Chapter 570: Sea Route
The blue sky, the blue sea.
Ufu and Seikai are here, but they’ve chosen to disappear, perhaps out of consideration for me, so it’s not a problem. Haulon and the Butler are trembling for some reason, but that should be fine.
Come on, Butler with the golden eyes, do your best!
“That guy is weak on ships? What a ridiculous weakness to have,” Kiel mutters quietly.
“The swaying of a docked ship isn’t much different, is it…?” Faramia, who met the Butler on the ship last time, remarks with a blank expression.
The two changelings are invisible, so it feels peaceful. Huh? Where’s Kiel? Is he just a musclehead who can’t see, or is he a musclehead who doesn’t care about anything that doesn’t interest him?
Faramia… does she have a strong desire to keep Ufu and Seikai hidden? The two changelings are so out of sync with humans that I can’t predict which it is.
“It’s a nice day,” I say, facing forward and gazing at the sea.
“…”
“…”
The stares from Dinoss and Retze are piercing, but I’m not doing anything, okay?
Ufu and Seikai seem to be helping Captain Cat. When did they become friends? As expected of a tabby cat! The charisma is overflowing!
Captain Cat is also watching me with half-closed eyes, his tail flicking back and forth. Can he see me? Or is he just sensing my presence like Dinoss and Retze?
“If you’re feeling unwell, Great Sage and Note, please take this medicine,” Soleil says to the two who look a bit green, glancing at Faramia.
Faramia takes a moment before offering the medicine.
“…I’m fine, it’s not seasickness.”
“It is not fine, but it is not seasickness.”
Haulon and the Butler give vague answers, making it hard to tell who is in worse shape.
“The ship’s speed is impressive; we’ll reach our destination quickly.” I hope we can escape this situation soon.
“It’s faster than you’d expect for an inland sea,” Captain Cat says, still looking at me.
Could you stop with the strange comments?
The sailing ship glides smoothly over the water. With Ufu’s assistance, the wind fills the sails, pushing the ship forward, while Captain Cat’s spirit friend helps out. Haulon’s Ittan Momen looks a bit flustered, while the other three spirits seem intrigued. Dinoss’s dragon-form spirit appears quite unfazed.
The Butler’s spirit is still hiding as usual. I’ve gotten a rough idea of where he is, but there’s no need to go peek and surprise him.
The sea journey is going smoothly, or rather, it’s speeding along, and our destination is coming into view.
“I can see it!”
I wonder how long it usually takes? From Captain Cat’s reaction, it seems we’re moving at least twice, if not three times, as fast.
“You have good eyesight.”
“Really?”
“I’ve never met anyone better than my lookout on this ship.” Captain Cat seems surprised.
This body seems to have good eyesight, not just strength. Do hunters in Africa have vision over 10.00? Is mine better?
The land is rapidly approaching, coming into view for everyone.
“Where can we dock? Even if we can, the cliffs are unstable. We’ll have to get close and then switch to a small boat.”
“Let’s head straight for that indentation over there,” I say, pointing to where the fortress should be.
“The indentation on this peninsula is shallow due to a cliff collapse. We can’t get too close.” Captain Cat signals to the crew, despite his words.
The spirits seem to be following orders well, making it look just like any other cliff. Wait, did the fortress really return, or is it just my imagination? A mirage created by the spirits, perhaps…?
“Whoa, amazing!” Dinoss exclaims, raising his hand in excitement.
“So this is the ruin Haulon wanted to see,” Retze observes, taking in the entire site.
“Hmph, we arrived sooner than I expected. With this ship’s speed, I’ll have to rethink the island’s defenses…” Kiel’s thoughts seem to revolve around either Soleil or the island’s defenses. And snacks.
If he pursues defense capabilities any further, I feel like a barrier will appear, or the island will take off into the sky.
“Why…?”
“Why is that?” Soleil and Captain Cat ask in unison.
Yes, we’ve entered the area where the fortress is visible. There it is, the fortress.
“This is the ruin from the Era of the Boulder that Gene wanted to show… but according to my memory, there was nothing like this here,” Haulon says. Have you checked this area too?
“The scenery we saw earlier was an illusion… but I find it hard to believe no other ships have approached here over the years. Why has it never been mentioned until now…?” The Butler muses. If this fortress has remained unchanged since the Era of the Boulder, as he said, someone must have discovered it.
It must have been built not long ago!
“It wasn’t here, it wasn’t! Why is there something like this!? I passed through here, right, Faramia!? I only passed through because I couldn’t land here!”
“Yes, it wasn’t here just a few days ago. I don’t think there was any sign of an illusion either,” Faramia replies flatly, her expression unchanged.