Chapter 41
Leo was able to set sail in the midst of that sudden crisis largely by chance.
The moment the monsters appeared, Leo was checking the supplies being loaded onto the ship. Or rather, as Al would have done, he was just making a show of finding the final check bothersome.
However, the moment the monsters appeared, Leo sensed that something was wrong and immediately ordered the ship to set sail.
This let them hold off several monsters at sea and somehow prevent the damage from spreading.
But that also meant they became targets of multiple monsters.
"Damn! There's a monster to the left, too!"
"Leave it! Focus on the one in front of us!"
At the captain's command, everyone turned forward.
There, they saw a gigantic sea serpent nearly ten meters long.
The Sea Serpent was a monster sometimes called a False Dragon because of its physique and strength. Its rank varied according to how much harm it had caused humans and where it appeared; the more ships a specimen destroyed and the deeper the waters where it appeared, the higher its rank, ranging from AA to AAA.
It was said to be responsible for half of all maritime accidents and, apart from the rarely seen sea dragons, was the monster sailors feared most.
However, it almost never appeared this close to land.
The monsters that had come ashore at the port were adapted to living on land. Sea Serpents, however, were fundamentally marine monsters. They could move on land, but they could not survive far from the sea.
It was abnormal for one to approach land despite that.
"Captain! Don't fight it recklessly! Just keep its attention!"
"The prince is asking the impossible! If you're scared, lock yourself in your room!"
Leo was issuing orders as Al, but no one paid attention to Al, whom they looked down on.
This was the only ship that had managed to depart, and if it sank, they could no longer respond to threats from the sea. Even if the Sea Serpent never came ashore, Rondine would suffer a heavy blow if it destroyed the many ships in port. That was why his order—to focus on drawing its attention until the land monsters were defeated—came from a calm assessment of the battle. The captain, however, ignored him and began fighting the Sea Serpent.
Leo frowned at that.
"How does Big Brother always get people to listen to him...?"
People did not listen to orders from someone they did not trust. That was even more true in the middle of battle.
As Leo struggled to comprehend how utterly untrusted Arnold was—his orders were not even worth considering—he decided he had to do something about the situation, when—
A ship came into view to Leo's right.
The moment he saw it, Leo smiled and issued the captain a forceful order.
"Captain! Move around to the Sea Serpent's left!"
"Your Highness, please stop giving us impossible orders! We don't have that kind of leeway—"
"Just do it! Leo's here! We'll attack the Sea Serpent together!"
As he spoke, Leo watched the approaching ship with renewed confidence.
■■■
"Captain. Move around to the left."
"Understood! Open the starboard gunports! Give that monstrous snake a full dose of the latest magic cannons!"
Sensing Leo's movements, Al also steered his ship to the left.
Then, with the Sea Serpent between them, Al and Leo opened fire simultaneously as they passed each other.
Their timing was not off by even an instant.
"Fire!"
At their commands, shells flew from both ships at once.
A magic cannon was a weapon in which the gunner imbued a shell with magic power and used that power to launch it. The latest magic cannons adopted by the Principality of Albatross could fire powerful shells over long distances with less magic power.
"That's it! Incredible power! Keep firing!"
The captain cheered like a child.
That figures, Al thought. The Sea Serpent, feared by sailors, was being pummeled without being able to do a thing. From a sailor's perspective, this must have been a moment of pure joy.
After the barrage ended, the Sea Serpent collapsed straight into the sea.
Cheers rose from both ships, but it was not over yet.
"The other monsters are heading for Big Brother's ship. Captain! Can you pull up alongside it?"
"That's easy!"
"Knights, get ready to board! We'll tear off the monsters that have latched onto it in close combat!"
As he gave those orders, Al searched for Marc.
If Al and Leo switched places in the middle of the battle, Leo would be the one to suffer. He had plenty to do despite not understanding the situation.
That was why Al looked for Marc. Things would become troublesome if he did not say a word to Marc first.
"Knight Marc!"
"Yes! What is it?"
"I'm going to help my brother. Cover for me."
"I see. Understood. Leave everything to me."
Marc understood Al's intention from that brief exchange and bowed his head.
Al was impressed—and relieved—to have someone who understood without needing everything said aloud.
After all, from this point on Al had to wield an unfamiliar sword and make his way to Leo. He had no time to spare for unnecessary explanations.
Several small monsters were clinging to the ship Leo was on.
Al had judged that ship to pose less of a threat than his own.
After pulling alongside that ship, Al and the others boarded it with the knights forming the core of their force.
"Attack!!"
Al swung the heavy sword and shouted the order. That alone nearly made his arm give out, and he frowned.
Seriously, how can anyone swing this heavy sword?
Thinking that, Al ran straight toward Leo.
Al had hoped to go to a cabin and switch places, if possible, but things would not be that simple.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!"
The Sea Serpent, which should have fallen moments ago, burst out of the sea with a tremendous roar.
A vast amount of seawater rained down on Al and the others.
Everyone's attention turned to the Sea Serpent—but not Al's or Leo's.
Sliding across the water-soaked deck, Al threw his sword and scabbard toward Leo.
Leo caught them effortlessly, then jumped and delivered a powerful blow to the Sea Serpent as it attacked with its enormous jaws spread wide.
Leo's blow struck the Sea Serpent's eye with pinpoint accuracy, and the Sea Serpent retreated with a cry of agony.
Leo landed near Al and stood back-to-back with him. At that moment, Al relaxed his straightened back into a hunch, while Leo straightened his hunched back. With their hair and clothes disheveled from being drenched, that was the only difference between them. That alone was enough for them to switch places perfectly.
"You're late...!"
"Sorry. I got caught up in some trouble."
"I think I'm already in enough trouble, don't you?"
"Listen and be amazed. It gets even more troublesome."
"Oh, joy..."
While the two of them exchanged this pointless banter, a frog-shaped monster came at Al.
Al spun to the left. Leo silently matched his movement and cut down the charging monster in a single blow.
"How can you swing something that heavy? My muscles are going to be sore tomorrow."
"You're exaggerating. I only carried it over here."
"No, you definitely swung it."
"Only once, right? Why not use this opportunity to practice swordsmanship? Then things would have been easier for me, too..."
"No way. And I'm never switching places with you again. Absolutely not."
"What happened? You didn't do anything weird while pretending to be me, did you?"
"I didn't. I did a fine job playing Leo. That's why I'm tired."
"I know the feeling. I worked hard playing your part, too, and I'm exhausted."
"The fact that you can even use the words 'work so hard' to describe pretending to be me means you're already doing it wrong."
While they were saying this, the knights eliminated the monsters.
Al decided he could leave the rest to them. After stretching once, he spoke in a languid tone:
"Leo~ The rest is yours. I'm going to help defend the port."
"Yes, yes. I just have to take care of everything, right?"
"You understand perfectly. Elna will handle the land somehow, so I'll leave the sea to you."
"You're the same as ever. Well, whatever. Let's stick to our usual division of labor."
Saying that, Leo returned to the ship Al had arrived on, while Al remained aboard the ship Leo had been riding.
Thus, the two of them finally returned to their original positions.
"Your Highness, how far should we pull back the defense line?"
"Leave it to the captain. I'm going to sleep in my room."
"Y-yes?"
"Do as you like. Leo will take care of everything anyway."
"...Honestly. I thought things would be at least somewhat normal while Prince Leonart was away..."
Hearing the captain mutter softly, Al smiled wryly at Leo's hard work, returned to his room, and flopped onto the bed.
In the end, Al's ship was not drawn into any more battles, allowing him to enjoy a long, lazy sleep for the first time in ages.