A strange world

May 1, 999 in the Saint Laurent calendar.

Kingdom of Recaner, Port of St. Aulis.

Known as the "new star of world industry" and the "unsinkable" ocean-going ship, the Titan Winchet is about to embark on its maiden voyage.

Colorful flags were flying and people were buzzing at the port. In a tavern on the pier, Annan and Michael had just won a boat ticket from a dwarf who was beating his chest.

The whistle echoed, and the Titan Winchet set sail, carrying thousands of tourists and nearly a thousand crew members.

On the other side, Maria, the noble girl who came to the bow of the ship, was in deep pain. Because of the family's downfall, her mother forced Maria to marry Morgan, whom she disliked, making her want to commit suicide by jumping into the sea.

Annan, who came to the deck, saw this scene and rushed to save her. The two young people got to know each other.

Maria felt freedom and affection from this casual and cheerful boy, while Annan also fell in love with this girl who was reserved on the outside but passionate on the inside. Then, Maria took off her clothes, wore the gemstone necklace given by Earl Morgan, and let Annan paint for him. After that, they kissed each other deeply...

At this time, the giant ship on its first voyage hit an iceberg and was about to sink. At the same time, Morgan, who discovered that his fiancée was having trouble with Annan, angrily accused Annan of stealing her gemstone necklace, locked him in the cabin, took Maria to the deck, and told her that the ship was sinking and they were going to escape in a lifeboat.

Maria, who had forgotten her love, ran back to the cabin and rescued Annan. They struggled to escape back to the deck in the cold water that poured into the cabin, and saw the ship's bow raised high, claiming to be the "unsinkable" Titan Winchet. is sinking.

They ran toward higher ground, but as the Winchett broke into two pieces, they fell into the icy water along with countless people who were not in the lifeboats.

Annan gave up the chance of survival to his lover, holding each other tightly until he froze to death in the cold seawater——

…

"Decades later, a team of adventurers gathered together. The old Margaery told the story above, and then threw the gem necklace that witnessed everything into the sea..."

Annan stopped whispering and writing, and looked up from the sad love story that never happened.

Next to it are the geography of the Kingdom of Ruikan, a common language dictionary, and a romance novel used as a model.

"What do you think of this story?"

At this moment, Michael, the Wine Lady, Francois, Soruman Bronzebeard, Andrew Luna, and Dela were gathered in the study.

Francois first asked doubtfully: "Isn't this year 998?"

"Uh... I remembered it wrong."

Annan lowered his head and erased the 9 and added an 8 next to it.

"That ship is called the Titan Winchester?" asked the Wine Lady.

"I promised you that the machine would be named after Winchet in the future..." Annan didn't see the joy on the face of the wine lady, so he might have made a mistake.

Lower your head and circle "Titan Winchester" to indicate TBD.

Soruman Bronzebeard also groaned and said, "Why a dwarf?"

"I hope my friends will join in."

"Maria? Morgan? Isn't that the Countess..." Francois exclaimed after discovering something.

Annan's face turned red: "The name is only temporary and will be changed again."

Dela's whisper floated out from the shadows at this time: "So you painted and did that kind of thing with the count's wife in the count's manor, in the count's bedroom?"

"No! This story is fictional, just for storytelling purposes."

Annan, who needed to divert his attention, asked Michael, who had not commented yet: "What do you think?"

"Are there no spellcasters on this ship?"

"……No."

"What about the cultists of the Sea Goddess or the Storm Goddess?"

"……nor."

Michael pondered attentively: "This ship has no spellcasters and no church believers. Could it be an evil sacrificial ceremony..."

"There are no conspiracy theories...it was just an accident."

"Just an accident?"

"Just an accident."

"To be honest... if you put this kind of story in a tavern, the bard would have a bottle thrown at him." Michael commented, "It feels not as good as "The Sky"."

“Because the story will be presented in a unique way.”

"Stage play? Like The Poetry of Lazy Dale?"

"almost."

"Then I have no objection."

Annan looked at the remaining people.

"I have a question, where are Annan's companions?" Andrew Luna asked.

Yes... Where are the companions of 'Annan'...

Annan recalled the plot of the original work and couldn't remember it.

"Why a ship?" Soruman Bronzebeard then asked. "Dwarves hate the sea."

"Because uh... this is a historical event that actually happened."

"Isn't it the year 998 of Saint Laurent's calendar?" Francois asked.

"Moving the time to the present allows the audience to have a sense of involvement."

"Then the old man who appears at the end is actually the future?"

"...That's okay too."

“So where did this historical event happen?”

"Okay, don't ask anymore Francois..."

Andrew Luna, as a bard, asked: “Why the game-within-a-game structure of ‘an old man tells a story’?”

“This way we can immerse ourselves in the story from the perspective of the listener.”

Michael jumped out of the discussion itself: "Annan, you don't need to do this to become famous. Just rely on scandals to spread your name throughout the city."

"And then he was replaced again not long after?" Andrew Luna didn't think so. "Annan was right to do what he did. He needs to break free from the shackles."

Only then did Michael understand Annan's plan: not to be like "The Sky", but to become the protagonist of the stage play.

The Wine Lady then echoed Bronzebeard: "The unsinkable ship is not attractive enough to the people, sweetheart, you have to know that many people have never even been out of Breeze City, and they don't yearn for the ocean."

From a macro perspective, this kind of story will also cause people to distrust the industry, which is not conducive to Annan's future.

So if the story doesn’t take place at sea, where should it be placed?

The mage tower standing outside the window inspired Annan: "How about we let the mage tower collapse?"

"Well……"

Michael pondered, no one dared to speak, and Annan thought more: "The Mage Tower was once destroyed and rebuilt, right? We can just arrange the story here. Then replace the passengers who boarded the ship with getting an invitation from the Mage Tower A group of nobles and commoners sent letters, the protagonist wins the invitation letter from the dwarves...and then the ratmen attack the mage tower, causing the mage tower to fall."

"But there is no such activity in the Mage Tower."

"The audience doesn't know."

"I have no problem." Frankly speaking... Michael really wanted to read this story. So does everyone else.

There's just one question: Will it get me into trouble?

Michael thought for a while: "You are the King of the North. At most, some mages will want to beat you."

Annan decided to change the background from a ship at sea to a mage tower.

People in this world will no longer quarrel over "whether that piece of wood can hold two people." Annan thought.