Chapter 305: In the End, Everyone Goes to See the Ship

Fifteen carriages. And a combined force of five hundred elites from the Panamera Chivalric Order and the Seatoh Village Chivalric Order. Furthermore, since it is a city we have never been to, ten adventurers including Ortho and his group joined as guides and guards. It is quite a large group. I was anxious about leaving the village empty since Talga, Dee, and the others are accompanying us, but Esparda’s disciples have grown, so they said it would be fine if it wasn’t for a long period.

Since we are going all the way to the sea, I prepared Van-kun’s exclusive super-luxury carriage, thinking we should have an elegant journey. It is the high-class carriage I made before, the Cullinan.

“Lord Van. Is the ship big?”

“Hmm, let’s see. If it crosses the great ocean, it has to be big enough not to lose to the currents or the strength of the waves, so I think it’s very big.”

“That is exciting!”

“Yeah, it is.”

I enjoyed the journey in the spacious interior of the carriage while having a fun conversation with Arte and Till. The mood is fully that of a vacation. I had been excited since the preparation stage thinking that, but the situation inside the carriage had become something unexpected.

“Hmm… Then, Sir Esparda, are you saying I should provide education to the subjects in my city just like in Seatoh Village?”

“Indeed. As long as it was a territory of the Kingdom of Yelenetta, Fortress City Cayenne consists almost entirely of former Kingdom of Yelenetta subjects. Therefore, I humbly suggest it would be better to foster the awareness that they are subjects of the Kingdom of Scuderia through basic education.”

“I see. No, that would be important in the long run. It requires labor, but there are effects worth the effort. Sir Esparda is indeed a man of wisdom. Is there any other good advice?”

“Let us see. Other than that…”

The spacious and elegant carriage journey had turned into a study trip at the hands of Panamera, who shared the seat, and Esparda, whom Panamera had invited to ride along. The two were talking endlessly about very serious topics and occasionally asked for my opinion.

No, Van-kun has a lot of things to think about, like the sea, ships, and seafood. I want you to leave me alone. Or rather, shouldn’t Panamera have her own carriage?

“What do you think, Lord Van?”

“Eh?”

Suddenly spoken to by Esparda, I gave a noncommittal answer. Then, Panamera shook her shoulders with a mean-spirited smile.

“Boy. You were dozing off, weren’t you? We are talking about ships, which the Boy likes, you know.”

“Eh? Ships?”

When I asked back, Panamera nodded with a smile.

“That’s right. If the ship that crosses the ocean is real, what kind of ship do you think it is?”

“I think it’s probably an iron or mithril ship. A wooden ship wouldn’t be able to withstand attacks by magical beasts.”

“What?”

When I simply conveyed my thoughts, Panamera and Esparda looked at each other.

“…An iron ship. Is that possible?”

When Panamera asked that, Esparda put his hand on his chin and groaned.

“Iron sinks in water. However, for example, if we stretch it thinly and paste it onto large timber… No, even then, it might not be able to withstand the attacks of large magical beasts that Lord Van mentioned at the beginning. Hmm…”

After looking at the agonizing Esparda with amusement, Panamera shifted her gaze to me.

“Interesting… The Boy always thinks in unexpected ways.”

“Eh? Ah, hahaha… Come to think of it, aren’t we arriving soon?”

Averting my eyes from Panamera‘s probing gaze, I turned my face outside the carriage. I felt a faint scent of the sea drifting in.

When I leaned out of the carriage window, we were just about to cross a small hill. The carriage climbed a long slope. Around us were the figures of knights marching energetically. Since we took a lunch break earlier, everyone was full of energy.

Climbing the slope with that momentum, we eventually reached the top of the hill.

At that moment, in the direction the carriage was heading, I saw a gradation line of blue and green layers stretching to the left and right. The sea, reflecting the deep blue of the sky, was beautifully mixed with the blue and the transparent green.

“Wow, it looks like a tropical sea!”

I cheered upon seeing the beautiful sea. Then, Till and Arte also poked their heads out from next to me and looked toward the sea.

“Amazing…!”

“Beautiful…!”

The two also raised voices of emotion and were engrossed in the sea. Turning around, there was Khamsin standing hesitantly.

“Khamsin, you look too!”

When I called out to him, Khamsin looked up abruptly and smiled.

“Y-Yes!”

It seemed he was being considerate as a servant, but with my permission, Khamsin poked his head out next to Till and looked at the sea.

“A-Amazing…! It’s huge!”

I could see Khamsin returning to a childlike state, which had become rare recently. Khamsin, leaning out the window, was engrossed in the sea. Khamsin looking at the sea alongside Arte. And Till, who should be much older, was also engrossed in watching the sea together.

As I was feeling warmed by watching the three of them, I felt the gazes of Panamera and Esparda.

“…The Boy looks more like the guardian.”

“What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.”