It was funny listening to Nil try and figure out how Nautilus was the . I mean, in his defense, he did meet her trying to arrange a three-way after getting caught sleeping with both people in a marriage. Nautilus was standing by the port, waiting for her crew. Seeing that we were going to be waiting, Nil began practicing his liquid again. He lost control and launched it over the sea with a bit of a bang as it burst out.

“Wha’ the forl ya doin’ lad?” Nautilus inquired, sounding a bit annoyed.

“Practicing. I’m not very good at it yet.” Nil answered clearly annoyed that he had failed again.

“Cause yer doin’ it wrong.” Nautilus informed him. Nil shot her a glare.

“How are you supposed to do it?” Nil asked with an irritated expression. It drives him nuts not to be able to figure something out.

“Like this.” Nautilus replied, instantly using the with no issue. She formed a sphere of liquid which she maintained for a minute before unleashing it over the water, temporarily parting the seas.

“Thank you for such a clear and thorough explanation.” Nil replied mockingly.

“Try an’ fight me lad. I’m bored an’ ya need a lesson.” Nautilus told Nil immediately.

I probably should have warned him about her draconian approach to teaching lessons. It was too late as Nil leapt at the opportunity to fight someone described as the strongest. He also quickly learned Nautilus believed in holding back just enough not to be lethal. Maybe a breath after he got to his feet Nautilus dropped kicked him back to the ground. Nil was struggling to even breathe after taking her attack. Nil was a bit wide eyed from how fast she attacked.

“Round two in ten seconds.” Nautilus informed Nil.

He scraped himself up off the ground. Nil instantly reinforced his body, being ready for round two. Unfortunately for Nil, he was absolutely no match for Nautilus. It took her a literal blink to be putting him into the earth. He tried using his once, but instantly shut it off and clutched his eyes a bit after. I’m shocked he looked at her a second time with them on. To his credit, Nil kept standing back up slower each time but he refused to stop trying. I think his goal was to just dodge her first attack at this point; not that he came close to succeeding. Nautilus was more than happy to supply the beatings. It took twenty hits for Nil to finally tap out for a bit.

“Yer up Luna.” Nautilus snapped at me. I knew from her tone that she was not joking.

“Why?” I inquired trying not to whimper too much.

“I need somethin’ to do t’ pass the time.” Nautilus answered with a shrug.

How Nil stood up after the fifth time was beyond me. Lords above these hurt; I’d just blink and there she was, pummeling the shiza out of me. Seventeen hits was my limit. Nil walked over and helped me stand back up. We managed to last a grand total of five minutes between the two of us. I began healing my injuries as Nil walked back over to Nautilus. Nil's tenacity was always impressive. Sometimes mind boggingly stupid, but still impressive.

“Again.” Nil requested. He must have been hit a few too many times by Lux.

He went to take his stance, but not before Nautilus had returned him to kissing the ground. She attacked him the instant he finished the word. Nil to his great credit didn’t instantly crumple as he valiantly latched onto her leg, pivoting to try and kick her. Nautilus simply rotated herself and kicked Nil into the ground. I was amazed to not hear popping or cracks emanating from Nil from how hard he hit. Nil looked like he was not enjoying life as he laid a bit still.

“I’m going to need more than ten seconds.” Nil wheezed on the ground.

“Cap’n, why ya beatin’ up a demon lad?” someone chimed from the side. His voice was a pleasant sing-song.

“I’m beatin’ up a client. These two lil grublins hired us to sail t’ Speranza.” Nautilus explained, smirking at Nil who was gasping for air still.

“Really?” the person checked with a healthy dose of skepticism.

“Persimmon tier here. So really.” Nautilus retorted. Her gaze made it clear she was not open to discussion.

I turned to see a thin, lanky Gigant. His skin was a bluish gray and covered in traditional red tattoos. The Gigant had a clean-shaven head, with gold eyes. Unlike most Gigants I remembered; he was lithe which was odd as most were similar to Chalas, just walls of muscle. The Gigant was still easily eight feet tall. He seemed immensely amused at the sight of Nil writhing on the ground as he gave Nautilus a friendly hug hello. I began healing Nil a bit so he wasn't so winded by Nautilus.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Persimmon? Kids? Are ya sure ya heard them right?” the Gigant inquired with a smirk.

“Ya Egoff. We gonna take care of the lil grublins. On that note, i’s been twenty. Up lad.” Nautilus barked at Nil.

Nil to my immense surprise was on his feet; he looked like he was in agony but willing to power through. His breathing was clearly labored as he took his fighting stance again. Nautilus took about two blinks to reunite Nil with the ground with a feint followed by an axe kick. Nil at this point didn’t even bother trying to stand back up as he was clearly fighting not to curl into a ball from her hits. I walked over and began healing his injuries. Nautilus held back enough not to actually cause damage, but that did little to improve how much her attacks hurt.

“Cap’n, ya do realize that’s a kid, right?” Egoff checked as he saw Nil writhing a bit.

“Ol’ enough to lip, ol’ enough for a boot up the gip.” Nautilus retorted while looking pleased with herself.

“So, how do you do that ?” I asked Nautilus, who was chuckling at Nil glaring at her.

“Ya two? No idea. is not an easy . Ya two need t’ work on a lot.” Nautilus informed me with a smirk.

“What was I doing wrong?” Nil asked, sounding much more polite than earlier.

“Ya know why I like the seas? It flows where it wants.” Nautilus told Nil. Was that a hint?

Nil seemed to contemplate the hint, trying again. This time, it seemed to form into something rather than the free form previous attempts. Several other members of Nautilus’s crew arrived, raising several curious eyebrows to us. Nil began sweating, before pointing the much more controlled towards the sea. Nil undid whatever he was using to keep it from exploding, as a massive torrent exploded over the sea, garnering several wide eyes from the crew. Nautilus smirked as Nil was sweating and panting quite a bit but smiling wide.

“Figure it out, nerd?” I teased Nil. His face was utterly exhausted.

“Somewhat. I have the idea at least.” Nil replied as he began leaning against me.

“How are you so exhausted in the morning? You realize we have a lot so sailing ahead of us?” I taunted him. It didn’t matter, Nil was asleep.

Nautilus took off her glove, showing a she had on her palm. In a moment, she summoned her galleon, Excalbrius. I never thought I’d see this ship again so soon. How she was able to store the ship in a was beyond me. I needed to study more. Nil was able to do a similar trick in the future without the . I sighed. There was so much to learn and do. Even with knowledge of what was coming and my past life I still felt like I was behind the nerd snoring against me. His obsession and resources were rubbing salt into how poor of a student I was originally.

“I guess we made it.” I heard Ailla snap from behind. I turned around to see her carrying Lilas and panting.

“Do ya wan’ me t’ kick yer gip a secon’ time?” Nautilus taunted with a smirk.

“Why is Nil asleep?” Lilas checked, looking a bit concerned.

“He practiced after getting some sparring lessons from Nautilus.” I explained, which made Lilas look relieved.

“Cap’n, who are these two?” Egoff inquired, looking ready to fight.

“Friends; they are just concerned I’m hiring Nautilus. I do apologize, but she is our best bet at getting home alive.” I interjected. I really don’t want to see them fight again.

“Two thousand gold for us to tag along.” Ailla stated, keeping her eyes fixed on Nautilus.

“Fine. Jus’ know I ain’t givin’ ya any special treatmen’. Did ya happen t’ bring rations for ya and the peggin’ board?” Nautilus conceded with a shrug.

“I did.” Ailla confirmed, summoning a crate from her as well as a bag of gold for Nautilus.

“I guessin’ I’m carryin’ the grublin?” Egoff sighed, lifting Nil over his shoulder like a potato sack.

Now, could you so kindly please explain why Nautilus of all beings? Ailla inquired with an immensely annoyed expression.

First, I’m sorry for how earlier played out. Second, Nautilus doesn’t break her word, ever. Third, she’s a better being than you think. Nautilus just dislikes rules, merchants, the idea of borders, and selfish lovers. I explained, hoping Ailla accepted the answer.

Aren’t you a bit worried about her trying to ransom the Crown Prince over there? Ailla inquired. So the they did know who he was.

Not really. Nautilus will surprise you. I answered as Lilas made sure to keep Nil in sight.

“Can ya two stop wit’ the mental talk? Feelin’ it aroun’ me is annoyin’.” Nautilus requested, glaring at the two of us.

“So, about how long will the trip be?” Ailla inquired to Nautilus.

“About eight and a half thousand miles.” Nautilus informed her as she was beginning to stretch.

“Time wise how long?” Ailla corrected herself, seeing Nautilus’s smirk.

“If I push it, about fifteen days.” Nautilus estimated while she began gathering her .

“What do you mean by that?” Lilas checked, looking uneasy at just how much Nautilus possessed.

Everyone on the port was looking uneasy from the sheer presence of Nautilus. It was something difficult to describe from how frightening she was. Nautilus didn’t bother answering as she launched the ship full steam in what I imagined was the correct direction. Another reason I wanted her; she can cover the distance faster than anyone else. The wind launched my hair back as we blasted out into the open sea. The smell of salt and open air was a nice change from the forest and port. The crew had the ship ready to sail with everything secured as Nautilus kept accelerating the ship. They really were efficient. I walked over to Nil, who was set on a bench and secured with a strap. I sat next to him and set his head in my lap as he recovered. After a few moments, he began drooling. So regal. I’m wondering if it’ll be possible to keep Nautilus around. If we could find a way to keep her on our side long term would be huge. I wished it would be possible. Problem is, Nautilus only became the Grand Fleet Commander to sleep with the Burgomaster. There might be another method, but that was highly unlikely. I sighed. I enjoyed seeing her again all things considered; now it was just waiting to arrive in Speranza.