DAR Vol. 6 Chapter 23 Part 3

by nellstewart

After a while, the fleeing trading ship was drawing near the edge of territorial waters.

“At the current rate, the Adad trading ship will pass the Second Buoy in about five minutes.”

The report rang down from the lookout atop the mast.

The buoys were floating markers set out at sea. The First Buoy marked the maritime area treated as part of the harbor, while the Second Buoy marked the outer limit of territorial waters.

Both were fixed in place only by long wire cables tied to weights sunk on the seabed, so the currents introduced some margin of error, but they were still recognized as the official boundaries.

The limit of territorial waters, where the Second Buoy floated, lay just beyond the tip of the great peninsula jutting out from Nereus. Past that point, the waves grew rougher and the horizon opened wide all at once.

“Good position too. All right, we’re slipping in between the usual islands!”

“Right!”

At Captain Sabas’s shout, a crisp chorus answered back.

Hearing that, Roa, who had been watching nearby, was reminded how much it resembled the exchanges between Dietrich and the Nostalgia members. Was this simply the standard style of banter in this country, or had Dietrich and the others copied it from the captain and his crew…?

The ship moved into an area crowded with things too small to be called islands, more like masses of rock jutting up from the sea.

You could not tell from the mainland shore, but apparently there were many such islets scattered through these waters. They did not look like naturally uplifted islands so much as gigantic rocks blasted apart and left embedded there.

Soil had gathered atop the rocky outcroppings and plants had taken root, but they were hardly fit places for humans to live, instead serving as paradise for seabirds.

That unnatural landscape drew Roa’s interest. Had there once been some colossal explosion on land, violent enough to scatter giant rocks this far… or…

His gaze swept the surroundings, then turned toward the distant shore. There was no place on land that looked unnaturally gouged out. If so, had these rocks come from the seabed…?

“Begin disguise!”

The shout rang out, wrenching Roa’s mind back from its deep absorption.

As the ship vanished behind the shelter of several islets, Captain Sabas must have given the signal. Roa felt magic being activated all around the vessel.

The hull, which had been the warm amber of resin-coated, polished wood, began turning black.

“Whoa…”

The sound slipped from Roa’s lips before he could stop it.

In only a matter of seconds, the ship that had been an ordinary trading vessel transformed into a jet-black one. Few people could have seen that happen and remained silent in surprise.

From that moment on, the former trading ship had become a pirate ship.

The impact of its sinister appearance was overwhelming. Unless one inspected every fine detail, no one would ever believe it was the same vessel as before. If it merely passed you on the sea, you would never realize it.

“Well? Pretty damn cool, isn’t it, boy?!”

Captain Sabas leaned in close to Roa’s face as if demanding praise.

“Yes! It’s amazing! This isn’t quite the same as magical camouflage, is it? It’s not an illusion. The actual color of the paint itself is changing, right? So rather than a magic tool, is it the property of some substance that reacts to mana? If anything, it’s probably closer to the principle behind how frogs change color… Like tiny particles in the paint swelling up and blocking out the light? Maybe some kind of powdered ore?”

“…Dietrich, what exactly is this boy?”

Captain Sabas had clearly expected nothing more than a simple compliment in return, so when Roa instead launched into an analysis of the color-shifting paint, the old captain knitted his brows. Naturally, Captain Sabas knew nothing about paint that changed color. To him, it was simply one of those things. He could not make sense of even half of what Roa was saying.

Somewhere along the way, Roa seemed to forget Captain Sabas was even there. As he stared at the transformed hull as though licking it with his eyes, he continued muttering to himself.

He had apparently forgotten all about the unnatural little islands he had been pondering earlier as well.

“That’s just how he is.”

Taking it as obvious that Roa was best left alone in moments like this, Dietrich dismissed it with that single line.

“That’s incredible. I really want to ask the person who built this ship all sorts of things…”

The moment Uncle Gry stuck his head in from the side and the two of them started peering together at the blackened deck, chattering on about one thing or another, Dietrich decided to leave them exactly as they were. The last thing he wanted was to wander too close and get dragged into offering opinions.

Captain Sabas and the sailors seemed to find Roa eerie as well, muttering to himself while standing shoulder to shoulder with a Gryphon, and none of them tried to approach him.

An odd atmosphere settled over the ship, but the sailors quickly pulled themselves together and increased speed to catch the fleeing trading vessel. Their target was the moment it crossed beyond territorial waters.

By this point, no other ships were in sight. It was probably impossible to spot them from land. They were already far from the island bearing the royal castle, now only vaguely visible by its outline.

Perhaps there had been no other ship ready to depart on short notice, because this was the only one giving chase.

There was no longer any need to worry about prying eyes. They could do as they pleased.

Both the fleeing trading ship and this vessel were sailing ships that also employed magical propulsion.

And yet, whether because the helmsmanship here was superior or because this ship was simply the better vessel, the distance between them closed far faster than expected.

“All right! Prepare magic attacks! We’re crippling their movement! Watch yourselves, because they’ll attack too! Reef the sails before we enter their range! Full speed under magical navigation!!”

They had drawn close enough now that their magic could reach.

The battle was about to begin.

Even sailors on a pirate ship seasoned in combat felt the tension rise in this single instant. Every eye gathered on Captain Sabas as he stood on the upper deck.

Just as he raised his arm and swung it down to give the order to attack…

<Hm. So all I need do is attack? Stop their movement, yes? Very well, I shall do it!>

Uncle Gry’s voice rang out.

At the same instant, Wind Cutter flew forth.

Normally, blades forged from wind magic should have been invisible, but these skimmed just above the water’s surface, whipping up the waves and scattering spray as they raced onward.

Then, at the very end, they rose in altitude and effortlessly shredded the fleeing ship’s sails into tatters.

Silence fell in the wake of that sudden spectacle…

<Indeed. Sweeping up water to render it visible was a splendid flourish, was it not? I even took care to accommodate you humans with your poor eyesight! I am gentle, you see. I am capable of consideration! That brat saw it too, did he not? You may praise me now!>

“…Um, Uncle Gry?”

<Excellent! While I am at it, I shall disable the magic propulsion as well. Rest easy, I will not damage the ship itself. I shall simply crush those operating it directly! I am capable of consideration, you know!>

“No, that’s not what I mean…”

The fleeing trading ship lost speed in an instant and was left doing nothing but bobbing among the waves. No one knew what Uncle Gry had done, but whatever magic force had been propelling it was clearly gone.

At the abrupt turn of events, the sailors stood there slack-jawed, staring at the now-motionless vessel in utter stupefaction.

Captain Sabas, meanwhile, had no idea what to do with the hand he had raised to issue orders, and remained frozen just like that.

The whole thing had been completely ruined just as the excitement was building.

Only Dietrich and Kristoff, the two who could hear Uncle Gry’s voice, were glaring at him.

“You ill-natured Gryphon! You bastard!!”

“I’m so sorry about Uncle Gry!! He meant it as a kindness!!”

Even as Dietrich shouted, Roa bowed his head.

What had just happened was no different from snatching away prey someone else had been about to bring down. In adventurer terms, that was a blatant violation of the rules. It was not something that could be excused. And since it was Roa’s own familiar, Uncle Gry, who had done it, all Roa could do was apologize over and over.

As though reacting to his voice, everyone’s gaze swung toward Roa.

“…No, it’s fine. But taking out all the sails in a single blow from this distance…”

Slowly lowering the hand he had raised, Captain Sabas spoke with obvious frustration.

He had likely judged that unless he accepted Roa’s apology, the situation would not settle down. And besides, there was probably some awareness in him that yelling at a child would be disgraceful. He might be battle-crazed, but at heart he was a kind man.

“I’m really sorry! Uncle Gry, no more interfering, okay?”

“Uncle Gry! Poaching is forbidden!!”

Still arguing back, Uncle Gry received a solid fist to the head from Roa. A dull, heavy thud echoed around them.

<Ugh… That hurts!>

“All right, now you apologize too!”

Ignoring the fact that Uncle Gry had tears in his eyes, Roa pressed a hand down on his head.

“I’m sorry!”

<…My apologies…>

Seeing Uncle Gry lower his head while casting resentful looks all around, nearly everyone present recoiled.

The exceptions were probably Dietrich and Kristoff, who were already used to seeing this sort of thing. And the sailors who were still watching the ship they had been chasing rather than this scene.

Everyone else stood speechless.

Even the Sword Saint was astonished.

Only now, for the first time, did they truly understand what it meant for this boy, Roa, to have a vicious Gryphon under his command.

𑁋

“Captain Sabas, that’s enough, right? Shake it off and let’s move! If you stand there gaping, we’re the ones who’ll get sunk!”

“…R-Right…”

Only after Dietrich called out to him did Captain Sabas finally stir.

The ship they were pursuing was right in front of them. If they let their guard down, a counterattack could come and crush them instead.

“All right, you dogs!! Get your heads in the fight!! We’re going on the offensive! Prepare to come alongside!!”

At Captain Sabas’s ringing voice, the sailors tightened their expressions once more and hurried back to their duties.

The awkward mood began to dissipate.

By now, they were already close enough that even an ordinary mage could attack with magic. That meant the enemy could strike them as well. The sailors hoisted the large shields mounted along the rail and formed a defensive line.

At the same time, they prepared the grappling lines. True to the name, these were ropes fitted with metal hooks at the ends. They would hurl them onto the enemy ship, snag it, and draw the two vessels together to make boarding easier.

Close-quarters boarding combat was a pirate’s classic tactic.

The distance to the fleeing trading ship had already narrowed to only a few hundred meters. There was still no movement from the opposing vessel. No magical attacks came from it either.

A trading ship was bound to have mages aboard for self-defense, so they were probably waiting for a more effective moment to strike.

Large ships had to survive the fierce waves of the open sea, so even trading vessels, not just pirate ships, had extremely sturdy hulls.

Unless a mage was extraordinarily powerful, a single spell would not damage the hull. Perhaps several spells striking together could manage it, but an average mage would run out of mana first.

When attacking an enemy ship with magic, it was far more effective to target the sails and cripple its movement, or to target the crew, than to aim at the hull itself.

The pirate ship Roa and the others were riding had already furled its sails. The mage or mages propelling it by magic were stationed in an isolated section at the rear. As long as the ship kept its bow facing the enemy, it could not easily be pinned down.

That left the crew themselves as the other side’s targets, but between the hull and the shields along the rail, striking them would have little effect unless the ships came much closer.

So, for the moment, the mages aboard the enemy trading ship were likely waiting for the pirate ship to close in to the limit.

“Arrows incoming!”

A shout came down from the lookout.

Arrows, after all, could arc overhead and rain down from above, giving them a chance to hit sailors sheltering behind the shields. That was probably why the enemy had opened with a bow attack.

Incidentally, Uncle Gry casually bent and redirected magic as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but that was a high-level technique. Ordinary magic traveled in a straight line toward the point it had been aimed at.

“How dull!!”

Captain Sabas swept an arm through the air toward the arrows pouring down from the trading ship. A gale erupted from his magic, and every arrow was blown away and fell harmlessly into the sea.

At the same moment, a fireball came streaking straight toward Captain Sabas himself.

It was the enemy’s magic counterattack. Since he had just used magic, they had probably identified him as a target that needed to be neutralized first. It may also have helped that he was standing on a slightly elevated spot, making him easier to aim at than the others.

That attack too was casually repelled, a wall of water rising from the sea and knocking it away.

It was a defensive spell cast by one of the sailors.

<Hey, hey, Dietrich!>

“Hm? What is it?”

Until the ships drew near enough to board, Dietrich had nothing to do. Though a smile played at his lips, he kept a severe expression as he watched the battle unfold.

At his feet, the twin magic wolves, Roo and Phi, rubbed themselves against him and called out. The way they gazed up at him with sparkling eyes was less adorable than shamelessly calculated.

As the twins twined around his legs, gently brushing their fur against him in a coaxing, seductive way, Dietrich’s entire face melted at once. His eyes drooped so loosely that even Kristoff, standing beside him, felt embarrassed on his behalf.

“Captain Sabas! Can Roo and Phi—I mean, these twin magic wolves—come along too!? That’s fine, right?”

With astonishing speed, Dietrich closed in on Captain Sabas.

There was no chance Dietrich could refuse the twins when they asked like that. More than that, if they got serious, the twins were stronger than he was. Since they were in no real danger, there was no reason to deny them.

“What? You’re taking the magic wolves? The boy isn’t going too, is he?”

Captain Sabas’s question was only natural. The twins were Roa’s familiars, and familiars were supposed to stay with their master.

“Roa’s staying on this ship. He’ll keep watch so that that sinister Gryphon doesn’t interfere. If he makes a move, it’ll all be over in an instant. So it’s fine to take the twins, right!!”

“Uh… yeah…”

Pressed so desperately, Captain Sabas gave permission.

<Yaaay!>

<Permission! Then let’s go!>

<We’re going nowwwww!!>

“Eh?”

The instant permission was granted, the twins took off running without sparing Dietrich so much as a glance.

Their target was the trading ship.

But although the distance had shrunk considerably, there were still dozens of meters between the two vessels, with nothing but the surging sea in between.

“Wait!”

<We’re not waiting!>

They slipped through a gap between the shields and planted their paws on the rail.

Then, just like that, the twins launched themselves out over the sea.

The instant the twin magic wolves kicked off from the rail, the force of it made the whole ship lurch violently.

The trading ship was several dozen meters away. Normally, that was well within the twins’ jumping range.

But they had utterly failed to account for the instability of the ship beneath them.

Since this was their first time on a large vessel, that was hardly surprising. The ride until now had not been especially rough, so it was only natural they would mistake it for a reasonably stable footing.

The two of them had kicked off from the edge of the upper deck, from the rail on one side no less, and the recoil made the ship tilt sharply for an instant.

As a result, the force of their leap was dampened, and they had not gained nearly enough distance to cross over. Halfway would have been generous.

“You idiots————!!”

Through the roar of the wind, Dietrich’s furious bellow reached them. The twins flicked their eyes toward the sound and saw him there, clinging desperately to the rail on the violently rocking ship as he shouted.

<Dietrich, hate!>

They snapped back, though they had no idea whether he could hear them. What they could see was that he looked pitifully distressed.

The ship was still pitching hard, and yet there was no sign of it nearing capsize. The stability of a large vessel designed to survive even direct storms on the open sea was truly impressive.

The sailors on deck, perhaps because they were used to it, were not thrown overboard at all. Several magical presences stirred, so those capable of magic had probably acted to keep anyone from being flung off. It seemed they were using magic to steady the ship itself as well.

Roa, perhaps moved to safety by Uncle Gry, was hovering a little in the air and was completely unaffected by the rocking. Roa looked stunned and worried, while Uncle Gry watched the twins with a half-amused, exasperated smile.

<We’re gonna fall in the sea!!>

Convinced they were about to drop straight into the water, the twins cried out to Uncle Gry, but no answer came back.

The twins and Uncle Gry were connected through Roa by a Mana Conduit. If he chose, they could draw on Uncle Gry’s mana.

However, since they had once used up all of Uncle Gry’s mana and pushed him into complete mana exhaustion, he had blocked them from using it freely. Without his permission, they could not touch it.

<Cheapskate!>

<Uncle’s a cheapskateee!!>

If they had mana, the twins could use all sorts of spells. They could even create footholds in midair and run across the sky.

And yet… stingy Uncle Gry would not let them use his mana even as they were about to fall into the sea. The twins shot him furious looks, but Uncle Gry quietly averted his gaze and ignored them.

<I’ll freeze it and make a foothold.>

The sea was just one vast puddle. Freeze it, and at least they could secure somewhere to land.

Before they hit the water and felt its chill, the blue magic wolf, Phi, cast her spell.

Neither the red magic wolf, Roo, nor the blue magic wolf, Phi, could yet use projection-type magic. But they excelled at magic channeled through a part of their body. The instant their paws touched the surface, even the waves froze solid, forming a slab of ice large enough for the twins to stand on.

<Landed!!>

Just as Phi said, the slab of ice was quickly battered by the waves and cracked apart. Tossed upward by the swell, the twins were flung back into the air.

<Ehhh.>

<That’s a shame. What do we do?>

Even though their attempt had failed, the twins were not especially panicked. In the worst case, they figured they could simply swim.

And then they fell again toward the sea.

Just as they were about to hit the water, something thrust up from below, and their bodies were launched back into the air.

<What?>

<There’s somebody in the water. Who is it?>

There were multiple presences beneath the surface. The twins had never felt anything quite like it before—a presence like some kind of school.

<…Helping…>

As if in answer to their voices, a strangely halting reply drifted up from the water.

<They’re nice people. You’re helping us?>

<Helping.>

If there had been any malice, the twins would have sensed it far sooner. With their abilities, even being underwater would not have prevented that. The great mass of seawater and the smell of salt might have delayed them a little, but not for long.

Besides, since Uncle Gry had shown no concern whatsoever, whatever was down there could not be dangerous. There was no way Uncle Gry would have failed to notice them.

The twins were on the verge of dropping to the surface again, only to be thrust upward once more from below. Like balls in a game, they bounced through the air.

<That… impossible…>

The force striking them from below could launch them only a few meters at most. That was nowhere near enough to board the ship.

As they kept being bounced upward, the twins thought.

<Hey! Why are you helping us?>

<Master’s… orders.>

<Who’s Master? Not the same as the leader of your school, right?>

<Island?>

<Don’t get it at all!>

Whatever was in the sea seemed intelligent enough, but not very good at conversation. The twins gave up trying to make sense of it.

For now, getting to the ship mattered more.

If they kept fooling around near the surface, Uncle Gry would probably decide they could not manage on their own and haul them back. That would be boring. They needed to come up with a way to leap all the way up to the deck.

Again, they were launched skyward.

<I’ll try it. It’s dangerous, so stop helping and get back!>

<…Understood…>

After confirming that the presences in the sea had withdrawn, the red magic wolf, Roo, poured magic into the water’s surface the instant she began to fall.

Boom!!

Something exploded directly beneath them, and with a billow of white vapor, the twins were hurled upward.

<I’ll make it stronger little by little!>

Each time they were blasted upward by the explosions, the height they reached increased. White steam filled the air around them and began to spread like fog.

Roo was using fire magic on the surface of the sea.

Not just ordinary fire magic, either, but a spell so intense it vaporized water instantly, focused into the tiny space directly beneath them.

Water vapor, rapidly expanding in such a confined area, shoved everything around it aside.

That was an explosion.

What was occurring beneath the twins was a steam explosion.

Ordinarily, heat not enclosed in a sealed space would simply disperse into the seawater and could not explode so abruptly to this extent. But Roo’s tightly focused fire magic made it possible.

Eventually, the explosions launched the twins’ bodies as high as the deck of the ship… several dozen meters into the air. The impact and heat their bodies were taking would have killed any human instantly, yet the twins showed no concern at all.

If anything, they were laughing.

<I’ll try adjusting it!!>

They had the height now, but their direction was a complete disaster. Before they knew it, they had drifted away from the trading ship.

Neither the trading ship nor the pirate ship carrying Roa had moved. Explosions kept erupting between the two vessels, and white steam filled the space between them. Unable to make sense of what was happening, neither side could move closer, let alone launch an attack.

<Let’s go!>

With Roo adjusting each blast, the direction of their ascent gradually steadied, and they began arcing toward the trading ship.

<Bye-bye to the people who helped us!>

When they finally launched themselves in a trajectory that would certainly carry them onto the trading ship, the twins waved their forepaws down toward the sea.

<…Mm.>

A voice answered from below.

When the twins looked down, they saw several shadows like large fish. Above the water, only their blue-black dorsal fins glimmered faintly into view.

The droplets thrown up by the explosions glittered in the sunlight before the twins’ eyes. Veiled amid that sparkling spray, the twins descended toward the trading ship.

A great many people were moving across its deck.

They were plainly startled by the repeated explosions on the water and by the twin magic wolves being flung into the air by them, but they were also keeping watch on the approaching pirate ship. Along the rail facing the pirate vessel, archers stood lined up in a row, all ready to loose their arrows at any moment.

On the opposite side of the deck, away from the rail facing the pirate ship, men who looked like crew members were bustling about too. They were carrying barrels small enough to be borne in their arms and dumping them into the sea.

A rank, fishy stench wafted from that side, but it was of no concern to the twins.

<You’re in the way!!>

There were plenty of people where the twins were about to land too, so they kicked them down. They made perfect landing cushions.

After hitting the deck, the twins rolled on their own to bleed off the remaining force entirely. In that same instant, they completed a full sweep of the surroundings. They grasped the number of enemies, their positions, even the weapons they carried, all at once.

<Let’s wipe them all out!!>

<It’s a contest, okay?>

The twins glanced around, then licked their noses with relish and murmured gleefully.

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