At the port north of Baim, many ships were docked.
There were sailing vessels with billowing sails and ships fitted with smokestacks alike. Bracing ourselves against the sea breeze, we made our way to the designated spot, where an especially massive ship towered above the rest.
The slaves hauling cargo aboard wiped sweat from their brows while debating where to get drinks that evening.
The area was packed with people, and if we let our guard down for even a moment, Shannon and the others could easily get separated from us.
I glanced back at Shannon walking behind us and saw that Miranda was holding her hand.
Feeling relieved, I turned my gaze forward as we headed toward the largest ship in the port.
(I left Adele and Damian behind at the manor, but... even so, this is one hell of a big ship.)
As we drew closer and looked up, I was taken aback by the sheer size of the vessel.
Inside the Jewel, the Third Generation was getting excited.
"Incredible. They can actually build something like this now. You really feel how different the era is, don't you?"
The Fourth Generation was just as excited.
"Think of how much capital and manpower it takes to operate one of these... and if they're still turning a profit, it really makes you want to buy one."
The Fifth Generation cut the Fourth off with an exasperated look.
"Don't even think about it. If it sinks, it's all over."
The Seventh Generation, who apparently hadn't encountered a ship of this scale before, was genuinely impressed.
"Hmm, if we loaded cannons onto this, we could attack cities along the coast. We could sink enemy ships to our heart's content, couldn't we?"
Hearing this, the Third Generation was dumbfounded.
"Just because your weapon of choice is a gun doesn't mean you have to go recommending cannons, does it? Guns and cannons are both rich people's weapons, and more of a hobby than anything."
Indeed, firearms were extremely expensive weapons. Even though magic could serve as a substitute, every single shot still required gunpowder packed into the ammunition.
It was a weapon that could perform to a certain degree but could also be defended against, which was why it hadn't spread much. However, there seemed to be enthusiasts out there, and minor improvements were still being made to this day.
The Seventh Generation spoke, as if showing off his weapon.
"You don't understand. The age of swords and bows is over. From now on, the outcome of wars will be decided by how effectively guns are employed."
The Fifth Generation ignored his opinion.
"Rejected. Too expensive. Even just training personnel takes too much time and money. And on top of that, guns need gunpowder, then ammunition... it'd be faster to just substitute with bows or magic."
Among the many wooden ships, the Trace family's ship was made of metal. It had a chimney fitted to it, and smoke was rising into the air.
As I gazed at the ship, I heard a voice.
"Is everything ready?"
"We've already loaded Lady Vera's luggage. All that's left is to wait for the urgent cargo and the escort."
"Escort?"
When I turned around, there was a woman on the gangway holding a parasol. She wore a red dress on top, but the bottom was a mini skirt.
Black thigh-high socks paired with brown boots. Her hair was black and styled in two side-ups — the sides were long, but everything else was shoulder-length.
And the girl, holding a brown travel bag, had a golden pocket watch at her waist, and at the small of her back — the grip of a gun was visible.
When our eyes met, she looked at me with a sharp gaze. Her purple eyes locked onto me before she set down her bag and pointed a finger at me.
"Aren't you an adventurer from over there? More importantly, why are you letting him board? Nobody told me about this."
The sailor — the captain himself — was apologizing to the girl.
"I'm sorry, my lady. But it seems that large Monsters have been spotted in the waters we'll be passing through this time... Even for someone like you, it would be dangerous, so the master—"
With a sigh, the girl picked up her bag and walked straight up the gangway onto the ship. She looked over at me—
"Hurry up and get on. Even as an escort, if you don't board within the time limit, we're leaving you behind."
We exchanged bitter smiles and headed toward the ship.
A man who looked like the captain made a serious face when he saw us. I pulled the Trace family's letter of introduction from my luggage and handed it to the captain.
"...Indeed. Then, please board. This isn't a passenger ship, though, so it won't be the most elegant voyage. Once you're on board, I'll have a crew member show you around."
I nodded and led my party members up the gangplank.
Novem looked around as she walked.
"So you've managed to build something like this."
She seemed impressed. As for Miranda—
"You never had much to do with ships in Banseim, did you? I mean, I've been on smaller boats and things on lakes and rivers, but... Shannon, watch your step."
When Miranda called out the warning, Shannon was already stumbling on the gangplank.
"...Why isn't there a more walkable gangplank?"
The captain laughed as Shannon, eyes brimming with tears, lectured him.
"This is the best gangplank we've got, you know. It's better than that plank over there, isn't it?"
With that, he gestured toward a plank laid across a wooden ship moored nearby. Sure enough, it really was better than a bare plank.
"Out on the open ocean and everything... Humans are so weird."
May was pushing Eva—who had gone deathly pale—up the gangplank from behind.
"Just go on ahead already!"
Behind her, Clara was already tottering along with unsteady steps.
"I-if I fall... I-I'll die."
As she said this, Monica and Aria at the very back were shaking their heads.
"You won't die. Don't worry, Chicken will rescue you and give you mouth-to-mouth as a bonus. He'd absolutely never pass up a chance like that. Right, Chicken?"
"Monica, what do you take me for... Forget it. Come on, let's move."
Aria grabbed Clara's arm, and the two of them walked off together.
"Honestly, all we had to do was not fall over."
Seeing us like this, the captain removed the hat he'd been wearing.
"Are you sure about this party?"
He seemed to have grown uneasy looking at us.
Aboard the ship.
While we were on deck watching the ship depart, someone called out to us.
"Hey, you're in the way there. Get inside, will you?"
The one who had spoken was the black-haired girl in the red dress from earlier. I guessed she was about the same age as me, or maybe a little older.
"I was told a guide would be coming," I said.
The girl let out a sigh and folded her red parasol.
"Just follow me. I'm busy right now, so I'll show you around since I'm the one with free time."
At her words, we exchanged glances and then decided to follow the girl—Vera Trace.
As we began moving with our luggage in tow, Vera spoke up.
"Hey, by the way, is that all your luggage? You must have left some of it somewhere else, right?"
"No, this is everything. Oh, but I do have other things too, so don't worry."
After hearing my answer, Vera thought for a moment, then nodded and began leading us through the ship.
The crew members we passed smiled and stepped aside when they saw Vera. As I was thinking she must be well-liked, we arrived at our first destination.
"This is the guest quarters. I've prepared three rooms, so use them however you like."
We were shown to rooms where two bunk beds were squeezed into each small space. Three such rooms had been prepared, and a placard reading "Bodyguard Quarters" hung on each door.
It was Novem.
"Then shall I go ahead and put our luggage down first?"
When she said that, Vera replied.
"You can put your luggage down, but keep your valuables on you at all times. The rooms have locks, but since we're on a ship, stay on your guard. Also, a lot of the sailors are rough characters, so don't go picking fights carelessly."
Aria scratched her head when she heard that.
"We're supposed to be bodyguards, you know?"
Vera just smiled.
"Think you can put up a decent fight on a ship? Besides, this is basically the sailors' home turf. You'd do well to avoid any confrontations. Now, once you've put your bags down, lock up."
We set down our valuables, then headed out of the room and followed Vera around.
She showed us what we assumed would be our dining hall, the restrooms, and the bath — the bath was just a designated space, and if we wanted to use it, we'd have to prepare it ourselves.
Clara could heat water with magic, so I figured we'd ask her when the time came.
After showing us those, she gave us a general tour of the ship's layout. She pointed out where the lifeboats were, and which areas were off-limits.
Finally, she led us to a large room in the rear that could only be described as Vera's personal quarters.
It was a spacious, lavish room.
Knickknacks and adorable dolls, clothing racks, bookshelves, and all manner of decorations.
A red carpet covered the floor, and there were rugs made from what looked like monster pelts — white fur with black stripes, from some large cat-like creature.
Clara spoke up.
"Isn't this a white tiger? And a massive one at that."
Vera sat down on the sofa, rested her elbow on the armrest, and propped her chin in her hand.
"That's right. Make yourselves comfortable. I end up receiving gifts like this every voyage, and it'd be a waste not to use them. That big stuffed animal, I got that one years ago."
The large teddy bear had a large bell attached to its neck.
I tilted my head, wondering, and asked to confirm.
"Why have you brought us to this room?"
Vera looked at me with a serious expression, sat up straight, and brought her right hand to her mouth...
"I wonder why? But somehow, it caught my interest. Ah, this might be the first time a man has entered here, other than the crew."
Seeing Vera smile, I noticed her gaze was directed toward Novem.
"Hey, what's your name?"
Novem smiled brightly.
"Novem. Novem Fox."
Vera looked pleased.
"I see. As you probably know, I'm Vera Trace. I suppose you could say I'm one of the items you're meant to guard? Even though I don't really need it."
It seemed she didn't require our protection.
(Lady Luck, huh.)
The ship she boarded was said to never sink in any storm. It was this kind of superstition that led sailors to call her the goddess of luck.
As I was about to introduce myself, Vera held her palm out toward me and said, "Stop."
"I know who you are. I just remembered—blue hair, blue eyes... You're the saint knight Lyle, right? I never expected such a famous adventurer to be on this ship."
Watching Vera chuckle, I replied.
"I dislike that nickname, but... I'm Lyle Walt."
I gave a polite bow, and Vera nodded and stood to greet me properly.
"As you probably know, I'm Vera Trace. I suppose Father or someone insisted you board, didn't he? If you're here to hunt monsters, the Guild also sends out ships."
Vera shrugged her shoulders and sat back down on the sofa.
Then the Fourth Generation's voice came from the Jewel.
"Lyle, here you should at least say something like, 'No, I wanted to board your ship.'"
Ignoring the Fourth Generation's advice, I asked what I was curious about.
"Come to think of it, ships have names, don't they? What is this ship called?"
Vera's expression soured slightly, and she glared at me with narrowed eyes.
"You're asking because you don't know, right? The name of this ship… is the Vera Trace. Father named it. You'd think a state-of-the-art ship would get a better name, honestly."
Watching Vera rub her temple with her right hand, we all shared a wry smile.
Then Monica spoke up.
"You mentioned it's state-of-the-art, but just how impressive is it?"
Vera looked over at us with a smile.
"I'd like to say it's a secret, but I can tell you within certain limits. The key components were forged from rare metals. Ordinary craftsmen and shipwrights couldn't handle it, so I commissioned a famous dwarven artisan to fabricate the parts. At the very least, I can say without a doubt that no other merchant house would build a ship to this standard. There are no sails and no water wheels, right? That's because there's a screw underwater."
Hearing that, Monica nodded several times.
"I don't really care about the screw, but I'm curious about the artisan. Could you introduce us?"
Vera made a somewhat hesitant face.
"Look, this person is quite remarkable. But no, I can't introduce you to the artisan. They're not an acquaintance of mine — they're an acquaintance of Father's. I heard Grandfather supported them when they were young, so they've been connected to the family since then."
After chatting a bit longer, Clara seemed to have a question and asked Vera.
"Why did you bring us to this room?"
Vera stood up. There was a knock at the door, and a crew member entered.
"My lady, it's time to set sail."
Then Vera took out the pocket watch hanging at her waist and checked the time.
"On schedule. Fine, set sail!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
When the crew member left the room, he cast one last glance toward Orie with a slightly surprised look on his face. After the door closed, a short while later the scenery outside began to move.
Vera let out a sigh.
"I'm not the captain or anything, but somehow it ended up like this. Sorry about that. Anyway, the reason I called you here… I wanted to hear some stories. You're an adventurer, so you must know all sorts of interesting tales, right?"
Vera's gaze was full of expectation. And then my companions around me turned their eyes toward me. Vera, naturally, looked at me too.
"…What?"
Then Shannon spoke up on behalf of the group.
"Well, if we're talking about interesting stories, there's no one but Lyle."
Monica nodded as well.
"That's right. When Chicken was in top form, it was certainly a wonderful time full of laughter and tears alike."
I tried to correct Monica's lie.
"Stop phrasing it like my peak only came after I grew up."
Then Eva looked at me and covered her mouth with her hand.
"…Huh?"
May was the same. She clasped both hands behind her head.
"No matter how you look at it…"
When I turned to Aria, she averted her gaze.
"Sorry. I can't defend you."
I turned toward Clara, and she was looking down with her face flushed red all the way to her ears.
"Sorry. I couldn't help but remember..."
When I hesitantly turned my gaze toward Miranda,
"More like in peak form... she's basically the strongest in every sense of the word, isn't she?"
She was laughing. When I finally turned my gaze toward Novem,
"No matter what kind of Lyle-sama you are, you'll always be the best Lyle-sama to me."
She gave me a gentle smile.
However, from within the Jewel, I could hear laughter.
"That's right! Lyle-san really is in peak form!"
"Normally you'd mess up, but you haven't made any notable blunders this time!"
"...Give it up... Pfft!"
"As expected of House Walt's Kirin child. I'm confident that Lyle's comedic sharpness surpasses every previous generation."
I collapsed to my knees right there, planting both hands on the floor. On the gently swaying ship, I—
"That's a lie! That wasn't the real me!"
Hearing those words, Vera seemed to enjoy herself a little more.
"Oh, so you've made all sorts of mistakes before? It's a rude question, but... mind if I hear about them?"
It wasn't long before the rest of the companions began recounting my past failures.