The Meaning Of Ing And Rad (4)

The money was certainly over 20 million.

There must have been something in the process of trading, but it was an enormous amount, and thanks to that, my mood was uplifted as the accounts balanced perfectly.

I accepted Bolbe’s requirements with a feeling that I could do whatever he wanted; in the case of the combat ship, I contemplated because I didn’t know exactly what was needed, but I simply wanted to make at least the ship itself sturdy first.

“How many combat ships will be needed?”

“Since our tribe moves a lot to begin with, nothing special is needed. It seems it will be enough as long as it is sturdy.”

Sturdy, just like that; several things came to mind, and I thought those would be fine. First, I moved my steps toward a ship moored at the pier and asked.

“If it just needs to be sturdy, it seems possible even right now… shall we try an experiment first?”

Bolbe tilted his head at my words, and Linda, Matilda, and Lucia followed behind me as if expecting me to do something again.

Bolbe, who was standing beside me, finally couldn’t hold back and asked as I headed straight for the ship.

“What are you planning to do?”

“It is the secret of my Construction aptitude, but it is also a possibility, so I have kept it secret until now.”

“Is it a secret?”

Bolbe’s eyes sparkled; I had heard from Ulde previously that this Bolbe before my eyes was one of the three strongest among the whale beastkin.

I was curious how strong one would be with the title of the strongest among over 100,000 whale beastkin, but rather than that, I approached the ship for an ability I hadn’t used until now, and while stepping onto the vessel, I placed both hands on the ship while using Construction.

‘The efficiency of the Construction aptitude is highest when done with stone, but it is also possible with other materials… if I only want sturdiness… this alone is enough.’

I then poured magic power and mana into the ship as much as possible, imagining it becoming sturdy and flexible, and began to gradually increase the size of the ship.

Then, surprisingly, the ship really grew steadily, though minutely, and when it finally became about 1.3 times the original size, I was able to finish the Construction while feeling the depletion of mana and magic power, but the problem was the gazes of the people looking at me.

“Ju-Just what did you do, and how?!”

Bolbe was startled; did he realize the power I used because he was a strong individual?

“I used ‘Construction’ by utilizing mana and magic power.”

“I thought you could only do that on buildings?!”

Unlike Bolbe, who had a surprised expression upon hearing my words, it was Linda who asked immediately, and I spoke to her.

“The Construction ability is possible with metal and wood as well. However, efficiency is best with stone, and it was stable in accepting my power. Even with this ship, I pushed in power to the point where I thought it was quite a strain, but in the end, I could only increase the size by this much.”

Literally, because there was no wood nearby, I bloated the size by compressing and stretching the tissue thinly and sturdily with mana, but the reason I could do this was also because I could raise the strength mindlessly.

“Bolbe, would you like to try hitting the hull with a bit of strong force?”

“It will break, though…?”

“I don’t think it’ll break.”

He had an expression of disbelief at my words, but when I gestured for him to try, he said he understood and swung his fist. At that moment, with a ‘thud!’ sound, the ship swayed, and strangely, not a single trace of breakage was visible. Furthermore, Bolbe stroked his fist and asked me with a surprised expression.

“It is sturdy. And… it seems there is flexibility as well. It is peculiar. I felt my fist being pushed back… what is it?”

Bolbe’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, so I first asked a few things.

“If it’s a ship of this size, wouldn’t we be able to use it as a combat ship by changing its purpose? In the case of the internal structure or appearance, they can be modified little by little.”

“It seems this size will be sufficient.”

It was at the level of becoming a medium-sized sailing vessel from the feel of a small sailing vessel, but he seemed quite satisfied with just this. Although it felt somewhat insufficient, it was not something where I could bring wood and work on it right away.

“It seems one ship would be enough if it were a bit larger and wider, but this also looks good.”

It was at that moment when I contemplated Bolbe’s satisfaction for a while. Far off, I saw ships moored so closely that they were touching each other, and looking at those and the ship I just increased in size alternately, I spoke.

“Bolbe, how about using this ship as a merchant ship and using the one I just prepared for you as a combat ship; come follow me for a moment.”

Saying so, I consumed a magic recovery potion, a mana recovery potion, and even a physical recovery potion on the way. I took them without worrying about others since it had been a while since I last took them out to consume, but of all things, my eyes happened to meet Linda’s.

I happened to meet her eyes while being self-conscious for no reason. However, Linda just gave a smirk. It felt like she knew something, but it was like, I’ll let it slide this time!

So I also gave an awkward smile back, and while feeling the rapidly recovering mana and magic power, I contemplated whether it would work while looking at the two ships that were almost stuck together, and immediately stepping onto the bar, I spoke to Bolbe.

“Can you pull that ship over there?”

It might be dangerous due to the gentle ripples, but I thought Bolbe, who had a large body and reach, would be able to pull it, and as he stretched his arm and gently pulled the ship as I requested, I could see the distance gradually narrowing.

While thinking it was a great strength, when the distance became roughly close, I also stretched my hand, stepped on the railing of the ship on the opposite side, and used Construction immediately. I then began to increase the overall size while slowly merging the two ships into one.

Did the process of the two ships merging look quite precarious?

Exclamations of anxiety flowed out from here and there. Furthermore, the process of merging the two ships was not that smooth; first, imagining the shape was quite difficult. Part of it was because I didn’t have much knowledge about ships, but the fact that the ships were large was also a cause.

But since the situation was already merging, I had no intention of stopping.

I gradually increased the amount of magic power and mana, adding sturdiness and making it flexible. I mobilized all my imagination considering the size, width, and length of the ship, and began to gradually add changes to the merging process while imagining a Galleon ship I had seen in models.

First, I began to raise three mainmasts. Regarding the positions, there was the part of drawing out memories as much as possible, but I also glanced at and referenced ships among other merchant companies that had three mainmasts.

I then chose a structure that could hold seven sails and began to pay attention to stability and balance by forming the width, span, and flat-feeling hull of the ship, and gradually adding acceleration to the merging, I was able to complete the ship in the form I imagined.

As a result of adding changes little by little while combining Construction and imagination for nearly 30 minutes, I was able to manufacture a splendid Galleon ship, but the problem was that everyone started coming to take a look at it.

Furthermore, as a result of merging the two existing merchant ships, it had become a massive size reaching 2.5 times that of a general merchant ship; although the appearance was very simple, it felt particularly conspicuous as it was a ship that felt like it was molded out of porcelain.

To put it bluntly, it was manufactured using Construction, so there was not a single seam. It was in a state where one would believe it even if told it was a ship made by carving a whole tree.

“Phew… it’s difficult. Now I need advice from people with professional knowledge of ships… is there anyone among you who is well-versed in vessels?”

Several people raised their hands at my words. And when I told them to come up, people who climbed onto the ship with sparkling eyes. So, I began to explain the ship I had just completed with Construction.

“This ship will hold seven sails. There are three mainmasts, and I would like to hear some improvements based on this. In fact, I have almost no knowledge of ships.”

Several people who heard my words were amazed and gave high praise for being able to create a ship in such a form.

While doing so, they began to speak about what needed to be adjusted. First, they began to give advice by mobilizing all the knowledge they knew, such as the need for holes and positions to weave ropes to attach and adjust the sails, and being unable to understand why the forecastle of the ship was formed long and pointedly; a movement was seen among some where they took down the sails gathered on the hull to recycle them to manufacture the sails in the form I ordered.

Although it would take a bit more time until it was perfectly completed, it was a situation where there was no reason to urgently set sail, so I planned to focus on the ship this time.

As they looked at me beginning to be engrossed in things related to vessels, the women shook their heads as if I couldn’t be stopped.

Afterward, nearly ten days were spent until the ship was completed, but the performance of the completed ship was evaluated to transcend imagination, and I could hear high praise.

But the excited feeling from this was short-lived, for the guest who was finally bound to come had arrived.

“A request has come that Sir Agnes wishes to visit the Lord’s castle; what shall we do?”

It was a situation where I had been notified in advance that she would visit due to the matter of Duke Yusillian. While thinking that what was meant to come had finally arrived, I called for Wijel, Debik, Demina, and even Gamung after a long time, and was able to receive Sir Agnes while being together with the four of them.

Sir Agnes, who appeared dressed in brilliant armor; I wondered if it was necessary to even wear armor, but because it felt like I could sense her state of mind, I couldn’t help but be nervous at her appearance as she offered a greeting.

“It has been a long time since we met. I have been distant because I was distracted during that time, but today I have finally come because of an unfortunate matter.”

I could tell it was because of Duke Yusillian’s matter from just the words ‘unfortunate matter’.

“It is merely regrettable that it is not because of a good matter. I have heard the news. Congratulations on your victory.”

“It cannot be called a victory as we failed to strike down the main culprit. It is truly regrettable.”

“Still, I heard that you were able to restore Atoon. Thanks to that, I am hearing reports that many refugees who had flowed into our fief are leaving. It is merely a bit regrettable that they cannot be held back as they are free citizens.”

“I see. However, I heard that there was a major incident this time. May I know the truth?”

“Is there nothing that has been delivered to you?”

Agnes shook her head at my words and spoke.

“I wished to view the information here as well, under the assumption that the information delivered to me might be false. So I wondered if you could give me that opportunity. Furthermore, the Viscount Ingrad I know is not someone of an unreasonable personality. That is why I wish to confirm it even more.”

I knew she was a thorough person, but I didn’t expect her to try to act only after confirming even the orders delivered by Imperial decree. So I gestured to a maid nearby and said.

“Would you please call Ms. Hare?”

Recently, Hare had frequently been idling in the Inner Keep as she had nothing to do. It might be because she wasn’t engaging in outside activities due to the news that guests would be coming from outside recently.

As the maid left to call Hare, I met eyes with Agnes, and it was a moment when I thought this mysterious silence was quite heavy.