Quite a few people had gathered on the beach to watch the new ship's trial run, including Bennett Todd and several merchant friends of his.
He asked the friends around him, "Did you all get a good look? That ship doesn't seem to have a single oar."
"You didn't see wrong. It really doesn't have a single oar. It's powered entirely by wind." The salt merchant Godwin confirmed it for him.
"I wonder if the lord's summons has anything to do with this ship."
"What?"
"Didn't Lord Greiman mention before that he wanted to establish an Ocean Trade Company? But there weren't any ships suitable for ocean voyages back then, so the matter was shelved. Now a ship like this has finally been built."
"We still don't know how well it performs."
The merchants discussed the matter animatedly on the beach.
That afternoon, City Hall once again summoned the merchants of Franklin Harbor and the surrounding regions. As expected, Earl Greiman brought up ocean trade once more.
"Once the second ship is built, I'll conduct an ocean trial run!"
Paul made this announcement to the merchants.
"The destination will tentatively be Balmore Harbor within the kingdom. If possible, we'll continue south toward Cape Bay."
Balmore Harbor lay at the mouth of the kingdom's largest river, the Seine River. From there, ships could travel upstream all the way to Crystal Radiance of the Royal Capital.
Someone quickly asked, "Lord Greiman, will you sell your ships to private merchants like us?"
"Of course. The more you buy, the happier I'll be. But only after the army's needs have been met. We need a powerful navy to guarantee the safety of the routes. You wouldn't want to run into pirates the moment you put out to sea, would you?"
"You can all