"I knew His Majesty the King would come. This is champagne that I hid away years ago. It's at its best this year, perfect for celebrating the launch of this ship."
"Being able to build a ship like this makes my life complete."
Looking at the majestic ironclad warship, the shipyard manager's eyes were filled with joy.
Although it was the king's vehicle and the design was provided by someone else, his name would inevitably be mentioned as the warship set sail.
For a shipwright, there is nothing more exciting than watching the ship he built set sail.
"Didn't you say you were out of them when I asked you for them before? Looks like I can benefit from His Majesty Oran's favor."
"What are you thinking? Everyone knows His Majesty the King doesn't drink. I'm going to celebrate by myself tonight."
"Don't be so stingy, it's just a bottle of wine."
"You said the same thing when you finished the other bottles of wine, but I won't fall for it this time!"
Brand ultimately failed to persuade the other party, but he was already prepared to visit with gifts, just as he had done on the previous occasions.
Two close friends who have known each other for decades are more than capable of doing this kind of thing.
"Alright, enough talk, let's clean this place up first, His Majesty the King is about to arrive."
Brand and the others bickered for a while, then tidied up the surroundings, picking up the cables and other items piled on the ground, making the place look much neater.
They had just finished taking care of things here when Oran and Kate arrived.
"Brand, did you forget your Den Den Mushi this time?"
"It seems I really forgot to bring it; no wonder it was sent via flying letter."
Upon hearing Kate's question, Brand reached into his pocket, only to find it empty.
Today was his day off, and his trip to the shipyard was a spur-of-the-moment decision, so he forgot to bring his Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter).
Fortunately, the beacon book, a personal item, was not forgotten.
Oran's book has a unique characteristic: others can only use it, but cannot modify it.
This is why no one except Oran can change the size of the book.
Correspondingly, if Oran wants to change the size and content of the book, the book needs to be within a certain distance of him.
For someone as far away as Brand, the book on his body can only serve as a beacon. Oran himself can sense its general direction and control another book to fly over, but he cannot make it conjure new words.
"It's alright, it's not a big problem. Just remember to bring it next time. Your position is quite important, and we might need to contact you during the holidays."
"I'm fine here, but if I'm not here, it'll be really hard for others to find you."
"Your Majesty Oran, since you are aware of this matter, why don't you consider it?"
"Let's go aboard and take a look. Let me see how skilled the shipwrights are."
Brand tried to advise Oran to reduce his outings and be more settled in his work, but Oran selectively ignored him.
"Your Majesty Oran, everything about the ship is designed according to your requirements. I have checked it many times, and there is no difference compared to the design drawings."
Even the navy's large warships wouldn't be a match for this ship.
Oran himself designed the ship, so there's not much to explain; he knows the ship's capabilities better than anyone else present.
With the reading function in the non-prescription glasses, the ship's condition had been calculated and directly appeared before Oran's eyes.
In addition to the special power system, the ship also contains seastone underneath to evade the detection of sea kings.
There was no compass or similar device in the captain's cabin; instead, there were several large recording pointers indicating the locations of nearby islands.
There were several Den Den Mushi (snail phone) in front of the captain's seat; such a large warship couldn't be communicated simply by shouting.
"Kate, you will be in command of this ship from now on. Brand, recruit suitable sailors domestically and get the crew ready for sea trials as soon as possible."
Even if Oran firmly believed that there was nothing wrong with his ship design, the ship still needed to be tested at sea. Operating this kind of ship was different from operating an ordinary sailing warship, and retraining was required.
Moreover, the people of Piltover are somewhat unique. Those who were capable of sailing have mostly gone out to sea in groups to find other ways to make a living. There are not many people on the island who understand navigation and naval warfare, so most of the members have to be recruited from the immigrants who have voluntarily come to live on the island.
To get this ship to perform at its best, it will probably take quite a while to break it in.
Yohohoho, yohohoho.
Bring Binks' liquor to your side.
Like the sea breeze, free and unrestrained, riding the waves.
In the bay where Rab lived, Brook played his violin, but instead of using a special bow, he used his walking stick sword, which shows just how skilled Brook was.
Crocus sat in a rocking chair on the shore, listening to the music and Laboon's cheerful barking. He hadn't seen Laboon so happy in a long time.
Thud! Thud!
Several cannon shots interrupted Brooke's performance.
Is that a port over there?
"It's a shipyard; today is the day the new warship is launched."
I'd seen it before; it was an ironclad warship called the Power Gear. I didn't expect them to build such a large ship here; it's comparable to the ships Tom built."
Tom the Fishman, known as the world's greatest shipwright, built the Pirate King's ship and is considered the best shipwright in Crocus's eyes.
The builders of the Power Gear may have been unremarkable, but the designers and the technology of the ship were ahead of those of wooden vessels.
Technological breakthroughs can damage existing means of production.
The size of a wooden boat depends on the length of its keel. For the stability of the boat, the keel is made from a single tree trunk, which requires a high level of skill from the boat maker.
The metal welding process for ironclad warships is no longer subject to this limitation; keel manufacturing is a completely new field.
"I see. By the way, Mr. Crocus, has His Majesty Oran mentioned any arrangements for me?"
Since arriving in Piltover, Brooke has felt like he's been forgotten.
Unlike other immigrants, Oran paid Brooke a small salary under a special talent recruitment policy, but that was all that was arranged.
Occasionally, Ginny or Frankenstein would bring people here to listen to him play, but otherwise Brooke was quite free.
Brooke would rather be busy herself than do that.
"Don't worry, Dr. Siddi Lier hasn't forgotten you. I remember he mentioned to me something about singing superstars with both literary and martial arts skills. It's just not the right time yet, you just need to wait a little longer."
"I see."
Just as Crocus said, Oran will naturally come to him when the time comes and he needs him.
"You should cherish your free time now. Ever since I was tricked into becoming the dean, my carefree days are gone forever."
"But you seem quite relaxed, Mr. Crocus."
"I'm talking about the past! You have to consider who you're comparing it to."
Compared to ordinary doctors, Crocus is indeed not busy.
However, compared to the past, the current Crocus is much busier, since in Twin Gorges, there might not be many patients in a day.
Time continued to pass, and it was now the year 1499 of the Sea Calendar, a full year since Roger was executed.
Although the Navy launched numerous operations and captured a large number of pirates during the year, it was only a drop in the ocean compared to the turbulent sea.
The number of pirates continues to increase daily, affecting countries around the world to varying degrees. The more connected a country is to the outside world, the greater the impact. Conversely, small, isolated countries remain relatively stable.
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