Aria smiled helplessly when she heard Odys's words.
Those young navigators were indeed somewhat inexperienced, but Guild President Elijra was already quite old. It was unlikely that he would put to sea again.
Even if he did, it would be as a navigator for the Queen, not aboard Odys's ship.
Elijra stroked his graying beard and smiled. "As you can see, my beard has gone white. Teaching navigator apprentices suits me better."
Odys smiled. "These navigator apprentices should be sent out to gain experience at sea. If you're willing to sail, I'm willing to provide them with food and lodging as well."
Elijra shook his head. "Then they would surely die under enemy cannon and gunfire, or in close combat with the enemy."
Aboard a ship, navigators were a very special profession.
When battle broke out, navigators were the only ones allowed to hide in the cabins.
Even after becoming prisoners, navigators were unlikely to be killed.
After all, the sea was simply too vast, with few landmarks. Navigators who could determine direction and their approximate location through the stars were guides of the sea.
Furthermore, the best among them could judge approaching rainstorms and tempests through the clouds. They were highly skilled specialists at sea, so naturally, they would not be casually killed after being captured.
If Elijra and the apprentices boarded Odys's ship, however, only he would receive the treatment afforded to a navigator. The other apprentices would have to be like ordinary crewmen—joining battles when they occurred and going out onto the deck to fight the weather and the sea during storms.
These young people, who had only learned navigator theory, had a lower survival rate than ordinary sailors.
Odys had originally wanted to persuade him further, but in the end, he merely smiled. "That's truly a