Chapter 47 - Beg and Beg Again (5)

"Wait, this isn't what we talked about!"

Naturally, Windhand fiercely spat out his anger. Behind Windhand, his subordinates who had listened to the explanation with him also had expressions of being scammed.

"What do you mean half a day? How do you expect to catch a dragon in this situation!!"

He repeatedly slammed his hands on the tavern table of the inn we had rented out entirely. It wasn't something I couldn't understand.

Even if he hadn't completely believed the talk of half a day, he probably thought we usually had a plan fully laid out if we were that confident.

But the factions on our side were a complete mess, you see.

Only the ship had arrived early, while the cooperation between the three groups was still sluggish.

At least the Temple had contacted other cities to call in some useful personnel, right?

According to the Archmage, the Magic Tower was still whining. And the Lord was still in denial, saying the Sea Dragon couldn't possibly be doing this.

"This is a breach of contract!"

"Hmm, it is not a breach of contract."

"It's a scam!"

As the Archmage kindly unpacked and interpreted the contract's clauses, Windhand grabbed his head and screamed.

"I shouldn't have drawn up a contract with a despicable Mage!"

Even to me, it was a contract that felt like we were playing incredibly dirty, but... what could we do? He had already signed it.

Now that it was notarized by the Adventurer's Guild, even if he canceled it unilaterally, only a massive penalty fee would await him. And if he took a 'do your worst' stance, the Adventurer's Guild would come at him with knives like loan sharks collecting a debt.

Windhand really had no way out now.

"Do not be too disheartened. Since Dragon Tooth Warriors were spotted at Gamak Bay, our side will no longer be able to drag our feet either."

"I am in a hurry..."

If I had it my way, I'd pat him on the back and comfort him, but my concept wouldn't allow it. Leaning against the wall, I quietly appreciated the ongoing conversation.

"No, look here. If you have a conscience, shouldn't you not be doing this? At the very least, you should have prepared a ship or troops!"

"Mmm. Still, we do have one ship prepared."

"One? Ooooone?"

"Do not be too angry. Now that the existence of the Dragon Tooth Warriors has been witnessed, preparing more than one would be of little use."

To appease the furious Windhand, the Archmage hurriedly poured out the reasoning behind her words.

"Since we've confirmed the Dragon Tooth Warriors are roaming about, mobilizing ships would merely increase the number of victims. No matter what kind of expert is aboard, the moment a hole is punched in the ship out on the sea, it will simply sink."

"So, you want to catch a dragon with one ship?"

"There's no rule saying we must catch the dragon at sea. We will lure the dragon to land. However, even to do that, we need to enter the Dragon's Cry Gate at least once. That is why we recruited you."

For an urgently prepared opinion, it sounded quite plausible. Strictly speaking, she was just dressing up one of the alternatives we had set up before to fit the situation.

Well, from the listening Windhand's perspective, he'd be popping a blood vessel either way, so I guess it didn't matter.

"This is absurd. You want to bring the Sea Dragon back to land while keeping it on our tail? By ship? Do you think that will work?"

"In terms of danger, it won't be much different from facing the Sea Dragon at sea."

"Easy for you to say...! No, right. It's definitely better than facing the Sea Dragon at sea. But what about the ship? Is there a guarantee it won't be sunk by the Dragon Tooth Warriors?"

"The Magic Tower determined that it could withstand them."

"Just what kind of ship is it?"

Was it because she answered so confidently? Windhand calmed down and asked, and the Archmage responded with the information of the prepared ship.

As someone who had heard its specs beforehand, the ship itself was actually pretty good. The problem now was whether it could also withstand a dragon.

"Damn it, at least we won't end up being buried at sea by those Dragon Tooth Warriors or crocodile warriors or whatever. We can definitely make it to the Dragon's Cry Gate."

"With your skills, I believe returning will not be a problem either."

"Hah, I don't need your flattery."

"It's not flattery."

"Whatever... If we use the magic mounted on it... Tsk. It might be different if it were a ship, but since the opponent is a dragon, it's hard to guarantee we can beat its speed."

"Do you know of that ship?"

"I've even been in a chase with it. Despite being massive, its speed was so fast that it was thrilling."

At those words, the Inquisitor, who had been quiet for a while, gave a slight shudder.

Fortunately, DeB, who was next to her, restrained her. He seemed to get hit in the solar plexus as a price for it, but neither of them seemed to mind, so wouldn't it be fine?

"Is it that fast?"

"It's the fastest out of all the ships I've seen. But because it's so fast, it looked a bit hard to change direction. Turning off the device would solve that anyway, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

Windhand had a much softer expression than before. He was still angry, but he seemed to recognize that the performance of the ship he would be boarding was top-tier.

"We'll probably use the bombardment device loaded on it for provocation."

"Correct. It would be great if it could deal a blow to the dragon, but even if it only succeeds in getting on its nerves, it should get it to follow us."

"Hah, I don't know if that's really a good thing."

If possible, the former would be nice. Games usually didn't allow for that, but honestly, if they didn't at least do that, a melee DPS would have nothing to do.

I wasn't even the one operating the bombardment device anyway, but still.

"But then, will the crew also be the ones who originally operated it?"

"Probably not. They never said they would provide a crew."

"What? Then we can't use the ship!"

"For the devices, they can be used. We received instructions on how to operate them, and we will bring Mages from the Magic Tower to run them."

"That part's a relief, but what about the personnel to pilot the ship itself?"

"That is..."

The Archmage trailed off, and that was a sufficient answer. Windhand slammed the table.

"Hey, do you even know how big that warship is? It's so big that it'd be nearly three times as long as a small ship placed next to it!"

"Is that a problem?"

"This is why landlubbers...!"

Windhand tore at his hair and then explained it to us as calmly as possible.

"A small ship has an average of twenty to thirty sailors aboard. Then how many crew members do you think a ship three times its length needs?"

"... I see. It is an issue of manpower."

"Even excluding combat personnel, we need thirty sailors who know how to operate a ship. And that's setting the bare minimum considering the situation."

"For now, we do have some crew members acquired on our end."

When the Archmage gave DeB a signal, he smoothly opened his mouth.

"I found about seven. Just regular sailors."

"Only seven... They aren't rookies, are they?"

"You can lay those worries to rest. I didn't just pick anyone because we were in a rush."

"I'll be the judge of that later. Still, we're a bit short on numbers."

"Do you not have anyone you brought along?"

"You're including my people far too naturally, aren't you?"

DeB shrugged as if he had nothing to say to that. Windhand didn't interrogate him any further on it either.

"Even if we add my boys, that's twenty-three. We need to find at least ten more. At least we have all the essential roles like navigators and helmsmen on our side, thank goodness."

However, ceasing the interrogation wasn't necessarily a good sign. The situation was still answerless either way.

"Is it impossible with twenty-three?"

"If we were just moving a day's distance, twenty would be fine... but we're going to the Dragon's Cry Gate. The weather at Gamak Bay was already no joke, so how do you think the center where the Sea Dragon is rampaging will be? Since we don't know what will happen, we need a crew to respond to it."

Is that so? Since I didn't know much about ships, those words didn't really hit home. I just accepted it because his subordinates, who were sailors, were vigorously nodding in agreement to Windhand's words.

"Well, since the decisive reason we can't find a crew is the religious belief that the Sea Dragon cannot be touched, if we ask the Temple..."

"Did you just bring up the Temple in front of someone from Yabad?"

"... I know you people hate the Temple. I've suffered at the hands of the Temple too, so I don't really like them either. But we don't have any other options, do we?"

DeB spoke in a gentle, coaxing tone to Windhand's raised voice. For someone who didn't know what had happened between the Yabad region and the Temple, it was somewhat frustrating.

Just what made them hate it so much? More importantly, shouldn't the Inquisitor step out at this point?

"Besides, the Temple is the one leading the assistance for this task. I know how you feel, but just bear with it for a bit to finish the job quickly."

"Damn it..."

Perhaps annoyed by the situation he had no choice but to acknowledge, Windhand gritted his teeth and pinched his forehead. *CHINK. * The drop earrings dangling from his ears made a clear sound.

"Right, damn it. Can't be helped. It's not like those bastards are stepping on Zakrati's land, and I need to save my brothers quickly..."

Soon, words of acceptance and compromise quietly flowed out. *GRIND. * A metallic sound slipped through the crossed arms of the Inquisitor, who had turned her head away.

"Then, since finding a crew is the priority, we will ask them to..."

CREAK!

The moment the door to the inn's tavern opened, the conversation completely cut off.

When the innkeeper vacated the place in exchange for jewels, they had clearly hung a cloth with an X carved into it over the entrance before leaving, yet it seemed some clueless person had opened the door anyway.

"Um, is anyone there?"

Fortunately, the visitor only poked their head in and didn't seem to have any intention of coming all the way in.

"We're not open."

DeB quickly stepped up and began to respond.

"Good grief, we even put up cloths over the windows, yet they still thought of coming in."

One of the pirates grumbled in the meantime. It was understandable. Taking the pirates' situation into account, we had covered all the windows with cloths so no one could see inside from the outside.

Yet they still thought to enter such a shop. They had a lot of nerve. Or they were just that desperate.

"Huh?"

But DeB's reaction was somewhat strange.

"Uh, sir."

"...?"

"If things go well, I think we might be able to get a crew without the Temple's help, sir?"

... It seemed the visitor wasn't just a regular customer.

"What is it, applicants for the crew?"

Naturally, Windhand, who was in the position of commander, showed interest first. DeB shrugged his shoulders.

"They're asking if we're still looking for crew members for a ship heading to the Dragon's Cry Gate, and if so, whether they would be okay for it."

"What about their skills?"

"... I don't know about that since I'm not from this city, but they wanted me to ask if former pirates are okay too."

"Pirates?"

Windhand's eyes sparkled.

"Put on your robes for now... and bring them in."

At Windhand's instruction, the pirates rustled about and threw the cloths over themselves.

And when all the pirates had covered their faces, DeB brought the visitors in. Coincidentally, one of them was a face I knew.

"Yo, we meet again."

It was the chatterbox adventurer who had guided DeB and me to the guild last time.

"Are you sure you accept former pirates, not just former adventurers?"

"Good grief, I'm wondering if it's right to trust that loudmouth and come here. Lives matter more than money."

"I'll pull out if you say there's no captain."

"You're not saying former pirates can't volunteer, right?"

Soon after, the area near the inn's entrance was packed with sturdy sailors. Regardless of age or gender, from youths to middle-aged adults, they were people packed with muscles.

Just looking at their appearances, they were nothing short of seasoned sailors.

"What the. Why is Windhand here?"

"What?! Windhand?"

"...?"

Yet one of them immediately recognized Windhand. Even though his face was mostly covered, despite the front of his robe not being fastened.

At this point, it wasn't something that could be brushed off as just being observant.

"What the, how did you know?"

"Fuck, you think I wouldn't recognize you when you're the reason I quit pirating?"

"What? What did I do?"

"They say only the victims remember, and that's exactly what this is."

The sailor grumbled, yet easily spilled the story of how he had recognized him instantly.

"There was a Captain Sulawesi. You lot cleanly chopped off his head, claiming he blocked your path."

"Sulawesi...? Ah, aah! Thornbeard!"

"Oh boy, you remember his nickname."

"How could I forget when that man's crew gave me a scar on my chest!"

Windhand chuckled, saying it wasn't strange for him to be recognized instantly because of that. Then he slapped his knee and said the following.

"If you're Thornbeard's crew, you're quite reliable! He was a pirate with a solid reputation for sailing skills. But are all of you by any chance...?"

"That's right. Good grief, I thought I'd never see you again after that time, but to think I'd see Windhand here. I guess you really have to live long enough to see everything."

"But Windhand being here... are you saying Windhand is joining the dragon hunt too?"

"What?! Windhand is joining? It pisses me off a bit, but if Windhand is the captain, it's doable!"

"At least we won't die from the rapids."

Proving they were indeed sailors, they crashed in like the ebbing tide and poured out words like a tsunami. Also, despite their past ill-fated connection, they seemed to acknowledge each other's skills, as the sailors were now very satisfied that they might be moving together.

"Good. This makes it quite doable."

It was a similar story for Windhand.

"First Mate, what do you think."

"Other than thinking that a dragon hunt itself is crazy... Yes, if we just consider going to the Dragon's Cry Gate and back, it's quite doable."

The one called the First Mate seemed to like these crew applicants as well. He immediately gave the OK sign.

It was the moment the crew shortage problem was resolved all at once.

「❖ The Rot Washed Ashore

∎ Move to the Dragon's Cry Gate

∎ Find the source of corruption and purify it」

The quest had finally been updated.

"Wahahaha, I heard you couldn't gather enough people, so I tried persuading my old comrades. I'm glad it seems to have been of help. Can I consider my life debt truly repaid with this?"

And it seemed the number one contributor to this was none other than the chatterbox former adventurer.

Good grief, to think his turbulent story of changing jobs that he rattled on about would actually help us this much. I never knew the snowball of handing out medicine back in Tatara would roll all the way here.

Life truly was something else.

"... You're not exactly easygoing yourself, jumping into a dragon hunt to repay a life debt?"

"Uhahaha! If we go by that logic, I wouldn't have fought the demon in Tatara either!"

The former adventurer laughed heartily.

"Above all, if no one steps forward, it will only result in mutual destruction, so how could I sit still? Running away to survive right now is merely an act of procrastination. It's a very stupid thing to do. Just because there's no immediate damage doesn't mean the problem goes away."

It was a rather excellent maxim. It was a set of values that a hundred out of a hundred people would agree with, and if it weren't for my concept, I would have chatted with him, agreeing that he really got it.

"So it's Tatara, huh."

Although it seemed Windhand had focused on a different part.

"Anyway, since you're here, have a chat with my boys. You should at least know whose orders to follow, right?"

"Yessir."

"Gotta follow the captain's orders."

"If I had it my way, I'd want to call the other crew you hired as well... but bringing them over now would attract too much attention."

Still, Windhand focused more on his own work rather than verifying things. The fact that hearing about my track record would be meaningless since he had already joined probably played a huge part in that judgment.

"And you and I will continue our talk. The crew recruitment was merely meeting the minimum conditions. The rough sea route, the personnel to buy time until we get off the ship when we arrive at Gamak Bay, the method to prevent the dragon from escaping Gamak Bay, and so on! We have way too much to talk about."

But right around then, a question popped into my mind.

Can't I just stay on land?

"Do not worry. Now that you have joined us, we have the grounds to push forward. Ah, right. If it's alright, would you like to speak directly at the meeting? I will try to get what we want as much as possible, but since I am not a sailor, there might be things I miss."

No, if we were going to lure the dragon to Gamak Bay and kill it anyway, couldn't I just wait at Gamak Bay? I wouldn't have anything to do even if I boarded the ship anyway.

"That sounds good! I'll properly rip off those higher-ups! Ah, but I'm only going to reveal my presence to the Lord, so you take care of the explanations until then."

"Do not worry."

But as expected, it wouldn't work. The concept would never let me sit this out.

Hah, suffering through hardships I don't even need to do because I'm so buried in my concept really isn't my style.

"The ships at the port are sinking!!"

Just then, a scream rang out from the port. They must have been running as they spoke, for the sound of their voice gradually grew closer.

"The ships at the port are sinking!!"

The words held a meaning that absolutely could not be overlooked.

RUSTLE.

I pushed my body off the wall I was leaning against.

GRIP.

Right beside me, the Inquisitor gripped her mace.

"Are we going?"