Chapter 90

The Chetel Bay has several points with many rocky reefs, and the small motorboat navigated around these reefs to head out of the bay. As they approached the entrance of the bay, a water spout rose from the direction of the open sea.

When Ricardo thought it might be a whale, Carpenter Carbón hastily lowered the throttle lever.

"What's wrong?"

"That's a spouting dragon shark. If we get too close, it will eat us."

Ricardo had only read about spouting dragon sharks in books. A spouting dragon shark appeared on the distant sea surface. It was enormous, probably about twelve meters long.

Ricardo was amazed by its size. It was definitely larger than the small motorboat, and it likely had more horsepower.

Ricardo, surprised by the sight of the sea monster he had never seen before, recalled the knowledge he had read in books. Sea monsters exist in the oceans of this world, but their numbers are few.

Sea monsters seem to prefer deep waters and have little interaction with humans. However, it is said that sea monsters sometimes attack ships when they follow large migratory fish to the coast. Still, this happens only once or twice a year, if at all.

Carpenter Carbón said,

"Be quiet. Don't make any noise... We have to wait until it disappears."

Spouting dragon sharks are apparently sensitive to sound. Ricardo whispered,

"Do we just have to wait?"

"Hey, this little boat will sink with one hit from it."

Ricardo could imagine the boat sinking if it were rammed.

"Would magic work?"

"Stop it. The spouting dragon shark's skin is resistant to magic, especially to fire magic."

It seemed Ricardo and his companions had no choice but to wait.

"Phew, the fishermen must be suffering."

Carpenter Carbón sighed and said,

"What do you mean?"

Ricardo didn't understand why the fishermen were suffering. The fishing grounds were far from where the spouting dragon shark was.

"When a spouting dragon shark appears in the bay, the catch becomes poor."

When a spouting dragon shark stays at the entrance of Chetel Bay, migratory fish stop entering the bay, and the fish inside the bay become more cautious, leading to poor catches.

"That's terrible. What do they do in such situations?"

Carpenter Carbón shook his head weakly.

"There's nothing to do. We just have to wait for the spouting dragon shark to leave."

"Can't you request the Mages' Guild to hunt it?"

"As I said, it's highly resistant to magic. Besides, most of its body is underwater. Attacking only the part that's above the surface won't cause fatal damage."

"Ultimately, we just have to wait quietly, huh?"

Ricardo sat down in the chair in the cockpit.

The spouting dragon shark spouted water again. This behavior occurs when it is catching prey and eating. It seemed to be in the middle of a meal.

The prey appeared to be a migratory fish similar to tuna.

"That's a morva."

Carpenter Carbón identified the fish, which resembled a tuna and was about the height of a human. The spouting dragon shark chased and caught the morva, devouring it greedily.

One of the morvas escaped from the spouting dragon shark and swam towards the small motorboat.

"Damn, this is bad. The spouting dragon shark is chasing the morva."

Ricardo increased the throttle and turned the steering wheel. The small motorboat accelerated while turning.

For some reason, the morva followed the small motorboat, and the spouting dragon shark followed as well.

"We're going to be caught. Increase the speed!"

Carpenter Carbón shouted.

Ricardo raised the throttle to the highest level and then handed the steering to Carpenter Carbón. Ricardo moved to the stern. Carpenter Carbón asked,

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to attack it."

"But I told you its magic resistance is high. You can't kill it with magic."

"..."

Ricardo believed there was no such thing as complete magic resistance. It was a matter of the power of the magic versus the defense. The "Solar Flame Bullet," which had maximum power, might be able to penetrate the spouting dragon shark's defenses and deal damage.

Ricardo poured all his magic power into preparing the "Solar Flame Bullet."

Aiming from the boat, which was bouncing up and down in the waves, was more difficult than he had imagined.

The spouting dragon shark was approaching. Like a shark on Earth, only its dorsal fin was visible above the water. At that moment, a part of Ricardo's mind seemed to panic. Fear rose, and for some reason, the music from a famous shark panic movie, which played when the shark attacked, repeated in his head.

Ricardo aimed at the dorsal fin and cast the spell.

The superheated light ball was launched towards the sea when the boat hit a wave and shook violently. The "Solar Flame Bullet" missed and hit the sea surface in front of the spouting dragon shark. The seawater turned into a large amount of steam due to the extreme heat, causing a steam explosion.

The small motorboat and the spouting dragon shark were both blown away.

Ricardo and the others screamed and clung to the boat's edge to avoid being thrown off.

When the shaking stopped, Ricardo confirmed that everyone was still on the boat. He thought a safety belt to secure the body would be necessary for a real sea battle.

"Good. The outboard motor is still intact."

After confirming that the outboard motor was undamaged, Ricardo looked for the spouting dragon shark.

The spouting dragon shark was drifting a short distance away, motionless. However, it was only unconscious, not dead.

"This is our chance. Carpenter Carbón, get closer!"

"O-Okay!"

Carpenter Carbón, recognizing the opportunity, turned the small motorboat and approached the spouting dragon shark. Ricardo cast the "True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet" at close range.

The "True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet" hit the spouting dragon shark's head, scattering sparks. The spiraling steel bullet shredded the shark's skin, but that was all.

"One shot isn't enough?"

Ricardo cast the "True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet" again at the same spot. This time, it tore the brain apart, stopping the giant shark's breathing.

"Amazing. You took down a spouting dragon shark all by yourself."

"Amazing!"

"Unbelievable!"

Carpenter Carbón and the young shipwrights exclaimed.

After the excitement died down, they discussed what to do with the spouting dragon shark's corpse. It was too large to fit into the storage crystal.

"We'll have to tie a rope to its tail and drag it back."

Carpenter Carbón suggested, and the young shipwrights started moving. Ricardo took a short break.

When Ricardo and the others dragged the spouting dragon shark back to the area where the fishermen lived, the fishermen were surprised to see them.

"Hey, is that a spouting dragon shark?"

"That's Carpenter Carbón."

"Is that the same boat that Stefan and the others used for fishing?"

Stefan, who had heard the commotion, came to the beach.

"Hey, isn't that Ricardo? Did you take it down with magic?"

When Ricardo explained the situation, the fishermen started to make a fuss. They had been experiencing poor catches recently and didn't know the cause.

"It was this thing's fault. We're saved regardless."

Stefan thanked Ricardo, and the other fishermen started to thank him as well.

"It was just good luck this time."

Ricardo humbly replied.

"No, no, that's amazing."

The fishermen were in a mood to celebrate.

Ricardo calmed the fishermen and asked Carpenter Carbón,

"Could we tan the skin of this thing and use it as armor for the boat's roof?"

The spouting dragon shark's skin, as its name suggested, had small scales. Carpenter Carbón, with the help of the fishermen, pulled the giant shark onto the beach and examined its skin.

"Yes, it seems worth a try."

After that, with the help of the fishermen, they dissected the spouting dragon shark. Special tools were needed to cut the skin, which they had to borrow from the leatherworking shop.

They obtained a large amount of skin and meat. They decided to use the skin, but Ricardo was unsure what to do with the meat. When he asked the fishermen, they said it was common to smoke the meat of sharks.

Ricardo distributed some of the meat to the fishermen who helped him for smoking. There was still a lot left, so he stored the rest in the freezing storage crystal.

Later, the spouting dragon shark's meat was processed into kamaboko and sold at the Unius Restaurant.

Ricardo returned to the shipyard and explained to Carpenter Carbón about the small armored high-speed boat he had discussed with General Samuele.

"Is the Crown Prince considering pirate hunting? If so, we should help."

Ricardo and Carpenter Carbón discussed and decided to attach an arched roof to the small motorboat and cover it with the spouting dragon shark's skin to create armor.

They would also add gun ports on both sides, each with five ports. The gun ports would be simple steel pipes, 25 cm in diameter and 30 cm long, from which they could fire magic cannons.

"We'll use this boat to make the pirates regret what they did in Kilmon."

Ricardo, remembering the scene he had seen in Kilmon, vowed to himself.

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While Ricardo and the others were in Kilmon, Salvatore, who effectively led Prince Aurelio's unit, was looking at the military officer sent by the royal family with a bitter expression.

The officer appointed as the commander in place of Prince Aurelio was not Salvatore but a military officer under General Udolfo. His name was Umberto Agnese, a man in his early forties.

Umberto was chosen as the commander because he had experience fighting pirates, although it was over ten years ago. At that time, there was a pirate suppression force, a kind of navy, and Umberto was part of it.

However, twelve years ago, a large-scale naval battle with pirates occurred, and the kingdom's warships sank. The pirates' ships also sank, so it was a draw, but the pirate suppression force was not rebuilt and disappeared.

Umberto was one of the few survivors.

However, Salvatore did not think Umberto was competent.

First, the ship Umberto chose. While it was fast, it was a fragile cargo-passenger ship. He seemed to like the luxurious cabins.

The ship was the Zotti, owned by the Zotti Shipping Company, the largest shipping company in the capital. It was requisitioned by royal order and used as the unit's warship.

When Salvatore saw the Zotti, he judged that it was not suitable for the mission. Although he could overlook its fragility since the mission was not combat-oriented, the Zotti was a flashy ship. Its hull was painted white and red, making it visible from a distance.

He asked Umberto about this.

"It's a sailing ship with white sails. The color of the hull doesn't make much difference. Don't you know that?"

Salvatore was scolded. He argued that they could change the color of the sails, but was told there was no time for that.

Salvatore gave up on the Zotti and confirmed the future plans.

"Commander Umberto, we need to find the pirates' hideout. Where do we start?"

"Of course, the Belseb Islands."

There had been a long-standing rumor that the Vigodi Pirate Group used one of the Belseb Islands as their hideout. The Belseb Islands, located south of the kingdom, consist of over a hundred islands, including small ones.

It would be a daunting task to investigate each one.

After loading the necessary supplies onto the Zotti, Salvatore and the others boarded and set sail.

The original crew handled the navigation. The Zotti, catching the wind, left Chetel Bay and headed southeast.

As the port town of Jibuka came into view on the left, one of the Belseb Islands appeared on the right, and the ship headed towards it.

"We'll start with the Miazel Island."

Umberto designated the westernmost island of the Belseb Islands.

Miazel Island turned out to be a dead end. It was uninhabited, with no signs of human presence.

They continued to check the islands one by one, heading east. When they had investigated about ten percent of the Belseb Islands, they spotted a small boat heading from the port town of Jibuka to the Belseb Islands.

They decided to inspect the boat, and the Zotti chased it. The small boat, upon recognizing the Zotti, tried to escape.

"They look suspicious. Don't let them get away!"

The Zotti cornered the small boat. Umberto ordered those who could use bows to aim at the three men on the small boat.

"If you resist, we'll shoot. Come up quietly."

The men, targeted by multiple bows, seemed to give up and climbed up the rope ladder hung from the Zotti's side onto the deck.

They were rough-looking men with messy hair, sunburned faces, and eyes that glared at Salvatore and the others.

Umberto began the interrogation, and the identities of the three men were revealed. They were low-ranking members of a pirate gang. They had gone to the port town of Jibuka to buy food and were captured on their way back.

Umberto tortured the men and learned the location of the pirates' hideout.