A boat was floating on the sea. There was a young man and an old man on board, and the young man in particular had a doubtful look on his face.
"I've never ...... seen anything like this before," he said.
The man stared at the line and opened his mouth. Normally, he would have caught dozens of fish, but on this day, he waited and waited, but no luck, only the gentle sound of the waves.
"Father ......"
The man again calls out to the older man sitting next to him. He does not pay attention to his fishing rod, but keeps his gaze far out to the horizon.
A moment of silence passes. A seagull flies over the father and son. At that moment, an elderly man opens his mouth.
"Mephis."
"Yes."
"Do you see anything beyond the horizon? You have better eyes than I do.
"What?"
The man stares in the direction my father points. He looked closely and saw something pitch black beyond the horizon, which at first glance looked like an iridescent cloud.
"Is that ......?"
The man looked more closely and saw that it was not a cloud but a ship.
"Hey, this is ......."
Gradually, the figure becomes clearer and clearer. The number of ships, which had been thought to be a single ship, grew as I watched, and it appeared to be a fleet of dozens of vessels.
Father, it is a ship! Probably, Mr. Vieille ......'s ......."
"Return the ship immediately."
The older man opens his mouth in a calm voice. But his son remains frozen, wide-eyed.
Mephis, return the ship to Aphrodite. I must inform the master Ron Esrotel. ...... Mephis!"
The man comes to himself at the sound of his father's yell. He sits there, cringing, and grabs the oars and starts to row slowly.
The man sat down and grabbed the oars and started to row slowly.
An hour later, in his office in the Papal Temple of Aphrodite, Ron Esrother was staring at a map. Before him were three young cardinals. All of them were beautiful and good-looking boys.
They were watching Ron Esrotel's every move with breathless attention.
"Misty!"
"Ha!"
The man whose name was called responded with a tremor, as if an electric current had flowed through his body. Ron Esrotel was still looking at the map.
"Tell the whole army! "Tell the whole army to defend the port with all their might.
"Ha ha!"
The man who had received the order left the scene at a quick pace. Ron Esrotel continued his orders.
"Bill!"
"Ha!"
"Tell the troops waiting at sea. As soon as the fireworks go off, you are to enter the Aphrodite.
Yes, sir.
Ron Esrotel glanced at the man's back as he left the room at a quick pace. There seemed to be an indescribable sense of anticipation in the air. He grinned at the man.
"Weaken."
"Ha."
Ron Esrotel turned his gaze to the man standing in front of him. He, too, was flushed with anticipation.
We are in a winning formation. The moment the rebels attack Aphrodite, we will surround and destroy them like ants. They will be destroyed.
What if they don't move?
"...... sorry. I do not understand what you are saying.
"It's that Vieille. And that's not all. Linos, King of Agartha, and Nike, King of Sandange, have come to help. So to speak! He has men of experience in a hundred battles standing by his side! It is possible that he will see our deadly formation and stop his movement.
Ron Esrotel smiles wickedly. But the young cardinal, called Weaken, kept his expression unchanged and slowly opened his mouth.
"Then let him go, that's all you have to do.
"Oh, you mean you're going to let that woman keep her head down?"
Yes. To run away means her death.
"......"
Weaken said this without hesitation. His eyes were very clear.
"The most important thing for you, Vieille, is to get Aphrodite back here. Returning to this Papal temple is his goal. Because without this Papal temple, he cannot claim to be the Pope, and even if he does, none of the Crimianists will recognize him as the Pope. Knowing this, that's why she is trying to be Aphrodite here, no matter what it takes. Therefore, I do not think it is possible for him to retreat.
"Now, listen. What will you do if we are defeated?
"I will take my own life."
"......"
"We have eliminated those who risked their lives to defy the teachings of the Lord God. Even if they take their own lives, I am sure the Lord God will forgive them."
There was no hesitation in his words. Ron Esrotel smiled broadly.
"I see. If you are ready for that, good. I have high hopes for you."
At these words, Weaken slowly bowed his head.
The first time he did this, he was a little nervous.
At the same time, Vieille, Nique, and others gathered on board Linos' ship for a war council. From the ship, Aphrodite could be clearly seen on the horizon. At the same time, a large number of warships crowded around it were clearly visible.
Nike's eyes were shining and her body was swaying, as if she could not contain her excitement at the sight.
"It's a spectacular sight when I look at it like this..."
Nike mutters to no one in particular. He looks around him, comparing the map spread out on the desk with the view in front of him.
On the desk on the deck, a map centering on Aphrodite was spread out, on which were drawn the positions of the enemy, which Linos had checked with Sadakichi and the others.
"We are rats in a bag, aren't we?
Nique looks at Vieille with a smile. However, she does not react to his words, but rather leisurely turns her gaze in a completely different direction from Aphrodite's. A group of dolphins are jumping on the sea.
Nique quickly turned her gaze to Linos and the others. Rinos has a look of dismay on his face. Next to her, Queen Matocal is staring at Aphrodite. Meanwhile, Knogen, the other squire, looks alternately at Nike and Vieille with a wry smile on his face.
"I think it would be better if you stepped back a little..."
It was Duke Weiras of Heardata who opened his mouth. He is looking at Aphrodite with his hand shading her from the sunlight.
"If we can see the enemy's position, they can see our position. Wouldn't it be better to pull back and hide from the enemy ......, brother-in-law?"
At Vyrus' words, Linos shakes his head with a wry smile.
"No, Vieille doesn't seem to have that idea in his head. Isn't that right, Vieille?
At Linos' question, Vieille finally turned to the others.
"Yes. I am fine as I am.
"But ......"
At Vailas's words, Vieille only smiled back. She staggered toward the bow and looked for a moment in the direction of Aphrodite. Then she turned to Kulli and Linos and opened her mouth, still smiling.
The weather is clear. The waves are calm. The conditions are perfect. We will now sail towards Aphrodite. Ladies and gentlemen, please follow us.