At the harbor, a large ship lay docked as crewmen and sailors carried a steady stream of supplies aboard.
At this point in time, steam-powered ironclads had yet to be invented, but steam turbines had already begun to be fitted to sailing ships.
Some nobles who had long since heard that Roselle would set sail today had been waiting for quite some time. They came forward to greet him and see the Son of Steam off on his voyage.
"Dubois, what do you think? The boast I made back then is finally coming true today. I'll sail this ship to the Oladek Islands, then switch to an ancient ghost ship-the Black Throne. Heh, that ship is what gives me the confidence to venture out to sea."
Roselle lifted his chin and spoke smugly.
Dubois looked up at the ship. Instead of his usual sarcasm, he said the same thing he had that night: "Smooth sailing."
"..."
Roselle felt as though something was missing, so he added, "How about coming along with me? Remember what I told you back then? This world is a sphere. Sail in one direction and you can return from the other. You insisted I was spouting nonsense. This is the perfect chance for me to take you along and let you see for yourself."
After a pause, he looked at Edward. "Klein, do you believe me?"
"Hmm, no."
"Hahaha! Then just wait for the great Roselle Columbus Magellan Gustav to return triumphant."
An hour later, everything was ready.
Roselle stood on deck, brimming with confidence as he waved goodbye to everyone on shore:
"Goodbye, everyone!"
With a shudder of its hull, the ship slowly left the harbor.
Quite abruptly, dark clouds filled the clear sky. Fierce winds rose, and bolts of lightning rolled through the clouds.