| 031 | Siren's Call

In the main deck of Pinguis Arca, Abraham was dumbfounded by what Laplace had revealed to him. The ability to hear in vast distances? What were its limits and how far can it go? Such questions echoed inside his head.

But before asking some questions to the dragoness. Abraham immediately threw his astounded expression away and regained his calm.

It wouldn't be good to have a stupid face during the conversation with Laplace.

"How far can you hear and what are its limits?" He humbly questioned, wanting to know more about her abilities. After all, it was never good to be ignorant.

Laplace gazed at his jet-black eyes with thoughts going through her head before responding to his curious question. A playful smile emerged on her face as she pointed into the high seas.

"Hmm… I can hear how amazing you are from your subordinates in that warship." What she was pointing at was none other than the UNS Light Bringer.

At first, Abraham kept glancing at her pale finger and the UNS Light Bringer trying to calculate their distances from one another. 

Luckily though, Systema assisted him and gave him the answer.

*Ding!*

| The distance between the dragoness and the UNS Light Bringer is over 750 meters or specifically about 786.4 meters. |

'I appreciate your assistance, Systema.' Abraham thought to himself and realized the words that Systema had uttered in her monotone voice.

'What the-' 

786 meters was a far distance in Abraham's mind. The fact that she heard so far into the high seas while also being able to hear through metallic reinforced walls was nothing short of amazing.

'I underestimated her.' He felt that he had underestimated the capabilities of this white-haired dragoness greatly. And this might not be the end of her capabilities, so he became even more curious about her.

But there were some things that should be questioned and some things that shouldn't. Abraham feared that he might ask an information too personal to the dragoness.

It won't be good for relations, especially when he sought for her power and her forces in the high seas.

"That is… Incredibly amazing, Laplace." Abraham muttered under his breath, but it was clearly heard by the dragoness, who merely grinned at his words.

"This isn't the end of my abilities, Abraham. I'm sure you're curious about it." Laplace placed her fingers under his chin and her golden-slitted eyes directly gazed upon his clear jet-black irises. 

Abraham stepped back and lightly coughed before commenting to the dragoness.

"There are things that must be said, not questioned. I believe that you'll tell me later, not out of debt, but because you want to." 

Laplace froze when he heard his genuine words of patience and humility. It made her a bit embarrassed of her recent actions, though she hid the embarrassment deep in her heart.

On the other hand, Systema was bewildered by how good her Fleet Admiral's eloquence was in speaking with a woman. It made her wonder if it was talent or luck.

For someone who was considered to be a middle-aged loser, such words might have come from somewhere, but where actually?

Abraham didn't know that his kind words brought confusion to both women inside and outside of himself. 

Other than not knowing how to read facial expressions from professionals, he was also ignorant that kind, loving, and understanding words were women's weaknesses.

"As expected of a gentleman, you must be popular, Abraham." Laplace decided to counter the middle-aged man's unexpected allure, but sadly she failed.

"I am sadly not, Laplace. But thank you for your compliment." Abraham smiled as this was the first time someone assumed that he was a popular guy.

Which, not gonna lie, felt good for his abyssal ego. 

A compliment would always make other's day brighter, regardless if they were men or women. It was a natural state of appreciation that social monkeys like humans loved.

Upon understanding this knowledge, Abraham felt that it wasn't pleasant to be the only one complimented. So, his lips opened and pleasant words escaped his mouth.

"I must say, Laplace. You are honestly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. You're a charming and gorgeous lady," There were no lies in his words.

Abraham didn't talk to women that much in his former life, and to be honest, Laplace was really the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen.

"Oh my… Is Abraham hitting on me?" Laplace smirked at the middle-aged man, who raised an eyebrow after hearing her.

The fact that this lady always teased him at any moment was intriguing yet provoking. It was time to counter, so an enthralling idea appeared inside his mind.

"Apologies, Laplace. It seems that I was too obvious." Abraham gleefully grinned at the dragoness.

Before they could continue, however, 2nd Lieutenant Campbell interrupted their conversation. The blond young man had a serious expression on his face, signifying the emergence of a troublesome problem.

Campbell saluted to his Fleet Admiral and reported the newest relay of the warships.

"Sir, a target group has been detected 50 kilometers away from our current location." His words resounded and Abraham immediately raised an eyebrow.

"Say again, 2nd Lieutenant," Abraham ordered and the 2nd Lieutenant calmly responded. "Target group detected, distance 50 kilometers."

The Fleet Admiral furrowed his eyebrows as this was beyond problematic. It might be another reinforcement of the merchant vessel, or it might be entirely something else.

"Has the extraction of the hostages been completed?" Abraham coolly asked since they needed to retreat fast before whatever group heading towards this location reached them.

"Extraction is about to be completed, Sir. We are at our last batches of rescued hostages." Campbell answered, which made the middle-aged man sigh in relief.

"It looks like it's time for us to leave," Abraham muttered under his breath and glanced at Laplace, who had an expression of understanding.

He wondered whether or not the dragoness knew something of the unexpected intrusion of a target group. 

"Do you know something, Laplace?" Abraham questioned while Laplace looked at him with her golden-slitted eyes and softly replied.

"Your current circumstances sound familiar."

"May I know what you have fought before capturing the merchant's vessel?" 

While the vault blocked most of her hearing from going through, she could feel the ongoing battle before the capture of the Pinguis Arca.

Hearing her question, Abraham thought for a moment before responding to the dragoness.

"We fought four escort vessels who appeared to have a group of magi protecting them. It was a tough battle, but we had complete victory over them." 

Abraham's response made Laplace raise an eyebrow and mumble under his gaze.

"So… War masters, huh. I guess with their involvement, things make sense." After her short mumbling, she gazed at Abraham and stated.

"Your warships are in trouble, Abraham. You have fought against War masters, which might not be as problematic as the usual magus, but can be troublesome when grouped up together."

"What do you mean by that, Laplace?" Abraham felt confused as to what the dragoness was trying to imply from her words. 

"The War masters, in their final breath, can sacrifice themselves for a forbidden spell. The one they used might be the siren's call, which is a horrific spell that could destroy fleets when enacted upon."

"Specifically, the siren's call emits an unknown frequency that can travel for hundreds upon thousands of metrons. Afterward, that frequency can call sea monsters known as Leviathans to its location."

The more Laplace explained, the more hopeless Abraham became.

Sea monsters? When did dealing with some magic guy result in fighting against sea monsters? Was his luck so bad?

Abraham couldn't help but have useless thoughts before returning his calm and realizing the importance of the information unveiled by Laplace.

"2nd Lieutenant, advise the captains to be cautious and report to them the possibility of sea monsters being our adversaries." He swiftly ordered Campbell beside him.

"Affirmative, Fleet Admiral." 2nd Lieutenant Campbell saluted to Abraham and took his leave to meet with the radio operators in the merchant vessel.

"Laplace, thank you for the vital information." Abraham smiled at the dragoness as he was incredibly grateful for the information she had given him.

The fact that they could possibly consider the target group as sea monsters would make them more prepared for the upcoming assault.

"You're welcome, Abraham." Laplace accepted the thankfulness of the Fleet Admiral with a soothing smile.

"How about we take our leave. Staying in this merchant vessel is becoming a hazard to us." Abraham threw his hand out to the dragoness, who accepted it without hesitation or delay.

The two of them entered the last batches of zodiac delivery along with 2nd Lieutenant Campbell and the Marines. The merchant vessel was emptied of life and became nothing but a desolated ship floating in the middle of the high seas.

Meanwhile, in the Combat Information Center of the UNS Light Bringer, Captain Lux heard various reports from the intelligence officers and operators.

"152 degree probe detection. Distance 43,000 meters and closing. Depth lowering from 10 to 125. Speed 50 knots, accelerating."

"Get the bird up in the air!" Captain Lux ordered for the Seahawks to move. 

"Sending orders to the hangar deck, Sir." One radio operator relayed his orders to the ones in the hangar deck.

"Target group at 152 degrees. Distance 40,000 meters. Speed 53 knots. We are fast approaching!" Another naval personnel reported.

Upon hearing it, Captain Lux immediately sounded the alarms.

"Ready for the engagement!" With his words, a reverberating alarm resounded throughout the decks of the UNS Light Bringer.

*This is not a drill! This is not a drill! General quarters, all hands man your battle stations!*