Stop! It’s dangerous!”
I shouted back in response to Nathan, who was calling out to me desperately.
“This will work!”
Ignoring his questioning look, I stepped outside, immediately assaulted by a foul stench. It was the nauseating smell of fish that had been left out too long.
The sailors and knights on our side were struggling, likely because of the overpowering odor. Among them, Luke spotted me and yelled.
“Are you out of your mind? Get back inside!”
As usual, I ignored him and looked around for a mermaid to test my theory on.
Nearby, one was attacking a sailor. I hurried over and poured rum on its back.
Then, something miraculous happened.
“Kiieeek!”
The mermaid that had been wildly thrashing just moments before melted away, leaving no trace, not even bones.
The sailors, still shaken from the attack, stared at me in astonishment.
“My lady? What… what did you just do?”
Again, there was no time to explain. I splashed the remaining rum on other mermaids, and one by one, they melted away or fled back to the sea.
“We did it!”
“Raise the anchor! Let’s move out!”
“Check on the injured!”
As soon as the mermaids retreated, everyone quickly began cleanup.
Once everything was somewhat settled, people started to gather around me.
Nathan was the first to ask, “Are you really unharmed?”
“Yes. Thanks for asking… three times.”
He had asked once right after the mermaids withdrew, again during cleanup, and now, for the third time. Each time, I assured him I was fine, and only then did he seem to relax.
Soon, the others turned their attention to me as well.
“My lady, what did you just splash on them?”
The question came from Captain Faber, a seasoned sailor who had safely brought us this far. He seemed to think I’d thrown some strange substance.
He stayed at a distance, stroking his thick beard.
“I used the rum you had stashed on the shelf, Captain. I read in a book that rum is a weakness for mermaids.”
“Is that so? I’ve been sailing for almost 20 years, and I didn’t know about this monster-slaying trick. I’m impressed.”
“I just read a lot of books on various subjects.”
I shrugged it off as if I’d just read it somewhere, and luckily, he seemed to buy it.
“In any case, that was remarkable. It’s rare to find a noble so knowledgeable about monsters. I’ll have to step up my game!”
Others whose lives I had saved also came over and bowed their heads.
“Thank you so much!”
“You saved our lives!”
As more and more people expressed their gratitude, I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. If I kept listening, we’d be here all day, so I decided to make a quick escape.
“Your Highness, I think it’s time we finished our previous conversation.”
Nathan seemed to understand my intentions and nodded once.
“Yes, it’s time for a strategy meeting.”
With him blocking their way, the others slowly backed off. I slipped away and headed into the captain’s cabin, finally free from the flood of attention.
“Phew…”
Just when I was relieved, thinking we could finally have a proper meeting, Naila and Luke followed me inside.
‘Ugh, they’re here again.’
I decided to ignore them. As long as I conveyed my thoughts to Nathan, that was all that mattered.
“After being attacked earlier, I thought about it… We should split into two teams. One to guard the ship and the other to go find the spirit.”
Naila’s voice cut through my plan with a worried tone.
“But we have fewer people now after that fight. Isn’t it risky to divide an already small team?”
“We don’t have a choice. If we all go looking for the spirit and a monster attacks the ship again, we’d be in serious trouble.”
At that, Naila fell silent. She couldn’t argue with that logic.
Taking advantage of the pause, I turned to Nathan.
“What do you think, Your Highness?”
He was the highest authority here, so the decision was his.
Nathan thought for a moment before responding.
“I think Claudia’s right. We’ll leave enough people to defend the ship, and the rest will go to find the spirit.”
The decision was made quickly, and I immediately brought up the next issue.
“Now, we need to decide how to split the teams.”
I mulled it over. Naila and Luke were just tagging along, so it didn’t matter where they went. But Nathan and I needed to think carefully.
“Hmm… Your Highness, I think it would be best for you to stay here.”
“Why?”
“You’ll need to guard the ship and command the sailors. Meanwhile, I’ll go and find the spirit.”
But he shook his head firmly.
“No. If you go, I go too. I’m your fiancé and the leader of this expedition.”
Was he worried about me?
It was touching, but it wouldn’t work.
‘Leaving just Luke and Naila on the ship would be too risky.’
Worst case, Luke might decide to return to the empire with Naila, abandoning us.
‘If I’m even a day late, Luke would harass the captain to turn back, claiming that Nathan and I must be dead…’
The sailors wouldn’t be able to refuse Luke if he insisted. There was no one on board with higher authority than him.
Just as I was about to try persuading Nathan again, Naila spoke up.
“Then, sister, why don’t you stay here with His Highness?”
Her unexpected suggestion caught me off guard.
“If you just tell me where the spirit is, I’ll go with Luke to find it.”
A worse thought crossed my mind.
‘No way! They could steal the spirit…!!’
From what I knew, a spirit would stay loyal to its first contract holder. If I sent Naila and Luke, and they made a contract first… I’d be left with nothing.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll go find it myself. And Your Highness, I need you to stay here to lead everyone. Please.”
Nathan was my only true ally here. We needed to fulfill our roles for this mission to succeed. Nathan’s job was to guard the ship, and mine was to find the spirit. Both were too important to entrust to anyone else.
“…”
Nathan stared at me silently before finally sighing, a sigh of resignation.
“If you insist. But I’ll send my most trusted knight with you. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, that’s fine. Naila, and you, Luke. What about you two?”
After a pause, Naila said, “I’ll go with you, sister.”
“R-really?”
I was surprised. Staying on the ship would be much safer, so I hadn’t expected her to come with me.
“It’ll be dangerous. Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ve always wondered what a spirit looks like.”
Even if I couldn’t understand risking her life out of curiosity, I didn’t see a reason to stop her.
“All right. And you, Luke?”
“I’m coming, too. Someone has to protect Naila.”
Nathan’s eyebrows twitched at that. He didn’t seem to appreciate Luke mentioning only Naila and not me.
Before the atmosphere could get any worse, I shot a glare at Luke.
“Do whatever you want. But if you interfere, I’ll send you back.”
Luke gritted his teeth, though he refrained from arguing openly in front of Nathan.
After a final smirk at him, I ended the meeting.
“Then we leave first thing tomorrow morning. Is that fine with you, Your Highness?”
“Of course.”
The intense strategy meeting finally concluded.
* * *
That night, I fell asleep, praying that everything would go smoothly.
However, at dawn on our departure day, Nathan brought troubling news.
“I was planning to send my most trusted knight with you, but he’s too injured. Turns out, the fish monster’s wounds were worse than we thought.”
“What? Is his life in danger?”
“No, nothing that serious. But he injured his arm and side, so he won’t be able to wield a sword. He’d just be a burden.”
Nathan already looked worried.
“This is troubling. I need someone here who can protect you…”
“Don’t worry so much. I’ll complete the mission flawlessly.”
“Hmm…”
He let out a loud sigh.
I felt slightly hurt.
‘Does he really doubt me that much?’
I understood why he might worry—I was younger than him and hadn’t trained in combat. But still, he didn’t need to make his doubt so obvious.
Oblivious to my thoughts, he went on to say something even more frustrating.
“No, it’s no use. I’ll go with you.”
