694 - - 21-06 Potlock Arrival
After passing safely through the Kingdom of Cerroa, the
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
On December 15, the ship approached the Kingdom of Egelea, and the crew's faces began to show signs of relief.
"Lunch is ready!
Claire, who was on meal duty, called out.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
"Oh, lunch is ready!
"After all, eating is the only thing we can look forward to.
The first day or two after setting sail, the crew was nervous and impressed by the scenery they saw for the first time, but after five days, they were getting a little bored with the unchanged scenery.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
(We need to have some fun when we are off duty...)
Rodrigo, on board as a shipwright, was taking notes of what he noticed.
(Maybe we can enrich our meals...).
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
With this in mind, he went to the mess hall. Half the crew had gathered there.
The tables and chairs were semi-fixed. The table and chairs are semi-fixed, so that they do not become unbalanced even if they are shaken.
"Well, it's been a while since we had soft bread today.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Soft bread is a rarity in a restaurant where dry bread is served most of the time.
"I baked it myself!"
Claire is proud of her lack of pride.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
"Well, that's great!
"I didn't know you were a woman, Miss Claire."
"Is that a compliment?"
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Claire, the red-haired girl, was very popular with the crew.
Normally, this would be a bad thing, but thanks to her petite frame (145 cm, 39 kg), she was a very attractive adult despite her age (2-1/2 years old). (She was also not aware of the gender of the crew members).
(We also need to pay attention to the gender of the occupants.)
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Rodrigo was somewhat concerned about Claire, who was the same age as his daughter Marcia.
"Oh, this is delicious!
"Of course it is!"
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
He uses a magic stone stove developed by Jin for cooking such food as this. Since the stove does not directly burn the food, it is relatively safe from fire.
Deep frying with oil is strictly forbidden.
Therefore, the menu is naturally limited.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
When Claire was in charge of meal duty, the crew looked forward to her creative menus.
"Claire, that was delicious. Thank you.
"Thank you." "Thank you very much."
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Rodrigo says a few words to Claire and leaves the mess hall to go on deck.
The waves glisten in the afternoon sun.
"We'll have to find some way to reduce the glare.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Rodrigo notes the need for sun shades for his eyes.
Naturally, the captain, Lugaria Gascar Von Alkois, was also making these improvements.
"It would be nice to have lights in the harbor. It would help us to see where we are at night."
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
In short, a lighthouse. It would be useful since they sail along the coast.
We are also listening to the opinions of the crew and compiling them. We plan to submit a report in due course.
"Couldn't we just flash the light and have a simple communication?"
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
"What about flying a flag in the daytime?
There are many things that we have noticed while sailing. Various suggestions for improvement were made.
The need for a modern tugboat.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Emergency stop with emergency thrusters.
Rescue signals.
For the time being, we are trying to identify what we feel is necessary first, without considering how to realize it. It seems to have been a good approach.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Inadvertently, we were doing something similar to the brainstorming process that we had done when developing the new ship.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
We were not always blessed with fine weather, but there were stormy days. On those days, we anchored closer to the shore and in deeper water to make it through.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
It would have been safer if there had been an inlet, but even so, Bernstein's stability was superior even without sails and masts, which are easily affected by the wind.
On December 18, they arrived at <
The port of Nahrnekka is located in a small bay with calm waves and deep water, making it an ideal anchorage for the Bernstein.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Furthermore, a pier had been built in a rush to welcome the new ships of the Shoro Empire, and the crew had not been on land for nine days.
Unlike sailors on modern Earth, they would sleep on the ship for two nights at most, so one can only imagine their joy.
Everyone except the captain and Rodrigo, a maintenance man, went ashore with great joy. They went to the town of Narneka.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
"It's not easy being captain, is it?"
Outside of official business hours, Rodrigo and Captain Lugaria were friendly and chatted, being the same age.
"Yeah, totally. Are you sure you don't want to go?"
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
"I've lost my fortune once before to drink, women, and gambling. I've learned my lesson.
"Oh, yes, one of the objectives was to visit your daughter in Potrock, wasn't it?"
"Yes. I don't know if you'll forgive me.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
I have two daughters in the country myself. I have two daughters in the country too, but I don't see them more than a month a year because they are in the ...... military. Still, they are lovely and they love me as a father. That's how blood ties work."
"I hope so."
Then I heard a loud voice.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
"Message! Attention! Anybody home?
"...... what is it?"
The captain and Rodrigo both go outside. A man in the uniform of the Kingdom of Egelea was standing at the end of the pier.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
"I am the captain. What do you want?"
The messenger replies.
"Yes! I am a member of the 1st Knights of the Kingdom of Egelea, Workers! I have herewith a letter from my king, Harold Luan Autoclase of Egelea!
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
"What, a letter from King Egelea? Thank you very much for your ......."
I nervously opened the letter, which was addressed to me, an ordinary captain with only the rank of lieutenant colonel in the army, and found it to read
.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
.......
I had no reason to refuse the offer in the sense of deepening the friendship between the two countries, and I gave the word of respectful acceptance to the workers of the messenger who were waiting for a reply.
The ceremony was not too grandiose.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
The ceremony was neither too grand nor too simple, and the atmosphere was one of simple-mindedness and robustness.
The King himself arrived in a hot air balloon with the Queen, which was a surprise to all of us, since the capital Asunto is about 60 km away by a straight line.
On the other hand, none of the ships of the Kingdom of Egelea exceeded 10 meters in length, and the 40-meter-long Bernstein alone was a center of attention.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Furthermore, the engineers of the Kingdom of Egelea could not help but sigh when they saw the
* * * * * * * * *
On December 20, the Bernstein departed from Narnekka with an energized crew.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
The ship turned to the south from its previous course to the east. The destination is the Elias Peninsula.
The next day, the ship stops at the port of Konjol, and then at the port of Nefotso in the Nord province of Elias.
The next day, the ship arrives at the port of Konjol, and the day after that, at the port of Maugus.
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
On the 23rd, Bernstein arrived at his final destination, the port of Potrock.
A welcoming ceremony had been arranged at the port, and a large crowd of onlookers had gathered to witness this moment of the century.
"......Marcia?"
Read at https://w w w . m t l r e a d e r.com
Rodrigo looked for his daughter's face in the crowd. A face that no matter how many years had passed, he would never forget.
But he could not find it.