The Water Magician

The end will not come peacefully after all.

And it’s a long text... I apologize.

It has now been fifteen days.

"Yesterday... we weren't attacked."

"Ah..."

Today, Ryo and Abel were on the upper deck.

Neither of them were reading books; they were sitting in chairs and drinking coffee.

A large ice table was set, and coffee was brewed in a larger-than-usual French press because they knew that Captain Rajatton, the marine captain, would come to explain soon.

As the two took a couple of sips, Captain Rajatton and Captain Ban Socks of the guard squad arrived and sat down.

Rajatton sighed heavily.

That sigh was a mixture of fatigue from the incomprehensible and relief from having passed through a difficult ordeal without incident.

"Please, Rajatton and Ban Socks, enjoy some coffee."

Ryo offered the Azure Orb Pavilion's special blend coffee to the two.

"Thank you."

"Oh, it looks delicious."

Both Rajatton and Ban Socks received the coffee, looking pleased, and took their first sip.

"Ahh..."

Satisfied sighs escaped their lips in unison.

Ryo was pleased to see the scene.

"I feel like the ship's speed has slowed down a bit today."

Abel asked.

Upon reflection, it did indeed feel slower compared to the previous days.

"Ah, yes. The sailing route around here, when heading to the capital, faces a complete headwind. Of course, it is possible to progress against it using wind attribute magic, but compared to a tailwind, the speed inevitably decreases."

"I see, so that's how it is."

Abel nodded at Rajatton's explanation.

"When there is a tailwind, we don't use wind attribute magic and rely solely on the wind captured by the sails... It’s definitely faster than going against the wind with wind attribute magic. Nature's power is great."

Rajatton added with a laugh.

At that moment, the sound of a bell echoed through the fleet.

"What’s that?"

Abel said, and Ryo looked around.

The bell sound was coming from the escort ship advancing ahead of the fleet.

"An attack? Here?"

Rajatton murmured, then stood up and shouted.

"Prepare for enemy attack! Marines to the upper deck!"

"Seriously!? Alright, guard squad to the upper deck too!"

Ban Socks shouted as well.

He then turned to Captain Dao, calling out.

"Dao, according to the plan!"

"Understood!"

Captain Dao shouted back.

Additionally, they heard Dao shouting to his subordinates.

"The princess is to be protected in the captain's cabin. Leave that to the guard squad."

The procedures for emergencies had already been decided in advance.

Finally, Ban Socks turned to Ryo and Abel and said.

"If the Sujay Kingdom forces board, I ask for your help. Fight alongside us."

"Of course."

"Leave it to us."

Both Abel and Ryo nodded without hesitation.

The table and chairs were already gone.

This place would become a battlefield from here on.

Ryo looked around.

However, the enemies only appeared in front.

Of course.

There were no suitable islands around that could hide ambush troops.

So they had assumed they wouldn’t be attacked...

However, because it was situated between two large islands, the sea was not particularly wide.

It wasn’t narrow enough to be called a waterway, but...

Conversely, unless it was an attack from land using magic cannon fire, there shouldn’t be any concern about the fleet being attacked from the side.

Only from the front or the back.

It would have been very challenging to encircle them from behind.

So for now, they only needed to be wary of enemies approaching from the front...

Ryo leaned over the bow of the Vashteque, looking ahead.

Just behind him, Abel and Captain Ban Socks, who had finished giving instructions, ran up.

"What is that...?"

Whose murmur was it?

They finally got a clear view of the enemy fleet approaching from the front, but the ships were of a shape that was drastically different from the escort ships of the Manyamia stationed fleet.

Of course, they were also different from the Vashteque.

"Are those... oars sprouting from that ship? A galley?"

To Ryo’s eyes, they looked like galleys.

However, it seems there are no galleys in the Central Nations, let alone this Archipelago Sea Region...