Chapter 46 – Seems like my spirits are a bit crazy for speed

 

(Princess, leave the steering of the ship to me. I know a lot about water.) Before we departed, Weisster suggested that.

He is an ice spirit, so I suppose he should indeed be familiar with water. I figured there was no problem in leaving it to him.

Or so I thought.

(Haha! Nobody can outrun me!) He exclaimed… Because unfortunately, he was a speed freak.

I was trying to enjoy the scenery on the deck, but his sudden acceleration startled me and made me fall down.

Moreover, the headwind is outrageous due to how fast he is moving.

“Ugh…” I made a completely unladylike groan as we moved. The strong wind was directly hitting my face, making my carefully trimmed hair become completely unkempt.

(And now a sudden right turn!) As Weisster exclaimed that, the ship quickly changed directions. The movement made water mercilessly splash all over the deck.

“… Weisster, you’re fired.” Once I got to the wheelhouse with my soaked wet body, I said that as I threw a philosopher’s stone at Weisster.

(It hurts! What are you doing!?) Weisster exclaimed.

“Just desserts, just desserts. Kajero can steer the wheel now.” I told him.

(I just thought I’d spice this mediocre cruise up!

(Though princess, why are you carrying a philosopher’s stone?) Weisster asked me.

“Kajero told me to. We don’t know what will happen in the Wisp territory, so this is a precaution in case of emergency.” I replied.

(A precaution…?

(Oh, right, you don’t have the doll magic anymore, so we can’t be sure that the dolls on the Wisp estate won’t rebel.) Weisster seemed to understand it.

“Indeed. I might be overthinking it, but I don’t want to regret not being prepared for an emergency.” I told him.

(Definitely.) As Weisster said that, he vigorously moved his blade-self up and down, probably as a way of nodding.

… If only there was some intelligence within this dexterous moving sword.

Well, it’s because of that that Kajero will now control the ship.

… Kajero started giggling, (Then, let me provide a thrilling cruise that you may enjoy to your heart’s content!)

He too?

H, e, t, o, o?

Oh dear, why are both of those two speed maniacs?

Well, we do want to get to Medea quickly, so it’s good that they are speeding up, but…

(I will jump ahead of this reef that is ahead of us, so please enjoy the air travel for a while.) Kajero said.

There was a barrier around the ship, so it wasn’t broken by those crazy maneuvers, but can you please stop it? It’s bad for my heart.

This isn’t a competition or anything like it, so it doesn’t matter if you make acrobatics, you won’t get a higher evaluation for this.

Or rather, it’s going down. It keeps going down.

(Actually, young lady, let me argue with this point.) Kajero said.

“… Should I ask how you heard that?” I replied.

(We dolls may have spirits inside us, but at our root, we are directly connected to your deep consciousness, young lady.) Kajero told me.

“In other words…?” I asked him to continue.

(The performances so far have been what the young lady wanted, and I’m sure you have been inwardly praising them, so I have full intention of continuing steering the ship like this.) Kajero said.

… For now, I threw a philosopher’s stone at the center of Kajero’s head… Maybe I should have brought a few more with me from Malgaroid.

After that, Kajero and Weisster promised to drive with safety as the priority, and with speed as the secondary objective.

With this out of the way, I decided to head to the cabin to see how Phillka and Feria were doing.

“I don’t think the sickness prevention medicine that I developed is working…” Phillka muttered while he laid on his bed.

“I thought I was strong against shaking, but… Ugh…” Feria too, was laying down on her bed.

They don’t seem to have handled Weisster’s and Kajero’s crazy drifts well… Understandably so, for no ship would ever move like that under normal circumstances.

I think I’m fine mostly because of how angry I was at those two… Or maybe it’s my experience with roller coasters on my past life.

“This reminds me… When we were young, me and Feria got quite drunk once…” Phillka muttered.

“That’s nostalgic… It was hard to handle my brother vomiting as much as he did back then.” Feria replied.

“Don’t fabricate memories. It was you that was vomiting.” Phillka said.

“No, it was you, brother.” Feria replied.

“No, it was you, Feria.” Phillka told her.

“Seems like you should invent a lie detector for yourself then.” Feria said.

Phillka then got up, seeming ready to say something, but…

It seems like his seasickness is still there.

“Ugh…” As he muttered that, he fell back onto his bed.

“Oh? You’re still weak, brother? Then I suppose I’ll have no choice but to leave you here while I have some tea with Alty… Ugh…” This time it was Feria that tried to get up, but she too fell back onto her bed.

Just what are those two doing?

… For a while, both of them kept on trying to get up, only to fall back again immediately after.

That said, it seems like they’re on good terms now. Ther brother-sister relationship seems to have improved considerably.

***

[Weiss’ Pov]

After Alty left, while I suppressed my urge to accelerate, I decided to ask, (Hey, Kajero, what do you think of the princess right now?)

(She’s strangely active. She also gives an impression that is slightly different from what she used to give.

(Did you feel that too, Weisster?) Kajero asked back.

(My eyes aren’t just knot holes, alright?) I told him.

(You do not have any structure in your body that could be referred to as an eye.) Kajero replied.

(Don’t worry about this kind of detail.) I told him, (In any case, I thought the princess would have been excited about the cruise, but in my view–)

(Maybe’s she’s overworking herself…) Kajero sighed, (However, the young lady doesn’t seem to be aware of it.)

(Possibly. The princess is quite stressed right now, after all. What’s up with her father being accused of high treason? It wouldn’t be strange for her to faint from the shock.) I told him.

(I was wondering if we could relieve her tension with this last initiative, but… It didn’t seem to have much effect.) Kajero muttered.

(Huh!?) I was a bit surprised by that one, (You were thinking of such a small thing!?)

(Wait a minute…) Kajero started frowning, (Weisster, was it not for the young lady that you made the ship move so carelessly?

(I was riding on your initial performance…)

I started replying with, (I was just going on a crazy voyage–)

(So you ruined the young lady’s hair and clothes for your personal enjoyment?) Was his reply.

At this moment, I could feel the temperature of the wheelhouse drastically dropping. A hideous cold was emanating from Kajero… A pressure strong enough to freeze.

Even the great me, who often boasts about my capabilities, felt a sense of crisis.

(N-no! It’s a joke, a joke! I also pledged my allegiance to the princes, after all!

(Of course, it was an act all along!) I then started giving out a troubled laugher.

(… Well, let’s leave it at that then.) As Kajero said this, the cold air gradually disappeared.

I secretly heaved a sigh in relief.

And… I should be more careful with what I say about Altirea. With cold sweat dripping through my ice-blade-self, I swore that deeply within my heart.