Volume 4 Chapter 23 Principality
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I passed one Silver coin to Nikole-senpai.
That night, Katarina got pulled into night watch because of the tightened security. She didn’t come to my room, so I had a quiet night — until someone woke me before dawn.
Knock at the door. I opened it. Katarina stood there in a sailor suit. Not the schoolgirl kind — a real sailor’s uniform (seaman’s clothes).1
”Shift over?” I asked.
”Yes, finally. The Captain wants you in the Dining Hall,” she said, crisp and formal.
Good — at least there was work to be done.
”Got it. Heading there now.”
I tried to move, but she grabbed my wrist.
’Hey, aren’t you cold?’ she sent with her eyes, then shut them. There was something calculating in that look. Oh well.
I pulled her in by the waist. My skin, still sensitive from waking, tingled where her body touched mine through the clothes. When our lips met, she gripped my hair with a thin, soft hand.
Her long tongue pushed into my mouth. I sucked on it, gave it little nips. She pressed her hips against me and sent: ‘Professors? Want me to get it out?’ — playful tone.
Well, if she was going that far, who was I to refuse?
”You’re late,” the Captain said, sharp and formal.
Just before I reached the table — where the Captain, the Deck crew foreman, and the Bridge section chief were already seated — I saluted. I still got scolded for being late, even though I had hurried as fast as I could. Their plates had nothing left but breadcrumbs.
”Can’t be helped. Sit. Eat while you listen. Pay attention,” the Captain ordered.
The Norman family runs Palermo, on the Island of Sicilia. A man named Riccardo Norman is the Captain’s childhood friend. Riccardo’s about five years older, and he’s passed the family headship to his oldest son, Ruggiero di Norman.
Originally, five villages managed Palermo. The Captain doesn’t know the details, but somehow the Norman house ended up on top. Ruggiero, who inherited, plans to make the Island of Sicilia an independent Principality. It reminded me of myself, not so long ago.
”The ‘di’ in Ruggiero di Norman is like the ‘von’ in Schweilitz,” the Captain said.
”Can’t we communicate?” I asked, dipping hard black bread into bacon soup.
”Right. Similar to the Charle language, but under the Scripture Church’s rule for so long — people from the island can barely talk to Charle folk.” The Captain scratched his chin. “Still, if he’s Riccardo’s son, he’ll speak Celt.”
The Celt language was like Schweilitz with a thick accent — not as hopeless as Rus, which was completely unintelligible. Charle grammar differed, but many words overlapped, so you could manage. That meant I wouldn’t understand a word of this island’s language.
”Aren’t we taking the rescued girls?” I asked.
”Sometimes they refuse to take them in. We’ll see after we finish business here and check the situation,” the Captain replied.
Huh? I made a confused face. Fredys-foreman explained: “Them girls we rescued — likely their kinfolk are dead. If so, distant relatives squabble over ’em like livestock to sell for profit.”
”Even if they’re snatched from coastal towns, they don’t get returned unless they’re children of important people. Too much hassle. They become property (slavery) of whoever buried the looters,” Katarina added, grim and practiced.
I asked what happened to the ones we saved. After interviews and treatment, they lived in a roofed-over section of the ship’s livestock area, where they either helped the crew or were used for sex. Was that considered normal here?
”You know? All the wives of the Turkic Emperor were slaves,” the foreman said.
The practice originally existed to prevent the mother’s family from influencing the government. Some important families would place their own daughters into slavery first, then present them as wife candidates. But most were women captured by pirates, with slavery merchants supplying the finest. The Emperor bought whoever he liked — as wives, maids, or whatever he pleased. Almost enviable, in a way.
”So women who become slaves can be really unhappy, but they can also grab happiness. Women above a certain level aren’t that pessimistic about it. I was a slave myself once, you know,” the foreman said.
I’d heard rumors. But she didn’t have a Slave Crest (a mark on the forehead) like Kenze or Pamela, so I wasn’t sure.
”Chief Larry is a pillar of the ship, so he has the right to pick a girl first if he likes one,” the Captain said.
”No, Chief, there are already plenty,” the foreman said.
What exactly did she mean by “plenty”?
”It’s smelled like squid since a while ago,” she said with a smirk.
She had seen right through me. I stuffed mashed potatoes into my mouth and chewed with exaggerated nonchalance, playing dumb.
”Hey, if being late was because of a woman, that’s a Military Law tribunal,” the Captain warned.
She was joking, but I couldn’t laugh it off. I had only let her finish me off with her mouth — nothing more. If I got sentenced to Death again and sent who-knew-where… I had no choice but to play innocent.
Mashed potatoes still in my mouth, I shook my head and forced them down.
”What about the boys?” I asked.
”Chief, into that hobby, too?” the Captain asked with a suspicious glance.
I had tried to change the subject, but it had only gone somewhere worse. I shook my head vigorously.
”That part needs an application, you know. Honestly, detestable system,” Fredys-foreman said.
Apparently, women getting hung up on one boy causes problems. They record it so you don’t use the same slave repeatedly.
”Isn’t it a problem if men get hung up on a specific girl, too?” the foreman added.
Wait, was a female crew member’s preference for young boys just accepted around here? Unbelievable.
”If Chief Larry has the inclination, buy Vaseline early. Infirmary sells it, but stock isn’t big,” she advised, pointing at Roland, the bridge section chief.
Vaseline? Was Chief Roland into that sort of thing?
Roland said: “Aw, for that, olive oil or soap works fine.”
I made a mental note to keep my guard up whenever I was on watch on the bridge.
”Hey, back to the subject. Fredys-foreman, what about the price of drinking water?” the Captain asked.
”Island of Sicilia has high mountains — lots of water. Two Silver coins per hogshead barrel. One Silver coin and five silver coins for a barrel, including the barrel. If we exchange barrels, maybe a few silver coins for both,” she replied.
So the real cost was in the barrel and the labor, not the water itself. A standard barrel held about one hundred twenty liters, and a hogshead was double that.
Maintenance Chief wants twenty barrels and ten hogsheads of drinking water, plus twelve loads of empty barrels and ten loads of empty hogsheads. Water rots, so they filter it as much as possible. Finally, it goes to the Boiler.
”I don’t know if I’ll meet Riccardo, but I’ll get info on the Inland Sea from him. If they ask about our magic tools (special devices powered by mana) or dynamite, leave it to Chief Larry. Also get info on the Red Flame Ball,” the Captain ordered.
So the Captain wanted me to handle questions about the black ships, the fixed-wing drone, and dynamite — and possibly trade information about the Red Flame Ball. He was dumping all of it on me.
We brought the ship about three hundred meters from port and dropped anchor. I flew the fixed-wing drone once, memorized the roads and terrain of Palermo from above.
Then we took a small boat from “Izumo” to the port. In it: Captain, Deck crew foreman, Deck crewman Pole, me, and two Deck crewmen rowing. Those two stayed in the boat while we went ashore.
About a hundred meters out, a boat came from Palermo.
They shouted something in their own tongue.
I had no idea what they said. Fredys-foreman answered in a similar string of sounds, and after a brief exchange they gestured for us to follow.
I asked Pole what they had said. Apparently, the foreman had simply told them we wanted to buy water.
When I stepped onto the pier, my legs trembled — not from emotion, but from the strange sensation of a floor that did not sway beneath my feet.
A brat who thought he was important came up with his entourage.
”You lot from Schweilitz?” he demanded in Schweilitz. He must have spotted our flag.
The Captain introduced himself as a military officer seconded to Schweilitz from the Celt Kingdom and a childhood friend of Riccardo Norman. The young man’s attitude shifted to deference almost immediately.
They escorted us to a building near the port and served a tea-like drink. Fredys-foreman began negotiating the water purchase with a merchant while the young man said little about the previous day’s battle.
After a while, a luxurious carriage pulled up, and we were escorted to the Viscount’s Palace.
The Palace sat on raised ground south of the Scripture Church’s church (mosque), near where we used the Red Flame Ball. Most buildings were brick — seemed short on good stone. Reddish tile roofs.
The exterior, adorned with a few sculptures, was not particularly impressive — it felt oddly familiar. The interior, however, was lavish: a renovation of the old Scripture Church’s Viscount Palace, with intricate geometric patterns covering every surface.
We were guided into a great hall where several men sat on a raised stage at the far end.
”Birger? Long time,” one called.
”Riccardo?” the Captain replied.
An elderly man ran over and hugged him.
”Ten years since we last met?” Riccardo said.
They spoke in Celt, and I felt a wave of relief — perhaps things would go smoothly after all. That turned out to be a grave mistake.
This island — soon to be an independent Principality — was triangular, with each side stretching roughly two hundred kilometers. High mountains bore snow in spring, massive volcanoes dotted the landscape, and the farmland was fertile. They were wealthy.
”Father, our family is lord of this land. One does not speak so familiarly with a mere military officer from Schweilitz or Celt,” Ruggiero di Norman snapped.
He said it like a rich man, pouring cold water on everything.
”That’s correct, Your Excellency Norman the First. Soldiers of Schweilitz, stand back,” a sycophant-like man added.
A middle-aged sycophant, some boorish fellow who was ruining what should have been a friendly conversation. When told to stand back, I had no choice but to comply.
We lined up and bowed on one knee.
”Be careful from now on,” the man said.
”Yes, sir!” I replied with crisp precision, though I had no intention of obeying from the heart. But if it meant gathering information, there was no helping it. Mr. Riccardo glanced at us apologetically. Don’t worry, I thought. We’ll manage.
”You lot came all the way from Schweilitz in that ugly black ship?” he asked.
”Yes, exactly,” the Captain affirmed.
The Captain can endure Norman the First’s arrogance.
”Why does it spew dirty black smoke?” the sycophant asked.
The Captain looked at me expectantly. Wait — why me?
I tried to move my lips silently. He gestured for me to speak.
”Please hear the explanation from Second Lieutenant Larry, Torpedo Department Chief,” the Captain said.
That Captain — what a bastard. But there was no refusing now.
”It’s because we burn coal,” I replied.
”Why burn coal?” the sycophant pressed.
”To turn the heat from coal into movement, to move the ship.”
The sycophant looked completely lost, as I had expected. I was not speaking in terms this world could understand.
He did not press further. Instead, he asked what weapon had sunk the Triremes the previous night.
”We used an explosive made from nitroglycerin,” I said calmly. “Made by nitrating the carboxyl group of glycerin.”
I was not lying — they surely could not understand it, and I expected no further questions after this.
”I see. Understand. Then present that warship to my master, Emperor Michael VIII,” the sycophant ordered.
Was this sycophant a vassal of the Michea Empire’s Emperor? This was going to be trouble.
—
Summary:
The protagonist arrives at the island of Sicilia, which is currently undergoing a political transformation into a Principality under the Norman family. Tensions rise during a formal meeting when the local power figures demand the protagonist’s ship as a tribute to their Emperor. The protagonist faces increasing political and military pressure as he attempts to gather information on regional stability and the Red Flame Ball.
—
Trivia:
- The protagonist uses a fixed-wing drone to survey Palermo before landing.
- Water on the island is expensive due to the cost of barrels and labor rather than the water itself.
- The protagonist’s ship, Izumo, remains anchored off the coast with a small crew left on the boat.
- Ruggiero di Norman is the heir apparent and views the protagonist’s ship with both arrogance and greed.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Nikole – A Level-3 Nikole medical mage, repeat Bizan graduate, and senior ship crew member, this Izumo health officer assists Chulpan with treatments and joins in flirtatious banter. Larry’s senior colleague whom she once hoped to marry, she sports silver-streaked shoulder-length hair, a rune-etched coat, and a sailor uniform with a vermilion Rhein insignia while battling a haunted past and alcoholism.
• Niko – An elderly, dignified former slave, he is a loyal bondservant to the protagonist and the Getys household, helping raise her child alone. As the family’s oldest male servant, he drives carriages and manages groundskeeping, preferring the stable loft. His deep knowledge of the local landscape and the sugar beet business allows him to aid their estate transition with quiet wisdom and steadfast service.
• Katarina – Larry’s watchman subordinate and 30-year-old Flight Section leader/Chief Researcher is a tall, stunning, voluptuous mana-user in a sailor uniform. She wields telepathy, a coilgun, and drones. Volatile and prone to explosion-triggered instability, she is the protagonist’s protective mistress, sharing an intimate, strained bond that led her to punch them when near death.
• Riccardo – An old man who is the father of Norman I and a childhood friend of the Captain. An older man who is a childhood friend of the Captain. The father of the first Norman, who instituted a dictatorship to make the Celt Kingdom pirates’ consensus-based system understood by other groups.
• Ruggiero – The son of Riccardo and heir to the Norman family.
• Palermo – A target location where a battle and reparations negotiation took place.
• Norman – A family name of the local rulers on the Island of Sicilia. A young man who serves as the lord of the Viscount’s Palace. He is an aspiring founder of a Principality and holds authority over the Town Guards.
• Principal – The mother of Line and the administrative head of the institution. She exercises authoritative control over research assignments and seeks to trade Larry for Ilse Klein due to interpersonal conflicts in her laboratories. The mother of Sabrina and Rhein who intervenes during Rhein’s violent corridor assault to break up the confrontation.
• 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.
• 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.
• Charle – A faction captain whose flagship and crew were involved in the conflict. A mercenary captain whose ship was targeted. An individual associated with a group of remnants.
• Celt – In his twenties, this former tenant farmer and 303rd Unit militia leader is now a pragmatic, calculating Deputy Commander of the Town Guards—equivalent to a sergeant or officer—overseeing Strock Village’s fortifications. Dressed in simple work clothes, he quietly admires Teressa-san’s skill and serves as the village’s trusted gossip source, having earned his land with reward money. Once a sandal-maker and translator of Bours’s jargon, he maintains a careful working relationship with Larry while balancing political interests, embodying calm kindness beneath his disciplined exterior.
• Rus – A neighboring power deeply involved in regional politics and mediation, best known for annexing the Kingdom of Larland.
• Fredys – A capable female deck-crew chief and squad leader with a decade of experience and expert knowledge of the Inland Sea. Managing logistics and draft details, she serves as a pragmatic, morale-boosting anchor for her colleagues. Though highly professional, she is rumored to be a shotacon and distinctly adopts refined, upper-class manners whenever she is around Francis.
• 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.
• Pamela – A character capable of Heal magic who helped organize and execute the rescue team. A healer who treats the protagonist’s wounds and exhibits a flirtatious personality. A member of the group who assists in the interrogation and rescue efforts.
• Kenze – A stoic, brown-skinned Amazoness with short hair, a niqab, and slave attire, she is a combat-capable companion to Earnest and Larry. A former major offender and Takshurgan agent entrusted to the Fourth Sage, she rejects slave treatment. As Larry’s loyal, teasing guard and commander, she uses blinding speed to shield her daughter Zaboo and allies Pamela, Marie, Thomas, and Teressa.
• Pam – An escort to the protagonist who is observant and loyal.
• Larry – Sammy I (Larry-sama) is a 16-year-old bald, dark-haired reincarnated professor, Grand Duke, and Second Lieutenant who serves as the Fee Getys Torpedo Department Chief. This serious, easily flustered family man with four wives and children uses tech, mana, and modern military strategy to design ships. He bravely defended his ship from an Amazoness raid despite suffering a broken rib.
• 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.
• Roland – Heir to the Canaria throne and Queen Cecile’s younger brother, this quiet dwarf is a veteran bridge chief and former Tsukushi captain. They direct helm operations, lead the bridge crew, carry a dagger, and share quarters with Fredys. Sharing the Queen’s golden-blonde hair, their innocent, beautiful face is easily mistaken for a girl, though they dress in boy’s formal wear.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled ship serving as the primary vessel for the protagonist and his crew.
• Pole – An orphaned Celt Kingdom soldier and tough-acting mast house scout, this deck crewman knows the island’s language and terrain intimately. Earnest’s associate, he once saved the protagonist. Though initially hostile after a friend’s murder, he grew to respect them after a talk about his past and Palermo aunt. He now serves as a rescue guide and seeks freedom for his first love.
• Viscount – A noble of the Rus who insisted on bringing reinforcements to the defense of the city.
• Birger – A rugged, middle-aged Royal Capital native with red hair and a wrestler’s physique, this Admiral and Celt Royal Army Major serves as the stern, security-focused Captain of the Izumo. A trusted advisor, tactics expert, and Navigation head who led the black ship fleet, he deeply knows the Norden Sea, demands strict compliance, and rejects any operational-security risks.
• Michael – The Emperor of the Nicaea Empire (also known as the Micae or Michea Empire) who seeks the restoration of the East Room Empire.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply