Chapter 151: 8-8 Encroaching Boredom

The following week, I found myself having dinner with Captain Benji. Well, more of a late lunch. It wasn’t anything important, or even really anything at all. Mostly, I was just bored. Once everything novel about being on my ship had worn off, I had little to do. It had gotten so bad that, for a time, I had even entertained the idea of taking the ferry over to Jewel of Gaia’s Crown to involve myself with the nobles more than strictly necessary.

That idea ran the risk of upsetting the status quo, however, and as such, was quickly discarded. Sana remained distant, and any of my attempts to interact with her ended in her becoming a nervous wreck.

And I can’t keep her here much longer without creating an issue on that front, either.

In fact, communications from the Cardinal had become an almost daily affair, each one asking after Sana’s well-being. It was becoming increasingly challenging to delay returning her.

Except I can’t really call that a challenge since the Cardinal isn’t really pushing the issue at all.

Benji was sitting with a stiff nervousness that belied his lack of experience with both women and high nobility. Considering his physique and rank, both of those deficiencies were surprising. He had worn a dress uniform and coupled with his fit frame and tanned skin, he was quite the looker. Not that I had any intentions, but it was something I found myself unable to avoid noticing. That being said, he wasn’t going to start any conversation on his own.

“Captain, I am grateful you would join me on such short notice.” It was a poor excuse for an icebreaker, but I really had nothing better to go with, “Please, be at ease; my servants will forgive a bit of crudeness.”

He gave a short nod but remained tense, “Thanks for that, your highness.”

I frowned and had a bit of soup. After swallowing, I put aside the spoon, “Captain, I do not mean to make you uncomfortable; it is my intention for this to be a venue in which you may speak your mind.”

My real goal might have been to achieve a simple diversion, but it wouldn’t hurt that if I made this actually productive. In truth, the living arrangements for the voyage had been the largest thing wearing down on me. Sure, nobles generally sucked and the constant power plays and word games were exhausting. But at least with them, there was a certain degree of… familiarity? At the very least, they could talk to me.

It wasn’t so bad when traveling to Zesten, since there wasn’t anything stopping me from moving around the camp, and most of the knights came to view me as a fellow fighter. But being stuck on this ship, surrounded by sailors of the lower classes…

In short, I was starved for attention. At what point I had grown so fond of socializing was lost to me, but such was my issue. Granted, the Jewel of Gaia’s Crown was only a short ferry ride away, but going over to it on a whim would cause no end of trouble, not just for the nobles passing aboard her, but for the crew as well. There was also the Might of Man, but that ship was transporting soldiers and knights; I could not visit them without also visiting Jewel.

If not for my status, then I could have gone to either ship without a second thought.

Benji finally inhaled, then sharply exhaled before spooning a bit of the soup. It wasn't clear if he had actually been able to taste it, but his shoulders did relax.

"Then, should I treat this as a casual business meeting?"

"If that suits you, then please do so."

He bowed his head and sank into thought for a few moments, "I don't have anything to report, your highness. We’re proceeding according to schedule, and have yet to face off against any threats. Assuming we continue to encounter few issues, we should arrive at Rhodias in just under two months."

Just in time for winter.

Benji raised an eyebrow, having noticed my evident dissatisfaction, but he did not say anything regarding it.

“And is there anything between here and there that might cause a delay?” As he had said, the two-month timetable was under the caveat that things proceeded without issue, “Or more accurately what I am asking is, ‘in your opinion as an experienced captain, how likely are we to encounter no issues?”

“I don’t expect we will make it in less than three months, probably four.” His answer was quick and immediate.

Too quick, meaning that he already had some idea of what we were going to run into. I raised an eyebrow, prompting him to elaborate.

“Two months assumes that we will be traveling at full speed, and proceeding straight toward our destination… While piracy and sea monsters are of course a threat, they would not pose much of a risk to us.”

I would actually be rather surprised if we did encounter a sea monster.

While I knew I couldn’t trust him, there was the alliance Drakas had formed with Aaron. Since Aaron was the god of monsters and knew where I was going next, it was likely that he would have instructed any of the major players along our route not to interfere. As far as pirates were concerned, it would take an astronomically stupid crew to attempt to pillage what was clearly a military convoy.

Benji continued, “But we are a Drakan convoy, traveling straight toward the home continent of the demihumans… I believe we will face some level of resistance as we draw closer. Unless your majesty wants to take a forceful approach, we will be required to slow down.”

His concerns made sense to me but, even though I had expected that to be the case, it should not have been so much of a delay.

Do we even have provisions for that? We’re talking about doubling the length of the travel.

“Provisions shouldn’t be an issue; I did my best to account for this before we left, and we can always fish or purchase supplies from the various island states once we get closer. I’m more concerned with what will happen when we first make contact with one of the tribes’ navies.”

Considering he had seemingly been willing to go without saying any of this, he was being shockingly blunt. I decided to pursue the matter; it would help me to know as much about Benji as I could, considering I was to be working with him for a quarter of a year. Besides, this conversation was doing wonders for my dulling mind.

“You speak as though you had struggled to provision the fleet properly? Considering the mission, Drakas should have spared no expense. And, why refrain from voicing your concerns over the potential of hostilities?”

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Benji was beginning to warm up to me at this point, and even went as far as to shrug in my presence, “Well, the crown might issue orders, and I might have received your commission, but things on the ground aren’t so simple. The naval officers have our own game of politics to play. I’m sure you can understand that from back before…” He trailed off.

“Before what? Before I married Rupert? Ha.” I laughed a bit dryly, “It isn’t so simple. Sure, I can give orders, but consider this; I’m residing aboard this ship and not with the nobles on Gaia’s Crown. We all have our burdens. But, why would you not inform me of the possible hostilities with foreign navies?”

Upon seeing that I had not gotten offended by his previous insinuation, Benji’s shoulders released a bit of tension, “Because it’s not a sure thing, just a gut feeling I have, and even if you give off a different aura than most other nobles I’ve interacted with, it’s still a bit…” He trailed off again.

Evidently, he was still struggling to make sense of me. In a way, I could only blame myself for that. There were definitely expectations regarding how a young noblewoman would act, even more so for a queen. My initial interactions on the bridge would have gone a ways toward shattering those expectations, but they were still there in the back of his mind.

If I assume that this is a sentiment shared by the other sailors… There’s also all of the new knights as well.

Why hadn’t I considered this issue before?

“Sasha, please prepare a chart.” Sensing that our meal was on pause, Benji straightened his back and Peoni quickly cleared space on the table. I turned to Benji, “How much do you know about this ship? You are her commander after all.”

The sudden change had caused him to become guarded, “Is there anything specific you’re fishing for?”

“The main weapon; the mana focusing array.”

“It’s an Orichalcum magic tool designed to empower the ship’s mages, amplifying their spells for naval combat.”

I nodded, “Yes, according to the design specifications, it should improve the power of spells cast through it by three to four hundred percent. But, isn’t there something strange about it? You’ve commanded ships with similar armaments before.”

Benji wasn’t an idiot, and what I was getting at slowly dawned on him. After a week he would surely have overheard the crew’s rumors regarding myself. Even if the sailors and army personnel weren’t close, there would still be gossip. He wasn’t a mage; he wouldn’t know that there was no way such an enlargement of the standard Mana Focuser would be impossible for normal mages to use. At best, they would be able to benefit from maybe a quarter of it, if they were exceptional.

“Is your highness implying that you intend to use it?”

I nodded, “The scale of a spell directly correlates to the mana cost. The Mana Focuser installed on Will of the Gods was designed by Lord Gustav specifically for the purpose of empowering Anti-Army class spells. It’s a relatively new concept and one which bears a field test.”

Sasha brought out the chart and laid it across the table. This particular sea chart was rather detailed, showing a series of islands and archipelagos as well as highlighting old disused trade routes that lay between the Central Continent and Rhodias.

I indicated to Benji, “Considering your experience, do you know which region sees a large amount of pirate activity?”

He leaned over the table and studied the chart for a minute, “Here. This is a small island nation that used to function as an intermediary between the Alliance and Drakas for oceanic trade. They went silent a decade ago, and investigation of the area didn’t turn anything up.”

It was a very diplomatic way for him to say that was a smuggler’s hideout. Considering that, until recently, there had been no formal trade relations between Drakas and the Alliance.

“And you believe it to be the fault of pirates?”

Benji nodded, “Pirates, or perhaps demons given more recent revelations. What is your highness’ intention…?”

“Our conversation has highlighted to me that there is a too-large degree of separation between the sailors and army. Since the trip will already be delayed by more than a month, I would like to take a brief diversion to foster a sense of camaraderie between the two groups. Crushing a pirate fleet should accomplish that, as well as get the nobles used to combat operations.”

Benji began stroking his chin and stared at the chart pensively, “You intend for the soldiers and knights to fight alongside the sailors?”

I nodded, “Yes. It’s a concept I heard of at the Royal Academy; an ‘amphibious assault.’ The professor who proposed it was laughed out of the hall, but I believe the idea has merit. While the sailors man the ships, what use do the soldiers and knights have? The idea is to form them into boarding teams to assault targets of opportunity. Fighting on the deck of a ship is not quite the same as on land, but they are similar enough.”

At the very least, the soldiers and knights I have are elite in their own right; they should be able to make the adjustment.

If this all worked out, I might wind up founding the Drakan Marine Corps. Benji finally stopped stroking his chin, and tapped a section of the map. Based on what I know of the currents in the region, they’re probably holed up here.”

I leaned in and looked at where he was indicating and saw nothing. Seeing my confusion, Benji grinned.

“Based on how the currents are weaving around this area, there should be a small island chain in the area. Considering it’s not on your highness’ chart, I would wager it’s their perfect hiding place.”

I mulled over his words, then gave my assent, “Very well, inform the other ships and lay a course.”

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