～～～～～
While Elto was demonstrating Hell Explosion to Heal and the others, a certain warship was floating near the coast of Sheorl.
The crew of the ship all stood on the deck and gazed into the distance. They had been looking in the direction of Sheorl, which would be visible any moment now.
“Hey…hey…what was that…?”
Like the rest of the crew, Balpas was shocked by what he had just seen.
Even Oren was standing next to him with his mouth wide open.
“It-it’s impossible… What the hell…”
Out of nowhere, a giant explosion had erupted in front of their eyes. It was on such a scale that it could have blown away the entire Sanfaris palace.
And before they had any time to catch their breath, the ship was assaulted by the sounds and winds of the explosion.
“What!? Everyone, hold on!!”
As Balpas shouted, the captain’s voice and the ship’s bell echoed around them.
However, the violent blasts of wind started to tear through their sails one after another. But as if that was not enough, one of the masts began to bend with a terrible noise, and then it broke in half and fell into the sea.
“Hey, Oren! What are you doing! Use your magic to stop this wind!”
Balpas said, and Oren suddenly returned to himself.
He and the other sorcerers quickly unleashed wind magic at the powerful winds.
“Wh-what is that… Now there are waves!?”
Before Balpas could catch his breath, a great wave that looked like it could swallow the ship up was right in front of them.
“All of you, prepare for impact! We can repair the mast later!”
The captain’s voice echoed. In the meantime, Oren shouted at the waves.
“Tsk! Elstorm!!”
Oren’s magic opened up a hole through the wave, and the battleship passed right through.
However, it was not perfect, and a great amount of water still filled the ship.
“But…what was that…”
Balpas looked up and saw that smoke was rising in the air.
Oren had now returned to his usual calm self.
“It is not that shocking, brother. I assume that some underwater volcano must have erupted.”
But Balpas did not nod.
A volcano would not have erupted so suddenly without any signs. Besides, there was a flash of red light. It was clearly the work of magic.
It was as if someone were warning them to stay away… Balpas could not help but think this.
Just then, the captain rushed towards Balpas with a look of panic.
“Prince Balpas! It’s a disaster! Many have been wounded! Furthermore, one of the masts was broken, and there is a hole near the bow of the ship!”
“What? Can’t you fix it?”
“We can take some emergency measures, but the hole is very big, and the ship will be uneven… And the mast has sunken into the water and will be difficult to retrieve.”
“Well, I’m not an expert on ships, so there is not much I can say. Regardless, how much longer can we sail?”
“I think we should last until we reach Sheorl… But we will not make it if we turn around now. Besides, the men need to be treated.”
“I see. Damn it… Now it will look like we are going to Heal to ask for help.”
Then Oren opened his mouth.
“No, brother. If anything, isn’t this a favorable situation?”
Balpas was confused by these surprising words.
“What are you talking about? Don’t you see that we might have to bow our heads and ask Heal to help repair and restock the ship? And what if he were to refuse us… Ah.”
“Yes. You know Heal well enough to know what he will do.”
Oren said. And then Balpas muttered quietly.
“Heal would not reject us like this… So now our entry into the island is all but assured.”
“Exactly. We can just make up some excuse about getting lost at sea. Besides, you have ‘Twilight,’ which allows you to conceal yourself.”
“You. You knew about my real crest…”
“Yes. In any case, now we are guaranteed entry into the island. We don’t have to worry about being turned away.”
“That’s true… Captain, set sail for Sheorl as soon as we’re finished with repairs.”
And so the battleship set out for Sheorl once the emergency repairs were completed.
However, at that time, none of the ship’s crew noticed the rocking of the barrels in the ship’s hull.