Chapter 183: Naval Prefectures Approaching

Clear blue sky stretched across an endless ocean, unbroken except for the occasional wisp of cloud that dissolved before it could become anything. A single ship drifted across the water’s surface.

Two ships, actually — but long ago, even before the Leviathan eel event, the second vessel had departed from our route and headed elsewhere.

Levi had said it served two purposes: throw off the Church and deliver legal goods to a neighboring country.

So far, that plan had worked exactly as intended. Aside from Spirit Beast attacks — which, admittedly, were their own kind of nightmare — everything had been sailing smoothly.

Until we heard a loud honk just above the horizon where we were headed.

Po’s eyes went wide with excitement at the sound. His whole body leaned toward the noise like a dog catching a scent. Meanwhile, Tristan, Derry, and Nisha had gone still — the particular kind of stillness that came from recognizing trouble before it arrived. Their expressions didn’t change, but something in the air around them tightened.

Levi was rarely on the ship’s deck except at night, so no help there.

I looked at Po, then at the other three, wondering which one to question first. Po would probably give me the most honest answer, but "honest" and "useful" weren’t always the same thing with him.

Derry answered for me. He tapped the railing of the ship twice, smacked his lips in what I’d come to recognize as his signature expression of mild irritation, then turned and barked at the crew.

"Everyone! Up! Up! Up! Up! Drills now!"

The deck exploded into motion. Crew members shoved wooden boxes across the planks, their boots thudding against the wood in a rhythm that spoke of long practice. To my surprise, secret panels swung open in the floorboards — compartments I’d never noticed despite weeks aboard this vessel. The boxes disappeared into the ship’s belly, passed hand to hand by men who’d descended into the dark below. They moved with the kind of efficiency that only came from doing this many, many times before.

I could only wonder what manner of illegal goods those boxes contained. Weapons? Contraband spirits? Something worse?

’Probably best not to know.’

But more importantly, I was curious what that horn signified.

I stepped closer to Nisha, who stood at the railing watching the horizon. Smoke rose there now, a dark smear against the pale sky, and it was getting closer with each passing moment.

"Who are those?"

She looked at me but gave nothing away. Her eyes stayed neutral, flat as coins.

’I know you were receiving some hard pounding even this morning.’ My own eyes didn’t betray anything either. After all, pretending was one of my special fortes. You didn’t survive long in my family without learning to keep your face still.

She responded in a flat voice. Normally, Nisha had a strange accent that made her words sound like they were going to twist off at the ends — similar to Russian but not quite the same. Now, though, every syllable landed clean and precise.

"Those are the Naval Prefectures. They’re the ones that oversee all ships, trade or otherwise, coming from the western coastline."

"Oh." My expression shifted as the implications settled in. "Does this mean..."

Nisha understood instantly what I was asking. She allowed a short scoff that held more amusement than concern.

"No. These ones are governmental organizations. They exist outside the conventions of religion — although religion still tries to sway them. But these ones are more money-chasers than anything else. Their nose exists to sniff out items that could put us in trouble and squeeze us for an impossible amount of coin."

I thought about it for a moment, watching the smoke grow larger on the horizon.

"Then the bounty. What if they’ve heard about it?"

Nisha allowed a small smile to crack her neutral mask. She glanced at me sidelong, something knowing in her eyes, before focusing back on the approaching vessels.

"Depending on who’s asking, Cee, ten thousand silver coins isn’t a lot of money."

"Ouchie..."

It was relieving to hear I didn’t need to worry about being dragged off in chains. But it was also somewhat insulting, if I was being honest with myself. What do they mean I’m not worth a lot of money?

’Fuck you all. The price is going to go up soon. Just you wait.’

The source of the smoke grew clearer now. I could make out a ship cutting toward us, though it still looked like a dark smudge against the endless blue. It would take a while yet — distance on the open ocean was deceptive. Things that looked close could be hours away.

The longer I stared, the more my eyes strained against the glare of sunlight on water, so I looked away and let my vision recover.

Either way, the Naval Prefectures sounded like trouble. Albeit the kind of trouble the Black Snow Company was used to handling. Everyone had moved too smoothly, too practiced, for this to be their first encounter with ship inspections.

’Then why was Po excited?’

I glanced back at the boy, who was practically vibrating at the railing. His eyes hadn’t left the horizon.

I couldn’t find any answers aside from Po’s twisted way of seeing things. That boy found joy in the strangest places. I shook my head.

’He certainly is weird.’

I found a crate that looked sturdy enough and sat down, leaning my back against the cabin wall. The wood was warm from the sun, and for a moment I just let myself breathe.

The ship itself was built from a strange combination of wood and metal — metal bracing the critical joints and load-bearing sections, wood planking where flexibility mattered against the constant pressure of waves. Despite the odd marriage of materials, the vessel was huge and efficient. Not Titanic-huge — that was a ridiculous comparison — but big enough that if we rammed a wall, the wall would come apart. We’d be gravely injured, sure. Probably sink afterward. But the wall would definitely lose.

Kassie stepped outside the cabin just as I was contemplating the ship’s bulk and our chances of survival in various collision scenarios.

Her presence — I didn’t even need to turn my head to know she’d arrived. It was as though a warm light had bloomed from the doorway, spilling across the deck and changing the quality of the air itself.

Some of the crew members paused mid-task to stare at the queen herself in all her radiant glory. Their hands went slack on ropes and crates. Kassie’s red hair danced in the ocean breeze like it had its own private wind, catching the sunlight until it seemed to glow. She glanced around the deck, brow furrowing at the sudden attention, clearly confused about why everyone had stopped working.

"You bastards! Focus!"

Derry’s bark cracked across the deck like a whip. The spell broke. Work resumed immediately — or rather, intensified beyond its previous pace. If I didn’t know better, I’d say these idiots were flexing now, showing off how strong they were for the pretty lady. Every throw came with a grunt or a yell, every movement exaggerated.

"Haii!"

"There you go!"

"Catch it, fool! Can’t you catch that little box?"

"This weighs less than your mother does! Good gods, if your mother was to fall, would you even be able to catch her?"

"Do not bring my mother into this!"

’Pathetic.’ I rolled my eyes so hard it almost hurt. ’Absolutely pathetic.’

I looked back toward the horizon, and my stomach tightened slightly at what I saw.

The Naval Prefectures’ ship was cutting closer now — and it wasn’t alone. Three vessels, I realized, as the smoke resolved into distinct columns. They were spreading out, drifting into position to surround us from all sides. A standard interception formation. These people knew what they were doing.

The crew finished their concealment work. The secret panels sealed shut without a seam, the deck returned to complete innocence, and the boxes of definitely-legal goods sat in neat, unremarkable stacks that wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.

Derry moved to stand at the bow of the ship, arms crossed over his chest, watching the water police approach with an expression carved from stone. Whatever was coming, he’d clearly dealt with it before.

I just hoped "before" had ended with everyone still breathing.

Kassie settled beside me, and a fresh flowery scent washed over me. I sniffed again, just to be sure I wasn’t imagining it.

"Hmm. I didn’t know spirits could smell this nice."

She shot me a look sharp enough to draw blood. I turned away quickly, suddenly very interested in the horizon.

"What is going on?" she asked.

I glanced around the deck before answering, keeping my voice light.

"Naval Prefectures. According to Nisha, they’re a sea government organization coming to search what I can only assume is a very illegal water vessel." I gestured vaguely at our ship. "Interesting, don’t you think?"

Kassie shrugged, entirely unbothered.