15 – I brought in a small potted plant (5)
Early dawn.
When the bell tower in the harbor rang, Ainor got up from his bed.
Outside the window, the sun hadn’t risen yet, and the fog was thick, making it particularly dark.
Einer, who had been sitting idly for a while, shook his head vigorously and got ready to go to work.
Einer’s preparations for work are very simple.
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It’s dawn when the sun doesn’t rise, so I don’t wash my face and brush my hair roughly.
It’s over when you put on leather armor, a sword on your belt, and a blue shoulder cape, the symbol of Daham Harbor Security Force.
Here, put on your combat boots and go straight to work.
I don’t eat breakfast.
This is because he goes on patrol with his crew at dawn and eats at the kitchen around sunrise.
He had been living that way for several years, so when he went down to the first floor, he saw that the kitchen lights were on, and he was taken aback.
“Master, are you awake?”
Ah, that’s right. Ael has been living in my house since yesterday.
I am so accustomed to living alone that I stop without realizing it.
“What are you doing at this hour?”
“Oh, Master, I was preparing breakfast.”
“Breakfast?”
All Ael was doing was toasting.
Bread toasted in a lightly oiled pan.
In the meantime, the heap of fried eggs and lettuce looked quite delicious.
But Einer doesn’t eat on his way to work.
I don’t have time to even cook a meal during my early morning commute.
As it became a habit, he naturally took it for granted that he would not eat.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t eat at this hour.”
“Yes?!
“Round patrol at dawn and eat at the security unit’s kitchen.”
“Then you should eat more! You’re walking around on an empty stomach!”
“No, I really don’t eat it. After doing this for years, it’s become a habit.”
“Hey? Where is that? Starting today, I’ll take care of it for you.”
“I don’t have time.”
Then Ael took a piece of toast wrapped in paper and ran around her countertop to Inner.
“Take this and go.”
“I don’t eat… ugh!”
“Damn it!”
As the toast was forced into his mouth, Einer finally had to accept it.
“I’ll be back.”
Ael followed her outside the door and bowed her head so that her forehead touched her shin.
“Take care of yourself, master.”
Ael waved his hand until Ainor disappeared over the dawn mist.
* * * * *
Walking through the thick fog, Einer ate all the toast Ael gave him before reaching the pier.
Ael’s toast was delicious.
It tasted completely different from the toast I had eaten before.
The bread was crispy and savory, perhaps because it was baked with butter.
The fried eggs in it were not just eggs, but carrots and onions finely chopped.
It is filled with shredded lettuce and finished with ketchup and mayonnaise.
At first glance, it seemed like a strange combination, but the taste itself was a wonderful toast.
Is this a recipe you got while working in the east?
Or maybe it’s a new dish created with natural talent, just like Ael did the trick with honey and mustard the other day.
“Welcome.”
The crew members waiting in front of the security guard saluted Einer.
“What’s special about today?”
“Yes. The ship of the Dezere Empire is stopping in front of our team’s area of responsibility. Go and check it out.”
“Dezère?”
Does the Desser Empire ship come in at dawn when the sea fog is thick?
Due to the nature of galleys, it is very difficult to moor them.
“It’s foggy, so I’d rather wait a little longer and come in when the sun rises.”
“I sent a telephonic spell, but there is no response.”
“You know the nature of the desert guys.”
Kira, who was listening, interrupted.
“Please do it blindly, please look at it. Isn’t it their characteristic to insist on their own circumstances, talk about dying, and pretend not to know our side?”
“It’s all because the officials from the management office ask if they’re coming or not. They refuse like a knife, but if they come in anyway, they’ll have to smash their heads.”
When Toby agrees, Marco has a different opinion.
“But the people of Dessere have a lot of money.”
Dezer people, who are not afraid to spend money due to the cultural characteristics of a desert country, spend a lot of gold coins when they enter the port and leave.
So, it was very difficult for the Port Authority to pretend not to know about the Desser ship recklessly requesting to dock outside of hours.
Still, I’ll wait a bit in this weather….
It’s very foggy, so if you turn the rudder just a little wrong, you’re sure to crash into something and destroy the player.
“Who is the wizard on duty today?”
“Me?”
In the mist, Malia, a magician belonging to the management agency, appeared in a playful manner.
Seeing that, Einer shook his head and said.
“There must be a few boats today.”
“What?!”
“Do you know how to use luminous magic properly?”
“Excuse me. I’m from Magic University? I’m a regular member of the Wizards’ Association?!”
“That kind of person… No, that’s enough. You shouldn’t talk.”
Einer doesn’t trust Malia.
There was a time when the entire crew almost became fish food because of that empty-headed, vain wizard.
Who would have known that the exit of the dimensional gate leading to the gang’s hideout would be in the middle of the sea.
Einer and her crew went out to the pier with Malia and other management officials.
There are three people: Malia who will guide the ship with luminous magic, the pilot who will provide technical support for the anchorage, and the interpreter.
Normally, when a ship is anchored, the security guards board first and check for any abnormality, so the management agency staff do not follow up.
The reason why the magician and the people from the management office are going together today is because the front sight is narrow due to thick fog and the people of Desser need an interpreter because they don’t speak the common language.
“It’s like swimming underwater.”
Muttered Toby as he wiped the droplets of water from his face.
“Everyone, watch your feet. If you make a mistake, you will fall into the sea.”
Marco said, pulling the management staff inward as they walked towards the sea.
“I really can’t see it. Float some lights.”
At your request, Malia muttered something and created four or five of her luminous bodies.
However, the fog was so thick that the light from the luminaries could not go out a few meters and was consumed by the moisture in the air.
“Do you think the people at the management office are really good at making money to anchor at such a musical instrument?”
When Kira was sarcastic, the staff at the management office shrugged her shoulders as if they couldn’t help it.
People who arrived at Pier 8, Einer’s area of responsibility, boarded a small boat.
I will row this boat to Desser’s vessel and board it.
As I proceeded slowly, securing my peripheral vision with the light source, I saw something gray beyond the mist over there.
It was a white oar protruding from the side of the galley.
The densely packed white oars were all half submerged in the sea, not moving.
The oars made the low-hulled galley look like a giant centipede.
The galley was an enormous three-masted vessel with the appearance of a cross between a continental sailboat and a desert galley.
It has a large body, but the width of the oars on both sides is considerable, making it a very difficult boat to dock even in broad daylight.
“What is it? Why didn’t the guidance lights turn on?”
It is common sense to turn on a lamp to clarify the ship’s position when intending to anchor, but for some reason the galley was enveloped in silence with not a single light coming out.
Malia shrugged her shoulders at the sight of the galley, which gave off a very dreary atmosphere with the heavy sea fog lying low.
“It’s kind of scary.”
“Send the luminary over there.”
The luminaries floated through the air and moved over the galleys.
The galley’s hull was glistening in the fog, but no one came out.
The accompanying interpreter shouted loudly in the desert language, but there was no reply.
Ainor instinctively realized that something suspicious had happened on that ship.
“Hey, Ryan.”
“I feel the same way.”
Ryan, who worked under Einer for a long time, also recognized Einer’s guess at once.
“Shall we wait until the sun rises?”
When Marco asked while fiddling with his sword hilt, you pondered for a moment.
However, the worries did not last long.
Ugh-
The security guards exchanged glances at the sound of low moans coming from inside the galley.
“Let’s go up.”
The conversation between the security officers brought a light of tension to the faces of Malia the sorceress and her administration staff.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
“Mr. Malia. Teleported us to that ship… No, that’s it.”
Einer did not want to gamble unsafely in this fog.
“Move the boat forward. Don’t get too close.”
The galley was silent until the bow of the boat lightly bumped against the end of the oars.
The inside of the oar hole on the side of the boat is also completely dark.
Originally, it’s normal to have made eye contact with the oarsman slave inside.
Einer and his crew took one light from Malia and attached it to the shoulder guards.
“When we go up to the boat, wait a bit further away. We don’t know what happened.”
The guards, swords drawn, quickly climbed onto the galley on angled oars.
As soon as they all got down on deck, Malia and her crew hurriedly rowed away from the galley.
Ei You and his crew looked around the quiet deck while being vigilant.
“Looks like no one is there.”
“I’m sure not everyone is sleeping below deck.”
“It doesn’t make sense to come all the way here to sleep. It would be better to dock and rest properly.”
“Let’s go down first. I don’t think this is a normal situation.”
Einer and the crew approached the door that went down the deck with their swords tightly gripped.