The Navigator's Blood

Rose approached Sara, who stood gripping the ship's wheel, and the woman immediately reported in. "The voyage is proceeding smoothly."

Sailing was mostly boring. The crew spent their days admiring the occasional pod of dolphins that appeared alongside the ship or watching fistfights break out among the sailors. Sometimes they spotted merchant vessels or convoys, but everyone simply passed by with mutual indifference. Still, nothing could compare to the refreshing feeling of gazing out across the vast open sea.

There was just one thing that left a bitter taste in Rose's mouth. She stared at the two flags fluttering from the mast. One belonged to the World Trade Union, the other to Nostrum Trading Company. As long as the contract remained in effect, the ship belonged to Nostrum, which meant they couldn't fly the Black Rose flag. Even though she knew it was actually a huge advantage right now, the knowledge still stung.

"We'll be arriving soon," said Silver, the Nostrum representative, as he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠approached. Despite being nothing more than an appraiser, he had a clear tendency to look down on her.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Everyone prepare to disembark!" Silver shouted to the crew the moment a faint sea mist appeared on the horizon. The sailors looked back and forth between him and Rose with confused expressions.

"Stay out of this," Rose warned. "The Bloody Requiem is my ship, and it follows only my orders."

"Of course it does," Silver replied with an arrogant smirk, pointing at the flags. "But don't forget—this vessel belongs to Nostrum Trading Company, and I am acting with the full authority of the chairman. Besides, you can't complete this mission without me."

"Then just do your damn job, treasure appraiser."

A short while later, the ship slipped into the sea mist. The fog was surprisingly thin, so visibility wasn't badly hindered. They could clearly see that this was an archipelago—a cluster of several islands.

"This way," Silver said, pointing toward an area strangely free of mist. It felt less like they had left the archipelago and more like there was a hole punched straight through the center of its foggy veil.

There's something here.

Rose remembered how Matteo had tried to hide information from her. This was no ordinary treasure. She mentally ran through the artifacts and relics she knew of. Several candidates came to mind—items that could influence maritime weather.

She decided to test Silver deliberately.

"Look over there. I see a shipwreck. We'll start our search from that spot."

The place she pointed to was a small island shrouded in mist, and the wreck itself had been there so long it was little more than a decaying skeleton. Hardly the sort of place where Matteo would want them looking.

"There's no need for that. There's nothing there."

"Why not? The coordinates on the chart match, and there's even a wreck."

Silver clamped his mouth shut. He seemed to be thinking hard, his face tense, before finally nodding with obvious reluctance.

"Fine. But we must move to another island in one hour."

Rose sent the crew ashore to search the island but remained aboard herself. Silver showed no interest in the search. Instead, he stared intently at the empty horizon beyond, looking like a man being chased by something unseen. The clues were slowly coming together.

Rose whispered to Nelia where Silver couldn't hear.

"Nelia, go ashore too and gather some stones. Ones that look like jewels. The more colors the better."

Nelia clasped her hands together in surprise and flashed a bright smile.

"Oh my, Captain! I had no idea you had such princess-like hobbies. Well, everyone has a little girl in their heart somewhere. I'll bring back the most beautiful ones that suit you perfectly!"

With a mischievous giggle, Nelia disappeared over the side.

A little while later, Silver approached Rose again.

"This should be enough. It seems there's nothing on this island. Let's move on."

They hadn't even been searching for a full hour and had only covered part of the island, but Rose ordered the crew back aboard as he requested. She wasn't the only one who wanted to find real treasure. She wanted to locate the genuine article before nightfall just as badly as Silver did.

As expected, Silver guided the ship straight toward the center of the mist-free zone. There they discovered another island, along with what appeared to be a recently wrecked vessel. A flag still flew from its mast.

It was an imperial transport ship.

Now Rose understood why Silver had been so anxious. An artifact powerful enough to influence the climate was not something the Empire would give up easily. They would surely be searching for it too. It also explained why Nostrum had assigned this mission to her instead of their main fleet. They wanted to pretend they knew nothing about the artifact and claim they had obtained it by pure chance. Their primary fleet would inevitably be tracked, and if the Empire resorted to force, the losses would be catastrophic.

"This time, I'm going ashore too."

"I'll accompany you," Silver said, sticking to her like a watchdog the moment she disembarked with the crew. She tried to lose him by poking around useless areas, but he remained glued to her back, never taking his eyes off her for a second.

"Nelia, did you get what I asked for?"

Nelia discreetly showed her a handful of stones, keeping them hidden from Silver's view. The wave-worn pebbles gleamed like actual gemstones. They were genuine treasures of the sea.

Rose changed direction and headed straight for the captain's quarters of the wrecked ship.

"Nelia, search this room. I'm certain what we're looking for is in here."

Before long, Nelia found a small box hidden in a secret compartment beneath the captain's desk. It was a delicate mahogany case adorned with gold leaf and sealed with a special locking mechanism.

Rose watched Silver's expression ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carefully. His entire face screamed that this was the real thing, but he was clearly trying not to seem too excited and arouse suspicion.

"Captain, it won't open. I think I could get it open with my tools. Shall I try?"

"No! Give it to me!" Silver cried out in alarm, lunging for the box as Nelia attempted to open it.

"What's going on? Do you know what's inside?"

"Ah... n-no, but if it's hidden in the captain's quarters, there might be a trap mechanism. It's dangerous, so let's take it back to the company and open it there."

Silver reached out again while making excuses, but Nelia hid the box behind her back.

"You want me to cut your hands off? I only follow the captain's orders."

While he flinched, Rose continued.

"This contract is important to me. I can't set sail again until I confirm whether that box meets the terms of our agreement."

Before Silver could find a rebuttal, Rose gave Nelia new instructions.

"Nelia, take the box to your quarters and open it. If it contains something we need, take the appropriate measures and bring it to me."

Before Silver could protest, Nelia vanished toward the ship in the blink of an eye. He looked momentarily panicked, but he couldn't chase after her.

In the meantime, the crew discovered all sorts of valuables. They hauled up gold bars, expensive trade goods, and fine crafts from the transport ship. The sailors cheered, declaring themselves rich. Silver, however, showed zero interest in any of it.

Soon Nelia returned with the box. Inside lay a brilliantly shining red gemstone. It wasn't merely beautiful—it radiated a strange, mysterious energy.

"Th-this is it! The chairman will surely be satisfied with this!"

"What is it?"

"It's a red diamond. A piece of the highest purity could buy an entire small city..."

Just as Silver reached out to touch the gem, Rose snapped the box shut.

"Your voice is too loud. Do you not realize who you're dealing with right now?"

His eyes widened. Even if the officers were bound by contract, the ordinary sailors were nothing more than common pirates. Any one of them might kill him and steal the jewel before fleeing.

Rose tapped the choker around her neck and asked,

"I need confirmation. If this box and its contents fulfill our mission, then we're done here, correct?"

"That's right. However, I must return safely. Otherwise..."

Silver glanced nervously at the other sailors.

Rose handed the box back to him.

"If you want to stay alive, hide this box deep somewhere and never take it out. There are too many eyes on this ship."

Silver swallowed hard and nodded. Rose called out to Kane.

"Kane, let this man stay in your quarters and make sure he doesn't die. We need to deliver him to the chairman."

"Tsk. I finally get on a ship and you make me dig holes, and now I'm a damn babysitter?"

"Don't worry. You'll get what you want soon enough. It might even be tonight."

Rose spoke while gazing at the still-calm sea. Everyone except Kane boarded again with satisfied expressions.

"Rum for the victors!"

By the time they had loaded all the loot and set sail, the sun was beginning to set. The sailors started dividing up their shares while piling the company's portion in the center of the deck. The celebration began in earnest.

"This is your share, Captain."

Nelia brought her a small box. Silver was nowhere to be seen—presumably cowering in terror inside Kane's quarters.

"This is it."

Inside the box was a red gemstone. It looked similar to the one she'd given Kane, but this one was closer to the color of fresh blood and radiated a far more ominous aura. This was exactly what Matteo had been searching for, and Nelia had perfectly understood her intentions and swapped them out. Silver apparently had no information about the real artifact and hadn't recognized the stones. Of course, that was partly because Nelia's dark elf sorcery had been cast on them. No ordinary appraiser would be able to see through it.

"This really is the red diamond, right? The one that can buy an entire city?"

Nelia gazed at it with wonder, but Rose ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shook her head.

"It's far more than that. Much greater."

As Rose reached out to touch the gem, she felt her life force being violently drawn toward it.

That settled it.

"Navigator's Blood."

Nelia looked puzzled at Rose's words, but Sara's eyes widened in shock.

"It's an item you must obtain if you want to become the ruler of the seas."

Originally, this was supposed to be a hidden artifact locked away in the Empire's treasury. Just as Rose's fate had changed, the flow of the game was no longer following the standard route.

For the first time, Rose felt genuine gratitude toward Matteo. She reached out and grasped the gem tightly.

"Ugh!"

Her entire body's life force was sucked away, and her mind grew hazy.

"Captain!"

If Nelia hadn't rushed forward in panic to support her, she would have collapsed. But a smile had already formed on Rose's lips.

"Nelia, turn this into a necklace for me. Don't make it too flashy."

"Of course! Nothing could ever outshine you, Captain, so I'll make it the most beautiful thing possible!"

Nelia practically skipped away to her quarters, humming happily now that she could finally fulfill her duty.

"So the legends were true," Sara murmured, watching Nelia's retreating figure. "A treasure that can control the sea's weather and protect against the wrath of the sea witches... Could it really be real?"

"We'll find out soon enough."

Rose pretended not to know, but she was well aware that Sara's words were the truth.

At that moment, an explosion tore through the darkness.

"Battle stations! Wake up, you idiots!"

Kane's voice ripped through the night as someone was kicked and sent rolling across the deck. Several pillars of water erupted around the ship and crashed onto the deck. The pile of loot in the center was swept away by the waves, and the drunken sailors who had been passed out jumped up in terror and scattered in every direction.

Even in the midst of that chaos, Kane was the only one keeping his head. He ran back and forth, shouting at the crew and dragging them into position so they could manage the ship. His face was filled with the ecstasy of finally facing what he'd been waiting for.

"It's the imperial fleet! Get your heads on straight!"

The enemy ships were little more than blurry shadows in the darkness, but Kane spoke with absolute certainty, as if he could see them perfectly.

"What? The Empire?"

"W-we have to run!"

But Kane's confidence only drove the sailors deeper into panic. The Empire was the undisputed ruler of the world—and the master of the seas.

"Shut your damn mouths! Turn the ship to starboard! This time we'll smash them to pieces!"

Kane grabbed the rigging himself and tried to turn the ship. Sara, who was holding the wheel, shouted at him.

"Kane! Stop acting on your own and wait for the captain's orders!"

Kane looked up at Rose, who stood at the railing in front of the captain's quarters.

"Everyone prepare for battle. But we're not doing anything stupid like charging into the middle of their formation. Keep moving forward and load the starboard cannons."

Kane looked disappointed at the mention of a cannon battle, but he didn't disobey. He took control of the ship.

"First, let's show them our range."

"I can fire anytime!"

As soon as the cannons were loaded, Nelia—clearly having been waiting for this—unleashed her magic shells. The lead ship took a direct hit, but because it was a proper imperial warship, it didn't sink immediately. The second volley, however, proved too much even for an imperial vessel.

"Sara, we should let them know who we are. Light it up."

Sara tilted her head slightly at Rose's command. Her navigation skills made the darkness an advantage for them. But when her gaze fell on the flags, she seemed to understand. She gathered mana in both hands and launched it into the air.

The mass of mana rose high before exploding like a sun, illuminating everything around them. The sturdy imperial fleet was revealed in full beneath the light, along with their flags. At the same time, they would have clearly seen the Nostrum Trading Company flag flying from the mast of the Bloody Requiem.