With the sailors needed to operate the ship secured, the Sea Serpent turned into an escort instead of an obstacle of departure, and clear weather assured, there was nothing left to block the party’s path.
That evening, Franka immediately ordered to set sail.
“If we depart now, it will soon be pitch dark. Wouldn’t it be better to leave at dawn, Young Lady?”
“It’s fine, let’s depart right away.”
There were words of dissuasion, but Franka forced the departure.
According to the original schedule, the group was supposed to leave quietly without even letting others know they had arrived in this city, and the planned time was set accordingly.
Thanks to Dorothea’s party resolving the problems so quickly, the delay was only about half a day, but since their presence had become known by causing various disturbances in the city, there was enough possibility for information to reach the Witch of the West through unexpected routes.
Franka had to hurry to save her captured children, and the same was true for Dorothea’s party.
After all, a surprise attack was half failed when one dawdled and hesitated.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ evaluates that the ship is more modest than expected!]
What Franka had prepared was one caravel.
It wasn’t very large, just big enough to be handled by about twenty people excluding Dorothea’s party, and its appearance wasn’t particularly fancy.
The party’s gazes all turned towards Franka at once.
From her skirt puffed up like an open umbrella to the dangling ornaments all over her body.
As they stared blankly at her appearance, which was like the word “splendor” walking around, Franka seemed to notice their gaze and twitched her eyebrow.
“What, why? What’s the meaning of that look?”
“No, it just seems oddly mix-matched.”
Dorothea’s words were closer to a compliment with the nuance of, “So you’re not just obsessed with outward appearances,” but Franka seemed to have interpreted it in the opposite way.
“I have my own personal ship, you know? Much bigger and grander than this! This is just something simple I prepared so as not to catch my master’s eye. Don’t misunderstand!”
“…Ah, well, that suits you better.”
“Good. If you understand. That’s enough.”
Franka nodded with a strangely satisfied expression and Dorothea shook her head, as if to say, “If that makes you happy, then so be it.”
Watching the two who seemed to communicate yet not communicate, the party offered wry smiles.
And so, the ship set sail at last.
As per the advice given before departure, night fell quickly.
Originally, sailing in the middle of the night was an extremely dangerous affair.
Without intense lights, it was naturally dangerous, as one couldn’t even see what was right in front of them, but with lights, one became a target for all sorts of magic beasts.
However, the sailors didn’t need to worry particularly about the latter.
“I’ve been sailing for decades, but I never imagined there’d come a day when I’d be steering a ship with a Sea Serpent as an escort.”
While not the strongest creature at sea, the Sea Serpent was at least a dominant force in the local area.
With such a being exuding ominous energy from its entire body and escorting the ship, there were few fish brave enough to deliberately ram into it.
Dorothea usually avoided using necromancy where many eyes could see, but this time, it couldn’t be helped.
If she relied only on the Tin Knight on the unstable footing of the sea, if he happened to fall in, irreversible consequences could occur.
The Sea Serpent was necessary not just as an escort, but also as insurance.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ marvels that this is an excellent experience in its own way!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders if we’re going to ride on its head anyway, couldn’t we have just brought Adel, Sophia, and Franka along?]
“…You should have said that earlier.”
Dorothea looked at the Tin Knight with resentful eyes, but didn’t swing her staff as usual.
Beating the Tin Knight while being held around the waist by him was quite a high-difficulty action.
Moreover, this wasn’t really the Tin Knight’s fault.
Dorothea shook off her lingering regrets.
In fact, as the Tin Knight said, not much would have changed even if they had done so. The effort and time spent rescuing the sailors wasn’t that much, anyway.
How long had they been sailing ?
Suddenly, a loud voice came from the ship.
“Miss Witch! There’s a ship ahead!”
At Adelaide’s voice, Dorothea frowned and stared ahead.
But there was nothing else visible.
“Tin Can, can you see anything?”
The Tin Knight was silent for about 5 seconds.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ answers that a ghost ship is approaching!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ answers that he sees a person with an eye-patch, a person octopus head, a person eel hair, and a skeleton!]
For a moment, Dorothea wondered if she had misheard
But that couldn’t be, the Tin Knight’s messages weren’t heard with ears in the first place.
And not long after, the ship that Adelaide and the Tin Knight had seen began to appear in Dorothea’s eyes as well.
It was an eerie ship.
Its size was incomparably larger than the caravel the group was riding, and the hull was pitch black.
Unlike the gloomy hull, the sails hanging from the masts were incredibly splendid, being golden in color.
It wasn’t just painted, but a distinct gold color as if molten gold itself had become cloth and was fluttering.
Moreover, various jewels were embedded throughout the sails, forming the shape of a Jolly Roger as if replacing ink. The flag was the same.
The existence of a pirate ship with golden flags fluttering in the darkness of night was unreal and bizarre beyond measure.
It wasn’t just the ship that was bizarre, but the crew as well.
While those aboard the low-height caravel couldn’t see, the Tin Knight and Dorothea riding atop the Sea Serpent’s head could clearly make out their figures on the deck.
It was then that Dorothea realized that what the Tin Knight said hadn’t been exaggerating in the slightest.
There was a person with an eye-patch and a horned helmet, whose physique made even the Tin Knight look small.
There was a bald person who looked like an octopus had been attached where the head should be, with human features somewhat added.
There was a strange life form with eels growing and wriggling instead of hair.
There was a skeleton dressed in a neat uniform and splendid ornaments, shining golden itself.
And behind them, the figures of crew members with various parts of their bodies distorted and twisted could be seen.
For a moment, Dorothea thought.
But she immediately denied that possibility.
While it felt similar to necromancy, no aura of death could be felt from the crew before her eyes.
Surprisingly, they were living beings in that very form.
However, if asked whether it had no connection to Dorothea’s area of expertise, that wasn’t the case either.
A curse, and an incredibly powerful, persistent, and vicious one at that.
Just as Dorothea frowned, the golden skeleton at the forefront of them opened its mouth.
Unlike its appearance, which seemed like it should spew out an eerie curse, his voice was clear and full of energy, “Ahoy, ahoy! Ye cute little laddies. Yer ship be so ween and adorable that we nearly ran ye o’er without noticin’! If it weren’t fer that easy-to-spot lon’ fellow beside ye, it could ‘ave been a disaster!”
As the golden skeleton burst into laughter, the surrounding subordinates also laughed as if in agreement.
Dorothea felt perplexed.
These guys, who looked like they would shout death and plunder at any moment based on their appearance, were speaking with such a friendly attitude that it was difficult to decide how to respond.
What helped her choice was Franka.
Franka was desperately shaking her head on the ship’s deck.
Her face, scrunched up as if she had bitten a bug, seemed to show how dangerous she felt this situation to be.
Noticing Dorothea’s gaze turning towards the caravel, the golden skeleton made a suspicious expression.
If one asked how a skeleton could make an expression, all that could be said was that the golden bones twisted and moved strangely.
The golden skeleton shouted, “Arr! Lower the ship a bit!”
At that command, there was a bustle inside the huge ship.
A moment later, their ship slowly sank downward until it was at the same height as Franka’s caravel.
Needless to say, this wasn’t a feat a normal ship could perform.
The golden skeleton, having confirmed Franka’s appearance, exclaimed, “Oh! And who do we ‘ave ‘ere? Ain’t this our dear Lady Witch’s disciple? What brings ye out in the dead o’ night?”
“Hmph! Do I need permission from you to go to where my master is, Cap’n Bill?”
Franka showed a confident attitude, as if her previous nervousness had been a lie.
It seemed she and the golden skeleton knew each other.
“Of course. Me duty be to prevent riffraff from enterin’ this here island.”
“Are you calling me riffraff?”
The golden skeleton—no, Cap’n Bill—shrugged with an exaggerated gesture, “O’ course ye ain’t. But while ye can enter freely, Miss, others cannot, right? Especially those ridin’ on that lon’ fellow over there. They reek o’ danger! Whether it’s the sexy but still green lass, or the rusty hunk of scrap metal knight who’s drunk who knows how much blood! O’, avast, I ne’er imagined I’d meet a monster that smells more of blood than me in all me life!”
Cap’n Bill, who had been singing, “Terrible, utterly terrible,” asked Franka, “It’s strange enough that Miss Disciple has come here in the middle o’ the night, but there be many unfamiliar companions I has ne’er seen before. As someone who must protect our Witch o’ the West’s safety, this matter is too heavy to pass o’er lightly.”
“Master is strong enough without you needing to protect her.”
“O’ course I know that. How couldn’t she be? But that Witch o’ the West be the only one capable of endin’ this avasted curse. Me has been playin’ this pathetic watchdog role fer 99 years now, believin’ in that fragile hope. Wit’ jus’ 1 year, jus’ 1 more year until this hell ends, ain’t it normal to be sensitive to even wee little risks? Arr? Ah, barnacles, talkin’ about it makes me feel like cryin’ again. Even though me tear ducts dried up long ago!”
Dorothea unconsciously gripped her staff tightly.
While Cap’n Bill continued to show a comedic and cheerful attitude, other emotions seemed to peek through beneath that smiling face from moment to moment.
It was enormous anger, terrible lamentation, and unbearable longing.
“So tell me, Miss Youngest Disciple o’ the many our dear Lady Witch has raised… who exactly be they?”
At Cap’n Bill’s question, the gazes of everyone present focused on Franka’s mouth.
Everyone realized, depending on how Franka answered now, the situation could potentially turn fatal.
Franka looked deeply troubled.
They certainly weren’t friends, but she couldn’t truthfully reveal Dorothea’s identity, either.
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Franka’s forehead.
And then, an answer came out.
Not from Franka, but from Sophia’s mouth beside her, “Why they’re the young lady’s new servants, of course.”
It was thanks to the patience honed by the Tin Knight that Dorothea didn’t shout, “What nonsense is that?”
Cap’n Bill’s gaze turned to Sophia.
The golden skull twisted again, creating a new expression.
That expression was “admiration”.
“Oho, here we ha’e another extraordinary beauty. May I ask yer name?”
“I’m Sophia Hubris, Cap’n Bill,” with a bright smile, Sophia added. “I’m Franka Aglaia’s personal maid.”
At that moment, Dorothea’s party and Franka thought simultaneously.
https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken