The area was more properly called the Continent-South Sea, but people often shortened this to just the South Sea.
As the name suggested, the South Sea was an expanse of water to the south of the continent, and it was as vast as one might expect. Visiting it required a ship or a tamed and mountable aquatic monster—though if you planned to stay there long, only the former would suffice.
Granvaloan shipbuilding was unmatched by any other country, and it was one of the greatest advantages the nation possessed. Those living in Granvaloa could buy their ships for cheap, and the country’s Masters would use them to go on adventures in this unique, aquatic environment, making various discoveries and improvements as they did.
Because of this, Granvaloan ships could be found scattered across all the seas, and the South Sea was no exception.
In fact, there was a particular ship cutting through the waves at this very moment.
The craft’s alloy armor and smokestack spewing fumes as it went made it clear that this was among the best ships in all of Granvaloa.
On its side, written in the language of the Dendro world, there was its name: “Adventure II.”
Despite being driven by a combustion engine, on its bow stood a figurehead much like a traditional sailing ship’s—a combination you could only really see in this world.
The figurehead was carved in the shape of a sea elemental, and standing on the bowsprit above was a girl.
Her build suggested she was in her mid-teens, the time of her life when she was just beginning to mature. Tossed by the wind, her blonde hair was a bit faded by the many years of exposure to the salty air, suggesting that she was highly active—a charm in its own right.
Her eyes, as blue and clear as the sea itself, were fixed on the waters ahead and gleamed with a strong will.
Her name was Riella Granfront, and she was the captain of the Adventure II. And, though she had yet to establish her leadership, she was the commander of the entire Granvaloan adventure fleet.
Bearing titles that were clearly too heavy for someone her age, she glared at the horizon as if it had taken her parents from her.
“Tch. We’ve been at this for a whole damn week now, and it still ain’t comin’ out.” Her choice of words was rough and boyish, but the pitch of her voice matched her youthful appearance.
“Commander! Please come back!” An aged man called out to her from the deck. His name was Asam. He was the vice captain of the Adventure II, as well as the person who handled most of the day-to-day business. “You shouldn’t wear yourself out so early! If you don’t rest now, you won’t last until we finally do meet it!”
Asam was concerned about Riella, worrying about her from the bottom of his heart. However, she didn’t listen to him, instead continuing to stand on the tip of the bowsprit.
She was driven by a stubbornness born from powerful feelings deep in her very core.
“Huh?” But as she glared at the sea, Riella’s eyebrows suddenly moved. A dubious expression crossed her face as she pointed ahead and spoke to Asam. “Hey, old-timer,” she said. “Is it just me, or is there somethin’ floatin’ out there?”
“One moment.” Asam took out the telescope hanging at his waist and looked at where Riella was pointing.
It was a black, furry mass much larger around than a grown man. At first she thought it might be trash, but the color suggested otherwise—its black was simply too clean.
Was it a sea monster, then? No. While one could encounter furry monsters on land, this was the middle of the sea—not the place for such creatures. More importantly, there was no monster name displayed above it.
It seemed most likely to be cargo from a trading vessel.
“Maybe it fell from a ship?” Asam suggested. “Could be an item from a vessel it attacked.”
“We should investigate.” Asam issued some orders to the crew and had the ship approach the black mass in order to retrieve it. They used a magic-powered salvaging crane to bring it up, at which point they realized the object had a more concrete shape than expected.
It actually had limbs, as well as a head, making it look like a stuffed land animal.
Somethin’ ain’t right about it, though, Riella thought.
She’d seen something like this once before, in a picture book given to her by her father. It looked like a particular type of land animal—a bearlike monster.
However, it was far too distorted... Too round to be one of those.
It was less like an actual animal, and more like...
“All right. Be careful with it,” Riella said, instructing the crew to gently move the crane-bound stuffed animal to the deck...
“Ohhh, thank you beary much!”
...and then heard it say that.
“AAAHHH!”
“EEEP!” The tanned and muscle-bound men of the sea were so startled that they screamed, but there was a certain someone’s charming yelp mixed in.
“It’s been three days since my ship capsized. I last saved at a port in Tenchi, so I couldn’t go back there and was havin’ a pawsitively miserable time. Big thankies.”
The black stuffed animal—the bear costume—shook off the seawater as it said that.
“Wh-What are you?!” Riella asked.
Not “who,” she said, but “what.” The bear was just so bizarre that she had no reason to assume it was a person.
While the crew was busy panicking, the bear was as calm as a breeze as it introduced itself.
“I’m Shu Starling. Just a bear passing through.”
And that was how Riella met the man who would change not only her fate, but that of her fleet—and of the whole South Sea itself.