Chapter 71

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Waves of Retribution
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“Croire?”

Diello seemed a little surprised to see us behind the curtain.

Then, he let out a low chuckle.

“Are you asking me to guess which one is the real Croire?”

I didn’t answer. Pielle, too, remained still as I had commanded.

At that, Diello slowly approached us.

The dark silhouette behind the curtain stopped exactly between the two of us.

“From what I can tell, Croire is…”

*Tap.* He stepped a little closer and turned his body.

Precisely in my direction.

“This way.”

Then, he reached through the curtain without hesitation and pulled me toward him.

“!”

My eyes widened as I was swiftly drawn into his embrace.

Diello, his eyes narrowed, placed a kiss on the tip of my nose.

A confident smile played on his lips.

“Correct.”

“How did you know?”

No, more importantly, what would he have done if he’d pulled Pielle and kissed her first?

As I blinked, Diello smiled.

“I’m already a husband with many shortcomings. It would be quite troublesome if I couldn’t even recognize my own bride,”

he whispered in a soft voice.

Then, he slightly loosened the firm arms that had pulled me into his hug.

“Ah.”

He steadied me as I nearly lost my balance and kissed the back of my hand.

“Even if a hundred people stood behind that curtain looking just like you, I would never fail to recognize you, Croire.”

I’ve seen the way you stand, the way you look at me, more than just once or twice.

Above all,

he added in a low voice, a whisper.

“There couldn’t possibly be two people in the world with such refreshing mana.”

His voice seemed to echo strangely in my mind.

That voice, speaking as if I were the only one for him.

Ah, just as I let out a short breath,

*Chu.* Diello kissed the inside of my wrist and smiled.

“Now then, shall we proceed as planned?”

He gestured to Pielle with his eyes, and she bowed to me before heading out.

* * *

A great Argenta ship set sail upon the vast sea.

Standing at the ship's bow, I tidied my hair as it fluttered in the wind. Diello approached from behind me.

“They’ll be waiting for the supply fleet in Argenta’s waters,”

Diello said in a calm voice.

Their goal was to cut off our supplies and lower our troops' morale.

“The reason they intentionally left the soldiers alive, even on the water, must be because they judged that having them return alive would cause a greater loss to Argenta’s forces than if they were dead.”

His expression was grim.

I frowned at his words.

“Because our rear-guard forces have to move to treat the injured?”

“Yes.”

Diello replied simply.

It was a strategy typical of Alloje.

They would readily abandon their wounded, thinking, ‘The head of the family can just grant new power.’

But Argenta was different.

They never abandoned those who had become one of them and pledged their loyalty.

Because Argenta was like that, people would give their lives for them, and in return, Argenta gave back much through things like shadow supplies.

It was more than a simple relationship between knights and their lord.

*‘So this isn't a loss for Argenta, but rather an advantage.’*

I gazed out at the endless sea. An Alloje ship had to be out there somewhere.

Confident that they could once again diminish our forces and morale.

But they would never get what they wanted.

Because as Argenta treated its wounded, their loyalty to the family would only burn brighter.

As would their thirst for revenge against Alloje. Argenta forgets neither favors nor vengeance.

“We’ve dispatched reconnaissance units to different sectors.”

Rick bowed his head.

“I will report immediately as soon as we have word of their location.”

At his words, I turned back to the distant sea.

The languid, scarlet sunset indicated that night would soon fall.

The sea at night is dangerous.

Especially in Argenta’s waters, where monsters lurked.

“We need to find them quickly.”

“We will hurry.”

Rick bowed. But I looked down at the sea.

I felt I could find them faster than sending people out.

…Myself.

I took a step forward.

The closer I got to the edge of the bow, the fiercer the wind blew.

But I was confident.

Reaching the very tip of the bow, I reached out my hand from the deck's railing.

“Croire?”

A startled Diello wrapped his arms around me, as if worried I would fall.

“…Will you hold me?”

I wasn't going to get swept away and die, but since I couldn't swim, falling into the sea wouldn't do me any good.

At my words, Diello held the railing with one hand and pulled me tightly against him.

In the middle of the loud, cold sea, the sound of his breath and his warmth felt uniquely distinct.

Letting out a short breath, I clenched my fist.

“Since we’re on the water, I think it’ll be faster if I search.”

And instead of explaining, I scattered my mana over the sea.

—*Splash.*

The moment the droplet of mana fell upon the water,

with a strange, resonant sound, my mana spread out in all directions, like ripples in the center of a lake.

“!”

Did he feel the wave of mana?

I could feel a surprised Rick turn to look. At the same time, the Argenta men began to murmur.

“This power…”

“It’s spreading far across the sea.”

The sea was incomparably larger and rougher than a lake, but the ripples clearly extended to every corner of Argenta’s waters.

The last time I came to the sea to find Mirta, I couldn’t control the water to this extent.

But now was different.

My powerful mana advanced with distinct ripples even in the rough sea.

And it brought me all the information on the water's surface.

“…”

I closed my eyes and focused on that information.

The monsters rising and falling on the surface, the fish and sea creatures avoiding their schools.

And.

“Found it.”

…the presence of an unfamiliar ship.

I smiled and opened my eyes.

* * *

“Look at them run with their tails between their legs!”

Jeers spread across the deck of the Alloje ship.

They were aimed at Argenta.

At those who needed to be shown that wielding fire was useless at sea.

The Alloje assassins had rarely experienced failure.

And for good reason.

Those who failed either died on the spot or took their own lives to ensure silence.

Because of this, their confidence soared to the heavens with every successful mission.

And now that they had toyed with Argenta, that thorn in their side, the atmosphere on deck was festive.

“What’s the use of Argenta starting fires on the sea?”

“Huddled together, running for their lives. If it weren't for the order not to kill them, we wouldn't have let them go!”

The order they had received was this:

Disguise yourselves as pirates, stop and plunder Argenta’s supply fleet, but do not kill them.

“But why did he tell us not to kill them?”

Wouldn't it be better to just wipe out their forces?

At the clueless question, a sneer erupted from somewhere.

“The Argenta bastards are stupidly protective of their soldiers,”

a veteran assassin said.

“If they die, you just burn the bodies and that’s it. But if you send them back alive, far more personnel will be tied up trying to treat them.”

He clicked his tongue.

“An assassin who moves without even understanding the family head's intentions.”

“S-Sorry.”

The assassin, whose confidence had been sky-high, shrank back a little.

But he soon squared his shoulders again.

“Ah! We should have some celebratory drinks to mark the victory! Another supply drop should be coming soon, right?”

They had no idea that the group disguised as bandits had been annihilated.

“The last report we received was a successful raid on the land supply route, so of course it will.”

Unless they wanted to starve as a group a little later.

The veteran assassin chuckled.

How long had they been waiting for a battle at sea?

—*KRRROOOO…!*

A cry that didn't sound human echoed.

The youngest assassin, who had been dozing, opened his eyes.

“What’s that sound?”

And as soon as he left his cabin and stepped onto the deck, his jaw dropped.

“Wh-What is that!”

A massive, eel-like creature was charging straight for the ship with its mouth wide open.

“Monster attack!”

The startled young assassin extended his hand.

—*Vwoom!*

Responding to his control over water, the surrounding seawater gathered around the monster.

—*CRASH!*

A dull thud reverberated through the ship.

The young assassin, who had nervously created a water barrier, let out a sigh of relief.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to block it.”

Strangely, it felt like his power had grown stronger since coming to the sea.

Just as the young assassin, who had never worked in a place with so much water, tilted his head in confusion.

“So this is the kind of monster those Argenta fools hunt?”

“How pathetic. How weak must the Argenta family head be to struggle with something like this?”

From behind, the other Alloje assassins joined the fray one by one.

Every one of them wore a confident expression.

“They’re just creatures in the water!”

To them, emboldened by a few battles on the water, the monsters of the infinite sea were nothing special.

—*KIIIEK!*

They were just large bodies; as the water sharpened and began to pierce them, the monsters were helpless.

“It’s over just like that—”

one of the assassins sneered.

They felt a strange sensation behind them.

To be precise, it was a dizzying feeling, like standing before a towering cliff.

“?”

When the Alloje assassins turned around, their jaws dropped.

They were moments away from being swallowed by a wave the size of a house.