A few days later, five warships gathered in the port of Zenobia.
　They were the most advanced warships.

　Each of them was said to be called the Umiwashi, Umitaka, Umitobi, Umibato, and Umi Sparrow.

　They are all fine black warships and are the mainstay of the Xenovian Navy.

It is the newest ship of our Zenobia with 10 cannons each imported from your city. Isn't it wonderful?

Indeed.

　His knowledge of the ship was limited, but his greatness was encouraging.

　The only thing that concerned him was that the fleet had been wiped out in the previous battle, and his steward, Hans, had been wounded.

'You tried with more than twice as many as this last time, didn't you?

Yeah.

　Eltria replies.

'Even with a state-of-the-art fleet, will this number be enough?

Well, you see, there's only three things that are different. There are only three things different from last time.

I'd love to visit.

'One, as you pointed out, this time we've scraped the most advanced ships from Zenobia. Some of the ships have just recently been inducted, and we've hastily diverted the ships that will be escorting our most important cargo to us.

That's very reassuring.

'And secondly, I've gathered my best sailors this time. We're going to bring on board five hundred of the most daredevil and brave men of the sea, even more so than last time. You may think that we are less numerous than last time, but the quality is several times better.

That's very helpful.

"And third, this time I'm personally boarding the flagship of the fleet, the Sea Eagle.

..........

　Eltria's formidable eyebrows furrowed, though she couldn't help but notice the expression on her face.

''That's offensive. The look on your face makes it look as if you're saying I'm useless.''

No, I don't think so. But--

'But you don't like the idea of a woman on the battlefield, do you?　I'm sure you've been told that I rode around the five seas with Hans long ago.

'I've heard that, but I can't really imagine what it was like then,'

　The red-haired woman in front of me was a seductive woman, but I couldn't imagine her as a young woman.

　-- no, she still looks young enough and beautiful enough.

　The story goes that when she was young, she wielded a cutlass with her slender arms and was feared by the pirates as the "Red Princess of the Ship".

　As the nickname "Red" suggests, I thought the two names came from the flaming red hair, but apparently not.

　I've heard that the name "Red Ship Princess" comes from the way she mercilessly cut down pirates one after another and turned back into blood.

　I've been staring at Etria for a while now, and she must have sensed what was on my mind.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time in the city," she said, as she took an apple from a battered sailor walking around.

''--Excuse me,''

　As she said this, she tossed the apple into the air and pulled out the cutlass that was hanging from her waist.
　It happened in an instant.
　The sword flash that Eltria released had cut the apple in half as soon as it fell to the ground.
　I take the apple in my hand and look at the cross section of the apple.
　It was a brilliant cut as if a master of the Japanese sword had cut it.
　When I put the apple together, it stuck together perfectly.
　I was impressed with her sword skills.

'Does this arm make you think I'm a liability to you?'

　Ertolia will say so, but once she has shown me this skill, I have no choice but to keep quiet.
　I am an amateur when it comes to naval battles.
　It's a good idea to leave the direction of the fleet to someone who knows the sea.
　I've decided to leave the command of the fleet to her.

I'm the fleet commander then. I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.

　She would ask again, but there was no objection at all.

''That's helpful. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. I don't feel like losing this time.

　She let out a smile and held out her hand to me.
　When I squeezed her hand back, I cracked a joke too.

'I made sure my sword skills haven't faded, but I don't want to see your beautiful hands stained with blood. When we defeat the Sea Serpent, you can concentrate on commanding the ship.

　Eltria nodded persistently.

I understand. It's a good idea to have a commander on the front lines. I'm not a boardmaster. I don't stand on the front line.

That would be helpful...

　I replied, but his words were a bit painful to hear.
　This is because I am also a commander and I am often on the front lines despite my status as a commander.
　I guess this wasn't the right time to scold Eltria, or Lilith for that matter.
　But for once, I would need to be on the front lines.
　You have to take down the giant monster that has sunk dozens of ships.
　I'm not going to be able to counteract that with half-hearted "power".
　For once, he had no choice but to resolve to become a magician and not a commander.




　A few hours later, the sea serpent extermination fleet under Etria's command set sail.
　Julia, dressed in a pure white dress, waved from the harbor.
　She is accompanied by Hans, who is still wearing a bandage.

　He too offered to board the ship and help Master Eltria, which both me and Eltria desperately refused to do.


'Hans, you need to quietly cure yourself now,'

'Mr. Hans, please stay by Miss Julia's side for now while you rest your body.

　That was the consensus of the two of us.

　It took a lot of persuasion, but we managed to get them to agree, and after receiving their farewell, we set off for the ocean.

　Incidentally, we've also asked Sati to stay at home this time.
　Basically, I won't be taking her to the battlefield.

　Last time I took her along because of the special circumstances of having her take Yulia's place, but this time there will be no reason to take her along at all.

　-- although it's a pity that I won't be able to eat her delicious home-cooked meals.

　However, I don't originally intend to complain about how good or bad the food is on the battlefield.

　It's not a bad idea to regain a taste for the battlefield at this point in time, as my taste buds have recently become more discerning due to Sati's home-cooked meals and Eltria's lack of possessions.

　With that in mind, he and Eltria spent their days pouring tasteless hard bread into their stomachs with onion soup.