"Ann, look, the sea, it's the sea!"

As the son of a knight, Elio had left the imperial capital so far for the first time, and the endless blue made him scream completely disregardively, and the old Beron Grum beside him shook his head at it. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

"After going to sea, there are more scenery." Ann wrote. Of course, there was also the possibility of seasickness, and she thought to herself a little amusement, not telling Elio about it.

"Shall we rent a boat, or shall we buy one ourselves?" The old Peron, who had presided over the expeditions of the Grand Duke of Egmonton, knew the advantages and disadvantages of each, "chartering a ship meant that the captain had more say, but he and the sailors on board were relatively skilled and better coordinated; Buying a boat means you are the owner of the ship, but the seafarers who will be responsible for the operation of the ship will need to be recruited separately, and of course you can try to take in the sailors of the previous captain – although only a part of them may be. ”

The girl listened to Grum's words, and almost without thinking about it, she replied: "This time the sea is not far, and chartering a boat is a more practical option." She tapped her chin with the shaft of her quill and continued, "It may be better for the captain to be younger, and in any case, the charter is up to you."

"Leave it to me!" The old Belon patted his chest, his face full of confidence.

He does have the ability to be confident. In the afternoon of the same day, Groom brought the three captains to Ann and asked her to choose her favorite boat—by the way, even the three captains who had been through the storm couldn't help but show surprise when they learned that the patron of the rented boat was a young girl who had not yet reached adulthood.

The eldest captain seemed unhappy that Ann wanted to get on the ship, so she politely persuaded the middle-aged man to leave. She then followed the two remaining captains to the docks to inspect the boats.

Both men's vessels are three-masted Caravel-like, light and nimble, and more than capable of the task of exploring the near sea. She circled each of the two boats, and after a little thought, she chose one of them.

"Why that?" After signing the lease paperwork and on the way back to the hotel, Elio asked curiously, "Is it because the captain is younger?" ”

"No, because the boat is cleaner." Ann wrote confidently.

The preparation for the voyage took nearly a week. The aim this time is to redraw the coastline, but there is no shortage of opportunities for supplies. During this time, Ann learns a lot about the use of nautical equipment from the ship's first mate, a middle-aged woman named Ella. Ann was amazed by her ability to learn, and in return, she drew a bust of the other person, much to the admiration of Ella and the rest of the crew.

As for Elio, his energy and skillful mast climbing skills have also been praised as "worthy of being a descendant of a knight's family". The person concerned seemed quite satisfied with the compliment, and was more energetic when helping to prepare.

In short, in just one week, the two managed to get along with the crew. Groom seemed very satisfied with this, and thought that the old duke did have an excellent eye for people.

"I'm starting to have some confidence in you." One day at dinner, he drank potato soup and said angrily, "I thought it was just two children, but now it seems that ...... Worthy of being a descendant of the royal family and the Lorant family? ”

Ann smiled at the compliment. Elio complained that he wasn't a child, and quickly turned his attention to the bacon and bread on his plate.

The ship set sail on the 17th day of the winter month. The crew believed that seven was the lucky number for the seafarers, and that setting sail on a day containing seven would guarantee a safe return.

This may be due to the seven stars on the emblem of Flo, the Lord of the Heart, who know the incomprehensibility of the sea, are one of the main believers in the Lord of the Heart, and the other group is the soothsayers...... and wizards who are good at prophecy.

The "Lady of Victory" raised its sails and slowly sailed into the sea. During this season, the farther north seas freeze over, but the area within a few dozen nautical miles of the shore remains relatively safe. Of course, it's only relative – icebergs from the northwest sometimes drift here, and at the current temperatures, even if you have a dinghy ready, a touch of an iceberg can be a fatal disaster.

…… Until then, though, seasickness is a bad enough disaster.

Two days ago, the two of them who took the boat for the first time seemed to be fine. On the third day there was a strong wind on the sea, and the ship was tossed about like a leaf by the waves, but it made the two men unlucky.

Elio lay on the side of the boat with a blue face, throwing up in the dark, barely having any breakfast left. An Ze was lying in the hammock in the bedroom, she didn't have much to vomit when she hadn't eaten anything, but the churning in her stomach made her not even have the strength to get up, let alone observe the coastline.

Fortunately, the storm went quickly. After the sea calmed down, the chef cooked a pot of fresh fish soup, and the fishy and delicious soup helped the two of them to regain some strength. Elio forgot his previous unhappiness and continued to climb the mast with great interest; Ann picked up a telescope, a rangefinder and a sextant, memorized all the details of the surrounding coastline and waited for the evening to draw a map.

"The first time was pretty much the same." Ella walked over and comforted her, "You're good, you'll definitely get used to it next time you encounter a storm." ”

She'd rather not get used to it—but if it's a necessary ability for adventure, it's good to master it, Ann thought.

The ship continued to sail westward. The farthest target this time was fifty miles west of the Imperial border, and at the current speed, it would take about fifteen days. On the way, the "Lady Victory" docked to replenish fresh water, and then successfully reached the target location and began to return home.

The change occurred the day after the return flight. A group of lightly armored humans clad in fish skin, armed with short spears, cheeks and gills, and stinking all over their bodies, jumped aboard the ship in an attempt to seize the cargo of the Lady Victory.

"Don't resist!" The man at the head said rudely, "Otherwise, the ship will be scuttled and you will all die!" ”

These are the Fritzian pirates - it turns out that they don't look much different from the Kamals except for a little smelly, rest assured.

She saw that the captain and crew were as pale as earth, after all, at sea, the Fritzians did have a great advantage. Elio quickly slipped off the mast and stood in front of Ann, shouting, "If you want to hurt Ann, you must step on my head!" ”

It's funny, and she doesn't need protection. She gently pushed the boy away, walked over to the pirate leader, and showed the other party the notebook with Fritz written on it.

"It's an expedition ship. There is no treasure or cargo that you need, except for the people and the ships themselves. However, I have an offer that will give you enough benefits."

Several Fritzians looked at each other, whether they were surprised that there was such a delicate little girl on board, or that someone actually understood their writing. Either way, this obviously aroused enough curiosity on the other side.

"Tell me about it." The pirate at the head changed from Fritz to Fritz, and at the same time showed a fierce look, "If your answer does not satisfy me, I will be the first to cut off your head." ”

"I'm in charge of this expedition." Ann didn't look scared at all, and the hand holding the charcoal pen didn't tremble at all, "I can only get paid after completing the expedition and returning it to my client."

"You mean, let's wait until you get back?" The pirate leader interrupted her and spat out, "Fuck off, liar!" When you go back, I won't get anything! ”

"I can make a pact with you that proves that you have provided escort and guidance to this ship, and therefore I am willing to give you half of the payment." An was unmoved by the pirate leader's evil words, "In addition, I am the fifth empress of the Violet Empire, and if you wish, I can ask the Grand Duke of Egmonton to grant you the status of an honorary citizen of the Empire. In this way, you will be able to live in peace within the Empire. If there are other sea expeditions after that, you may go with them if you wish, and you will be rewarded accordingly."

"Don't try to kidnap me." She continued, "My presence is not important to the Empire, which is why I was appointed to explore such a place. If you fail this expedition, you won't get anything. But if you kill me, it will be seen as a provocation to the Empire—and at that time, I will not know whether the Empire will use this as an excuse to purge you."

"That's all I want to say, it's up to you." After writing this sentence, I quietly put down my pen, and I didn't see any nervous expression on my face.

The pirates gathered and discussed in low voices. They had obviously never thought of much of what Ann had said, but they should have understood what the girl was trying to say.

One of the pirates claims that none of the Kamals can be trusted, and that it is better to kill everyone and sell the ship. The other person next to him immediately scolded him for being a fool, and if Ann's identity was true, selling the boat would obviously cause them unnecessary trouble, etc.

The girl listened quietly to their discussion, only biting her lower lip slightly, showing that her heart was not so calm. The captain, first mate, and crew looked at each other, and it seemed that things had completely exceeded their expectations, but for now they could only hope that the girl's negotiations would be successful.

Elio stood by Ann's side, his hands clenched into fists, seemingly ready to strike back at the enemy. Old Beron-Grum squinted his eyes and leaned against the mast, his right hand casually beating the beat, and he was the most relaxed man on the whole boat.

After about a quarter of an hour, the pirates finally came to an end - it is fair to say that the chieftain, unable to stand the brawl of the wheels, forcibly stopped the argument. He stroked his grassy hair and walked up to the girl, "I'll trust you for once, little girl." Those who speak our language must not be scheming and treacherous. ”