Three days later, in a deep water area near the beach, a makeshift dock rose from the ground, drawing gasps of wonder from the surrounding Fatui.
"Three days, and a dock is built so quickly, with so many ships."
"Nonsense, how could it not be fast when Balladeer himself is working on it?"
"You guys are talking without feeling the pain. Haven't you seen my hands almost cramping from planing the wood?"
...The idle Fatui marveled at the speed of the dock's construction. In recent days, everyone in the camp had witnessed Balladeer leading a large group of people working in three shifts to build it.
Such speed, naturally, came at a price. The moment it was completed, many Fatui immediately foamed at the mouth and had to be pulled away for resuscitation.
Seeing this, many Fatui secretly congratulated themselves for not having learned any knowledge related to ships.
The camp was filled with collapsed Fatui, but the results were naturally gratifying. A small dock was just a bonus; what Balladeer truly wanted were the several simple wooden boats moored beside the dock.
To a professional, these wooden boats might have had many flaws, but Balladeer didn't care at all.
Not to mention that these boats were rushed out in three days, Balladeer never intended to use them for very long.
As long as they could successfully make a round trip between Tsurumi Island and Kannazuka, that would be enough.
"Wow, such clean and efficient work." Ember exclaimed as he arrived at the newly built dock of the Fatui camp, looking at the wooden boats moored there.
These Fatui were too fast, weren't they? He had thought Balladeer's mention of three days was an exaggeration, but he actually did it.
"When are we departing?" A tired-looking Balladeer walked over and asked Ember.
"We're leaving immediately." Ember leaped onto the brand new ship.
"Why are your eyes so dark?! Maybe we should wait, I'm afraid you'll die on the ship." Childe, seeing the bruises on Balladeer's face, couldn't help but suggest.
Although his relationship with Balladeer wasn't great, they were colleagues after all, and he didn't want Balladeer to just drop dead.
Hearing this, Balladeer looked up at Childe. Then he wiped his face and said coldly:
"Did you forget I'm a puppet? Do puppets get dark circles under their eyes? This is just oil stains from the ship."
After speaking, Balladeer turned around, leaving Childe scratching his head awkwardly.
Looking at the dense crowd of Fatui, Balladeer took a deep breath, then began to call out names... no, he began to call out people's names.
"Michel, Christophe, Lorant..."
Holding a list, Balladeer read out the names one by one.
These were the people he had carefully selected; some could sail, some could navigate by the stars, and some simply had great strength.
"Those whose names were called, follow me, get on the ship!"
After finishing, Balladeer put away the list. At the same time, the Fatui in the camp also began to stir.
Balladeer darted through the crowd, guiding the called-out Fatui to their appropriate positions.
"Your colleague is so busy? Aren't you going to help him?" Standing at the bow, Ember pointed at the busy Balladeer and said to Childe below him.
"Am I going to make things worse?" Childe was very self-aware, and Balladeer understood him just as well.
So when Balladeer was picking people, Childe didn't ask, and Balladeer was the same; he would rather find others to help than bother Childe.
"When sea monsters appear in the ocean, that's when I'll be busy." Childe faced the vast sea, spreading his arms.
"You're good at finding your position. I don't see any sea monsters here; it's not the Dark Sea."
Ember scoffed at Childe's idea. Sea monsters? This was an inland sea; while sea monsters weren't impossible, the probability of encountering them was extremely low, almost nonexistent.
Just as Ember and Childe were chatting idly, Balladeer walked up. Not only that, but he was followed by a masked Fatui.
"Come down." Balladeer looked up and saw Ember standing at the bow, telling him to jump down.
"What for? I'm going to command this fleet." Ember stood at the bow, pointing towards the vast sea.
"Alright then, I hope you can also navigate on the sea surface." Balladeer nodded, and was about to leave to go to the next place.
"In that case, forget it. I'm just here to enjoy the scenery; I can't command a fleet." Ember immediately jumped down.
He could get lost on land, let alone on the sea without any reference points. Professional matters should be left to professionals for higher efficiency.
"Heh." Balladeer chuckled softly, then nodded to the Fatui behind him.
"Go, remember the place I told you about. Do you know the direction?"
"Balladeer, rest assured, as long as there are stars in the sky, I will not get lost at sea."
After a brief exchange, Balladeer rushed off to other places in a hurry.
Among all the Fatui, he was the most proactive.
After a long period of busyness, all the newly built ships were ready. Balladeer also came to where Ember and Childe were.
"Is everything done?"
"It's done." Balladeer said, then swiftly pulled out a flag. As the flag waved, the ships of the fleet began to move.
This instantly silenced Ember, who had just been about to shout "Set sail."
He looked at the surrounding ships and suddenly discovered a very serious problem.
"Hey! These boats seem a bit slow, don't they?" Ember asked Balladeer.
"Of course, for boats built in three days, do you expect them to be automatic?" Balladeer said, pointing at the oars swinging around the wooden boats.
Why else would he choose strong people to come aboard, if not because these few boats were all human-powered?
"It'll be fine in a moment. Their rowing rhythm isn't uniform right now; once they adapt, the speed will pick up."
Balladeer slowly said, looking at the irregularly moving oars. Even so, the speed of these boats was already comparable to ordinary human-powered boats.
Once the rowing Fatui adapted, the speed would further increase. All of this, naturally, stemmed from the robust physical fitness of the Fatui soldiers.
This was also why Balladeer chose human-powered boats. As long as they rowed fast enough, human-powered boats could surpass mechanical engine boats, and the Fatui before him were the best example!
"If you think it's slow, you can go down and push with Childe. I think it's fine as it is."
After a yawn, Balladeer suggested to Ember and Childe.
After all, one of them had a Vision for water, and the other could fly, so they could totally push the boat on the water. That would be even faster, it just depended on whether they were willing.
"Then I might as well just throw all of you over; it would be a waste of my three days. How do you account for that?" Ember said calmly, words that sent a chill down Balladeer and Childe's spines.
They never wanted to experience Ember's "flying" again.
"So why push? I also think it's perfectly fine this way." Childe, hearing Ember's words, immediately stated that he didn't want to push either.
"Then shut up!" Balladeer picked at his ear. He had come to the side of the ship.
The land behind gradually merged into a thin line; now, as far as the eye could see, was a vast, azure ocean.
Thinking of the information he had gathered these past few days, Balladeer's expression couldn't help but become a few shades more serious.
In Inazuma, there were many descendants of Tsurumi Island people. Although most of them had forgotten the history of Tsurumi Island, traces still remained.
And from these clues, the Fatui could glean a lot of information that the Shogunate did not know.
"Heavy fog, Thunderbird, sacrifices..."
"What exactly is in Tsurumi Island that even Beelzebul is unwilling to investigate?"
Balladeer looked out at the sea; vaguely, he seemed to see a large island shrouded in mist.
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