Chapter 339

(339)

The ocean where Schub Ardelra had fought was located far offshore, a week’s journey from the End-of-the-Line Port.

WHOOSH!

However, Taego’s Eternal Slumber cleaved through the sea as though it had wings, covering in a day and a half what would have taken any ordinary ship seven days of full-speed sailing.

Deep evening once again.

Clink.

Upon the crimson deck, glowing in hues of twilight, a man appeared.

His black hair was neatly combed, sporting a dashing mustache, and he wore a dark blue coat.

Coincidentally, it was the same color as the coat of the “Mercy of the Sultan,” with which he had battled just two days prior, thus the stares from the soldiers who looked on were rather curious.

Sent by the distant royal court, this man administered the largest southern port city. His name was Carlon.

For twenty years, he had been the governor overseeing the End-of-the-Line Port.

With an arrogance that was beyond proud, he walked confidently into the captain’s quarters.

CHUNK!

Without bothering to knock, he violently swung the door open.

“It’s been a while.”

“…Governor Carlon.”

Schub Ardelra sat on the red carpet with a glass in hand, wearing just a shirt. On the table, which was made from the highest-quality black ivory wood from the Southern Continent, lay delicate glassware from the East and whisky said to have been crafted during the coronation ceremony of Solletarass centuries ago.

Of course, the glass was for Schub Ardelra only.

Carlon gave a wry smile as he glanced around her quarters.

As grand as the Indomitable Commander was in size, the room was spacious; yet since it required a large crew, the space allocated to each sailor was limited.

However, a captain’s quarters was a captain’s quarters.

Schub Ardelra’s room was spacious, pleasant, and elegantly decorated.

It was filled with centuries-old tea cups, exotic candlesticks of unknown origin, glass figurines of ships whose craftsmanship defied comprehension, tapestries with geometric patterns from foreign lands, colored crystal skulls, a ceremonial dagger said to have belonged to the first emperor, a chandelier gifted by the Dwarf King, the fur of an ancient extinct predator, a coral crown—treasures collected over a very, very long period, through encounters with a great many people, adorned her quarters.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Carlon entered the space with his moss-covered boots and flopped onto the sofa facing her.

Then he took the glass she had refilled and sipped it.

“Truly exquisite.”

“Damn it. That liquor is older than your grandfather.”

“What’s that supposed to mean coming from an admiral?”

“Son of a sea maggot.”

“…There’s no need to speak this way to a guest who traveled such a long journey, just to meet you. I left my beautiful mansion, and here I am, on this damp sea.”

“You’re not a guest but a pest, and it’s because of you we couldn’t dock for so long.”

Carlon grinned as if trying to assert his pride.

“You’ve got nothing more to say, do you?”

Schub Ardelra gave him a tired smile.

“I don’t need to yield anymore.”

It was as if she had given water to a withering plant.

“The days of pirates disappearing from these seas have been long gone. The rainy season will soon begin, and trade ships from the Southern Continent won’t be coming for a while. I’ve got nothing to do until autumn. And once autumn comes, I won’t need to work anymore either.”

Carlon nodded.

“That’s right. That was the deal. As governor, I commend you—well done till the end.”

Schub Ardelra handed him a document prepared by Erianne.

Upon reviewing the names of the seized ships, vast treasures, and gold acquired in this battle, Carlon let out an approving grunt.

“Can you not stay?”

With a mischievous smile, he asked.

Schub Ardelra shot him a look as if he were a bug.

He laughed nervously, waving his hands in jest.

“I only feel this way because I know I won’t see you again. Don’t you know how much I admire admirals? I was so surprised the day I came aboard this ship with my father and saw you.”

His hand inched forward little by little.

“That’s right. You haven’t changed a bit, from then until now.”

SWOOSH.

Carlon reached out to clasp Schub Ardelra’s hand.

With alacrity, she withdrew hers and smacked his hand with the bottle.

THWACK!

“Ugh! What’s this—.”

“Take your dirty hands away.”

Her sea-blue eyes turned icily cold.

She looked him straight in the eye and said,

“I know. Send the treasure quickly and that’s as far as my job goes. Now, disappear from my ship.”

“Cruel.”

“Don’t act so charmlessly. That’s not the man you are.”

Carlon’s face stiffened.

Schub Ardelra growled,

“It’d be wise not to venture out to sea after autumn. Unless you want to get swept up in a tidal wave.”

Carlon abruptly stood up.

CRUNCH!

Schub Ardelra sprinkled white salt from a box placed nearby.

* * *

Even as deep evening turned to deep night, the lights in Taego’s Eternal Slumber’s captain’s cabin remained on.

“Damn it.”

One after another, the bottles of liquor, aged beyond count, were stacking up.

“Damn it.”

Her red hair flowed over the couch, and her sea-blue eyes were completely unfocused.

“I’ll kill anyone who comes aboard this ship, the moment they appear.”

Though it was unbecoming of the Grand Fleet Admiral, her disheveled appearance remained, having already banished the city governor from her ship.

The sailors and crew members apart from her kin, knights and battle mages, were given long vacations and sent to the port on smaller ships.

She even told them to pack their belongings, implying there’d be no casualties if the ship were to vanish in an instant.

Not a single sailor was positioned on the mast, nor was any scouting ship adrift in the seas of Taego’s Eternal Slumber or the Celestial Roof fleet.

If an emergency arose, it would take the soldiers several days to regroup, and if the Southern Continental Navy were to surprise-attack, heavy losses were inevitable.

“Finally, this damn chain is going to be broken.”

Despite all, she laughed like a freed slave, repeatedly emptying her glass.

She had spent a millennium doing something she didn’t want to do.

There’d been no sense of responsibility from the start.

She was a prisoner waiting for her sentence to be over, a reluctant divine spirit hoping for the conscription period to end.

Each day, she prayed for the End-of-the-Line Port to sink into the ocean due to an earthquake and for the Solletarass family to die out in factional strife.

When she heard that Jeilliris massacred hundreds of the royal family to claim the throne, she cheered.

How could she not be happy seeing those vile ones kill each other off?

“I’ve waited enough and done enough. Now, I’m going home.”

Knock. Knock.

Muttering thus, a precise knock was heard.

“Erianne? Come in.”

The blue-haired short-haired adjutant entered and saluted.

“Your Excellency.”

Schub Ardelra shook her head and smirked bitterly.

“Don’t do that. Stop calling me “Your Excellency,” it’s disgusting. It’s all over; the only end you’ll find now is at the bottom of the sea.”

Her navy-blue eyes looked into the void vacantly.

“For a thousand years, I’ve been called worse than seagull droppings. I’m tired of it.”

Erianne, fully understanding her master’s reaction, bowed deeply.

“My thoughts were short-sighted. Your Highness.”

Schub Ardelra nodded, and Erianne continued.

“That child hasn’t returned.”

“!”

Focus returned to Schub Ardelra’s previously scattered navy-blue eyes.

She sat up from the sofa where she had sprawled like an octopus and straightened herself.

“Cariosa. That monster’s offspring has finally…”

Her clenched fist trembled.

But after a brief moment of pure anger, she regained her composure.

“If that child hasn’t returned, it means the alliance between the pirates, the undersea people, and the Eastern Continent kings failed?”

Planning to forge an alliance between the Eastern kings and the pirates, between the pirates and the undersea people, and then manipulating them from behind the scenes to control the entirety of the Eastern and Southern seas had been her strategy.

“While it seems we managed to sway the undersea people, the pirates who were supposed to act as the connecting link have all been wiped out.”

“So be it. We didn’t lack for undersea people.”

Schub Ardelra mumbled listlessly before slouching back into the couch as if she had never straightened up.

“Don’t know. It’s all over. I’m going to rest.”

Erianne called out to her, seemingly disappointed.

“Your Highness.”

“Tired of battles, tired of conquest, tired of revenge. I just want to sever ties. Let’s dive deep into the ocean and sleep for, say, ten years. Then, let’s go to some uninhabited island and sing songs forever.”

“Then what about the elves’ contact…?”

At this, Schub Ardelra showed her annoyance.

“Ignore it. Ignore all of it. Tell them I’m dead.”

“Erm…”

“If I get involved in land again, I’ll pluck out all my scales. What did those things want now after losing a thousand years ago? They were probably trying to take advantage of the empire’s turmoil. The oaths of loyalty are all already done.”

* * *

The End-of-the-Line Port was the largest port city in the South.

“Huff, huff!”

“Turn the crane!”

“A ship is docking!”

At the pier, it was bustling with workers and sailors unloading goods under the bright streetlights of the night.

In the mansions of the nouveau riche who profited from various trades, social parties were held nightly.

“The marine insurance premium is going up soon, it seems.”

“Is this necessary with the Eastern pirates gone?”

“According to rumors, something is wrong with the Crimson Admiral and the Celestial Roof Fleet.”

“Isn’t that serious? We must have the governor looked into this matter through tomorrow’s city council. How can we let something happen to the fleet that’s the lifeblood of the city?”

Governors, unlike Lords, are not hereditary positions.

Though Carlon’s family had fortuitously held the position for generations, he was merely the city’s administrator, not its master.

City laws required approval from the city council; enforcement was independently managed by nobles in Law Uniforms from Solentalouon, and countless guilds and merchant unions ran the city per their own rules.

And the merchants gathered there were the true masters of this city, capable of moving the city council with their wealth.

Carlon was also well-aware of this fact.

He returned to his mansion as dawn broke.

Though he had been awake all night, his eyes betrayed no sign of fatigue.

He called his entire family to the breakfast table.

His golden-haired wife with silvery eyes, Magician Josephine.

His reliable son Charles, and his crafty daughter Charline.

“At exactly the moment the Crimson Admiral’s contract ends, this port city will suffer a fatal blow.”

“The Celestial Roof Fleet will lose its undefeated reputation, and everything about this city, which flourished under the absolute guarantee of safety, will be shaken.”

“It may not collapse, but significant turmoil is inevitable.”

It was time to start making moves.

“Beloved wife. I have a task. It’s quite important for our family.”

Josephine, Charles, and Charline replied in turn,

“Don’t worry, darling. I will do my best to assist.”

“Leave it to me.”

“I’ve always known a day like today would come.”

He smiled as if touched and nodded toward Charline.

“Right. Soon, everything will be shaken. And this father has no intention of either waiting for or enduring the chaos.”

Charline, who bore her father’s dark hair, asked while tying it up,

“Then, have you established two plans?”

Carlon nodded.

“Of course. We can’t sit by and watch everything the family has built disappear. Let’s seize the opportunity presented by this crisis to become the true masters of this land.”

“Then does that mean you plan to extend the contract?”

“Yes. I’ll take care of it all before Valenciaunos arrives. We’ll leave him no choice but to officially name us true nobles.”

Charline gave a wry smile, Josephine looked startled, and Charles just blinked.

Still, with a serious tone, Carlon continued.

“Of course, we must also consider the possibility of failure. Charles, work with the steward to take inventory of our assets. We must be able to leave at any moment.”