SWNOVELXO Chapter 179
“Be careful of scurvy on long sea voyages!”
Lambus, steering at the bow while feeling the sea’s weather and air, suddenly recalled Rupert’s words.
“Just as the Young Master said.”
Lambus was already well aware of the existence of scurvy. Fishermen weren’t affected, but those heading to the Eastern Continent often fell victim to this terrifying disease.
Scurvy, the curse of the sea, gradually wears you down with fatigue, causes your teeth to fall out, makes you bleed from everywhere, and ultimately leads to death.
“The sea goddess is angry! We must offer a sacrifice!!!”
People often tossed food into the sea, or even sacrificed someone, for a disease they couldn’t even understand.
However, Lambus knew that the cause of the disease was vegetables.
“What is that?”
“This? It’s a traditional food from our hometown—cabbage pickled in vinegar.”
One of his comrades, who had joined him on the journey to the Eastern Continent, had brought this mysterious food.
He initially rejected it due to the sour smell, but having experienced multiple voyages to the Eastern Continent without ever contracting scurvy, he finally tried the pickled cabbage.
Miraculously, only he and one other comrade remained untouched by scurvy, while the majority suffered.
After several more voyages, Lambus discovered a common trait among those who didn’t get scurvy; they all consumed vegetables, fruits, or raw food in some form.
He shared his findings with others, but…
“What? Nonsense! All sea people need are booze and meat!”
Everyone laughed off Lambus’s words, and no one took him seriously.
Even when he suggested it to the captain, he was often dismissed with, “There’s no room for such things.”
Reluctantly, Lambus could do nothing but prepare his own provisions.
“Captain Lambus! Are you giving us pickled cabbage again today?!”
“Hmm… This is for the executives.”
“Come on, share it with us too!”
As lunch time approached, the crew members came to him, asking for the pickled cabbage.
Lambus couldn’t help but burst out laughing at this unbelievable miracle.
“Fine! Today, I’ll specially give the pickled cabbage to the regular crew!”
“Whoa!!!”
The crew that used to eat nothing but booze or dried meat began to consume pickled cabbage and fruits, a miracle brought about by Rupert’s advice.
“Make sure only you and the high-ranking officers eat them, and not just hand them out.”
“Eh?”
At first, Lambus was shocked by Rupert’s absurd advice. Keeping the food he had brought to prevent scurvy just for the executives seemed cruel to him.
“They’ll start asking for vegetables and fruits themselves without having to be told.”
But what Rupert foresaw was the future.
On a voyage along the western route, Lambus initially followed Rupert’s advice, distributing the fruits and vegetables only to executives.
Those who usually wouldn’t even glance at such food started complaining that they were being treated differently.
Soon after, crew members began demanding vegetables and fruits for themselves.
Lambus hid his surprise at this astonishing change and, following Rupert’s rules, started distributing the fruits and vegetables as if he were reluctantly sharing them.
Now the crew was taking the initiative to prepare their own food without needing him to push it on them.
Thanks to this, not a single case of scurvy had emerged during this voyage.
While others called it a miracle of Somerset or blessings of the goddess, Lambus believed it was the miracle created by Rupert.
“I’m feeling lately like the world is filled with things we don’t know.”
“Is that so?”
The sea was such a mercurial place that Lambus couldn’t take his eyes off it as he ate while steering. The first officer, Jack, approached him.
“Didn’t you see it, Captain?”
“Yeah, I still can’t forget that sight.”
Both recalled the unbelievable sight they had recently witnessed.
“It’s a White Whale!!!”
“No, that was the giant whale from Pinocchio!”
“Does that even matter? If we hit that, we’ll sink! Turn the ship now!”
While tired of the horizon with no islands in sight, what appeared before their eyes was a gigantic whale.
All crew members on this voyage were veterans and had seen whales before, but this one was unlike any they’d ever seen.
As it broke the surface, revealing its body the size of their ship, Lambus and the crew could only gaze in awe.
Fortunately, it did not collide with their ship, but if that massive body had impacted them, they could only think of how they would resist such a monster.
The crew speculated that it could be the white whale from <Moby Dick> or the giant whale from <Pinocchio>.
“There might really be a kraken.”
Lambus decided it was a good thing he had brought his Magic Camera to capture that sight.
Originally, he had taken it for the scenery of the unknown continent of the Western Continent, but even before arriving, he was already excited at the thought of finding something to astonish the world.
***
“What on earth…?”
“Hello, Master. I am the new golem created by Master Jenia.”
Rupert was dumbfounded in front of the woman, or rather, the new golem speaking to him.
“I didn’t intend to startle you…”
“This is my masterpiece! Other dwarves wouldn’t even dream of making something like this.”
While Jenia was at a loss next to Rupert, Kroon was busy bragging about it.
“So this is something that Jenia and Kroon made together?”
“Yes, you once mentioned needing something that could help you with your work…”
Rupert found Jenia’s answer even more absurd.
“I was talking about something like a Magic Pen…”
The new golem that Jenia and Kroon presented as a gift was something hard to even call an item.
“What… I mean, what level of performance does this new golem have?”
“You could say it’s at a level similar to human intelligence. Of course, it’s more about learned situations than unpredictable ones.”
Jenia continued her explanation about the structure of this new golem, how it learns, and what it can do.
“This is basically an android, right?”
The more Rupert listened to the explanation, the more he felt it resembled an AI robot not even developed on Earth yet.
Of course, the technology and principles were entirely different, but this was indeed a work that was far ahead of its time.
“Does anyone else know about this?”
“No! We went through such hardship to keep it a secret!”
Rupert let out a sigh of relief at Jenia’s words.
If information about such a new golem leaked out, it would probably attract immediate attention from the Imperial Family.
“Only Marquis Bradley and Lady Aida know about this.”
“Father and Aida?”
“Well…”
Jenia briefly recapped the incident from before.
Rupert’s complexion turned pale.
“Then Edric knows about this?!”
“Don’t worry. He’s unlikely to spread rumors about it.”
“Of course, I think so too, but just in case…”
“It’s okay. I can assure you.”
Rupert could no longer question Jenia, who spoke with such confidence.
“Master, please give me a task.”
“Um, could you call me Rupert instead of Master?”
“Understood, Rupert.”
If it hadn’t been for the stiff voice, one would mistakenly think the new golem was a human, leaving Rupert to ponder.
“What should I call this?”
Now that he had corrected the intimidating title, he briefly considered what name to give to the new golem.
“Can I call you Siri from now on?”
“Siri… Is that my Pinocchio?”
“What?”
“I learned it from Lady Aida. It’s the name given by the creator.”
Rupert was momentarily shocked by the new golem’s reply upon naming it Siri.
He was surprised at how it knew about his creation, Pinocchio, but then he remembered Aida and immediately thought about what she had done.
“Yeah, you need a name too.”
“Thank you, Rupert. I will learn to do well what you ask from now on.”
After agreeing to Siri’s response, Rupert earnestly requested Kroon and Jenia.
“Siri being a new golem should remain a secret among us.”
“What? You want to hide such an incredible item?”
“I understand what you mean.”
Kroon protested while Jenia nodded in agreement.
To pacify Kroon, Rupert explained further.
“Siri is something that countries across the continent would covet, not just the Empire. If this fact leaks out, not only our family but you two could be in danger.”
Only then did Kroon’s expression stiffen as he grasped the seriousness.
In fact, Kroon was under the protection of the Somerset Family, but had he been in a poorer place, he could have been kidnapped and forced to work as a slave.
In fact, such issues led to tribal wars in the past.
“Fortunately, it looks like a regular person, so if we are careful, we should be fine.”
After finishing his words, Rupert looked at Siri again.
Although he was puzzled, the thought that this gift could be a huge help with his already busy schedule made him eager to check its performance.