Volume 4 Chapter 19 Distrust
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I hadn’t slept the night before, so I fell into a deep sleep from noon until sunset.
According to the bridge crew’s Young Man in the Dining Hall, a position check at sunset showed no land for fifty kilometers south and eighty kilometers north. With no islands in our path for a while, they decided to add more lookouts and keep sailing.
When I stepped onto the foredeck, there was no moon, and the sky was full of stars. Even at sea, the air was crisp and clear—stars visible all the way to the horizon, the Milky Way standing out sharp. Come to think of it, I never saw a sky this clear in my old life. Not one where you could see the Milky Way.
Also, I didn’t recognize any of the stars. Well, “remembering” them was a stretch—I only knew the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, and Orion. I stood on the foredeck, losing track of time staring at the sky, when a woman’s shape came near.
”Section Chief.”
It was Katarina. Pamela told her not to move for a while, but was she already better?
”I’m sorry. I wasted a |fixed-wing drone|.”
So that was what she was worried about. I thought she was more self-centered, so this was a nice surprise.
”It’s fine. Given the situation, it couldn’t be helped. You felt sick, but you still pushed yourself to do the self-destruct. Thank you.”
I praised her for following protocol and blowing up the |fixed-wing drone| even while numb from pufferfish poison. Maybe she was moved, because she grabbed my hand with both of hers.
’Thank you. I’ll give you plenty of service tonight.’
’No, that’s not it. Even though the battle alert is over, we can’t relax. Haven’t you heard?’
After clearing the strait, we pushed the engines to full speed. Since no ships followed us, the alert was called off in the early afternoon, and orders were given to rest in shifts. But a new order came down: cut rest time in half to focus on watching.
’It’s okay, I worked hard, so a little is fine, right? Dear.’
Katarina wasn’t the type to grow when praised; she was a fool who got carried away.
”Team Leader Katarina, I order you to start watch duty on the foredeck. Get the |fixed-wing drone| ready and do your job.”
”Why so stiff?”
As I thought, I shouldn’t have gotten involved with her.
I was about to tell her to hurry up when a distant sound—like war drums—doom, doom—reached my ears.
I put a finger to my lips, signaling Katarina to be quiet, and listened. I heard the bow cutting through water and the sails flapping, then the sound came again.
”Ship shapes at both eleven and one o’clock. Distance, over five hundred.”
Pole’s voice from the main mast crow’s nest. I squinted, and in the space between the waves that had looked empty, I started to see lights that weren’t stars.
On this ship, too, the Luminous Magic Iron lights glowed one by one.
”Katarina, forget my last order. Get four |fixed-wing drone| units ready to self-destruct. I’m going for the dynamite. Hurry.”
Right after I ordered her, Pole’s voice roared again.
”Ship shape at three o’clock. Distance, over five hundred.”
After that, Katarina asked, “Four is enough?” but there was one spare on the bridge. The range was still wide; if I needed more, I could go get them.
In our land battles, drums meant attack and bells meant retreat—I assumed the same at sea. Since our enemies in the Norden Sea fight were pirates, there were no such signals.
I heard drums from both the eleven and one o’clock positions, so these were enemy warships. Regular military ones. Did that mean Turku Navy ships?
But the shape at three o’clock was unknown.
Thinking like this, I ran to the powder magazine. Gida, the Maintenance Section Chief, had worked in the kingdom’s finances before. She was strict about inventory—insisted on a visual check every day. I had been careful about it.
But to finally take dynamite out of here for this…
I unlocked the powder magazine door. The dynamite was kept in five-stick wooden cases. I took the main case and opened it.
One was missing!
Sticky, unpleasant sweat broke out on my back. I checked the inventory late last night after the commotion, and it was correct.
Who? Who took it?
But I didn’t have time to investigate. Though I had to.
The only people with keys were me, Katarina, and the Captain. There was also a case with master keys to everything—including the powder magazine—on the bridge, but opening it needed the Section Chief’s master key. Besides, someone was always on the bridge.
It couldn’t be helped. After the battle, I’d have to take Katarina to bed just to use Mind-reading on her. No, wait—she was supposed to be in the infirmary, worn out from the pufferfish poison.
Then the Captain?
No. That was impossible.
For now, I had to deal with the enemy ships right in front of us. But if even one stick of dynamite was thrown into our Boiler…
This was bad, bad, bad.
What puzzled me: only one was missing. If they took the whole case, they could steal five.
Could the pufferfish poison not be from the Amazoness?
Was it someone inside the ship?
I couldn’t stay calm.
My steps were heavy as I climbed the stairs. When I reached the bridge, I saluted and walked to the chart table.
”What’s wrong?”
The Captain asked. The thought of telling her one stick was missing rose to my throat, but I swallowed it.
”No, nothing. More importantly, what about the enemy?”
”The enemies at eleven and one o’clock are Barbarossa |triremes|. The one at three o’clock looks like a sailing ship, but it’s not in attack formation.”
Barbarossa was a pirate group from the Marata Islands. They beat drums, but they weren’t a real military. Still, people said the trade city-state, the Republic of Venotia, stood behind them.
”Still, where did they come from?”
Fredys, the female Deck crew team leader who knew the Inland Sea well, spoke. According to her, |triremes| had many rowers and no space for a kitchen, so they had to pull into port or a beach at least once a day to get food or cook. But the land around here was controlled by the Granada Dynasty, which—like the Turkic Empire—held the Scripture Church as its state religion.
”It’s hard to imagine Barbarossa and the Turku Navy—two big, hostile powers in the Inland Sea—working together, especially over religion.”
As Section Chief, I noted that Barbarossa, a pirate fleet under the Republic of Venotia’s influence, mainly attacked ships from Scripture Church countries. They also protected Universal Church ships from privateers and pirates of Scripture Church countries. Militarily and religiously, they shouldn’t cooperate.
Aren’t pirates basically sea mercenaries? If so, it wouldn’t be strange for them to take Turku’s money, would it? I questioned the Deck crew leader’s statement.
”At one o’clock, two Barbarossa |triremes|. They’ve closed to within five hundred.”
Pole’s voice came clear through the speaking tube.
”Then, Flight Section. Decorate your first battle.”
I saluted the Captain’s order and went down to the deck, carrying the dynamite case.
On the foredeck, Katarina and one Flight Section member were already waiting in remote-operation helmets.
I gave instructions, set the dynamite on the self-destruct |fixed-wing drone| waiting in front of them, and threw it from the deck—where there were no mast ropes—toward the sea. It flew off, leaving a buzzing propeller sound.
I would have liked to recover them if I could. I saluted the |fixed-wing drone|, which would never return.
Good thing the enemy ships were lighting their own way.
”At one o’clock, three |triremes|. They’ve closed to within five hundred.”
Pole’s voice.
”Katarina, change targets. One o’clock.”
”You sure?”
”Yeah. Sink the lead ship.”
It was a matter of probability.
If the person who stole the dynamite planned to use Barbarossa’s attack, they would act when either the eleven or one o’clock group was hit. That was when our attention would be most inward. If they did it almost at the same time, the ships that weren’t destroyed would likely try to rescue their comrades or flee, making it impossible—or at least unlikely—for them to extract the spy on this ship. This iron ship wouldn’t sink from one stick of dynamite. Probably.
On the other hand, if we only wiped out one fleet, and the thief used the dynamite to blow up part of this ship, there was a good chance at least one ship would turn toward us.
I couldn’t be sure, but destroying both at the same time was the best way to stop the thief from acting. That in mind, I took the hand of the other Flight Section member, Anita.
’Section Chief, at a time like this?’
’What are you misunderstanding? When you reach the enemy ship, wait in the sky.’
I told her through telepathy.
’Eh, ah, yes.’
I really wished she’d get it together.
”Katarina, tell me five seconds before you dive.”
I said it out loud.
”Eh, then, ten seconds.”
”That soon?”
”I read the wind.”
As expected of the Flight Section leader.
’Anita. We’re diving.’
’Got it.’
In that moment, a flash appeared on the right front. A sound—like a punch to the stomach—hit us a moment later. At the same time, a flash appeared on the left front. The sound came the same way.
After the sound stopped, I piloted a |fixed-wing drone| myself.
First, the eleven o’clock direction. Enemy sister ships were approaching. The |trireme| we hit had exploded at the waterline beside the bow; seawater was flowing in—it was sinking for sure. Since it exploded where there were no crew, there were no bodies on the sea, just wood fragments floating around.
Confirming that, I headed toward the one o’clock direction from our ship. Here, the surviving sister ship was turning, like it was running away.
The ship we hit here had its hull broken, and the long, thin body was snapped in two. It wouldn’t last long before sinking. Floating around were many wood fragments, oars, and bodies with limbs blown off. As expected of Katarina. She was brutal.
If the sister ships fled, most of the nearly two hundred crew would likely die, but this was war.
After starting the reconnaissance, I ordered Katarina—who was sharing the visual data with me—to report what we saw to the Captain, and I hurried to bring the |fixed-wing drone| back to the ship.
”Steady as she goes. Keep course, watch for small boats coming near.”
The earlier explosions had brought many crew onto the deck to see what happened. The Captain shouted from the bridge, and the Deck crew started passing the word.
The |fixed-wing drone|’s view showed the “Izumo”‘s hull getting big, and many people were gathering on the foredeck to see the enemy ships. At this rate, I couldn’t recover the |fixed-wing drone|, so I started moving toward the rear of the ship.
I filmed myself from above, walking by feel toward the stern while dodging people.
Finally, I cleared the crowd and was guiding the |fixed-wing drone| into level flight toward me when I saw something red peeking out from the hip pocket of a man walking behind me.
No way.
It was too sloppy for a spy, but that red was unmistakable. Dynamite. Was he really going to blow it up on the foredeck where people had gathered? If he did, this ship would lose its mobility. Plus, the powder magazine was below the foredeck. Hard to imagine, but if it set off a second explosion, this ship would sink fast.
What do I do?
For now, I’ll recover the |fixed-wing drone| without being noticed. When I got to about five meters away, I pulled it into a steep climb. I spotted Petty Officer Bebel of the Artillery Section in my view.
She was the woman who violated me while I was drugged, back from the Larland Independence War, but we had fought together before, and I trusted her combat ability.
I reached out, grabbed her, and touched her skin under her loose sailor top.
’What, all of a sudden? You inviting me?’
’Are you an idiot? No! More importantly, I have a request.’
’No thanks. It’s going to be something troublesome again, isn’t it?’
Why wasn’t I blessed with good subordinates?
’Don’t say that. This ship might sink.’
’What, you stupid? An iron ship won’t sink.’
She wouldn’t listen to a situation explanation.
’Listen. I am Section Chief of the Torpedo Section, and Petty Officer Bebel is Petty Officer of the Artillery Section, Torpedo Section. Get it?’
’What, pulling rank? On the woman who carries your Children?’
”Do it yourself. And you let it flow,” I wanted to say, but I gritted my teeth and held back.
’That’s right, it’s an order. Can you take out the man in front of you?’
’You, no way. Not me.’
’Not me, I said! A little to my left. The guy with something red in his hip pocket.’
A moment of hesitation.
’What, that’s Section Chief Camillo, isn’t it? That guy is an Elf Mage, you know.’
’Yeah, that’s why. Without touching his skin, come up from behind and use a German Suplex or an Argentine Backbreaker or something to hold him.’
’I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
’Oh, right. An Argentine Backbreaker needs your hands on his chin, so skin contact is unavoidable, huh?’
’That’s not the problem. Take responsibility for your own words.’
’Of course I will.’
I thought I might have agreed too easily, but watching Petty Officer Bebel slowly approach the “shut-in Elf Mage” Section Chief Camillo, I focused on recovering the |fixed-wing drone|.
Just as I finished, a thud came from behind.
Huh, so she could do a German Suplex. The “shut-in Elf Mage” was flawlessly suplexed by Petty Officer Bebel, now white-eyed and foaming at the mouth.
”Someone, call the Captain!”
I shouted, and before long, the Captain arrived.
”What is this?”
”Captain, look at this.”
I turned the “shut-in Elf Mage,” who was on his back, onto his stomach and reached for the red thing in his hip pocket.
Huh?
It wasn’t dynamite. When I pulled it out, it was a handkerchief wadded up with mucus.
”What is it?”
”Eh, ah, well… the dynamite inventory was off by one…”
The sticky, unpleasant sweat broke out again. Thinking carefully, there was no way this “shut-in Elf Mage” was a spy. No matter how you looked at him, he wasn’t trusted by friend or foe.
The Captain looked at me with an expressionless face.
”The dynamite inventory is off? That would be me.”
The Captain, herself? A confession?
—
Summary:
The protagonist wakes up to a tense situation on a ship as lookouts are increased to scan for unknown threats. During a battle against hostile warships, they discover a stick of dynamite is missing from the magazine, sparking paranoia about a potential operative on board. After an incident involving a mistakenly identified “shut-in Elf Mage,” the Captain admits to taking the dynamite, leaving the protagonist stunned by the revelation.
—
Trivia:
The ship operates on a system where drums indicate attack and bells indicate retreat.
The protagonist shares visual data with Katarina via some form of telepathic link.
Gida, the Maintenance Section Chief, enforces strict daily visual inventory counts.
The ship, the “Izumo,” is made of iron and is not easily sunk by a single stick of dynamite.
The Captain personally holds the master keys for the ship’s powder magazine.
Notes:
• 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.
• Katarina – Tall, stunning, and well-endowed, this fit 30-year-old Flight Section leader and former Chief Researcher pilots a twin-engine drone. Assertive yet harboring unconventional fetishes, she is prone to explosion-triggered instability and was once poisoned in battle. Earnest’s telepathic attendant plans to marry Larry while holding a strained, intimately close relationship with the protagonist.
• Pamela – A sharp, cynical elf Medical Mage of youthful appearance in a Corporal’s uniform. Though a female slave, she uses manipulative, intimate power plays with subordinates. She shares a bed with Larry, mocking his finances and looks while monitoring him around other women. Known for restricting Katarina, she uses arcane mana-draining to instantly knock out patients or intruders.
• Pam – An escort to the protagonist who is observant and loyal.
• Pole – An orphaned Celt Kingdom soldier and tough-acting mast house scout who monitors the surroundings and initially picked fights with the protagonist. Having recently lost a friend to murder and with an aunt in Palermo, his rebellious exterior hides a deeper side. After a battle and a long conversation about his past, he opens up, showing newfound respect for the protagonist.
• Gida – A female human and former kingdom finance bureaucrat who now serves as the Section Chief of the Maintenance Division. Driven by an obsession with inventory management, she oversees her team and resources with meticulous precision, leveraging her bureaucratic background to maintain strict control over the department’s relations and operations.
• 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.
• Fredys – The female Deck crew chief possesses specialized knowledge of the Inland Sea. She leads her team with pragmatic solutions while maintaining the high morale of the flight crew.
• Anita – A member of the Flight Section who participates in the combat sortie.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled ship serving as the primary vessel for the protagonist and his crew.
• Bebel – Magic Armored Division Sergeant Major Hagen, also an Artillery/Torpedo Petty Officer and Larland War veteran, is a rigid superior officer with a strict military mindset. Though difficult to manage, he is highly combat-capable, using aggressive, unconventional tactics. Having previously cared for Larry during sedation, he now leads a group of five subordinates to the training grounds.
• Larland – A fallen kingdom, marked by its royal lineage of eight distinct princesses, has reemerged as a ruthless invading force. Driven by the loss of their homeland, these royal heirs now lead an aggressive campaign that threatens the entire region, turning former neighbors into desperate targets as they fight to reclaim power.
• Camillo – This tall, silver-haired, 200-year-old Elf Mage from Great Norden Island is an introverted Section Chief with deep magical knowledge. A nagging, easily annoyed shut-in who prefers his engine room, he acts arrogantly as the First Sage’s former mentor, leading peers to distrust him. Beneath his superiority, he secretly struggles to manage administrative duties and subordinates under pressure.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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