Volume 5 - CH 12

Chapter 12 – Acting and Naval Battles

When I woke up, the sun was much higher. I must have slept until late afternoon. I finish my usual routine with Ines and Felicia. I go to the living room.

I greet them with a strange greeting and have lunch instead of breakfast. It’s kind of confusing.

The members of the Girasole are all fired up for a midnight battle. Felicia also seems more excited than usual. It seems I’m the only one who feels like throwing up from nervousness.

I’m going to change the shape of the Lutto and the Galette. I’ll also change the color of the wood to make them look different.

“Oh, Master, did you change the appearance of the ships?”

“Yes, it looks like a different ship, doesn’t it? I think there might be people in Lucca who know my ship. Does it look different from Ines’s perspective?”

“Yes, it looks like a completely different ship. …Oh, by the way, we’re going to wear robes, right? What should we call each other? And Rimu-chan will stand out too.”

“That reminds me. I’m going to ask Rimu to stay in the bag. The members of Girasole are going to call me Mage, Ines and Felicia are the followers. The followers can call me master without any problem, so the problem is how to call Ines and Felicia. What do you have in mind?”

“In my case, would it be Shea? I don’t think people will notice if someone calls me by a different name.”

“I guess I’d be Ness then. Not much has changed. What do you think, Master?”

“Well, it’s almost exactly the same, but I don’t know if that’s okay.”

“I guess so. Basically, we don’t talk much when people are around, and we only use it when we really need to be called out, don’t we?”

“Is that how it is? Hmm, but if it’s a completely different name, I’m afraid I’m going to make a mistake in responding to you.”

“I think the problem will disappear if Ines uses honorifics for Master after that.”

“Ah, it’s true that if a follower talks to the mage in an honorific way, it might leave a strong impression on the other party. Is Ines going to be okay?”

“Yes, I’ll probably be fine.”

That’s kind of an uneasy reply… Well, we’re planning to do very little talking, so it’s alright.

“Ines, please use proper honorifics. Master, Ines, why don’t we get used to the situation when we enter Lucca now?”

“I guess that would be better. Then, Ness, Shea, we will act as if we are in Lucca from now on.”

“”Yes.””

We decide what we are going to do and have some free time before the operation starts. I’m a wait-and-see group, but I’m nervous; why are those people so unconcerned? I hug Rimu to stabilize my spirit.

“Wataru?”

“It’s nothing. Rimu is so cute.”

“Rimu is cute?”

“Yes, you’re very cute.”

“Rimu happy.”

“Rimu, I’m sorry, I have to ask you to stay in the bag in Lucca. Can you endure that?”

“Rimu is fine.”

“Thank you. We’ll have a lot of fun tonight.”

“Rimu, happy.”

It’s so relaxing… It’s not like there’s a war or anything. It’s like a luxury cruise ship with lots of maids. Also, I’d like to make a lot of contracts with slimes. I want to live a life of self-indulgence.

Thinking about meaningless things, playing with Rimu, training. I spend the day deceiving my nervousness. Finally, it’s time for dinner. Time seems to move slowly. I eat quickly and force myself to take a nap until it’s time.

It’s getting dark, and we head for the shadows of the land where we hid yesterday.

“Are you two all right?”

“Master, don’t worry, we’ll be fine. We need to change into our robes.”

“That’s right. I forgot. Thank you, Shea.”

Well, I’m so nervous and acting that I’m losing my mind. I’m more worried about myself than I am about others. I put on a robe and pulled the hood over my eyes.

“Can’t you see my face?”

“No, it’s fine. Most of it is hidden.”

Well, my right arm feels like it’s going to hurt. My vision is not good either. I’m not sure if I’ll be dressed like this in Lucca… It’s a hassle, but it’s better than having my face exposed.

“Oh, Shea, before you go, please put a barrier on Master.”

“That’s right. It’s almost time to go, so I’ll do it now.”

After applying the barrier, I returned to the living room.

“Mage-sama, I’d like you to summon the ship now.”

“It feels strange to be addressed like that by Alessia-san, doesn’t it?”

“Fufu, is that so?”

“Yes, I’ll summon the ship now. Please be careful, everyone.”

The seven of them reply in a high-spirited manner… I’m worried that they’re going to run out of control, but as expected, they wouldn’t do so in a situation like this, would they?

Galette No. 1, Galette No. 2, and Galette No. 3 roar with explosions and fly off… Is it really going to be alright?

“Master, would you like me to make you a cup of tea?”

“Ness, thank you.”

We wait for the girls to return, having an uncomfortable conversation. I drink tea while holding Rimu and Fuu-chan and try to calm down, but… I can’t.

We are at war, so killing each other can’t be helped. I wonder if it’s human nature, but there’s nothing I can do about it, so I force myself to accept it.

I am honestly grateful that the women were concerned and let me stand by here. I don’t consider myself complicit in the war because I wasn’t there in person. It’s also true that I don’t want to see the fighting firsthand and go through unnecessary trauma.

I know you’re going to hate me, but please don’t give me a break because I want to make offerings to the best of my ability. I’m seriously scared, especially since it’s a different world, for the possibility of them attacking me as zombies or skeletons.

As I was somehow making excuses and keeping my peace of mind, I saw the light at the harbor. I went out on the deck… where it started and stared at the harbor. More lights are popping up, maybe the lights of military ships? Loud lights mixed in by accident, and the sound is probably everyone attacking.

“It has begun, hasn’t it? Master, you don’t have to worry so much.”

“Yes, I’m sure it’s alright, but it does bother me. Ines, don’t you worry about it?”

“I do worry a little, but it’s harder to lose on Master’s ship. Rather than that, you called me by my real name.”

“Oh, yes, it is. Thank you, Ness.”

It’s hard to act until a time like this, but if it’s said that it’s important to be able to act properly in an emergency situation, I have to do my best.

I didn’t even know how much time had passed because I was so nervous, but magic was launched continuously into the sky above us. It was a signal to join the group.

“Is everyone alright?”

It looks like they’re alright, but it’s just a matter of courtesy. But there are a few military ships anchored on the shore and about ten sailboats and galleys gathered on the Lucca side.

“Yes, it’s alright. Do you mind if we move over there?”

“Yes, it’s fine, but wouldn’t it be better to move on to Lucca?”

“The Lucca side is probably aware of this, but fortunately, they’ve eliminated all but the military ships that have surrendered. I think it would be less troublesome to just deliver the message to the gate and head for Lucca when it’s light out.”

They really did wipe them out; I thought, maybe…

“Is that so? Oh, let’s talk in the living room. I’ll make you some tea.”

“Thank you.”

We gathered in the living room and listened to the conversation.

“Mage-sama, I’ll ask Dorothea and Marina to go to the gate to give a message. Is that alright with you?”

“Eh? Yes, of course, please.”

However, I feel very uncomfortable being called “Mage-sama” in a situation like this. I feel like I want to stop doing it, but I guess they just tell me it’s important to get used to it in these situations. I saw Dorothea-san and Marina-san off and decided to listen to what they had to say.

“Alessia-san, first of all, what are you going to do about the surrendered military ship?”

“I told them not to move from that spot. When the sun comes up, we will deal with them on the Lucca side.”

“I see. Then, can you tell me about the battle?”

“Yes, first of all, we attacked the large ships as planned, laying in wait for them and attacking them all at once. The barriers were broken, but they were repelled by the protective magic on the hull itself. Then we scratched it a second time and made a big hole in it a third time.”

“Is it protective magic?”

“Yes, it is said to be a magic that was already in place when the ship was discovered, a magic that protects the ship from deterioration and impact.”

“It is said? You don’t know much about it?”

“Yes, the mechanism of the magic ship itself is still unknown. I think the same is true for the protection magic.”

“I see that you attacked the ship three times, but there was no counterattack?”

“There was, but I knew we had a powerful barrier from fighting monsters at sea, so we continued our attack. Bows, ballistas, and magic all bounced back easily, so we were able to aim and attack well.”

I did say that it can repel even dragon breath, and I’m sure they felt the effects of it in combat. I don’t think there’s any reason to keep getting attacked as it is, though…

“I-I see; please continue.”

“Yes, we wrecked the large magic ship, then we all attacked the medium size magic ship and up to the first of the small magic ships. We could sink the small magic ship even if we split up, so from there, we dispersed and attacked the medium and small magic ships, then the sailboats and galleys.”

“I see. How did the other warships respond?”

“We rushed into them with a roar of explosions, and the warships around immediately noticed and attacked us with magic, bows, and ballistas. The ships all repelled the attackers, so we did not think about defending ourselves, but just laid into them and attacked, making a big hole in them.”

“I see; so you sank all the ships except the ones that surrendered?”

“Some of the ships pulled ashore and ran into the imperial lines, but other than that, we didn’t miss a single ship. Some of the warships tried to escape into the open sea, but their speed was so overwhelmingly different that we advised them to surrender and sank all those that refused to surrender.”

Wow, that was a real cheat. I was thankful that they gave me some great skills along the way. It’s overwhelming when you use it in a naval battle. If they know my face, there’s going to be an uproar that won’t compare to what happened with the Japanese ship. Let’s do my best as Mage-sama at all costs.

“I understand. Thank you very much. Please take a shower and rest a little until the sun rises. Ness and I will keep an eye on the prisoners’ ship. We will meet up with Dorothea-san and Marina-san as well. Thank you for your hard work.”

After taking a shower and a light meal in turn, we all went to the ship.

“Shea can go ahead and rest too.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“No, you’ve used up a lot of magic power, and it looks like you’ll be busy in the morning, so get some rest while you still can.”

“I understand. I will rest a little.”

“Yes.”

But Dorothea-san and Marina-san are late; I’m getting a little worried.

“Ness, aren’t Dorothea-san and Marina-san late?”

“There’s been so much commotion, so many people asking questions; I think it will take a while.”

“Oh, I see.”

That’s true; there’s a lot to ask, isn’t there? After a short wait, the Galette returned.

“Dorothea-san, Marina-san, thank you for your hard work. Are you alright?”

“Yes, I told them about us, about Mage-sama, and about the prisoners, and tried to go back, but they stopped me. I also told them that Mage-sama didn’t want to reveal any of his identity and that if they were still asking, he would return. We will know the result when we go to the gate in the morning.”

“Thank you very much. I would be very grateful if you could save me the trouble at the gate.”

“No problem.”

“Then we will take the watch, and you, Dorothea-san, and Marina-san can take a shower and get some rest.”

“”Yes, thank you.””

We’ll be in Lucca tomorrow morning… It would be nice if it were all over without incident, but… I don’t think it will be possible.