This chapter is a bonus chapter for the "Fantasy Bleach 11" 10,000-coin reward.
The water glistens, and a gentle breeze blows.
Today is not a windy day, so the Flower is not sailing very fast. The sailors in the oarsroom have already started to use the oars to propel the ship and speed up the journey.
He had a servant bring him a stool, Liszt sat on the bow deck to enjoy the sea view.
Dousen lay on the ship's side, having successfully overcome his fear of the ocean during a sea voyage. From initially being too afraid to look at the deep blue water to now gazing at it in a daze, his adaptability is astonishing.
In the near future.
It's about to become a qualified sailor—no, a water dog.
Dogs can usually swim, and Violent Earth Dog is still a dog, so Liszt definitely wanted to teach it to swim.
The waves rolled and churned.
The Flower is far from Black Horse Island.
There are scattered small islands around Black Horse Island, which may not even qualify as islands, but are more like coral reefs. A single wave can easily submerge them.
Some of the islands and reefs are covered with trees, while others are just sand and rocks.
"The scenery is truly beautiful—azure sea, blue sky, seagulls, and sandy beaches—but there are no Fragrant Coconut Tree. If this were Earth, Black Horse Island and the nearby islets could definitely be developed into a resort destination comparable to the Maldives... Unfortunately, the Sapphire Grand Duchy is an archipelago nation, and its nobles are all islanders who have no interest in appreciating the beach scenery."
The nobles are all busy raiding the Eagle Kingdom.
"The Earl and Levis have plundered an immense fortune... I wonder when the Tulip Fleet will return. They shouldn't be short of serfs this time, so their return should be quick."
The thought is of a thousand serfs.
Liszt's heart ignited with excitement.
With over 2,500 serfs in his territory, there wasn't enough manpower even for farming in Flower Town. Now, with the addition of Black Horse Island to be developed, the manpower shortage was even greater. This shortage of manpower prevented him from realizing many of his ideas, forcing him to slowly farm and slowly accumulate gold coins, unable to become rich overnight.
"To sustain my use of potions, at my current rate, relying solely on Flame Mushroom isn't enough, and even with the addition of Fast-Growing Magic Thorns, it's still insufficient. The profits from Black Tulip also need to be used to purchase potions."
"After deducting the huge income from potions, there aren't many profitable businesses left... The seafood business will probably have to be shut down after another six months. The more shrewd nobles are secretly fishing for seafood, but they're not selling it to the public... I wonder when the Flower Brew will be ready."
The new money-making project is the production of Flower Soap by soap workshops.
Bunir Egg is working hard to improve the process, preparing for mass production and launching it to the market as soon as possible. Liszt hopes that the Flower Soap can monopolize the Coral Island market within three months, and then cooperate with Tulip Castle or Beer Castle to open up the outer island market.
Given the quality and cost of Flower Soap, if managed well, it could become a pillar industry for the Flower Town.
"First, I'll make money with Flower Soap. Then I'll buy serfs. Once I have a large number of serfs, I can create more industries, make even more money, and then buy even more serfs... After I'm fully armed, I'll go to the battlefield to earn merit and titles, and grow stronger like a snowball."
His mind began to wander.
Viscount, Earl, Marquis, Duke, and then riding a dragon!
But after fantasizing about riding a dragon, the sudden swaying of the Flower made everything seem utterly meaningless. "Poverty really does limit my imagination. The meaning of life, the goal of my struggle, is nothing but riding dragons, nothing else."
At that very moment.
A sailor's loud cry rang in their ears, " Leviathan!"
"It's Leviathan!"
"Oh my god, we've encountered a sea monster!"
"We're going to be eaten by Leviathan, ah!"
"Woof woof!"
"It's all over! It's all over!"
Leviathan?
Liszt, upon first hearing this, did not understand and had no idea what Leviathan was.
But then, Kosto's loud shout rang in his ears, "Don't panic, don't panic, keep doing your job! This isn't Leviathan, it's just a sea monster. They're friendly and never harm ships at sea!"
Perhaps it was Kosto's reassurance that had an effect.
The sailors were no longer panicked.
Thomas, having calmed down from his initial panic, ran to Liszt's side. "Master, we've encountered a sea monster!"
I saw it.
Liszt had already stood up, calming down the furiously Dousen Tom Hiddleston, and looked towards the sea to the left of the Flower. There, a sea monster waving its enormous pectoral fins was leaping from the surface, its massive body tumbling once before plunging back into the water, creating Waves of wild expanse.
He recognized it at a glance; it was some kind of whale.
It was a sea beast, not a sea monster; the Magic Eye detected no signs of Magic Power.
The giant sea monster resembled the humpback whale he had seen in "Man and Nature." Its enormous pectoral fins, if they were to hit the Flower Flower, would probably shatter it.
However, it did not approach the Flower closely, but rather stayed a short distance away, sailing alongside Flower.
"My lord!" Marcus rushed over, followed by his Retainer Knight, who had sensed the danger and come to protect Liszt.
However, this is not dangerous.
Liszt quickly composed himself, maintaining a calm demeanor as he pointed to the humpback whale. "Very majestic and magnificent. It's rare to see such a large sea creature up close. Professor Marcus, everyone, please sit down and enjoy it together."
"Sir, should you take refuge in the cabin first?" Marcus asked worriedly.
"These are sea monsters. Don't worry, Captain Kosto has told me about them; they are very friendly." Liszt smiled, calm and composed.
He earned the admiring glances of his Retainer Knight —truly worthy of being the lord favored by Knight's Glory, the embodiment of courage!
After being comforted by Liszt, Marcus bowed slightly, relaxed, and stopped being so surprised. Together with Liszt, he admired this rare and spectacular sight.
Travel with giant beasts!
However, the humpback whale's presence was brief. It seemed to have lost interest in the Flower, or perhaps it had simply come to the surface for a breath of fresh air. With another roll on the surface, its massive body sank back into the sea and disappeared completely.
After the waves subsided.
The sea has returned to calm.
Dousen's spiky fur relaxed, and his big, piercing eyes darted around the sea, seemingly still searching for a humpback whale.
Captain Kosto left the captain's cabin and rushed to the deck, breaking the atmosphere that was still immersed in the enormous figure of the humpback whale. "My lord, that was a sea monster. We often see them when sailing at sea. They are actually very friendly and rarely attack ships. They will even escort ships."
"I know it's not hostile," Liszt agreed with Kosto. He asked, "I know that huge creatures that appear at sea are called sea monsters, but what is Leviathan?"
Just now, he clearly heard many sailors calling out Leviathan.
Kosto replied, " Leviathan is a sea monster, just a legend among seafarers. It's said to be a giant sea serpent that preys on ships, but I've never seen one... and I'm glad I haven't, otherwise I wouldn't have seen the sunrise."