Chapter 156

In the early dawn, feeling a bit groggy, I climbed up to the deck and stretched.

“Ah…”

The calm sound of the sea gently caressed my ears.

The wind barely stirred, and the current flowed slowly, but the ship, anchored in place, remained steady in the sluggish flow.

It was a rare moment of peace.

In this serene atmosphere, I leaned back against the deck and gazed at the distant horizon.

The sun was rising slowly amidst the gradually brightening twilight.

Having seen it countless times before, it felt even brighter now, blending perfectly with the tranquil ambiance, and I found myself momentarily lost in calm contemplation.

And then…

“Yawning~ Huh? Father. Did you sleep well?”

A cute voice reached my ears.

There stood Ambasha, bowing slightly toward me.

Draped over her nape was a weasel carrying combat prowess of level 10, like a furry scarf.

“Yes, did you sleep well too?”

“Yes. Zebby rustled a bit, but I slept well.”

She beamed a huge smile while affectionately petting the still-slumbering creature.

I thought the combination of a girl and a weasel was surprisingly cute, and rubbed her little head, feeling a warmth spread in my heart.

“But what are you doing here?”

“I came to enjoy some sea breeze and wake up a little. There’s no urgent matters, but a captain shouldn’t oversleep, after all.”

“Oh, I see… I came up to wake myself up as well since I need to prepare breakfast, and it’s a bit lonely without Franklin sister here.”

Now they had become completely like biological sisters… no, perhaps even something more than that.

Feeling a sense of pride that such a scene, unattainable in the original work, had come true through my hands, I unexpectedly began to think about Franklin, who was not here.

“Speaking of which… I wonder if Franklin is doing okay without any trouble. She said she’d be back by tomorrow at the earliest, and at the latest by the day after.”

“True, I heard there might be some commotion with the Brittania Empire right before she left… but… I mean, would anything really happen? Even if it did, the Vice-Captain lady went with her.”

“…Oh right, she’s a lady after all… regardless of her face…”

“I heard she’s about the same age as Dad. No… sister is a bit… off, huh?”

“Ha ha… well, that’s true…”

If she had heard that, she’d probably clutch her nape in annoyance, but since the person in question wasn’t here, it didn’t matter much.

Listening to the girl’s unfiltered fact bombardment, I couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

‘Lady, huh… Well, if I dig deeper, I might find even more on that topic…’

She had felt like a big sister from the first time we met.

Besides, it was said that in this world, one could modify their appearance with magic, and in severe cases, there was magic that allowed one to live forever as a child.

In fact, I heard that the current emperor of the Dragona Empire is nearing almost 400 years old, while Chancellor Senel I faced before was over 300 years old.

On the outside, she looked like a big sister, but in reality, she was beyond even being a grandmother… a being resembling some ancient life form.

In that respect, Lemain also possessed remarkable power, and with the uncertainty of her past, it was entirely possible she was even older.

‘Well, since the person in question won’t share the details, I guess I can just stop worrying about it…’

Thus, considering how fearsome women could be in many ways, I patted the head of my little daughter beside me, gazing at the sun that had begun to rise.

It looked even redder today…

*

“Ugh…”

A tingling sensation coursed through my body.

In that moment, Franklin gazed forward with cold eyes.

There, standing, was a woman.

Dressed in pristine naval uniform, she approached slowly towards us…

She was strikingly beautiful but looked quite youthful.

However, Franklin knew well.

Despite her appearance, the actual age of that woman was nearly double hers.

And… the magical power contained within that small-looking body?

It rivaled that of the strongest man she knew.

The Grand Marshal of the Brittania Empire, known as the Queen of the Sea,

Admiral Horai Nelson.

With a refreshing smile that seemed oddly fitting, she approached us, golden lightning coursing through her body.

“Well, well… I thought I’d just come over lightly to catch a few pesky bugs, but I didn’t expect to encounter such delightful guests here… Lemain and… oh, it’s Franklin, as usual, looking quite frightening today!”

“Ugh…”

“And what are you doing here? Did you manage to crawl all the way here with a group of crew members?”

Lemain asked with a frosty voice.

Seeing Franklin, as well as even the usually calm Lemain’s suddenly sharp demeanor, everyone around could clearly feel the intensity of the situation.

Of course, just looking at the corpses sprawled out in front of us, one could automatically understand that the person was no ordinary monster.

But the changes in close acquaintances’ states were sending even clearer warnings to their instincts.

In response to the frozen pirate crew, Nelson maintained an unyielding smile.

“I told you, I’m here to deal with pests. It might be a waste of my power to come this far, but…”

Crackle! Crackle!

“!!”

“Since my cute little sister is here, I, as her elder sister, came to help out that sweet girl with her chores. But…”

With those words, the golden lightning emanating from her began to grow stronger.

The deadly aura she emanated made the smile on her face grow even more pronounced.

“I never thought I’d meet a future target like this~ Especially without that pesky Pirate King here. Hahaha! Talk about a lucky day!”

A rich expression of excitement and madness danced in Nelson’s eyes.

Against her, Lemain swiftly drew the great sword strapped to her back and charged forward.

Nelson’s lightning unleashed itself toward Lemain in torrents.

Those blazing destructive energies split off, resembling branches, as they surged toward her.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Bam!

“!”

With a fierce swing against the incoming bolts, Lemain unleashed her blade.

The strike infused with green aura erased Nelson’s lightning as if it were pure magic.

The unique properties of the aura—magic nullification.

No matter how complex and powerful the magic was, it was but an eraser to the aura.

As a fleeting gap appeared thanks to that nullification, Lemain swung her sword right at Nelson.

“Dang it!”

Clang!

The sharp sound echoed as Nelson’s staff met Lemain’s blade.

At the same time, Nelson attempted to unleash magic to strike, but Lemain’s aura suppressed it in turn.

“Indeed… You’ve always been a bothersome one, both then and now.”

“That’s what I want to say! You damn nuisance!”

Even though her opponent was the 12th grade Grand Magician Nelson, Lemain’s power, based on the properties of her extreme affinity, was by no means weak.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy…

But that didn’t mean victory was out of reach either.

“Ugh!”

“Ho ho ho…”

In that moment, as the tension hung heavily in the air, the balance quickly began tilting toward Nelson.

No matter how strong Lemain was, the aura had its clear limits.

Heavily tilted toward healing and protective powers, her attack power was extremely low.

And this limitation was starkly presented at the moment when their weapons clashed.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

The staff of Nelson amassed with compression.

Swiping against it, cracks began to form in Lemain’s sword.

Even using her aura to defend, the difference in concentrated power was simply too extreme.

The result…

BOOM!!!

“Ugh!”

Eventually, under pressure from the strength, her great sword was shattered in two.

The impact also sent Lemain’s body flying backward.

“Vice-Captain!”

In a hurry, Franklin leaped to catch her.

As they distanced between each other in this tense moment, Nelson still spoke with an unmistakable nonchalance.

“Well then, let’s end the banter here.”

The golden lightning flowing from her body began forming a massive magic circle.

Rumble!!

Dark clouds began to roll in rapidly across the once-clear sky.

Thunder echoed from all around,

as lightning flashed through the clouds.

In this situation where it felt like something big was about to happen,

Lemain, even as her head spun from the previous backlash, began to let her aura radiate fully.

And then.

“<Nelson Strike>!”

CRACKLING!!!!