Water Magician

Vol 4. Chapter 721: A Peaceful Voyage…?

On the second day after Skidbladnir departed Witnash, His Majesty the King was swinging his sword on deck from morning onward.

A short distance away, the knights were swinging their swords as well.

Not all of them.

They understood that if every knight started training at once, they would get in the way of the crew working on deck, so apparently they were taking turns in groups of about ten.

“You can tell just by looking at this scene that Abel is throwing his royal privilege around.”

“Oh, I’m definitely glad I became king.”

Abel laughed as he admitted it.

“That’s rare. Usually you would argue.”

“Do you remember what I said when we were coming back from the Eastern Countries, Ryo?”

“What you ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) said? I heard a lot of things, so I’m not sure which one you mean...”

Ryo tilted his head.

It was not sarcasm. He genuinely did not know which remark Abel meant.

“That I wanted to become stronger.”

“Ah, yes. I remember that.”

Abel answered while continuing to swing his sword. Ryo answered while sitting in an ice chair and looking over the magic formulas written on an ice plate.

Which meant neither of them considered this a particularly important conversation.

“The only way to become stronger is to train. Training requires time. Right now, I have that time.”

“True. On this trip to the Western Countries, it does seem as if you’ll have plenty of time to train.”

“More or less. Apparently we’ll be stopping at several maritime nations along the way, so I’ll have to show my face as king then... but otherwise, I should have time.”

“There are maritime nations?”

“Yes. Apparently there are several island nations neither our Knightley Kingdom nor the Western Countries knew about.”

“Once the route is opened, we may be able to resupply in places like that.”

Ryo nodded at Abel’s explanation.

Not every ship was as fast as Skidbladnir.

Small ships would probably be impossible to begin with, but larger trading vessels of a certain scale might be able to travel between the Central Countries and the Western Countries by linking those maritime nations together.

Until now, neither region had ever even attempted to connect the two areas by sea, so the countries had remained unknown to both sides.

That said, Skidbladnir had apparently stopped at them on the way from the Western Countries to Witnash.

“Captain Paulina says some of the islands are quite large. Of course, they only stopped at ports along the sea route, so only a few crew members went ashore.”

“It reminds me of the archipelago region.”

Abel’s explanation made Ryo remember the archipelago region where the two of them had been blown by Demon Man Garwin’s mana running wild.

“King Abel’s port calls may summon the clouds of war over peaceful maritime nations.”

“Don’t say something that ominous.”

Abel grimaced at Ryo’s words.

If the Western Countries and the Central Countries were connected by sea, these were nations the Kingdom might have long dealings with.

It was only natural for a king to want peaceful relations with them.

“The forces you have with you amount to only fifty knights of the Kingdom’s knight orders, Abel. Please don’t start a war on a whim just because you think you might as well occupy one.”

“As if I would.”

“If you absolutely insist, there is a possibility that you could secure the Premier Duke’s assistance by upgrading his once-a-month cake privilege to a once-a-week cake privilege.”

“Yes, well, I have no intention of fighting, so I don’t need your assistance.”

For some reason, Ryo tried to provoke him into negotiating, and Abel, thoroughly exhausted, refused to negotiate.

“Why are you making everything smell dangerous before we have even reached port?”

“Because once we get dragged into trouble, it’s too late to negotiate!”

“Do not drag a peaceful ship and peaceful countries into Ryo’s personal desires...”

Abel sighed.

Skidbladnir continued smoothly on her way, maintaining a peaceful voyage.

Good food and a disciplined daily routine.

Those two things defined that peaceful voyage.

The cooks led by Head Chef Kovac continued serving delicious meals to more than a hundred crew members and passengers.

The crew led by Captain Paulina performed their duties flawlessly without anyone cutting corners, and no problems occurred.

However, there was one point about the food that made His Majesty the King wonder.

“Captain, I have a question.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. What would that be?”

One evening at dinner, Abel asked Captain Paulina, who was seated with them around the table in the distinguished guest room.

“This is not a complaint, of course... but why has there been no fish?”

Indeed, Skidbladnir was sailing over the sea.

Everything around them was ocean.

There were fish in the ocean.

Whether by line or net, it seemed as if fish should be available as an ingredient in any amount they wanted.

And yet it had not been served even once.

It was only natural for Abel to wonder.

“When I speared a sea bream, the world turned upside down.”

Before Captain Paulina could answer, Ryo murmured.

Ryo remembered.

He remembered the first time he had dived into the sea near Rondo’s forest.

The moment he speared a fish like a sea bream... the world itself had turned against him.

That was what happened when one laid a hand on the creatures of the sea.

Abel had expected Captain Paulina to answer, but Ryo muttered first, which surprised him instead.

Captain Paulina, however, looked at Ryo with a smile and asked,

“Your Grace, did this perhaps happen underwater?”

Had he experienced something like the whole world turning against him?

“Yes. It was terrifying.”

Ryo nodded honestly.

He had been ignorant.

Ignorance put one’s life in danger.

There was still one ignorant person present here.

“What happened underwater?”

Abel tilted his head and asked.

“When you lay a hand on the creatures of the sea, the sea monsters... no, not only monsters, but such things will attack.”

“What?”

“That is why fishermen only fish in waters where there are no terrifying monsters. We have no information on the sea monsters that live in the waters we are passing through, so we make sure not to touch anything.”

“I see... the sea really is terrifying.”

Abel nodded at Paulina’s explanation.

“I would not recommend fishing unless it is in a place without powerful monsters, or from somewhere like an island rather than a ship.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Of course, this vessel is equipped with sea-monster repellent, so monsters are unlikely to approach us...”

“No, there’s no need to invite danger on purpose. Unlike a certain water-attribute magician.”

“Abel, if you want a fight, I’ll give you one!”

Abel went out of his way to phrase it provocatively, and Ryo responded in kind.

At that moment, Head Chef Kovac entered.

“Your Majesty, I have brought the lindo pie for dessert.”

A very delicious-looking apple pie!

“In deference to this delicious-looking pie, I shall forgive Abel.”

“I will return those exact words to you, Ryo.”

Ryo and Abel both talked a fine game, but their gazes were already fixed on the lindo pie.

Surely delicious food was the key to world peace after all.

Seven days after departing Witnash, Skidbladnir would put into port at the first maritime nation, the Kingdom of Pishkan.