Chapter 40: The Annamaria (1)
“Wow. What a sight, what a sight.”
After many twists and turns, we arrived at Coblo Harbor.
The harbor was not as far from Taka Village as I thought.
After renting a small cargo wagon in the village at the foot of the mountain and driving all day, we were able to arrive at Coblo by the ti the new morning sun was rising.
In the wagon, everyone kept asking about my ‘hunch’, but my ntal state was already on the verge of collapse, so I answered a couple of tis before falling asleep.
An unexpected big shot like the 'Association President' had popped up in the clue, so that also required considerable thought, but I didn't care about any of it and just compromised with myself to do it later on the ship.
And so, I slept almost without waking, took care of Lottie for a bit, and fell asleep again, and before I knew it, we had arrived.
“Lottie, wake up.”
I patted the butt of the still soundly sleeping boy, and Lottie opened his eyes, half-asleep.
“You have to see this.”
Coblo Harbor was jaw-dropping from the very entrance. The horizon in the distance, where the blue sea and white clouds t, was like the scenery from the Center, but everything else was a completely different world.
Large stone warehouses lined up here and there, ships and fishing boats flying the flags of all sorts of cities. The size of the passenger ships puffing out smoke was as big as a fairly tall building.
And I had no idea how much the sound of the sea, the cry of the gulls, the shouts of the people, and of course, the sound of the steam pressure from the huge ships rang in my ears.
The most overwhelming thing was the crowd that had gathered at the harbor, enough to make everything else seem insignificant.
I can say with certainty that it was the most amazing sight I had ever seen in Astava. Even at the Remble graduation festival, there probably weren't this many people.
My tongue was clicking at the overwhelming crowd.
“There are so many people. Are most of them heading to the 3rd Continent like us?”
Coblo Harbor's nickna as the center of trade on the 1st Continent was not an exaggeration. The countless crowds, all sorts of ships, and even the faint salty sll carried on the sea breeze.
“This pier connects the 1st and 3rd Continents, so I guess they all are.”
Phillip was looking around, as if searching for sothing. And not long after, his gaze fixed on one spot.
“Look at this! The squid is this big!”
“Hey, Vice-Captain! Where did you get the money……! Get over here right now!”
Roro, holding a handful of grilled squid skewers, who knows when she went and ca back. Phillip, who snatched one of the golden-brown skewers, cramd the squid, the size of an adult's forearm, into his mouth in one bite.
“Wow, mmm, crazy, phew! Delish, hot!”
I have no idea what he's saying.
Watching him devour the squid gluttonously, I also took a skewer from Roro.
It tasted better than I thought. I offered a bite to Lottie, but he turned his head, seemingly not liking the sll.
“I haven't seen Ms. Delphi for a while, where did she go?”
“She said she was going to buy tickets. For our ride.”
Roro shrugged her shoulders, munching on the squid in both hands.
“Can I have one more?”
“Of course. Want two?”
“Just one, please.”
Roro, smiling brightly and handing over a skewer as happily as a mother bird bringing back food. Anyway, this person has such a conspicuous outfit and appearance, but no one is paying attention.
Well, even the strangers passing by right next to have not only blonde hair but also hair that looks like it's been struck by lightning, and they're wearing clothes that look like they just caught a wild boar and sewed them on, so co to think of it, the suit might not be as conspicuous as I thought.
“Hey, Delphi! Did you get them?”
Just as I was lost in such thoughts, Delphi returned.
“Fortunately, I was able to get two rooms. We almost had to squeeze into one room.”
“What's the ship we're taking?”
At Delphi's triumphant appearance, I asked with a secret hope that it might be that incredibly luxurious-looking cruise ship over there. At that, Delphi, who had taken a squid from Roro, took out a bundle of tickets from her pocket.
“The Annamaria. It's that one.”
Following her gesture, I turned my head back and saw,
“……Ah.”
A shabby four-story passenger ship with a very embarrassing appearance.
***
The passenger ship we boarded was still quite large.
It wasn't a luxury ship like a cruise liner, but it was a large vessel that could easily accommodate a thousand people. The boarding area was also quite crowded, though not as much as the harbor.
In the midst of the bustling crowd, the five of us had to move as if we were stuck together to avoid being separated.
“How long does it take to get to the 3rd Continent?”
“Probably two weeks? A fortnight? Right, sunbae?”
At Roro's question, Phillip asked Delphi for confirmation. She nodded her head as if annoyed.
Only about a fortnight.
Considering the distance between the 1st and 3rd Continents, it was the speed of a speedboat. At that speed, it was likely that there were superhuman crew mbers who could manipulate water currents or wind.
Since superhumans existed in Astava, the developnt of other technologies was not that high.
'I hope we have a quiet and safe trip.'
As I climbed the old stairs, I prayed earnestly.
Even though I still didn't know if God existed.
***
The underground cargo hold of the Annamaria.
Two n were moving a large wooden crate. There were marks of tropical fruits on it here and there, but from between the planks, the growling of a beast could be heard from ti to ti.
The burly man who was pulling with all his might at the front looked back with a terrified face.
“B-boss. Are we really going to load it? What if it wakes up in the middle……”
“Are you doubting my skills right now? Can't you hear that it's sleeping soundly even now?”
“N-no! Of course not!”
But at the shout that ca from behind, he shut his mouth again and started pulling the luggage.
The two n who had safely pushed the giant box into the innermost part of the cargo hold had different expressions.
The man with a deep scar on his chin, who was called Boss, was steeped in greed, while the other man was still frightened and anxious.
“Shall I put it to sleep one more ti? This should be fine until tomorrow morning.”
The scarred man barely managed to put his hand through the gap in the wood and fumbled around.
“I told you to put in a reasonable amount of fruit. Where on earth is…… Ah, here it is.”
The man, who was looking for sothing with a deep frown, grinned and placed his hand on sothing.
“Sleep. Sleep tight.”
With the scarred man's muttering, a faint green light spread from him and enveloped the wooden crate, then disappeared without a trace. Then, the sound of the beast, which had been heard irregularly until just a mont ago, imdiately quieted down.
But the subordinate's expression still didn't relax.
“Wouldn't a steel cage for monsters have been better than wood……”
“This bastard, really! Hey, you punk, do you know how expensive that is?”
Thwack!
The scarred man hit the back of his subordinate's head hard. However, the one who was hit seed to be much stronger physically.
The subordinate didn't move an inch, just clutched his head with a dejected face and looked at his boss.
“B-but Boss, what if this monster really gets loose…… what are we going to do in the middle of the ocean?”
The scarred man, frustrated, banged on the wooden crate.
“Bart, just get this thing safely to that collector. We won't have to worry about money for a while. But are you going to keep whining like that now, you moron.”
“D-did you really get promised 10 million quri? Just for transporting it?”
“I told you!”
“Wh-why?”
At his subordinate Bart's reply, the scarred man, who was at a loss for words, scowled and this ti slamd his fist on the wooden crate.
“How am I supposed to know what those rich people who are overflowing with money think? The broker has a na for himself in this business, so don't worry about useless things.”
“Didn't they say that thirty monster hunters died trying to catch this thing? And they were said to be quite skilled! Why on earth would such a monster……”
“Didn't, I, just, say, that I, don't, know, what, those, rich, people, think!”
“Ah, it hurts!”
It was as the scarred man was hitting Bart's head in ti with each syllable.
“Hey! If you're done loading, get out! We're about to set sail.”
A cargo manager in a bright blue uniform, who had appeared from sowhere, approached the two n, waving the club he was holding.
“Oh, of course, of course. Pablo, let's go now.”
The scarred man, who saw the manager, smiled pleasantly and patted Bart's shoulder. The manager glanced at the wooden crate they had been standing by, but soon found the tropical fruit mark on it and looked away.
“As you know, you can't just enter the cargo hold during the voyage. You need a permit issued by the navigation room, so make sure to get one and carry it with you.”
“Yes, yes. I know.”
“If you understand, then get lost.”
“Have a good day!”
The scarred man gave a perfunctory nod and quickly left with his subordinate. Bart, who was pushed out and followed his boss, grumbled discontentedly as he climbed the stairs to the lobby.
“Why is he so rude? How dare he have that attitude towards the boss! I should teach him a lesson!”
Bart, who didn't seem to rember being hit by that boss, was just fuming. The scarred man was inwardly satisfied with his subordinate's not-so-bad reaction.
“Leave him be. There's no need to ss with the manager. And besides, on an unauthorized passenger ship like this, even guys like that might not be ordinary.”
“Unauthorized……?”
As Bart tilted his head with a look of incomprehension, the scarred man's brow, which had softened a little, furrowed again.
“You didn't even know what kind of ship you were on?”
“Th-the ticket wasn't bought by , but by Gut……”
A voice that crawled, a waste of his large build. The scarred man, who had let out a sigh, climbed the stairs with long strides and growled softly.
“This is a fake passenger ship. It's pretending to be a vessel that operates between the 1st and 3rd Continents, but in reality, it's a smuggling ship for those without proper identification.”
“Whaat!? Th-then are you saying it's full of criminals? W-why are we on sothing like this?”
The scarred man was at a loss for words.
He knew his subordinate was stupid, but he didn't think he was this stupid. Did he think we were so kind of law-abiding citizens?
Bart, who was trembling. The scarred man, feeling a deep sense of doubt, changed the subject.
“By the way, where did Gut say he would be? The main lobby?”
“Uh, well, Gut is probably in his room. He gets seasick easily, you know.”
“……One thing after another, really.”
There was no ragtag group like this. One was a coward, and the other got seasick when they had to be on a ship for a fortnight.
“I-I'm sorry.”
“Whatever, you go in there. I'll go upstairs. There's no need to attract attention by walking around together.”
“What? Will we attract attention when there are only two of us?”
“A bear-like guy like you stands out anywhere. So you go to the first floor. I'll go to the second floor.”
The scarred man, who had given up on being angry, gestured with his hand to get lost. Bart, who was intimidated, bowed his head and headed towards the door to the first floor in front of him.
And just as he was about to grab the doorknob.
“Ah, right. But Boss. Didn't that monster drop sothing? You know, when you barely put it to sleep.”
“……What are you talking about? Did you have a dream or sothing? What did it drop?”
“N-no. I'm sure sothing like a parchnt fell out of the monster's mouth……”
“If you're going to keep spouting nonsense, I'm going ahead.”
“Ah, ah, I-I'm sorry……”
Ignoring Bart, who was bowing his head deeply, the man turned the doorknob to the second-floor door, which was now right in front of him.
All he could think about was rushing to the shabby bar in the lobby and downing so cheap rum. He felt that was the only way he could stop himself from blowing that moron Bart's head off with a gun.
‘As soon as I get the money, I have to kill all these idiots. They know about the map too.’
Thinking of sothing in his pocket, the scarred man threw the door open.
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