Volume 4 Chapter 92 Supplies
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Festival night.
Queen invited me to stay at the Viscount’s Palace.
I refused, saying I hurt my right shoulder when I jumped into the sea.
It was true that I felt pain from hitting the water, but that wasn’t the real reason.
After seeing someone get their head cut off right in front of me and a boy get stabbed to death, I really wasn’t in the mood.
I’ve killed quite a number of people before, both directly and indirectly.
Especially when I sank that large seeding ship, there must have been innocent children inside.
It’s not the time to say clean things, but I don’t think that’s something that can make me want to have sex.
I returned to the ship. While getting checked by Pamela, I gathered the main members on the bridge to report. Criticism flooded toward me.
”The moment your mind was read, the acting captain should have killed the ambassador. ‘Izumo’ is the embodiment of the Kingdom of Schweilitz. Reading the mind of its leader is the same as reading the mind of His Majesty the King. Extremely impolite. Unforgivable.”
The Dwarf bridge squad leader spoke first, and the others agreed.
I didn’t think it was necessary to go that far. As for me, I wanted to question him and find out more.
Regarding the killing of the boy, opinions were split.
Fredys, the deck crew foreman, said he shouldn’t have been killed. Katarina, the flight squad leader, said he should have been killed.
This came from their personal preferences.
Fredys likes young boys. Katarina suspected I might have fallen to the dark side.
”I think we should have questioned the boy first before deciding what to do. If he was innocent, release him. If he received bad education or guidance, behead him.”
Pamela’s words got the most support.
By “bad education,” she meant things like teaching him to hate “Izumo” or Amazoness, gather inside information, or cause division from within. Basically, teaching him to be a spy.
After that, there was no criticism of the Berserker from Land of Shura’s actions.
Kenze especially was positive about the boy being killed, saying he might not have realized his own harmful intent. She used to be in intelligence, after all.
”Why did you come back?”
Why did I come back?
Well, two people were killed right in front of me and I was covered in their blood.
No matter how you look at it, I wasn’t in the mood.
”From a diplomacy point of view, do you think that was good?”
Oh!
”The countries of Dragon God and Shura might see it as a questionable act.”
True. They might see it as me turning my back on their goodwill.
I hadn’t thought that far.
If they ask again, I’ll have to go immediately.
It was a night full of regrets.
The next day, we tried to buy food ourselves, but it didn’t go well.
We couldn’t get very much.
The reasons: food is scarce this year. Due to the war on the continent and conflicts between the Seeding Fleet and nearby areas, preserved food is limited. Also, with so many people gathering for the festival yesterday, food supplies ran out. Third, because people weren’t working.
The center of Dragon God’s Country, the main island where the royal palace is located, and the islands around it are called Oceanus.
According to legend, about three thousand four hundred years ago, the first people brought here by the Dragon God were the Amazoness.
As time passed, humans and Dwarf tribe came from the west. Industries developed, fights over wealth happened, and the Amazoness entered a period of warring states. The Dats family was the first to unite Dragon God’s Country. After many wars, the Miyako family has been on the throne for a thousand years.
The country is stable and industry has developed.
They also have bases outside the country.
The Amazoness attitude toward other tribes: if you live in their territory, pay taxes. Then they will protect you from outsiders. But don’t go against them.
It seems like a relatively soft control. But when you think about it, it’s like protection money paid to gangsters.
However, they don’t get involved in internal problems. You have to handle those yourself.
That was the case in Nyunpai on the Southern Continent, and the same in Dragon God’s Country.
The difference is that the business owner must be Amazoness.
So we had to buy food from shops owned by Amazoness.
But the Amazoness attitude toward business varies.
When we went to buy, they said they couldn’t deliver today because of the festival yesterday.
The merchant employees were worn out from the festival and didn’t come to work.
Shops run by human staff handled things more properly.
But on the other hand, the prices were strangely high, and they would casually ask us to help with work. Bad service in other ways.
”Gida, what should we do?”
Either buy food and water at high prices, or wait until people start moving.
I’ll leave the decision to the head of the Maintenance Department.
But then.
”Why don’t you go to the Viscount’s Palace now and offer your services?”
What is this old woman saying?
If we could get supplies by doing that, we wouldn’t be struggling.
We were able to get help until last time, but we’ve already been gently refused this time.
”Nothing we can do. Buy what we can. We’ll manage at the next port.”
Kai, who was acting captain of a trade ship, said there is a port town called Nunbai about two to three weeks away by sailboat from here.
It’s a big town that once pushed back the Seeding Fleet. She said there are many farming villages nearby, so we should be able to resupply there.
Further west from there, about ten days to two weeks away, there’s a port town called Menado. This is a transport hub, so Amazoness are stationed there.
Goods from various places gather at this port town, so food should be easier to get.
By the way, they said it takes the same number of days west from there to reach the Amazoness base.
The problem is that the Seeding Fleet is very active near Menado. The area has constant fights with locals.
The Seeding Fleet isn’t a threat unless you get close to them. But if we can’t use coal, our ship speed drops, making them a nuisance.
We want to save fuel going forward. So we have to spot the Seeding Fleet as early as possible and run away without getting close.
It’s shameful that even the unbeatable “Izumo” becomes just a slow steel ship without supplies.
Well, from now on, the wind always blows from east to west. So-called trade winds. The ocean current goes the same way. I’m optimistic that we can save fuel.
”Are we okay? We only have food and water for a month.”
”We’ll manage. It rains a lot, and there are fish in the sea.”
Actually, from the Land of the Fire Ring until we got here, we had rain for a week. And a deck crew member who likes fishing caught a ridiculous amount of migratory fish.
Thanks to that, we’ve had three meals of sauteed skipjack tuna, three meals of sauteed mahi-mahi, and three meals of sauteed yellowfin tuna.
The problem was that after visiting shops, we learned that grains like wheat and barley were completely unavailable.
Still, leaving port without resupply would be too risky.
The easiest substitute for wheat is taro. But fresh taro doesn’t last long. Dried taro, which can be stored for a long time, is scarce now. Rice is mostly imported from the continent and is expensive.
But people can’t function without carbohydrates. They’re needed for cooking. So we bought taro flour and rice flour as substitutes.
It’s far from enough, but nothing we can do.
For alcohol, there’s distilled liquor made from potatoes. Also cloudy sake or drinkable yogurt-like alcohol. The crew doesn’t like these, so we didn’t buy any.
For oil, we bought as much as allowed since it can be used as fuel in emergencies.
While we were checking the supplies brought onto the ship, a messenger came from the royal palace. We were invited to dinner.
”Good luck.”
Kenze pushed my back. In the evening, I boarded the boat that came to pick me up. I was taken to the royal palace alone.
When I went to the palace balcony, the Berserker and two attendants from last night were there.
Also Queen, her partner Akeshino, and the regent were seated.
So why am I alone?
I need to be careful.
”Φ※▼*. ✕Σ, 我ら■▼, ――”
The Berserker was saying something.
I could understand some words, but they didn’t connect into sentences. I couldn’t understand.
”They say they want us to transport them to the Luzon Kingdom.”
Hmm. Honestly, transporting these people is a bit scary.
And not to their home country of Land of Shura, but Luzon Kingdom?
They’re planning something.
”Are you going to war?”
At my words, Akeshino and Queen’s expressions froze instantly.
Seriously?
Akeshino took a deep breath. He probably told the regent and the Berserker what I said. After hearing their brief reply, he turned to me and spoke.
”When we reported last night’s events to the Luzon Kingdom building, the building was empty by this morning. We investigated. Over ten staff members and their families crossed to the neighboring island from the north port last night. From there, they split into two medium trade ships and went west. We tracked them that far.”
That’s good to know. But the story about why they’re bringing the Berserker along is cut off.
”The Luzon Kingdom is a place where the first wave of the Seeding Fleet landed about twenty years ago. The original inhabitants lived there. It was a land that had long traded with the continent and nearby areas. But it was occupied in no time. Surprisingly, the leader of the Seeding Fleet called himself the King of Luzon Kingdom and declared independence.”
After that, they rushed to establish diplomatic relations with nearby countries. They called for an alliance against Daqin. They apparently exchanged ambassadors with Land of Shura and Dragon God’s Country.
”The Luzon Kingdom is a country led by civilian officials. They started asking us to protect them for money. But the king changed. Rumors spread that they were getting close to The Boltechino.”
The Boltechino invaded Land of Shura twice, though they lost. If the rumors are true and Luzon Kingdom was contacting them, it would be betrayal.
”Sensing that, the Amazoness pulled their mercenaries out of Luzon Kingdom. But about a hundred people from Land of Shura remain.”
”To save those hundred, you want to send Hojo.”
”No. To use those hundred to destroy the Luzon Kingdom.”
????
”A hundred people? Destroy a country? And you don’t have your home country’s agreement. Is that okay?”
I can’t decide whether to go along with this or not.
”Lord Hojo Takachika has been sent as a plenipotentiary ambassador to the South Seas.”
So that means whatever he does, he can get approval afterward.
And can a hundred people really destroy a country?
”The military power supporting the royal family doesn’t exist anymore.”
Really?
The initial tax was thirty percent. But it gradually increased. Now they’re demanding fifty percent of income. They said they’d increase it more. The people seem to have a lot of anger about it. The residents don’t seem willing to risk their lives to protect the royal family.
Well, even if the tax talk is half a lie, I doubt many people would risk their lives to help the new royal family.
But a hundred people?
By the way, the population of the royal capital, Manila, is about a hundred thousand.
In this world, that’s considered a big city.
I think I heard yesterday that since it’s led by civilian officials, if we threaten them, they’d give us food. But isn’t that too naive?
They came on the Seeding Fleet and controlled this population. We need to be somewhat cautious.
And after the royal family is destroyed, what happens?
When I asked, they said they’ve found the bloodline of the dynasty that existed before the Seeding Fleet came. If they put that person forward, the residents would follow to some extent.
Well prepared. So they had already decided to destroy the country.
Wait.
Was beheading the ambassador yesterday also planned?
Possible.
Was I used as an excuse?
But I have no choice but to follow their orders.
We have to rely on them to return to our country. There’s no other way.
I’ll figure the rest out as we go.
”Understood. We’ll deliver Lord Hojo to Luzon. But if there’s a difference in customs, make sure your people don’t kill our crew members.”
Akeshino translated. Lord Hojo agreed that wouldn’t happen. The weapons will be kept by me until we arrive.
Also, troublesome. Lord Hojo and his two attendants can use mana at about level one. I need to make sure everyone knows this.
Leakle, a palace official not present here, will board as interpreter.
I was worried because Kai’s Schweilitz language is poor. So this is good news.
The problem: when Lord Hojo said “we,” he meant these three plus two more will board. With Leakle, six new people will come aboard.
With the Androgynos Group’s two nursemaids and Kai, plus these six added, will we have rooms?
Sorry Kai, but you’re in a shared room.
Of course Lord Hojo gets a private room. What about the rest?
I don’t really want to, but if I move to the Captain’s room and take the nursemaids, Kenze, and her child Sinon in, we can manage.
While I was thinking about this, food was served.
Lord Hojo refused the before-dinner drink and the wine during the meal.
He barely touched the food either.
”Um, we can’t serve this kind of food on ‘Izumo.’ Are you okay?”
When Akeshino translated, Lord Hojo said he would bring his own ingredients and asked to use the kitchen.
As expected, this Berserker is troublesome.
Notes:
• Viscount – A noble of the Rus who insisted on bringing reinforcements to the defense of the city.
• 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.
• Pam – An escort to the protagonist who is observant and loyal.
• His Majesty – The King of the realm possesses an expressionless, Noh mask-like face, rarely showing emotion except for brief amusement during trials. He holds absolute authority over the kingdom, presiding over high-level deliberations, giving the final word on legal transitions like duels, and maintaining supreme command over all military missions and strategic troop deployments.
• 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.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled primary vessel, named and personified as a character herself, who loyally carries the protagonist and his crew throughout their journey.
• Katarina – Katarina, a voluptuous 30-year-old Izumo flight squad leader and volatile telepathic mage, is a complex handful who enjoys teasing protagonist Earnest by listing his exes. An older former Magic School student, she pressures subordinates while advocating for Gida. Often the target of Eida’s frustrations, she is known for being after Larry and refusing orders unless they involve a rescue.
• Fredys – A battle-hardened former slave and Izumo’s deck crew foreman, she serves as a pragmatic, sharp-witted squad leader. Related to the Ullmans and living with Roland, she acts as a loyal voice of reason to the Acting Captain. After Earnest’s capture, she assumed command, now focused on navigating the Izumo toward Luzon and overseeing critical rescue operations following the devastating Whale Eater attack.
• Kenze – Kenze is a muscular, brown-skinned Amazoness and former Tashkurgan operative turned research student. An observant, teasing guardian with dragon tattoos, she wears gauntlet-like armor and fights with formal precision. Formerly bonded with Earnest and now a rebel leader on the Izumo, she works with Tatyana, rooms with Larry—whom she prioritizes above all—and is currently nursing an egg while declining in health.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Kai – A 20-year-old ash-covered Dwarf Mage and Bridge Leader, she serves as the professional Head of the Engine Department, offering serious proposals on coal and navigation. Beyond her sturdy frame, translucent white hands, and high regenerative resilience, this capable Izumo crew member hides a mysterious past. She balances her duties with a teasing nature toward Rhein and an active, impulsive libido.
• Akeshino – Queen’s partner. Mentioned only as absent from the bed beside Queen’s.
• The Boltechino – Military force that conquered Takshurgan. The main antagonist faction referenced throughout the chapter.
• Boltechino – An entity that departed from Rus, this explorer traveled to discover a continent that became the birthplace of shipping trade.
• Hojo – Ambassador from the Land of Shura and leader of the Shura warriors, this “Berserker” is an unsettling, aggressive figure with an intense, unblinking gaze. Dressed in sumo referee-inspired garb with a gauntlet, knee guards, and a hip-mounted sword, he speaks in imperious Kamakura-period Japanese. Linked to the Hojo clan, he commands Imai and views lethal violence as mere jest while pursuing his goal.
• Takachika – Hojo’s family name.
• Leakle – An Amazoness official at the Viscount’s Palace in Oceanus who serves as the professional interpreter and primary intermediary for the Acting Captain’s crew. Fluent in Schweilitz, she maintains a diplomatic, respectful register, often softening others’ words. She reacts with visible alarm and concern regarding reports of Hole-Eaters and promptly mobilizes to handle affairs for Larry-san and the group.
• 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.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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