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“The rooms are all set. Then I’ll begin the introductions now.”

Splash.

Water gushed from the staff I held.

At the same time, the five magic stones beside me started to swell up, and the water encircling each stone transformed into a single Water Elemental.

“Tada! These are the marines who will help with the ship’s services. Their full name is ‘Aqua-Marine.’ Just call them Marines.”

Dressed in sailor’s uniforms and naval attire.

“They will each be responsible for cleaning your rooms. One is mine. Cleaning time is from 2 PM to 5 PM, during which you should vacate your personal rooms. If you need to use your room during this time, please change the sign inside to ‘Do Not Disturb.'”

It’s a hotel-style arrangement, but it’s definitely convenient.

“These guys will clean your rooms. During other times, they’ll perform maintenance inside the ship. Right now, I only have five made due to time constraints, but don’t worry, I’ll keep producing more marines using the magic stones on board.”

“Is this… the Sage?”

“I’m not. I’m like a magical life form created from mana. To put it more simply… I’d say it’s a piece of my soul?”

If a strand of hair can be considered a piece, then I guess it counts.

“Take a look around. If you’d like a marking, you can have each marine wear a scarf of a different color.”

“Um….”

The group scanned the blue beings standing before them from top to bottom.

They were no different from regular Water Elementals, but the marines were blue from head to toe.

Even the sailor uniforms they wore.

“Sage, so these marines manage everything on this ship?”

“That’s right.”

I initially thought of keeping the group in the command room, but that seemed unfeasible.

‘Handling such matters is too much for them.’

So, I decided to take charge of it myself.

The marines deployed in the command room would be linked directly to me, allowing for parallel thinking.

As a result, their judgment might be slightly slower than usual, but to manage this vast ship, that’s the way to go.

“Is that okay?”

“Um….”

“They will handle a different floor than the one you usually stay on. They will tidy up the rooms when the time comes. Well, I won’t stop you if you want to do what the marines do.”

Like deck cleaning.

Or doing the dishes.

Or cleaning the restroom.

“I think we’re starting to get a handle on this Bride Ship now, but does anyone have questions?”

“Me!”

Unexpectedly, Rosmas was the first to raise her hand.

“Will there be marines at night too?”

“Night?”

“Yes!”

“…Night, huh.”

I could easily guess the intention behind her words, but I chose to turn a blind eye.

‘After all, I voluntarily decided to sleep in the captain’s quarters.’

The four in the room all shared the same floor.

In fact, the three of them formed a triangle centered around Lucius, so come nightfall, like werewolves awakening, one by one they would rise from their beds.

The delicate young lamb, Lucius, would surely be eaten by the werewolves.

Ah, how pitiful.

Thus, even if the werewolves were to enter, they needed to have at least minimal precautions in place to allow for survival.

“Nothing major will happen at night, but just in case, I’ll have automatic patrols running.”

“Patrols?”

“Yeah. They’ll notify me if there are any areas that are damaged or broken. Should any unsavory individuals appear… they should alert me to their movements.”

If someone were to teleport inside the Bride Ship, the ship would be completely defenseless.

If.

During a pleasant night, if someone breaks in and launches an attack?

It’s not external threats I worry about, but rather the existing occupants causing severe damage to the ship due to excessive suppression.

To prevent such incidents from occurring, the marines will patrol at night as well.

“What? Are you worried they’ll look like ghosts at night? It’s fine. I’ll turn off the lights to minimize mana usage at night. The marines can move in the dark.”

“No, that’s not it….”

“Then what? Oh, worried they’ll enter your rooms? That’s not happening. Your personal rooms are exactly that—personal spaces. It’s just that to tidy and maintain, I’ll need to borrow some time during the day, but fundamentally, your personal rooms are your homes. You’re free to do whatever you want there.”

I’m not a warden, nor do I plan to impose rules on those in the same area.

“You can sit together at night, share tea, chat, make dinner, and bring the food into your rooms to eat and drink. As long as it’s not a major issue, I’m fine with it. I don’t intend to infringe on your personal freedoms.”

“…….”

“Who do you think I am, your mother-in-law telling you what to do? Just relax. I’m not scheduling everything like a military operation, either. There are only three rules.”

I held up three fingers.

“First, come to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at designated times. If you wake up late for breakfast, make sure to come for lunch and dinner. Second, clear your rooms during the designated two-hour cleaning time in the afternoon. If it’s absolutely unavoidable, make sure to vacate at least once every three days. And third, this is the most important.”

I hardened my expression and warned the four.

“Act freely inside the Bride Ship. Don’t feel obligated to mind my presence. If you have any questions, just grab a passing marine and ask them; I’ll relay the answers through them. Got it?”

If this Bride Ship were an ordinary vessel, they might enjoy more freedom, but the sheer futuristic design of Belselphia’s ship gives it an imposing presence that’s hard to shake off.

“Why so serious? I don’t have any intention to control everything.”

That’s odd.

“I’m a free person.”

*

After dinner.

The three gathered in Droniel’s room, their faces serious as they leaned toward the table.

“…What should we do?”

“What can we do? There’s no escape route. The logic is perfect.”

“…Even if we say we’ll clean, if they come and go under the pretext of maintaining the rooms, there’s no way around it.”

The three sighed in unison.

“…It would definitely be appreciated if they clean for us, but they’ll surely notice what we’ve been up to.”

“If we tidy up, it’s bound to be suspicious.”

“There’s no way they wouldn’t notice. So let’s be bold about it.”

Yan patted her chest with her hand.

“We’re doing this openly. Since we declared ourselves free people, we shall be free.”

“What about the promise? We said we’d take turns each day?”

“But what if that one person can’t go up against Lucius?”

At Yan’s words, Droniel’s face flushed suddenly.

“You…?!”

“Lucius has the strength to swing the Holy Sword more than ten times a day. If the opponent can only manage one or two swings before falling, it’s only natural for another to step up, don’t you think? What do you think, Rosmas?”

“I, I suppose….”

Rosmas fidgeted with her fingers and let out a faint smile.

“…On the day I face him, it might not go well, you know?”

“…Hah. Are you bragging about your talent?”

“It’s a talent. A High Elf’s.”

Rosmas puffed out her chest proudly, and Droniel frowned at her behavior.

“Tch….”

“Everyone. We can’t fight amongst ourselves. We have to help each other, and that’s why we formed an alliance, right?”

“We can’t take on the Witch by ourselves. Surely, the Witch must have overwhelming skills compared to us. So, the only way for us to gain an edge over her is to practice and practice.”

“Practice? You mean have a duel among ourselves?”

“We need to practice in real combat.”

Yan slammed her hand on the table and stood up from her seat.

“I’ll duel Lucius first.”

“Hey, where do you get off…! We haven’t even determined the order!”

“I’m a Saintess. I’m someone who can willingly sacrifice for the group. I’ll gladly take the stigma of being a woman who lost easily to Lucius’s Holy Sword to protect you all from the watchmen the Witch laid in the corridors!”

“Saintess, lower your voice. There might be marines patrolling outside.”

As Rosmas covered her ears, Yan bit her lower lip and sank back down into her seat.

“…Firstly, let’s all head to Lucius’s room. After that, we’ll duel in Lucius’s room. How does that sound?”

“Good idea. So, today we all…?”

“Having a duel together isn’t bad either. We can take our time to learn, right?”

The three clasped their hands together and raised them above.

“Then….”

Creeeak.

As the door opened, the three slowly stepped out and carefully knocked on the opposite door.

“Lucius?”

“……Is he already asleep?”

“It’s not time for Lucius to sleep yet.”

“Then why is there no response from inside… wait a moment.”

The three felt their hearts sink as they looked at the panel outside the private room.

‘Unavailable.’

A sign indicating that the room’s owner has gone somewhere.

In this state, no matter how much they knock, the door won’t open.

“…Let’s look for him.”

And.

The place marked ‘Gym.’

“Ugh…! Master…!!”

“Heh, your Holy Sword? It’s nothing special…?”

A splashing sound could be heard seeping through the crack of the door.

 

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