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Chapter 14

"Yulcan's routes? Yes, they're famous for being monster-free. But even so!"

Haley's raised voice made everyone flinch.

"Is there anyone here who doesn't know that we can't guarantee a hundred percent safety? Is there a wall in the sea? A boundary? That's why we've always insisted on taking a mage! We even said we'd open a portal and send our mercenaries the moment we receive a signal! And you skimp on that and cause this disaster?!"

"We've never seen one before, so we—we thought it was fine."

"Where in this ever-changing sea is there absolute safety?! If there had been a mage aboard the Glory, it wouldn't have sunk. On that, I'm a hundred percent certain!"

Haley's fierce retort left everyone red-faced. With their clear breach of contract, it was almost certain they wouldn't receive compensation.

Sighing, Haley dusted off her hands—which had gone numb.

"Fine. If we're assigning blame, we do share some fault for not properly verifying the mage's presence. We'll fire the one who reviewed the documents, and this time, we'll compensate everything—damages included."

The captains' eyes widened. Their troubled faces brightened—though not for long.

"However, the Glory and the Jenice will no longer be permitted to use our routes. Refusing to do business with parties who violate contractual terms is within our discretion, so…"

"What! What do you mean by that? What are we supposed to do about our trade?!"

"There's always the 'Kingdom's Official Routes,' isn't there? Very safe, very strict, and quite a detour?"

The blood drained from the captains' faces.

Those routes took at least a month longer—and in the worst case, three months more—than Adrian Yulcan's routes.

Moreover, to use the kingdom-designated routes, they had to submit dozens of detailed documents to the Naval Headquarters' Maritime Guard—scrutinizing crew numbers, cargo, deadlines, tonnage, and more.

Not that using Yulcan's routes meant they could slack off, but state-run operations were notoriously cautious. They had their reasons—whenever something went wrong, the captains would band together and pressure them, so they had to apply even stricter standards than private firms.

This was problematic, that was problematic—in short, it was a headache with too many restrictions. And Yulcan's routes were the compromise.

Yulcan had practically monopolized trade through their own routes, but due to the kingdom's proposal—though Adrian didn't see it that way—they had begun sharing the routes for a small fee.

"Given the severity of the incident, the Maritime Guard will understand your transition to that route. So it seems everything is settled: compensation, resolution, and countermeasures."

"Ah, no…"

The captains waved their hands feebly. Just then, they heard murmuring outside. The office door opened, and Adrian—whom they'd been waiting for—appeared.

"Captain!"

They flocked to him as if he were their savior. Haley, by contrast, had a sharp glint in her eyes.

Adrian, well aware of the meaning behind her gaze—why are you only coming now?—averted his eyes and looked at the parties involved.

The captains of the Jenice and the Glory lowered their eyes like puppies meeting their master, ready to plead their case. They assumed the owner of Yulcan would be more reasonable than that girl they'd dealt with.

"Captain! Why are you so late?!"

After whining and groaning and laying out all their circumstances, they now waited for his response.

"I have nothing more to say."

"…Pardon?"

"I have no intention of reversing this decision."

Adrian cut them off flatly.

The men who had been pleading so earnestly were left speechless by the cold reply. Their mouths agape, they rose from their seats.

"So what are we supposed to do now? We've timed everything to Yulcan's routes!"

"I don't know. Why are you asking us?"

"Because obviously—"

"Obviously why should Yulcan have to worry about another company's shipping schedule?"

A sigh crept into his voice, as if the argument had already reached its conclusion.

"I merely lend the routes, and I have the right to revoke that privilege from those who cause trouble."

"How can you say that, working in the same industry? I didn't know Yulcan's captain could be so unyielding!"

"Haha, then let's leave it at that. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"How can you—!"

Adrian curled the corner of his mouth.

Ultimately, as the owner and decision-maker of the route, he said it was over—so what more could they demand? Moreover, they were the ones who had violated the contract, so they had nothing more to add.

Taking their silence as understanding, Adrian turned to Haley beside him.

"Make sure they're compensated sufficiently, without any shortfall."

"Yes."

He sat down and began reading through the piled reports, stamping them with his seal.

The captains exchanged uneasy glances and finally rose from their seats. Since the conversation was over, they couldn't stay rooted to their chairs—so they awkwardly filed out of the office.

Thud.

Once the outsiders had left, Adrian put down his seal and leaned back into his chair. Haley, who had been standing upright, immediately shifted to a casual stance, bracing her hands on the desk.

"You're so late. This chaos happened at dawn!"

"Don't complain. It's all about money."

"Well, if that's the case, can't be helped."

Haley's sharp gaze softened slightly.

"Still, you were pretty firm. I thought you'd ease up a bit compared to what I said."

"If I overturned what you decided, they'd stop listening to you… and they'd think you can't represent me when I'm away. That would undermine your words."

"Oh, Captain."

"I need to pass things off to you so I can rest a little."

Haley shot Adrian a sidelong glance. He said that, but he had clearly reinforced her authority in front of others.

"And once they've proven they can follow the rules properly, we can reopen the routes. Don't worry too much."

"Yes."

"How's the investigation? Anything unusual?"

He referred to the monster that had appeared on the cleared route overnight.

"We received no signal from the ships until they were wrecked, so it's hard to determine the cause. When our mercenaries arrived late, they did find some small corpses—oddly enough."

"Small ones?"

"Yes. Juveniles, not full-grown adults. Anyway, by the time they got there, the fish had already torn the flesh off the corpses—it was a mess."

Adrian tilted his head. Something was off. Deep-sea monster juveniles didn't surface until they matured.

Still pondering, Haley scratched her head.

"But why were they dead? Did the ships launch harpoons at them?"

"Possible. Juveniles are manageable even without a mage."

"Oh! Speaking of which—that mage Yona. He only lent his name to the ship and didn't actually board. There might be other cases like that, so we should tighten our verification process."

"Do that."

"Yes."

Haley nodded and left the office. As she went out, a servant brought in two cups of coffee, as Sasha had arranged earlier for Adrian, who hadn't slept well.

He set the steaming coffee before Adrian.

"We've had a lot of variables lately."

Adrian let the hot coffee trickle into his dry mouth. It tasted bitter today—perhaps just his mood. He set the cup down, stared at the reports, and rubbed his eyes.

Maybe I should just embed Ocelton in every bow.

Adrian entertained the absurd thought briefly, then dismissed it. Even if he spent a fortune buying Ocelton, the chances of a natural disaster sinking a ship were higher than a monster attack. It wasn't cost-effective.

Still, he had planned to acquire a top-quality Ocelton to fix onto at least one premium vessel—but that had failed too.

The flawless, smooth Ocelton came to mind.

It was said to be an heirloom of the McDonner family. A family wealthy enough to pass down such a fine Ocelton must have been among the region's most prominent—yet now they were on the brink of ruin.

'…Alexa McDonner.'

Two months to repay the debt—should be enough. Without interest, even. Was that too generous? If she had borrowed the money herself, he wouldn't have been so lenient. But that brother of hers was a complete disaster…

"Captain!"

"Yeah, I'm listening."

Sasha didn't look convinced, but continued.

"I'm talking about the 'Mana River.'"

"Ah, right."

"The faint, fading current has returned. Still, we'll need to monitor it for a while."

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