Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Powerful Gray, Peculiar Rhodes
Rhodes never imagined he'd have the chance to ride on a wooden sailing ship in his life. He thought that with trains already existing, sea ferries would at least be steam-powered, but it turned out to be a wooden sailing ship.
It felt like there wouldn't be any dissonance if they hoisted a skull flag at the top of the mast.
But listening to the captain give orders, watching the sailors shout in unison as they pulled various ropes, and seeing their hands stained black with tar...
Seeing the ship set sail from the port with everyone's coordinated effort actually had its own charm.
Quietly, he enjoyed the sea breeze for a while...
The autumn sea breeze was a bit chilly, and Rhodes hunched his shoulders and naturally picked up Gray's windbreaker, putting it on:
"Gray, do you think there might be pirates out here?"
"Yeah, there are," Gray said, not taking his coat back—he wasn't afraid of the cold.
"Really?" Rhodes asked. "Do they go looking for treasure?"
"Probably, but their main thing is robbing, and plenty of them are killers," Gray replied.
Wendy seemed a bit scared, explaining that she couldn't fight at all. Despite having learned Dragon Slayer Magic, known for its destructive power, Wendy was better at and preferred the healing capabilities of Sky Magic.
"This regular ferry is probably more prone to pirate attacks, right?" Rhodes considered sending a crab ahead to scout the route.
Gray responded, "There's no need for that. On the open sea, the lookout's range of vision is much wider than that of your crab. They'll give us an early warning.
And anyway, there aren't any mages becoming pirates. If we do run into them, we can either flee or deal with them. The sailors are all armed."
"That makes sense," Rhodes nodded.
Real pirates would surely be far more brutal than the ones he'd seen in comics. But even if they encountered pirates here, he wouldn't be afraid.
The cabin of the ship wasn't big, and being inside felt stuffy, so they stayed on deck chatting.
However, it was inconvenient not having a table for card games or snacks, so...
"Ice-Make: Tea Set!"
A small round table, four beach chairs, and a parasol appeared out of thin air.
The intricate creation even emitted a slight chill.
"Whoa~~ A mage!"
"What amazing magic!"
The sailors and other passengers on deck spoke in admiration, and some couldn't help but add an honorific.
Even though they were curious, none dared approach recklessly.
Gray plopped himself into one of the chairs casually. "Why do I have to use magic for this kind of thing?"
Rhodes also took a seat, placing the snacks they bought before boarding on the table. "Isn't it convenient to use Maker Magic for this?"
Wendy couldn't help but say, "Amazing, Mr. Gray! Your magic is so beautiful!"
Even Carla had to admit, "Indeed, such a complex structure completed in an instant—this guy is surprisingly impressive."
Rhodes, on the other hand, thought it was just normal. Laki's Wood-Make Magic was similar, wasn't it? Being "born" in a place full of talented people, he didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse.
And then...
"Brr~~ It's freezing!" After only a few seconds, Rhodes jumped up.
Sitting on an ice chair for an entire meal would definitely give you a stomach ache by the afternoon.
Wendy and Carla couldn't handle the cold chairs either.
"Troublesome," Gray grumbled as he dismantled the chairs, then lowered the table legs to turn it into a kotatsu-like setup. Sitting cross-legged on the deck worked perfectly.
Carla was even more surprised. Instead of creating a new object, he had directly modified it? Just how precisely could this guy control his Maker Magic?
"Let's play cards! Everyone gets ten pine nuts, and whoever loses has to do push-ups or sit-ups," Rhodes said, shuffling the deck and dealing out cards. But as soon as the others threw down their cards, he was at a loss.
"Um... what's the rule again?"
It wasn't "Fight the Landlord," it wasn't "Sevens," it wasn't "Running Fast," nor was it like "Bridge." He couldn't understand it!
He had seen everyone play something like "Old Maid" before, but clearly, this wasn't it.
What was their default game rule?
Carla slapped her cards on the table and complained loudly, "You mean you don't even know how to play?!"
Gray said, "Now that I think about it, I've never seen you play cards."
"I... I've just been busy learning magic, catching up on common knowledge, everyday entertainment..."
Mostly, it was shopping with Mira, chatting, fighting, or reading interesting books.
He had never really joined in on card games.
Wendy admired him, "You're so diligent."
Rhodes smiled wryly, "Well, my situation is kind of unique, so you can't really call it diligent."
Gray added, "You might as well summon Worm. It knows more about cards than you do."
"What?" Rhodes was stunned. Had he been neglecting Worm?
Gray explained, "Worm watches us play cards all the time. Sometimes it even joins in. If there's food on the line, it plays better than Happy."
"..."
Rhodes summoned Worm and held it while watching it play cards, trying to learn the rules.
Somehow, with its little claws, it managed to hold a whole bunch of cards.
Worm played really well—almost winning the first game—and Rhodes ended up losing all his pine nuts.
"That's supposed to be chips, chips!" Rhodes shook Worm vigorously. "And you didn't even peel them!"
"Churrr~ churrr~"
Worm didn't mind at all, seeming even happier—like a child being playfully lifted up.
...
By the time the ship docked, it was almost dark, and the four of them had to find a hotel to stay in.
The original plan was to reach Cait Shelter before dark, but Wendy noticed an impending storm along the way, prompting her to warn the captain.
With her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic, Wendy was highly sensitive to changes in the air, allowing her to predict the weather to some extent.
In this regard, even seasoned sailors couldn't match her.
The captain was reluctant to believe a child and an outsider, but once they showed their mage guild insignia, he took it seriously and changed course to avoid the storm.
Because of this, they were delayed, so they had to stay near the port for the night and leave again early the next morning.
This time, Rhodes rented a carriage that wasn't pulled by an ordinary horse but by a purple pig.
These pigs, known as "Swine-Horses," had the strength of two horses and provided better deterrence against bandits compared to normal horses.
Of course, they were just regular creatures in this world, but only Rhodes found them strange.
Since he'd only ever ridden in a regular horse-drawn carriage, he wanted to try it—especially since the price was reasonable.
As for the ride itself... well, it didn't feel much different from a regular carriage.
"Disappointing."
Gray sighed. "Don't set weird expectations for a carriage."
Wendy smiled gently, "Mr. Rhodes, sometimes you can be quite immature."
Carla said, "He's getting stranger and stranger."
She felt this person was really contradictory—reliable to a fault when it came to tasks but often struggling with common sense on small matters.
His usual mannerisms seemed mature, yet as soon as they left town, he showed curiosity like a child.
Rhodes couldn't help it; not everything was covered in books and magazines.
When encountering something new, it was easy for him to reveal a confused side.
Maybe this was why the Master kept wanting him to take more missions and get out there more.
"By the way, Wendy, your guild is the entire tribe, right?" Rhodes asked. "Are there things you're absolutely not allowed to say, gods you shouldn't offend, or any other customs?"
Wendy tilted her head and thought for a moment. "I don't think there's anything in particular."
"There is," Carla said, glaring at Gray. "You can't show up naked."
"Hey!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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