Chapter 44

Day 74 of Banishment: Storm (2)
Marylia thought through a variety of things in an instant. No, after that instant, she spent several more seconds thinking. During that time, her gaze was dead serious. And she had every reason to be. Depending on the situation, she might have to prepare for combat right then and there.

However... after considering that much, Marylia immediately began deploying golems along the coastline.

"All units, disperse! Look for survivors! Detain them immediately if you find any! You’re allowed to knock them out if necessary!"

At Marylia's command, the golems sprang into action. The spears they held felt especially reassuring.

Marylia herself stayed on guard, watching the surroundings as she checked under washed-up boards and beneath canvas coverings to see if any humans had drifted ashore.

… But.

"No one... huh?"

Marylia concluded, "Ah, they should be alright."

That was because, from what she could see, no life rings or escape boats had washed up. It was likely that the crew had evacuated before the ship went down.

"... Oh, thank goodness! If any royal survivors had drifted ashore, I’d have had to finish them off~"

With a relieved smile, Marylia thanked the golems that had returned with reports of "nothing found" and resumed checking the washed-up items.

"It seems certain that a ship sank... Even if not, at the very least, a piece of the deck or maybe part of the bow, or worse, even the foremast might have broken... And since a sail washed up, there must have been damage to the mast. That would make sailing difficult, so... hmm."

Most of the washed-up items were barrels and crates, along with various supplies they likely contained. All of these were things meant to be stored inside the ship. Given that these items had washed ashore, it was highly likely that a ship had indeed sunk.

"Oh no~... A royal ship sank... which means a royal ship was nearby, doesn’t it? But for what purpose...?"

… However, there were still many things that didn’t quite add up.

If it was a ship with a royal insignia on its sail, someone connected to the royal family must have been on board. Of course, it might not necessarily have been royalty. It could have been knights of the king, or a dignitary... There were many possibilities, but at the very least, it was certain that the Fractalian royal family was involved in some way.

And if that ship had sunk... something must have happened. But it seemed unlikely that a royal ship would simply sink in a storm.

However, Marylia had no clue what exactly had occurred. She might be able to glean a bit of information by examining the washed-up items, though...

"There’s quite a bit of cargo washed ashore. Ehehe, how wonderful~"

In any case, for Marylia, it was a blessing that no humans had washed ashore, and that there was a plentiful supply of resources!

Though she had initially found only one large plank, smaller items, including the remnants of crates and various parts, seemed to add up to a fair amount of wood.

And, indeed... the contents of the crates and barrels were quite splendid!

"Oh! This barrel still has contents in it~! Fabulous!"

Marylia found an intact barrel and confirmed that it was still full. Judging from the label, it appeared to be filled with wine!

"... Should I distill it?"

Wine, in itself, was a splendid item, but the alcohol collected from distilling it could be used to make a variety of other things. Smiling broadly, Marylia rolled the barrel to a spot further from the shore.

Next, she found oranges in an unbroken crate, which delighted her!

Oranges likely didn’t grow on this island. They were treats she could only get from cargo. She could also make use of the oils extracted from the peels.

… If she aged the wine into vinegar or used large amounts of orange juice, she could even make soap or candles. Well, for now, she was just using fat as fuel for light, so the priority for that was low...

Additionally, a few bottles had washed ashore. Some were still intact within the remains of broken crates, while others were shattered... Most of them appeared to be filled with alcohol.

Moreover, a fine ham, likely intended as an accompaniment to drinks, had washed ashore, still in its original form. It seemed to have been entangled in the ship’s sail. Marylia let out a squeal of joy, almost like a scream, as she excitedly exclaimed, "Ham!"

Furthermore, fragments of glass, likely remnants of gilded goblets, and scraps of iron, possibly from lanterns, as well as copper mugs, were also found. A considerable variety of items had washed ashore.

And looking over all of these washed-up items, there were indeed several remnants of valuable items and some high-quality ones. The barrel of wine itself was likely quite expensive. This confirmed that it was almost certainly a royal ship that had sunk.

"Still… if this is all of it, it feels a bit lacking. I wish a bit more had drifted over here.”

Marylia muttered, “It would’ve been nice to have at least one more barrel of wine…” as she sorted through the drifted items. Suddenly, an idea struck her.

"… What if the ship didn’t sink after all and, despite being damaged… they decided to lighten the load to pick up speed or something? But, unless they were being chased, they wouldn’t do something like that… Pirates, perhaps?”

If it was a case of "the royal ship being attacked by pirates," it would make sense. But surely, even pirates would understand that attacking the royal family would eventually lead to a full-scale punitive expedition. They’d have to be incredibly reckless pirates to do such a thing…

“Well, it’s no use pondering over it. Come now, let’s gather what we can and head back.”

There was no point dwelling on the ship’s fate or the state of the sea.

Regaining her focus, Marylia began packing up the drifted items with the golems, dividing the load to carry back.

In the afternoon, she set off to gather iron sand. It was right after a heavy rain, so she figured the state of the river might have changed and carefully made her way there…

“… Oh dear, it’s collapsed.”

Along the river, some rocks had crumbled off a cliffside. The terrain had shifted slightly.

“If it’s like this… rocks upstream might have shifted too, and the water flow could be different.”

Muttering, “I’m worried,” Marylia pressed forward along the riverbank.

… The atmosphere in the forest was a bit different after the storm. Perhaps due to the recent tempest, even the presence of monsters felt diminished. Stepping carefully through the damp underbrush, avoiding fallen branches—or picking them up with a cheerful, “Oh, perfect for firewood!”—Marylia carefully observed the forest after the storm.

At this rate, the island would likely be hit by two or three more storms, or perhaps even more.

To avoid getting caught off guard each time, she wanted to understand, “So, this is generally what happens after a storm.” What kinds of things are blown away by the wind? What shifts, what collapses, what flows downstream when the river overflows? And what new things might drift along with it?

… With such observations in mind, she eventually reached the riverside sandbank where she collected iron sand.

"… Lots of things have drifted over, haven’t they?”

The river’s flow was a bit fast, likely due to the increased volume of water from the rain. Various items washed down by this current had been deposited along the riverbank.

“Oh my, how wonderful! An uprooted tree!”

One of these—a tree that had been torn from the riverbank by the rising waters—caught Marylia’s eye, lighting it with interest. Slightly too thick for her stone ax to chop, it was straight and seemed quite suitable as timber. Wood is precious, especially now that she was considering the future. It might be good to have at least one more brick house or warehouse!

Marylia continued examining the other items deposited along the riverbank.

… Just in case, she checked if any slave collars were among the debris. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort was found.

However…

“…This is a knife, isn’t it?”

Amidst the driftwood and roots washed ashore, there was a single, thoroughly rusted and decaying knife.

It was a man-made object, evidence that someone had been here in the past.

“… Perhaps I should prioritize exploring upstream?”

Marylia murmured, casting her gaze toward the upper reaches of the river.

Upstream lay further into the mountains, accessible by climbing up the cliffs. Rainwater from the mountain gathered there, forming a ravine-like area that flowed down to reach this sandbank.

Likely, further upstream in the mountains… more remnants of human presence might be waiting.

But now was not the time to focus on those.

Indeed, now was not the time!

“Oh my? Is there… more iron sand?”

Peering into the riverbed, Marylia tilted her head.

… Yes, there, sparkling black and glistening faintly, iron sand lay on the riverbed.

She’d seen this sight before the storm, but… the amount seemed somewhat greater now.

“… Let’s check the waterfall basin.”

With a start, Marylia headed upstream, reaching the spot where water from above cascaded down—a small waterfall basin. She fixed her gaze at the bottom, carefully observing the basin.

Then—

“There’s iron sand… Oh my, my, my! So much iron sand has gathered here!”

The basin’s bottom was piled with iron sand!

"Wait, was it always like this…?"

Marylia scrutinized the basin’s bottom, noting that iron sand was indeed accumulating there. It seemed there was less regular sand than before.

“I see, probably the rocks upstream eroded to create iron sand, which then flowed downstream and settled here…”

This basin was like a natural water-separation facility. The iron sand, once accumulated upstream, was swept down by the storm-strengthened river and deposited here.

With the deep water and slow current, lighter sand particles would be stirred up and carried away, while heavier iron sand and fragments of rock would settle and gradually pile up.

“Well, I can’t let this go to waste! Hehe.”

Smiling happily, Marylia eagerly considered how to collect the iron sand from the basin…

“Hmm, let’s see… Should I tie a rope around a jar and lower it like a bucket? Or maybe dive down and… oh.”

Marylia pondered several options, but immediately reached a conclusion.

“… Golems, dive in, please!”

There was no need for Marylia to dive herself. She could simply have the golems dive down and scoop up the iron sand from the riverbed.

After all, golems, who required no breathing, were perfect for the task of diving!