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The sea where the battle was fought was a week's journey from the 'Port at the End'.
Choaaaah-!
However, the ancient Yeongmyeon split the sea as if it had wings, and succeeded in covering the distance that would have taken a normal ship seven days and nights in just one and a half days.
Early evening again.
chin.
A man came up onto the red deck, which was glowing with the light of the setting sun.
He had neatly slicked-back black hair, a handsome moustache, and was wearing a navy coat.
It happened to be the same color coat as the 'Sultan's Mercy' that he had fought in two days ago, so the sailors' gazes at him became strange.
The name of the man who was given the order from the imperial family far away to manage the largest port city in the south was Karlon.
He was the governor who had ruled the 'Port at the End' for 20 years.
He entered the captain's cabin with a gait that was almost arrogant.
Crunch!
The hand that opened the door without even knocking was so violent that it was beyond words.
“It’s been a while.”
“……Governor Carlon.”
Shub Ardella was sitting on a red-carpeted sofa, drinking a glass of wine, wearing only a shirt.
On a table made of the finest ebony from the Southern Continent were delicate glasses from the East and whiskey said to have been made centuries ago at the coronation of Soletaras.
Of course, there was only one glass, which was Shub Ardella's.
Carlon smiled bitterly and looked around her cabin.
The unsinkable battleship was as spacious as it was huge, but because it required so many sailors, the space given to each individual was not very large.
But the captain's cabin was the captain's cabin.
The cabins of the Shuv Ardella were spacious, comfortable, and tastefully decorated.
Teacups collected over centuries, candlesticks from foreign countries whose names I don't even know, and pear ornaments in glass bottles whose origins I have no idea how they were made.
Exotic tapestries with geometric patterns and colorful crystal skulls.
A dagger said to have belonged to the first emperor, a chandelier gifted by the dwarf king, the skin of a long-extinct beast, a coral crown… … .
The cabin was decorated with items obtained from meeting many, many people over a very, very long period of time.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Carlon entered the space with mossy shoes and plopped down on the sofa facing her.
And then Shub Ardella snatched the glass from which he was pouring and took a sip.
“It really smells good.”
“You son of a bitch. That liquor is older than your grandfather.”
“What is that Admiral’s tone?”
“You son of a sea maggot.”
“……Isn’t it unnecessary to say that to a guest who has come a long way? I left my beautiful mansion to meet you, and came out onto this damp sea.”
“You are not a guest, you are a servant, and you are the ones who prevented me from setting foot on land.”
Carlon smiled faintly, as if trying to save his pride.
“You don’t lose a word.”
Shuv Ardella had a faint smile on her tired face.
“I don’t have to give in anymore.”
It was like giving a glass of water to a withering plant.
“Pirates have long since disappeared from these seas. Soon the rainy season will arrive, and the trading ships from the Southern Continent will not be coming out for a while. There will be nothing for me to do until fall. And when fall comes, there will be no need for me to work.”
Carlon nodded.
“Yes. That was the contract. I congratulate you as the Governor. You did a good job until the end.”
Shuv Ardella handed over a sheet of paper that Arianne had organized.
He let out a sigh as he looked at the list of ships captured and the enormous amount of gold and treasure he had obtained in this battle.
“Can’t you stay?”
He asked with a forced smile.
Shuv Ardella looked at Carlon as if he was looking at a bug.
He waved his hand and grumbled.
“I feel sad because I think I will never see you again. Don’t you know how much I love you, Admiral? I was so surprised when I came to this ship holding my father’s hand that day and saw you.”
His hand moved forward little by little.
“Yes. You haven’t changed one bit since then.”
Swish.
Carlon tried to grab the back of Shub Ardella's hand.
Shuv Ardella immediately pulled his hand away and struck the back of his hand with the bottle.
puck!
“Ugh! What the-.”
“Get your dirty hands off me.”
Her eyes, as blue as the sea, were as cold as ice.
She said, glaring at Carlon.
“I know. I’ll send you the treasure as soon as possible. That’s my job. Now get off my ship.”
“How spicy.”
“Don’t act all sly and charming. You’re not that kind of guy.”
Carlon's face hardened.
"Shub Ardella said in a growl.
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“It would be best not to go to the sea after autumn. You don’t want to get caught in a tsunami.”
Carlon jumped up from his seat.
Chomp!
Shuv Ardella picked up some white salt from a box lying on one side and sprinkled it.
* * *
Even though early evening had become deep night, the lights were still on in the captain's cabin of the ancient sleeping ship.
“You son of a bitch.”
Bottles of aged liquor piled up one by one over countless years.
“You son of a bitch.”
Her red hair fell over the back of the sofa, and her sea-blue eyes were wide open.
“I’ll kill you the moment you come out into the sea.”
Her appearance was disheveled, unbecoming of an admiral of a grand fleet, but she had already kicked the city governor off the ship.
Sailors and mariners, knights and battle mages, excluding their own kind, were also given long vacations and sent to port in small boats.
I told them to pack their luggage, so even if this ship were to disappear immediately, no one would be left stranded.
Now, in the ancient fleet of Yeongmyeon and Cheonchang, there was not a single sentry standing on the mast, nor a single scout ship floating the sea.
Even if something happened, it would take several days for the soldiers to regroup, and if the Southern Continent Navy launched a surprise attack, there would be great damage.
“It’s finally over. These damn chains are finally broken.”
Regardless, she laughed like a freed slave and emptied her glass after glass.
I've been doing something for a thousand years that I don't want to do at all.
There was no sense of responsibility in the first place.
She was a convict just waiting for her sentence to end, a vassal just waiting for her mandatory military service to end.
I prayed every single day that the damned port at the end would sink in an earthquake right now, and that the Soletaras family would perish in self-immolation.
When they heard that Jaylilith had killed hundreds of royal family members and ascended to the throne, they cheered.
How could I not be happy when those hateful guys are killing each other?
“I’ve waited long enough, done enough, and now I’m going back.”
Knock. Knock.
As I was muttering like that, a neat knocking sound was heard.
“Arianne? Come in.”
A blue-haired adjutant came in and saluted.
"dismissal."
Shuv Ardella shook his head with a bitter laugh.
“Don’t do that. Your Majesty, don’t do that. I don’t want to see that face. It’s all over now, and Your Majesty, you’re going to drown yourself in water.”
Her blue eyes stared blankly into space.
“I’ve been called names worse than seagull droppings for a thousand years. I hate it now.”
Arianne bowed her head deeply, fully understanding her lord's reaction.
“My thoughts were short, Your Majesty.”
Shuv Ardella nodded, and Arianne continued.
“The child is not coming back.”
“!”
The focus returned to the blue eyes that had been completely open.
Shub Ardella, who had been sprawled on the sofa like an octopus, sat up and straightened his posture.
“Cariosa. That monster’s offspring is finally-.”
His clenched fist trembled.
But the display of pure anger was short-lived, and she took a deep breath as she continued speaking.
“If that child didn’t come back, does that mean that we failed to attract those pirates, fish-people, and the kings of the Eastern Continent?”
He tried to make the eastern kings and pirates form an alliance, and the pirates and the fish-people form an alliance, and by controlling the fish-people and the pirates from behind the scenes, he tried to create a force that could control the entire eastern and southern seas.
“It seems that the attempt to persuade the fishermen was successful, but the pirates who were supposed to be the link were completely wiped out.”
“Yeah. We didn’t lack fish people either.”
Shuv Ardella muttered weakly and fell back onto the sofa as if it had never been that long since she had straightened her posture.
“I don’t know. It’s all over. I’m going to rest.”
Arianne called out to her as if she felt sorry for her.
"majesty."
“I’m tired of fighting, conquest, and revenge. I just want to cut ties. Let’s just dive into the deepest part of the ocean and sleep for ten years. Then let’s go to some uninhabited island and live a life of singing.”
“Then, what about the contact with the elves…….”
Shuv Ardella was shocked.
“Ignore it. Just ignore it all. Tell them I’m dead.”
"uh……."
“If I ever touch the land again, I’ll pull out all my scales. What are they going to do now that they lost a thousand years ago? They’re too slow. They must have been trying to do something while the empire was in chaos, but I’ve already finished pledging allegiance.”
* * *
The port at the tip was the largest port city in the South.
“Huh, ha!”
“Turn the crane!”
“The boat is coming in!”
The wharf was brightly lit by streetlights at night, and was busy with sailors and workers loading and unloading goods.
In the mansions of wealthy people who had made a fortune through various trades, social parties were held every night.
“Shipping insurance premiums are expected to rise this time.”
“Even the Eastern pirates are gone, so why…?”
“Rumor has it that something happened to the Red Admiral and the Cheonchang Fleet.”
“Isn’t that a big deal? I’ll have to ask the governor through the city council tomorrow. What’s the point of letting something happen to the fleet, which is the lifeblood of the city?”
The governor-general, unlike the lord, is not a hereditary position.
Carlon's family had been fortunate enough to have held the position for generations, but he was not the city's master, but merely its administrator.
When creating city laws, the city council had to give permission, and the law was independently enforced by the nobles of the robes from Soletaraon, while various guilds and merchant associations set their own rules and ran the city.
And the merchants gathered there were the real owners of this city who could move the city council with money.
Carlon knew that fact very well.
He returned to the mansion, watching the dawn break.
Even though he stayed up all night, his eyes were not clouded at all.
He called his whole family together for breakfast.
The blonde, blue-eyed wife, the sorceress Josephine.
The strong son Charles, the clever daughter Charine.
'From the moment the Red Admiral's contract ends, this port city will suffer a fatal blow.'
'The Cheonchang Fleet will lose its reputation as an undefeated force, and everything in this city that was revived under absolute security will be shaken.'
'It won't be ruined, but there will be great chaos.'
It was time to get moving.
“Dear darling, I have something to do. It’s something very important for our family.”
Josephine, Charles, and Charlene answered in turn.
“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll do my best to help you.”
“Just leave everything to me.”
“I always knew this day would come.”
He smiled as if he was touched, and nodded at Sharin.
“Yes. Everything is about to shake. And this father has no intention of waiting for that chaos or experiencing it with his whole body.”
Sharin asked, tying up her black hair to resemble him.
“So you have two countermeasures in place?”
Carlon nodded.
“Of course. I don’t intend to let everything our family has protected disappear. Let’s use this crisis as an opportunity to become the master of this land.”
“So. Does that mean you’re going to extend the contract?”
“Yes. We will finish it all before Valencian arrives. He will have no choice but to appoint us as true nobles.”
Charlene laughed bitterly, Josephine looked surprised, and Charles just blinked.
But, as he spoke, Carlon continued,
“Of course, you should think about failure as well, Charles. Organize your belongings with the butler. So that you can leave at any time.”