Episode 108
It was unexpected.
“You want to join not only the shipbuilding but also the voyage itself?”
“That’s right.”
Richmond stroked his jaw for a moment.
“This isn’t really within my authority, but I can bring it up. However…”
He asked with curiosity in his tone.
“Why? Sailing the sea is nothing like traveling rivers such as the Serbenyu. Out there, unpredictable dangers await.”
The orcs, who had lived only in the mountains, were ignorant of the outside world. Richmond thought perhaps they didn’t truly understand what the sea was like. But the chief’s answer was firm.
“Any risk is worth it.”
Since starting contact with the Ludwig Demon Realm, the chief’s perspective had changed completely.
We were frogs in a well all this time.
While orc life stagnated and even regressed, Ludwig’s lands had advanced brilliantly.
“I’ve heard all about your way of life through our clansmen working in the settlements.”
Medicinal herbs and artifacts from the elves’ forest. Unimaginable construction techniques. Abundant food supplies.
“It made me question our old ways.”
Maybe the orcs’ way of surviving through raiding had always been wrong. Couldn’t they also one day achieve the prosperity their kin now enjoyed under the demons?
After long reflection, the chief reached a conclusion.
They needed to see a broader world.
“Our tribe must actively experience and learn new civilizations.”
“Oh?”
“They say the North is even wealthier than here, correct?”
“That is true.”
“Then I want our young orcs to see that advanced world.”
Richmond understood his intent.
“Of course, we won’t just ask for a free ride. We’ll contribute.”
“If you provide labor… then not as passengers, but as crew.”
Richmond didn’t know much about sea voyages either, but he could guess a few things.
“They’ll need training first.”
Neither demons nor orcs had ever truly gone to sea. Once the ship was finished, test runs and training voyages were planned. The orcs could join from the beginning.
“If they prove unfit later, you can always dismiss them. But please—give them a chance.”
No one knew if orcs would handle sea life better than demons. With their great strength, maybe they’d adapt faster—or perhaps their very nature would make them more vulnerable.
But the chief was right. They wouldn’t know until they tried.
“I’ll report this with a positive recommendation.”
Officially, the decision lay with Ludwig, but in practice, it was Ariella who would choose.
“Why not? I see no problem.”
Ariella approved without hesitation.
And so more time passed.
After adjusting the details and signing an additional agreement, Ariella spent her days overseeing the preparation of goods for trade with the North.
“Make sure the casks of liquor don’t leak.”
“Don’t forget to line the herb crates with cloth. Who’d buy rotten stock?”
She was fully absorbed in these matters when at last, good news arrived.
“The ship is complete?”
Even in the developed North, such speed would be astonishing. But with Cecile’s brilliant designs and the orcs’ tireless labor, it had become reality.
“Wow, that came out well!”
On the day of the launching and first trial voyage, Ariella clapped her hands in delight.
Even to her, raised in the maritime kingdom, the ship looked impressive.
It was a medium-sized sailing vessel, with four masts, about forty meters long and ten wide. Its stern was high, its curves smooth and streamlined.
“The magic stones are fully charged and connected, right?”
“Yes.”
She hardly needed to ask. She could already feel the vibrant mana flowing through the vessel.
Stronger output and more efficient than old stones. No more charging headaches.
Magic circles engraved into the hull glowed faintly, ensuring safety and speed.
The launching was kept low-key. Even if Delac’s spies had been rooted out, the project remained top secret.
“Let’s take her out for a test run.”
Thirty people boarded the ship for the North.
Naturally, Ariella, Ludwig, and Cecile were among them, along with shipwrights and members of the Southern Merchant Guild.
The merchants, veterans of river trade, would serve as crew at sea and as traders once they reached the North.
And finally—ten orcs.
“We’re supposed to ride that thing?”
The chosen orcs were young, unmarried, and from the mountain tribes, not the settlement. This was deliberate—the chief wanted the most closed-minded youths to be forced into change.
So he sent ten such young men down the mountain.
“Hah! Don’t worry so much. We built this ship with our own hands.”
A middle-aged orc from the settlement reassured them.
“Y-yes, but… can something that big and heavy really float?”
Despite their fears, the ship floated.
What came next, however, was far from easy.
Whoooosh!
Boom! Crack!
Fierce winds slammed the sails.
From the moment they left harbor, dark clouds never lifted. Waves heaved, tossing the ship violently.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“My stomach…!”
Orcs and merchants alike staggered, vomiting everywhere.
They were only practicing near the coast, not even heading into deep sea, yet it was chaos.
Only Ariella stood firm.
“What are you doing? Adjust the sails! They’re catching too much wind!”
“Stay focused! You’ll starve if you throw up everything you eat!”
She darted across the deck, shouting commands with crisp confidence.
Awed, the crew obeyed.
“How can she even stand straight?”
Demon or orc, all stared at her in amazement. Cecile too was impressed.
“She’s like a fish back in water.”
Though the deck rocked violently, Ariella moved with perfect balance, as if walking on solid ground.
She reassured a terrified orc with a pat on the shoulder.
“Relax! A little rocking won’t capsize us.”
“B-but…”
“This isn’t an ordinary ship. Magic keeps it balanced.”
She coached the merchants as well.
“Don’t fight the motion. Shift your weight with it.”
“Not that rope—the one beside it controls the sail!”
“See the waves? Adjust the rudder now!”
“When climbing the mast, go with the wind, not against it!”
“And close your mouth! Don’t swallow seawater—it’ll only make things worse!”
The first training voyage lasted barely two hours. By the end, everyone was exhausted.
That night.
“Orcs belong in the mountains!”
“We’re going back there!”
The young orcs, pale and shaken, begged their elders.
But—
“That’s not allowed.”
“What?!”
The elder orc, Tehatz, shook his head.
He was among the first to move to the settlement, tasked by the chief with guiding these youths.
“But it feels like death out there!”
“Don’t worry. No matter how sick you feel, you won’t die. The ship won’t sink—they said so themselves.”
“But it shakes like an earthquake!”
“You’ll get used to it, sooner or later.”
“…!”
One young orc shouted in frustration.
“Then you go instead, Tehatz!”
The elder looked away, muttering.
“Ahem. I’d love to… but sadly, they said I’m too old. Such a shame.”
His tone was anything but regretful.
The youths let out cries of despair.
