Sword, Magic and Academic Society

Vol. 1 - Chapter 177.1 - Transportation Mission (6)

One day had passed since we left Rabeldin. We came out of the Rune River's mouth and entered the sea going to the north while our ship ran parallel to the land.

Our last stop was the Crutz Peninsula, slightly jutting out from the east side of the continent, so north-west should have been our direction, but the ship was running straight north under Glover-san's direction.

Apparently, the first transport ship was a Galley, thus making it impossible for them to cruise through open sea. So, if we took a shortcut through the open seas, we might overtake them accidentally and miss the meeting time, resulting in a huge waste of time that was essential to this mission.

Contact through a magic bird wasn’t omnipotent as well. After all, the other party departed even before we left the Royal Capital. So unless we knew which port they were going to anchor in, it was a nigh impossible task to contact them in this vast sea.

Another reason was Dan's 'It's probably the calm before the storm' fortune-teller like divination that he had uttered while staring at the serene sea.

There was nothing to back up the shortcut route, and it could be a miss as well, so as someone who was brought up in a coastal region with the sea spread wide open before him every day, Dan's gaze was grim. As such, Glover-san decided to discard the shortcut, and instead, sail alongside the land straight north after a hard look at Dan's expression.

But that said, he reached the same conclusion after some consideration, aside from seeing Dan's expression. Occasionally, the northern wind would change direction to the south in this season at the drop of a hat, ultimately taking the shape of a storm. Hence, he contemplated if the shortcut was even the right call in this case.

So in case the sea did go wild, we could quickly secure a safe location by running along the land.

Then, around the 9th hour after we started sailing again, Dan's prediction took the shape of the storm he had warned about. The wind suddenly changed direction, the undulation of waves became rough, and in the blink of an eye, we found ourselves facing a sudden downpour. The raindrops were quite cold as they struck the sea surface.

"What's our next move, Glover-san?"

We could still navigate through the storm quite well, however, there were indications that the rainstorm would only intensify.

I asked Glover-san while staring at the fishing harbor to my left. He took a moment to think before replying.

"I would suggest proceeding for a while longer. At our current pace, we should be able to reach Jello Harbor, which is just an hour away from here. But let me know if it gets too rough for you."

"No, there's no problem."

Following his judgement, we aimed for the trade port/fishing harbor.

The clock struck 6 PM.

Soon, it would be three days since our departure from the Royal Capital.

To reach our destination, aka the Yabure Barony, I predicted that our journey would take 6 days to the council. It could take even longer considering that our first objective was to prevent the hatching of the Hellrowcast eggs.

The weather had blessed us for the first three days, but now, if this weather became an obstacle, we might as well risk it, after all was said and done.

With a feeling of impatience brewing inside us, Dan and I concluded that 'We should be able to move safely even in this rainstorm as long as we're careful and run close to the peninsula on our left', but Glover-san apparently intended to adopt a wait-and-see attitude regarding the weather.

As much as it left us vexed, no one but Glover-san had a plethora of experience when it came to dispatch missions and transport missions, along with keeping everyone safe.

Jello was a lively town filled with a reinvigorating vibe and thick with the breezy scent of the rocky coast reminiscent of Dan's hometown, Solcoast.

"Both of you have the foremost duty to keep yourselves energized, Allen, Dan. We're here to take care of the trivial matters like maintenance of the ship, sorting out supplies, and departure timing. Much to my chagrin, the burden on you two would only increase from here on out. So give your bodies some good rest."

So we were told by our veteran senior, Cass-san. I was thinking of sightseeing for a change of pace, but it seemed like rest was the only option for us here.

Our place of stay was a high-class inn on the elevated ground of the quarry, offering an oceanic view from our room, and it was completely rented, leaving one to wonder at what would have been the total price.

A bit late, but we had our dinner there, and slept on the luxurious, topmost floor allocated to us.

We hadn't noticed, but our bodies were more tired than we expected. In just a few moments of us hitting our beds, we immediately ventured into dreamland. Then, in the wee hours of the morning, we heard a reserved knock which turned out to be Cass-san.

"Did I wake you up? How are you feeling now?"

It should be around 3 AM.

"Perfectly fine, as you’ve been shouldering the rest. How is it outside?"

Cass-san nodded, a smile on his face.

"I'm glad to hear that. The rain seems like it’ll stop in a little while, but the sea is still turbulent. However, it should soon start settling down soon according to Glover-san. So I'm here to ask what would be our best departure time as our helmsman."

Dan opened the window and looked at the dark sea outside.

"......Hmm, it does seem like the rain’s going to stop soon. It shouldn't be a problem to venture out even at the moment, but the burden may be a bit too heavy to do so in the rain. How about one hour later, at 4 AM?"

"Aye-aye. Come to the ship 5 minutes before that."

???

As we arrived at the ship 5 minutes before our departure, the preparations had already been done.

Surprisingly, the Galley transporting the supposed mage crew and supplies from the Dosperior region had already joined us.

Apparently, much like us, they were waiting for the storm to pass in the port around tens of kilometers ahead. While we were taking our sweet nap, they muscled their way through to transport everything to us via land route.

The impact of this was huge. Now that we no longer had to worry about stopping over the port and fear that we might have overlooked them, we could now devote our entire energy to progressing forward. After all, the speed of sail ships were most dependent on the angle at which the wind struck the sails, hence they benefit more from the open seas than a shortcut that ran close to land.

Only Cass-san was present during dinner last night. So that's why, huh?...... They must have been transporting things back then. But to do so in a dark, rainy night — through a possibly monster-ridden route for this was a distant area — required more than just bravado and absurdity.

Anyway, since the ship would be full, the rest of crew, aka the rowers and other 20 something soldiers from the Dosperior region selected to deal with the aftermath when the eggs hatched, were going to take the Galley to reach the destination just as they had planned in the beginning.

"...Now I feel bad that we alone were able to take a nap."

While I scratched my head in awkwardness, Cass-san nonchalantly shook his head.

"Now, didn't I say your foremost task is to take a proper rest? So sleep is one of your duties. The more you rest, the easier we can complete the mission, after all."

Cass-san said, giving us a thumbs up, but fatigue was quite obvious on his face.

"......You didn't seem to have slept?"

"Hmm?...... Ah, yes, I did some maintenance on the ship. This was the best time to thoroughly inspect it for anything wrong, and since I had spare time, I fetched the materials I needed from the town to fix whatever I could for the moment. So, you don't need to worry and go ahead at full speed.

......Frankly, this burden shouldn't have fallen on your mere students’ shoulders. I can only lament that my usefulness is only limited to this extent. This is why it's our knightly duty to support you with everything we have. I believe Glover-san should be more aggrieved at this fact than myself."

He said and pointed at the Glover-san on the deck.

Seemingly noticing our gaze, Glover-san — who had been glaring at the dark sea with a grim expression — looked our way and nodded.

Once Glover-san confirmed that we had hopped on the ship, and Cass-san had untied the rope from the mooring pillar, he gave the signal in a booming voice.

"Raise the anchor! Unfurl the sail!"

...Wasn't that supposed to be my...... Oh, well.

I swiftly pulled back the anchor.