Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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“Uh, could it be…?”
Though freezing wine was something so basic it was embarrassing to even call it a technique for a magician of his level, it was enough to startle the sailors.
Because usually only someone of captain rank had the qualification to directly deal with such high personages as magicians.
Though he hadn’t revealed whether he was a knight or noble, for mere sailors either would be like a master from heaven.
“To bring such an esteemed person to such a humble place…”
“Please speak comfortably. I’m the one requesting employment.”
“No, that’s a bit…”
The sailors seemed even more uncomfortable at Turan’s polite manner.
It was human nature to look down on powerless people bowing their heads as servile, but when powerful people bowed their heads, others became flustered as if they had done something wrong.
This was one of the things he had learned meeting people after coming down to the world.
“So, is it possible?”
“Pardon?”
“Taking me as a passenger on the ship. Of course, I’ll help repel pirates or merfolk if they attack.”
“That’s difficult to decide with my authority.”
“Then I should meet the captain.”
“I’ll call him right away!”
At Turan’s request, the sailor who had said he was going to the Enril Desert hurriedly got up.
The one sitting opposite looked at him with a pitiful expression as if saying don’t leave me alone, but the standing sailor just ran away.
“Surely he’s not just running away?”
“S-surely not, haha…”
The two sat silently at the table without exchanging a word for nearly ten minutes.
Fortunately for the sailor, the silence was broken when his departed colleague returned bringing the captain.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Let’s drink again next time.”
While the two sailors exchanged farewells, the person brought by the departed sailor sat opposite Turan and politely bowed his head.
A man in his forties with an eyepatch over his left eye.
His sun-darkened skin and deep wrinkles suggested experience.
“I’m Pires, captain of the Blue Marlin.”
“I’m Turan.”
Perhaps having met many magicians with that rank, Pires looked at Turan with observing eyes instead of groveling like the sailors.
After silently exchanging gazes for a moment, Pires spoke first.
“I heard you want to board my ship.”
“Yes.”
“First, I’d like to talk somewhere quieter. Server! Is there a private room available?”
“Yes, Captain.”
Seeming familiar with this tavern, Pires requested and moved to a small room.
After sitting, the first topic he brought up was Turan’s identity.
“First… are you a noble, or a knight?”
“A knight.”
Turan lowered his status because he thought the captain might be too frightened otherwise.
While a rebellious knight might be dealt with by dozens of armed sailors rushing in, for a noble that would be mere after-dinner exercise.
As expected, the captain seemed more comfortable hearing Turan was a knight.
“Given you chose this unofficial route, you’re not from the Karmaine family. May I ask your circumstances for going to Enril…?”
“It’s personal.”
“Well, of course.”
When he showed an attitude of not wanting to answer, the captain nodded readily, suggesting he had just probed on the off chance.
Captain Pires suddenly lowered his voice sharply and said.
“While we do need a knight as you said, honestly speaking, it would be difficult to hire you without knowing if your combat ability is sufficient.”
Unlike nobles, knights didn’t differ much from each other in magic power amount, but that didn’t mean their combat abilities were similar.
Various factors were required, from close combat and weapon skills trained to compensate for lacking magic power, to magic skill and combat experience.
And to Pires’ eyes, Turan didn’t seem like a particularly reliable expert.
His youthful face that looked twenty at most was without a single scar, and he had only one dagger at his waist for weapons.
If there was any positive point, it was his sturdy physique that seemed fairly well-trained.
“Ability, how should I prove it?”
“Though I’m not a magician, I know several essential skills that those working at sea must learn. Can you handle water and ice?”
These were coincidentally skills he had practiced on the way.
Turan called a server to bring a glass of water, then demonstrated simple manipulation in front of Pires.
Starting from moving water around, instantly vaporizing or freezing it, transforming ice shapes, and finally moving ice around.
Though insignificant compared to the Karmaine bloodline ability to freely control water and ice, it was sufficient to satisfy the captain.
“Excellent skill. Have you worked at sea before?”
“No, this is my first time with the sea.”
“Hmm.”
The captain seemed unsure whether to believe Turan’s words or not.
After a while, he nodded and spoke in an even gloomier voice than before.
“Well, your skill seems sufficient. However, as you’ve already heard… our ship lacks the means to pay a salary befitting a knight due to budget issues.”
Hadn’t they said it was because the ship’s owner wouldn’t provide funds to hire a knight for guard duty?
Turan nodded in agreement.
“Since I have personal reasons to go to the Enril Desert anyway, I can be satisfied with a low salary.”
Actually he was willing to pay if needed, but didn’t mention that far.
No need to spend what didn’t need to be spent.
At Turan’s words, the captain’s face brightened slightly, but remained just as serious.
“And one more thing, I’m sorry to say but I can only pay your salary after arrival.”
“Why is that?”
“Because we have no money at all right now.”
According to the captain’s explanation, they had used almost all their money buying the cargo currently loaded on the merchant ship.
He said they would only have funds after arriving at the Enril Desert and making profit from selling the cargo.
Given he said such things even though Turan offered to work cheaply, they really must have no money.
“Well… that’s fine.”
“That’s a relief! It’s an honor to work together.”
But as soon as he heard the answer, his serious expression suddenly lifted into a bright smile.
Seeing such an expression from the gruff-looking one-eyed man, Turan unconsciously burst out laughing.
Anyway, he seemed like a person with decent personality.
* * *
After finishing negotiations, Turan spent the night at a well-facilitated inn nearby recommended by Captain Pires.
And since it would likely be difficult to get quality meals on the ship, he ordered the inn’s best formal course for breakfast the next morning.
“Your meal is served, guest!”
Abacha’s food culture, bordering the sea, was quite different from what Turan had encountered before.
From shellfish dishes to steamed and grilled seafish, seaweed, pickles, and fermented seafood.
Though things like oysters were too fishy to suit him well, the grilled fish varieties were generally enjoyable.
After finishing the meal, since there was time left, he went to a bookstore he had spotted yesterday and bought two books.
One containing various legends about merfolk, and a rulebook compiling various regulations aboard sailing ships.
By the time he attached two leather straps to the side of his bag that had no space for books and tied them on, it was about the promised time.
Going to the location he had been told earlier, he saw a huge sailing ship with three masts docked at the harbor.
Looking around, Turan approached after seeing the sailor he had met yesterday giving various instructions to others.
“Put that at the very bottom! If you put it on top the weight will make the balance strange… Welcome, Sir Knight!”
“Can I board now?”
“Yes!”
Since by naval regulations a knight responsible for ship safety was considered equal in rank to the captain, Turan spoke down to him.
Judging by his attitude, he also seemed to find this more comfortable.
“Come to think of it, we didn’t properly introduce ourselves yesterday.”
“First Mate Osban!”
“First Mate? So there are second and third mates too?”
“That’s right!”
Though he had just said it casually, Turan was internally surprised at the serious answer, and nodded before climbing the rope ladder.
When he leaped up several meters high onto the deck with just two bounds, all the nearby sailors looked at him.
“Wow…”
“Did you see that? Did you?”
“Impressive.”
“Quiet! Does everyone have nothing to do? Want to scrub the deck again?”
Such displays from knights must be rare, as the Blue Marlin’s lower-ranked sailors showed startled reactions before scattering here and there at their superior’s shout to get back to work.
After chasing the others away, a man in his early thirties grinned and said.
“Pleased to meet you, Sir Knight. I’m Lenak, the Boatswain.”
Though his speech was rough, rather than looking down on Turan it felt more like an informal, open-hearted attitude.
He welcomed Turan’s joining while rubbing his cheeks that were red as if drunk.
“Just so happens all the ones who died in the last voyage were my direct subordinates. That damn shipowner b*st*rd treats losing the kids’ lives the same as filling ship holes with food, if not for the captain I’d have quit long ago.”
Though his manner was rough, his affection for his subordinates was evident, so Turan internally gave this boatswain high marks.
He continued pouring out complaints about the shipowner while showing Turan to his cabin.
“Here it is.”
The cabin for Turan was so narrow he could touch both walls with his arms spread out.
It had just one bed placed lengthwise and one chest for storing items, and the window was made by joining two wooden panels with hinges.
“It’s a bit… narrow.”
“Yes, well. That’s true. Actually the captain’s cabin is bigger but he has several things to handle there.”
Even the jovial Lenak showed an embarrassed look, having nothing to say about that point.
Still, thinking it was fine as long as there was space to lie down, Turan simply unpacked by putting his bag in the chest.
Lying on the bed looking at the sun shining through the window, various thoughts came to mind.
Originally, Turan’s plan when first staying with the Berk family was to go south from the Dakein Plains, then head east toward the Enril Desert from around Maderi city where he had met Asiz.
This was also the route from the first book he had ever read, “Around the World.”
The problem was that route had suddenly become a battlefield between the dark elves and the Arabion family.
If caught by the dark elf army he would be torn apart and become a meal, and Arabion too would clearly not welcome a magician of unclear family wandering nearby during wartime.
In this situation, Turan’s chosen alternative was to move straight east to the North Sea, then take a ship southeast to land on the northern part of the Enril Desert.
‘I wonder how Meisa is doing.’
The Arabion princess now in the midst of war with dark elves.
Though that skeletal lady was too strong for the current Turan to dare challenge, even the strongest magician wasn’t invincible.
After reaching the Enril Desert, he would need to gather news from that direction too.
* * *
“Kyaaaah-!”
In front of the burned fortress, the Arabion knight saw dark elf warriors charging at him with grotesque screams.
Beings without soul power unable to handle death spirits, no different from commoners among humans…
But their strength and reflexes were not much different from skilled knights.
Due to innate racial differences.
That’s how they must have been able to trample humans and rule over them long ago, before the Frea divine tribe descended.
“Hyah!”
As he enhanced his sword’s speed and power with magic power, one dark elf’s body was split in half.
The next one rushing in he burned the face with fire, then swung his sword again.
But there were far too many of them to kill them all like this.
Two, four, six…
His movements grew increasingly chaotic as attacks slipping through the gaps tore at his flesh tempered with magic power.
In his dizzy vision from blood loss, one longsword swinging down at him.
The moment he sensed death, thunder boomed from the sky and lightning pierced between the dark elves.
“Kyaaaah!”
A scream similar to before but mixed with more terror.
Above the darkened sky, a woman with a skeletal gaunt face flew in.
The lightning bolt shot by Meisa Arabion had instantly split into dozens of strands and burned all the dark elves to death.
“Th-thank you, my lady…”
“Join your unit.”
“Yes!”
After saving the stranded knight, Meisa looked down at the battlefield with a tired face.
The fight with the dark elf army was far from a fair duel.
They repeatedly ambushed vulnerable parts of the Arabion army by sending regular soldiers through tunnels, and the knights’ corpses created this way were dragged underground to become death spirits used as necromancers’ forces.
Though none were strong enough to face Meisa, having an enemy that wouldn’t fight head-on meant even overwhelming power was useless.
“Meisa, are you unharmed?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Meisa barely nodded in greeting to the middle-aged noble flying toward her.
His name was Kadram Arabion, the family head’s half-brother and deputy commander of this subjugation force.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. You’re far more precious than one or two knights’ lives.”
“I’m fine with this much. More importantly, how’s the battle situation?”
Despite Meisa’s stiff tone, Kadram answered without losing his smile.
“Not bad. At this rate we should reclaim this area soon. Though we haven’t found the tunnels yet.”
“Let me know when you find them. I’ll go myself.”
“You should rest…”
Before Kadram could finish speaking, Meisa had already lifted herself with magic and flown off to one side.
“Tsk, what an ill-mannered girl. Brother raised her too loosely.”
With none of his previous gentle attitude remaining, Kadram clicked his tongue and glared at where Meisa had passed.
“She’ll end up like her mother and sister at this rate…”