An incident occurred.
The whole thing started... last summer, I think.
I had carved a little wooden boat for fun and set it afloat in the reservoir.
It was a simple boat, nothing more than a basic raft with a sail attached.
Hiichiro was absolutely delighted when he saw it. Seeing how happy he was, Raimeiren promised that, while it would take some time, she would show him a much larger ship.
Hiichiro was overjoyed. From then on, he would talk about the big ship whenever he remembered it.
Raimeiren supposedly owned several ships already, but she ordered a Large Sailing Ship specifically for Hiichiro.
The order was placed in Shashato City. Apparently, there was a large shipyard there.
Michael-san wasn't personally involved in the shipbuilding industry, but he acted as our liaison in Shashato City to handle Raimeiren’s order.
And so, construction began.
Normally, a Sailing Ship takes many years to build. Especially a large one.
However, it was completed in just one year.
It wasn't because they had cut corners; apparently, it was the sheer power of money.
The trick was that they simply bought a ship that was already under construction.
Apparently, a shipyard can't stay in business if they only start building after an order comes in.
Therefore, they build them in advance.
Merchants supposedly buy and sell ships that aren't even finished yet as speculative investments.
The Large Sailing Ship that Raimeiren bought through Michael-san had its time-consuming hull section mostly completed; it was at a stage where it just needed the finishing decorations.
Considering they spent a whole year on the decorations, I expected it to be a truly luxurious Sailing Ship.
Even so, does starting from the decorations really count as "shipbuilding"?
Apparently, it does.
Ah, they have to frame it that way, or it wouldn't count as a New Ship.
I see.
Then, it was completed around the end of spring.
An unveiling was to be held in Shashato City, but Raimeiren was reluctant to take Hiichiro there.
I thought it was because she didn't want to take him to a crowded place, but that wasn't the only reason.
"If there are other ships around, Hiichiro’s ship won't stand out, will it?"
I understood her feelings, so we gave up on the unveiling in Shashato City and decided to watch its maiden voyage instead.
The location was the coast south of Village Five, on the eastern side of Shashato City.
This area wasn't a sandy beach but a rocky shore, and because the water was quite deep, a Sailing Ship could safely approach.
Well, it would be tragic if it ran aground, so I had given instructions for them not to get too close to the coast.
With the five of us—me, Hiichiro, Hakuren, Raimeiren, and Michael-san—at the center, a Spectator Group from the Village of the Great Tree and Village Five had gathered on the coast.
We waited while having a Barbecue.
The ship soon came into view.
Michael-san, holding a skewer of meat, pointed it out to us.
It was still far away, but even from here, I could tell it was a magnificent Sailing Ship with two large sails.
Cheers rose from the Spectator Group.
Well, about half of them were more interested in the Barbecue than the horizon.
I called out to Hiichiro to tell him the big ship was here, but he was fast asleep.
He had been so excited since the day before that he must have tired himself out.
"Let him sleep a little longer until it gets closer."
No one disagreed with Raimeiren’s suggestion.
Still, it was a magnificent Sailing Ship.
Just as I was thinking that, I noticed a small boat trailing behind it.
What was that?
The small boat had no sails. It had no oars, either.
And yet, it was moving at about the same speed.
Was the Sailing Ship in front towing it?
While I was wondering about that, smoke began to rise from the Sailing Ship.
It was a fire. The sails were burning.
Eh?
And then, an explosion.
The Sailing Ship sank spectacularly.
...Eh?
I couldn't process the situation and was a bit confused, but I immediately asked Hakuren to fly out and begin a rescue.
There must have been a fair number of sailors on that Sailing Ship.
The Lizardmen, High Elves, and others from the Spectator Group climbed onto Hakuren's back to help.
I stayed where I was so as not to get in the way.
The small boat that had been trailing behind... was fleeing.
Were they afraid of being caught in the blast?
Or did that small boat do something?
No, more importantly...
"Ba-ba, where is the big boat?"
Hiichiro, awakened by the sound of the explosion, asked Raimeiren while rubbing his eyes.
This was the incident.
According to the testimony of the rescued sailors, the culprit was indeed that small boat.
Apparently, it belonged to the Elf Empire.
"We have confirmed it is a ship belonging to that foolish power known as Village Five. We cannot permit the existence of a large ship that threatens the peace of our Elf Empire."
That was their reasoning, apparently, but the Elf Empire ended up surrendering unconditionally and being absorbed into the Demon Kingdom.
At first, they tried to surrender to Village Five, but since that was a hassle, we left it to the Demon Kingdom to handle.
The only reason the Elf Empire's surrender was even accepted was a gesture of mercy; all the sailors from the sunken ship had been safely rescued, and the empire had handed over their largest vessel as compensation.
No, it was a truly horrific battle.
The Elf Empire was located on a single island.
A swarm of Dragons took to the skies, encircling the island completely.
Any ship attempting to leave was either sunk or driven back.
Then, Dragon breath was fired into the island at the dragons' whim.
"I will continue until every last one of you is dead."
At Raimeiren’s declaration, the leadership of the Elf Empire fell into a total panic.
At the same time, it was quietly leaked to the populace of the Elf Empire that this was all revenge for the sinking of the Sailing Ship.
A civil war broke out.
The Dragons simply watched it happen.
While they managed to suppress the internal uprising somehow, the Elf Empire's will to fight had been broken the moment they realized their opponent was a flight of Dragons. Their only focus became figuring out how to convey their surrender.
Ultimately, after they burned the massive castle on the island's coast with their own hands, Raimeiren finally accepted their surrender.
The battle was over.
I was just glad it was over.
Later, they showed Hiichiro the largest ship seized from the Elf Empire.
"Ba-ba, this ship doesn't have any cloth."
The Elf Empire’s ship used a Magic Power Source. Sails were unnecessary.
Sometime later, a set of entirely redundant sails were attached to the flagship we’d seized from the Elf Empire.