Ch.184The Path to the Meridia Continent (1)

The sky was high and the clouds were white.

Flying above the earth has been one of humanity’s oldest dreams, and eventually that aspiration reached the point of soaring through the skies with the power of massive machines.

What must have been the feelings of those who first beheld the sky with their own eyes?

The pioneers who rode in flying coffins, far more precarious than today’s vessels, surely earned the respect of all mankind.

“I hate to admit it… that I was born in an age where everything has already been discovered…”

Though exploration and adventure are said to be different, occupations that share the fundamental premise of venturing into the unknown are quite rare.

In the past, during the imperial era, it was those who risked death to explore the scorched and corrupted lands abandoned by monsters that allow us to freely traverse the 13 continents today.

Even for adventurers, dismissing the achievements of the old explorers would be utterly foolish. Indeed, we descendants can never truly escape the legacy of the past.

“Captain.”

“Accountant.”

As I was appreciating the scenery in the captain’s quarters, the person responsible for accounting among our 40 professionals entered with a salute.

“How much do you think we’ll make?”

“Since I’ve never been to Meridia, I’m not certain, but if we can sell everything at the prices from our city, the net profit would exceed 300 gold coins.”

“300 gold coins… What if we sell at minimum price?”

“Minimum price, sir?”

“Like if the quality is low… or if it’s frozen fish rather than live, so we can’t get full value…”

“Ah, I see…”

The accountant understood my crude question perfectly, jotting down calculations in his notebook before responding.

“Then it would be around 100 gold coins.”

“So 200 coins just vanish…”

“As you know, food must at least guarantee a quality that prevents starvation. Grains can be stored long-term, so their prices remain stable, but meat… especially seafood, sees wild price fluctuations depending on freshness.”

“Why only seafood among meats?”

“Due to its nature, it’s difficult to flash-freeze seafood with the innards intact. Eventually, you have to remove the innards before freezing, which incurs labor costs. Moreover, preparing the innards requires considerable skill…”

“I see…”

I didn’t actually know much about that.

Living by the coast, fresh seafood was something you’d see until you were sick of it.

Parzival wasn’t a fishing port but a trading harbor, so fishing was a means for the poor and common folk to fill their tables. Whether pickled or smoked, they would simply grill or boil whatever they caught.

“But we used liquid hydrogen for flash freezing, not just ice, so it should be frozen solid all the way through, right?”

“Well… I’m not an expert in that field…”

The accountant looked at me uncomfortably, gauging my expression.

He was an accountant, not a shipping manager, after all.

“Well… asking you won’t help. You’ve done well, you may go now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Having exhausted my source of information, I dismissed the accountant.

*

“Oh, this is really good.”

I said while chewing a piece of grilled capelin.

It was my first time eating capelin, and I could see why it commanded such a high price.

Even though it wasn’t prepared by a professional chef—just some sailor who claimed to know how to grill fish—it tasted this good. I couldn’t even imagine how it would taste if prepared by a properly trained chef with generous amounts of spices.

Crunch! Crunch!

Savoring the taste of salt crystals sprinkled on the skin, I began thinking about what I would do with the money from selling the capelin.

Although nearly 250 people were aboard, this airship was quite large.

Originally designed as a military supply vessel, it adopted a layout that maximized spatial efficiency.

A one-to-one size comparison with tourist airships, which weren’t designed with attacks in mind, was impossible. According to the technicians who had surveyed the ship, it could easily accommodate 1,000 people.

That made sense, since “supplies” included troop reinforcements as well.

“Somehow this is becoming much larger in scale than I initially thought. At first, I expected only a dozen or so crew members.”

“Well, they say the bigger the dream, the better. You’re now both owner and captain. Everyone on board is your subordinate and servant. In other words, they’re your private soldiers.”

“I’m married but don’t have children yet, so wouldn’t ‘household troops’ be more accurate?”

“That doesn’t fit because Viktor’s role is too significant. You have no standard-bearers under your command, and Raisha couldn’t possibly lead troops… ‘private army’ is more appropriate.”

“Hmm…”

Lucia drank her alcohol with a dissatisfied expression, using the capelin skin as a snack.

Kasia wasn’t blowing her horn, but she had already downed more than three bottles, sipping steadily from her glass.

And the dwarf brothers were so dumbfounded by the elf twins who could drink better than them that they just sat there with their mouths open, fish oil dripping into their beards.

“Yes… I really do need a private army.”

At least when they drink, I could really crack their heads!

After finishing my meal, I gave instructions to the dwarf brothers before leaving the dining hall.

“Haukman, Berkman. Come to the captain’s quarters after you finish eating. I have something to discuss.”

“Huh? Oh… understood!”

“Let’s eat quickly, brother! The fish is getting cold!”

I left the dining hall after watching the dwarf brothers hurriedly wipe the oil from their beards and pick the meat off the bones with their stubby hands.

Now it was time to consider how to spend the money.

*

“Boss! We’re here!”

“What did you want to talk about?”

“You’re here. Sit down first.”

I offered them chairs and showed them the blueprints of the Sky Warden that the technicians had drawn.

“These are our airship’s blueprints. Though they’re not bad, I’m still uneasy with them as they are… I think we need at least five or six more rooms, and some armaments as well.”

“Ah, so you want to modify the airship.”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…”

The dwarf brothers stood on their chairs to examine the blueprints closely, and I caught a passing crewman and ordered him to bring three cups of hot tea.

“At minimum, I want barracks for my soldiers, an armory, a fire control room, and an infirmary. I’d also like workshop facilities to produce various items on board.”

“My, you’re quite specific!”

“Is it impossible?”

“Impossible! Such a word doesn’t exist for dwarves! This is an airship, so even if it gets heavier, it’ll just fly at a lower maximum altitude! That means the scope for modifications is enormous!”

I responded with a grin instead of words.

“Here are my requirements: barracks where over 1,000 combat troops can stay comfortably. Storage for their equipment and consumables. An armory to store weapons. An infirmary where injured soldiers and crew can stay and receive treatment. An expanded dining hall and kitchen to feed the increased numbers. Differentiated spaces for merchant officers, non-commissioned officers, and officers to live and eat. And 203mm or larger naval guns and 30mm or larger CIWS.”

“Such detailed requirements! This work is going to be enjoyable!”

I might not know everything, but I did have knowledge about how navies operate.

Although I had never served in the navy myself, I had listened very closely to drunken officers and non-commissioned officers lamenting in taverns.

As with all coastal cities, there was all sorts of propaganda to recruit for the navy, and among that propaganda were booklets containing knowledge about the military.

Now I had become a knight, and as a Knight of the Sun, I should rightfully lead His army.

“How much do you think it will cost?”

“Just a moment… let me estimate…”

When I asked, the dwarf brothers sipped their hot tea while blowing on it, then began whispering to each other.

They started drawing additions to the blueprints I had brought, then erasing them… drawing again… erasing again… repeating this process until the original design was completely gone, replaced by an aerial battleship with armaments so heavy it would strike fear into anyone who saw it.

“The total cost would be about 6,000 gold coins…!”

“And that’s excluding labor costs… Over 1,000 soldiers, the costs for the non-commissioned officers and officers to command them, plus the battery operation costs… it would easily exceed 10,000 gold coins.”

“10,000 gold coins, you say?”

I smiled subtly.

This airship currently holds just over 1,000 tons of capelin.

If we receive the minimum price of 100 gold coins, making 10 trips would earn 1,000 coins. A hundred trips would earn 10,000 coins.

“That’s not such a large amount.”

“Huh? We thought it was quite substantial…”

“The one who decides that isn’t you, but me.”

After saying that, I picked up my teacup and drank the moderately cooled tea.

10,000 gold coins! I’ll just have to undertake adventures to earn that kind of money!

From the deep underground to the high skies!