The boat was moving very smoothly through the blue sea.
As I continue to watch from the deck, I realize how small I am in the vastness of the ocean.
"Wow... I never imagined the ocean could be so immense."
* Piu piu piu *
Birds flew overhead.
The wind blowing is very pleasant, and every time the ship rocks, it makes me feel strange.
I had never been in such a large body of water on a ship before.
I felt like I was drifting through a giant puddle in a leaf boat, or something.
In the meantime, I moved to the control room.
"Toru-Sama."
"How are things going?"
"So far, no problem, sir. But this is really a wonderful ship. It has all the functions needed to cross the sea, and it even has a management function that allows you to live comfortably in each cabin. The technology of the ancient species was at a terrifying level."
It looks like there's an automatic navigation system that, when used, has the ship take you to the destination you entered on its own.
In fact, the ship had a map of the world... and according to the data, the place where we lived was an island compared to the rest of the world.
The place I always thought was a continent turned out to be a small island.
The world can become frighteningly large.
This information is known only to the top echelons of Lastoria and the people on the ship.
We cannot announce it to the people of our world that we live on an island.
Telling them would only cause unnecessary confusion.
Anyway, we are trying to get to the nearest continent.
Estimated time of arrival is two weeks.
This ship moves quite fast, but still seems to take a considerable amount of time.
"Captain, there's a 50-meter long creature passing directly below us."
"Be alert. If it gets any closer, attack."
A sailor warns in front of the monitor.
The light green image shows a mass moving beneath our position.
According to Kaede, it is called a downward locator.
It reacts to objects moving directly under the hull.
There are also other upward detectors that search the perimeter of the ship, but they don't seem to do much reacting.
It is natural that monsters are the most vigilant in the open sea.
"By the way, Toru-Sama, have you checked the freezer?"
"Freezer? What's that?"
"Oh, you don't know, do you? I'll show you."
We let the sailors take care of the place and went to another room in the lower part of the ship.
"This is the freezer."
"It's cold."
It was so cold that my body was shivering.
The large room was filled with cold air and piles of frozen fish, meat and vegetables.
"The magical power that Toru-Sama bestows on the ship keeps the temperature of this room below fifty degrees at all times. And I can assure you that without this room, we would never have been able to bring so many people with us."
"You say this is the key to our survival?"
"Exactly. The water tank with its purification system and this room make it possible for us to sail for a long time. It would have been difficult to cross the sea with a wooden boat like the ones we had before."
The captain looked relieved as he stroked his beard.
In short, if it were not for this ship, we would not have been able to cross the sea for long.
The original plan to sail a wooden boat was very much suicidal.
"Then can we keep the fish we catch here?"
"Sure, but if you catch too much, we'll be eating fish for a long time."
"I'll show some restraint."
The captain and I left the freezer and headed for the deck.
On the way, we peeked into the room where the sailors slept.
There was a young man snoring in a triple bunk.
The room is small and the environment is comfortable enough for six people.
The captain closed the door quietly and stroked his beard.
As we stepped out onto the deck, we encountered a group of surveyors looking out to sea.
"It's rare to see your face around here, Toru-Sama."
The leader of the research team, Luvue Nonthark, bowed.
Although she was the daughter of a duke, she was a stranger who volunteered for this trip.
*Boom*, the ship shakes violently.
''Heeeaaaahhh! The ship is sinking! It's definitely an impact that could have caused serious damage to the ship!''
"Luvue-Sama, calm down, it was just a wave."
"...Oh, sorry, I was a little surprised."
The vice captain tries to calm the girl down, and Luvue tenses her expression.
I guess that's normal.
The group members seem to be used to it, as there is no particular reaction.
I hadn't realized how bad the people down here are having a hard time.
"By the way, Captain, if we are attacked by a monster at sea, can you tell us what measures to take?"
"Of course, Toru-Sama, follow me this way."
The captain invited us to come on deck.
On the deck, there were two large metal plates that appeared to have been joined together.
They were attached to a metal platform that looked like a hat, and had an atmosphere that somehow moved from side to side.
The captain used a small box on deck to communicate with the control room.
"I want you to open fire."
"Open fire...?"
*BOOOOOM!*
A blue flash shot out from two joined metal plates, and a column of water rose in the distance.
"As you can see, one of our defenses is similar to a cannon."
"Seriously? This ship has defenses equal to that of a cannon?!"
"To be precise, it's probably more powerful than that. It would be able to kill a Red Dragon in one hit."
"Great, that's a relief! I'm very impressed with this boat - Excellent, excellent, excellent!"
"Luvue-Sama, please calm down. Toru-Sama is present."
"It really is a great ship. The success of our plan is assured."
Luvue tightens her expression again.
By the way, a cannon is a weapon powered by magic.
They are powerful, but few in number, with large and heavy designs, and are mainly used to guard the royal palace.
I have come to hear that they rarely use these weapons.
Luvue-Sama, who had beautiful blonde hair and pigtails on both sides, looked embarrassed for a reason.
Besides, she was looking at me.
"I heard that Toru-Dono is the hero who saved us from the demon king, and I wondered if I was someone attractive to him."
"Yes, you are a beautiful woman."
"Oooh! He thinks I'm a beautiful woman! Did you hear that, Vice captain?! I should note it in my research diary that I was praised by Toru-Dono!"
"I'm sorry, Luvue-Sama, but the diary is for business purposes only, not for personal use - what would your father think if he read it?"
"I'll write it in my own diary then. See you later."
Luvue and the others leave the deck.
A few seconds later I heard the voices of those walking away; "What should I do now, it's time to have children with Toru-Dono!", and so on, I heard the vice captain's voice; "Luvue-Sama, you can't have children with Toru-Sama just because you exchanged words."
The captain was laughing at the situation.
"They're a lively bunch, don't you think? It's going to be a long trip."
"By the way, what is the captain's purpose on this voyage?"
He leaned his elbows on the railing as he gazed out to sea.
"By simple nature, the sea is a wild lover for a man, sometimes no reason is needed to want to go far away."
He lifted the brim of his hat a little and smiled.