Chapter 317
Today was another day of construction. When I logged in, I found a message from Conrad. I sprang to my feet as soon as I read it and hurried to check which of my companions were logged in. Not everyone was available, but this time we would be fighting at sea. Nearly everyone I absolutely wanted for that kind of battle was here, so there should be no problem.
I immediately sent messages and gathered everyone currently logged in who did not have some unavoidable business. A few minutes later, Jigorou, Genjurou, Ruby, Shio, Nanakou, Eiji, Toji, Mossan, Nenashi, and Mikero had assembled.
In addition to them, Iris joined us as well, in case something came up. She had been directing the construction, so she suspended the work itself to accompany us today. Shiitake would have been fine too, but she was busy with things like mixing cement. I wanted her to come, but she would have to stay behind this time.
"Yo, bro. There'd better be some strong guys, right?"
"There should be, unless Conrad exaggerated too much."
Our job was to help the pirates, who had been harried by Anne and were now about to be wiped out by their employer. The merchant, who was being cornered by the three clans, was trying to use the organization he had allied himself with to wipe out the pirates. We had to stop him.
The organization carrying out this extermination was apparently a major power—so large that it was harder to find a place in the regions inhabited by humans where it had no influence. A force of that size was certain to have powerful fighters. Jigorou was looking forward to battling such opponents.
"Hmm, maybe I should go after all?"
"If you fall, that's gonna be bad, you know?"
Since this would most likely be a battle aboard a ship, those who would have difficulty getting back aboard on their own after falling into the sea were debating whether to go. Eiji, with his heavy equipment, would definitely sink, while Wool the sheep and Shifune the spider might float, but there was no way to know what would happen.
In the end, Eiji decided to come, while Wool and Shifune decided to sit this one out. However, if the battle took place at sea, Eiji would use the weapons installed on the deck. Since there would be no one to save him if he sank, it couldn't be helped. Eiji had agreed to those terms.
"Then let's depart. Iris, can you calculate how long it will take to reach our destination from the distance?"
"I can. Um, if we fly at maximum ship speed, we'll arrive in a few in-game hours."
"...I had no idea sailing ships and floating battleships could differ this much."
The usual way to travel between continents was still by sea. Even the route between Luxresia and Flama, which was considered fairly close, took about a week one way. Taking into account that in-game time passed at four times the speed of real time, that meant two days. If we encountered an accident such as a storm, we would need three days.
One of the biggest problems in the game set in an electronic otherworld created by WSS was the difficulty of traveling. The world was far larger than the real one, so moving between cities required considerable time and effort. FSW dealt with this problem by allowing players to teleport to a city they had already visited for a fee.
However, it was impossible to teleport to a place one had never visited. For that reason, it would be no exaggeration to say that having a fast means of travel was the greatest advantage of all. That was how valuable Shiratsuki was.
Incidentally, the sailing ships in the game were far faster than their real-world counterparts, and their speed was more stable as well. The reason was that every sailor aboard a ship had learned 【Wind Magic】. Their Skill levels were lower than those of mages, but they could create wind themselves even when there was none, allowing them to sail at any time.
Furthermore, if a traveling priest was aboard, injuries and illnesses could be healed as well, making voyages far safer in the game. If one hired guards capable of fighting monsters, there was less danger to a sailor's life than during the Age of Exploration, when privateers and the like ran rampant.
"There's no harm in being fast. All right, everyone board. We'll depart at once."
Once Shiratsuki took off, we flew straight toward our destination through the open sky. Since it was midnight in-game, the sea looked pitch-black and somehow ominous. However, when we looked up, an endless, beautiful star-filled sky spread overhead, enough to dispel all such feelings.
I didn't know much about constellations, but perhaps this world had them too. There might be constellations like 'Dragon' and 'Goblin.' Perhaps there were legends associated with them as well. I found myself becoming a little interested.
"Wow... It's beautiful..."
"Yes, it really is."
Iris seemed more moved by the beauty of the night sky than I was. She was so entranced that she had even forgotten to wriggle her tentacles, so the sky must have deeply stirred her emotions. Watching her innocently enjoy the night sky comforted me in turn.
However, the night sky was not only beautiful. Shiratsuki's monitors showed groups of monsters fighting in the distance. They were too far away for us to identify them precisely, but from their silhouettes, one appeared to have four legs, while the other had a long, slender body.
The four-legged one somewhat resembled a wolf, but a pair of wings grew from its back. The long, slender one had no wings, but it had parts resembling two forelegs, so it was difficult to call it a snake. Both appeared to be at least five meters in size. Apparently, the sky was a place where monsters like that formed groups and fought.
We flew swiftly through the night sky, slicing through the darkness, traveling in comfort inside the safe ship. We had Shiratsuki's sensors to thank for detecting distant monsters in advance. All we had to do was steer around them and adjust our route, which made things easy. Of course, the sensors would be useless against an opponent with stealth techniques capable of slipping past them, so we couldn't rely on them too much.
"Izaam, I've spotted a ship at sea. Displaying the image!"
Iris quickly manipulated the panel in front of her as soon as she spoke. A live image appeared on the monitor. It showed a ship floating on the water, with its mast, sails, and hull all painted completely black. The color was clearly intended to take advantage of the darkness, and there was no doubt that this was our target.
However, wasn't it somewhat strange for the ship to have dropped anchor so far from the island the pirates were using as their base? They might have lowered small boats and been approaching in them, but even then, they were quite far away. Wouldn't they run out of strength before reaching the island? Perhaps I was overthinking it, but it was worth investigating.
"Shiratsuki, use mana detection to search for enemies in addition to the optical cameras."
"Understood."
"...! The sensors have detected something! Th-there's a small transparent ship!"
So there really was another unit. Still, I had never imagined that a transparent ship existed. During the day, the unnatural movement of the waves would give it away, but at night like this, it would be impossible to notice without some means of detecting it. It would be a terrifying opponent if we encountered it as an enemy.
Although it was a small ship, it appeared to be carrying at least forty combatants. If the pirates were ambushed by that many seasoned fighters, they would have no chance at all. We had to hurry.
"If the transparent ship is the landing force, then what is the black one? What would I do in their position? Ah, I see. It's there to sink any ships that happen to escape."
"If Izaam's prediction is correct, we need to attack both of them. What should we do?"
I couldn't answer Iris immediately. Since we didn't know the enemy's strength, splitting our own forces would be foolish. However, the transparent ship looked as though it would reach the island at any moment. If we prioritized the black ship, the pirates would suffer considerable losses. That would make it impossible to accomplish our objective!
There was no time even to deliberate, so I had to decide immediately. All right, I had made up my mind! We would trust in our companions' strength and attack both ships! Once I had decided on the plan, I announced it to everyone over the ship's intercom.
"Everyone, listen up. We've found the enemy, but there are two ships. We're going to take both of them. Shio, Mossan, Nanakou, and Mikero—all capable of flying under their own power—along with the light-bodied Toji will take the black ship. Cal and I will carry the rest to the site. As soon as the black ship is under control, Iris will pick up those five and hurry to the island. It's a rough plan, but let's show them what we can do!"
Less than a minute after I explained the plan, we reached a point several thousand meters above the black ship. The underside of Shiratsuki contained what could only be called a hangar, like the ones I had seen in robot anime as a child. We could deploy through a hatch that opened and closed. Everyone except Iris was gathered there.
"This is the final check. We should take the black ship as quickly as possible, but don't push yourselves. Capturing the ship would be ideal, but if you can't, sinking it is fine. I'll leave that decision to Mossan."
"Yes, we'll handle it."
Comparing the strength of the crews aboard the black and transparent ships, the latter was almost certainly stronger. We might be in danger if we didn't send our strongest fighters against them. That was why I decided Jigorou and Genjurou should go to the transparent ship.
As soon as Mossan gave his forceful reply, the hatch in the underside opened. We descended one after another. First, the flight-capable Shio, Nanakou, and Mossan jumped off, with Toji riding Mikero. Cal followed, carrying Jigorou in his forelegs, with Genjurou and Ruby riding on his back.
"Let's go, Nenashi."
"Haha! Allow me to accompany you, Your Majesty!"
Nenashi and I were the last to jump. Since I lacked much strength, the only ones I could carry were Ruby and Nenashi. Ruby had declined, however, so I ended up carrying Nenashi.
Nenashi wrapped its vines around me and, perhaps inspired by the situation, used its favorite mimicry. It had taken the form of a poisonous-looking pink hand. It was presenting that hand as though it were one of my wings. Since it couldn't fly under its own power, I was carrying it on my back, yet the scene looked as though I were the one being carried. Why? It was utterly baffling.
Even as I headed toward the island where the pirates were under attack, I looked back at the battle from a distance. Combat had already begun, and angry shouts rang out. What I could see as we moved away was Shio firing arrows from above while the countless crows summoned by Nanakou blanketed the ship.
O-oh, things atop the black ship looked more gruesome than I had imagined. The unseen Mossan, Toji, and Mikero must have been fighting in there. Surely they would finish in time to join us while we were fighting. Thinking that, I continued flying toward the island where the pirates were waiting... no, where they weren't waiting.