Volume 4 Chapter 109 The Thread
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I woke before dawn. The weather had turned – swell growing strong, rain already falling.
I climbed out of the hammock and lit the poor man’s lamp. No women in the room, toys scattered across the desk, and the bed and floor were still wet.
”Next time, clean up your own damn mess,” I muttered.
No helping it. I stripped the sheets off the bed, hung the wet blankets over the hammock to dry, grabbed a mop, and wiped down the floor. Last, I fetched seawater to wash the toys, dried them off with a rainwater-soaked towel, and put everything away.
”Why am I the one doing this?” I grumbled.
Carrying the sheets to the laundry room on the boiler floor, I found a boy I rarely ever saw.
His name was Giorgio. He was the so-called “s*x slave” of Squad Leader Roland – who preferred men – and Squad Leader Fredys – who preferred boys. But since he was on the ship, they had to put him to work. So they’d made him the laundry attendant.
We almost never crossed paths. His shift ran from before dawn until noon – washing only. Someone else did the drying, so he never came up on deck, and he also didn’t eat in the dining hall. So we rarely saw each other. And since he slept during the day, even when he was on the ship, he never saw sunlight. Pale and sickly-looking.
”Here. Take these.”
I rolled up the urine-soaked sheets and handed them over. He took them with a quiet “Yes.”
”You okay?” I asked, worried.
The boy suddenly burst into tears. I’d handled crying women before, but never a weeping boy, so it caught me off guard.
”What’s wrong?” I pressed.
He didn’t seem to know Schweilitz well – couldn’t understand me. Every now and then I caught the names “Roland” and “Fredys.”
Was he being bullied? Then maybe I shouldn’t ask those two about it. But I couldn’t understand what he was saying, so I’d have to ask Pole later – he spoke the boy’s Kishirian dialect.
Sticking around wasn’t going to help. I patted Giorgio on the shoulder, grabbed some clean sheets from the shelf, and left him there.
It was raining, so the Torpedo Department’s morning run was canceled.
After finishing the sheet swap, I headed to the bridge.
I asked for our position. The current must’ve shifted – we’d barely gained any distance, but we’d drifted fifty kilometers further south since yesterday. Maybe it was my imagination, but my breath didn’t fog as much as before, and there was nothing else to log besides the weather.
In the rain, the “Izumo” pushed eastward without issue, riding the west wind. So uneventful that the bridge crewman yawned occasionally while staring ahead.
I spread blueprints across the chart table, thinking whether I could recreate the war-golem (hyōmajin) in Schweilitz. Just then, Chief Tatyana arrived. I’d called for her – she used to serve in the 101st Golems Battalion, maintaining the things – and I wanted her input.
”What did you do last night?” she asked, entering the bridge, stepping close, and whispering in a scolding tone.
I’d told her beforehand I was going to hold Tomoe.
”What happened?” I asked back.
Tatyana checked the area, then whispered that Bebel had come to her, saying she’d been fertilized. What?
”Weren’t you only holding Tomoe?” she pressed.
That’d been the plan. But Tomoe had shoved me, I hit my head and couldn’t move, panicked Tomoe had fetched Leakle and Bebel… and somehow I’d become the toy. I told her the story – I’d already punished Bebel afterward.
”I didn’t expect her to actually conceive,” I admitted.
Mage women could control pregnancy and fertilization at will. That damn woman.
Still – Bebel had already miscarried once before, and she was older. She might’ve been anxious.
”Well, the first three months are the riskiest, and she’ll be bored at sea anyway. I’ll make sure she rests. But please – if you do something, tell me next time,” she said.
Right.
”Also – about Tomoe. Could you ask the acting captain to have a word with her about teamwork?” she added.
Huh? Yesterday she’d been wearing that Noh-mask face like a depression patient, hadn’t she?
Apparently, after I’d held her last night, Tomoe had transformed. Even though she couldn’t communicate with anyone, she’d started bossing everyone in the Artillery Department around, and in a department full of strong personalities, a rookie throwing her weight around was bound to cause friction. With Bebel out of commission, the squad might lose control.
”Could she be getting a big head just because I held her?” I wondered aloud.
”I can’t say for sure since I don’t understand her language. But at her age, finally knowing a man might’ve gone to her head,” Tatyana replied.
Tomoe’s mana handling was only level one, but she was physically strong, so she wouldn’t break easily.
”Could you have the acting captain talk to her before anything happens?” she asked.
I sighed. “I’ll talk to her later.” Great. Today was shaping up to be one of those days.
Just as I thought that, I heard footsteps on the bridge stairs, and I looked up to see Kenze poking her head out, gesturing for me.
”What now? Don’t tell me it’s more trouble,” I said.
”If it ain’t trouble, why would I come?” she shot back. Fair point.
”Did you bed Leakle?” she asked bluntly. Her too? What was this, a conspiracy?
”She laid an egg,” Kenze announced.
Who did?
”Leakle. What, weren’t you listenin’?” she said.
”I had s*x with her, but I didn’t finish inside her,” I explained.
”Then she did it with some other man. Can’t think of anyone else on this ship advanced enough for that,” Kenze mused. Mind your own damn business.
I asked if Tete and Lamu could handle the nursing duties with only two wet nurses, and Kenze admitted it’d be tight.
”But what’s born is born. Ain’t no helpin’ it. We’ll just have to raise ’em,” she said.
Still, if Kamea and Leakle were raising eggs, they’d need more food, and when the hatchlings emerged from the jars in three months, they’d need clothes. She told me to pass that along to Chief Gida, then she headed back down the stairs. Seriously. Nothing but trouble.
The time I spent lost in thought over my blueprints was supposed to be the most enjoyable part of my day, but instead I kept getting buried in one problem after another.
I threw some questions Chief Tatyana’s way about mana usage in large-scale war-golems (hyōmajin), but she didn’t have any definitive answers. On my way to the dining hall, I passed through the men’s barracks, looking for Pole.
”Pole? He’s probably in the dining hall,” a young man who was friendly with him told me.
I found him in a corner of the dining hall, tinkering with some kind of contraption. “I spotted bonito this morning!” he said excitedly when I asked.
He explained that once you left the continent, the variety of fish you could catch dwindled, and he’d almost given up hope of catching anything in the middle of the ocean. But this morning, he’d seen baitfish boiling on the surface, and nearby, bonito jumping. So he was making a rig for long-distance casting. He showed it to me – a wooden disk tied to the end of a line, with two branches bearing hooks extending from it.
”This way I can cast way out there,” he said proudly.
Impressive. But that wasn’t why I’d come.
I told him about Giorgio – Roland and Fredys’s s*x slave – and how he’d been crying that morning.
”That kid’s emotionally unstable,” Pole said dismissively. Not exactly helpful, but I wanted to know why, so I pressed him.
”Honestly, I thought you’d come to check if I’d been gambling,” Pole admitted.
”Have you been?” I asked.
”Wouldn’t dream of it. When we get back to Kure, I’ll have a fat paycheck from this long voyage. That’ll clear my debts, and I can settle down with Rafaela – you know, my childhood sweetheart. You better give me a nice wedding gift, Acting Captain,” he said with a grin.
You got it. It seemed Pole was finally getting over his gambling addiction. Good for him.
I left Pole and had breakfast, then headed to Chief Gida’s office.
She gave me an earful for about an hour about running low on wheat, rye, and barley. But we had half a year’s worth of brown rice from Luzon, and from what she said, if things went well, we might have enough provisions to last until we returned home. It’d be tight, though – if we could resupply in Nicaragua, we should.
When I told her about Kamea and Leakle’s egg-laying, she said it wasn’t a problem – there were leftover children’s clothes on board, sewn for Maria and Rafaela’s kids before they left the ship. One errand done.
I headed down to the boiler floor, where the air felt tense. On rainy days, the Artillery Department maintained their coilguns there.
Tomoe – tall and imposing – and Sabby – slim and sharp – were glaring at each other. Sabby had been with Bebel to the Nyunpai royal palace before. Here we go again.
”What’s going on? Where’s Bebel?” I asked.
I inquired about the artillery squad leader’s whereabouts. Apparently, she was resting in her room – it didn’t make sense to me, resting the day after fertilization – but at least she wasn’t here.
”Acting Captain, I know you’re a higher-level commander, but why would you sleep with a woman like her?” Sabby demanded. Mind your own business.
”What happened?” I asked.
”This one – she was wearing that Noh-mask face yesterday. Then today, she starts butting into everything, but nobody can understand her. I was about to lose my temper,” Sabby explained. I see.
”Tomoe, what were you trying to tell them?” I asked in Japanese.
She said Squad Leader Roland and Ms. Leakle had told her to act like an adult – talk to people, ask questions, grow up. So she’d done exactly that, firing questions at the Artillery Department in Japanese, the only language she spoke besides mine. No wonder they resented her.
”But why Roland and Ms. Leakle?” I pressed.
”After you fell asleep, I left the room with Ms. Bebel. Mr. Roland and Ms. Leakle were outside. Ms. Leakle said I looked better – happier – and I got excited, so we talked,” she said. Before that, you should’ve cleaned the room. I was a little annoyed that Bebel hadn’t taught her junior proper manners.
”Tomoe. So you weren’t just acting high and mighty because you became a woman?” I asked, checking Tatyana’s suspicion.
”Ah, um, no, I mean, that’s – that’s not it,” she stammered.
”You seem flustered,” I noted.
”Maybe… maybe a little,” she admitted. She came clean.
”You’re not feeling like a celebrity just because the Acting Captain held you, are you?” I pressed.
”Is that bad?” she asked. Of course it’s bad.
”But if I become the Shikken’s mistress, I get a lady-in-waiting, a house, and an allowance,” she argued.
”I’m not a Shikken. I’m just an acting captain – the lowest rank in the military,” I said. That shut her up.
I patted her head, and she turned her face up to me suddenly.
”Um, on this ship, your mistresses are Ms. Katarina, Ms. Kenze, Ms. Pamela, Ms. Alyona, Ms. Bebel, and Ms. Kai – six of them. I’d be number seven,” she said. Ah. Number seven might not be right.
”That’s more than the Kamakura Shikken has,” she observed. Is it?
”So that means you have more power than the Shikken, right?” she asked. No, that’s not how it works. Don’t use the number of women as a barometer of power.
”Listen up. This is the rule here: just because you’re my woman doesn’t make you special. You’re the lowest-ranked member of the Artillery Department. When you ask questions, don’t fire them off rapid-fire – ask your seniors one at a time, slowly, when they’ve got a moment,” I told her in Japanese.
I translated the gist for Sabby and the others, then left.
I understood the situation, but I figured I’d better ask Roland about it directly. I returned to the bridge, where he was teaching a young man how to calculate their position.
”Oh, that,” Roland said, unapologetic. “I needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. When I stepped into the corridor, the Acting Captain’s door was cracked open, and Ms. Leakle – that Amazoness – was peeping in,” he said.
Apparently, she’d had a hand between her legs while peeping.
”She was in the mood, so I made a move. She jumped on me then and there – kissed me and everything,” Roland added.
Did Ms. Leakle not know about Roland’s preferences?
”But you’re into men,” I pointed out.
”I prefer men, sure, but it’s not like I can’t do it with women. Plus, I’d never seen a woman touch herself before – got me all worked up,” he admitted. According to him, Ms. Leakle had said she couldn’t wait, and he couldn’t either, so he’d taken her from behind right then and there.
”Man, I had no idea Amazonesses were that tight. Good to know,” Roland said with a cheerful grin before heading off to the dining hall.
That evening, Pole came to see me. “Giorgio was crying because he saw Roland having s*x with Ms. Leakle and thought he was being replaced. No big deal, right? He’s over it already,” Pole said. Fair enough, I suppose.
But then – Ms. Leakle had laid an egg, and it wasn’t from me. It was thanks to Roland. What a day, wasted on stupid nonsense. Still, better than being in a war.
Three months passed without any major incidents or storms, and finally, we sighted land to the east.
—
Summary:
The protagonist wakes to a messy room, cleans up after his overnight guests, and begins his day handling a cascade of interpersonal complications. His brief encounter with Tomoe has triggered a chain reaction: Bebel is pregnant, Leakle has laid an egg from Roland, and Tomoe is now acting entitled toward the Artillery Department. As he mediates disputes and runs errands, the chapter ends with a three-month time skip and land finally appearing on the horizon.
—
Trivia:
Bebel previously miscarried and is older, which explains her desperation to conceive.
Tomoe doesn’t speak Schweilitz, only Japanese, making her interactions with the crew limited.
Kenze appears using katakana-based archaic speech, reflecting her elderly status and authority.
The “s*x slave” system on this ship is formalized with defined work hours and duties.
Giorgio’s distress came from witnessing Roland with Leakle, not from abuse.
Leakle’s egg was fertilized by Roland, not the protagonist.
Pole is recovering from gambling addiction through this long voyage.
The ship has provisions for about six months from Luzon rice supplies.
Tomoe is level one in mana but physically strong.
Kamakura Shikken historically had fewer mistresses than the protagonist currently has.
The protagonist has six confirmed mistresses: Katarina, Kenze, Pamela, Alyona, Bebel, and Kai.
Maria and Rafaela left the ship, leaving behind children’s clothes.
The three-month time skip passes without major incidents.
The Torpedo Department’s morning run was canceled due to rain.
Notes:
• Giorgio – Young boy who serves as the “sex slave” of Squad Leaders Roland and Fredys. Works as the laundry attendant. Speaks Kishirian dialect, not Schweilitz. Pale and sickly-looking from lack of sunlight.
• Fredys – Battle-hardened former slave, Izumo deck crew foreman, pragmatic squad leader. Related to Ullmans, lives with Roland, loyal voice of reason to Acting Captain. Assumed command after Earnest’s capture; navigates Izumo to Luzon, oversees rescue ops post-Whale Eater attack. Left on standby with flee orders. Competent organizer, crisp command presence, noted preference for young boys. Asks clarifying questions about Amazoness operations and child sacrifice.
• Roland – Dwarf bridge squad leader, former ship captain, expert navigator. Telepathic, cautious, authoritative. Precision docking; prompts narrator for orders at Corra. Lives with Fredys and young boy. Implied gay, unmoved by allure. Steady pillar for team.
• Schweilitz – This kingdom, featuring towering academy spires and a full military arsenal of Royal Army troops, forces the protagonist to return. Ruled by a king involved in a hostage exchange, this political power holds a captive feared for execution. It also ordered the confirmation of Princess Rosa’s corpse, driving a scheme that the Queen has caught onto.
• Pole – Orphaned Celt soldier aboard Izumo, this youthful, enthusiastic deck crew member guides Earnest and protagonist. Proficient in Turku, he is loyal, gossipy aide who rows landing boat, leads marlin hunts, and caught large yellowfin tuna. Former gambler seeking first love’s freedom, he counts Rafaela as childhood friend. Fishing enthusiast, he draws comparisons between Amazoness beliefs and Valhalla.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled primary vessel, named and personified as a character herself, who loyally carries the protagonist and his crew throughout their journey.
• Tatyana – Department head ordered to deploy the artificial shishi-odoshi.
• Tomoe – Tall, strong warrior woman serving Hojo as attendant and watchman. Daughter of Higuchi, skilled with naginata and longbow. Maintains blank expression in battle, yet calm and deadly. Easily flustered by nudity, naive around men. Grows close to other women, aids protagonist with language, and holds deep ties to deceased Children. Shot terror bird’s head from fifty meters, claims can hit stationary target from two hundred. Clings to protagonist, doted on like child.
• Bebel – Sergeant Major Hagen, a confident Larland War veteran with white teeth, is a high-mana artillery NCO in Earnest’s division. Rescued by Earnest, this woman from his past knows his history, teasingly provoking him while acting protectively. Using rough, informal military speech and crude, dark humor, she bluntly motivates her squad and openly discusses her sexual encounters with servants.
• Leakle – Administrator-level Amazoness official at Viscount’s Palace in Oceanus. Wears administrative clothing. Fluent in Schweilitz, diplomatic interpreter and intermediary for Acting Captain’s crew. Speaks formally, analytically, with elegant restraint and calm superiority. Mother of children on ship. Next Administrator of Amazoness. Received transit permit from Queen of Oceanus. Reacts with alarm to Hole-Eaters, mobilizes for Larry-san. Provides clinical exposition on region’s history, politics, and Mexictli Kingdom’s child sacrifice. Diplomatic, apologetic, firm about not letting Izumo crew escape.
• 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.
• 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.
• Kenze – Kenze is a muscular, brown-skinned Amazoness and former Tashkurgan operative turned research student. Energetic and urgent, she wears gauntlet-like armor, has dragon tattoos, and fights with precision. Formerly bonded with Earnest, now a rebel leader on the Izumo, she rooms with Larry—whom she prioritizes—and cares for the weasel kid and her daughter Sinon. Deeply protective of children, she reacts with horror to child sacrifice. Impulsive actions escalated tensions toward war. Currently nursing an egg while declining in health.
• Lamu – Bought wet nurse who shows learned loyalty behavior. Looks young and shy. Follows the main character like a baby bird. Not a fighter. Body look not described.
• Tete – Bought wet nurse who shows learned loyalty behavior. Looks young and shy. Follows the main character like a baby bird. Not a fighter. Body look not described. Mentioned as being with Pamela. Likely a slave or friend.
• Kamea – Amazoness crew member, former acting captain, knowledgeable navigator. Larry’s physical partner. Mother on ship, holds child. Speaks clumsy Schweilitz, communicates via Leakle. Brings rice, recommends green fruits. Unrelated to syphilis outbreak.
• Gida – The Izumo’s Maintenance Section Chief is an older, disheveled former finance bureaucrat on the Acting Captain’s crew. Pragmatic and outwardly insolent yet polite, she handles logistics—from transferring rescued women and seeking shore supplies to negotiating coal with Rao. Known for using skincare sesame oil, she clashes with Daran and initially resisted hiring Raphael.
• 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.
• Captain – The middle-aged commanding officer of the Izumo is outwardly calm, experienced, and traditional, masking a ruthless, pragmatic leader who prioritizes vessel survival over subordinates and civilians. While rarely reprimanding his men, he will execute deserters. Bebel reports directly to him, holding orders to return to Kure should the protagonist fail to return from their mission.
• Rafaela – Pole’s childhood friend and first love from Palermo is a ruling-class intermediary captured by pirates and enslaved. Now a fish preparer and expecting a child, she remains silent and staunchly rejects Pole’s attempts to buy her freedom, viewing his persistent gambling habits as an insurmountable barrier to reconciliation.
• Maria – Maria, a heavily pregnant crew member in Earnest’s group with immense mana and a volatile temper, is currently off-screen. The former occupant of the room now used by Kenze, Kamea, and Kenze’s child, she speaks with practical directness. She raises concerns about the acting captain’s loan period and holds a fierce grudge against Larry, opposing any mission that does not prioritize his rescue.
• 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.
• Sabby – The protagonist’s subordinates include a tall, lanky, curly-haired artillery Corporal with high mana who is rebellious, incentive-driven, and blunter than Bebel, graphically discussing sexual experiences. The other is a polite, anxious Amazoness who speaks formally but acts like a restless country bumpkin, questioning the protagonist’s identity and reporting his condition to Pamela.
• Katarina – Katarina, 32, Izumo flight squad leader, volatile telepathic mage. Voluptuous, good-looking, divorced. Observed children in stone hall, questioned fate. Described as degenerate. Teases protagonist by listing exes, pressures subordinates, advocates for Gida, target of Eida, after Larry. Protective of weasel kid despite irritation. One of four troublesome women. Aggressive, pushy, demanding, desperately wants spoiled. Carries coilguns, speaks clipped. Refuses orders unless rescue.
• Alyona – Slender, devout Russian Orthodox slave aboard Izumo. Works in Dining Hall, speaks Russian-influenced Japanese. Appears timid, submissive, formal, leading Larry to dismiss her as dead weight. Masks latent sadistic streak. Formerly held by Hodayn Administrator and Rhein. Now assists crew, has intimate relationship with narrator. Shy initially but demanding in private. Spent night with protagonist.
• Pamela – A loli elf mage and the protagonist’s companion. Uses pseudo-archaic Japanese with playful undertones. Acts as the protagonist’s lover and telepathic partner. Mischievous and quick to play along with schemes. Carries magical abilities. Loli elf mage and Earnest’s master. Sharp-tongued and practical. Uses telepathy and mana techniques. Acts as Earnest’s caretaker and disciplinarian. Observes the provisions gathered. Reacts with disappointment to the estimated duration. Knows the protagonist’s usual cautious nature and expresses surprise at his boldness.
• Kai – Dwarf department head in the Engine Division. Small in stature and younger than Katarina. Referred to as “big sister” by the weasel kid. Possesses monstrous strength and, under Maria’s tutelage, mana handling second only to the protagonist. One of the four troublesome women. Loud and enthusiastic. Misinterprets the weasel kid calling her “big sister.” Carries a coal shovel. Gen Z conversational cadence.
• Pam – An escort to the protagonist who is observant and loyal.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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