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Volume 5 Chapter 2 Part 2

「That’s why I hate the damn ships! 」

Siluca cursed under her breath. It is going to take her three full days after the sea calms town to properly recover from her condition.

Siluca’s seasickness aside, the voyage itself went rather smoothly.

While avoiding the reefs, the ship sailed from Falvis to near the shores of Mansur, and from there, it crossed the two straits that divided Mansur with Ismeia, and Ismeia with Sistina.

Recently, Dartanian merchant ships that have been turned into pirate ships and Nord fleets that have advanced to the Southern Seas have begun to appear in this area, so they couldn’t allow themselves to let their guards down for even a single moment. This region did not have enough naval power to intercept any of the possible threats, and its inhabitants couldn’t expect any reinforcements from the Fantasia Union.

Because the waves were calm and because she was now used to it, Siluca’s seasickness had subsided to the extent that she could move around the ship again. She’s been able to go up on the deck since last night, and now stood on the bow of the ship, watching the direction in which they were currently heading.

The land that was still in her sight was the tip of the Ismeia Peninsula. A gentle headwind was blowing, and the small sailing ship was meandering left and right. She knew the principle on which the beats and ships operated, but it still felt strange when she actually got on one herself.

The wind and tide were both steady. However, the further the got, the Chaos density was gradually increasing.

Siluca took out her magic wand and checked the Chaos Globe that has been attached to it. Compared to yesterday, the black energy swirling inside of the Globe was clearly dominant.

So far, its movement is slow, but whenever there are sudden changed in the balance of Chaos like this one, terrifying accidents and Chaos Disasters are almost guaranteed to occur.

As they will be getting closer to Sistina, the Chaos density is only going to be increasing, and even a short moment of carelessness can prove to be a fatal one.

「How does it feel? 」

Theo arrived at the front of the ship, leaving Irvin at the helm.

「The state of the sea is fine for now. 」

Siluca looked back at Theo.

「And how are you feeling? 」

「As long as the ship is only swaying sideways like it is now, everything seems to be okay. The movements that I cannot handle very well are these slow up and down motions. 」

That’s also probably why she could handle driving in a carriage just fine.

「That’s good to hear. 」

Theo smiled.

「I’m sorry, I couldn’t be of more help with the voyage. 」

「Well, it’s not a big ship, so it’s fine. Irvin is as reliable as always, and Emma and Luna are quick to learn the ropes. 」

The twin Werewolf girls were still moving around energetically as Theo spoke.

「I wish I could also read, write, and do math properly. 」

Siluca gave him a wry smile.

She tried teaching the twins those things because these kind of skills are necessary for a proper maid, but the girls had trouble remembering them. However, since they are Werewolves, the style they are aiming for as Artists is different, and Irvin doesn’t seem to want to make them into real Shadows either.

「I can’t say I’m good at it either. 」

Theo smiled wryly.

「That’s what we contracted Mages are for. 」

However, many of the current Lords are highly educated, and since the Lords consider Crests to be hereditary, children of high-ranking Lords also learn the necessary skills from the contracted Mages, and sometimes are even sent to study abroad in Elam.

There are some Lords who can’t use magic, but are no less knowledgeable and wise about it than the Mages who serve them.

That being said, Theo felt that Siluca was still no match for the Earl of Artuk when it comes to scheming.

Theo took Chaos and transformed it into a Crest with his own power in order to become a Lord, but because of that he didn’t receive any kind of education or training that other Lords obtained for themselves. On the other hand though, Theo probably learned many different things throughout the time that he spent as a wandering Lord who travelled around the continent, and if he doesn’t know something, Siluca can always teach that to him.

「Well, that’s what I’m already used to… 」

Siluca nodded at Theo.

「Tomorrow we will finally cross the strait to Sistina. We don’t know what will happen after that, so let’s eat to our heart’s content and take a good rest tonight. 」

「Can we eat until we’re full?! 」

One of the twins heard Siluca’s words and called out to her with sparkling eyes.

Both of them are still growing, so they needed to eat a lot. But since they both moved so well, it showed they were growing up in good health for the time being.

「It’s okay to make some noise as well if you want. 」

「Hooray! 」

The twins raise their arms and clapped each other’s hands.

That night, the people on the ship organized a small party. Since they haven’t been living comfortably for a while now, everyone enjoyed it as much as they could.

Irvin showed off his culinary skills and opened the barrel of best beer they had available.

Arvin shows off his culinary skills and opens a barrel of beer.

Luna and Emma entertained everyone with acrobatic dances, and Aishela followed along by performing a dance from her hometown.

Theo sang loudly and brightly, albeit not very well, while Siluca wielded magical light and beautifully decorated the entire ship to match the occasion.

Priscilla also performed a song praising The Only God.. The lyrics sounded fishy to Siluca, but she had a beautiful voice and a the song itself was good, so she let it slide.

Everyone ate and drank to their heart’s content, and made a lot of noise, including His Highness Balgary, the Cait Sith fairy of Tir na Nog who appeared from within Siluca’s shadow after smelling the feast.

The party continued until midnight, after which everyone wrapped themselves in blankets on the deck. The sky was clear and full of stars.

Siluca thought that it was definitely a happy night as she fell asleep under her blanket, secretly holding Theo’s hand.

* * *

Even though everyone fell asleep so late at night, they all managed to wake up early in the morning. It was because everyone tried to restrain themselves as much as they could yesterday in order to not let the potential fatigue carry over to the next day, because everyone on the ship knew that today was going to be a tough day.

Thick clouds covered the sky while they were all still sleeping, and the wind was getting stronger. However, with the wind coming from the west, it wasn’t bad for heading south through the strait.

The waves started reaching higher and they rocked the ship much harder, causing Siluca to feel sick again, but she didn’t end up falling over, either because she was already used to it or because she was so nervous.

When the sail was raised on the mast, it caught the blowing wind and got inflated, and the ship immediately began to glide further across the surface of the water. Compared to yesterday, it was going quite fast.

Without turning back, they crossed the strait diagonally towards Sistina.

Aishela stood at the bow of the ship. She wore her scale armor, her feathered helm, and held a pole weapon in her hand. Today’s tip was a glaive. Her appearance is exactly that of a Valkyrie, The Warrior Maiden, who is said to reside in the World of Valhalla.

Siluca calmed herself down and lined up next to Aishela. From here onwards sprawled the demonic sea that all sailors feared. She needs to find any Chaos Mutation and prevent if from converging and creating a Chaos Disaster as soon as possible.

The ship crossed the waves and sailed south. Visibility was poor due to cloudy skies, and they still couldn’t see Sistina on the opposite shore.

Siluca kept an eye on her Chaos Globe the entire time. The density of Chaos was getting higher and higher, and the patterns inside of the Globe were rapidly changing.

「I have a bad feeling about this… 」

She’s not very good at deciphering the Chaos Globe, but she could clearly understand that such movements were nothing to feel happy about.

「Yeah, it stinks. 」

Aishela said while her nostrils twitched.

「The hair on the nape of my neck are standing on end. 」

One of the twins also raises an uneasy voice.