Chapter 318: Let Me Explain!

A hastily constructed large ship and a pier for large ships to dock. Upon seeing these two things, Tran widened his eyes in shock. At the same time, he seemed to harbor a strong distrust toward the Kingdom of Scuderia and us, despite having held a considerably favorable impression previously.

Well, if they had underestimated us as a country lagging far behind in shipbuilding technology, only to see a large ship and pier appear in the blink of an eye… From the perspective of the maritime Kingdom of Fiesta, it looks like a threatening country has appeared out of nowhere, blindsiding them. Most likely, he suspects that Marquis Rosso was lying.

Therefore, as planned, we will now move to the phase of clearing Tran’s suspicions.

“Mr. Tran. I think there are many things you probably can’t believe. So, won’t you please come aboard the ship with us?”

When I said that, Tran looked at me with a complicated expression. On the other hand, Panamera, Arte, and Till were itching to board the ship I built. Khamsin seemed to have gotten sick even from the slight swaying on the pier and was becoming a bit of a “Blue Khamsin.”

And, unusually, Esparda was staring at the ship the whole time while listening to our conversation. It seems he wants to board it terribly.

To Tran, who didn’t answer immediately, Rosso spoke up instead.

“…Hmm. Honestly, even seeing it with my own eyes, I am still surprised myself. I plan to hear the explanation together with Lord Tran, but what do you say? Of course, I do not mind no matter how many subordinates you bring along.”

When Rosso said that to Tran, he finally pulled back his chin and nodded.

“…Understood. Please allow me to bring five subordinates.”

Saying just that, Tran looked up at the large ship I made with a serious face.

“Ah, will you board? In that case… Dee! Lower the gangway!”

“Understood!”

Judging that preparations were ready, I called out to Dee who was waiting on the deck. There was an immediate reply, and a stair-like ladder was lowered from the deck. Seeing the stairs installed onto the pier, Rosso nodded with satisfaction.

“This is easy to climb, which is good.”

Following Rosso who climbed up saying that, Panamera and Talga climbed up. Waiting to let Tran climb first, Tran looked up at the stairs with his subordinates and spoke.

“…Leaning a suspension-style staircase on the deck and lowering it when necessary. Did Lord Van come up with this too?”

“Yes! I worked hard to think of it! I also thought about installing pulleys on the side of the hull, but if I attach too many things to the side of the ship, they might break if high waves hit, so I reluctantly put it on hold…”

When I told him that with a wry smile, Tran exhaled deeply with a subtle expression and immediately climbed up to the deck. Tran’s subordinates followed him up, so the only ones left were the five of us: me, Arte, Till, Khamsin, and Esparda.

Well, although they aren’t boarding the ship, the members of Rosso’s and Panamera’s Chivalric Orders were waiting on the pier.

“Then, let’s board as well.”

“Y-Yes.”

When I announced boarding, Khamsin replied with a pale face. At this point, telling him he could stay on land would be pitiable. It might shake the resolve he took such pains to make. Thinking that, I nodded back to Khamsin.

“I’m counting on you.”

“L-Leave it to me…”

It was a weak voice that would make one anxious about whether it was really okay to leave it to him. Laughing at that, we all climbed onto the deck.

Upon climbing onto the deck, Rosso and Panamera were also touching the mast with interest or checking the surroundings from atop the ship. Talga was also looking down at the sea in an excited manner.

“Lord Van, this is like a moving fortress. If the defensive power is high, we can attack enemy countries from anywhere. This is an amazing thing.”

Talga said such things in an excited manner. Indeed, once up on the deck, it’s about the height of the roof of a two-story building. Being able to attack land forts with ballistae or magic from there is terrifying.

“That is a ship’s advantage, isn’t it. The rest is attack range. If the ship side can attack from a longer distance, it becomes possible to attack unilaterally. I think the Kingdom of Fiesta, possessing dozens of such ships, will become a major power that no country can ignore in the future.”

When I laughed saying that, Talga looked at Tran and his group, who were checking the ship with concern.

“…If things go poorly, there is also the possibility that the Kingdom of Fiesta becomes an enemy.”

When Talga muttered that, Panamera, who must have been listening from somewhere, joined in.

“Now, this is where the Boy shows his skills. Just like always, show us how you increase your allies.”

“No, no, since when did I get that image…”

Smiling wryly at Panamera’s unreasonable demand, I headed toward Tran and the others who were checking the sails with serious faces. Khamsin followed along despite his pale face. That said, Dee and Esparda are here too, so it should be fine. I think he could rest a little, but he is diligent.

“Mr. Tran.”

When I called his name, Tran turned his face toward me with a startled look.

“As I think you can tell by looking, most of the ship’s functions were modeled after the Fleetwood. To be blunt, I think almost everything within the visible range is the same as the Fleetwood.”

When I told him that, Tran nodded back solemnly.

“…Indeed, it looks exactly like the Fleetwood. Though the installed harpoon launchers have a completely different shape…”

Saying that, Tran pointed to the ballistae installed on both sides of the ship. The original harpoon launchers or whatever they were seemed narrow and didn’t look like they had good control. So, I modified them and lined up Van-kun’s special ballistae.

“This is a weapon unique to the Kingdom of Scuderia. It’s a ballista.”

“…If you don’t mind, could you test fire it for me?”

“Yes, sure.”

Answering readily, I used one ballista that was close by. The target was a large rock located a little distance away.

“Fire!”

“Hah!”

Simultaneous with my instruction, Dee and Khamsin prepared the ballista and fired. It hit the rock successfully, and the upper half shattered from the power. At this, Tran also widened his eyes.

“…What is that power?”

It seems he was surprised. Good, good. Then, shall I have him see the inside of the ship?

Feeling excited with the feeling of a successful surprise prank, I conveyed that intention, and Tran pulled back his chin with a tense expression.