Chapter 97

"Raise the anchor!

Set the sails!!"

The next morning.

As the sun rose, I raised my voice.

"Hey, Ren!

Have you ever moved a sailboat before?"

He approached with a full-blown smile that would make Dan blush.

He must be happy to be on a boat again after a long time.

Dan, who is usually mature and observes everyone from a distance with a cool demeanor, looked like a child today, and his potato-like quality was off the charts.

"Of course, I'm a complete novice.

I just wanted to say it."

When I declared this with my chest puffed out, Dan's shoulders slumped, and he said, "Don't do it once we're out at sea, or everyone will be confused..." But since I don't know anything other than these lines, I can't do it even if I want to.

The ship we are setting out on this time is a sailboat that the Nagekaze Trading Company, Dan's family business, secretly built to present to the earl's family when Dan turned 12 and was about to enter the royal academy. However, it ended up being stored away after Dan successfully enrolled in the royal academy.

This ship is not a beam-rigged sailboat, which is designed to catch the wind from behind, like the one you get in the middle of a famous RPG, but a fore-and-aft rigged sailboat that can sail into the wind.

Imagine a slightly larger yacht.

By the way, most warships are galley ships, which are propelled by multiple oars rowed by many people, although they do have auxiliary sails. In coastal areas and large inland rivers, where the wind direction and speed are unstable and the stamina of the rowers is limited, they are said to have superior maneuverability in terms of acceleration, deceleration, and turning compared to sailboats.

...Such a style of brute force with a large number of people using body enhancement magic is completely devoid of romance.

By the way, it seems that some of the ships owned by the great nobles are equipped with engines, but they are not fast enough to be adopted by warships yet.

Magic devices to repel monsters were installed on this ship the night before.

We set sail from the dock next to the Nagekaze Trading Company's port, basking in the cool and comfortable morning breeze.

◆

When we left the harbor and headed out to sea, the wind was coming from the opposite direction.

A fore-and-aft rigged sailboat can move forward even against the wind, but it cannot sail directly into a headwind.

If the destination is in the direction of the wind (the direction from which the wind is blowing), the ship will zigzag at an angle of about 45 degrees to the left or right of the wind direction.

Depending on the performance of the ship, if the angle is too small, even a fore-and-aft rigged sailboat will not move.

Dan stood at the helm at the rear of the ship, operating this 20-meter sailboat all by himself.

Seeing this, Katsuo, who had been standing next to Dan to assist with the operation, was flabbergasted and said, "The design is such that the helmsman can operate the ship alone because all the lines are brought to the helm... I can't believe you can easily pull up the heavy mainsail line with one hand. Moreover, to handle all the sails so easily in this wind on a ship you've never sailed before, your sailing sense is as extraordinary as ever."

The mainsail is the largest sail on the ship, and the lines are the ropes used to control the raising and lowering of the sails and the direction of the wind.

By manipulating these lines and adjusting the rudder, called a tiller, the speed and direction of the ship can be controlled.

Dan apparently played with small sailboats when he was around 8, the age when his magic organ manifested.

By the way, in addition to Katsuo, employees of the Nagekaze Trading Company are also on board as crew members. Although shipbuilding is their main business, many of the employees are former sailors and fishermen. Considering Dan's position, it was decided that it would be better not to include external personnel so that he could engage in the Duarize fishing without any reservations.

"It's no big deal, Katsuo.

There are even more incredible monsters at the royal academy."

Saying this, Dan smiled at me.

I eventually told Mimosa and the others that I am also a classmate of Dan at the royal academy.

It would be too much to say that an explorer I happened to meet in the capital took Dan out of the earl's mansion and even borrowed a valuable magic device to repel monsters.

I judged that it would be better to admit the truth and then firmly keep it a secret rather than let their imagination run wild and start rumors.

I believe that Mimosa and Katsuo will not say anything to others.

"You look like you're having fun, Dan!

I want to try it too!

Let me take over!"

Dan, who was skillfully operating the sailboat, cutting through the wind and moving forward, looked incredibly cool and fun.

Unable to resist, I asked to take over the operation.

"Hey, you're interested?

Then I'll teach you the basics, come over here."

After that, I learned the basic operation and points of a fore-and-aft rigged sailboat from Dan and took over as the helmsman.

◆

"Starboard tack!"

Dan, standing on the pole protruding from the bow, gave me sailing instructions with hand signals.

"Starboard!

Tacking!"

I slowly turned the rudder to change the course from the port side, which is the direction to the right of the bow from the wind direction, to the starboard side.

This maneuver to change direction while heading into the wind is called tacking.

When the course changes from 45 degrees to the right of the wind direction to 45 degrees to the left, the direction of the wind hitting the sails naturally changes.

To prevent the main sail, which is fully inflated with wind, from flapping wildly during the turn, I quickly pulled in the lines to tighten the sail as the sail rotated clockwise around the mast.

"Close-hauled!"

Dan instructed me to stop the turn at the angle where the ship can sail as close to the wind as possible.

This angle is called close-hauled.

"Wow, you can stand there on a ship that's rocking up and down and side to side... I'm amazed."

I muttered in amazement.

So, he must have been training his balance since he was a child...

Now I understand the secret of Dan's extraordinary balance...

Dan's balance is exceptional.

At the royal academy, there is a practical class where students must navigate a special course set up with thin logs and ropes at high places and floating stones in a pond.

It's like a high-difficulty obstacle course.

In this class, Dan's speed is in a different league from everyone else, and he is in a class of his own.

"I used to stand there to see the wind and waves better. I started doing it when I was 9. No matter how many times I was told it was dangerous and to stop, I insisted it was fine. In fact, even if the ship tilted due to a mistake in navigation, I never fell. Eventually, they gave up. Well, to be honest, you're pretty scary too. You can navigate a ship after just one lesson... What kind of brain structure do you have?"

Katsuo's face contorted as he asked me, but this is not surprising.

"I'm just following Dan's instructions.

This level of procedure, any classmate from that school would almost certainly learn and practice it perfectly on the first try. I'm frustrated, but the fine line work Dan was doing, judging the wind and waves from this position, is on a different level."

I immediately understood the depth of it when I held the lines and the rudder myself.

In fact, even though the same wind is blowing, the ship's speed is about 80% of what it is when Dan is navigating.

That 20% difference is not easy to make up.

"I was worried about what you were thinking, giving the helm to a complete novice so easily...

Now I understand why the royal academy is called a den of monsters..."

Katsuo shook his head and continued, "Dan has always been good at everything he does, even as a child... He looks lively when he's with adults, but he seems to stand out when he's with children his own age. He fits in well, but his back looks lonely from my perspective... And to be pulled into the stiff world of the nobility, I felt sorry for him. But seeing you and Dan talk as equals without any pretense, my view has changed. Dan has finally found a place where he can truly clash and grow with a friend... Thank you, Ren. He has finally escaped his loneliness."

...I understand what he's trying to say.

In this world, where magic exists, the differences in individual abilities are even greater, and this is cruel for both those who have and those who don't.

I also stood out in the elementary school, and I'm sure everyone who attends that school has had similar experiences to some extent.

Ryao said he is at the academy to "hone himself by competing with talented classmates," and he is probably the epitome of that loneliness.

When I see Ryao's smug smile and his mismatched, puppy-like eyes, I lose the urge to be rude, no matter how annoying he is...

This is one of the reasons why my sister dotes on me so much.

Even in my hometown, I stood out...

My sister, who is a genius, must have had a hard time fitting in.

Recently, with seniors like Huri and others, she seems to be having more fun, which is a good thing.

I can only hope that my presence will fade away.

While chatting about such trivial matters, we repeated tacking and close-hauled for a while, and then Dan returned to the cockpit.

"That strait between the island and the continent is the Corrida Strait.

We'll lower the sails and reduce the ship's speed."

Dan smoothly lowered the sails and stopped the magic device to repel monsters.

Now, only a small auxiliary sail and a spinnaker, which is a sail at the stern to prevent the ship from being pushed by the wind, are set.

The sound of a sea falcon, "Quack, quack," was caught by the detection magic.