CH 158

‘Those guys have been like this ever since I couldn’t answer their shower of questions about why the Navy wanted us to open the Bell Rock for inspection…’

Truth was, Lil also didn’t know why the Navy suddenly had that whim. 

‘Clearly, even Anunchio isn’t up to date on news concerning the Southern Seas, so how could I’ve known? In the end, I could only tell them that it was safe to assume they’re seeking for a specific ship that’s wanted. And emphasise the fact that the League should be wary of Mondovi’s fleet, not Legardon’s. As Legardon is still fixated on moving east. But although I told them that and tried to reassure them, there were many men who didn’t want to hear it… At a time when the League’s ships were rushing back to Panichi to prepare for the impending war, the Bell Rock had gone against that course… It’s understandable why they’re feeling uneasy.’

Till now, only Lil and Cesar knew their secret destination; Serlio, imperial land. 

‘Given the recent hostilities, it’s natural for the new crew to think that a Captain unfamiliar to them, whom they even think is corrupt, would be someone they couldn’t rely on. Or could it be that the crew noticed something? The lieutenant did say that their inspection was related to an ‘unpleasant incident involving a high-ranking officer’… As for Cesar, he only commented that there were two other squadrons nearby before he disappeared again. The lack of information is more worrying than I thought. In addition, Cesar seems to be hiding something.’

Expecting this, Lil had been looking for a suitable opportunity to extract more information from a petty officer, but that opportunity never came as she was busy escorting the lieutenant.

‘All this because of an event involving a ‘high-ranking officer’? The fact that the ship travelled this far indicates that he has to be quite important. Then how high-ranked is this officer? There aren’t many important officers in the South, where there are no war heroes at all. But, if it was a mission involving such a person, why would the lieutenant be so sluggish in carrying it out? Why did he want to have it done quickly? Is it an internal feud or a political squabble? Could there have been an intervention from a third party? If so, what could they possibly want?

I have no idea… I’m looking through the mere hole of a needle… I can’t see the whole picture…’

Lil came to a halt next to the railing. Waves rose and faded beyond the railing, an act that repeated itself faster than anticipated. The insidiously dented waves were black beyond recognition, so Lil stared at them as if they were her adversary.

Suddenly, her body staggered when a stronger wave slammed their ship and showered the deck in white frothy water. Scared that her hat might fly away by the breeze, Lil snatched it and pushed it down on her head. But in that fleet moment that her concentration slipped, the sole of her boot slipped too. Lil, who was on the verge of falling forward, attempted to stabilise herself by grabbing the railing before her, thereby slamming her side into it.

“Agh!”

“Whoa, Captain!”

From somewhere, Alain sprang up and assisted Lil. As she lost her breath for a moment due to the impact, her heart skipped a beat. Lil eventually straightened her body and pushed Alain’s hand from her shoulder. However, her irregular breathing continued. Simultaneously a dull throb of pain hit her side, making her bent over. It was one of her injuries she had forgotten about. 

Looking at his captain, Alain opened his mouth. 

“Shouldn’t you at least look for some medicine?”

“…I don’t need it.”

Lil, who swallowed another groan, remained bowed forward. Her decision was hardly unreasonable in any case, given that she had no doctor to go to and no knowledge about medicine herself. As a result, she had no choice but to endure the discomfort and wait for her body to heal naturally.

“How are you going to deal with this difficult situation when your body is out of shape and your mind is racing?”

“Just watch me.”

Lil took small steps, deliberately trying to touch the railing as few times as possible. Slowly, the two of them made their way to the front deck. It was fortunate that the rain was loud enough to not only drown out the noise, but also mask their conversation. Holding back what he wanted to say, Alain gave Lil a troubled look before he spoke again.

“Currently, the crew is divided into three groups: those who want to continue the mission as ordered, those who want to return to Panichi right away, and those who don’t care.”

“The Panichi faction won’t easily gain the upper hand; we’re carrying out direct orders from the League.”

“The Captain too, huh? So it’s alright to sink, as long as we won’t be captured? Is that what you’re saying? Does that also apply to lower-ranked sailors? A Captain can be proud of that motto, but most of the guys here want to stay alive for a little longer… Ah, except for a madman like Marenzio, of course.”

“Then you will never escape being tagged as a coward. A guy like Julio will make sure of that.”

“…They look busy over there.”

“What do you think they’re up to?”

“If we knew, then that’s like hitting the jackpot. The Bell Rock guys are keeping an eye on them, but there aren’t enough people. A lot of the experienced sailors retired in Panichi, so now the remaining ones are spread too thin.”

“It shouldn’t have been like this.”

“Come on! Don’t blame yourself again. Who else could’ve predicted this, except for Mother Ocean?”

Lil pushed her stooping waist up. Her skin ached, but there was nothing worse than to show weakness in a situation like this. Dozens of eyes were still following them around. 

“If I can find a reason to, I will be able to quit being labelled as a coward and turn the ship around.”

“The weather isn’t good. This could be reason enough.”

“…”

Hearing him say that, Lil looked around. Sea fog was making its way up to the deck. The shapeless mist curled around her legs closely representing her anxiousness. She then raised her eyes. Because there was no sensation of distance due to the horrible visibility, that sense of solitude could easily lead to madness. Even the most experienced sailors weren’t confident about sailing blindly.

Not surprisingly, even Alain shuddered his shoulders.

“Am I right or what? With this kind of sea fog… I know we won’t have enough supplies to go back… But jeez, on days like this, I do miss a destination that’s familiar to us.”

“We already missed the timing. We just have to get this over with.”

“I guess I’ll have to call Joe here and hear what he has to say.”

“Bring Cesar as well. Tell him to take the wheel.”

“Aye.”

“But…”

“..?”

While talking to Alain, Lil’s gaze had persistently wandered the deck. Alain looked puzzled as she dragged out her words. Lil then muttered a fact that she was suddenly reminded of.

“I can’t find Courant.”

“What?”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“Isn’t it strange that Courant isn’t on deck on a day like today?”

Alain turned his head and followed Lil’s gaze. Seeing the scene of men keeping their hands busy doing their laundry, Alain noticed the strange occurrence too. It’s been one of the Bell Rock’s principles to do one’s own laundry, but eventually, some of the higher-ranked crew made the lower-ranked crew do their laundry in exchange for some wages, and for some time Courant had been taking on that job. 

“It’s going to be a mountain of work for him to do, so I’m sure he should be starting now.”

“That diligent child… Hmm, I’ll look for him.”

Lil got a bad feeling about it as she remembered her lecture from a few days before. It irritated her that she couldn’t shake these feelings off. It was difficult to deal with people who were neither a child nor an adult yet.

‘Under normal circumstances, I would’ve been more lenient of Courant. But he now holds confidential information, so I can’t help but be concerned about a possible leakage. I ordered Jericho to keep an eye on him. But when Jericho had nothing to report, I kept wondering if there was anything wrong at all. Or, he just didn’t know…’

“Search the artillery deck. And call for Cesar along the way. I’ll head to the cabin deck.”

Lil headed down without delay. Streams of water fell from the deck and flowed down the wooden stairs like a valley. The deck below was noisier than usual. With water dripping from the ceiling, Lil asked herself if her crew could even sleep comfortably, but she couldn’t ignore the thought that this problem might have some ulterior motive. 

Lil looked around the darkened deck. The enclosed space was musty and gloomy. While standing there, tens of thousands of conspiracy theories breezed through her head.

‘Hopefully, Alain will take care of it…’