Chapter 155: Departure
The final crew assignments for the ships were as follows: on the relatively small vessel, S Rank Adventurer Linford, A Rank Adventurer Adelie, and two B Rank Adventurers—one male and one female—totaling four people. The remaining crew members boarded the other ships. In the end, there was only one pair with poor compatibility, a combination of fire and water, which made the assignments quite easy.
After finishing lunch, we were now heading toward the harbor, perhaps a bit delayed due to accompanying Nil in her usual gluttonous antics.
“Alright, since we don’t have to sneak around, let’s go all out!”
I stretched my shoulders as we made our way to the harbor.
“Ahaha, if you go too far, won’t a massive tsunami occur?”
“That was only half a joke… Besides, I think it would take a giant meteor to cause that, so we should be fine.”
The mere thought of a tsunami was just a hunch, with no real basis behind it. If a colossal turtle were to rampage through the city, I figured a few big waves or tsunami disasters would be within acceptable limits. It wasn’t like we could afford to hold back out of concern for the city.
“Well, whatever will be, will be.”
You could also say that it will only turn out as it does. Upon arriving at the harbor, it seemed that everyone had already boarded the small ship led by Linford.
“You’re late. Hurry it up!”
As expected, Rex’s annoyed voice reached us, accompanied by a click of his tongue. Before I could respond, he boarded the ship, leaving us behind. At least we weren’t left behind completely.
“Looks like everyone’s here. This ship is supposed to be slower, so we’ll head out first.”
“Understood.”
As we boarded the ship in response, Linford’s vessel began to accelerate gradually. Meanwhile, our ship’s engine showed no signs of starting up yet. It seemed we weren’t quite ready to depart.
Still, I could understand Rex’s frustration about the latecomers. Even if we weren’t technically late, there was nothing to do while waiting for them to arrive.
“I guess adventurers from a port town are pretty skilled at handling ships.”
As I absentmindedly observed the harbor from the deck, Rex approached, his mood evidently worsening.
“Hey, you guys, go call a shipwright.”
“Huh? Is something wrong?”
I was taken aback by his sudden commanding tone. What was going on?
“Tch, the ship’s power is malfunctioning.”
“Oh, I see.”
Since this was a ship meant for disposable use, it was likely an old vessel that had been assigned to us. It was possible it wasn’t functioning properly.
“Alright, I’ll go check it out.”
“I’ll go too.”
It would have been fine for me to go alone, but Rio decided to tag along. It would be uncomfortable to be around a bunch of grumpy people, and I wanted to avoid that.
As I hurriedly disembarked, Nil followed closely behind. Although she didn’t have many long-range attacks, it felt unfair to leave her behind, so I brought her along.
Upon entering the building that managed the ships at the harbor, I found someone and explained the situation. Since it was a request from the Guild and involved the town’s survival, the response was swift. After a short wait, a shipwright arrived, and I led him back to the dock where our ship was supposed to be.
“Uh… it seems it’s not here…”
“…It appears so.”
However, when we returned, the ship we were supposed to board was nowhere to be seen.
“It might have been fixed and left without us.”
Ah, I see. So that’s why they departed.
“Look, there’s a ship out at sea!”
As Rio pointed, I could see a small silhouette of a ship growing smaller in the distance. Extending my Presence Detection, I could indeed sense Rex and the others, so it was definitely them.
“If they’ve moved, I’ll take my leave now…”
With that, the shipwright bowed and turned to leave.
“Well, we’ve been left behind beautifully…”
With a sigh of exasperation, Rio placed her hands on her hips, clearly frustrated.
“They probably think that an attack from a lower-ranked adventurer won’t be much of a threat, but we can’t just let this slide.”
“Right… We need to do our job properly.”
Exchanging glances with Rio, we nodded at each other with smiles.
“Woof!”
Nil was also eager to join in. I wasn’t sure if she would have a chance to shine, but her enthusiasm was infectious.
“Let’s get ahead of them.”
“Right. We’re supposed to attack from the west side of the Sea Emperor Turtle, heading east.”
“Exactly. The turtle is said to be moving slightly eastward from the south, heading toward Levros. If we can divert its course even a little to the east, that should help.”
“Got it. Let’s go, Nil.”
With that, Rio and I floated gently into the air, while Nil bounded along as if climbing stairs in the sky.
To avoid being easily spotted, we took a wide detour around the ship and flew high above, arriving slightly to the west of the Sea Emperor Turtle’s intended path. Traveling through the air was much faster than by ship. Looking back at the land, I could see the entire coastline in view. Previously, I could only see the tip of the cape, but now we were getting closer.
It seemed Linford, who had departed ahead of us, hadn’t arrived yet. I wasn’t sure how close we needed to get, but for now, we would wait until they spotted us.