CHAPTER 5
This was truly the worst journey of all time!
With his sword drawn, Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld ran towards the stern. What was pelting down from above wasn't rainwater, but seawater. The ship tilted strongly to the port side. The passengers slipped and slid on the wet deck, tumbling back and forth.
"Hurry! Anyone unarmed get below deck! Hold on and stay calm!" roared a voice.
Wolfram had experienced sea voyages affected by catastrophes before. For example, there had once been pirates who wanted to sell all the passengers into slavery. Another time, he and Yuri were mistaken for a married couple who abused their child.
"But this is the first time I've come across an attack by giant squid, damn it!"
Wolfram lunged with his sword and hacked at the gray squid arm that had wrapped itself around the stern. It was as thick as a hundred year old tree trunk; a single sucker was bigger than a toilet bowl in Blood Pledge Castle.
The people around him had all armed themselves with diverse cutting tools and fought against this enormous piece of seafood. A soldier on leave wielded a sword in each hand, and one adventurer had an axe. The head cook swung his giant knife; his two colleagues stabbed with butcher knives and iron skewers. A quiet guy fought grimly with an exceptionally sharp sword.
Even the women were competently putting their backs into it. Only the younger ones enrolled in their first cooking class seemed hesitant. Should they really cut into the flesh of the squid with their cooking knives?
"We've almost got it! Just keep at it! The squid is dangerous, but it's also important for our provisions!"
When a tentacle wrapped around the stern again, the ship began to sway so violently it threatened to go under any moment. If the squid were to pull up the planks, the fate of the humans would be sealed.
"I did it!" one of the young maids called. "You see, Sir Kitchenmaster? It's the first time I've dismembered a squid! Isn't it wonderful!"
At that moment, the monster disappeared back into the deep sea. It left its severed seventh tentacle behind on the flooded deck with the broken mast.
The people left the deck loudly bragging about their own heroic deeds -- with fresh pieces of meat as souvenirs. There would be plentiful squid for dinner.
"Would the ladies and gentlemen who sustained only light injuries please come to me under your own power!" Gisela von Kleist called to the injured in the cabins, as danger was finally averted. "If you have a head injury, please wait where you are until I come to you!"
Her companions ran from one end to the other to determine the number and location of the injured. Lord von Bielefeld, who'd done a lot of hard work, wiped the sweat from his brow. He wanted to talk to Gisela, but he didn't manage it.
"Hey, you lazy ducks!" she yelled. "Get your asses in motion! The wounded can't wait, so get a move on!"
Wolfram stared at his old acquaintance, dumbfounded. He had never known her to be like this.
"Hey you! Did you sleep through your training? What've you got legs for, hm?!"
"To transport the wounded, Field Marshall!"
"What?! You've got time to answer?! Get to work instead! There'll be no napping here, so run, you turtle!"
All at once, Gisela's tone changed: "So, young miss, please show me your forehead. Everything's going to be okay, there won't even be a scar... Oh, Your Excellency!" She noticed Wolfram and smiled.
"You did a great job. There's still a piece of sucker stuck to your face," she observed.
"A question, Gisela... does this mean your rank is only Field Marshall?"
"Oh no, Your Excellency. I can't boast many heroic deeds, but I do hold an officer's rank. That's hard to avoid, when one has served so long. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Forget it."
"Field Marshall is Lady's Gisela's nickname, Your Excellency," the bald Dacascos explained, completely out of breath. He'd come running from the ship's cargo area.
"Because she -- always orders -- her subordinates -- around like that," he gasped.
Wolfram hadn't known that.
Dark green eyes that shone with compassion, an expression full of motherly love, healing hands -- who would have guessed that this talented healer with the pale fingers could transform into a devilish Field Marshall? Although Wolfram had known Gisela since childhood, he had never once noticed that trait in her. He was bewildered.
"I have to tell Yuri about this," he stammered.
"Dacascos, we don't have time for meaningless chatter. Are there still wounded below?"
"No, Field Marshall! Only a few scrapes. But Kinan has disappeared."
"What? Since when? Maybe the squid caught him and dragged him into the sea? Although, I find that hard to imagine..."
Wolfram knew what she meant. Kinan was the man with the aloof face and cold glance. Wolfram had also imagined him to be the strongest fighter among the four.
"His possessions are also gone. His clothes, arrows, and sword. And his quiver, of course."
Kinan had never let the thick, sturdy quiver out of his grasp.
"What about the rescue boats?" Wolfram cut in.
"No, I don't think there are many rescue boats on this ship... Wait a minute, Your Excellency! You don't think he really...! How far is it now to shore? The distance is much too great, a single person, rowing alone, could never survive!"
"Not alone, perhaps."
"But why would Kinan sneak away?" Gisela wondered.
A very good question.
--
Meanwhile, Gwendal von Voltaire felt so exhausted that he didn't even have the energy to listen to dispatches and give orders.
He couldn't complain about a lack of information -- more news came streaming through the door every moment.
The only thing Gwendal could say in response was: "Continue the search mission."
The advance guard had already arrived in Simaron, but that empire covered about ten times as much surface area as the Demon Empire. Without a concrete lead, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. To increase the probability of success, the search area urgently needed to be reduced.
Gwendal threw a small white card into the fire and watched it go up in flames. Despite the fact that his long legs were crossed with his toes pointed towards the fire, he didn't feel an ounce of warmth in his body. Was the boy equipped to handle the cold? In Simaron, the onset of winter was imminent.
Whether human or demon, everyone was sympathetic to Yuri. Luckily, he'd been brought up as a commoner, so he shouldn't have any difficulty going to ground in a city. That was a small consolation, at least.
Noblemen often let themselves be ruled by pointless pride. It could sometimes drive them to reject any helping hand offered to them in the enemy territory of the humans.
Yuri, however, knew no shame when it came to contact with humans. As long as he continued to be receptive when it came to foreign aid, at least Gwendal wouldn't have to worry that the boy might freeze.
"Where the hell is he?" Gwendal muttered irritably, once he'd convinced himself he was alone in his office.
Hopefully Yuri hadn't forgotten who he was and what dangers he would face as a double black. Had he managed to hide his identity? Was he aware of the problems between the two Simaron states and the Demon Empire? Had the Schoolmaster adequately educated him on that topic?
Why had he ever surrendered the duties of King's Advisor and Schoolmaster to Lord von Kleist? Gwendal was beginning to regret that decision. He'd have brought more strength to the matter if he'd been involved himself. It probably would've been for the best if he'd taken complete control of the reins there.
Swift steps reverberated through the hall; they slowed as they approached Gwendal's door. Even the soldiers tried not to waste a single second. They too wanted to bring the king's whereabouts to light as soon as possible.
"Request permission to enter, Your Excellency!"
"It's not necessary to feign calm! I've already said that running in the hallway doesn't bother me."
"Yes, sir!"
The color of his collar pin identified the soldier as a palace guard, but Gwendal didn't recognize his face. Did he belong to a different sector? The gaunt soldier stepped up to the desk. With his gaze lowered, he handed Lord von Voltaire two pieces of paper.
"I have a report, Your Excellency! This afternoon, we received these two messages from a civilian newshandler in the city. So they don't come from one of our outposts."
"A civilian newshandler?"
"Yes, sir, Your Excellency! It's a business venture for news delivery by the name of Fly, White Dove, Fly. Doves are sent out with correspondence, and the fees are calculated according to the respective distances traveled. I have to say, it's a well thought out operation."
"I'm familiar with it."
In comparison to the military communication networks of the individual nations, there were large advantages to the private ventures in the areas of speed and security. The advantage of Fly, White Dove, Fly was the fact that they had branches covering the entire world. In the last few years, the demand had risen continually. Today, it was safe to assume that this company had an office in almost every important city.
The workers were very familiar with the flight paths of their doves. The animals were exchanged at countless intermediate stations so that the messages could reach any city in the world.
"Aha, the doves were changed eight times since Small Simaron. This message is from Carolia," Gwendal established. "Why Carolia, of all places?"
The writing on one of the messages was difficult to decipher. The wind and weather had probably contributed to that. The king was sighted with one companion in the autonomous region of Carolia in the colonial territory of Small Simaron -- so said the message. In addition, it contained a question: His Majesty is as enchanting as ever. But why has he been allowed to travel without any protection whatsoever? I request a reasonable explanation!
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