Cap’n Bill’s golden skull twisted grotesquely.
As if substituting for muscles and skin that didn’t originally exist, the skull deformed in various ways, creating a new face.
If not for the gleaming gold material, it would have looked like a real-time changing clay sculpture.
“Miss Disciple’s personal maid? Fer bein’ that, it’s a face me has ne’er seen before.”
Sophia put on a surprised expression.
It was an appearance that seemed to tell anyone watching that she was deliberately exaggerating her actions.
“You might not know me, Captain, but I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Hooh? About me? From whom?”
“Why, from Lady Franka, of course. She’s complained so much about how she understands your ability but wishes you’d change your attitude.”
“Wait!” Franka cried out in shock, but Cap’n Bill instead burst into loud laughter.
“Me be sorry about that. Me be a rough sailor at heart, ye see. To a precious poppet from a rich family, well, I wouldn’t look very refined. But, bein’ a maid, is it alright to spill yer lady’s secrets like that?”
“I believe it’s also a maid’s role to teach life lessons to the young lady. In this case, the lesson is that one should always be careful because gossip can leak out anywhere, anytime.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Mighty wise words. Ye should always be careful wit’ words. Ahaha! Look here, Miss Disciples, now that me sees it, ye got good luck wit’ mateys!”
“Right? But the young lady always hides me as if she’s embarrassed, which makes me so sad. Managing subordinates is also a skill of those in prominent positions, you know.”
“That’s right! If ye can’t manage e’en one matey, ye don’t deserve to be a leader! Listen, Miss Disciple, if ye treat yer maid too carelessly, ye might get stabbed in the back. Jus’ like now!”
Franka wore an expression of utter disbelief.
It was no wonder, as the two had abandoned their initially suspicious attitude towards Sophia’s identity and were now teaming up to tease the “young lady who can’t properly handle a loyal maid”.
“But, personal maid, Sophia, was it? In the end, who be those two? They be no ordinary servants.”
“That’s because they’re not ordinary servants. They’re people sold into debt.”
Cap’n Bill perked up his ears, seemingly interested in the story.
Sophia calmly continued her explanation, “Before that, Captain, how much do you know about mana?”
“Well, I know as much as me needs to.”
“I see. Actually, I don’t know much about mana myself, but according to the young lady, those two possess very powerful mana. However, perhaps too intoxicated by their talent, they carelessly used their power and ended up breaking various things, and to repay that, they went into debt…”
“Ah, I see. It’s a common occurrence but why be ye taking such people with ye?”
Sophia hesitated for a moment.
Just as those around tensed up, thinking her glib tongue had finally been stumped, she glanced in Dorothea’s direction and then approached Cap’n Bill.
She then muttered something into his ear, as if whispering.
Only the two of them and Adelaide, with her enhanced hearing, could hear the content.
Of course, it’s because the Witch of the West will be pleased. With such strong mana, it will surely be useful for many things. They believe they’re providing escort against sea monsters and having their debt reduced by that much, but actually… you understand, right? If I drag out the conversation too much, the gift we’re bringing to the witch might notice something strange, so please play along.
A sly smile appeared on Cap’n Bill’s lips.
Adelaide was horrified.
After Sophia distanced herself again, she said, “Is that explanation sufficient?”
“Yes, I hope everything goes well!”
“Thank you, Captain. If things go as planned, I’ll ask the Witch of the West to reduce your contract period a little. Of course, that would require the young lady’s permission.”
“Hahaha! If that happens, I couldn’t ask for more! The problem is, the closer the end of this avast’d contract period gets, the slower time seems to pass!”
Laughing as if in good spirits, Cap’n Bill said to Franka, “The conversation be o’er, so ye may pass! Ah, but Miss Disciple, ye best be careful o’ one thing. Right now ye be the youngest, but if ye do well, ye might not be anymore. Work hard so that doesn’t happen!”
“What? Wait! What do you mean—“
Franka’s words didn’t continue to the end.
As Cap’n Bill raised his hand, his ship simultaneously shot up to its original height.
The resulting waves caused Franka’s caravel to rock greatly.
Above their heads, Cap’n Bill’s loud laughter rang out.
“Arr! Permission to pass granted! Let’s go, lads!”
The giant ship departed along with the swelling waves.
Only the radiance of the incomparably splendid golden sails continued to shine in the darkness until the end.
“You certainly bluffed well. Despite knowing nothing.”
To Franka’s words, Sophia answered with a smile, “What’s important in deceiving others is brazenness rather than content? If you had hesitated and answered there, no matter what the content was, the other party would have been suspicious. Conversely, if you just pay attention to things like tone and expression, you can make the other party misunderstand with packaging that has no particular substance.”
While making an unpleasant expression at Sophia, who said she would apologize if it was unnecessary meddling, Franka didn’t blame her any further.
Inwardly, she might have thought Sophia was right.
Dorothea cut in and asked, “So, what was that in the end?”
“Captain Bill. I don’t know his exact name either. Somehow he was cursed long ago and turned into some strange magic beast, and to return to being human, he made a contract with my master and is playing watchdog, as he said. He’s unbeatable in places with water, so you absolutely must not fight him.”
“Shouldn’t you have told us about something like that in advance?”
“There’s usually no occasion to see his face! He only roams around inside my master’s world, he never comes out !”
Adelaide, listening to the conversation from the side, tilted her head.
She had heard some strange words in Franka’s speech.
But Adelaide, hesitant to interrupt the two people talking with serious faces, just passed it off as mishearing on her part.
“Anyway, we need to hurry. We might have gotten through this time, but we don’t know when that guy will report.”
“You don’t need to tell me.”
The sailors, who had been dumbfounded by Franka’s instructions, began to move busily again, and soon the ship departed.
Contrary to their worries, this time there were no new obstacles blocking their way.
The problem came after they arrived.
“…Is this the place?”
It was an island made up of white sandy beaches, a few rocks, and a bit of forest, and nothing else.
There wasn’t even a trace of human presence, let alone a magnificent castle or even a small hut.
There was no possibility of having seen anything wrong, as the island itself wasn’t very large to begin with. It would take less than ten minutes to reach from one corner of the island to the opposite side.
Unlike others who felt something must be wrong, Franka quickly gave orders to those among the sailors closest to being her confidants.
“Is there enough food and water? If I don’t return by the set time, don’t dawdle, escape immediately.”
“We believe you will certainly return.”
Dorothea glared at Franka with eyes demanding an explanation.
Franka answered simply, “Stay close to me. It’ll be much faster to experience it directly.”
Dorothea didn’t hide her suspicious expression, but perhaps trusting in the effect of the “Blood Oath”, she obediently followed behind Franka.
Five sets of footprints were imprinted on the sandy beach.
Franka stopped in front of a certain rock.
Whether due to moss clinging to it or its original color, it was a rock with no particular characteristics other than having a slightly greenish tint.
When Franka flicked her hand, something like golden threads spurted out from the bracelet on Franka’s wrist.
She said, “Hold on to this. Make sure to grab it firmly, or you might fly off to some strange place if you let go of your body.”
After confirming that everyone had grabbed the golden threads, Franka reached out her hand to the rock.
Then, the party’s vision distorted.
In the midst of slight nausea, tinnitus, and dizziness, Adelaide unconsciously closed and opened her eyes.
The sight before her eyes was an endlessly spreading green forest, walls built to an enormous height, and a colorful village spread out below the hill.
Adelaide unconsciously rubbed her eyes.
But the scenery before didn’t disappear.
Sophia muttered as if she had just realized, “I see, the names of the Four Witches are famous, but little is known about their actual residences… It was ‘another place’ from the beginning.”
Franka affirmed Sophia’s guess, “That’s right. The island we first saw was just the entrance. The real thing is separate.”
Mages who reached a certain level learned how to create their own workshop.
It was a workspace for various experiments, a warehouse for storing precious items, and also a barrier to ward off external threats.
Not all skilled mages necessarily had large workshops, but great skill was needed to possess a large workshop.
For a great witch whose name remained in legend, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that her workshop was already a separate world.
Franka said, “There are animals, plants, and people here—pretty much anything you’d find outside is here too, and at the top of it all is the Witch of the West. I haven’t been around every nook and cranny, but it’s probably at least as big as a decent-sized city. But because it’s so big, there are drawbacks too. Even for my master, it’s impossible to monitor every part of this vast place.”
Franka added that originally, Cap’n Bill should have been inside here, too.
Dorothea replied, “But if this place itself is a huge barrier and workshop, wouldn’t she know if someone enters?”
“That’s true for complete outsiders, but I have authentication magic I learned from my master, and I’ve twisted it for use here, so I won’t be detected immediately. It’s the same for you all so long as you have that thread.”
Franka pointed to the party’s wrists.
There, the golden threads had somehow wound around like bracelets.
“Follow me. I’ll guide you to the castle where my master lives.”
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