Book 13: Chapter 13
The Captain was right; the sun finally shone onto the cabin at lunchtime. A warm breeze accompanied the arrival of sunlight, making it seem as if we had arrived at warm rich soil in the south. Lucia was relieved. Nier and I didn’t go anywhere in the day. We kept Lucia company and played chess. Nier was somewhat eager to go outside; however, when I said we’d play one more game for every loss, she resolved herself to compete until the next dawn.
The temperature warmed up after the sun came out. Life returned to Lucia after lunch, and she aggressively challenged Nier to a fight to redeem herself for the humiliation she suffered earlier in the morning. I didn’t give them time to fight, though. The plan was to get in the water for a swim after lunch.
The Captain chose a location where the waves and wind were calm to stop the ship, allowing me to enter the water. I could tell Lucia and Nier looked forward to playing in the water. Lucia could swim. The swimming finesse she displayed in the bathroom in the elven Imperial Palace was quite decent. As for Nier, I never saw her swim before. Regardless, if she was trained by the military, then she should be a great swimmer. However, I presumed the two of them didn’t have any experience swimming in the ocean, which was why they were eager to experience it.
The Captain walked up to my side and reported, “Your Majesty, everything is ready. The water temperature is fine, and there are no waves. The small boat has also been prepared.”
I gave the captain a nod then placed my cup of tea down. Lucia jumped to her feet with excitement. She was obviously very lively after the weather warmed up during lunch and after lunch. Perhaps she was making up for her feeble self in the morning. Nier placed her cup of tea down and smiled: “Let us go for a swim, then, Your Majesty. I am looking forward to it. Do we need to prepare food? I shall go and prepare it now.”
“We don’t need to prepare food. Just have the maids prepare tea and some snacks. Give us a bottle of wine after we come back up, and that’ll do.”
Lucia had already ran off outside. I said to the captain, “I also need a fishing rod and towels. It’ll be fine if you just put them in the small boat.”
“They have all been prepared. However, I hope that you do not stray too far away from the ship. This is not a safe zone; therefore, I hope you can do your best to stay close to the ship. That would also make it convenient for us to provide support should anything come up. I would also like to request your permission for the guard ships to stay by your side for your safety’s sake.”
“Keep some distance.”