I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Chapter 273

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Chapter 273 – The Second Prince and Spreading Grace

As I exited the hatch of the ground effect wing aircraft with the Prince and Myrril, I checked the shadow of the ship.

“Is there a situation where we don’t know who is on the flagship, the hostage or the mastermind?”

Rinko, who came out to see me off, asks me.

“At the moment, we’re still waiting to find out, but the mastermind theory is gaining ground.”

Rinko looked back at the Prince with an “Is that so?” look on her face.

“Yes, I think he’s a former royal traitor who brought about the invasion of the Empire.”

“Just to be sure, we need to find out if he is or not. If he is the one who destroyed the country, it would not be a bad idea to see him bark.”

“If you need a pickup or a support attack, let me know. I have two more anti-ship missiles of my own design.”

“Anti-ship missile is… the tube that blew the big hole in the ship, right?”

“Yes. The warhead is a prototype black powder bomb, but its combustion performance was not good enough, so we put everything in it. The magic propulsion system is a byproduct of building drones and “ground effect wing” aircraft.

It uses three magic cores from small magical beasts for propulsion, guidance, and detonation, and the cost performance is unsuitable for practical use. I guess that’s true in this world.

“Oh, if there’s an emergency, I’ll ask for your help.”

Only two large gunboats and four medium-sized close-combat ships are heading towards us. The rest of the smaller ships are swarming around the gunships, which are sinking after being hit by Rinko’s anti-ship missiles, and rescuing their crews.

All of you will also be reduced to sea debris.

I teleport to the deck of the flagship with Myrril and the Prince in my arms. The sailors working on the ropes and gun positions freeze when they see us suddenly appear.

“Enemy, shuuww…”

The Prince’s PPSh shot through the breastplate of a soldier who stood up, and several of the men behind him collapsed. The Prince calmly took out the sailors, who sensed something was wrong, and gathered around him with a single shot.

Each time a UZI is fired, a sailor with an eyeball shot outfalls to the back of the deck and tumbles off the top of the sail girder. I’m not that good at shooting, so all I can do is watch as the lord defends himself.

“Prince, where is this Mian?”

“He’s at the stern of the ship, in that box.”

The Prince points to a hut-like place visible high up in the stern of the ship. I am not familiar with the structure of a sailing ship, but judging from the many unnecessary decorations, this must be a luxury cabin. The distance was about 30 meters. As I cautiously approached the cabin, five armored soldiers appeared from behind the cabin, holding metal shields. Perhaps in case they fell into the sea, there were no soldiers in the Navy wearing metal armor. They might be Imperial Guards, but they might not be part of the same organization as the Navy.

“I’ll take care of this.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

I had to do some work at least, so I took aim with my AKM. It was still about twenty-five yards away, but it would be all right. The target was big and slow.

“Where did you come from, you damned demon?”

One of the heavily armed infantrymen shouted in a mocking tone. It was probably meant as a provocation, but with dozens of soldiers killed on one side, it had no effect. Aiming well, I shot through the shield.

“Gah!”

“Formation, oo-ooohh…”

“Ebuhhh!”

Single shots, one after another, to make sure they are killed. There were some who were not killed instantly, but when hit by 7.62 millimeters, death was only a matter of time. The shields were covered with a bluish-white light, but it wasn’t enough to stop the assault rifle bullets, and the rest of them fell down and stopped moving.

“Threat eliminated.”

“Hang on, I need to change magazines. They’re coming at us from below.”

I checked the port and starboard entrances and took position behind a pillar.

“Prince, you take the right hand; I’ll cover you.”

“I’ll take the left hand.”

As soon as Myrril said this, dozens of sailors rushed forward. Their weapons were hand spears and curved swords, and they came at us with their bodies still bare. Though their bravery was frightening, the bullets from the fully automatic fire instantly cut the men down, rendering them helpless. The attack was eliminated when an AKM finished off a large man staggering over the bodies of their comrades.

“Threat eliminated.”

“Threat eliminated here as well.”

All bodies and cargo on deck that would impede movement are stowed away. The ropes and masts that blocked the firing range have also been stowed away in their entirety. Now, they cannot navigate.

For some reason, ships are incompatible with storage, so I throw them overboard immediately. They have no use.

“Come out, Mian!”

I shoot out the decoration on the ceiling of the cabin. If it wasn’t the traitorous Prince, my fears were unfounded. A young man appeared with a bow in his hand.

He was a little older than Prince Haidar, perhaps in his late teens. He may be on the verge of puberty, with slightly long ears and elf-like features. He is uniquely handsome and tall, with a well-proportioned figure. He wears expensive-looking clothes and has an imposing demeanor, but his face is hideous. He glares at Prince Haidar, revealing anger, hatred, and frustration.

“…Kaienholt… that incompetent!”

I could tell by the disgusting murmur in his voice. He must have known or been complicit in the evil deeds of the false demon king who betrayed Prince Haidar and the people of Solbesia to the northern continent. I find this outrageous, but I’m not surprised. I have been reminded many times that snobs are like that.

Prince Haidar shook his head as he held up his PPSh.

“You are the incompetent, Mian. You were once a member of the royal family, and yet you are so stupid.”

“Let’s pull it out!”

As Mian was about to draw his bow, Myrril shot him in the left hand with her star pistol. His fist burst, and several fingers flew off. He can no longer draw his bow. If there is any will left to resist, that is.

“Ahhhh!”

Prince Haidar approaches Mian and bows to Myrril, who has been protecting him.

Looking down at the rolling Mian, Myrril says to no one in particular.

“Stupid elves don’t fit into my experience.”

Well, I don’t know. They may be pompous or unsociable, but I’ve never looked at an elf and thought they looked stupid. At best, the last villagers we met did.

Prince Haidar laughs.

“Elves are stupid, you know. It’s just a different kind of stupidity.”

Ignorant stupidity, selfish stupidity, blindness to one’s surroundings, stupidity without knowing one’s place in the world. There are many kinds of stupidity, the Prince continued.

“All elves are idealistic and out of their league. And they cannot admit their own incompetence. Because of their long lifespan, they arrogantly continue on the path of destruction without reflecting on their own ineptitude, thinking that they have not yet achieved their goals.”

Looking at Prince Haidar standing in front of him, Mian places his secure right hand behind his waist. And then he stands motionless. His rigid expression is distorted with fear.

“The royal family of Solbesia, who even destroyed their own country with their stupid ideals, is probably the best example of this.”

A green light rose from Prince Haidar’s back.

“This is the currency of grace. It was the price of prosperity that ruined Solbesia. It is neither unlimited nor free. Heaven watches what we ask and what we offer.”

Unable to move, Mian turns and begins to struggle. Ivy growing from the ship’s hull bound his right hand. It gradually grew longer and began to bind his arms, his waist, his legs, and his entire body.

“Let’s go, Your Majesty.”

“W-wait a minute! Do you think you can be King of Solbesia?”

“Are you still talking such nonsense? There is no such thing. The throne, the palace, the capital, everything has sunk into the forest. People live and die in the forest. Grace will come and go, and Solbesia will last forever. There is no need for royalty. The land no longer needs me or you.

“I will not allow it… the blood of the royal family of Solbesia shall be carried by me… and me alone…”

Mian’s entire body was tangled in green tentacles, and his insides seemed to begin to erode as well. Prince Haidar’s voice did not reach his ears. The spreading ivy, covered with flowers and grasses, buried Mian’s body and spread across the deck. He stepped back and looked out over the water from the port side and saw that Prince Haidar’s anger was overflowing.

“Hey, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Green ivy covered the hull and spread, filling the surface of the sea with what looked like algae. The mast I’d abandoned was also covered in the tangled green, and the surrounding ships, large and small, were filled with grass and flowers, like planters on the water.

“I thought it was very quiet, but it looks like the soldiers have been eaten.”

The floating planters that had appeared on the sea had not even retained the original shape of the ship. The mast had been transformed and was leaning under the weight of the unusually high canopy, and the hull looked as if it would sink at any moment as the wooden planks peeled off and disintegrated. That means the same thing will happen to the ship we are in now.”

“Prince, let’s go.”

“Yes. Please.”

Carrying Myrril and Prince Haidar, I searched the sea for the ground-effect winged ship.

“There it is. How far is it?”

We jumped over the plane as it sailed close to the horizon. I thought it would be a structural problem if I landed on its wings, but I managed to land on the designated blue line.

“Here you go.”

I entered the cabin through the hatch, and Rinko looked back at me in the cockpit.

“Welcome back; how did it go?”

“We’re done; we can go home now.”

“Roger that. Old men, prepare to surface.”

“Roger that.”

Myrril looked out the window of the plane and scurried across the surface of the sea.

“Rinko, I don’t see the ship coming this way. Did you sink it?”

“That’s right.”

“When they saw Yoshua and the others pulling out the mast of the flagship, they turned back in a hurry.”

When I left the mast? But I don’t remember any gunboats or transfer battlecruisers saying they turned back to the flagship.

The power increased, and the plane floated. Taking off from the calm sea, Rinko circled and gained a little altitude.

“Look!”

“”Woah!?””

Looking down from above, the surface of the sea was dotted with what looked like giant planters covered in dense green. From there, a web of greenery―probably algae or something―spread across the surface of the water, stretching out toward the land. Rowboats and other small vessels trying to escape near the shore were caught in the algae, popping like green popcorn as they became entangled.

What’s that, scary?

I involuntarily looked at Myrril and at the Prince.

“…S-sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go this far.”

The wreckage of the ship, barely recognizable as the flagship due to the lack of masts, is covered in green as it drifts toward the shore. Is it better to say that it is being attracted by the green tentacles spreading along the shore?

Nothing can stop this greening now. It was a good thing we got out of there early.

“Well, it turns out all right in the end. Prince, you did well.”

“Turns out all right in the end”?

“It means if the result is good, the process is irrelevant. You have done well, and you will return triumphant to the pirate fortress.”

“All right, Heimann-jiichan, keep the same altitude. We’ll fly east and avoid the hard parts.”

“Roger and the performance test is in full swing. Carretta, take care of the propulsion system.”

“Leave that to me. We’ve got 230 liters of fuel and about 20% of our magic reserves. Seven thousand. We’ll make it.”

“We can make it. Look, I’ve got a magic tank right here.”

Is that me? It’s okay, though.

The flying squid, a Casemaian creation, made a strange turbine noise as it picked up speed in a northeasterly direction.