After speaking, the airship captain staggered toward the cockpit ahead. He thought Councilman Ibur had been scared witless, and he needed to return to his post to command the airship's emergency landing.
The moment Councilman Ibur heard the captain say he would order all nonessential items aboard the airship thrown into the sea, he grabbed an attendant beside him.
Pulling the man close, he whispered in his ear, "Take some men and throw every crate of gold from the false compartment in the bottom of the ship into the sea."
The attendant was horrified. "My lord... throw away so much gold? How—how will you explain this to the lords of Raging Wave City?"
"If we don't throw it, I'll lose my head. Then I won't be able to explain anything even if I want to! This is shallow water near the continental shelf. Gold is heavy; the currents won't carry it too far. Remember the location of these waters. Once this is over, we can send people back to salvage it."
"My lord, your wisdom truly is..."
Ibur snapped, "Is this the time for flattery? Take men and go! Break open the bottom hull of the cargo hold and push the crates of gold straight down. Hurry! Don't let anyone see the gold!"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Having received Councilman Ibur's orders, several attendants took advantage of the brief moment while the airship was steady and rushed down toward the lower cargo hold.
On the sea, the Lucky Princess raised the Raging Wave Navy flag and leisurely pursued the pirate ship that was "fleeing in panic." The navy warship was extremely fast. It quickly passed the merchant vessels, moving to either side of the pirate ship to form a pincer encirclement.
After receiving the Clover's flashing distress signal, the Lucky Princess