The sky was calm, and the wind blew gently on the vast sails of Arcadia's flagship. Janet Sparrow was sitting in her cabin and sadly sighed once again. There was a massive problem with Victory that couldn’t be addressed without rebuilding a considerable portion of the deck. While the ship of the line was huge, and in any other circumstances, she would consider it big enough, there simply was no room to accommodate a Wyvern. Even one of these lesser Dragons was way too big to fit on the deck without risking damage to the sails. While taking off could technically be done by the Raider simply jumping overboard and mounting their familiar midair, pilot tests had always ended with heavy damage to the ship and the familiar and the raider who dared to take part in them.

Currently, said raider was lying in the ship's infirmary, covered in bandages that would heal his broken arm and leg. His familiar had many bruises and a membrane tear in one wing; it would be weeks before he could move normally again. HMS Victory lost half of the sails from the rear mast, and only the fact that the Wyvern entangled himself into the ropes had prevented the mast from being destroyed.

That was an excruciating failure, but Janet steeled her resolve to push her project forward. She knew they would need an entirely new kind of warship the moment she learnt about the Dragon Raiders. Since they were almost exclusively Dragonkins, they were under Queen Aoi's jurisdiction. Thanks to this, Queen Aoi was pushing to take over the Navy. Personally, Janet was rooting for Queen Aoi since the young Dragonkin was her very good friend. She pondered that thought for a moment. Her entire life, she was no one until that one day when she decided to drown her despair and sadness in some lousy alcohol. Instead of waking up as a slave or not waking up at all, she found herself in Avalon. With a massive headache and an even bigger hangover, the almost sober Janet realised that drunk Janet had pledged her loyalty to King Theon Avalon. It was the last time she was no one. Not only did she become the Captain of HMS Victory, the greatest ship that ever roamed the skies of Aderon, but she was the most powerful Sparrow in her family's history. She commanded the growing Navy of Arcadia and advised the King, who gladly listened to her. Moreover, the royal family of Arcadia was made up of friendly people... Well, mostly people.

"Janet?"

"Oh, I haven't noticed you enter. Hello, Dahlia!" The Admiral smiled.

The Wolfkin woman's ears twitched in concern. "You look pale. Are you all right?"

"Yes. I was just brooding about how I... How I..." Janet took a deep breath, shrugged, and pointed, gesturing about wildly. "Pffff... You know. How I got here and became who I am now."

"Oh, trust me. I know." Dahlia smiled with delight at her own memories. "I was torn away from the maw of winter. Lord Thor saved me on the brink of death, and Auburn nursed me back into health..."

"That's where you met him?" Janet smiled and pointed at her wedding ring.

"Haha! Yes. I fell for him soon after." The Inquisitor raised her gold ring with a beautiful, reasonably large diamond. "But back then... Slavers caught my younger brother and me."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Thank you. They killed our parents. If not for that, I would be rather thankful to them. I sometimes wonder how my life would have turned out if I had never been captured." Dahlia sighed and stood in silence for a moment. "Even after all these months, I find it hard to believe everything that has happened."

"My story is certainly less sad than yours..." Janet sighed. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

"Nothing in particular, to be honest." Dahlia smiled and shrugged. "I was bored, and everyone on the deck seemed busy, so I started looking for you."

"Hahaha, I see," the Elf giggled. "We should return home before lunch regardless, so I think we can spend this time chatting."

•••

They returned to Avalon without any misadventures along their way. Once Victory was docked and secured, the admiral relieved two-thirds of the crew. The ship crew was put on rotation duty since she was not expecting any mission shortly. Janet used that time to secretly meet Ian in his study, only to discover that he had almost told too much to the King.

"Queen Aoi managed to cover for us... But Gods, it was way too close. I'm so sorry, Janet."

"I owe her once more, it seems."

"Anyway, I have to leave your project for now. I simply reached a dead-end." He opened his arms powerlessly and slowly shook his head. "However, the other project I am working on might be what we need. While you were gone, the King ordered me to create a 'train.' Once we crack how to make its control systems, we will have the last piece needed to finish your project.

"That's great, Ian! Thank you." The admiral brightened.

She looked at the projects shown by Ian and grinned. He was extraordinarily talented, and Janet was glad she could count on his help. As far as she knew, he was yet another person whose life changed once he crossed the gates of Avalon. Ian, who was now one of the most important people in Avalon, whose status was hard to tell, remembered his past and stayed humble. She also counted herself lucky to call him her friend.

"I had something for you!" She took out a copy of the pirates' book. "I thought you might like it."

"Oh?" He took the book and flipped the few pages. "Oh, indeed... You do realise that the King would want the copy?"

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She laughed and waved the other copy that magically appeared in her hand. By exchanging smiles, they said silent goodbyes, and the Elf left with a copy of the plans for her dream battleship. She quickly hid them in the storage ring, which reflected the soft sun of the early afternoon in its tiny diamond. Janet headed straight to her home to take a rest before her planned visit to Queen Aoi.

•••

I was sitting in the Palace of Laws, sometimes now called the Triskelion by Hestia, which had quickly caught on. I liked the sound of it but couldn't decide if I should officially adopt that name or not. Avalon in Shadows had begun sending the long patrols into the darkness, hoping to receive an early warning if the devilkins were nearby. There was little I could do about them right now, aside from bolstering the Legio Umbra with the Living Armours, so I could only wait. My mind, as usual during the recent days, was preoccupied with the war I could control and adequately respond to. I received news from Berna that the situation on the frontline was slowly changing. The Bernans were preparing for a major offensive, and it looked like we had managed to find their staging grounds, thanks to a noble loyal to Count Nova. About one hundred kilometres away from Elisabeth’s field camp at the shore of a big lake, the Patriarch soldiers had begun the construction of a fairly complex harbour. The site was already protected by four airships, but that was okay. I wasn't going to attack them too soon. I would send Twirll there when they gathered more ships, soldiers, or supplies. The plan projection remained on the war table as Janet knocked on my office doors.

"Come in!"

"My King!" She saluted me, and after some brief small talk, she presented me the book she had obtained from Blackbeard.

While I skimmed through the book, raising my brow in occasional surprise, the Admiral took a seat at the table. She took her time to analyse what she was looking at and tried very hard to pretend she was not reading the loose notes I had scattered around. She fixed her dark hair and crossed her legs in a thoughtful, dignified pose. I closed the book with a loud snap that wasn't even remotely close to startling the Captain of Victory before smiling at her from the opposite side of the table.

"As you can see, we already know where they planned to regroup before directly attacking Elisabeth." I tapped the table that displayed the list of the expected forces joining the Holy Army.

Janet studied it for a moment before she squinted her eyes and cocked her head slightly. "While the ground forces could barely even match the Legions, I am afraid they have an air superiority. We should strike them first, my Lord."

"I agree. But that would be a suicide mission, Admiral." I sighed heavily.

"Not exactly, Sir," she replied without looking at me. She was so intensely focused that she stared unseeing at the table before her. "We can perform this mission and probably return. Victory can do it, my King."

"Explain," I simply commanded, but I knew that the liner was fully capable of carrying out such a mission.

"We outrange the Bernans and outclass them in every way except for the number of ships. Victory can deliver a heavy barrage while staying out of their range and inflict serious damage, if not destroy their brigs outright." She blinked slowly as if she didn’t dare to interrupt her imagination. "Of course, the degree of our success heavily depends on the number of ships the Bernans plan to use against Elisabeth. But the gain is worth the risk, my Lord."

"Hmmm... Let's say that I agree with the mission. How would you carry it out?"

"I would take HMS Victory and HMS Fairy and use both to attack their airships primarily. The secondary targets would be the supplies stockpiles and warehouses, and the least important targets would be barracks and soldiers themselves. The main threat to our Armies is the enemy navy. If we manage to eliminate a sufficient number of enemy ships, there is a huge possibility that they will be unable to start their counteroffensive at all, my King." The Elf took the tea from a Slime Maid, who had appeared with the drinks and cookies unnoticed as usual.

"Excellent conclusion. Carry on." I nodded with approval.

"But if our estimations are correct, the Bernan Navy can contribute anywhere from twenty to sixty ships for this operation. They will never learn what hit them if we face just twenty ships. I'm fairly sure that I can sink three to four of their ships at once with a single broadside. However, if they raise any kind of barrier, it will be much harder to reach them, and under normal circumstances, they should have at least one deployed."

"I had initially planned to send Twirll, Arani with most of my strongest Storm Eagles, and Gawain. If I send you there as well, your chances of returning will increase. The assumptions you made at the beginning are correct; we need to eliminate their advantage in the air." I tapped the table with my finger and looked away. "I wanted you to take the Dragon Raiders with you..."

"They would demand to take part in that mission." She sighed and lowered her gaze. "But it's impossible to retrieve them safely. I can't let them go, knowing that most of them will die just because they can't land safely onboard."

"I have a few ideas on how to resolve that issue, but we might not have enough time to test them." I took a deep breath and noticed she excitedly anticipated the order to attack the Bernans. I exhaled through my nose and made a serious facial expression. "Listen to me closely, Admiral. I do not want you to die executing a suicide mission, so don't be greedy with the kills. Hit them as hard as you can and run away, Admiral. Leave the rest to Twirll. You have a green light for this mission. Just remember not to get carried away. As powerful as your ship is, it's not invincible."

"Aye, aye, Your Royal Highness!" She raised from her seat and saluted with a predatory smile. Her eyes sparked with joy at the thought of carrying out that mission. However, when she spoke, her voice was calm and respectful. "We will be careful, my Lord."

"What about the pirates? Can we use them during the operation?"

"I don't know. I would like to think we could trust them, but that would be insanity. As you said, my King, pirates will be pirates. The last thing I need is to fight two sides simultaneously since they might try to take over Victory." She shrugged.

"I see and agree."

"However, we can use them in another way. If we send them to attack somewhere else as a diversion... Hmmm..." She crossed her arms in front of her. "Yes. That might actually work if they distract even a part of Berna's Navy."

"Very well, Admiral. I will let you know in advance when you should go."

"Yes, Sir!"

When she left, I still thought about how I was playing it safe with many things so far. Due to work overload, I wasn't thinking clearly, which allowed many unnecessary things to happen. While I can shrug off most of the bad and morally questionable decisions, I wouldn't pretend that some things never happened. That had surely added to the mental fatigue from which I had recovered. However, some deeds were done, and some decisions were made that couldn't be reversed. For example, it was too late to change the plans for the two frigates in the shipyards. It was a shame that it took me so long to come to a fairly obvious conclusion. The tall ships were far from optimal construction for an airship platform, and I had to solve that problem on my own.