Chapter 379 - Atlante (2)

After Amelia joined us, we first made a circuit of the area to finish looting. After all, someone had fallen into the sea earlier, hadn't they? Throwing money into the ocean was bound to earn you divine punishment someday.

"Navigator, take the helm."

"Where should we go...?"

"Pione Island."

Once the sea battle was over, we took the ship back to Treasure Island. I'd judged that sailing to the next island without repairs and resupplying would be next to impossible in our current state. In fact, even making it back here had been a close call.

'The ship's in worse shape than I thought...'

With the mana propulsion system destroyed, we had unfurled the sails and were rowing our way back when water began rising from below. Apparently, the propulsion system wasn't the only thing that had been wrecked. We had to bail water nonstop until we reached Treasure Island.

"... Finally, we can rest."

"Still, I think that was a pretty fun experience."

Huh, fun? She had some strange tastes, too.

Still, fun aside, it hadn't been a bad experience to have. Erwin had started out bailing alongside us, then realized something halfway through and used her water spirit to send the water flowing back out instead. We wouldn't need to go through that trial and error the next time we found ourselves in this situation.

'Right. All these experiences add up to make you a veteran explorer.'

Anyway, after returning to the island, we unsummoned the ship, headed inland, and summoned all the wrecked vessels. This time, we inspected them properly. Not a single one was intact.

"... Emily, which do you think would fetch more? Repairing them first, or selling them as they are?"

"Hard to say..."

Amelia, who knew a thing or two about buying and selling, gave up on appraising them. That was how difficult their condition made it to gauge their market value.

"Still, they'll bring in a fair bit either way. Ships like these are worth a fortune even if you strip them for materials."

"True, but... Hey, navigator!"

"Yes!"

"Fix the ship."

I wasn't asking whether he could fix it. I was ordering him to. The navigator tilted his head.

Ha, still hadn't gotten his head straight, had he?

"Can't you do it?"

At my brief question, the navigator flinched, then shook his head furiously and shouted.

"I'll tr— No, I can do it!"

His answer brimmed with determination to get it done through sheer grit. Apparently, he thought he might be joining his departed companions if he stopped being useful to me...

"Good. Tell me if you need anything."

"... Thank you!"

With that, the navigator ran over to the ships and began examining them carefully from every angle. He seemed to be figuring out how on earth he was supposed to repair them.

Well, I'd leave the ships to him for now...

"Mage."

"... Speak."

"I'd like to take ownership of the ships. Do you know the spell for that?"

"I can cast it..."

Oh-ho, so he could. I'd had some hopes, seeing him traveling with these pirate bastards, but to think he actually knew it. I understood it was a fairly rare spell.

"Good. Then hurry up and get ready to cast it."

"Very well..."

"Wow, what's with that tone... Don't want to do it?"

"No! I want to!"

Should've said that from the start.

Having persuaded the mage as well, I proceeded to take ownership of the ships. First came the flagship, left ownerless by its captain's death, followed by the two men who owned one ship each.

Except...

"This ship cannot be transferred."

"What? Why not?"

"As you can see, it's too badly damaged..."

It was the ship I'd hit by reflecting Lightning Spear at 300% after its damage had been multiplied eightfold.

"More importantly, its core magic circle is broken. In this state—"

"The magic circle's broken? But summoning and unsummoning it worked fine."

"To be honest, I can't fathom why that function still works..."

"Then there's nothing we can do about this one."

With the expert saying it couldn't be done, I had no choice but to give up on one ship. We needed materials for repairs anyway. The navigator, who had been staring helplessly at the flagship's wrecked stern, overheard our conversation and hurried over.

"Um... Then may I take planks from this one?"

"Go ahead."

"And perhaps some manpower..."

"I'll lend you all three here."

"Thank you...!"

Now amply supplied with manpower as well, the navigator consulted the mage on various matters, then began repairing the ship.

As for us...

CLATTER!

We dumped all the loot we'd hastily stuffed into subspace onto the ground and began sorting it.

"This is... a jackpot."

We wouldn't know the exact amount until we sold it in the city, but even a glance told me all the equipment was top quality. Of course, that made sense for people operating on the sixth floor. Anyway, this looked like enough to pay off all our debts and buy another mansion outright...

'Is it... really okay to make money this easily?'

Thinking back to the days when I'd killed goblins and dug out magic crystals worth a single piece of stone bread with my own hands, it hardly felt real. An emotion I couldn't quite put into words lingered in my fingertips.

"Mister... Does this mean we don't have to sell our house?"

"Of course! Let's get better beds, too."

"B-beds?"

Beds were important. They changed your quality of life.

"Then can I get a new weapon, too? There's something I've been wanting."

Apparently deciding this was her chance, Amelia brought up something she wanted to buy, too.

"... Of course."

"That makes all the trouble worthwhile."

"But... how much is it?"

At my question, Amelia glanced at Erwin, then came closer and whispered to me.

"... Stone."

The amount was twice what I'd expected.

"...!"

I couldn't help sucking in a deep breath, but I didn't go back on my word.

"All right. Buy it."

Investing in my companions wasn't a waste...

"Hehe. Then I'll forget about you leaving me behind on the ship."

Besides, I'd done plenty to wrong her...

* * *

It took two days to finish repairing the ship. I couldn't say whether that was fast or slow, but at least the repairs themselves were extremely thorough. Having a mage to help with the work made a big difference, as did the navigator's shipyard experience, which I only learned about later.

'A navigator with some repair skills, too...'

He seemed like a pretty good find.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"D-do you mean me?"

"Who else?"

"It's Auyen Rockrove..."

Okay, at least he wasn't a Hans. That alone got him past the application screening.

"Good name. Well done, Nguyen."

"It's Auyen..."

"Oh, was it?"

After commending the navigator for successfully repairing the ship, we launched it off the shore.

Then...

"What are you doing? Aren't you getting on?"

"... Of course."

The navigator boarded with the expression of a man heading straight to hell.

The mage was next.

"You get on, too."

"... Very well."

Once the mage had boarded, the remaining two watched me awkwardly, trying to read my mood.

I'd kept them alive and brought them to the island because they had ship-summoning engravings. Killing them aboard the ship would have sent the vessels in their engraving subspaces spilling out. Since I'd needed hands for the repairs, though, I'd merely confiscated their equipment and left them alone...

"I'll get aboard..."

"Yes, me too..."

When I stared at them, they sighed as though resigned to their fate and headed for the ship.

But...

"Hold it."

"...?"

"You two can't come with us."

Their talents were far too meager to earn them a winner's necklace.

BUMP.

Stopped by my shoulder blocking their way, the two wore strange expressions.

"Then... are we staying here?"

They looked unsure whether to be pleased about that. Still, one of them caught on fairly quickly.

"... Please, take me with you. I'll be useful somehow."

Hmm, with judgment like that, maybe he could be useful? The thought briefly crossed my mind, but my decision didn't change.

"Enough. You two can rest here."

"Damn it...!"

Damn it, huh. A common one. Probably the number-one most frequent last words I'd heard since falling into this world.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

After smashing both their heads with equal treatment, I simply tossed the bodies into the shallows. Left there, the sea monsters drawn by the smell of blood would clean them up.

Well, time to go.

SPLASH, SPLASH.

I strode through the seawater, now spreading with blood, and climbed the rope ladder on the hull to board the ship. Everyone else was already aboard.

"... Eek!"

Having seen his companions discarded like worn-out shoes once they'd outlived their usefulness, the navigator began trembling the instant our eyes met.

What a scaredy-cat.

'Well, a little tension like this is probably healthy.'

I walked over and patted the navigator's shoulder. Then I took out the full chart of the eastern waters they'd owned and pointed to a spot.

"We're heading here nex—"

"Of course I can do it!!"

An immediate answer, before I'd even finished speaking. As captain, I found that attitude quite satisfying. Yes, a subordinate ought to show at least this much positivity. Though I'd have to correct his habit of interrupting me.

My footsteps thudded across the deck.

After watching the navigator take his place at the helm, I walked out onto the deck and stood at the bow. Then I bellowed.

"Set sail!!"

I'd always wanted to try that.

* * *

A navigator was like a bed. Especially in how much they improved your quality of life.

"We don't have to stop at a single island along the way?"

"Correct! Only inexperienced navigators go looking for islands to confirm their position!"

Even while answering with military crispness, the navigator slipped in a little self-promotion whenever he could.

"Still, I'd like to stop at these islands here."

"Then I'll draw up a new route!"

"Oh, you're quite useful."

"Thank you for the compliment! I'll engrave it into my bones! For life!"

Following his captain's orders, the navigator quickly plotted a new route and began steering the ship along it. Perhaps someone didn't like the sight.

"Tsk."

The mage who'd been captured with him clicked his tongue at the navigator.

What, was he saying he was different? You had to hand it to mages and their superiority complexes.

WHOOOOSH!

The ship cut through the wind, speeding across the open sea. Erwin and I set up folding chairs and a parasol on deck and relaxed in comfort.

'Now this is sailing.'

Our old ship hadn't even had room for this, and I'd had to help Amelia by constantly checking that we were headed in the right direction. Just one navigator made things this much easier.

"Emily, why don't you come rest, too?"

"... I'm fine."

"Why?"

"... Just because."

I invited Amelia over while I was at it, but she barely answered before returning to her place. Her place, incidentally, was beside the navigator. Wondering what she was doing there, I watched for a moment and found her intently observing how he handled the ship.

"Wait, why did you turn the helm like that here?"

"Ah, see how the sail bent slightly that way? That's what we call an angled wind. When that happens, it's better to turn the helm a little..."

Amelia wasn't merely observing. She was actively engaging the navigator in conversation, asking all sorts of questions.

So she could look like that, too. Watching Amelia nod and listen with eyes more serious than ever made me chuckle.

'No wonder she looked a little disappointed when I said we'd leave the sailing to him from now on.'

Apparently, she'd enjoyed steering the ship. Not that she'd ever admit it, even on her deathbed. She'd definitely say she was learning the skill to prepare for unforeseen situations.

Anyway, time flew by like that. They were exceptionally peaceful days. We'd ride the favorable winds steadily onward, then disembark to kill monsters when the navigator reached our destination. After that, it was off to the next island.

Amelia diligently picked up navigation by watching even while we traveled, while Erwin and I passed the time catching fish. I'd found fishing rods while looking around out of boredom. It was good to try everything. Who knew? We might run out of food aboard the ship someday and have to feed ourselves this way.

"Oh! First big catch in a while!"

Surprisingly, leaving a line out even on a moving ship did catch things.

"Wow... You're amazing, Mister."

Most things we hooked were ordinary fish. Well, more precisely, perhaps I should call them unranked monsters like the Deadmen we'd hunted in the Blood-Tinted Castle. They dropped neither magic crystals nor Essences when killed, and their bodies didn't vanish.

However...

"It's a Sea-Horn Beast!"

Occasionally, a monster would take the bait and appear like this. That was exactly why I couldn't stop fishing.

[You have slain a Sea-Horn Beast. EXP +4]

With monsters found only at sea, encountering them was harder than killing them. There were tangible benefits beyond simply passing the time. Anyway, that routine continued for quite a while, and as we headed east, we left the early waters behind. I heard Amelia talking with the navigator.

"Do you know why compasses stop working from here on?"

"Hard to say. Some say a being called the Sea Pole God lives in the Great Ocean and plays tricks on explorers approaching it, but it's most likely just folklore."

Hmm, did that Sea Pole God mean Leviathan? I'd have to kill that thing someday, too...

"Anyway, since it's difficult to determine direction from here onward, the navigator's skill becomes important. In fact, this is where novice navigators most often hit a wall."

"Then how do you find your course?"

"Stars, the sun, temperature, weather... All of it provides information. Though experience is the most important thing, of course."

"Fascinating. Could you explain in more detail?"

"Hehe, certainly. Ah, we've caught the wind now. Would you like to take the helm?"

"... May I?"

"Of course. I'll help if anything goes off course."

"In that case..."

When had Amelia gotten so friendly with the navigator? Was she going to ask me not to throw him away and let her keep him, promising she'd feed him and everything?

'... Surely Amelia wouldn't actually do that.'

I chuckled and closed my eyes for a short nap. When I opened them, the wind had stopped.

The Windless Zone, one of the Great Ocean's best-known special areas.

"Using mana propulsion is the easiest way through here."

We crossed the Windless Zone using the magic crystals we'd collected, without even needing to row.

Oh, for the record, we hadn't repaired the propulsion system Erwin had destroyed. We'd replaced it. The other three ships had propulsion systems, too, so we'd stripped out all three and installed them here. Apparently, a medium-to-large ship like this needed three small propulsion units to match its original output.

"There's wind!"

After two days crossing the Windless Zone, we emerged into waters filled with reefs. The far eastern waters, where rocky and volcanic islands made up 99% of the islands.

Grandrock.

I surveyed the sea, with its own distinctive character, and smiled.

'Somehow, we picked up a navigator along the way and made it all the way here.'

It was time to explore the Underground Island, Atlante.