Published: January 17, 2026
As soon as I heard the story from Arrow, I decided to return home immediately. First, I had to go back to Seato Village. Otherwise, there was no way to go and see the ship, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Van... please promise me you’ll definitely come back once your business is done?”
I nodded with a smile at Murcia, who was reluctant to part, and waved energetically.
“Yes! I’ll come again!”
“Ha, ha, ha... I’m just glad you look so happy,” Murcia said with an embarrassed smile. Thanks, brother.
Thus, we wrapped up the renovations in the fortress city murcia much earlier than planned, and moved to Seato Village.
“I must hurry to the capital city,” Panamera said duty-bound, but she didn’t seem intent on stopping me. On the contrary, she was already preparing for the journey, wanting to come along to see the ship.
Meanwhile, as soon as I returned, I gathered Espada, Dee, and Talga for a meeting.
“The hidden treasure of the Yelinetta Kingdom has been discovered. Normally, we should report directly to His Majesty in the capital city, but...” Espada muttered with a grim expression after hearing the situation, and Dee laughed as she shook her head.
“Normally, it would have taken over a month. Even if we take a slight detour on the way to the capital city, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
At Dee’s words, Espada said nothing, and Talga spoke up.
“...A ship capable of crossing between continents. If that’s true, this is an event that could change the course of future wars. It would surely be something His Majesty would want Lord Van to confirm personally.”
Talga’s words were met with a deep nod from Dee.
“Hmm, indeed! I agree with Lord Talga’s opinion!”
When Dee expressed his agreement, Espada, who had been in thought, raised his head.
“...Yes. A threat from the sea. It might not be a problem if we conduct a preliminary investigation and report this to His Majesty along with other matters.”
Espada said this, then immediately stood and checked the map of the continent in the conference room.
“Lord Van, according to the earlier report, a ship appeared near the coastline close to Tribute, a city in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Scuderia. We can’t see it on this map, but I’ve heard that the Central Continent is shaped longer north to south compared to the Grant Continent. Therefore, the ship sent toward Scuderia, which holds territory from the central to northern part of the continent, might not be from the Solstice Empire.”
“What? Didn’t the Solstice Empire control most of the Central Continent?”
I asked, curious about Espada’s words. Espada nodded and pointed further on the map—right in the middle of the sea.
“There’s no advantage for the empire to risk sending a ship. They have been selling weapons to the Yelinetta Kingdom and manipulating things from behind the scenes. Considering that, it would be better to move a large army through the northern part of the continent rather than risk crossing the sea to invade here. So, the ship that crossed the sea might belong to another country.”
Saying that, Espada drew a large circle beyond the edge of the map.
“...Since the empire controls most of the continent, if you want to go elsewhere, you have to cross the sea. Indeed, traversing such a powerful country vertically to reach another continent would be difficult.”
Espada’s theory was that some country or organization chose to risk crossing the sea to escape the empire’s control. But is that really the case?
“...I feel like the empire prefers to avoid the hassle of occupying and running countries, focusing instead on gaining profits. They’re like skilled merchants. So, while vassal states might be forced to do various things or buy stuff, the empire probably wouldn’t tighten its grip enough to make them abandon their countries and flee.”
After sharing my own thoughts, Talga looked at me wide-eyed. Dee’s mouth curved even more upward, and Espada, unusually surprised, slightly opened his eyes.