"Although I had a rough idea, this is still too extravagant! Do you have so much money that you don't know where to spend it?!" Tiran couldn't help but complain while standing on the top deck of the East Star.

Strictly speaking, this was the top deck of the eight-level cabin seen yesterday. The specially painted wooden floor, which combined corrosion resistance and beauty, was adorned with tastefully placed small round tables and lounge chairs for guests to relax and enjoy the sea view.

According to Mo Yi, this space could also be used for parties, in addition to the banquet hall on the floor below. It was also quite private, so it was often rented out by some high-ranking VIPs to invite distinguished guests.

The problem was... this spacious area with a panoramic sea view was now only occupied by Princess Diana and her entourage. There were also elegantly dressed passengers coming and going in the cabins below and on the first deck, so it wasn't because they arrived too early or anything like that.

"The entire eighth level has been rented out?"

After receiving confirmation of his suspicions, Tiran couldn't help but sigh. This was what it meant to be rich. A one-way ticket already cost 80,000, so how much would it cost to rent out an entire level? There were six suites on the eighth level alone, easily accommodating more than ten guests.

How many manga and merchandise would that be worth... Sorry, please forgive Miss Tiran, who cares about money even though she's a princess. In essence, she was just a hardcore otaku.

Mimi and Shuma looked surprised as well. They seemed to have underestimated East Land's unseen princess's regard for them.

Renting out the entire first deck of the East Star, even if they sent a fleet of ships, would still pale in comparison to the value of this. As for the mercenary leader who had previously been mocked by Shuma for being ignorant... They were dumbstruck, feeling embarrassed—let's not dwell on it.

"Princess Tiran, there's no need to worry," Mo Yi said politely with a gentle smile. "Since we invited you, it's only natural to treat you with the utmost hospitality."

"And also," Mo Yi took out a piece of paper with a subtle smile on his face. "I think you would be interested in this ship as well. Miss White North Wind mentioned that the three of you who were heading to East Land bought tickets for the East Star."

In that instant, Mo Yi felt Tiran's lazy and relaxed demeanor suddenly turn fierce.

"The ones who kidnapped Aya?!"

Mimi and Shuma almost immediately reached for their weapons. Mimi, in particular, was exaggerating, with fiery demon flames swirling around her body, raising the temperature in the vicinity.

Ever since the coup started, Tiran had been in trouble. And Mimi, who had made up her mind to protect her, either got defeated in seconds or conveniently wasn't present. The maid executive couldn't help but feel guilty, and she ended up becoming overly sensitive.

As for the other person, Shuma, who had been assigned the role of bodyguard within the castle, temporarily stepped down from his responsibilities in the secret department. Therefore, he only learned of Aya's abduction after Tiran returned.

However, she had witnessed Aya's strength before, so anyone who could capture Aya couldn't be taken lightly. It was always good to remain cautious.

"Uh, but we don't need to be so tense. According to the record, that was from half a month ago, and they've already arrived in East Land."

"..."

Although he explained it like that, Mo Yi felt that the tension in the air hadn't diminished much... in fact, it seemed to be increasingly directed towards him.

...

The records that Mo Yi found confirmed the authenticity of the intelligence, but that was about it. If they wanted more information, they would either have to find the informant that Moros mentioned or ask for help from the prince after dealing with Empire Chu. In any case, it was not something that could be done immediately.

Although the power of the Eastern Star could provide considerable speed, as a travel route, it deliberately slowed down to give guests more time to enjoy the journey.

Given the circumstances, and considering that Tiran's current trip was under a hidden identity and did not represent the country, there was no need to be too serious. Almost everyone agreed without any objection to the proposal of the mercenary captain to "enjoy the journey".

"A whole week!"

In his dressing room, the mercenary captain couldn't help but burst into laughter, his mouth widening with excitement. It was quite exhilarating to suddenly get to enjoy a luxurious cruise for seven days, even though they were here for a guard mission.

With a one-way ticket costing 80,000 gold coins, Beinrich now felt like he had hit the jackpot. Indeed, clinging to the royal family's thigh was comfortable. Not to mention the various facilities, services, and delicious food on the cruise that mercenaries like him would unlikely enjoy in their lifetime, the most important thing was - there were so many beautiful women!

Indeed, the Eastern Star offered a platform for wealthy individuals to communicate, collaborate, and even exchange money and power. However, it was more common for rich people to bring their families for a leisure vacation. The daughters of noble families were not rare creatures here.

Beinrich had already changed into loose shorts and put on a gray short-sleeved jacket. He couldn't hold back his excitement as he opened the door.

His destination: the swimming pool on the first deck!

Freshwater pools on the sea were not difficult to create in this world with magic. After all, the sea was abundant with water elements, and even the lowest-level water manipulation spells could extract them. Skipping the distillation, filtration, purification process, one could obtain pure freshwater directly.

Of course, Beinrich didn't care about how the pool was created; the focus was on the women by the poolside!

It's still unclear which respected predecessor invented the bikini swimsuit at some point in time, but regardless of who it was, their great contribution allowed people to openly admire the beautiful figure of women!

(Suddenly, Yuan, who was somewhere else, sneezed loudly.)

But coming back to the point...

As soon as he stepped out of the room, Beinrich fell into deep thought. He had been too engrossed in arguing with Shuma earlier that he had overlooked something so important.

Whether it was the Silver Princess or the maid Mimi, they were both rare beauties. Even the female knight who constantly mocked him, setting aside her personality, was actually quite cute...

"Mr. Beinrich?"

Mo Yi's voice came from behind, and Beinrich turned to find Mo Yi dressed similarly, wearing swimming trunks under a coat.

"Oh! Perfect timing!"

Beinrich's eyes lit up, and he waved excitedly, a big smile on his face. "Mo Yi, did you just finish talking to Miss Mimi and the others?"

"...Yes, I did. Is there a problem?"

Mo Yi hesitated for a moment, feeling a little unaccustomed to Beinrich's unusual enthusiasm.

"No problem at all. I just wanted to know their plans for later. Neither Miss Mimi nor Her Highness, the Silver War Maiden, mentioned anything, and as a guard, it's troubling for me."

Beinrich tried his best to put on a serious expression, although his acting skills were not great. However, because of his naturally stern appearance, even without acting, it still seemed quite genuine.

"I heard they're planning to relax a bit. Mr. Beinrich, if you come with me to the first floor swimming pool, you might run into them."

Hooray!

The little person inside Beinrich's heart started wildly punching the air in excitement.

Speaking of which, it seems like I'm the only guy on this trip to East Land... Could it be that I will finally get treated like a main character?

Mo Yi, who was standing by, looked at Beinrich, who seemed lost in some kind of fantasy, with a complex expression.

Stepping onto the deck, a gentle sea breeze blew towards them, keeping in mind the unknown situations they may encounter after arriving at East Land, this sudden seven-day vacation was actually quite pleasant.

The weather today is not bad, with bright sunshine reflecting sparkling light on the water surface, and shadows near the swimming pool.

"So, where are Miss Mimi and the others?"

Alongside the swimming pool, Beinrich looked around, but didn't see any familiar figures.

"They haven't come down yet?"

That's what Mo Yi speculated.

"They probably won't come down, most likely," came a calm and flat voice from the side.

"Who--uh, that mage girl... cough cough? Lie, Liecho?"

That should be the name. Phew, fortunately I didn't get it wrong, otherwise I would have to endure another round of scolding from that knight girl.

And it was Yuan's voice that emerged... Both of them noticed Liecho who was sitting on a nearby lounger, reading a book.

As a girl who had grown up receiving traditional Magic education, known for her conservative mindset, it was unexpectedly easy for Liecho to accept swimwear. The pure white fabric tightly wrapped around the key parts of her body, and her skin, which rarely saw sunlight due to her long hours of researching Magic indoors, was fair and radiant under the sunlight, like white jade.

Letting out a sigh, Liecho closed the book and looked at Beinrich, saying, "Captain Mercenary, is my name really that hard to remember?"

"It's not like that... and also, haven't you been calling me by the wrong name?" Beinrich asked with black lines all over his face.

"But in this context, 'Captain Mercenary' and 'Beinrich' are equivalent, and I don't think 'mage girl' is a suitable way to address me. If possible, you can call me 'Miss Liecho' or 'Mr. Raether'."

"... " Beinrich felt that he couldn't continue this topic anymore. He had a feeling that if he continued, he would end up entangled with Liecho for the whole day.

"Hold on, hold on! Can you tell me where Silver War Maiden and the others are first?"

Beinrich quickly interrupted Liecho, who was about to continue speaking without stopping. Although he didn't have any other thoughts, as a man and a former mercenary, if he could catch a glimpse of the Silver White Princess in her swimsuit, he could brag about it for a long time.

"Little Tiran? She said she was tired, so she went back to her room to sleep, and Mimi is accompanying her with little Chirp. As for Shuma, she was supposed to come down with me, but she suddenly went back halfway."

Huh?

The protagonist and such... they don't exist.