Published: January 17, 2026
Thanks to Mr. Tran’s advice, Van-kun’s specially made large ship No. 2 achieved overwhelmingly superior stability compared to the first one. Well, since the ship was being operated by Tran and the other experienced sailors, I wasn’t confident that we could handle it as skillfully ourselves.
“Wow, this is amazing!”
“Boy! I didn’t expect it to be this much! What speed!”
Rosso and Panamera were gleefully chatting and laughing on the rooftop of the ship’s bridge. It seemed they had returned to their childlike innocence, truly enjoying themselves from the bottom of their hearts.
“It’s fast, isn’t it! It feels like a cruise ship! Yahoo!”
Of course, as the creator, I was having the most fun of all. No matter how much of a genius boy Van-kun was, he was still a ten-year-old handsome young boy. If I got such an interesting toy, I’d have to enjoy it or it would be a loss.
By the way, the ship’s speed was really beyond imagination. I had pictured a sailing ship moving at about the speed of a bicycle, but this seemed to be going at around 40 kilometers per hour. It might even be able to sail at over 50 km/h. Plus, the ship didn’t rock as much as I had expected.
“Wow, the wind feels so nice!”
“Ships are amazing...!”
Til and Arte were also gripping the handrails installed on the rooftop with both hands, cheering loudly. Kamushin was silent but his eyes sparkled as he gazed at the scenery, so it was clear he was enjoying himself.
“Viscount Van! We should start heading back to Tribute now! We’ve gone a little too far!”
“Ah, okay! Please do!”
I answered Tran, who was steering the ship himself, and the ship made a wide arc as it headed back toward Tribute Town.
“...Because we added side fins to enhance stability, the ship’s turning radius is a bit wider, but its straight-line cruising speed rivals or exceeds that of Fleetwood. Against countries whose large shipbuilding technology is not yet mature, this will be an overwhelming advantage.”
Tran handed over the steering wheel to one of the crew members and came over to share his impressions with me. Indeed, this was an astonishing technical feat. The ship revolutionized the transport of goods as I had planned, but as a combat asset, it was incredible too. With Van-kun’s ballista, it was like a moving fortress traveling at over 40 km/h.
Now that it was this far completed, the only thing left was the special exterior to counter large aquatic demonic beasts. Even in its current state, the ship was fast enough that it might be able to outrun large aquatic demonic beasts. Still, that wouldn’t constitute sufficient crisis avoidance.
On the way back to Tribute Town, mooring at the pier, I conveyed this to Tran as he gave instructions to the crew.
“Mr. Tran, could you tell me about that metal wall on the ship’s exterior?”
Upon hearing this, Tran fell silent with a troubled expression. As expected, it seemed he couldn’t say anything about that.
It was very disappointing, but there was nothing I could do. I made a sad face, furrowing my brows into an ‘eight’ shape as if about to cry, and apologized to Tran.
“...I’m sorry. You can’t tell me, can you? I asked something unnecessary...”
“Ah, no...”
I tried to stir his guilt and get him to confess, but that also seemed impossible. To think that Van-kun’s crying act wouldn’t work—that was a terrifying boy.
“Thank you for today. If possible, I’d like to have dinner together again tonight.”
“Ah, y-yes. Of course.”
Tran answered while seeming troubled about something. Maybe my crying act had worked after all. After all, the pitiful, sorrowful face of the innocent genius handsome young boy Van-kun must have strongly awakened his guilt.
Joking aside, there was a chance I might be able to learn the knowledge smoothly after all. Thinking that, we returned to Tribute Town. This time, Rosso insisted we all have a banquet at Rosso’s Mansion. It’s fun to eat out boisterously in town, but dining with the best service in a noble’s mansion was also nice. Rosso’s proud chef served the finest dishes, so we looked forward to delicious food.