Chapter 72
Seeing the ship being lifted by the enormous kite, I held my breath.
"Whoa, no way!"
"It's floating?"
Jini was startled, and Zeze's eyes went wide. Of course, the ship was not literally floating; its hull was still touching the surface of the sea. But the kite was pulling the ship upward, making it look as though it were floating.
The Silverwing's speed increased dramatically. Meanwhile, the Lazybones was being hindered by Mary-san's wind magic, causing its speed to drop.
The Silverwing, which had been to port, overtook the Lazybones. Then it made a wide arc and returned to starboard.
As the ships passed each other, arrows were fired. They came from the opposite direction this time. Borel and Gatt turned and cut down the arrows raining upon us. But the Silverwing did not stop. It made another wide arc and came around again.
"Th-this is bad."
Watching the Silverwing circle around the Lazybones, Gatt broke into a sweat.
With them circling us as they attacked, the direction the arrows came from kept changing.
"Hey! Captain Maurice! Doesn't this ship have one of those kites?"
"We do have one, but..."
At Al's shout, Captain Maurice looked toward the bow of the Lazybones. A hatch in the foredeck led down to the hold. The kite was probably stored beneath it.
Captain Maurice's round eyes flickered uncertainly.
"...No, we can't. That thing is difficult to handle. If we mishandle it, the ship could break apart. It's impossible here, with the wind so complicated!"
Captain Maurice clenched his teeth.
If even a seasoned sailor like Captain Maurice said it was impossible, handling the kite must have been extremely difficult. Yet Mary-san could accomplish something even Captain Maurice considered impossible. She seemed to possess an innate talent for it.
Mary-san maneuvered the ship around us again and again, showering the Lazybones with arrows. The sailors aboard the Lazybones suffered wound after wound.
Unless they struck a vital spot, arrows rarely killed someone instantly. The purpose of attacking with bows and arrows was to wear down the enemy's momentum and fighting strength.
Protected by Al and the others, I watched the Silverwing. The arrows being fired at us suddenly stopped. They had probably run out. Now that they had weakened our forces, there was only one thing left for them to do.
"Hey, Captain Maurice! The arrows stopped! They're coming aboard!"
"I know that!"
Captain Maurice shouted back at Al.
On the deck of the Silverwing, the masked sailors discarded their bows and drew their swords.
"Everyone! Prepare for close-quarters combat! We're going to collide! Brace for impact!"
Captain Maurice roared. The sailors aboard the Lazybones also discarded their bows and drew the swords at their waists. Immediately afterward, the Silverwing approached from port, and the hulls of the Lazybones and the Silverwing crashed together.
Paula-san and I supported each other and braced for the impact. Our bodies were rocked from side to side, but the impact was not strong enough to knock us down.
The impact was surprisingly slight for a collision between such large ships. I raised my head and looked at the point of impact. The Lazybones' hull had suffered little more than a slight splintering of the wood along the gunwale. Mary-san had not wanted to damage her own ship, so she had rammed us gently with delicate control. Her ship-handling skills were astonishing.
As I stood there in amazement, a masked sailor from the Silverwing came aboard with a battle cry. Al and the others readied themselves with swords in hand.
"Captain Rome, just to make sure, you're not going to take shelter inside the ship, are you?"
"Of course not."
I answered Al's question firmly.
This battle was an internal conflict on Merka Island. I had deliberately exposed myself, effectively forcing Captain Maurice and his men to fight. I could not simply leave them to it once the battle had started. If I did not share the battlefield with them to the very end, I would lose the trust of the people of Merka Island.
"Understood! Zeze, Jini, Borel, Gatt. You're on guard duty! Don't let a single one through!"
Al gave Zeze and the others their instructions. Meanwhile, he moved forward alongside Ray.
"Al, Ray. Are you going?"
"Of course. We've shared meals with Captain Maurice and the sailors aboard this ship!"
"We can't let Captain Maurice and the others do all the fighting!"
Al and Ray raised their swords and nodded in unison.
"But those enemies..."
I looked at the masked sailors boarding our ship. They were all small in stature.
"...We know. ...But!"
"Anyone attacking us is an enemy!"
Al and Ray stated it unequivocally. Their eyes held unwavering resolve.
"Captain Maurice! We're fighting too! Let's go!"
"Yeah! Time to teach that little spitfire a lesson!"
As Al shouted, full of fighting spirit, Captain Maurice took a sword from one of his sailors. Then he descended the stairs at the stern and headed toward the middle of the deck.
The three of them walked with determined strides. Al, Ray, and Captain Maurice were all eager for battle.
Masked sailors continued boarding the Lazybones one after another. I moved farther to the right and behind the stern. The sea stretched out to my right and behind me, leaving me no escape. But from here, attacks could come from only two directions: the front and the left. Zeze and Jini, along with Borel and Gatt, formed a protective ring around me. Paula-san stood to my left, gripping my arm as though to protect me. But her hand was trembling.
"It's all right."
I placed my hand over hers and gave her a smile. But I had no grounds for saying this. Once the battle had begun, there was nothing more I could do. All I could do was trust the soldiers to fight their hardest.
Captain Maurice's men and the masked sailors led by Mary-san crossed swords on the deck.
About fifty masked sailors had boarded us, and every one of them was small. The Lazybones had only thirty sailors, but they were all battle-hardened veterans who had survived battles against the Demon King's Army.
Even though they were outnumbered, Captain Maurice's men would win a fair fight. However, many of them had already been wounded by arrows. The sailors aboard the Lazybones gradually began to be pushed back.
"Get it together, you bastards!"
Captain Maurice shouted as he swung his sword. The masked enemy dodged the blade, only for the captain to follow up with a kick.
Captain Maurice was fighting with all his might, but there were simply too many enemies.
I turned my gaze toward the deck of the Lazybones, which had become a battlefield. Mary-san was boarding amidships, wearing her long red coat.
She carried a sword in one hand and looked valiant. A masked sailor with a red cloth wrapped around his right arm followed at her left as her guard.
If we defeated Mary-san, we would probably win this battle. But what concerned me was the mastermind behind her.
Mary-san had not won the islanders' support. Even if she took me or Captain Maurice hostage, she could not rule Merka Island. Yet she had launched this attack here. That meant she had a way to take control of Merka Island after winning. She had probably gained the backing of someone else. Whoever stood behind Mary-san was the real enemy. First, we had to identify that enemy.