Chapter 6 Chapter 7 High Elf Fleet
The Sea Witch, like a leaf caught in a mountain flood, struggled amidst the waves in the storm. What was even more terrifying was that half a day had passed, and the storm still raged on.
Jima had long since recovered from her initial panic; her racing heart had slowed down and no longer hurt as much.
The captain’s cabin was in disarray, the stained glass windows shattered, and books floated on the floor with the rising water. Jima had already packed away the clothes from the wardrobe and was calmly staring at a thick stack of books on the desk.
The books had been tied together with rope, but with the windows broken and the waves crashing in, they had loosened significantly.
Jima found herself in a dilemma.
Should she save these steps towards human progress? How could that be possible? These bulky tomes had tortured her to no end; she would gladly follow Qin Shi Huang’s example and toss them into a pit, burning them along with their authors.
She hesitated, wondering if she should just throw the books into the sea, suggesting to George that the waves had taken them away. Let those books be shown to that irritable bastard, the god of the sea.
But doing so would surely provoke George’s dislike, even anger. He was, after all, someone who truly loved reading.
In the end, Jima decided to take a step back. Barefoot, she stood on the wet floor, her hands clasped in prayer:
“O Tyrant of the Black Sea, master of all waves and storms, god of the sea who holds the lives of all sailors, I beseech you to raise a wave and sweep away these damned books.”
It seemed that the god of the sea had heard her prayer. A wave surged violently toward the stern, and Jima looked out the window to see a gray wall of water crashing in, causing her to flap her wings in a panic as her heart raced, and another sharp pain shot through her chest.
“Whoosh!”
The sea water poured into the captain’s cabin. Jima took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and clung tightly to a pillar.
The water tugged at her body but ultimately did not pull her into the sea. As the water receded, Jima opened her eyes to find the cabin in disarray; fortunately, the desk was empty, and the books were gone.
She was nearly overcome with joy, clapping her hands and exclaiming, “Hooray!”
Suddenly, the door was kicked open.
“Jima! Are you alright?” George rushed in just in time to see Jima applauding at the empty desk.
“Ah haha, George, you’re a bit late,” Jima quickly put her hands down, pointed at the empty surface, and forced a sorrowful expression. “The waves have carried away your books, including ‘The Peacekeeper’ that you wanted me to read.”
“You didn’t take the books back?”
“I saw you had tied them down with rope earlier.”
George said, “These are very precious manuscripts.”
Jima lowered her head, trying to look very sad while her lips twitched uncontrollably.
George sighed, “Do whatever you want; I won’t blame you.”
No sooner had he spoken than Jima burst into laughter, jumping up and down: “Yay! The waves have finally taken the books away; thank you, god of the sea! When I get ashore, I will definitely offer you a cow!”
George shook his head, saying, “I knew it; it was impossible to rely on you to save the books. Did you throw them into the sea?”
Jima widened her eyes, “How can you slander me without any evidence? I was only gazing at the books and praying a few lines to the god of the sea.”
George looked at her with disappointment and said, “Those books are not just low-quality prints with blurred text; they are very hard to find. Of course, compared to the ideas inside them, the books themselves have little intrinsic value.”
Jima put her hands on her hips and said defiantly, “I admit I have always hated those books. If the path to goodness were paved with books, then I would never find my way for a hundred centuries.”
George glanced at her and said, “Forget it.”
With that, he turned his back on Jima and left the room. The storm began to calm down, and the deck wasn’t as turbulent.
Jima kicked a wooden cup next to her foot. “Hmph, really expecting something extraordinary from me.”
At that moment, the storm gradually subsided, and a beam of sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the room. Jima yawned, realizing she was tired. She stepped on the shattered glass but felt no harm thanks to the force field armor provided by the silver ring George had given her.
Jima used a broom to sweep away the water and pieces of glass, picking up the shards by hand and tossing them aside. After tidying up the captain’s cabin, she wrote on a sign: “Resting, please do not disturb (especially Master George).”
She hung the sign on the doorknob, took out a dry quilt from her dimensional space bag, removed the wet sheets from the bed, and curled up under the quilt, closing her eyes.
Outside, the wind howled. Although the storm had eased, the strong wind continued to blow the ship in an uncertain direction.
Jima drifted into sleep.
When she awoke again, she blinked at the dawn light streaming in from the window. Jima got up, and the empty captain’s cabin felt strangely lonely. After getting dressed, she walked to her desk and, seeing the empty surface, let out a huff and stared out the window.
Outside, the wind was calm. Golden dawn light fell upon the azure sea, turning the waves into glimmering specks of gold.
“Finally, the storm has passed.”
“Knock knock knock.”
The door was knocked on, and George’s voice came from outside: “Still sleeping?”
“The succubus is still snoozing.”
As Jima spoke, she walked to the door and opened it.
George was soaked, looking more drenched than a drowned rat. His clothes clung to his skin, and he appeared quite tired.
Jima took down the sign and said, “You didn’t rest at all?”
“I’ve been helping the sailors bail out water and repairing the sails,” George said. “The captain is very unhappy because this storm was unnatural; it likely resulted from the crew’s change of faith. I saw the holy symbol of our lord scratched off the bulkhead in the hold.”
“Just a change of faith; that god of the sea is too petty.” Even more stingy than I am, truly.
Jima stepped aside to let George in. After she closed the door, she said, “Those sailors will certainly not change their faith again. Most likely, there are still people who blame you, thinking it was your fault that they encountered the storm.”
“Not at all.” George searched through the damp wardrobe for a dry quilt. “Only a few people don’t want to sleep in the hammocks anymore.”
“Heh, they just don’t dare to say it in front of you.” Jima pointed at the messy but seemingly comfortable quilt on the bed and said, “Stop looking; it’s all wet. I’ve already warmed it up for you; it can fit three people comfortably, definitely enough to cover your tall frame.”
George kept rummaging without looking up.
Jima leaned against the cabinet, watching as he pulled out one soggy pillow after another.
“Really so fussy. I don’t mind; why do you care?”
“I’m in a bad mood.”
Jima immediately fell silent.
Finally, George couldn’t find any dry bedding. He went behind the screen, changed into dry clothes, and walked toward the bed. Jima watched as he neatly spread out the quilt before lying down in the middle as if in a coffin, his hands resting by his sides.
Jima didn’t disturb George and was too lazy to go out and play the good lady with the sailors, instead sitting to the side and blankly staring at him.
Though she didn’t think there was anything particularly special about George sleeping under the quilt she had just used, she reasoned that if she used this situation to her advantage, she could probably get some food from him.
For instance, asking him, “What does the quilt I just slept in smell like? Is it fragrant? Is it warm?”
Now, thinking of these strategic maneuvers, Jima had long lost her initial sense of shame; the most she felt was a bit warm in her cheeks and a slight flutter in her heart.
Perhaps I’m not so eager to become a man again? Jima questioned herself.
No, that’s not it; a harem must have a man. It’s just that I understand transforming back is nearly impossible, and shifting poses significant risks of losing control. If there were a button that could revert me to my former self without side effects, I would definitely press it.
At that moment, the door was suddenly banged on forcefully, followed by a frantic shout, “Master George! Master George!”
George, who had been sound asleep, frowned but didn’t wake up.
Having only slept for less than an hour, now was the moment of deepest slumber. Jima remembered a time she’d been woken from sleep, jumped up with her sword, and run out to chop down a grove of trees.
Jima hurriedly ran to the loudly banging door, wanting to call out to the ruckus outside to quiet down, but she opened her mouth, worried about waking George even more, and instead ran even faster.
“Master George! Sir! Open the door!”
The outside voice seemed to be yelling, as the door sounded as if it was being kicked.
Jima opened the door, seeing the first mate and the captain, both looking terrified. She lowered her voice angrily, “You’re going to wake the dead!”
“What happened to Master George?”
The Sea Witch captain ignored Jima and leaned his head inside, peering in, “Where’s Master George? Where is he?”
Jima was not courteous at all and started to close the door, saying, “Unless you have something to say, don’t think about coming in.”
“It’s urgent! Miss, please don’t make a fuss.”
“Do you really think of me as a fragile little lady?” Jima retorted, “Why are you behaving like terrified ostriches, stuttering your words? Why the rush? Are you afraid I’ll run away with George?”
“Alright, Jima.” A tired voice came from behind her, “I’m already awake.”
“Heh.”
Jima stepped aside and turned to see George looking weary, sitting up in bed.
The Sea Witch captain and the first mate practically ran inside, and the captain moved so quickly that he didn’t look like someone who had twisted an ankle yesterday.
“Warships! Lots of warships! They’re heading toward our ship!”
“Are they pirates?”
“No! They’re the warships of the high elves.”
“What’s there to fear?” Jima voiced her discontent from the side, “It’s not the Dark Elves’ black arks; the high elves will only ‘requisition some goods’ at most.”
“You don’t understand.” The Sea Witch captain replied, “It’s clear those are the main fleet of the high elves, and we are quite far from their ring-like island. Encountering a fleet of high elves here means they could be launching some military operations, and if we intersect with them, we will definitely be seen as suspicious, or for secrecy needs, they might…”
The first mate chimed in, “Burn the ship, toss us into the water; the best-case scenario would be to detain the ship at port, not allowing us to step onto elven land until they decide to let us go.”
George said, “I understand. I will assure them you are not spies and will not leak any information.”
The reputation of a paladin is well-known far and wide.
The Sea Witch captain sighed in relief and said, “Thank you.”
George said, “Jima, help me put on my armor.”
Three minutes later, with Jima’s assistance, George was fully armored and donned his helm.
The sailors were lowering the sails, allowing the ship to float on the sea, which was a sign of weakness. George and Jima climbed to the stern but saw no trace of the elven fleet.
Jima asked unhappily, “Where are they?”
The captain handed George a bronze telescope and pointed in a direction. Jima strained to see and finally spotted triangular sails resembling gulls in the distance.
George lowered the telescope and said, “Indeed, it’s the fleet of high elves.”
Jima said, “That’s too far away. By the time the ship reaches the Sea Witch, it’ll take at least three hours. You cowards couldn’t wait to wake George!”
The Sea Witch captain offered an embarrassed smile but said, “Master George, you should go back to sleep.”
Jima shot him a disapproving glance.
George said, “Since I’m already in armor, I might as well stay in it. I’ll just wait here.”
The captain of the Sea Witch said, “Then our lives are all in your hands.”
With that, he took the first mate and left.
Jima called out, “Hey, aren’t you going to bring in two chairs?”
The Sea Witch captain quickly had someone bring in two chairs. After George sat down, he said, “Jima, thank you.”
“What do you thank me for, dumpling?”
“Dumpling?”
“It means you’re easy to bully.” Why does my tool always get taken advantage of?
George smiled, “How could they dare bully me? They’re just scared; they’re merely ordinary people.”
“Dumpling.”
Two hours later.
Jima had become bored and leaned against George, drifting between sleep and wakefulness.
Suddenly, the ship trembled as if it had run aground, knocking Jima off her chair.
Jima quickly stood up and asked, “What happened?”
The ship began to move on its own, the deck shaking. George and Jima hurried to the railing and saw a large shadow beneath the water. As Jima got a clear view, her legs felt a bit weak.
That was a giant beast of the ocean!
So large that the Sea Witch seemed like a child’s paper boat in comparison.
The gigantic creature lifted the ship and swam westward…
