Chapter 39: Monster Repellent Dust

Words : 1049 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 39: Monster Repellent Dust Mirelle was oblivious to the plans that Leonard had made. She remained frustrated and worried for the innocent crewmates’ safety. "Does fuel in the ship often have a foul stench?" Leonard raised the question, breaking the awkward and tense atmosphere between them. "Foul stench?" It was only now that Mirelle recalled that he had mentioned a foul stench previously. She was distracted by the damaged tube aspect and forgot about the smell aspect. She furrowed her brows and said, "A concealment spell couldn’t mask the smell, only physical appearance." "Then could it be some other spell that could mask physical appearance and smell alone?" He pressed on. Upon hearing that, Mirelle knitted her brows. ’What could mask them both? They will need to contain the elements in a locked space. Wait, could it be that it’s a containment spell and not a concealment spell?’ As she flashed a look of realization, Leonard remained silent. His eyes locked onto hers, clearly implying that he was waiting for her discovery. However, Mirelle was stunned on the spot. She was afraid that she was incorrect in her first judgment. For the crown prince to see through the concealment spell wasn’t that rare or surprising, but to see through the containment spell was another story. "It seems like there’s a possibility," Leonard commented. "Though it doesn’t matter much anymore. We can now confirm there’s an infiltrator in the ship and that you should be cautious." "I should be cautious?" Mirelle was visibly taken aback. The one who should be cautious was him. After all, he was the main target and not her. "Have you not noticed the role you have shown to others?" "Isn’t my role just some gold-digging courtesan?" "Yes, and that’s precisely why you’re the best target." Leonard chuckled. "The enemy wouldn’t attempt to make a risky move and attack me first. But they will definitely want to get close to me. So, as a gold-digging courtesan, you are their master key to approaching me." Mirelle’s face turned pale. She staggered a few steps backward and realized how unethical one could become when one arrived at a position of power. "Are you going to do the same thing if I happened to be some ordinary courtesan?" She asked. "I don’t answer hypothetical questions." He responded. Having made his point, Leonard returned to his bed and covered himself with the blanket. His eyes were shut, seemingly preparing for sleep. But deep in his thought was the lingering foul stench. ’What is this uneasy feeling I’m getting?’ He wondered silently. Without a clue or hint, he chose to rest his mind and body. Mirelle was also exasperated by the whole ordeal and laid on a nearby couch to sleep. As if she would share the same bed as Leonard. After ensuring every alarm and preventive formation was active, Mirelle went to sleep. Outside the private chamber, crewmates began their rotation of the night shift and everything seemed to be on track. They remained unaware of a certain crewmate gazing at the seawater with a malicious grin hanging on their face. ’Keep traveling... I wonder how a shipwreck scene caused by swarms of monsters would appear.’ Their eyes glimmered from the reflection of the sea. They watched as the ripples closed in behind the ship, almost as if the beings underwater were attracted to a certain stench. "Hey, stop slacking over there. We’ll need more people to sprinkle the monster’s repellent dust.." A Third Mate, essentially a watch officer called out to a person standing near the edge of the ship. "Right away," the person standing near the edge was disguised as a regular crewmate, so they naturally obeyed a Third Mate’s order. Moreover, they were happy to comply with an order that would further doom Astral Gale and its occupants. The Third Mate was oblivious to the regular crewmate’s identity or insidious thoughts. Instead, they quickly pointed to the north side, handed over a bag of monster-repellent dust, and said, "The north is lacking manpower, so assist them quickly. We cannot afford to have sea monsters attacking our ship." The monster-repellent dust was researched and tested by an esteemed mage from the Mage Association. It was a stable item that was intended to repel monsters from approaching them. Of course, the repellent could be ineffective toward higher-intelligence monsters, but toward the lower-intelligence ones, it worked like a charm. Hence, any ships or carriages that planned on traveling would always have monster-repellent dust in their inventory. As the person accepted the bag, they saluted, "I shall make sure to sprinkle every nook and cranny." "Good, then make haste. The trash from the day is being deposed of and required refilling for tomorrow. We must ensure the Crown Prince’s journey is very steady and smooth. Otherwise, our heads would be rolling by the guillotine." The Third Mate warned sternly and proceeded to search for more crewmates who might be slacking off. As the rest of the crewmates scattered the monster-repellent dust while the ship advanced at its steady pace, the ripples in the undercurrent intensified. In the fueling room, the one damaged tube that Leonard left untouched had started to cause the fuel to begin to flow into another section. Rather than flowing into designated fuel tanks, it flowed into the left rear of the ship’s fantail which disposed of trash to the sea. Naturally, this kind of practice was prohibited or outright banned in the world that Leonard came from, but not in this world thanks to the presence of magic. With magic, a thorough cleansing would be conducted in the sea frequently to ensure the environment was up to standard. Currently, sea monsters in the sea began to turn agitated from the combination of the monster-repellent dust and the fuel that emitted a mysterious foul stench. They were initially attracted by the foul stench, but the monster-repellent dust was equivalent to oil splashed upon a raging flame. As the flame rose and burned brightly, the sea monsters’ eyes focused on the source: Astral Gale. One of the larger sea monsters, who was more agitated than the others, could no longer endure the effect. With a mighty swing of its tail, the monster surged forward.

Chapter 39: Monster Repellent Dust

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