right about now, probably chopping the princess to pieces.”
Should we split up or stick together to kill him as fast as we could?
Mordred decided for us. “Go on, Black Lightning Princess.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’d have trouble crossing over to the Wishkar.”
“Alright.”
“Besides…” Mordred lowered his voice and glared at Varthez.
Varthez laughed with joy at the adventurer’s murderous intent. He sounded exactly like Valuza. “Hee hee hee! You’ll make a fine playmate!”
“…He got one of my men. I have to pay him back for that.”
Mordred’s not going down without a fight, Fran. We should hurry to the Wishkar.
“Hm. I’ll leave this one to you.”
“I’ve got it covered.”
***
“She’s gone.”
After the Black Lightning Princess left the room, I turned to face the lunatic Varthez. I had seen his type before. They all had different reasons, but all of them enjoyed killing, as if it were a hobby. These lunatics often treated their own lives like a toy. Very dangerous if they happened to possess any amount of power.
“He he heh. I can’t wait to play with you…I’m getting goose bumps!” Varthez readied his sword and his zombies readied theirs.
“I thought you wanted to go one-on-one.”
“I do. These boys are part of my repertoire.”
Of course they are, you cheeky bastard.
“B-boss…”
“Make sure Suarez doesn’t get away. I’ll take care of this one myself.”
“Got it!”
I gave my men the signal to leave the room, and Varthez made his move.
“He he heh. Here we go!”
Varthez’s strange sword was curved like a scimitar, but it had fine spikes on the blade. Even if you managed to avoid its business end, those spikes would probably catch you. And those spikes were definitely poisoned.
“Shaaaaa!” Varthez lunged. The sword traveled through an impossible arc, making it difficult to avoid.
“Kiieeeee!”
“I can see you!”
A tricky maneuver, but still visible. I blocked it easily, even while being attacked by his zombie horde. I began casting while still on my guard.
“Metal Control.”
“Wow! I didn’t expect you to complete a spell under this much pressure! But that! Won’t! Work!”
“Tch!”
Varthez dissipated my spell with a swipe. His sword was enchanted.
“I saw how you melted Lord Suarez’s ax. I’d love to see some advanced Steel Magic, but why don’t you stick to the basic stuff?!”
Fire and earth spells were difficult to use here. Fire would endanger the ship, and there wasn’t enough soil to use Earth Magic. But when Varthez asked me to stick to basic Steel Magic, he didn’t know what he was asking for.
“—”
“You’re casting again? How stupid can you get! You don’t have time to cast now!”
“—”
“Get him, zombies!”
“!”
The zombies lurched toward me. They didn’t care for their lives (or lack of) and their main focus was to stop me from moving.
“Hyaaahaa!” Varthez curved his scimitar around me as I pierced the zombies with my spear. His timing was perfect. I had no way to dodge. “Got you!” His calculations were perfect. He swung his sword in such a way that I would have no time to block. It was only a matter of time before the scimitar cut into me.
Varthez’s mistake was in assuming that the spear was my only weapon.
“Hardness Cocoon.”
“Bwuh?”
The spell transformed metal into string, which wove itself into a cocoon. These metal cocoons were highly resistant against blunt and sharp weapons. Its effectiveness relied on the quality of the metal, which was why I used my own armor. The enchanted steel wrapped around my body and stopped Varthez’s attack. The cocoon appeared soft, but Varthez gave a startled shriek when he made contact with it.
“I’ll stick to the basics, sure. But even the basic stuff is enough to kill.”
“My sword…it’s stuck!”
Varthez’s scimitar was lodged in the metal cocoon. The odd shape was now working against him. “Vaaargh!”
“Vraaaa!” The zombies attacked, but were all stopped by the cocoon.
“You’re talking big for a man playing like a turtle! What now? Are you going to stab me with your spear from there?!”
“I’m turtling, you say? I suppose it looks that way, but you’re wrong if you think that this is all the spell is for.” I ignored Varthez’s complaints and started casting again. “Raging Metal.”
My cocoon armor started to pulse and change its shape. The metal squirmed like a living thing before it finally exploded.
“Gyaaaaaaargh!” Varthez let out an ear-piercing howl.
The metal strings had pierced every inch of him. The human body was no match for reinforced and enchanted metal wires. His zombies came to a halt, too. The threads ran through their bodies and destroyed their mana circuits. And what happened to the zombies soon happened to their master. The strings traveled and pulsed through his entire body. Varthez was close to death, but I wouldn’t show mercy to the madman.
“Eeeergggh!” Varthez cried out in agony. He was strong, and his strength prevented him from dying. All he could do was endure his death throes, twitching in the pain of internal hemorrhaging.
“Enjoy your final moments of pain.”
***
We rushed toward the deck, leaving Varthez to Mordred and the rest of the Breath of the Steel God.
“Woof!”
“Jet.”
We rendezvoused with Jet in the tight corridor. He kicked against the wall and joined us at full sprint like a ninja. When he realized that we were heading for the deck, he waited for orders.
Back to the Wishkar! We’ll leave this ship to Mordred!
“Woof!”
“How did he get to Marle?”
Maybe a raft. Could’ve been magic or a skill, too.
Valuza had a skill called Water Strider. He’d probably used that to board enemy ships when he was alive. We let our guard down—I didn’t think they would prioritize attacking the Wishkar over protecting Suarez.
We reached the deck and found that Suarez’s men were already defeated and bound.
Do you sense anything from the Wishkar?
“Can’t tell from here.”
“Woof.”
We would have to go back to see.
“Jet.”
“Bark!”
Fran got on, and Jet shot off like a bullet. We were only about a hundred meters from the Wishkar, and it didn’t take long to reach it. With Water Strider, it wouldn’t have taken Voluze long.
“Teacher, someone’s down!”
Dammit! Please let us make it in time!
But our panic soon subsided. The battle was already over by the time we landed on the Wishkar’s deck. There was blood everywhere, and injured fighters were being treated on the sidelines.
Two figures faced off in the middle of the carnage. We recognized one of them as Princess Marle. Her eyes were burning with battle fury, though her face remained stone cold. Opposite her was a man in black who looked a lot like Varthez. Voluze’s face was chiseled slightly differently from his brother’s and was currently contorted into a pitiful shape.
“Aaah…aaag…” Voluze shivered and fell to his knees.
His lower body was encased in ice. His hands reached out as he froze from the shoulder down. The only thing he could do was wiggle his fingers. His eyelids were fixed open as his tear ducts froze over. Cracks formed in the corners of his eyes and the fluid inside them solidified.
“Aaarrg…”
“Hmph. All that talk and this is all you can do?”
“Kill…me…”
“What did you say before we fought? I believe it was about how you would torture me without killing me. I also believe you said you would violate me in front of my men.”
“Ill…ee…”
“Come now, where did your earlier spirit go? Where is the man who harmed my men?!”
“Aaah…haaarg…”
Marle calmly chastised Voluze as he begged for mercy. He emitted a dry moan, as if in despair. Then again, that might just be him losing the function of speech.
“Hmph. You deserve a fate a thousand times worse than this for harming my men…but alright. I will be merciful.”
Marle batted her arm and decapitated Voluze with a single slash. Blood gushed out, but it froze before it could hit the floor, creating a magnificent frozen fountain. Voluze’s corpse looked like an avant-garde ice sculpture. I know I’m not one to talk—being Fran’s partner and all—but it was a very gruesome killing and not at all childlike. Marle would not let her men suffer in vain.
The princess noticed that Fran had arrived and casually turned to greet her. “Yes, Fran? Have you completed the mission?”
“I heard that the enemy was boarding Wishkar.”
“Ah, so you’ve come to aid us. I have to say you’re a little bit too late for that. The battle is over.”
“You got him?”
“Indeed. I am stronger than I look.”
You could say that again. I may have underrated Marle’s abilities. I thought she was a decent fighter but couldn’t use magic. I was severely mistaken. She was a great fighter and probably an excellent mage to boot.
“How are things on the Valussa?”
“We got Suarez. Mordred is taking care of his last lieutenant.”
“I see. That is good to hear. Can I bother you to return there to make sure things are going smoothly?”
“You’ve got things handled here?”
“Very much, yes. We’ve already finished caring for the injured.”
I managed to sneak an Identify on Voluze before he died, and he was quite strong. While Valuza’s swordsmanship was still vastly superior, Voluze made up for it with his sheer physicality. He was completely maxed out for melee combat, unlike Varthez, and his agility was on the level of an Awakened beastman. He’d managed to get the drop on Marle, and yet she took care of him without suffering a single casualty or even a scratch on her person.
Underestimating her was a terrible mistake.
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