“Krua?”

Diello seemed a little surprised to see us beyond the curtain before he let out a low chuckle.

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

While I didn’t answer, Vielle also stood still as I had ordered.

The next moment, Diello slowly approached us. The black silhouette beyond the curtain stood exactly between the two of us.

“Well, I think Krua is…”

Srrk.

He came a little closer and moved his body.

…Exactly towards where I was.

“This way.”

He soon reached out beyond the curtain without hesitation and pulled me towards him.

“….!”

My eyes widened as I was instantly pulled into his arms.

Diello, his eyes narrowed, placed a kiss on the tip of my nose as a confident smile was drawn on his lips.

“I’m right.”

“How did you know?”

No, rather than that, what if it had been Vielle that he pulled and kissed like that? As I blinked, Diello smiled.

“I’m already a lacking husband in many ways, so I can’t afford to not recognize my wife.”

He whispered in a gentle voice and then loosened the strong arms that had been holding me.

“Ah.”

After he straightened me up as I was about to lose my balance, he kissed the back of my hand.

“Even if there were a hundred people of the same appearance beyond the curtain, I wouldn’t fail to recognize Krua.”

It was because he had seen the way she was standing, and he had seen her looking at him more than once or twice.

Above all…

He whispered in a low voice.

“There’s no way there could be two people in the world with such refreshing magic power.”

His voice strangely echoed in my head. The voice that seemed to say that you are the only one for me.

Ah.

When I let out a short breath…

Smooch.

Diello, who had kissed the inside of my wrist, smiled.

“Well, shall we proceed according to plan?”

As he gestured to Vielle, she bowed her head to us and went outside.

* * *

A huge Argenta ship was anchored on the vast sea. Standing at the bow of the ship, I fixed my hair that was blowing in the wind.

Diello approached me.

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

He spoke in a calm voice.

Their aim was to cut off our supplies and demoralize our troops.

“They must have sent out our troops alive on purpose, even though they’re on the water because they judged that it would be a greater loss of troops for Argenta if they returned alive than if they died.”

His expression was not good.

I frowned at his words.

“Because the rest of the troops will be busy moving to treat the wounded?”

“Yes.”

Diello answered simply.

It was a strategy befitting of Alors. If it were them, they would have abandoned the wounded without hesitation, as Alors could always grant new people their power.

However, Argenta was different.

They never abandoned anyone who had sworn allegiance to Argenta once. That was why people gave their lives, and in return, Argenta gave back much more through shadow supplies and other means. It became more than just a relationship between a knight and his lord.

‘…So this isn’t a loss for Argenta, but rather a gain.’

I looked out at the endless sea.

Alors’ ship must be somewhere out there, confident that they could demoralize and weaken our troops once more. However, they would never get what they wanted because Argenta would treat the wounded and become even more loyal to Argenta. And so would the desire for revenge against Alors.

…Argenta never forgot favors nor revenge.

“I’ve dispatched new troops to oversee the area.”

Rick bowed his head.

“I will report to you immediately when we find them.”

At his words, I looked back at the distant sea. The crimson sunset, which had stretched out lazily, told me that the sun would soon set. The night sea was dangerous, especially in Argenta, where there were monsters.

“I think we need to find them quickly.”

“We will hurry.”

Rick bowed his head, but I looked down at the sea. I felt like I could find them faster than sending people.

…Yes, me.

I moved forward one step at a time. The closer I got to the edge of the ship’s edge, the stronger the wind blew. Still, I was confident. I reached the edge of the ship’s edge and stretched out my hand over the railing of the deck.

“Krua?”

The surprised Diello pulled me into an embrace as if he was worried that I would fall.

“…Can you hold on to me?”

I wouldn’t die from drowning, but as someone who couldn’t swim, it wouldn’t be good for me to fall into the sea.

At my words, he held onto the railing with one hand and held me tightly in his arms. In the middle of the noisy and cold sea, his breath and warmth covered me distinctly. I exhaled briefly and clenched my fists.

“Since it’s above water, I think I’ll be able to find it faster.”

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

Splash.

The moment the water drop-shaped magic power fell onto the sea…

With a strange ringing sound, my magic power spread out in all directions like ripples in the middle of a lake.

“….!”

Did he feel the surge of magic power?

I could feel the surprised Rick looking at me. At the same time, the Argenta people were murmuring.

“This power is…”

“It’s spreading widely into the sea.”

It was a sea that was incomparably larger and rougher than a lake, but the ripples clearly spread to every corner of the Argenta sea. I couldn’t control water this well when I came to the sea to look for Mirta before.

But now, I was different.

My strong magic power created clear ripples even in the rough sea, and it told me all the information above the sea.

“….”

I closed my eyes and focused on the information—monsters rose and fell on the surface of the sea, fish and sea creatures avoiding them.

And…

“I found it.”

…The presence of a strange ship.

I smiled and opened my eyes.

* * *

“They ran away like scaredy-cats!”

Laughter spread across Alors’ ship. It was directed at Argenta, telling them that their fire was useless at sea.

Alors’ assassins had rarely experienced failure.

Of course.

Those who failed died on the spot or committed suicide to keep their mouths shut. That was why their confidence skyrocketed every time they carried out a mission and succeeded. Furthermore, since they had played with the eyesore known as Argenta, the atmosphere on the deck was festive.

“What good is Argenta’s fire at sea?”

“They huddled together and ran away like scared cats. If it weren’t for the order not to kill them, we wouldn’t have let them live!”

The orders they received were as follows—pretend to be pirates, block Argenta’s supply fleet, and loot them, but don’t kill them.

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

Wouldn’t it be better to kill all their troops? Someone who didn’t know any better asked, and laughter erupted from somewhere.

“The Argenta people are so stupid that they value their troops.”

A veteran assassin responded.

“If they die, they just burn them, but if we let them live, they’ll try to heal them, which will cause them to lose even more manpower.”

He clicked his tongue.

“An assassin who moves without understanding the Lord’s intentions.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

The assassin, whose confidence had been sky-high, cowered a little. But soon, he puffed out his chest again.

“Ah! In times like this, we need celebratory drinks! More supplies will be coming soon, right?”

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

“The last report we received was that the land supply was successfully ambushed, so of course they’ll come.”

Unless they wanted to starve to death as a group.

The veteran assassin laughed. It’d been a long time since they waited for a fight at sea.

Roarr…!

A cry that didn’t sound human rang out.

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

“What’s that noise?”

And as soon as he came out of the cabin and onto the deck, his jaw dropped.

“W-what is that!”

A giant eel-like creature with its mouth wide open was charging towards the ship.

“It’s a monster attack!”

The surprised youngest assassin reached out his hand.

Swoosh!

The surrounding seawater gathered around the monster in response to his water control ability.

Thud!

A dull sound rang out on the ship.

The youngest member of the assassins, who had been creating a water barrier tensely, let out a breath.

“I didn’t know we’d be able to stop it.”

It was strange. His strength seemed to have gotten better since he came to the sea. The youngest assassin, who had never worked in a place with a lot of water, tilted his head.

“Is this the monster that the Argenta are trying to kill?”

“It’s nothing. How cowardly is the Lord of the Argenta to be struggling with something like this?”

Behind them, the Alors assassins joined the battle one after another.

They all had confident faces.

“Well, they’re in the water!”

The monsters of the Endless Sea were nothing to them. They had gained confidence from several battles on the water.

Screech!

The monsters were helpless as their bodies, which were only large, were stabbed by the water that had become sharp.

“This is the end―”

When one of the assassins laughed, they felt a strange feeling behind their backs. To be exact, they felt a dizzying feeling, like standing in front of a steep cliff.

“….?”

The assassins of Alors turned around and opened their mouths wide.

…They were about to be engulfed by a wave as big as a house.

—