Published: July 4, 2025
The room assigned to Ryo and Abel is on the Third Deck.
Princess Iliriaja is in the captain's cabin at the stern, but the rest are allocated to the Second and Third Decks.
The Second and Third Decks are only divided by simple fabric, so they aren't exactly separate rooms.
For this reason, both of them are either on the upper deck or in the dining hall when they're not sleeping.
There are no tasks that need to be done.
Yet they still receive payment.
How wonderful!
Living off such unearned income, the two are on the upper deck today.
If this were an Earth galleon, it might not be so spacious...
But the upper deck of the Vashteque is quite large.
Crew members are coming and going on that expansive upper deck.
Ryo is thinking about when he can learn about how the issues are resolved through manipulating wind attribute magic with alchemy.
Since they have only just set sail and haven't gotten too close with the crew yet...
Timing is important for such matters.
Therefore, today, he sits in an ice chair reading a book on alchemy that he bought in the City of Manyamia.
It’s a book recommended by a friendly craftsman at the armor shop, and it's very easy to understand, making him read it with a cheerful demeanor.
Not too far from Ryo, Abel is swinging his sword.
He doesn't seem particularly conscious of the gaze around him, but the way he swings his sword definitely attracts attention.
Having been raised as the second prince, Abel is accustomed to being seen by others.
So he doesn’t mind being looked at by many people.
When it comes to swinging a sword, Abel employs both quick swings and slow, measured ones.
Today, he appears to be swinging slowly.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ryo glances at him and opens the two bags placed on the nearby ice table.
He takes out coffee beans from each bag, puts them into the ice mill he created, and starts grinding the beans.
He perfectly remembers the blend for the Azure Orb Pavilion's special coffee.
He guesses that Abel will finish swinging his sword soon and come over.
Yes, Ryo is capable and acts with foresight!
As expected, while he added hot water and the ground beans to the French press, Abel came over.
Having anticipated this, Ryo had also prepared an ice chair for Abel.
Abel quietly sat down there without saying a word.
That was fine.
It was a chair meant for Abel.
But...
"It can’t be helped, but this ice chair is hard."
"What a thing to say..."
Ryo was taken aback by Abel's rude remark, surpassing anger with surprise.
"Ah, no, I'm grateful that you prepared a chair for me. Yes, I understand."
"Hmph... I wish you would at least be thankful that it isn’t cold!"
"Yeah? Speaking of which, Ryo's ice isn't cold at all. This chair isn't, and the cup for drinking coffee isn’t either."
"It’s a skill obtained after unbelievable training! It’s a crystallization of blood, sweat, and tears..."
"Wouldn't blood flow during magic training?"
"Why are you so calm about pointing that out? That’s a moment to praise me for working hard!"
"Good job, wonderful."
"That sounds so insincere..."
Abel said in a dry tone, and Ryo flopped down onto the ice table.
But he quickly got back up.
"I thought it was unavoidable that the ice chair was hard, but a water bed would be soft and wonderful to sleep on. If the surface were like that..."
Ryo began to mutter such things.
"Is the image like an ice pillow? The inside could be anything, but the problem is the sides, right? I think a membrane of water could work, but if someone like Abel sits on it, it might break."
"I feel like I'm being mocked, but maybe I'm just imagining things."
"Something like variable ice... I can't quite envision it. Ah, right, there’s no need for it to be a large single piece of ice. If I line up small ice sheets that are just a few microns thick... Ah, and if I make the ice I put inside crunchy ice..."
After a while, Ryo closed his eyes.
He then opened his arms shoulder-width apart and brought them over the ice table to chant.
"[Ice Create Ice Cushion]"
At that moment, a blue chair cushion was generated on the table.