Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: A Weapon is a Luxury for a Brawler (2)
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As Bishop Orchid used his final skill, my depleted mana returned. Even Gerbera, who had been using mana, looked much more at ease than before. Pippin did too, and even the sailors showed signs of renewed vigor.
“This is the power of a healer, huh…”
Soon after, the seaweed barrier vanished completely. The seaweed was sucked back into the sea like water down a drain. I rushed to the edge of the ship to peer outside.
“Whoa…”
The surface of the sea was packed with the charred corpses of Botri, bobbing up and down.
What a waste. If I’d fed them to Cosmo, it could’ve been a huge boost for his growth.
I was regretting it a bit too late while staring at the Botri carcasses when the people on deck started sidling up to me. Wondering what they wanted to say, I looked at them, and their expressions were all peculiar.
Among them, an old man grinning like a maniac approached and enveloped me in a bear hug.
“Magic sure is convenient!”
He shook me vigorously while holding on, then grabbed my hand and shook that too. It was dizzying.
“I’m the captain of this ship. Call me Dashima!”
He laughed heartily and gave me a few hearty slaps on the back. It seemed to be his way of greeting.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. We knew about it, but it was too hard to try ourselves.”
“Because you didn’t have a barrier.”
“Either way, you pulled it off! Hahaha!”
[What’s this? He seems like a fun guy! Hahaha!]
Laughter echoed chaotically in my head.
It was something I’d done on my own, but everyone seemed pleased with the result. Except for one person—Crown Prince Thymeus hadn’t shown his face even once.
You’d think this much commotion would at least draw him out for a peek…
What a stubborn bastard.
“What’s wrong?”
Captain Dashima prodded me lightly and asked. I forced a smile, pretending nothing was amiss.
“Haha, just a bit embarrassed.”
“Next time Botri show up, we’ll handle ’em the same way!”
Captain Dashima bellowed cheerfully. Gerbera chimed in as if agreeing.
“Sounds good! It’ll cut down the time the ship’s stopped too, so I’m all for it.”
Gerbera headed back to the engine room to get the ship moving again.
“Alright, shall we get going again?”
The captain shouted booming, and for some reason, Lagia replied.
[Let’s go!]
***
The magic beasts kept appearing without end. But most were simple ones the sailors could handle. Another group of Botri showed up, but we dealt with them the same way, so there were no real issues.
After repelling the third Botri group and pressing on, Bishop Orchid spoke up, looking a little troubled.
“So far, it’s been fine because of all the seaweed around, but as the sea gets deeper, it’ll be harder for me to use germination.”
“We’ll do what we can.”
His role had been a big one, so his concern weighed heavily on me. We needed to reach the Susu-ri Strait faster.
The crown prince, who should’ve been taking charge, was holed up in his cabin playing around. Was I the only one annoyed?
The voyage continued until the evening sunset.
“We’ll reach the Susu-ri Strait soon, but…”
Captain Dashima fussed about, speaking cautiously. He scurried around, urging the sailors and darting to and from the engine room, making a huge racket.
“What’s going on? Some kind of problem?”
“Well…”
The captain shrugged and shook his head.
“If there’s a problem, it’s that we don’t even know what the problem is.”
He gave a vague answer before bustling off again.
No choice but to check it out myself. The last thing I wanted was to get stranded at sea.
In the engine room, I found Gerbera clutching her head in frustration and Bishop Orchid sitting primly beside her, holding a potted plant. Orchid looked so much like a decoration that it felt awkward to talk to him, so I decided to ask the more upbeat Gerbera.
“The deck’s in chaos. Did something happen?”
Gerbera, who’d been pondering in front of the mana stone, lit up when she saw me.
“Sierra! Perfect timing. Can you top up the mana?”
“The mana’s running low?”
“Not exactly…”
Gerbera’s face was dripping with embarrassment as she explained.
“The amount of mana going into the engine is the same as before. But the ship just won’t move properly. It’s like something’s grabbing onto us. The mana just keeps draining away. Like a wagon with wheels spinning in mud?”
Maybe to help Gerbera, whose mana was leaking, Bishop Orchid was pacing around her with his flowering pot. He probably thought it was some kind of recovery spell, but he looked like a kid proudly showing off his plant to his big sister.
“Bishop Orchid, is that some kind of healing magic?”
“Yes. It’s a small pot, so the recovery range is limited. Do you need it too, Duke Sierra? Shall I germinate another root?”
“No… that’s fine.”
I stood next to Gerbera and placed my hand on the mana stone powering the engine. The sensation of mana being sucked in steadily was unfamiliar. The ship hummed and vibrated, but that was it.
[This ship feels like it’s slowing to a stop, doesn’t it? Haha, maybe because I’m metal? I’ve got a bit of a compass spirit in me too. We’re crawling along at near-anchor speed right now. Something’s off, huh? Haha!]
Lagia explained noisily. That’s when it happened.
“See…”
Gerbera’s gaze sharpened, utterly different from moments ago, as she scanned the surroundings. There was nothing but the engine room’s worn-out gear to see, but she eyed it all like she was peering beyond the ship itself.
“Something’s wrong.”
Was there something wrong with the ship?
She muttered to herself cryptically, then lightly pushed me toward the door.
“For now, Sierra, keep an eye on things from outside. I have a bad feeling something’s about to happen. It’s ominous. Magic beast? His Highness isn’t one to step up easily, so we’ll probably have to handle it.”
“Got it.”
I couldn’t pinpoint why she felt ominous, but there was no reason to argue.
Heading up to the deck, I saw it was even more chaotic than before. Everyone was rushing this way and that. I approached Captain Dashima, whose face had gone pale.
“Why’s everyone so frantic?”
Captain Dashima wiped sticky sweat from the sea breeze, his face twisted in distress.
“Ah, Your Grace! Well… um, you see…”
“Speak plainly.”
“…The ship’s heading in a weird direction. We’re gradually veering away from the Susu-ri Strait. At this rate, we’ll loop around completely and end up somewhere else.”
“Cause?”
“We’re looking, but…”
Things were going south. No one could pinpoint the cause when, unexpectedly, Lagia provided the answer.
[I know why.]
“You do? What is it? Why can’t the ship move forward?”
[This is shark territory. Shark merfolk go all out defending their turf. They might not accept our ship intruding into theirs. They could attack soon.]
Thud thud. Thud thud.
No sooner had Lagia finished than the ship began to shake. Peering over the side, I saw sharks swarming around the ship in a pack.
[See? Told you they’re defending their territory.]
Each shark was incomparably larger than a Botri.
Fortunately, there seemed to be fewer than the Botri. But how to deal with sharks submerged in the sea? No easy ideas came to mind.
My head was filled with the simplistic thought of just killing them all.
“Bring harpoons. We’ll take them down one by one and figure it out from there.”
At my words, Captain Dashima rushed over, shaking his head vigorously.
“That won’t work. Do that, and the ones below will all come swarming up. This is the season when merfolk band together by race. It’s time to select the merfolk king. Everyone hopes their own kind produces the king, so they travel in packs. Killing one shark is like provoking a hundred.”
“Then what the hell do we…”
That’s when it hit. Boom! The ship rocked violently. Some sailors cried out in panic.
“Something’s climbing onto the ship!”
Thud thud. With heavy thumps came a massive shark.
A shark?
It was too human-like to be just a shark, and too fish-like—with gills and teeth—to be human. Webbed hands and muscular legs with fins. A merfolk with a magic beast’s imposing form.
“Our territory… No intruders…”
It growled a guttural “grrr-grrr” threat at us. We all backed up a few steps, on guard. The pressure it exuded was no joke. Everyone was terrified. Me included.
But we couldn’t run. I was a duke, after all. Second only to the crown prince in rank on this ship. I wanted to tremble with the others, but I had to step up.
Gripping Lagia tightly, I took a step forward and shouted, forcing calm into my voice.
“We don’t want to fight you! Just clear the way to the Susu-ri Strait, and we’ll pass quietly.”
But words didn’t get through.
“Territory… No intruders…”
“We’re just passing through.”
“Territory… No intruders…”
I kept trying to persuade it, but the merfolk repeated the same thing. Was it gearing up to attack? Frustration building, Lagia relayed something unexpected.
[You speak merfolk?]
“Huh?”
[That’s the only human phrase it knows. ‘Do not intrude on this territory.’ Probably can’t say anything else.]
“Oh.”
[And they’re dumb to begin with, so don’t bother trying to talk it out.]
The merfolk crouched, then swelled up and bellowed.
“Our territory! We defend!”
The merfolk rampaged wildly across the deck. It wasn’t fighting with any strategy. In the sudden all-out brawl, the crew scattered in panic.
“Master! Get back!”
Pippin lunged at it with his pitchfork. Clang! The sharp prongs raked across the merfolk’s body.
“What the—!”
Despite the honed edge, not even a scratch marred the merfolk’s skin. It brushed off the spot with its hand and charged again.
“Master! I’m at a disadvantage here!”
“Because of the pitchfork? Yeah, the pitchfork! Here, take Lagia!”
“No! I get seasick…”
Pippin staggered. I rubbed my dry face with one hand. Seasick now, of all times.
“Pippin! Fall back for now!”
“Urp…”
Pippin wasn’t at full strength.
Which meant I had to step in…
‘Me, against that thing?’
I knew it. Swinging Lagia wouldn’t beat this brute-force merfolk. Calling a death knight now was risky too. With so many eyes around, it’d only be a matter of time before my necromancy got exposed.
Gerbera Pride was pouring mana into the engine room, and Bishop Orchid Levi was a healer.
What we needed right now—hated as I was to admit it—was Crown Prince Thymeus.