76. Blackmail
Ben gets an idea of how he will cross the sea and goes to the island. He then goes to the center of the port town and finds a big mansion. It is the Mayor's residence.
"Hehe, with the Mayor's help, I'm sure I will be able to get a ship. This job is from the Kingdom, so I'm sure the Mayor won't be able to refuse," says Ben while smirking.
That's right, Ben wants to blackmail the Mayor to help him. This is a job issued by the Kingdom. So if the Mayor refuses, it will be treated as disobeying the Kingdom's decree.
Ben enters the mansion after showing his job letter from the Kingdom. He goes to the Mayor's office with Bella still laying on his head.
When he entered, Ben is surprised to find that the Mayor is a woman. But it's better because he usually met with old man Mayors.
"A job issued by the Kingdom? I haven't heard it. But the letter seems to be real," says the Mayor.
"Well, you can contact the Kingdom to find out if it's real," says Ben while shrugging his shoulder off.
The Mayor then asks her secretary to call the Kingdom through communication lacrima. While waiting, she asks Ben about the job. So Ben tells her the gist of his job and she understands it.
"Well, after what the Alvarez Empire tried to invade us, the people here are afraid to go too far from the island. The newly found island might be the Alvarez Empire's hiding place, that's why they are afraid to take you there," says the Mayor.
"Hmm, so that's why this job is also ranked as an S-Class job. The threat isn't just unknown creatures, but also Alvarez Empire," says Ben.
"S-Class job?!" says the Mayor in surprise.
"Yeah, it is stated in the letter, right?" asks Ben while tilting his head.
The Mayor open the letter again and read it carefully. She finally realizes that it is really an S-Class job. It makes her surprised because Ben is still very young and he has already taken an S-Class job.
"Are you an S-Class mage?" asks the Mayor.
"Yeah, S-Class mage from Cait Shelter Guild, Ben Cooper at your service," says Ben while saluting like a noble.
When Ben bows a little to do his noble salute, Bella falls from his head. Ben gets surprised and catches her immediately. She gets angry and hits Ben's face with her small hands. Ben can only laugh apologetically while scratching his head.
The Mayor giggles at their antiques, but she is still surprised to hear Ben's name. She has heard about Ben because he is quite famous in the upper circle. Clearing many S-Class jobs that involve S-Class monsters in many regions is enough to make many Mayors know his name.
Sometime later, the Mayor's secretary comes back and tells the Mayor that the job is real. The Kingdom also confirmed that Ben is the one who takes the job and asks the Mayor to help him.
The Mayor sighs and finally assigns her men to help Ben. Ben smiles victoriously and thanks the Mayor before leaving the office. He finally can get a ship to cross the sea.
When he leaves the office, a man comes up to Ben. He is the Mayor's assistance, Marc, who will take care of the ship. He asks Ben to follow him toward the port where they'll get the ship.
"The ship is big enough to carry my car, right?" asks Ben.
"Yes, Mr. Ben. It is enough to carry your magic vehicle," says Marc.
Ben nods and then they go to the port using Ben's car. Marc doesn't say anything in the car, but he is impressed by Ben's car. As the Mayor's assistance, he knows that Ben's car is the latest model which is very expensive, and not many people have it now.
They reach the port soon and Marc shows the location of their ship, which is on the western side of the public port. Ben follows Marc's direction and finds the ship in a short time. He is rather speechless when he sees the ship that they'll use.
"Are you sure that we'll use this ship? It's a battleship, you know," says Ben with a shocked expression.
The ship that they'll use is a battleship made fully of metal. It is rather similar to the battleship on modern earth, but it seems sturdier.
"Yes, we will use this ship. The island is still full of unknowns, so only this ship can help us. If something happens, then we will be able to do something with this ship," says Marc.
Ben can only blink his eyes because these guys are very paranoid. But that's understandable after Alvarez Empire's invasion trial. Besides, the sea is full of magical creatures that might attack them, so a battleship is a good option.
Ben drives his car to the ship and enters it after Marc talks with the soldiers there. There are many soldiers & ship crews in the battleship. They are busy preparing the ship and its weapons.
Ben doesn't say anything and just lets them do what they need to do. Marc then takes Ben & Bella to the ship's Captain after they park the car. The Captain is a middle-aged man that seems very strict.
"I've heard about the mission from the Town's Mayor. Are you the mage who will explore the island?" asks the Captain.
"Yeah, it's me. S-Class mage from Cait Shelter, Ben Cooper," says Ben while offering his hand.
The Captain takes Ben's hand and grips it strongly. Ben also grip it strongly and they shake their hands. He gets surprised though because he can feel Ben's strength when they shake their hands.
The Captain smiles and says, "You are stronger than you look."
"I told you, I am an S-Class mage," says Ben while smiling.
"Most mages that I've met didn't have a strong physique. Well, it's my first time meeting an S-Class mage, so I think you're the same. It seems the S-Class standard is very high," says the Captain.
"Of course, if it's low, then everyone can be an S-Class," replies Ben.
The Captain nods and then he tells Ben & co that they can tour around the ship for now. They still need some minutes to prepare the ship. They nod and a ship crew takes them to walk around the ship.
10 minutes later, the ship moves and leaves the port. Ben & co go to the front deck and look at the sea. It's been a long time since Ben get on a battleship and it really brings back memories.
As an ex-elite soldier, Ben has some experience with battleships. Although he was not a Navy and didn't use battleship that often, but he has ridden it a few times. He doesn't really like it though, he likes land vehicles more.
When Ben thinks of that, he suddenly feels nauseous. He runs to the ship's railing and puke to the sea. Then he feels dizzy and lay weakly on the floor.
Marc gets surprised and approaches Ben, "Are you alright, Mr. Ben?"
"Ugh, I don't feel so good," says Ben with a pale face.
"Do you have seasickness?" asks Marc while signaling some ship crews to help Ben.
"I-I don't think so," replies Ben.
Some crews then take Ben to the infirmary and give him medicine. But he still feels nauseous and can only lay weakly on the infirmary's bed.
'Why am I suddenly get seasickness? I don't really like a ship, but I never have seasickness,' thinks Ben while his eyes are spinning.
[It's because you are a strong Dragon Slayer. All Dragon Slayers of advanced level suffer from severe motion sickness due to the synchronization between the large gap of a human's semicircular canals and a Dragon's visual acuity.]
'Motion sickness? But I can drive a car without any problem. Wendy too,' thinks Ben confusedly.
[It's because you like cars, but you don't like ships. As for Wendy, she is not strong enough currently.]
'So troublesome,' thinks Ben before he faints.
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