Chapter 14

Sunny weather, soothing breeze, and blue skies.

There is no better day to enjoy the world than today.

And that's exactly what I'm doing right now.

Today, I finally set sail into the open sea.

Together with Chief Harald and about 20 of his men, we set sail to the open sea.

The plan was for me to steer the ship a few kilometres north and then return to the east coast, where we started.

Standing by the wheel, I asked Chief Harald.

"Chief Harald, am I allowed to hold the wheel yet?"

"No, my Lord. We must wait until we are out of the shallow sea."

I don't know how many times I asked that, but I was getting a bit tired of waiting.

I wanted to take the wheel from the start but Chief Harald forbade me and said I had to wait until we got into the deeper water.

So no matter what, even though I was very excited to steer my ship, I still had to listen to the advice of the experts.

"My lord, you can take the wheel now."

"Finally."

"Captain Abel at the helm!"

I slowly took over the wheel from Chief Harald's hand.

"So how was it, my lord?"

From beside me, Chief Harald asked.

I didn't even know what it was like to ride a horse, so this was a very new experience for me.

I answered with excitement.

"It's a bit heavy, but I think I can handle it, Chief Harald."

"Very good, my lord. Then try directing the ship to the North."

Following Chairman Harald's direction, I turned the rudder to the left and steered the ship to the North.

"Woooahhhh...."

As the ship gradually turned in the direction I wanted, I felt very excited.

I felt like a kid again.

"You did it, my Lord. Now you just need to maintain the course, and we should be fine. Oh and please, try to not crash the ship into a reef or a rock.

While waiting for us to get to our destination, Chief Harald also started explaining important things, such as the parts of the ship.

For example, the front of the ship is called the bow, the left side of the ship is called Port, and the right side is called Starboard.

There was much more that Chief Harald explained, but I didn't hear him because I was too distracted steering the ship.

This is much more fun than I expected.

The feeling of freedom you get when you do this, it's incomparable.

I also like the sound.

The sound of seagull flying above us, the sound of water splashing from a fish that jumped beside the ship, and the squeaking sound from the mast.

For some reason, all of that feels really comfortable to hear in my ear.

"Master, we've reached our destination, we should head back."

"Eh? That fast?"

It seems I was so wrapped up in the fun, that I didn't realise we had arrived.

I turned the wheel and made my ship turn sharply, that's when a strong wind suddenly came and made the ship sway.

"Oh, be careful, my Lord. Pay attention to the wind, you should tell the crew to lower the unfurled sails if the wind is this strong, otherwise our masts won't be able to withstand it or we could be capsized."

"Thanks for the tips, Chief Harald. You heard it lads! Half-sail!"

Following Chief Harald's directions, I told my crew, who were actually just Chief Harald's men, to reduce the amount of sail unfurled.

Slowly, my ship began to stabilise again.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew... Thank goodness it was just the wind."

"And that's precisely why I told you to watch the wind, my lord."

"Sorry, Chief Harald. I was too absorbed in steering the ship to pay attention to most of what you said."

I should have paid more attention to what Chief Harald was saying and not get too caught up in the fun.

After that, no more incidents occurred and my return voyage was quite safe I swiftly avoided any reefs or rocks.

Once we reached the east coast, I told my crew to stop.

"All right, lads. Lower the anchor!"

Since there was no harbour, I could only anchor my ship on the shore, and had to walk to the beach.

Chief Harald and I stood on the beach watching the crew still tying up the ship.

I asked him.

"So how is it, Chief Harald? Am I good enough to steer the ship by myself?"

Chief Harald nodded with a serious expression.

"You are talented, my Lord. You still have a lot to learn, but with how you handle yourself, I'm sure you can work it out. In fact, I can't believe this is your first time doing this, my Lord."

"Thank you for the compliment, Chief Harald. But this is really my first time doing this. I did hear that my great-grandfather was a sailor, though."

More precisely my grandfather's grandfather, I heard he was a sailor, but I'm not sure what kind of sailor he was.

"Is that true, my lord? Did he sail for the emperor navy or her majesty ship?"

"No, I.... I'm not too sure."

I shook my head.

I had actually only heard this story from the butler in my family, I didn't even know if it was true or not.

Chief Harald nodded and smiled.

"I guess that means you just went back to where you came from, my Lord."

Back to where I came from, huh? I don't know if that's ironic or funny.

But if my family is indeed from the sea, that means I am indeed returning to where I came from.

A part of myself hoping that was true actually.

Although that doesn't really mean anything, I guess I'll find out about it later when I have time.

However, before that...

"Chief Harald, do you know where the mermaid island is?"

Chairman Harald raised one eyebrow, as if he could guess why I was asking this.

"Yes, my Lord. Their island should be north of here, it's not too far away either."

"Can you direct us there?"

"If you give me the map in the captain's cabin, I can quickly map out a route there, my lord."

"Good, I knew I could count on you, Mr Harald."

I patted Chief Harald's shoulder and started walking towards my home.

"When are we leaving, my lord?"

"The sooner the better."

I didn't really want to do this, but I couldn't help but do it.

Adela will surely know soon enough that those Trench Keepers are no longer a problem, and that means she can get off this island.

I've known her for a long time, and I know Adela can be quite stubborn at times.

Once she finds out about this, she'll definitely try to return to her village.

And I don't want that to happen, I don't want her to return alone.

There are many reasons why I don't want her to do that.

For example, because it's dangerous and I'm worried that she might get hurt on the way.

But the most important thing is, there's a possibility that she won't come back here if she goes back to her village alone.

I mean, it's possible that she won't be allowed to leave her island again.

Considering what had happened to her, and considering how much the mermaid race hated humans.

That's why I hurriedly learnt how to steer a ship, so that I could take her home, and then persuade her to stay with me.

I've been living with her for months, I see her face every time I wake up in the morning. I hate to admit it and I didn't think it would be like this myself, but I can't live without her.

I can't live without her, I can't live without them, without Adela, without Sarah or without Amy.

So I'm going to persuade Adela to stay with me, it might sound selfish, but I don't care.

They've become part of my life now.

And if she refuses, that sucks, but I won't force her and respect her decision.

But if Adela accepts and the rest of her race refuses.... Oh well, let's just say that won't happen.

Or I might just do something impulsive.

----

I went back to my house to tell Adela about my plan, but when I opened the door, I only found Sarah sewing with Amy napping next to her.

"Sarah, where's Adela?"

Hearing my voice, Sarah looked surprised. She didn't seem to expect me to be home so early.

"Ah, Master. I thought you wouldn't be back this early."

"Yeah, apparently I'm talented, so I finished off early. Where is Adela?"

"I don't know."

I frowned.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"She's been out since morning, shortly after you left. I haven't seen her since then, she didn't even come back for lunch."

Oh hell, I have a bad feeling.

"I'll go look for her right away."

Perhaps because she realised my thoughts, Sarah smiled teasingly.

"Hmm.... Master, why are you panicking?"

"Sarah..."

Sarah giggled, she then smiled and said.

"You don't have to worry, Master. Adela won't leave without telling us."

"Even if you say so, I'm still worried."

"Ah... Wait, Master! I was just-"

Sarah tried to calm me down, but I still insisted on going to look for Adela.

I tried to find her at the cliff where she often retreats, but I did not find her there.

Fortunately, when I went looking for her in Magnoras village, I found her on her way back to our house, carrying a bucket full of vegetables.

Not expecting to see me on the road, Adela called out to me with a surprised expression.

"Abel?"

Realising that she wasn't going anywhere, I unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Stopping in front of me, Adela asked with a surprised expression.

"Abel? What's wrong? Why do you look like that?"

"I thought you already left."

"Left? What do you mean?"

Adela asked in surprise while tilting her head.

Man, that little gesture is so cute.

"Yesterday, I said that the Trench Keeper monster was taken care of, right?"

"So you think I've already gone back to my village?"

"Yeah."

"Pfft!!"

Adela laughed loudly, her tears even coming out a little.

I feel a little annoyed, but she looks cute, so I'll ignore it.

Adela wiped away the tears in her eyes and stopped laughing.

"Hahaha, seriously... Sarah is right, you are paranoid, Abel."

"What's wrong with being paranoid?"

Adela shook her head, she then let out a beautiful smile, and said.

"There's no way I'm leaving without telling you, silly. You also already promised to bring me back, and I believe that. Besides, it's quite dangerous, and I'm a bit scared to go home alone."

Thank goodness, at least now I don't need to worry anymore.

"Don't leave without me, okay? I'll take you home right away. In fact, I've actually already planned the route with chief Harald, so it shouldn't be long now."

Adela smiled worriedly.

"Are you sure you want to take me back? My family probably won't welcome you very well, you know?"

"That's not a problem."

I'm not the type of person who cares what other people think, they're not happy about me coming?

Hell, as long as Adela doesn't mind, I don't care what the other mermaids say.

Adela nodded.

"Hmm.... I see. Then, can you carry this for me?"

"With pleasure."

Adela handed some of the vegetables she had brought to me, but I took them all from her hand.

"Thank you, I guess I can always count on you, Abel."

"You can count on me anytime."

We then walked back together, side by side with each other.

Adela didn't stop talking along the way, she kept talking about small things, but I didn't hate it.

Because now, it has become my daily life. And I definitely don't want to lose that.