Might As Well Take Care of Her

"I'm starting to feel a little better…"

Finn finally managed to stand up while clinging to the wall.

The sluggishness was unimaginable from her usual self.

Ever since Elza returned, the ship had stopped swaying as severely as before, but large waves still rocked the vessel from time to time.

The sailors were surprised that the storm had subsided.

It had apparently been raging for a very long time, and this route was never traveled except for special occasions like this.

They said that if the calm lasted long-term, it would cause major changes in the shipping industry.

I was so irritated by the storm that I had thoughtlessly ordered them to stop it if they could, but I wonder if that was really the right thing to do.

I'll have to make sure Orleans puts in a good word for me.

Elza seemed very tired and said she wanted to sleep for a while, so she's resting in her room.

I may have never seen her look so exhausted before.

I'll check on her later.

Azu, Alexia, and Orleans were enjoying the voyage.

Without the storm, the clear sky and beautiful blue seawater made for a gorgeous view.

The sea breeze was pleasant too.

Azu had let her hair down and was enjoying the wind flowing through it.

"It's beautiful. I never imagined I'd get to see a view like this."

"I've been to the sea before, but I only swam around the sandy beach."

"Yes. I'll treasure this memory for the rest of my life."

"You're getting ahead of yourself. Your life is just beginning."

I said that and patted Azu's head.

She would go on to experience many things from here.

All I could do was pray for her happiness.

Food options were limited on the ship.

Moreover, this time we had loaded the ship to capacity with wheat, so we had no choice but to procure food from the sea.

The four of us who were doing fine went fishing to get ingredients.

I had never fished before, but with nothing else to do on the ship, it was quite enjoyable.

Orleans turned out to be the best at fishing.

She would stay perfectly still until a fish bit, then pull it up the instant it did.

Azu was the second best.

She was perhaps a bit too eager, as her fishing line would twitch and scare off the fish, but she never missed the moment when one actually bit.

As a result, our haul was pretty good.

If she could fish more calmly, they'd be biting one after another.

"… The fish aren't biting at all."

"Seems that way for you, Alexia."

"The result is the same."

"It's too early to jump to conclusions."

I sat next to Alexia and gazed at the sea with an empty bucket beside us.

Unfortunately, neither of us had caught any fish.

The reason Alexia couldn't catch any was obvious.

She was directing killing intent at the fish as if facing an enemy, scaring them away.

You could say that drove them toward Orleans instead.

With Alexia's skill, she could probably reel one in if it bit, but there was nothing she could do without any bites.

Meanwhile, I occasionally got bites but kept losing them when I tried to reel them in.

Perhaps it was a matter of reflexes.

I could accept being outdone by Azu, but losing to Orleans too was a shock.

Once we got back to land, maybe I should exercise a bit instead of just doing desk work.

"It's okay. Azu-sama and I caught plenty, so there's enough for everyone."

"Y-yes. Please don't worry."

Orleans came over with a bucket of fish to back us up.

Lively fish were jumping around energetically inside the bucket.

Azu seemed to have come to cheer us up along with Orleans, but sometimes being encouraged was harder to take.

In the end, Alexia and I managed to catch at least one fish each, so we saved some face.

We couldn't start a fire on a wooden galleon ship.

So we skewered the fish, secured them in place, and had Alexia roast them to perfection with her fire magic.

This way, there was no worry of setting the ship ablaze.

I really appreciated having a mage around.

Being able to drink fresh water and cook fish at sea was all thanks to Alexia.

Even if she only caught one fish, just having her here was a huge help.

We had quite a few left over even after cooking a large number, so we cut those up and boiled them in diluted seawater.

The sailors had taught us this cooking method.

Seawater is salty, but if you dilute it with fresh water to the right consistency and boil it, you get a soup.

The umami from the fish seeps out, making it delicious enough on its own.

"Finn-san, dinner's ready. Can you eat?"

"Don't treat me like I'm sick… ugh."

In a weakened state she would never normally show, Finn ate the meal we had prepared.

Whether she had gotten used to the seasickness or the food in her stomach helped a bit, she seemed slightly more energetic.

I brought food to the sleeping Elza.

Azu offered to take it, but I declined since I wanted to see her face.

On the bed built into the room, Elza was breathing quietly in her sleep.

The only sounds in the room were Elza's soft breaths and the rustle of sheets.

When I sat in the chair by the bed, Elza noticed and woke up.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I'm fine."

Elza said that and sat up.

Then I realized she wasn't wearing anything.

Her porcelain-white skin was exposed.

"Oh my."

"You were sleeping naked?"

"My underwear got soaked and it was uncomfortable, so I just… But you've seen it several times now, so you're used to it, right?"

I had certainly seen it before, but I didn't recall staring long enough to get used to it.

Now that I noticed, Elza's underwear and priest robes were hanging in the corner of the room.

She gathered up the sheets to cover herself slightly.

"More importantly, something smells good and I'm hungry. You brought food, right?"

"Think you can eat? If it's hard, I can come back later."

"No, I'll eat now. But since you're here, please feed me."

She said that and opened her mouth with a small "aah."

I thought she was teasing me, but she was undoubtedly tired.

Might as well take care of her.

I scooped up some soup with a wooden spoon and brought it to Elza's mouth.

She accepted it like a baby bird waiting for food.

"It's delicious. The fish is so tender."

"We simmered it for a while. Here."

Next, I brought the grilled fish to her lips.

She took a small bite with her petite mouth.

Her appetite seemed fine.

If she had the energy to eat, she would recover soon.

I felt relieved.

After I finished taking care of her until she was done eating, she said she was getting sleepy and fell asleep again.