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The Nibelungen was a large sailing ship with a flat bottom, eight steel legs to enable it to land on land, and an airship equipped with four 'propellers' and a 'mana engine'.
Although it was different from the original ship in many ways, such as having no mast, anchor, or oars, many parts remained the same.
Standing on the first deck, the cool breeze blowing, standing in front of the long pole called the bowsprit, it felt like I could go anywhere, and looking up at the night sky, the stars shining so brightly that it seemed like they would pour down, it was all like being on a ship.
I lived with Cariosa's Tempesta for several weeks, sharing its joys and sorrows, and became accustomed to finding pleasure in the ship.
Of course, the Nibelungen was an unstable ship, so there were no fishing competitions, but it was still quite enjoyable to stand on the bow of the ship with Jerilis and feel the wind.
“Hahahaha!”
Jaylilith was a sorceress who could fly freely in the sky without using any airship or wyvern, but it seemed that even she had never flown in the sky without using a handful of mana.
“Valencianus. How pleasant.”
A bright smile never left her lips as she stood on the boat.
“Look at this, you.”
She climbed lightly onto the bow rail.
Saaaaah!
Her white hair flowed and her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
I was terrified and tried to stop her.
“Your Majesty! This is heaven.”
“What can I be afraid of when my burden is the sky?”
She climbed over the railing and took each step towards Bowsprit.
The 150m long, uneven bowsprit was naturally huge, and its thickness was so thick that eight people could not wrap their arms around it to fully grasp it.
So, even when Jaylilith walked over it, it didn't feel like a tightrope walk or anything.
Even though she is a sorceress who can fly, even if her feet slip, she will fly right back up.
Even though I knew that, I couldn't help but stop him.
"your majesty!"
I cried out in despair, and Marcus, who was in the wheelhouse, also came running, panting, with his prosthetic leg.
“I told you that if you want to die, don’t cause trouble and just jump quietly… Your Majesty?!”
I looked at Jaylilith's back and asked.
“Marquis. Were there many soldiers or assistants who did things like that?”
Marcus let out a sigh.
“Curious men are always eager to test their courage. The rule is that if you are caught doing something like that in flight, you are to be tied to a rope and thrown overboard and hung…….”
He couldn't bring himself to forget those words.
This is because Jaylilith, who had walked to the end of the bowsprit, soared into the air, fell freely down to the bottom, and then soared back up next to the airship.
“The sky is really nice. Huh? Marquis. Have you come out to feel the wind too?”
She burst into a hearty laugh.
Marcus took a moment to consider his words.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The weather is very nice today!”
And he made a decision that would be advantageous to preserving his life and his path to success.
I think it was a reasonable decision.
* * *
Solettaran was a relatively close city to the north, and it took years to reach the southernmost port of the enemy admiral by airship.
The Nibelungen, unlike the Wyvern, did not need to rest and could fly all night long.
I stood on the bow of the ship with Lord Tentia and Jaylilith and watched the scenery pass by below.
At some point, the tall conifers and sharp mountains disappeared, leaving only endless plains and relatively small deciduous forests.
A new town appeared on the horizon in the distance, then disappeared behind it, clouds floated just about out of reach, and huge rocks and trees rose here and there from nowhere in the vast wheat fields.
“You are the minister.”
“That’s right.”
The sunrise and sunset seen from the observation deck were indescribably spectacular.
As the sun set down over the meadow, painting the sky with its own colors, Jaylilith's white hair also turned red with sunset.
She stood there, looking west with indifferent eyes, until the last of the red light disappeared and the moon rose.
It was mystical how her golden eyes would turn red, then yellow, and then pale blue again.
I stood next to her and stayed there without saying a word.
Then, is Jaylilith still there? He sends me a questioning look.
And then, smiling with satisfaction, he goes into the cabin and pours me a glass of fine wine.
“Listen.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
How many days passed like that?
Marcus made a sound like a bolt from the blue.
“We need to land for a moment.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“I’ve never flown for this long before, so I don’t know how much damage it will do to the hull. I’ll check it out and fly again.”
“How many days will the inspection take?”
“It may take a day at the shortest, or four at the longest. I will prepare, and Your Majesty and Your Highness, please spend time in a nearby village.”
There was plenty of time to spare, about four days.
I nodded, and Marcus landed the Nibelungen on a nearby plain.
It took quite a while to find an open space because there were wheat fields on all sides.
“Your Majesty. Can’t you just trample on me and ask me?”
“Marquis. This is in front of His Majesty the Emperor. Please speak.”
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“Can’t you just double the amount? There’s been a strange noise coming from the propeller since a while ago.”
"your majesty!"
Fortunately, we were able to land safely.
I got off the Nibelungen with Sir Tentia and Jaylilith.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Sir Tentia stumbled.
“Hey!”
I too was quite dizzy.
“Sir. Be careful. You seem to have motion sickness.”
This is a common symptom for experienced sailors. If you stay on a ship for too long, you become accustomed to the shaking itself and feel dizzy on land.
Cariosa told me so.
“That’s not even funny.”
Jaylilith raised her eyebrows, saying that there were all sorts of absurd symptoms.
After a while, Sir Tentia and I barely regained the gait befitting the dignity of a Grand Duke and a Platinum Knight.
“I am ashamed to show such a disgrace in front of Your Majesty.”
“I too have embarrassed myself in front of Your Majesty. Who am I to blame?”
I pointed with my finger at the village I had seen from the sky.
“Your Majesty. If you walk about 4km that way, you will come across a village. Judging by its size, it seems to have about 2,000 residents. How about spending some time there?”
Jaylilith nodded absentmindedly.
“I never thought I would have the opportunity to inspect a village like this.”
It was about 20 minutes after we had walked.
Lord Tentia frowned and called me.
“Your Majesty. It is smoke.”
Black smoke rose from the village.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Please save me!”
A distant scream was also heard on the wind.
The next moment, Sir Tentia pulled down the helmet she was wearing at her side, Jaylilith flew into the sky, and I also raised my scales and kicked the ground.
* * *
The town had become a slaughterhouse.
“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”
“Burn everything and purify it!”
“These monsters are trying to kill us all!”
A pyre was erected in the open space where the festival was held.
Four pyres were already burning.
The friendly villagers had bloodshot eyes and swung the axes and clubs they held in their hands.
“Find out more!”
“Pull him out!”
The old village chief, who was supposed to be the most rational, led the way in the eruption of mass madness, swinging his cane.
The fifth one to be burned at the stake was a boy who must have been about ten years old.
"mom!"
The woman who appeared to be the boy's mother was kneeling at the village chief's feet and begging, while the man who appeared to be the boy's father was already rolling on the floor, having been beaten.
Jaylilith looked down on the whole scene from the sky, and I ran into the middle of it, pushing past the villagers.
“What’s all this fuss about!”
As I shouted loudly, the villagers all looked at me.
“Who are you?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking at him? He’s a nobleman.”
“Aren’t you our lord?”
A strange commotion spread, and one by one they bowed their heads.
That's because I was stuck among perfect superhumans like Severic and Matteos, but I was a head and a half taller than the commoners.
Since I had become stronger by absorbing all sorts of foreign substances, it was only natural that they felt a mysterious aura from me even without raising my mana.
The village chief asked, clearing his throat.
“Who are you, Nari?”
Instead of answering directly, I gestured to Lord Tentia.
thud!
She stomped her feet hard to attract attention and introduced me with a proud shout.
“His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Valencian, Advisor to His Majesty the Emperor, Lawful and Just Chief of the Public Security, Commander of the General Defense Forces, and Huntsman of Destruction during the Fall of the Capital!”
At that moment, the respect disappeared from the villagers' faces, and shock and fear took their place.
“Your Majesty Valencian!?”
“That, that bastard?”
“Kidnapping saints, raping great nobles, and killing 400,000 immigrants from the Eastern Continent…….”
Some even fell down foaming at the mouth on the spot.
It seemed like the rumor had spread even to this rural village.
I looked at the village chief with a bitter smile.
“Yes, Chief. I am Valencianus. I would like to know what the situation is.”
The village chief opened his mouth, trembling.
“I was in the process of identifying the invader as ordered by Baron Nari.”
“Is that kid a predator?”
The moment I laid eyes on the boy, a woman who appeared to be the boy's mother threw herself at my feet.
Her face was covered in tears, snot, and blood, but her eyes were shining with the love of a parent.
“No, Your Majesty! The child is innocent.”
The village chief and the townspeople pointed fingers and hurled heated insults.
“I, I, I!”
“Your Majesty, do not listen! The molds that sold their souls to the Old Ones are tempting the Children of Light.”
“A witch who gave birth to a monster child-.”
I shouted at the top of my voice.
“Quiet!”
The townspeople kept their mouths shut with expressions of anger still on their faces.
I nodded to Sir Tentia and showed her a magic tool that looked like a pocket watch from my waist.
It is said that Sereraji used Az's decision to expand the radius and accuracy while reducing the size.
It tells you whether there are any eroders within a 300m radius, and if there are, it shows how many there are and in which direction with a diagonal line.
She approached the boy and breathed mana into her magical tool.
“There is a magical tool made by the wizard of the ivory tower. It is an object that can discern the Encroachers. I will discern it for you right now.”
Belt. Belt. Belt. Belt.
A tense sound rang out, and a soft blue light rose from within the magic tool.
Gulp.
The townspeople swallowed, and the boy's parents and the boy gritted their teeth.
beep-.
The next moment, a red light flashed inside the magic tool.
The light needle was aimed squarely at the boy.
Sir Tentia looked back at me.
Her absurd expression was vivid beyond the mask.
Were you a real eroder?
“As expected, that kid was an encroacher-.”
The village chief took a step closer, shouting in an angry voice.
At that moment, an additional discerning sound was heard from the magic tool.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Dozens of red needles floated and spun around inside the glass of a magical tool that resembled a pocket watch.
“…….”
A heavy silence fell.
“Village chief.”
It was one of two things.
The magic tool that Sereraji had painstakingly created broke.
This town has already become a den of encroachers.
“Haha. I didn’t know there was such a magical tool.”
The village chief's voice became distorted in pitch.
Bam, bam!
His eyes mutated into insect-like compound eyes, and dozens of bizarre insect legs grew from his back.
Pavababak! Pavabak!
Looking around, I saw that all the townspeople were mutating.
The boy who was tied up and the parents who were crying both smiled and flicked their tongues like a raccoon.
“Heeheehee!”
“I got caught!”
“Kyahahahaha!”
It seemed like this wasn't the first or second time they had pulled off this kind of farce.
They would have been preying on travelers, mercenaries, and monks from other regions.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
I smiled back at him, lighting up the fireworks.
“Yeah. I didn’t know there were monsters like you.”
The smile disappeared from the village chief's face, as if he had sensed the energy of resonance.