Chapter 31
“Stop, I said!”
A chase ensued down the ship’s corridor, me pursuing and Edgar fleeing. Despite our similar secluded life studying magic in the valley, his endurance was frustratingly superior. With his longer strides, it hardly seemed a fair race.
“Stop… Please, stop…”
Gasp, gasp, I felt exasperated. Despite my all-out effort, he playfully slowed his pace if he got too far ahead, as if to taunt me.
It seemed this chase would never end, and just as I felt my energy wane, I misstepped and stumbled.
“Are you okay?”
Fortunately, as I teetered on the brink of falling and hitting my head, a hand grasped my shoulder, stabilizing me.
Instead of thanking Edgar, who had swiftly come to my aid, I gripped his hand tightly and confronted him.
“What are you thinking?”
His childish antics were one thing, but using magic to torment an innocent person was beyond understanding. Edgar Blayden was not a fool, even if influenced by a love potion.
I continued to press him as he remained stubbornly silent, refusing to speak. Frustrated, I pounded on my chest, urging him to talk.
Finally, Edgar opened his mouth.
“Chloe, I…”
Thud!
Suddenly, a heavy crash jolted the floor beneath us, throwing us off balance. Without Edgar’s quick reflexes, I would have fallen. Through my blurred vision, I saw crew members bursting through the wheelhouse door in a panic.
Their faces pale with fear. An instinctive chill ran down my spine.
What is happening now?
“Bring plywood! As much as you can! We have to prevent the ship from tilting under the weight of water. That must be stopped!”
Driven by instinct, I followed the rushing crew to the deck. I want to know what’s going on.
“This is…”
Seeing the situation for myself, I was at a loss for words. An attack by a monster or external forces might have been preferable.
It’s massive, like a two-story mansion gigantic floating lava rock blocking our path. The rough, reddish boulder floated ominously.
The mercenaries, who had been leisurely enjoying their voyage moments ago, were now in complete disarray. The scattered cards on the table and the overturned glasses showed the sudden urgency. Some hot-tempered mercenaries were already grappling with the crew.
“You there! What did you do in the wheelhouse? How could you not avoid a lava rock this big?”
“I’m sorry! Really, I am. A large part of it was submerged, we didn’t realize it was this huge. I only looked away for a moment, and it suddenly rose up from the water. By the time we saw its full size and tried to change course, it was too late…”
“Is that your excuse?”
A mercenary was going to throw a punch but was restrained by a large, calloused hand. It was Marca, who had just escorted Olio and the maid to the cabin. She looked down at the frail helmsman with a resigned sigh.
“What’s done is done. We need to focus on managing the current situation. Explain what’s happening and how we can handle it.”
“Um, that.”
The helmsman was stuttering but he saw the harsh gazes pouring at him and explained in a clearer way.
“The collision with the lava rock has caused a small hole in the bottom of the ship. Our crew can patch it up with plywood, but the biggest problem is the stone itself. If we can’t deal with it somehow, we won’t be able to change direction and will remain in danger.”
“But how are we supposed to handle that?”
The mercenary shouted again.
“It’s not like we can kill it like a monster. And it’s floating on the water! Are you saying we should all jump into the lake and push it?”
“As far as I know, we don’t have many who can swim in our mercenary group.”
Marca said, half-seriously.
She then turned to me.
“Can’t we get rid of that lava rock with magic?”
“I’m already thinking about that.”
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