When Angor saw the date indicator on his tablet entering a new year, The Limpet finally arrived at Grandgreen Range, which was the first place to go for people from Ferran who would enter Devil’s Water. But to The Limpet, this basically meant their final destination.
“That was five months, huh?” Angor listened to the joyful conversations of sailors and felt sad all of a sudden.
In order not to let random concerns and old memories depress him, he forced himself to empty his mind.
But Tulu’s arrival disrupted his peace.
“Are you joining our feast, Mister Padt? Officer Helen asked me to invite you...” Tulu wasn’t sure whether he was interrupting something.
“No.” Angor shook his head. “I’ll just cause all you people to get nervous again. I’ll watch from here.”
“We’re almost at Ferran Land. We wish to sincerely thank you, sir.”
Angor considered and decided to comply.
Fate had asked them to overcome all the obstacles together. Might as well celebrate their successful journey at the last moment.
As he expected, the sailors were grateful but weren’t yelling and singing as loudly when he was present. To let these people fully enjoy the feast, he sipped some wine as a courtesy and moved to the edge of the ship.
“Thank you for everything you did for us, sir.”
Angor looked around and saw Helen leaning against the railings in her casual wear.
The whole sight looked like a great deja-vu to him—when he boarded The Limpet, Helen thanked him in the exact same way.
“You brought the ship here as you’re paid to do. And that’s enough as a reward to me,” Angor replied like how he used to.
Helen looked down. “Mister Padt... If I ever go to the wizarding world, it is possible for me to... you know, catch up to you?”
“Why would you use me as your example?” Angor’s deep-blue eyes reflected the starlight.
“Well, you and Mister Roman are the only two wizards I know relatively well. But since Mister Roman is—”
“What about Asbel?” Angor pointed out Nausica’s formal name with a smile. “Sure, I won’t mind if you wish to follow my steps, but for someone who wishes to become a true wizard, you should never set another individual as your goal. Instead, try constantly surpassing yourself and keep aiming higher.”
Helen took a moment to comprehend those words.
“I understand.”
Angor gave her a flat smile again. During these months, he could see that Helen developed some unusual ideas about him, which might also be the reason why the woman wanted to become a wizard all of a sudden. However, he did not want to restrict her or even lead her astray.
It would be best to tell her how to determine her ambition more properly.
And as he expected from her, Helen didn’t struggle with her decisions for too long. A brief look of disappointment was all she showed before she became determined again.
As a lady who became the second-in-command of The Limpet, she knew how to be decisive.
“You looked rather confident in becoming a wizard, which is impressive,” Angor teased Helen after making sure she fully got over her worry.
Helen shrugged without speaking. Years ago, Swan offered to help her become a talent, but she couldn’t make up her mind back then. Now she knew what to do.
“If you do become a talent someday, you can come to Brute Cavern and join Tulu.” Angor took out a piece of parchment from his bracelet and drew his alchemy signature on it. “You know Boro from White Clam City, right? Show him this, and he’ll help you find Brute Cavern.”
Helen accepted the note and nodded. She was pretty sure that she’d go with Swan and join another organization, but it was always wise to keep another option.
With their conversation ended, Helen returned to her men and enjoyed the food and wine again, while Angor listened to the sailors’ chantey and couldn’t help humming along.
The feast lasted until midnight and left a group of knocked-out sailors lying on the deck mumbling nonsense in their dreams. The whole ship fell quiet apart from those responsible for their night shifts.
...
When the ship penetrated the veil of night and welcomed the next dawn, the watchman on the observation stand called to everyone.
“I see the Exodus Lighthouse!”
Those who were suffering from confusional arousal instantly perked up upon hearing this, then they all looked toward the horizon.
Angor walked onto his balcony and saw a tiny dot, which was supposed to be the lighthouse casting its light at The Limpet. The light beam was mostly dampened by the distance, but the sailors had no problem seeing it.
From the cheering sailors, Angor learned that the Exodus Lighthouse marked the entrance to Devil’s Water. Reaching it meant they had already reached the Exodus Channel.
Once they moved past Exodus Island, which was a supply depot for ships entering or leaving Devil’s Water, they would finally be free of dangerous tides and deadly storms.
“Almost at the end, huh?” Again, Angor felt that the long journey was like a dream, a really fruitful one.
When approaching the island, they saw crowds gathered at the edge of the island welcoming the arrival of The Limpet. Several overenthusiastic folks even tossed some food and fabric at them.
“I always love this island community!”
“Absolutely. Every time I see’em, I know the trip is worth it.”
“WelI, I know none of their names, but man, I feel like a warrior returning from victory!”
Angor was a little surprised to realize that the island residents were cheering for The Limpet out of their own will. It seemed they regarded the ship as another brave warrior who conquered the devil.
And he liked the simple yet sincere passion shown by these mortals. He knew he had to travel more to witness the diversity of people in this world instead of reading about them in books.
Despite the adoration it received, The Limpet did not stop by the island. Instead, it kept moving on.
Exodus Island belonged to Aureum, a small country at the southwest edge of Ferran Land.
The Limpet only needed another day to reach Yothur Harbor of Aureum. Those who were born at Ferran Land simply could not wait to get home as fast as possible, while the others would like to enjoy the safety of solid ground again. Since the ship wasn’t in need of extra supplies, there was no point stopping in the middle.
The broad coastline of Ferran entered their view the next morning.
The Limpet met no obstructions before getting admitted into the port. As soon as it did, groups of brokers watching the port quickly ran to their employers to report its arrival.
Along with the sailors unloading the ship, Angor stepped down the ladder with Helen, Erwin, and Tulu following him.
“Sir, I own a house in Yothur City. Please feel free to use it if you need lodging,” Erwin offered politely.
Angor did plan to stay at Ferran for a while, both to search for Lucas’ information and to scout for talents. Since he also needed a lot of time working on Empty Ballad, he chose to accept Erwin’s invitation.
“I’d appreciate it.”
“Oh please, we are the ones who are grateful. I should definitely do what I can after you helped us get back unscathed.”
Erwin was going to show Angor the way to his house, but he stopped moving when he saw a man wearing the association’s uniform standing not far from him.
“Oops... Excuse me, sir, that’s the inspector of White Clam, probably here to check why Mister Roman had not contacted them. I need to find Helen and report the incident.” He then looked at Tulu. “Take Mister Padt to my yard. When at the office, I’ll remove your name from the roster as well.”
Tulu nodded and took the lead.
Angor glimpsed at the said inspector and noticed supernatural energy. But it was only a level-1 apprentice.
“Go ahead.” Angor followed behind Tulu, but he suddenly remembered something and turned back. “Oh right... Captain Erwin, can you help me look into something?”