Chapter 397: Let’s Go to the Island
It seemed that Samuel and his companions had come from an island beyond the Eastern Sea. Aside from konamon, there were said to be many delicious things to enjoy, which was certainly something to look forward to.
There were regions in the sea inhabited by giant fish, but according to Samuel, they had managed to pass through without incident. However, the ship they had boarded was not so fortunate; it had barely held together until they spotted land, at which point a hole had opened in the hull and it sank. They had managed to transfer their belongings to a small boat and reached land near Isolage.
“Shall we call off the investigation then?”
After returning home from my conversation with Samuel, I shared the information with Mesaria-san, who responded with those words.
“Hmm…”
I hesitated a bit. I wasn’t entirely sure if what Samuel said was true—
“Something just feels off, you know?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it just feels… strange.”
“Then let’s continue the investigation for a while longer.”
“Ah, that would be helpful. I think this feeling will resolve itself soon enough.”
The rumor of land beyond the Eastern Sea had spread around here, albeit more as a fairy tale. No one had seen it, so no one could prove or disprove the tales, no matter how exaggerated they became. Given that, it made sense that Samuel had shared the information so readily. However, since there was no guarantee that it was true, it was worthwhile for Mesaria-san to continue her investigation.
“Does that mean…”
Rio looked at me with a knowing expression, and I felt she was right.
“Well, I can’t help but be curious, can I?”
“Right?”
“Ah, you’re not seriously thinking of going to search for that Eastern Island, are you?”
Ivan asked cautiously, but that was precisely what I intended to do. I returned his worried look with a bright smile, which only elicited a heavy sigh from him.
“Come on, it would definitely be more efficient than continuing the investigation here!”
“I know that. I was just taken aback by Shu and the others’ unconventional thinking.”
“You seem to understand quite well.”
In response to Rio’s protest, Ivan merely shrugged, seemingly reading the room.
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Safe travels!”
The next morning, as my companions saw us off, Rio and I soared into the sky, aiming for the Eastern Island. Phonia had wanted to come along, but I explained that searching for an island whose location was unknown would be boring, so she stayed behind to keep watch. Once we arrived, we planned to call everyone over and conduct our investigation while enjoying some sightseeing.
“I only heard that they came from an island to the east, but how are we supposed to find it?”
Rio asked through telepathic communication as we flew. The sound of the wind was quite loud, making telepathy the more stable option.
“I think we’ll spot it easily from a high altitude.”
Fortunately, the weather was nice, with scattered clouds dotting the sky. I was optimistic that we would find the island quickly unless it was exceptionally small.
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”
It seemed Rio understood, and together we continued our carefree journey eastward.
“Oh!”
Just as we approached the area where the northern landmass ended and the region inhabited by giant fish began, I realized something important.
“What’s wrong?”
“Remember those large ships we saw around here before?”
“Now that you mention it, there were quite a few… Oh, could it be?”
“Did you figure it out? What if those ships actually came from the Eastern Island?”
Exactly. That was what had been nagging at me.
“Now that you mention it, that does make sense.”
“There’s no way that many large ships could all dock at Isolage’s harbor.”
“Countries in mountainous regions have fewer ports, and I haven’t heard anything about a navy either.”
“Well then, what should we do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Should we investigate from the ship or from the island?”
“Ah, good point…”
As I hovered over the sea, pondering with my arms crossed, I quickly reached a conclusion without much deliberation.
“Let’s go with the island.”
“Oh, so we’re going to the island then?”
“If someone on a ship calls out to us, we’d be on guard. But if we’re on the island, we could pretend to be tourists from outside.”
“I see. Then it’s settled; we’ll head to the island.”
With that, we resumed our search for the island floating in the east.
“I found it.”
As I ascended to a high altitude and scanned the surroundings, I easily spotted what seemed to be our destination. It was about a thousand kilometers from the easternmost point of the Kingdom of Faerdehelde.
“Wow, we found it so easily.”
“Yeah.”
Once we knew where we were headed, it was a quick journey. After about an hour of flying, the island spread out beneath us, filling our view. There were large harbors scattered throughout, with ships moving around the island.
In the center stood a towering mountain, its peak capped with snow, reminiscent of Mount Fuji. The western half of the coastline was mostly sandy beaches and harbors, with a fan-shaped city sprawling around the base of the central mountain. Aside from the small hills and forests here and there, the entire area was urbanized, suggesting a high population density.
“The harbor at the western edge looks the largest.”
“Should we check it out?”
“Yeah. I hope we can find a discreet way to slip in.”
Everywhere was bustling with activity, and it seemed like we would be spotted if we descended from the sky.
“Let’s look for a place that’s not too crowded.”
Thus, Rio and I approached the largest harbor. Ultimately, we couldn’t find a spot that seemed free of prying eyes, so we decided to use Optical Camouflage Magic to land on the island.