When the sea monster was badly wounded by Roman’s attacks and Angor’s fire, as soon as it saw a chance between Roman’s weakened attacks, it slipped away.
Afraid that he would leave his back wide open for an attack, Roman watched the monster leave without doing anything.
Angor saw everything and almost laughed in disdain. Several more attacks and the monster would be done for. Yet Roman let it escape just because of the pointless concerns.
By canceling his Field of Fire, Angor had already decided to give the trophy to Roman. But it seemed this man was overcautious.
With the battle ended and the water pacified, Roman clenched his fists as he felt greatly annoyed about letting his prey flee.
Then he turned around and gave Angor a thoughtful look.
Angor leaned against a pole and returned a casual smile to Roman.
“Such a pity, Mister Roman. That should have been all yours.”
“Humph.”
Roman wouldn’t start arguing with Angor yet since neither of them breached a certain boundary.
“I’ve just learned that a monster of that level is too much for me to handle alone. I’ll be expecting further back-up from you, Mister Padt.”
Without waiting for an answer, Roman dived into his room. He used so much strength that the floor in front of Angor had cracked up.
“Geez. The ship’s guardian broke the ship before a monster did?” Angor shook his head and headed to his room as well.
None of the sailors spoke anything after the incident. Even mortals were smart enough to see that Angor saved their lives. But as the employees of the White Clam Sea Fare Association, they HAD to support Roman, or at least, not oppose him.
There was only Helen who whispered “thank you” to Angor when Angor moved by.
Angor chose to stay quiet. He didn’t wish to get anyone into trouble.
He closed his door as his pretended straight face turned into a big frown. After what happened just now, he decided to deal with Roman more carefully.
This was somewhat similar to Hookdick’s matter, which started as a small conflict and turned more serious as Hookdick treated their enmity small-mindedly until it became life-or-death strife.
To Angor, the initial unfriendliness was something he could tolerate. But he feared that this Roman man would become excessively competitive overtime and start using tricks, just like Hookdick.
He would stay put and observe for now. Roman was the true leader of the ship, while he was only a visitor. While it was true that it was easy to get rid of Roman and explain the incident to the mortals, Angor wouldn’t do such a thing as it might anger Floating Mech City.
Unless Roman did something to force him.
Until that happened, he would sit tight and conserve strength.
...
The fair weather persisted into the night, as The Limpet sailed between two starry curtains. Without disturbing elements, the ship enjoyed a brief respite.
Instead of studying, Angor left his room and floated onto the deck to enjoy the sea breeze, hoping to remove all the unnecessary burdens in his mind.
It had been half a month since he departed from White Clam City. Each time he realized that he was going home, he felt it unrealistic as if everything were a dream.
There was nothing other than endless water and drifting clouds to see, and people could easily lose track of date and time until they forgot how many days had passed.
Angor was once troubled by the delusion that this was not The Limpet, but The Redbud, where he was still the mortal boy heading to White Coral Floating Island Academy.
At the same time, the peaceful ambiance caused him to temporarily forget how dangerous these waters were supposed to be.
But he still appreciated precious tranquility.
He heard footsteps approaching his position and quickly ascertained that they came from a mortal.
When he smelled the faint scent of perfume, he opened his eyes and saw Helen, who was standing about ten feet from him.
It seemed the officer lady had changed her uniform into a white skirt for sleeping. Similar to Angor, she was gazing into the dark horizon along the guard rails.
“Thank you very much, sir, or I would have probably joined the others down there,” Helen said while looking at Angor’s relaxed smile.
“The ship won’t go where it should with the chief officer dead.”
“Still, you saved my life, sir.” Helen suddenly changed her tone of a professional marine into that of a timid woman. “I don’t have anything to repay you. If it’s fine, you can have... me.”
“If that’s your wish, just get The Limpet to its destination safe and sound.”
Helen put up a proper manner again. “I understand, sir. It’s my job to bring The Limpet to Ferran Land. I’ll not fail it.”
They spent a moment in silence while enjoying the stars and moonlight.
“Sir-sir, you should know that the other sailors are just as grateful as me for what you have done. They can’t tell you because of... reasons.”
Angor decided to change the subject since he didn’t want to ruin the mood yet. “So, Officer Helen, each time you join a voyage like this, it will take you more than a year, right?”
“That’s right. The longest sail I can remember took me three years.”
“How much time have you spent on the sea? And how do you pass time while at it?”
Helen was a bit surprised since she never saw “mighty wizards” showing interest in the lives of mortals.
What she didn’t know was that supernatural individuals weren’t so different from mortals when it came to bread and butter. For example, the Enchanting Theater in Midnight Sovereign was meant for both supernaturals and mortals to enjoy. Even an ancient being like Lady Mirror knew about the nasty operas.
In Angor’s view, apprentices were just like common mortals, except that they were usually blinded by pride and prejudice.
“I was born on the sea and then sent to a school on land. I think I had about 20 years of career experience on the waters. As for killing time, no. I don’t kill time. It’s the time that kills me.
“I don’t need to find entertainment to occupy myself once I’ve realized this. I just, bear with it, then everything will pass.” Helen showed a sad look. “The sea never changes. But people come and go, and sometimes, they got replaced. May I ask a question, sir?”
Angor nodded nonchalantly.
“You didn’t seem surprised to see a woman serving as the chief mate of such an important ship. May I know why?” Helen looked at Angor in the eyes.
Angor thought Helen was going to ask how to become an apprentice, like how Ananda did. Now, this wasn’t expected.
“Why do you ask? Why should I be surprised?”
“Because I’m a woman?”
Angor shook his head. “Gender doesn’t matter. I happen to know a seafarer lady who commanded fleets and conquered her nation, as a mortal. Being a woman does not mean you can’t achieve great things.”
“Mi-Mister, are you perhaps talking about Lord Asbel of the Blackberry Waters?”
“So you know her? Then why are you doubting yourself? You already have a bright example.”
“But they said that Lord Asbel was captured by the Nightwolves pirate clan four years ago, that she became the 13th bride of their leader, who became the new dominator of Blackberry.”
“Spreading false stories and enjoying the forged glory. People love this stuff so much. Your Lord Asbel is no longer a common mortal. She can’t possibly be imprisoned by some pirates.”
“So the Nightwolves are lying... I used to consider Lord Asbel as my hero, someone I should learn from. But... I was not faithful enough. The rumors... I was swayed so easily.”
Angor chuckled as he shook his head. He wasn’t expecting Nausica’s glory to be so widespread, and that her enemies enjoyed slandering her name after she left the mortal world.
He then glanced at the mermaid statue on the prow of the ship.