The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 102

87. An Unexpected Encounter

“Hmm…….”

Although many ships were docked at the harbor, Carryl faced a problem.

He couldn’t find a navigator willing to sail into the strait.

Even in a port city, it was hard to find someone brave enough to steer a ship into the territory of the Sea King, knowing it was there.

‘It’s a shame Suan Hazar isn’t here at times like this.’

With his sailing skills, having crossed the Fournine River, where Serpents lived, countless times, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

“Wouldn’t it be better to use a warship? After all, this matter is related to His Majesty.”

“Hmm.”

“Whether we encounter it or it avoids us, if we’re preparing for the Sea King, a warship equipped with gear would be better than a guild’s trade ship.”

Carryl listened to Joey Johannsel while skimming through the list of sailors stationed in the city that Juan had given him.

A plan he came up with after much deliberation.

He waited for Carryl’s answer like a student awaiting a grade on their homework.

“It would be good for us, but I don’t think His Majesty would be pleased.”

“Pardon?”

“His Majesty came to the Order without deciding on an heir. I think it’s probably top secret. I was just lucky enough to get involved in the meantime.”

Carryl continued to flip through the list, not even making eye contact.

“Why would he do that? Of course, it’s not beneficial to reveal that His Majesty’s illness, which is the foundation of the empire, is serious, but do the princes know this fact?”

“W-Well…….”

“In the midst of all this, we’re going to use a warship to cure His Majesty’s illness? Of course, His Majesty will use his power. He can create other reasons too. But…… will the princes really believe it?”

Joey Johannsel was silenced by his words.

Carryl turned to the next name on the list and said,

“Well, it might be speculation, but we should also be careful in our actions so that we don’t end up like Hall’s servant.”

“…….”

“I don’t think His Majesty wants to give it to the princes yet. The throne, that is.”

Carryl smiled meaningfully.

Joey Johannsel recalled the servant who had his head chopped off for a single word, regardless of the reason, and stroked his own neck once.

Yurin Hugart, who had been listening to him quietly, frowned slightly.

‘He thought that far ahead. I thought he was an unusual guy, but…….’

Yurin, who had been watching Carryl closely since the deal with the Emperor, felt that his position was even greater than he had thought since coming to Piasta.

Of course.

He had no idea that there were far more things hidden than shown.

“Then what should we do?”

Joey Johannsel asked Carryl with a worried voice. Unlike Yurin, he seemed to rely on Carryl from their first meeting to the present journey.

‘He’s probably not the Emperor’s direct aide like Yurin. Yurin must have directed most of it so far.’

The less intimate he was with the Emperor, the more Carryl thought it would benefit him.

‘He’s a talented healer. It would be good if we could bring him to our side.’

Carryl looked at Yurin Hugart, who was sitting down.

‘I’ll have to think about that madman.’

As he continued to flip through several lists, Carryl’s hand stopped at the last one.

“I was going to ask what you were going to d…….”

“Shh.”

Just as Yurin was about to speak to Carryl again, Carryl pointed his index finger at him and gestured for him to be quiet.

Instantly, Carryl’s eyes flashed and the corners of his lips turned up.

“Found him.”

* * *

“What? But that guy is…….”

Huan, the guild’s manager, frowned at Carryl’s words. Joey and Yurin, who didn’t know what was going on, simply watched the situation.

“It doesn’t matter, bring him.”

“Understood.”

Not long after Carryl’s order, Huan brought a boy.

Judging from his still youthful appearance, he looked only three or four years older than Carryl at most.

His build wasn’t very big either, making him look even younger.

Yurin Hugart looked back and forth between Carryl and him with an expression that said, ‘The person you carefully chose is such a kid?’

“I brought him.”

However, Carryl smiled with a satisfied expression as he watched the boy, who was standing next to the manager with a tense face, bowing politely.

“I’m Cal Mac.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Carryl greeted this seemingly clumsy person as if he knew him well.

“I see you joined our guild two months ago.”

“Yes. I haven’t been up from Yoman for long.”

Yoman was a small village located in the northeast of the Empire. With a population of less than 500, there were more people who didn’t know about it than those who did.

“A country bumpkin.”

Fortunately, Yurin Hugart knew about Yoman because it was located not far from Heim.

“Indeed. You’ve come from far away. But there are many other guilds in Piasta, so why did you choose our guild?”

As if conducting an interview, Carryl began to ask him questions.

However, he spoke without hesitation, as if he had an answer ready for any question.

“Because it’s the most famous. Of course, there are many older and more established guilds in the port city, but as long as the Lavatte Guild exists, they won’t be able to grow any further.”

“Why? There are still many guilds bigger than us. The Timanna Guild and the Anush Guild, for example, are not just merchants but also adventurer guilds. You know how valuable they are to mercenaries and free mages, right?”

“That’s why it won’t work.”

“Hmm?”

“They’re too conspicuous. Guilds shouldn’t have both power and wealth at the same time. The only thing that can have both is the kingdom.”

Carryl looked at him with amusement at his answer.

“Besides, the Lavatte Guild is a hot potato for other merchants here. There are many enemies, but I thought that this kind of place would be able to rise much faster than stagnant guilds.”

“A gamble.”

“A gamble with high probability.”

“You chose it yourself?”

“Yes.”

When Carryl saw the newcomer from the Lavatte Guild on the list of navigators in the port city, he got goosebumps without realizing it.

Cal Mac.

He was one of the Seven Greats of the Empire who would later control all the commercial power of the continent. The man who would have the name ‘Mac Meister’.

Who would have known?

That such a great person would now be at the bottom of the guild he created.

Honestly, Carryl didn’t expect to meet Cal Mac here.

‘The result of the future I created.’

If he hadn’t founded the Lavatte Guild, Cal Mac would now be working for another guild in Piasta, as he had in his previous life.

Kamma and Suan Hazar are also excellent, but with Mac Meister’s abilities on top of that, the Lavatte Guild would quickly rise to the top of the continent.

‘Cal Mac saw through our guild’s growth potential.’

His keen insight and daring spirit meant that his abilities as a merchant were already beginning to shine.

‘But another important thing is that he is also an excellent navigator.’

Mac Meister’s navigation skills, which dominated the commercial world through trade, were different from Suan Hazar’s.

If Suan, who cuts through rough waves and storms, is the number one helmsman, Cal Mac is a master of navigation and surveying, finding the fastest routes among many routes and opening the best routes.

“Cal, there’s something I want to ask you. We have to go to the strait from now on. Can you steer our ship?”

“The strait……. Isn’t it the Sea King’s spawning season now? I heard that other ships can’t go out to sea because of that.”

“But we have to go. I wish we could go at least as far as the Duchy.”

“How about going by land?”

“It takes too long. We can’t use the teleportation portal because it’s not imperial territory.”

“Hmm…….”

Carryl thought he would find a solution in some way.

“Is it urgent?”

“The sooner the better. Whatever it is.”

“That’s right. Except in bed.”

Cal Mac said, nodding his finger playfully at Carryl.

“Can you just go to the Duchy by any means?”

And as Carryl expected, Cal Mac asked him with a strange smile on his playful face.

“Of course.”

“I’ll use the Howard.”

“E-Eek?!”

Huan, the guild’s manager, looked surprised at Cal Mac’s words. Not only was it expensive, but only one person in the Lavatte Guild could use it.

Although small in size, the Howard, a work of art that had been carefully crafted from the wood used to every single part, was specially designed for Suan to cross the Fournine River and travel to and from the lawless port [a port operating outside the law].

In the past, it was named after Nelson Howard, who was called the King of the Islands.

“I need a map, a sextant, a log of this month’s weather, and data showing the monsters in the strait.”

Carryl said as if he had been waiting for it.

“It’s all ready. Huan, prepare the Howard.”

“A, understood.”

“And…….”

Cal Mac didn’t miss his first meeting with Carryl.

“If I complete this mission, please take me to Tatur, Master.”

A deal is to make a profit.

Arrogantly, the country bumpkin was already speaking to Carryl as a merchant.

Because he offered his talent as the first item of his life.

“That depends on how you do it. How long will it take to find the route?”

“Three hours is enough.”

“……!!”

No navigator in Piasta had been able to find a way to the Duchy avoiding the Sea King.

‘To do such a thing in just three hours?’

Carryl trembled slightly at his words without realizing it.

Suan Hazar, Mikhail, Aidan Hamill…….

It was always exciting to see someone starting to bloom.

Shwaaa—!!

Cal Mac spread the map on the table.

Then, he grabbed his chin with one hand and crossed his arms with the other, staring at the map.

“It usually takes two months to go to the Duchy on a normal route, so…….”

He nodded slowly and said in a confident voice.

“I’ll cut it down to within a month.”

* * *

“T-This is……. Insane!!”

Shwaaaak—!!

Shwaak–!!

The Howard, with its sails fully spread and riding the wind, cut through the waves coolly.

“I told you to cross the sea avoiding the Sea King, not to go and commit suicide on your own feet!!”

Yurin Hagart’s voice echoed in the sea, cutting through the roar of the waves.

“Are you nervous?”

“……What?”

“If you’re nervous, you can go back on a tube.”

“No, you little sh…….”

Yurin, glaring as if to devour him, couldn’t bring himself to utter the word as a priest and shook his fist as if to suppress his anger.

Joey Johannsel, who was standing next to him, patted him awkwardly.

“That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

Cal Mac hadn’t told the three of them his route until fifteen days after the departure.

Unlike the two suspicious people, Carryl launched the ship without asking any questions.

“I see.”

And it was the same now.

Cal was rather surprised that Carryl’s reaction was different from what he had expected when he told him the destination he had hidden.

‘What……. What’s with that reaction?’

Rather, Yurin Hugart’s reaction was what he had expected.

Because the bow was heading in a completely different direction from the original destination, the Duchy.

Tok- Tok-

“I couldn’t have come up with this idea either.”

Carryl tapped the destination Cal Mac had mentioned on the unfolded map with his finger and looked at him.

Then, he smiled with satisfaction and said.

“Catching a monster with a monster……. Sounds fun?”