Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 456: Arc 6, - 72: Whirlpool!

"Oh great, as if we weren’t gonna be late enough," Fumeko groaned.

"I think safety’s worth the time in this case," Hotaru firmly grasped the front panel.

"Alright, brace for turbulence, we’ll be steering clear of that maelstrom."

The edge of a vortex was within sight, however not the other end of it. A light ship in a storm with waves caused by a titanic god was not going to fair well in a maelstrom of that size- "Why? Let’s just use it to propel us forward, we’ll be fine." -wait what?

At Jotou’s suggestion, everyone stared at her in utter confusion and concern. "What? Why’s everyone looking at me like I’m crazy? This is supposed to be a light vessel, right?"

The captain of the ship replied immediately, "Yes, but given the conditions, navigating through the maelstrom would be nigh-suicide; we’ve already been weathering extreme conditions as it is. A heavy vessel would be the one to do well in these conditions."

"We’d be at a high risk of capsizing even at top speeds; we might be able to skirt around the rim of the maelstrom, but even then there’s a good chance we’d be pulled under—one wrong turn or one unlucky wave and we’re finished," one of the navy soldiers added.

Jotou knitted her brows and shook her head, "No we aren’t if the ship’s supposed to be light; we have her," she nonchalantly gestured over to the other blonde.

Tiffany’s one eye blinked a few times, "While one appreciates the adulation of mine talents, I am uncomprehending of thy stratagem."

"...You’re kidding," Fumeko figured out.

"We’ll use Tiffany’s scream to cancel out any incoming waves and with Meko being an unmovable anchor, you two can effectively be a second rudder on the ship, probably in equal if not more power than the engine," Jotou conveyed.

"I’d break like a twig before I manage to move a damn ship full of people!" the brunette exclaimed.

"Tiffany just needs to beat the force of a wave, not lift the entire ship. And you just need to focus on your Spider Walk spell and not slip."

A ripple of silvery-white waved up her eye and she tittered boisterously, "Insanity indeed be thy domain oh maiden of gold. Very well, thou hath the void’s blessing," she posed with a few fingers hovering over her eyepatch.

"Fine," Fumeko conceded. "If it means we get to Beauregard as planned."

"I’m sorry, but I’m the captain of this ship and I won’t be commanding my crew to risk everything for at most an hour of time," the captain stated.

"Then it’s an order," Jotou said without flinching. "You’re free to belay that, but right now where every second counts, the blood of any victims in the Malecise Regime will be on your hands captain," her eyes sparked.

Fumeko’s toes curled in her shoes as a bright grin grew in response to the blonde’s command. Everyone else turned towards the captain, waiting for his decision while he felt the pressure build up in his chest...

_

"Ready?" Fumeko queried.

Tiffany zipped up a clear raincoat before she held the brunette’s hand tightly, "The void knoweth not a moment of pause."

"Don’t get any ideas from this," Fumeko intertwined fingers with the pale blonde to secure them together.

"Shouldn’t I be the one saying that to you?" Tiffany muttered.

"We’re ready," Fumeko said over her shoulder.

"Aegis-Aura," Hotaru used the rain to cast. The spell showered on top of the two of them as they rushed out of the command centre and onto the slippery deck.

Sparking her head and hair, Jotou walked her way out. A bolt of lightning flashed overhead with the thunder following shortly behind.

"Cover the left, I’ll be on the right," the blonde directed.

With Tiffany held firmly, Fumeko gave a nod and spelled herself to ship’s surface; the same shadows attached to Tiffany’s interwoven fingers. The two sprinted off to the left.

Water hissed around her head and turned to steam. ’The crew just has to keep an eye ahead’ Her boots kicked the seawater pooling onto the deck as she held onto the right edge of the ship.

She glanced forward, her hair whipping with the wailing gusts of wind. Every other minute their circumstances grew more visible with the morning’s approach.

The maelstrom was well within the ship’s reach. "Full steam ahead!" the captain barked out as Hotaru clung onto the banister of the stairs for dear life.

Jotou looked to the storm clouds and peered to the- "Detective!" she screamed out. She then sprinted to the other side of the ship.

Those inside watched Jotou switch places with Fumeko and Tiffany as they ran over to the right side. There was an incoming wave.

Tiffany took a deep breath and gripped the side of the ship with one hand. Fumeko attached herself to the floor with her spell and crouched down to place a hand down as well, stretching as much of her form as she could.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Silvery-white echoes burst forth from her scream, aimed at the sea’s surface. Each ripple of her magic hit the wave and blasted its breadth away. The water split and separated into small waves in other directions.

Tiffany cleared her throat and Fumeko slackened her posture with a sigh of relief that it worked.

"Switch!" Jotou’s voice ordered again and the two wasted no time to get into position and repeat their actions. With another scream, her echoes parted the waves before they could collide with the ship.

A wave collided at the ship from behind and jumped the entire vessel forward. "How’s it working?" Hotaru had hooked a leg around the banister as she asked the helmsman.

The helmsman gave a nod, "Smoother than before," he admitted.

"The turbulence is manageable. We might be able to actually survive the maelstrom," a navy soldier relayed.

The captain looked out of the window at the blonde surveying the waters. Unbeknownst to her, he gave a nod as a sense of dread was alleviated and in its place a sense of hope grew—that perhaps there was a method to her madness that had gotten her this far; he regretted not putting more respect upon her title.

Meanwhile, Jotou tilted her head to the side. ’I’m glad it worked, Tiffany’s just an expert level caster, but guess it was enough for turbulent water. I didn’t expect the physics to work as well as it has either. Why the fuck was I so sure about this plan?’

As she contemplated her sanity, something came flying at her which she reflectively caught before it hit her face. Thinking it was some debris, her brows knitted at the wet squirming sensation.

"Ew," she had caught a pale red squid. "Sorry," she lobbed it back into the sea. Only for a group of sea trout to fly into her and flop around the deck of the ship. The few that hit her face got electrocuted and went stiff as they fell. "...What is my life?"

"Hahaha!" Tiffany triumphantly stood with a hand on her hip. "Behold mine excellence! For I, Stella Vespertillio, the Child of Void within the Sea of Stars, part asunder the surfs themselves with mere command of mine voice!"

With her brown hair soaked in salt and rain, so much so that it clung onto her ears and she stared dead-eyed like a wet rat at the pale blonde’s proclamations, she spoke, "Hey dumbass, we have bigger problems."

"Oh no," Hotaru muttered from inside as she saw out the windshield, the maelstrom.

"Brace!" the captain yelled out as the SS Narwhal drove into the whirlpool’s edge. Following its rotation, the ship actually picked up in speed, though it was veering sideways to a fault.

Jotou’s arm hugged the outer side of the ship as she got fully onto her knees and watched ahead as her hair was gusted to the front of her face.

Fumeko gripped the frame of the command centre while Tiffany did the same, though her grip was not as strong.

The helmsman smoothly turned the steering as for the next minute, the ship sped cut through half of the maelstrom. Only once they were there did he grit his teeth and wrestle with the wheel.

Thunder roared; the ship swerved more and more into the water’s direction. However, it was able to stick to the edge enough so that it could escape the predicament unscathed.

The vessel bounced ahead and narrowly speared through other small whirlpools forming in the area. The ship made it out of the dangerous area, but not without rotating so much that the ship faced northwards before the helmsman steered it back to their intended trajectory.

The navy sighed as the adrenaline still coursed through their systems. Hotaru collapsed onto the staircase intentionally. Tiffany let go of the frame and overlooked the sea with a wide smile and a victorious laugh while Fumeko rolled her eyes.

Jotou arose from her knees and was surprised how stable the ship was all of a sudden. While trout flopped around her, she looked ahead... ’Hello Beauregard.’