What should the warship be called? It was a very serious question.
[Conqueror], [Dreadnought], [Pioneer], [Victory], [Revenge], [Alliance]?
[Navigator], [Voyager], [Explorer], [Guardian], [Wanderer]?
[Miracle], [Wind of Freedom], [Fate], [Legend], [Noah]?
[Harmony], [East Wind], [Hope], [Fortune], [Dawn]?
[Titan], [Leviathan], [The Abyss], [Ship of Theseus]?
At the mention of ship names, Ian's mind filled with countless possibilities, drawn from reality, mythology, games, and more.
Naming her Fate? That was connected to the Fate Card. Ian felt a little reluctant, as if someone had discovered his secret.
The Ship of Theseus, also known as the Theseus paradox, was a paradox about changes in identity from his previous life. If an object's components were replaced, was it still the same object?
Why did Ian feel exposed again?! He was caught up in a philosophical question: Am I still me?
After mulling it over, Ian decided it would be better to let Wawa choose or come up with a name herself. After all, Wawa was a living creature with her own thoughts.
With that in mind, Ian immediately took out some paper and a pen, and wrote down dozens of names he could think of. He also asked Milta for suggestions and added a few more.
Wawa, who often kept her attention on Ian, overheard their conversation.
Two tiny, bean-sized eyes appeared on the ceiling of the dining room, watching Ian's every move without blinking.
Ian noticed Wawa's movement and smiled, glancing at her. He spread the paper across the dining table.
"Wawa," Ian said, "is your nickname. You'll need another name for everyone else to use. Lots of people will know this name, and it'll surely become famous throughout the Sea of Miracles."
"You can choose one from this list, or come up with one yourself."
"Wawa..." Wawa blinked, showing that she understood.
Wawa's spiritual power lifted the paper and floated it gently around the dining room. "Wawa..."
With Ian's guidance, Wawa recognized most common words, but she clearly didn't understand many of the names on the paper, such as Leviathan and Titan.
Ian explained them one by one. Milta watched with keen interest.
As Ian talked with Wawa, he realized she wasn't interested in names associated with human emotions, such as Hope, Dreadnought, or Explorer.
In many myths and games, Titans were the first race of gods. The name could also mean powerful or enormous.
Leviathan had several meanings and appeared in all kinds of myths, biographies, and games. It generally referred to the most powerful sea creature or creature of the void. In Ian's previous life, Hobbes used the sea monster "Leviathan" in his book Leviathan as a metaphor for a nation ruled by a monarch.
When Wawa heard Ian explain Leviathan, she eagerly nodded.
But Wawa's reason left Ian both amused and exasperated: the other names didn't sound like names for living creatures at all.
And Ian could tell that becoming the mightiest mythical creature was Ian's hope for her. Wawa's own goal was simply to keep fulfilling Ian's expectations.
With a complicated expression, Ian gently stroked the wall. So without realizing it, I've become your whole world.
[Leviathan] sounded pretty good, too.
Early the next morning, Ian gave Milta a roll of designs, a list of supplies, and a large bag of gold coins.
"Milta, take the designs to Paradise Port and find someone to make some flags. Have them make several!"
"Then buy everything on the list from the Bounty Hunter Guild. Pick up anything else you think we might need on board, too."
"One more thing." Ian sized Milta up. After becoming Extraordinary, Milta had grown much taller, and his whole bearing had changed. His clothes no longer fit.
"Buy yourself a few new outfits."
Ever since Milta had become Extraordinary, Ian had been making time to teach him the basics of the Extraordinary world and all sorts of other knowledge. Now Ian was starting to give him things to handle, so that, little by little, he could manage on his own.
There were several hundred Divine Grace Gold Coins in the bag. Milta had never seen so much money before, and he was a little excited. A sense of being trusted filled him from head to toe.
"Understood, Captain!"
Milta slung an Alchemy Flintlock over each shoulder and headed out, brimming with excitement.
Ian smiled faintly. Trust was one reason. The other was that wherever Milta went, Ian could sense his location through their connection to the Spiritual World—and could end his life at any moment by activating the contract projection beneath the canopy.
"The Whaling Group has practically disbanded?!"
"Most of the captains have joined the Poderia Navy?!"
"The Whaling Group is leaving tomorrow?!"
Milta had brought back more than supplies. He'd also brought Ian news he never could have anticipated.
The Poderia Navy had finally succeeded in forming the Fourth Fleet, and it had almost happened without a fight. They were now recruiting personnel on a large scale in Paradise Port.
An undertaking this big couldn't have been arranged in just a day or two, yet Ian had only learned about it after everything was settled. He was seriously out of the loop.
Ian suddenly remembered how strange Lia had seemed that day. Perhaps she hadn't wanted to drag him into it. After all, even the powerful Abigail could only swallow his anger and leave for somewhere else.
"Yeah. How could she leave the Whaling Group at a time like this? Abigail needs her to handle all the assets and prepare for the move."
"It's just as well they're leaving. The Whaling Group is still a force to be reckoned with at sea."
Ian chuckled. "We're friends now, Captain Abigail, because we have a common enemy."
"How long will it take to make the flags, Milta?"
Milta answered at once. "At least two days. They need to go through several rounds of layered dyeing, Captain." Milta knew about Ian's relationship with the Whaling Group and had been quietly waiting nearby.
"That's too long. Pay extra! They have to be ready by noon tomorrow, December 7. It doesn't matter if they're a little rough. If one shop can't do it, find one that can."
Ian gazed north, his expression resolute. "Tomorrow at noon, we set sail for Storm Cape."
Milta was visibly excited. "Understood, Captain!"
The people who made flags were ordinary folk skilled in dyeing and weaving. Paying extra worked like a charm.
Early the next morning, two flags had already been delivered to the tower. The workmanship looked decent enough.
Ian and Milta began making the final preparations before leaving port.
They sealed up the regular gunpowder and Alchemy Gunpowder and moved them into the thicker hold in the middle of the [Leviathan].
A 24-pound Alchemy Cannon stood at both the bow and stern. Six 18-pound Alchemy Cannons were lined up along the main deck, all covered with waterproof cloth.
Unlike the cannons on other sailing ships, the guns aboard Ian's ship weren't positioned along the sides of the hull. They were arranged along the centerline, like the guns on the large battleships of his previous life. Each sat on a mount that could absorb recoil and rotate 360 degrees.
There weren't many of these cannons, but they were Alchemy Cannons with a longer range. And the moment a naval battle began, they could all fire at targets from any angle.
However, there weren't enough gunners, and Wawa could only operate two cannons at a time. For now, most of them were just for show.
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