The dinner with Tran lasted late into the night. It seemed that he had opened up quite a bit, as Tran and Panamera started a drinking contest, which soon turned into a loud celebration. By the way, Panamera won.
At this point, I didn’t think anyone would be moving early in the morning. I thought I’d have a relaxed morning, but I had clearly underestimated the drinkers.
“Young man. Are you awake?”
“I’ve been woken up…”
It seemed Panamera came to visit first thing in the morning, and Til woke me up in a panic. I muttered sleepily as I rubbed my eyes. Outside, on the main street in front of the inn, stood Rosso with his knights and bodyguards, with Panamera leading the way.
“Oh, Viscount Van. I trust you’re ready for today?” Rosso greeted.
“Good morning, Marquis Rosso. I’ll do my best.”
“Hahaha! You look sleepy, but you’ll be fine, right?”
As I rubbed my eyes and answered, Rosso laughed heartily. Some of the knights even chuckled quietly.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I glanced behind me. Despite going to bed around the same time, Espada and Dee were already awake, and Til and Kamshin were wide awake as well. Targa, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten dressed in his full armor as if it were a formal occasion. What’s that about?
It seemed I was the only one taking it slow this morning, along with Arte.
“I’m so sleepy, Arte,” I muttered.
“Ah, yes. But I woke up early because I was excited to see you build the ship, Van-sama,” Arte replied with a bright smile.
When a cute girl says something like that, you can’t help but try harder. Boys are simple creatures, after all.
“Alright. Let’s build a ship so amazing that Tran passes out,” I said, clenching my fist.
As I said this, Espada cleared his throat and muttered quietly.
“...This time, we need to hold back a little.”
“Ah.”
I snapped back to reality at Espada’s words. Now that I thought about it, I had almost started building a massive battleship, like the Yamato.
“Right, right. Well, let’s make the ship like the Fleetwood imitation, just like yesterday. Since Tran’s with us, he can offer advice while we build,” I said.
“That would be best. Also, instead of building continuously, we should take several short breaks,” Espada added.
“Oh, right. We’ll keep the magic power in check too,” I agreed, carefully listening to Espada and making a note in my mental notebook.
As we were talking, Tran and the others arrived.
“Good morning, everyone. It looks like everyone’s gathered,” Tran greeted.
Rosso nodded and answered.
“Yes. I’m relieved to see that the effects of last night’s drinking haven’t lingered on you, Tran.”
“Well, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that... I never thought the day would come when I’d lose a drinking contest…” Tran replied sheepishly.
“Hahaha!”
It seemed the dinner had really helped. The distance between Rosso and Tran had closed significantly. Riding on that atmosphere, Panamera and I were able to speak to Tran in a friendly manner.
“Tran-dono, is everything alright with your health?” Panamera asked.
“Ah… P-Panamera-dono… yes, I’m fine,” Tran stuttered.
For some reason, Tran seemed more intimidated by Panamera than by Rosso. I could understand that feeling, Tran. Panamera’s intimidating presence could be overwhelming. She was probably a demon king in her past life, or maybe a school bully.
“Viscount Van, I hear you’ll be showing us how the ship is built today?” Tran asked.
Lost in thought, I didn’t realize Tran was looking at me until he spoke. I nodded in response to his question.
“Yes. And I have a small request…”
“Hm? What is it?”
“While I’m building it, I’d appreciate it if you could offer some advice…” I asked.
“Oh, that’s all? Of course, I don’t mind,” Tran said, agreeing easily.
It was a simple conversation, but considering the status of our countries, it was quite remarkable. After all, a senior member of the Fiesta Kingdom’s navy was offering to help with the shipbuilding of another nation. This could be seen as the beginning of a de facto alliance between us.
However, my interest was only in Fiesta Kingdom’s shipbuilding techniques.
With excitement, we headed to the sea to see the two large ships. On the right, docked was the Fleetwood from Fiesta Kingdom. On the left was the prototype ship I had built—Van’s first trial ship. Following Tran’s instructions, it had been docked at the specially designed pier, known as Van’s Pier, since last night. By the way, the person who came up with the name is still under investigation. Seriously, who named it Van’s Pier? Only a few people even knew that a pier is also called a “berth.”
“Well then, first, I’ll have Dee and the others bring the materials. After that, I’ll move my prototype ship out into the open sea. Then, I’ll start building the new ship at the end of the pier,” I said, giving instructions.
As I was about to give more details, Tran turned to me, eyes wide.
“W-Wait a minute. You’re going to build the ship on the sea? There’s no precedent for that in our country…” Tran said, clearly shocked.
It seemed the crew was just as surprised, exchanging stunned looks. They had clearly never heard of such an idea.
I knew they wouldn’t believe it just by explaining. Alright, I decided. I would have them see it with their own eyes and convince them that this was the way to do it. Smiling, I gave instructions to everyone.
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