** Saint Knight Kingdom Port Town, Zackerhafen **

The targeted dock had a side entrance-like door. The locksmith immediately started working on it.

「N-No problem. I c-can do it in 10 minutes.」

「Do it in 5 minutes.」

Urged by Kook, the locksmith started working on the door in a hurry.

「That’s rare, Kook, You don’t usually rush the locksmith so much.」

「Not really. It would be better if we get it open quickly, after all.」

Lark shook her head at Kook’s unfriendly response. But Kook simply wants no one to notice, with no trouble to occur, and just steal the magic ship quietly.

If found, they will be chased by numerous soldiers. If that happens, Lark would have to use her skill.

「Are you done yet?」

「N-Not yet. I just started.」

Kook looked up at the sky. This passage, which was sandwiched between docks, was quiet and dark, but there was nowhere to hide.

The sound of waves crashing on the shore drowned the sound of the door trying to be unlocked.

Kook was keeping a lookout in the direction of the sea, and the scout kept a lookout in the direction of the town.

「A few people are heading over here.」

「Tsk. Is it patrol time?」

「I don’t know. Doesn’t seem to be the fixed time.」

「Is it done yet, locksmith? It’s already 5 minutes.」

「A-Almost— It’s open.」

Right when the door opened–

A flashlight-like magic lamp was directed into the passage.

「Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you just standing there?」

「Ah, it’s just.. Did you see something strange?」

Five guards came to a halt at the narrow passage between the docks.

The man in the lead who was holding the light continued to say.

「There was something.. pitch black here.」

「Are you dumb.. Of course it’s going to be pitch black in the middle of the night. Move quickly.」

「E-Eh? That’s strange..」

The 5 guards walked into the passage.

Eventually, they stood before the side entrance.

「It was around here.. that somehow the light didn’t reach. It felt like it was blocked by a black curtain.」

「Man, just the other day you said you saw a bed or something, and now you’re saying you saw a black curtain.」

「T-That’s not what I mean.」

「Yes, yes, we all know how lovey-dovey you are with your lover. Now, let’s get out of here. I want to go back and sleep.」

「........」

The guards then left while chatting, taking along the confused guard.

「..Are they gone?」

「Yes.」

「Fuu.. that was close.」

Kook and the others were holding their breath with their backs against the wall. After the guards left, they breathed out simultaneously.

At that moment when the light was creeping towards them, they were most certainly in the passage. However, a curtain of darkness hid them from view at that exact moment. In that gap, they slipped into the side entrance.

「Aren’t you glad to have brought me along? My ability isn’t just for fighting, you know?」

Lark proudly said. In other words, the “black curtain” was a blade of【Shadow King】. The blade was widened and enlarged to temporarily hide them.

「........」

Kook turned on his magic lamp. Lark’s forehead was drenched with cold sweat – she was extremely exhausted by using her abilities for just a moment.

「That’s right. It seems we can’t do anything without you, young miss. Hey, let’s move on, guys.」

But Kook chose not to put his worries into words and encouraged his companions instead.

(What we should do right now is not to regret our weakness, or worry about the young miss.. but to keep moving forward.)

The magic light illuminated the vast space of the dock.

「Whoa....」

Someone’s voice leaked. It could have been Kook himself.

In front of him was a towering magic ship. In this world where sailing ships are commonplace, it was a “strange” contraption that had no sails and there were fin-like giant water wheels on the left and right.

The hull was lifted so that it could be supported from the left and right, and the ground was dug in a V shape and sloped towards the sea. Logs were placed on the ground, so the ship was probably transported around on top of this. And the entire hull was made of shiny black metal.

「Is iron floating in the sea?」the scout instinctively said.

「Engineer, can you get this moving?」

「Well, since it’s a ship, the steering shouldn’t be too difficult.」

「Okay, then get it moving in 10 minutes.」

「Wha! We were just talking about steering! I don’t know if I would have to start the magic engine!」

Even while saying so, the engineer headed to the wheelhouse in a haste. The engineer climbed a mobile platform stairs, followed by the scout, Kook, and Lark. The locksmith was in charge of opening the dock’s front door.

Lark was out of breath just by climbing up the stairs. When Kook reached out a hand to her from the deck,

「..It’s not like I am an old woman.」she exclaimed.

「You sure always have time to put on a strong front.」Kook said.

「Well, I just don’t want to hear that from a real old man whose favourite phrase is “I’m exhausted”.」

「Don’t say that with a smile on your face.」

「Hehe.」

Without taking Kook’s hand, Lark jumped up the stairs and landed on the deck.

10 minutes since then.

「B-B-B-Boss~」the locksmith called out.

「What happened!?」Kook asked, leaning over the deck.

「I’ve opened the front door. We can go out anytime!」

「Fool! Climb up here then!」

「Y-Yes~」

The locksmith found the mobile stairs and ran towards it.

「I got it!」

Right when the engineer cried out from the wheelhouse, the ship started vibrating greatly with a lot of sound.

「Hurry up, locksmith!」

「C-Comingggg..」

「Scout~! Remove the left and right fasteners!」

「On it!」

As the fasteners supporting the hull were released, the ship dropped and started heading toward the sea.

「I will help too–」

When Lark stood up to help out, she noticed them.

「—Crap! They found us!」

The side entrance threw wide open, and a large number of guards rushed into the dock.