Volume 4 Chapter 41 The Sea Serpent
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The day I left Hodayn Port was full of routine tasks. Checking the dynamite inventory, logging our stay at Hodayn Port on the bridge, monitoring the asphalt combustion in the Engine Department — the time just slipped away.
Things were fairly quiet while we were docked, but the fatigue I felt was unreal.
Anyway, I was wiped out, so I figured I’d get some shut-eye before dinner, eventually making it back to my cabin door.
I turned the knob, opened the door, and immediately shut it again.
I chose to pretend I hadn’t seen a thing and decided to head to the Dining Hall for now.
Just as I started walking away, the door behind me opened.
”You. A moment.”
Katarina’s voice was cold enough to freeze my heart.
Right, she was inside the room. And not just her. Kenze and Alyona were there too.
In the first place, I’d specifically asked Section Chief Gida to have Alyona returned to the Administrator of Hodayn Port. Why was she still here?
The Chief should have been happy to do it, and Katarina knew about the arrangement too.
”Do you care to explain?”
If it were just Katarina, I could play the part of a wicked, abusive man, but with Kenze and Alyona in the room, my mind wasn’t quite broken enough to put on such a theatrical performance.
Feeling a bit weak, I let Katarina drag me into the room, where she ordered me to sit next to Alyona, who was perched on the bed.
I followed instructions and sat down. Kenze sat on the office chair, crossing her legs, while Katarina leaned against the wall near the door, staring at me.
Basically, both of them were physically looking down on me.
According to the rotation, tonight was Kenze’s turn. And if I didn’t play the part of the wicked man to keep Katarina in check, my system of control would collapse.
But still.
My HP and MP were nearly depleted.
Unless I had a miracle potion, “duty” with Kenze was barely possible for Rhein.
A wicked, abusive man who can’t get it up is just an object of ridicule.
So, before the two of them could say anything, I looked toward Alyona.
”＜Alyona, why didn’t you return to the Administrator?＞”
I asked in Russian.
That’s right, I needed to take this seriously for now.
During the interrogation, I learned that she held feelings close to love, rather than just affection, for the Hodayn Port Administrator, even though they were master and slave. I also knew he had protected her from the bullying of his wives and kept her close because he was fond of her.
The negotiation to have her taken in was handled by Section Chief Gida.
If it were that stingy Chief, she would have insisted he take her, so I didn’t understand what the problem was that kept Alyona here.
”＜My master told me to stay.＞”
She answered blankly, and Kenze, who understood Russian, clouded over and shifted her crossed legs.
Sensing what was in Alyona’s heart, I couldn’t bring myself to ask why.
”What are you talking about?”
Katarina, who couldn’t understand Russian, interrupted our conversation with a look of irritation.
”This Alyona was a former slave to the Hodayn Port Administrator. When we transferred the slave I picked up off the coast of Palermo, we were supposed to return her too, but it seems when I ask now, the Administrator refused to let her go.”
I said this while looking at Alyona.
My conversation with Katarina was in the Schweilitz language, which Alyona shouldn’t have understood, but for some reason, she started spilling large tears.
Wait, what?
What do I do?
I felt like panicking, but I tried hard to keep my calm.
However, I could only stare.
”You.”
Kenze said that, followed by a heavy, annoyed sigh.
Could this be the legendary “strongest weapon of women” I’d heard about?
”You’re thinkin’ somethin’ stupid again, aren’t ya.”
Her words cut right into my dark side.
In this world, I’ve shared my bed with many women and gotten them pregnant.
Maybe because Kenze and Pamela are from different races, they sometimes treat me like a child.
Kenze in particular, even without being able to use Mana-based Mind-reading, sometimes sees right through my heart.
”＜I’ll hear your story.＞”
Kenze said to Alyona.
What was that?
”You. Get out.”
Just me? What about Katarina?
”You don’t have to come back until tomorrow morning.”
This is my room, though.
”Tch.”
Katarina, who had a real sadistic streak, clicked her tongue.
It couldn’t be helped, I’d just have to retreat for now.
Katarina, just you wait; as you requested, I’ll tie you up, beat you, berate you with words, and turn you into a sobbing mess of shame.
Still, why did Alyona start crying so suddenly?
I could guess, but I wasn’t certain.
Leaving the women behind and walking out of the room was fine, but I had nowhere to go.
Katarina’s room was shared with Tatyana, the Artillery Department squad leader, and Kenze was in the women’s dormitory.
I guess I had no choice but to go to the men’s dormitory where the Poles were staying.
Before that, I’d grab something to eat.
When I went to the Dining Hall, it was crowded with people finishing their day shifts.
There didn’t seem to be a place to sit. I had no choice; maybe I’d head to the foredeck to catch the night breeze.
The land breeze was blowing, and the triangular sail attached to the bowsprit was puffed out wide.
The wind was warm but dry, and the sound of the bow cutting through the waves was comforting.
There was only one spot on the foredeck where the deck crew didn’t tread while setting the sails.
Right under the artificial shishi-odoshi1 (deer scare) installed on the bow.
Finally, I could lie down.
When I peeked in, I saw someone was already there, rummaging around.
”Is someone there?”
”Oh, Second Lieutenant.”
The voice that returned was Kai.
Technically, I was military personnel, and my rank was Second Lieutenant.
”What are you doing in a place like this?”
The eighty-centimeter-diameter artificial shishi-odoshi (deer scare) was left installed, and since it was covered with an oil-soaked cloth fixed with rope to prevent deterioration, it was shaped like a tent.
Inside, it was a space that, while not perfectly private, was one where no one would bother you.
On the deck, no matter where you lay down, you’d be in the way of the squad members if they had to reset the sails.
Even if you were trying to do something steamy, they’d just push you aside without caring.
In that respect, under the artificial shishi-odoshi (deer scare), it was breezy, no one’s business, and I’d thought it was my own secret base.
Incidentally, there was an artificial shishi-odoshi (deer scare) installed on the deck above the poop deck too, but underneath that was the Giant Trevally used for the voyage safety ritual tomorrow morning.
”It’s nothing.”
Kai came out, looking somewhat disheveled.
”Second Lieutenant, why did you come here?”
While adjusting her clothes, she didn’t answer my question and turned it back on me.
”Well, you know, I thought it might be nice to catch some wind and lie down outside.”
There was no way I could say I’d been kicked out of my own room because it had turned into a battlefield.
I tried to gloss over it.
”Liar.”
”What do you mean, liar? Even I have times when I want to relax by myself.”
Kai stared at me as if looking at something strange.
”Liar. You have so many women, and yet you’re doing it alone?”
What is this woman saying?
”Doing it alone”—well, in my previous life, I did that plenty enough.
Wait a minute.
”Kai, wait, don’t tell me you were here…”
”Eh, sigh, please don’t lump me in with you, Second Lieutenant.”
She cut me off before I could finish.
”Your clothes were messy, weren’t they?”
”That wasn’t the case at all.”
She was clearly flustered.
Even if she was a Dwarf, a healthy woman wouldn’t be without desire.
Besides, she was a Mage.
”W-what’s with that look?”
It seemed she could tell what my gaze was even in the dark.
”I get it. Between the shift changes and dinner time, this is when there are the fewest people around.”
I wondered if the Dining Hall would be empty soon.
Just as I was about to leave, Kai suddenly raised her voice and started crying.
”Hey, what’s wrong? I won’t tell anyone.”
When I said that, her voice got even louder.
When I looked up, there was someone peering down from the bridge.
”Kai, what’s wrong? People are watching.”
”I… I wasn’t doing anything strange.”
She said it with a sob and started crying again.
”Alright, alright, you weren’t doing anything. I believe you.”
A voice called down from the bridge, asking if something had happened.
I called back that there was nothing, but Kai was still crying.
”I’ve already… I’ve already offered my virginity to you, Second Lieutenant. You understand that, right?”
Eh?
Was that it? Calling it “offered” was a bit of a misnomer, wasn’t it? I sort of guided her into it.
There was a slight pause, and then she started crying again.
”Kai. I understand, okay?”
”What do you understand?”
What a pain. While thinking that, I answered immediately so as not to complicate things.
”Kai, you weren’t doing anything, and you offered me your virginity.”
”Then, play with me again.”
She was asking for something unreasonable.
”It seems like Katarina, Kenze, and Pamela are deciding on a rotation without my knowledge, so could you consult with them?”
I’d just dump it on them. Besides.
”Also, Alyona, the slave I got from the Hodayn Port Administrator, will probably join the rotation, so talk to her, too.”
”Eh—no way.”
”No way” indeed—that’s what I want to say.
Wait, was that a fake cry from before?
This is why women are…
”Then, Second Lieutenant, would you spar with me?”
”That, I’d like to do, but Kai, you have so much Mana, I can’t handle it. Ask Maria. I think she can do it.”
”You mean Lady Maria, the one who boarded from Suez?”
”Yeah. Have you never spoken to her?”
Kai seemed to be shy, and hadn’t called out to Maria.
”To know Lady Maria’s Mana quantity… perhaps, Second Lieutenant, you…”
”I haven’t done anything! Maria is the widow of my [comrade-in-arms (Thomas)]!”
Kai was surprised that she was married.
Well, she’s young, terrifying, and doesn’t look like a married woman at all. And she’s pregnant, too.
Maybe she hadn’t made it public.
”Well then, I’m going to go get some food.”
”Wait, I’m coming too.”
In the end, that night, I begged for permission to set up a hammock on the bridge and slept there.
The next morning.
The ship, running at slow speed, was wrapped in a mist rather than a haze.
The surroundings were bright white, and visibility was only a few hundred meters.
”They say we ring the gong or bell and throw that big fish from the stern to pray for the safety of the voyage,” I said to the Captain.
I was talking to him about how the Giant Trevally was poisonous and inedible, so it was probably only used for rituals like this, when Squad Leader Roland of the bridge crew brought the gong.
”Then, here we go.”
Saying that, he struck the gong with a large mallet, clang, clang.
When it finished ringing, the male deck crew—the Poles—lifted the Giant Trevally, which was one and a half meters long and looked like it would be on the cover of a fishing magazine back in my previous life, with four men.
Just then.
”Something’s coming!”
Someone pointed to the sea surface about a hundred meters behind us.
I couldn’t see well because of the fog, but was it a dolphin or something?
The Poles hesitated, unsure whether to throw the fish, and looked at the Captain.
”Wait a moment.”
As I watched, something like a dolphin approached.
It was blowing a small spout; it really was a dolphin, I thought, but then.
”It’s a [Sea Serpent]! Throw the fish quickly!”
The Captain roared.
The head of the creature that looked like a dolphin was a crocodile.
Behind it, it was swimming with an unusually long body moving up and down.
The Poles swung the large fish back and forth to gain momentum and threw it in from the deck above the poop deck.
The fish sank once with the force but surfaced and floated along our wake.
The [Sea Serpent] bit into the flat, large fish.
It wasn’t just one; another [Sea Serpent] appeared and bit into it as if to snatch it away.
The two I’d never seen before were entwined, fighting over the thrown fish.
Was the tail a whale’s?
The symmetrical black tail fins were attached horizontally.
It wasn’t a snake; I thought it was some kind of whale.
The eyes weren’t red, so it wasn’t a monster.
But the length—the big one was twenty meters, and the other was fifteen meters.
A snake-like whale.
I remember seeing something like that—a primitive whale—in a video or something.
Before long, the two [Sea Serpents] eating the fish while wrapped around each other became smaller and disappeared into the fog.
”There are things like that in this sea.”
”I saw a [Sea Serpent] for the first time.”
”That’s scary.”
I could hear such conversations around me.
”That thing just now, wasn’t it a whale, not a snake?”
I asked the Captain, who was silently watching the sea.
”Do whales wiggle like that? Stories of witnessing a [Sea Serpent] are common in the seas east of Great Norden Island. I’m surprised it’s in such warm waters.”
Huh, so they are in the Northern sea too.
”But, whether it’s a whale or a snake, it looks delicious if you catch and eat it, doesn’t it?”
”Don’t be a fool. Where I’m from, a [Sea Serpent] is said to be the child of the god Loki, a descendant of the mythical beast Jörmungandr. You treat it like a sea god, don’t you? Don’t say careless things.”
I was quite seriously thinking about trying to catch one, but I got scolded.
When the sun rose, the mysterious fog cleared, and the calm Red Sea spread out.
There were no ships around, and only the minimum routine tasks were performed on the ship. When I fished with the Poles in the afternoon, fish resembling mackerel were caught one after another, and I helped Alyona, who had been assigned to the kitchen, to dry them all out.
That evening, we entered a small port town marked on the nautical chart called Mocha.
—
Summary:
Rhein attempts to navigate his ship cabin and personal relationships while contending with his lack of physical stamina. His interaction with Alyona and the other women leads to his displacement from his quarters, forcing him to seek refuge on the foredeck. He encounters Kai, who is also hiding near the bow, and eventually, the crew witnesses a rare conflict between two Sea Serpents during a ritual at sea.
—
Trivia:
A shishi-odoshi is traditionally a Japanese garden mechanism used to scare away animals with a rhythmic clacking sound.
The vessel relies on asphalt combustion for its engine power, hinting at a specific technological level for this fantasy world.
Alyona’s origin as a slave to the Hodayn Port Administrator establishes a complex backstory for her retention on the ship.
Giant Trevally is noted as being toxic in this setting, necessitating its use in rituals rather than as food.
The Sea Serpent is mythologically linked to the Norse creature Jörmungandr, implying a cross-cultural mythology within the world.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Ho – Ho is the family name of Oliver, a 17-year-old deck crew member and comrade of the protagonist. As a member of the military unit that defended Garao Village, the young man was ultimately murdered during a night watch, slaughtered alongside Marx-san.
• Katarina – A tall, voluptuous 30-year-old Izumo flight squad leader and Chief Researcher in a sailor uniform. Serving under Larry, this volatile Mage pilots, configures drones, and uses telepathy. While protective of her crew, she pressures Rhein and is the protagonist’s jealous, abusive mistress. She is currently the narrator’s captive—bound, blindfolded, and subjected to humiliating treatment.
• Alyona – A devout Jesus Orthodox follower of Rus origin, this crew interpreter was a happily married woman before being broken by slavery under the Hodayn Port Administrator. Retained by Rhein, she appears timid and flustered by the Captain’s orders. However, beneath her submissive exterior lies a latent sadistic streak, capable of clinical cruelty and an easy transition into dominance over others.
• Kenze – A muscular, dark-skinned Amazoness with short hair, a niqab, and artificial speech. This lethal, bisexual former Takshurgan operative serves as Larry’s bodyguard. Rough yet highly observant, she reads Rhein and protects her daughter Zaboo and allies. Pragmatic yet intense regarding her physiology, this ship crew member can lay eggs in ceramic jars but fears potential capture.
• Al – Alberto (Al), a massive red‑haired man recently wed to Mary, lives near the Dish Basin. He’s a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and rally elders as a villager and leader.
• Administrator – The official of Hodayn Port who previously held Alyona as a slave and refused to return her.
• Gida – A disciplined female human and former finance bureaucrat serving as the meticulous Maintenance Department Chief on the ship Izumo. Pragmatic and persistent, she manages logistics, funds, and crew/slave negotiations, pushing for the impossible to ensure crew well-being. She strictly controls her team, was initially reluctant to retain Raphael, and is frequently frustrated by the protagonist’s decisions.
• Fee – Larry Fee Getys is a 15-year-old reincarnated youth and titular Duke. Pragmatic and telepathic, this sharp-eyed young man leads the Getys household and rules Strock Village alongside Hans, Iffens, Teressa, and their maid Nico. While building a new nation, he enjoys prime whale meat and maintains crucial connections to Adolf and various underground networks.
• Ade – The leader of the Amazoness and the older sister of Princess Nikaure. She is skeptical of the representatives sent by the Kingdom of Schweilitz, possesses a commanding presence, and reacts with visible agitation to threats against her capital.
• Max – Uncle Klaus’s second son and Larry’s cousin is a skilled Golem User and former magic school assistant professor who orchestrated a prison break. Having returned to his home country, he now serves as a body double for the protagonist—his other cousin, Grand Duke Earnest—and has taken custody of certain women previously under Thomas’s care.
• Rus – A neighboring power deeply involved in regional politics and mediation, best known for annexing the Kingdom of Larland.
• Sig – A student and friend of Marie characterized by a casual and uninhibited personality, often seen yawning during academic discussions. Has short brown hair from the Holstein territory. She is blunt, realistic about the nature of war, and failed the entrance exam at the Sabaski Magic School.
• Tim – Jarek Dvorak, 14, the village’s eldest son and recent graduate, has short dark hair, a lean build and thoughtful eyes. He arrived in Obernbach with his father, watches the Golem’s arrival with trepidation, and, as a sugar‑beet cultivator from a family that refines sugar, boasts of pleasures in the district. A carefree, slightly reckless friend of Larry’s.
• Zul – The chief administrator of Hodayn Port and a direct descendant of the second previous king of the Himyar Kingdom.
• von – The noble particle ‘von’ indicates high social standing and ancestral roots connected to territorial estates within the Sabaski lineage. It marks the noble bloodline and full names of Annerose von Bülow, Walter von Riedel, and Marc von Harritz, establishing their shared aristocratic identity and familial relationship within the Kingdom.
• Ed – A lanky refugee youth in simple farmer’s garb, Larry’s close friend and fierce protector is now a Military Academy student making claims about the Poll Tax and mortality. Formerly an associate of Captain Bours, he witnessed the Mauer Village skirmish, fled to Strock Village, and joined the militia to train spear-walls and ambush mercenaries, remembered for his quiet resolve to survive.
• Ti – A component of the name of the Port Administrator.
• Rhein – A male military officer aboard a ship who navigates complex social hierarchies while managing his crew. Formerly a student of Hoffman purchased at a slave market, he now balances his position with his status as a master to several women.
• Palermo – A target location where a battle and reparations negotiation took place.
• Schweilitz – The kingdom to which the protagonist is forced to return boasts towering academy spires and a full military arsenal—Royal Army troops and elite officers. Its ruler holds a captive the protagonist fears will be executed.
• Pamela – An elderly Elf Mage from the Great Forest and flirtatious medic clad in sheer negligee robes and black undergarments. Head of the Engine Department, she struggles with the open sea’s heat. An authoritative mentor, she shares Larry’s quarters, joins expeditions, works with Kenze in Rhein’s rotation, and uses her native Rus for strategic planning, managing Aljona, and interrogations.
• Pam – An escort to the protagonist who is observant and loyal.
• Mana – A non-commissioned officer and liaison who previously had their mana drained by Larry.
• Tatyana – A sailor-suit-wearing, 31-year-old divorced mother of two from Viscount Bizan, this Magic Academy Assistant Professor is the Artillery Department leader and Golems Battalion supervisor aboard the Izumo. Loyal to her Captain, she shares a room and an intimate bond with Katarina. She commands respect training crew and coordinating defense, but finds the current lack of combat boring.
• Pole – An orphaned Celt soldier and Izumo deck crewman who knows the terrain and speaks Turku. Traveling with Larry and Kenze as Earnest’s associate, he enjoys gossip and romance betting, though he was recently convinced to stop gambling to escape the threat of slavery. Once hostile, he now respects the protagonist, serving as a rescue guide while seeking freedom for his first love.
• Kai – An ash-covered, square-jawed 20-year-old Dwarf Mage with translucent white hands, peerless strength, and vast, unstable mana. A mind-reading combat mentor, she delivers coal in the engine department under Larry and has a covered-up past. She joins Earnest’s party, teases the protagonist, is subject to a romantic betting pool, and eagerly seeks attention from a reluctant Rhein.
• Mage – Elf mage and shut-in engineer who stands watch in the engine department, managing the ship’s boilers. They are highly reclusive, irritable, and fiercely resistant to any orders coming from the Torpedo Department.
• Maria – Thomas’s strikingly beautiful widow, daughter of Ifens and Therese, is a Universal Church bridge mage with massive mana rivaling a Major. Gifted with lethal combat skills and gorilla strength, this Suez crew member in the Magic Armored Division is skilled in interrogation, coilguns, and Amazoness politics. She bears a grudge against Larry and uses Princess Nikaure’s memories for intel.
• Mar – A battle‑hardened veteran, clad in worn armor, uses door panels as shields and captures enemy crossbows; Larry’s comrade who teases him about his sister‑in‑law’s pampering, known as Martin to his companion Edmond.
• Thomas – Thomas Bauer is a hulking, middle-aged General with a muscular build, reddened face, and scalp burns. Larry’s comrade-in-arms and tactical advisor since Schweilitz, he commands 100 Twanste troops alongside Fee and Earnest. He married Maria, the widow of his comrade Rhein who reports to him. After training local farmers, he vanished in a bridge collapse, prompting Kenze to retrieve him.
• Captain – The middle-aged commanding officer of the Izumo directs personnel, diplomacy, tactical maneuvers, and engine output. Outwardly calm, experienced, and seemingly disengaged, he holds traditional beliefs about sea creatures. Beneath this oblivious facade, he is a ruthless, manipulative leader who prioritizes the mission and tactical objectives over the safety of subordinates and civilians.
• Roland – Quiet, golden-blonde dwarf heir to the Canaria throne and Queen Cecile’s brother. Mistaken for a girl in formal wear, this beautiful bridge crew chief and squad leader directs helm operations, assists with captives, and observes threatening enemy movements. The former Tsukushi captain carries a dagger, shares quarters with Fredys, and rescues his comrades Bebel and Katarina.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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