Chapter 235: The Tyrant on the Sea (1)
"Yes, so the mission this time is... none."
"That's right. I didn't assign you any."
The guardian dragon Seyra was still buried in paperwork, flipping through dozens, hundreds of documents at a rapid pace, quickly assessing their contents, signing, or recording things magically before sending them back. It made it clear that the rumors about her handling 10% of the kingdom's administration personally weren't an exaggeration.
"And along with my regular report, there's something I'd like to ask."
"What is it?"
"I'd like to know how much money I've accumulated from the missions I've completed so far."
"Not much. About this much?"
Seyra projected a glowing figure into the air. For a trainee knight, it was a decent sum, but nowhere near enough to buy a house.
'I really need to find a source of money...'
"Ban. Do you need money?"
"Honestly... yes. A lot."
"Then would you take on this mission? Originally, we were going to get reinforcements from another regional knight order."
Seyra pulled out two sheets of paper.
"One was meant for you from the start, and the other was assigned elsewhere."
"Do I have to choose one?"
"You can do both. The one meant for you isn't urgent. This new one comes with travel expenses and extra pay based on your work there."
Do I really have a choice?
I need every coin I can get.
"What kind of mission is it?"
"It's from the Baran Duchy. A continuation of the mission you did last time."
Seyra seemed to be smiling.
'Why do I feel like I'm being played...'
---
Swoooosh—
Screech—screech, screech—
The ship's bow cut through the waves like a knight's sword slicing through enemies, bold and strong.
I was aboard a navy escort ship, overseeing the fishing operations of a Baran Duchy fishing vessel. Normally, knights weren't needed for regular fishing, but this was a special operation and the first of its kind, requiring a knight's supervision.
The Baran Duchy didn't train knight-level forces but had a powerful navy instead. As such, they had no knight ranks, so they requested aid from the kingdom—and I was sent.
"We got one!"
"Let's see."
As a fishman was pulled up with a harpoon, crew members slashed its neck with long-handled sickles. Then, from a following boat, the body was hauled in with nets, the flesh cut up and stored in a magic freezer, while the roe and liver were extracted separately and loaded onto the ship.
Yes.
We were culling the fishman population.
'Is this really something I need to supervise?'
The kingdom's laws had changed to allow capture of ecological threats like fishmen. But since this was the first year and the first operation, Seyra decided it needed proper oversight from someone she trusted.
Originally, she was going to send a senior knight from the local order, but when I volunteered, she sent me instead.
'Tch... It's lonely out here.'
The sailors of the Baran Duchy refused to let women onboard, saying it made their ships jealous. (They referred to their ships as women.) So I couldn't even bring Mollang, Shuru, or even Uni, who wanted to come.
"Hehe... It's already been a week. Getting a little horny, sir?"
'Ahem. I'm a knight of the kingdom. Please refrain from such vulgar comments.'
"Sounds like you've got something on your mind."
Oops. I mixed up what I was thinking and what I said aloud.
It was hard not to. These sailors made perverted jokes daily, saying things like dolphin mermaids taste great but feel like drug addicts from eating pufferfish, or how it feels amazing if you fuck their blowholes. That reminded me of Fiona, who I once met, and Mary, who must be somewhere beyond this sea. My thoughts grew restless.
"Not long ago, a supervisor came to inform us of the law change and accidentally found a dolphin mermaid brothel. Had to chase them all out, but they still show up whenever they see our ship. Heh..."
"Technically, dolphins aren't mermaids."
"Eh, mermaids are just legends. A dolphin's close enough, right?"
But as someone who's met real mermaids, I had to correct him.
"Anyway, whether dolphin or mermaid, what matters is the hole, right?"
"Haha... Is that so?"
"Dolphin girls hang out farther at sea now since fishmen are swarming. They don't stick near shore anymore. But just hang in there. They'll come around."
The first mate made a ring with one hand and thrust a finger through it. I returned the gesture with two fingers.
"Like this?"
"Haha! That's more like it."
He added a third finger. I spread all five and mimed a fist. He laughed and mimed inserting his forearm, so I grabbed the ship's mast and—
"Whoa, sir knight! You gonna fuck the ship already?"
"Hahaha!"
Damn, I really must be pent up.
I'd been dry for a while, and even on the way to Baran, I had to abstain. When I arrived and tried to track down some dolphin girls, they were already gone and the fleet was preparing to sail.
The sailors told me the dolphins were chased out after being discovered by that official. Apparently, dolphin girls used to protect harbors by keeping fishmen away, making voyages possible. But now that limited hunting was allowed, dolphins didn't need to stick around. And no one could admit to an official that dolphins were selling sex.
'If only that official had slept with one, he'd understand!'
So I was stuck on this ship, lonely and frustrated.
'Just a few more days, maybe they'll come back... huh?'
CRAAACK!!
Suddenly, the deck shook like an earthquake. The crew quickly secured themselves, hooking into anything stable.
SPLASH!
A heavy impact hit the bow.
The ship rocked violently like it was riding a giant wave. I could barely keep my balance.
"What the hell?!"
"What was that? A reef? No, there's nothing like that here... a whale maybe?"
"A whale?"
I'd heard about them—giant creatures as big as warships.
'Professor Pandel would insist I call it a mammal, not a fish... huh?'
Then I saw it.
As the ship slowed, a dark mass was swimming toward us beneath the waves.
Swoooosh—
"What the hell... a black wave?"
"No way... are those fishmen?!"
A swarm of fishmen surged forward like a tidal wave.
'Is this an attack? No... not enough killing intent. They're fleeing?'
They were swimming recklessly, some even attacking each other, clearly in a panic.
"Sir Knight! It's dangerous!"
Vrrrmmmm—!
"Stay away from me and get to safety!"
SPLASH!!
Fishmen leapt from the waves onto the deck.
SCHLASH!
I swung my mana saber and cut down five of them, the smell of grilled fish filling the air. The ones I missed were cut down by crew sickles or immobilized.
Fishmen weren't tough. It was always the numbers. But our crew was trained.
'Why do I feel so uneasy...? Like something's coming from below...'
"The ship's listing?! Why?!"
As the ship tilted, the crew clung to anything they could, avoiding falling into the fishman-infested waters. I held the line at the edge, slicing through attackers.
"How's he doing that?!"
"He's not just some pretty boy—he fights like a sea god!"
SCHLASH!
Embedding my mana-charged fingers into the deck for balance, I swung the saber and advanced toward the bow, but the dread only grew stronger.
'It's coming... something huge and dangerous...'
Then—
ROOOAAAAR!!
A massive water column erupted from the sea.
'Dammit!'
I kicked away a charging fishman and rushed for the center of the deck, but I couldn't dodge in time. My foot caught.
"Guh!"
The water blast launched me skyward, fishmen alongside me. The ship grew distant below.
I spread my limbs, wrapped in mana, to slow the fall—but it didn't help much.
'This is bad... really bad...!'
SPLASH!!
Just before hitting the water, I braced with my arms forward, trying to protect my organs. I struck something hard—like slamming into a giant shield—and blacked out from the impact.
Crack!
My mana circuits overloaded, leaving me paralyzed. Luckily, my limp body floated instead of sinking.
Swoooosh... swoooosh...
'Is... that an island moving?'
A round, flesh-colored island was coming closer.
Normally, I'd expect to drift toward a stationary island. But this one was moving toward me.
Not huge, but just big enough for me to lie down on...?
'Wait... am I hallucinating?'
It looked like two round islands, side by side.
My vision blurred as I started to lose consciousness. I tried to hold on, but it was beyond human will.
'No way... That island... If not for the lack of nipples, I'd swear it looked like a pair of tits. Am I going insane?'