Inside the tent filled only with the faint light of candles.
There, Sigmund, looking at the report brought up by Godin, couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
"He managed to steal our flag?"
"Yes."
"······And that was with a brat and a handful of barbarians?"
He was laughing, but there was a deep chill emanating from within.
For Sigmund, whose anger had already crossed the threshold and extended far into the distance, cold laughter was the only expression he could muster.
Wagner, the commander of the 3rd Cavalry, who was standing there feeling like a criminal, did not dare to face his smile and just lowered his head.
"Furthermore, the city of Nassau was thoroughly plundered and razed, only the intact ships were chosen and taken away..."
Bitterness rises with every word he utters.
The port city, Nassau, is in flames.
News of Baron Iznik going bankrupt before the war even started was already spreading throughout the West.
Perhaps the news of the delayed arrival of each family's reinforcements was not entirely unrelated to this event.
"I wonder how Count Bayezid has been holding back all this time."
Sigmund turned his glass in his hand and smiled faintly.
The agile movements of Bayezid's hands, as if they were waiting.
The schemes that Peter had put forward so far were too painful to achieve with just impromptu ideas.
"Well, it hasn't been too easy so far."
Watching the tide turn, Sigmund had to admit it now.
It wasn't just them who had been waiting for this war.
In the turbulent times, Bayezid was also one of those who had been looking for opportunities.
"······It was indeed a difficult but right path."
Sigmund raised his glass and uttered a sigh-like remark.
Peter Bayezid. He's certainly not an easy opponent.
Not just any family, but gathering the military forces of the west and rising up, instead of being shaken, he was trying to seize the initiative in the war.
"As expected, it had to come to this."
But even facing a formidable opponent, the reason Sigmund could readily accept it was probably because Bayezid was worthy adversaries.
The value of the hunter increases as the prey shines brighter.
If they can capture the giant known as Bayezid, not only the western regions but no family in the empire would dare to call them usurpers anymore.
"Godin. Prepare to send out the message."
"Where shall I prepare it to be sent?"
The tip of the candle flickers.
Sigmund quietly opened his mouth as he watched the candle flicker back and forth with the incoming breeze.
"To Dragulia. To the Dragonblood Duke."
He understood the reason why Bayezid took the last Rabnoma.
They must have wanted to ignite a spark in the unstable rear of the west.
But Bayezid must know it well.
"The time has come."
It was Dragulia, not the north, that was the first to lay the spark in the rear.
Behind Bayezid, the central forces that were stuck like stakes in Baron Utman territory were gradually changing the direction of their flags.
※※※※
"It's really vast."
Vlad leaned against the railing on the deck, gazing at the vast blue waves beneath the sky.
It was his first time seeing the sea.
The size was incomparable to the gray walls of Shoara's castle, which he had promised himself to venture out to someday.
Vlad could only marvel once again at the vastness of the world as he looked out at the endlessly stretching sea.
'I'd feel really cheated if I died without seeing this.'
The blue waves that reach right into his heart along with the strong salty wind.
The deep blue waves, which he saw for the first time in his life, were creating white foam as they slowly encroached into Vlad's world.
"Wow."
Vlad, who had been admiring the blue of the sea for a while.
However, even though they were looking at the same sea, each had a different impression.
"Are you okay?"
"...No."
The cheeks became thinner and the skin became noticeably paler compared to yesterday.
Looking at the increasingly haggard look on Rutger's face, Vlad couldn't help but think of Josef.
As soon as Rutger had some eye shadow, he looked too similar to Josef, the two looked incredibly alike.
"...Why are you fine?"
"Maybe I'm built for the sea."
"What nonsense are you sprouting? You have lived your whole life in the city."
Rutger, as if deeming Vlad's answer unreasonable, just waved his hand and slumped back onto the railing.
"If you were going to buy a ship anyway, why didn't you get a bigger one..."
There was no reason to resent, but Rutger wanted to resent.
The small cog ship, which was more prone to sway due to its size.
In addition, horses and people were loaded to their limit, so the burden on Rutger, who was prone to motion sickness, was bound to double.
"If I had more money, I would've bought a bigger ship."
"...That's why I told you to come under me instead of Josef."
Whether it was a joke or a serious remark from Rutger, Vlad couldn't tell.
But knowing that there was no turning back now, the two men just stared quietly at the sea.
"Thank you for waiting."
Vlad knew that the reason he was able to safely board Harven's ship was all thanks to Rutger.
If it weren't for him and the knights of Bayezid who had blocked hundreds of soldiers, they might still be wandering the wastelands without respite.
"I just did it because it was worth it."
With those words, Rutger, sprawled out, seemed to have exhausted his last bit of energy as he began to slump onto the deck.
Even the knight that Bayezid boasted about seemed to be unable to avoid seasickness to some extent.
'Worth it...'
Vlad quietly pondered Rutger's response.
What level of skill must one possess to make such judgments even with hundreds of soldiers in front of them?
"I still don't know."
Leaning against the railing, Vlad looked up at the highest point of the ship.
Red flags fluttering back and forth in the wind.
Vlad, squinting one eye, perhaps because of the stinging sunlight, looked at the flag and quietly muttered.
"I'll have to ask to change the name of the ship when we return to Shoara."
A small ship sailing northward, cutting through gentle waves.
The Redhead Zemina was currently heading towards a small port town near Deomar.
※※※※
Under the night sky, three men gathered closely together.
The sea's night sky, which had more stars than the city's night sky, looked bright even if you didn't bring a lantern.
"Noir seems to be really weakened. Maybe he's just not suited for the sea."
"...Yeah, it seems like it."
Vlad could only nod quietly at Otar's observation.
Noir had no choice but to be loaded into the luggage compartment because the ship was narrow.
Regardless of his damn temperament or whatever, Noir was unable to come to his senses on the rocking boat.
"But you're quite interesting too. It's rare to find someone who doesn't get seasick like you."
Vlad could only silently endure Harven's laughter as he looked at him.
Since Harven had waited patiently at the port until the very end, he had to be let off quietly this time.
"....Still, isn't it a bit odd to put Zemina's name on this ship?"
"Did I do it because I wanted to? Zemina said I had to do it, so I did it."
With his response, Harven clumsily turned the wheel.
The sight of him driving a ship now seemed as familiar as the captain's hat on his head.
"This ship has her share, you know. It all started from the sword she gave you."
"Ha!"
Upon hearing Harven's words, Vlad couldn't help but snort.
No, by that logic, does that mean she's going to step in on everything he does from now on?
"It's not necessarily wrong, but it's incorrect."
"Well, you two sort it out yourselves."
Although he was telling them to sort it out between themselves, his cheerful demeanor seemed suspicious.
Clearly, he must have accepted it as the right thing to do when Zemina asked for her name to be used.
"No, I wanted to name it 'Marcella's Rose's Smiles.'"
"....Why in the world sailors name their ships after women?"
In the superstitious world of sailors, where it was unclear when this belief started, but even now, countless ships with feminine names would be sailing the seas.
"Well, I really don't know about that."
"..."
Harven, who always seemed a bit reserved, now appeared full of laughter as he casually raised the rum bottle placed beside him.
Now relying on the steering wheel instead of a cane, there was not a hint of hesitation in his demeanor.
The ship had an odd name, Vlad had indeed made a wise choice in buying him a ship.
"Anyway, how's business going?"
"We're doing fine. We have regular customers."
Before leaving Shoara, Vlad had connected the Kanoor family with Harven. Perhaps his skill in handling animals stemmed from his experience in trade with the Kanoor family.
"But winter is inevitable. When the river freezes over..."
This is unavoidable in the cold north.
That was the reason why Shoara did not have a navy even though it had a wide river leading to the sea.
"So that's why all the Shoara merchants flocked to Nassau this time. It's an unfrozen harbor even in winter."
"I see."
War meant opportunity. Shoara merchants volunteered for this job in hopes of seizing any opportunities that might arise.
If Bayezid secures control over Nassau through this war, the merchants who followed this raid will be able to establish themselves in the new northern port.
"If we can take Nassau, the northern trade routes will become quite diverse. It's an opportunity for us too."
Harven, who had been rotting in a small room at the edge of the river, was now looking beyond.
Vlad was not the only boy in the back alley who was hungry for opportunity.
"Please continue to treat me well in the future too, Sir Knight."
"If you want to rely on me in the future, you better pay up or do well."
With a somewhat somber feeling, Vlad snatched Harven's bottle of alcohol.
"Huh?"
As Vlad's gaze shifted away from the steering wheel, he noticed glowing objects around the ship, like paint spreading out.
"Harven, what's that?"
"What? Where?"
Following Vlad's pointing finger, Harven began to see clusters of light sticking around the ship.
Otar, who was quietly watching the scene by Harven's side, quickly passed through the deck and checked underneath.
"Otar, what is that!"
"Um..."
Instead of answering Harven's question, Otar swiftly grasped a harpoon and began to look beneath the ship.
The man with dark skin, always showing action rather than words.
"Ha!"
From Otar's hand, the harpoon darted out forcefully, hitting something struggling weakly.
"Squid."
"What?"
"This is a squid."
A white sea creature wriggled on Otar's black hand.
What Otar held seemed like a person's forearm-sized squid.
"....Squid?"
Vlad, who was curious about seeing sea creatures for the first time, rushed to Otar, but Harven, who was watching, only narrowed his eyebrows.
"Isn't this great as a snack with drinks? It's my first time having seafood from the sea!"
Vlad takes the squid from Otar and shakes it as if he is excited. But Harven, while watching Vlad, just shook his head as if he couldn't understand.
"...It's summer right now."
Though he had little experience at sea, Harven had picked up enough common knowledge to know that squid wouldn't be found in the south during this season.
Squid, a pelagic species moving along cold currents.
However, what surrounded the ship, enveloping the Redhead Zemina in a pale light, were clearly squid.
And not just a few—a countless number, impossible to count with the naked eye.
From the sword of Vlad, who was happily holding the squid, tiny particles of glittering dust drifted unnoticed into the air.
[T/L: Read more chapters here: - https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]