The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

The Ladies of the Holy Palatial Gardens (Part 2)

The ships that the Duchess of Braunhauer hired were named 'Hagena'—after that small village in northern Calabria famous for its swordsmanship school, and the 'Duke of Shent'—a historical person and one of the 'founding fathers' of the enduring alliance of the eastern kingdoms known as the 'Confederacy of the East'. These seacrafts were part of the Kingdom of Calabria's efforts to 'modernize' its merchant fleet according to the trends of Chersean shipbuilding, the technologies and concepts of which mainly came from Cherwind. As such, 'Hagena' and 'Duke of Shent' were relatively new ships, and they're quite expensive to hire.

"..."

Gerard could only shake his head the moment he learned the price of hiring both ships, excluding its crews and supplies for the journey. Even with the prospect of giving his entire fortune, he still couldn't pay the expenses incurred by the Duchess of Braunhauer.

Lady Eris Braunhauer is that rich...filthy rich.

"I'm feeling like you're just slapping me with your money, milady. I'm aware that I'm poor; but this is too much."

"Please shut up and accept help from us," Eris' sweet smile never left her lips, though others could tell that she was pissed at the elf guard for insisting his own views on her help. "If you're trying to imply that we're doing this for free, then no. We demand you take us and go to Cherwoods, and that's payment enough for me."

"A-Alright..." Gerard backed down and sighed in exasperation.

On the technical side, both vessels were of wood construction, though there were parts of the hull made entirely of iron-mithril alloys or steel—mostly the bottom sections where the ship's body touched the water. Each seacraft was propelled by two steam engines fueled by coal or firewood. The overall size was comparable to an 'East Indiaman', a type of ship from Earth's 'Age of Sail' meant to ply the sea trade routes, and were also similarly armed...though with only a single row of small caliber cannons on each side, and a single mounted gun on the stern and the bow.

Those are meant to protect the ship from pirates patrolling the profitable trade routes of Chersea-Cherwoods, and Chersea-Equality.

As for the decks, the ships resembled more the late-19th Century Earth ironclads and early non-dreadnought battleships, for the humans, beastmen and demons of Chersea and the Other Realms never fully developed sails to power their vessels. As for the crew, they were veteran seamen—some of which were former mercenaries under the employ of the Duke of Braunhauer and his house. Two engineers on duty for each steam engine were complimented by a group of five lower-rate seamen, who also had the responsibility for ship repairs and firefighting.

Overall command was on the captains. They were assisted in this role by their respective 'ship lieutenants', who also served as the commanders of each of the ship's gun crews. The gun crews were five groupings of three artillery-trained seamen operating the cannons on the ship. They could also double as an amphibious force, or cargo carriers, should the necessity for those roles arose. For, though the 'Hagena' and the 'Duke of Shent' were meant for trade and transport, her crews should still be capable of squaring off against the pirates of Chersea's eastern seas.

Their presence brought valuable 'naval fighting experience and capabilities' to the elf guard's motley group.

"..."

However, Gerard still wanted to make sense of everyone who was with him.

"Okay, I'm thankful to the Lady Braunhauer for shelling out her own money to help us sail to Cherwoods," he explained. "And yes, I need someone to 'scout' ahead, something that the Lady Salis of the Owls can do. The Lady Henristone and Lady Malvette's presence also mean we can bring infantry and naval combat expertise, which might come in handy should we encounter resistance from the elves. Now, tell me, why do I have to bring you with me?"