Lucia initially encouraged me to not quit, but she revealed a smile of relief when we boarded the ship. The deck was as exquisite as before. It wasn't the cruise ship; but nonetheless, it was still very pretty. My two moms revealed relaxed smiles. Mommy Elizabeth even brought out red wine and intended to enjoy a meal in the outdoor with the sea breeze and fish just caught. I thought it was a decent idea.
We all sat on the deck and enjoyed the red wine Mommy Elizabeth always had prepared no matter when and where as well as a fish that was just prepared. The fish didn't look intricately prepared. The cook boiled it once, sprinkled some salt on and then served it up. Accompanying it were berries from the island. We let loose and relaxed on the ship for a few days.
Lucia and Nier removed their weapons and placed them aside. The two of them were on standby for battle the last three days, because they were awaiting the arrival of the wyrm. Perhaps it didn't dare to appear out of fear.
Ying didn't pay any attention to our gathering. Due to the language barrier, she didn't establish a good relationship with my family. She leaned on a side of the deck alone and spaced out, as she looked down at the ocean below. When she first saw the ship, she froze stiff. She never saw such a large ship before. It wasn't one of the manpowered battleships we had in the North but the original model, wind-powered battleships. I hadn't compared them before, but when I did, I realised the manpowered machines were basically overpowered.
The manpowered ships were two-times faster than the wind-powered ships. It might not look as obvious with small ships, but the difference was as clear as day when comparing big ships. Further, the manpowered ships didn't require as much manpower. The ship was able to stop at the island for a longer time.
I stood up and walked over to Ying. She said, "I haven't seen this scenery before. When I came here in the past, I always came at night. I never saw the ocean during the day before. This sea breeze is soothing. Also, the ocean is pretty; this is the first time I've felt it was pretty. I didn't like the ocean one bit despite the place we lived being surrounded by sea."
"Perhaps you held some preconceptions. After all, your impression of the ocean is probably just images of the wyrm killing humans, right? I would understand why you don't like the ocean, then."
I placed the glass of wine in my hand into Ying's. She looked at the liquid inside the glass feeling perplexed. Smiling, I explained, "Have a taste. This is the wine at our place. I don't think I've ever seen you drink alcohol."
"There's very little wine in the village. It's too much of a waste of food. I only ever have sweet wine oncer per year when people give me wine as a tribute," explained Ying.
Ying had a small sip. Her expressionless face instantly changed. Her white face went totally red. She covered her mouth and violently coughed. I didn't think that the wine was that spicy.
"Sorry, sorry… I really am not too used to this taste…" stammered Ying, struggling to get oxygen, since she had her hand over her mouth.
I shook my head: "It's fine. Don't force yourself if you're not used to it. Don't worry if you don't like it."
"It's all right," said Ying, with a shake of her head. Her red face gradually returned to normal. She cleared her throat. She looked at the wine again and, in a quiet voice, stated, "Although I'm still not used to it, it appears that you have to drink it every day at your place. I won't be able to live there if I don't get used it, right?"
"Who do you see drinking it every day?"
"The mistress with black hair."
"Don't use her as an example of us. Not even I drink every day."
Mommy Elizabeth had two hobbies: killing people and drinking liquor.
Ying was fascinated with the red wine: "I think it's quite nice, though. Although it's a bit spicy, it's sweet and warm when it reaches my throat. There's also the strong fruit scent. Is this brewed from some sort of fruit? I've never had this sort of fruit."
In my mind: "… Don't go there."
I didn't know what fruit it was brewed from. I had no idea what fruits were used to brew the wine in this world. Cherries…? I doubt it.
"Whatever the case, I'm glad you like it."
Ying went back to looking at the ocean, while I went back to Nier and Lucia. Sulky, Lucia asked, "Your Highness, what did you two just talk about?"
I answered honestly: "Nothing. Ying just wanted to know how life was on our side and wanted to learn to get used to it. She's never drank our wine before. As a consequence, she choked on it."
Nier indifferently snorted: "How is she going to be a soldier, if she can't even drink wine? When I first killed as a Valkyrie, Her Majesty gave me a bottle of strong wine."
"No, I don't think your time serving as a Valkyrie can be used as a standard."
Lucia pondered to herself for a moment before saying, "The first time I drank wine was when I secretly drank my father's wine. However, our elven wine is different to humanity's. Our wine tastes lighter and sweeter by a bit, which suited my preference that time. The thing was, my dad didn't let me drink wine. I only got to drink whenever I liked after I grew up in the palace."
I never expected Lucia to like drinking liquor.
Nier set her gaze on the ocean. She sighed, and then, with a soft giggle, asked, "Isn't that quite nice? Your Majesty, it's nice to be able to return in peace. Ying didn't say anything about going back, did she?'
"No," I answered with a head shake. I glanced over to Ying, who was drinking at the side of the deck, and continued, "She didn't say anything. I'd say Ying is understanding and sensible. She's not the wilful type of woman. She just has her own principles and beliefs that she firmly sticks to similarly to Ling Yue… Okay, she's sometimes actually very wilful."
Nier pouted, while Lucia revealed a cold expression.
I thought, "Are these two that hostile towards Ling Yue?! Nier, aren't you friends with her?! Didn't you say your relationship with her was quite good after you came back?! Why are you sulking and hostile now?! Ling Yue hasn't crossed you two in any way!"
"I think it's better to call Ying over," remarked Lucia. She looked in Ying's direction and raised her glass. She closed her eyes and quietly said, "Ying looks really lonely over there. We should tell her to come and join us. Didn't His Highness say he doesn't have feelings for Ying? In that case, Ying saved our lives and can be considered our friend."
"She did let others hurt His Majesty, though," argued Nier.
"Didn't you almost kill her, as well? You're even now," retorted Lucia.
Nier pouted and didn't say another word. Lucia placed her glass down then looked at me: "Your Highness, go and call her over. I don't want to be the one who takes the initiative to call a woman over, to sit next to my husband and drink wine."
"Aren't you the one who came up with the idea?!"
l