novelraw Book 2: Chapter 4: The Iceberg Queen
Book 2: Chapter 4: The Iceberg Queen
Along the corridor outside, many glass windows were arranged, and after pushing open the door to the room and entering, one could see the situation on the deck outside from here. At this moment, the sunlight was just right, but the sea breeze outside seemed rather strong. Few people stood on the deck outside, but the corridor was crowded with travelers chatting.
For example, there were couples holding children, elderly people talking with the service staff, and female crew members recruiting customers.
Fischer scanned the guests in the corridor but did not stop, continuing to walk forward. He wasn’t sure if there were vendors selling goods here, so he decided to go down to the dining hall to take a look.
“Sir! Sir! Please wait a moment.”
At first, when the voice came from behind, Fischer thought it wasn’t calling him. Only when the hurried voice got closer and a hand patted his shoulder did Fischer turn back, seeing a middle-aged man with a small mustache and a hat on his head, panting heavily.
“Is there something you need?”
“Ha... Finally caught up. If I’m not mistaken, you’re looking for a place to buy cigarettes, right? Let me introduce myself, my name is Laiba, I’m a merchant. I happen to have some for sale here. Would you like to take a look?”
As he spoke, he unbuttoned his trench coat and pulled several packs of cigarettes from the inner lining pocket.
“Saint Nary brand, royal exclusive, and Banaba brand... This brand is new, with a strong flavor using some specialties from the southern continent. This is the new stock I just got.”
“How do you know I’m looking for cigarettes?”He smiled while promoting his goods but glanced up at Fischer’s wary gaze, realizing his approach was a bit sudden. Embarrassed, he explained,
“Ah, after all, I’m a businessman. How many gentlemen in Nary like cigarettes? Eight out of ten? Or maybe nine out of ten? The ones urgently searching for cigarettes are far more desperate than you. But there are quite a few calm ones like you. Those who don’t look around and only walk straight ahead are either looking for the washroom or cigarettes, hehe.”
This merchant named Laiba was right. Gentlemen in Saint Nary indeed had this habit. They loved this stuff from top to bottom. Even the king used to consume cigarettes daily when he was healthy, but recently, due to health issues, royal doctors forbade it.
Fischer was one of the ones who used it the least, only occasionally when writing articles.
He pointed to the Saint Nary brand cigarettes in his arms and took out his wallet.
“How much?”
“Seventy-five euros. Ten euros more expensive than the Saint Nary retail price, accounting for transportation costs.”
Laiba rubbed his hands together, took the money, then placed the pack of Saint Nary cigarettes in Fischer’s palm and gave him a box of matches. “Consider this a freebie.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m the one who should thank you for supporting my business... Ah, the wind outside has calmed down a bit. Would you like to go outside and enjoy it? It’s stuffy inside the room, and I need some fresh air too.”
Laiba glanced at the bright sky outside and smiled, inviting Fischer to get some fresh air. The corridor was filled with thick smoke and noise, with female crew members and passengers arguing over prices.
Fischer nodded, mainly because he didn’t want to return to his room and see that Renée again. It was just right to go out for some fresh air to change his mood.
His article was nearly finished. After completing it tonight, he planned to carefully revise the wording to avoid mistakes. Scholars in Saint Nary were meticulous with words. If a sentence was ambiguous or unclear, they would include it in a paper for extensive critique. When he gave explanations, they would shift their ground and continue attacking, which was quite frustrating.
“Do you do business in the southern continent?”
Once outside, the two began chatting. Fischer glanced at Laiba’s thickly wrapped trench coat and asked.
“Yes, I deal in cigarettes and fine wine. People in the southern continent lack nothing except for this Saint Nary flavor. Sometimes they search the entire wilderness and can’t find a single cigarette or drop of wine, getting frantic. I’m responsible for transporting these fine Saint Nary goods over there, doing a bit of wholesale...” Then Laiba smiled at Fischer, “Occasionally retail too.”
“There are so many city lords in the southern continent. How do you sell your goods? Do you have to visit shops one by one?”
“Impossible, that would be too much trouble, and I don’t dare run wild in the southern wilderness. I heard goblins that eat people roam there... Basically all kinds of demi-humans looking like monsters. I only transport the goods from Nary. How they’re sold is up to the middlemen there. The profit is smaller but safety is guaranteed, and I don’t have to deal with all the city taxes.”
“Let me tell you, sir, the southern continent is dangerous. Just a few days ago, when I was at Port Crete, I stepped out of the fenced area after unloading goods and saw a red dragonkin, about my height, speaking to me in the Nary language, saying a gentleman was injured on a hill far away... Good heavens, Nary language! That dragonkin spoke Nary!”
He vividly gestured a height slightly taller than himself, then excitedly said,
“God bless, but when I brought port soldiers to that hill, there was nothing there! I broke out in a cold sweat! This must be a trap set by that dragonkin. I heard the city lords of Schwalli are at war with the demi-humans. They must want to take revenge on humans! Stupid demi-humans. I’m a gentleman from Nary. Why don’t you go find those homosexuals in Schwalli instead?!”
“...”
Fischer’s expression slightly froze. He seemed to understand something and nodded. At that time, Raphaëlle should have informed the humans at Port Crete to come care for his injuries, but on the way, Renée must have discovered him and taken him away.
Renée wanted to hide him so others wouldn’t find out.
The sea breeze howled. The air outside was indeed fresher than indoors. Standing here stretching, gazing at the calm sea, he felt as if all his fatigue was washed away.
Laiba, as a merchant frequently traveling between two continents by sea, was very experienced. He always told Fischer some mysterious legends or tales, including enormous sea monsters and cursed golden treasures on sea islands. But most were just legends, likely fabricated to captivate listeners.
“Hey, so you’re a scholar? I figured that out long ago. Only the smartest people in Saint Nary have that kind of aura... What do you study?”
“Demi-humans.”
“Oh, demi-humans! Good heavens, people actually study that?”
Actually, Fischer also researched magic and social sciences, but there was no need to reveal everything.
“So, are there demi-humans in the sea too?”
Laiba took a drag of his cigarette, looked down at the vast blue ocean, and curiously asked.
“Not sure. So far, no one has found any demi-humans from the ocean. Either they don’t exist or they’re hiding too deeply to be discovered by humans...”
But Fischer speculated they did exist. After all, the completed handbook clearly mentioned a demi-human who destroyed human civilization called the Mysterious Child of the Sea.
“Hmm, that makes sense. But the most terrifying thing at sea nowadays isn’t those elusive demi-humans or sea monsters, but pirates that make several governments scramble. Imagine a bunch of desperados sailing a ghost ship with a skull flag, carrying several cannons stolen from Schwalli, robbing here and there on the ocean. That’s terrifying.”
“...If there was a ship, very large, with a deep green hull, a solid blue flag with an upside-down hammer painted on it, and a giant spear-like structure hanging from the front, loaded with many cannons on the sides, would that be a pirate ship?”
Hearing Fischer’s question, Laiba paused for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise,
“You also know the legend of the Four Great Pirates at sea? What you’re describing must be the Iceberg Queen from the Northern Territories. The giant spear in front is used to break ice in the cold northern seas. The crew is full of tomboyish women from the north! But I heard they only rob Schwalli, how could they...”
Laiba was excitedly talking when his peripheral vision suddenly met Fischer’s. They both turned to look at the sea surface not far away.
On the calm sea, as if suddenly rising from the water’s surface, a massive ship resembling a sea beast steadily sailed toward them. The deep blue flag fluttering on the mast was exactly as Fischer described. Huge cannons on both sides gleamed deadly cold.
At this moment, the ship was speeding full throttle toward Fischer’s cruise ship.
“Ic... Iceberg Queen?!”
Laiba’s lips trembled, seemingly too weak to even hold the cigarette between them. The half-smoked cigarette slipped through the railing beside the deck and sank into the icy seawater, reminding them that they were being targeted by a gigantic pirate ship.