Chapter 135

Before long, the cruise ship let out a loud, long roar, like a slumbering beast awakening, and began to weigh anchor and set sail.

Hebe stood on the edge of the ship's gunwale.

As the Tuners among the musicians, she undoubtedly stayed in the best first class, while ordinary guests were in second class. As for the sailors and some poor people who were lucky enough to board the ship with their tickets, they could only stay in the lower third class.

"Oysters, delicious oysters, does anyone want some?"

On the deck, sailors were hawking oysters to wealthy guests who were coming and going.

The wealthy guests ate in a very elegant manner, holding the oysters on a small handkerchief, leaning their heads forward slightly to avoid soiling their clothes; then they quickly and slightly moved their mouths to suck in the juice, and threw the oyster shells into the sea.

Hebe blinked, feeling as if she had read about this scene in a textbook.

As it happened, she was also craving oysters, so when the two ladies walked away, she went over to the old sailor and asked, "How much are the oysters?"

The price is very cheap; you can buy two with one of the smallest denomination silver coins.

Hebe ordered four oysters, and as the old sailor opened them with a knife, she casually asked:

"Where are you from? What's your name?"

"Me? The people on the ship call me Old Yule." The old sailor continued working, using his knife to pry open the oyster, revealing the soft, white flesh inside.

Once all four oysters were on the plate, the old sailor washed his hands in the bucket beside him before letting out a hoarse, bitter laugh.

"Old Yule used to be a good citizen of Iss, and later he did business in Burgundy, but he never expected to encounter war... Why can't these damned Northerners keep quiet? Every time the knights of Iss come, a piece of land in Burgundy is lost."

The old sailor kept complaining, expressing both resentment towards the Issu army and resentment towards the Northerners.

Hebe didn't say anything.

People's joys and sorrows are not the same; they only find each other noisy. It was unrealistic to expect Jules to understand the harshness of the North, and the fact that he didn't become just another figure in Nero's army to make up the numbers was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

"I apologize for letting you hear my complaints," said the old sailor. "And you, kind lady, judging from your appearance, you must be a person of high status."

"I'm a musician," Hebe said, picking up an oyster.

Her movements weren't exactly elegant, but they weren't barbaric either; rather, they carried a free and easy air about them.

"Oh, musician..." The old sailor's expression became even more timid and awe-inspiring.

Hebe ate the oysters, she thought to herself, "I still have to respect you."

Even if it's just a coincidence of names, Hebe couldn't help but chuckle a little when faced with characters from "world classics".

After finishing the oysters, Hebe wiped her hands with a soft cloth and gave a small tip.

"Thank you, kind lady." The old sailor's smile became more genuine. "May you have a safe journey on the Titanic!"

Hebe was about to enter the cabin, shuddered. She turned to Jules, the sailor selling oysters. "What, what did you say? This is the Titanic?"

Jules was also taken aback. "Yes, you're already on the ship."

You're already on board, how can you not even know the ship's name?

This is the Titanic, the largest cruise ship on the Isu-Sorbonne shipping routes.

208 What you love is your life.

It really is the Titanic.

Now it's Hebe's turn to have a headache.

When everything is a coincidence, those coincidences are not so simple.

Hebe looked at the pale gray sky in the distance: Could this be Eris's conspiracy?

It's uncertain, but it's highly likely.

Apprentices can borrow symbols, status, and even power by imitating those in high positions.

Those in high positions seek further ascension by taking the image of rulers and Eternals.

In the hidden world, similarity possesses power.

In other words, once the ship was named the Titanic, it was highly likely that it would sink.

"Uh..."

Hebe felt helpless. After repeatedly asking the old sailor Jules to confirm the next stop, she planned to disembark early and travel to Ys City by land and water.

This sense of helplessness deepened when Hebe turned a corner and saw a girl lifting her skirt as if to jump.

Perhaps the sound of footsteps disturbed the girl, for she turned her head in a panic, and upon seeing Hebe, her movements became distorted, and she actually fell off the railing.

"You're Rose from Titanic, I'm not Jack ..." Hebe sighed and tapped on the railing a few times.

As the beat suddenly began, the rebellious girl had clearly fallen into the deep sea, but in the next instant, she reappeared on the deck.

She looked around in shock, only to see a musician in a gray striped suit handing her a can of drink.

"Thank you, oh..." she exclaimed repeatedly.

Hebe gave her a Doctor. Pepper flavored cola, which tasted a bit like carbonated loquat syrup.

The drink is quite stimulating at first sip, but it gets quite intoxicating as you drink it.

Rose finished her drink, gradually calmed down, and thanked Hebe.

"I am a pianist," Hebe said. "My name is Antonio Salieri."

Some sensitive apprentices might wonder if doing this would expose their own existence. But that's not the case.

If Eris had discovered Hebe, he would have killed her from the very beginning; but since he did not "take Hebe away" immediately, it means that he had not yet exposed Hebe's disguise.

Beneath the "Echoes" of the Black Musician lies Salieri, the pianist from 1900.

Below Salieri were great philosophers who revived the school of thought of the Uncrowned King.

Beneath the guise of a great philosopher lies the First Consul of Mycenae, crowned King of the Northern Territory.

Below the governor is Pure Water Spirit named Ismara... After the Pure Water Spirit is Hebe Stanton, the Lord of Blankog in the real world.

After Hebe Stanton came the time traveler Hebe.

If we include Merlin, Tamamo-no-Mae, Imhotep, and other Lostbelt egos, the mystery surrounding Hebe becomes even more complex.

"Oh, a pianist. So you're a musician." Rose looked at Hebe with surprise. "Could you play a piece?"

As soon as she said it, Rose quickly apologized, saying it had been rather presumptuous.

Hebe shrugged. Of course, she could tell that Rose didn't want to hear any grand ensemble; she just wanted to see the musicians use music to ignite flames and condense water into ice.

She reached out and tapped the railing a few more times, causing a column of water to rise from the sea not far away.

This is not the musician's skill, but the ability of the Pure Water Spirit.

Rose, of course, couldn't tell the difference and instead applauded and congratulated Hebe for his brilliant performance.

Just then, a commotion of footsteps came from inside the cabin. Hebe thought that the sailors and Rose's family had probably finally come to their senses.

Upon hearing the sound, Rose quickly tidied her hair and clothes, placed her hands on her lower abdomen, and raised her head slightly.

Her fiancé and butler arrived late. The former took off his coat and draped it over Rose's shoulders, his expression freezing when he saw Hebe.

"Who are you...?"

Hebe sighed.

She smelled the scent of dew on Rose's fiancé and the butler.

—It's not the kind of spiritual dew that's become mixed with blood, but pure and fresh spiritual dew.

In other words, there is at least one living Pure Water Spirit on this ship.

I originally planned to disembark and leave, but now it seems I can't just walk away like that!

Rose explained, "You should really thank this kind musician! If it weren't for her, I would have fallen into the sea just now..."

Her fiancé, Carl, nodded repeatedly. "Thank you so much, Miss Antonio. Without you, I simply cannot imagine how terrible that scene would have been... Thank you so much for helping my fiancée—"

Hebe noticed that Rose's expression was not very good.

In fact, Rose was indeed displeased: They hadn't even reached Ys's mainland yet, and they were already declaring their sovereignty?!

She wanted to jump back into the sea in a fit of pique, but the water was too cold, so she could only protest silently with a sullen face.

"It's no trouble at all." Hebe waved her hand. "Would you mind if I went with you to check out the first class?"

Carl certainly didn't mind; in fact, he felt honored, after all, a noble musician was standing there.

If it were the poor boy Jack, or the old sailor Jules who sold oysters on deck, they wouldn't even be able to say thank you.

A banquet is being held inside the ship's cabin.

Although it was called a banquet, it was actually similar to a dance party, except that night had not yet fallen, so the guests were mainly focused on eating.

Hebe keenly noticed the amber-colored liquid being poured from the bottle, which carried a sweet, honey-like aroma.

"It seems this technique has at least continued to be used in Sicily in later generations," Hebe thought to himself.

The Lord of Years later occupied Sicily used this method to brew the lifespans they collected into wine, which was then aged for one year or ten years.

The aging period corresponds to an equivalent lifespan.

In Atlantis, people don't need to search far and wide for lifespan, because the Youthful Dew extracted from the bodies of Pure Water Spirit is already the best raw material.

Carl solemnly introduced "Salieri" to the guests, and the citizens present all stood up to Hebe Herbe.

Hebe calls herself the pianist on the sea. For a musician, the so-called "wandering" is actually a journey to gather inspiration and cultivate creative ideas.

If it were poor kid Jack, then he would truly be homeless!

Hebe raised his glass in return to these wealthy citizens.

Medea's furious voice echoed from the Cross Sword hanging on her body, "These treacherous swine, these shameless bastards, how dare they imprison Narcissus in the ship and use her as the power source for their machinery? They even want to bleed Narcissus for their banquet!"

"I want this great ship to sink, I want the deep waters to crush their spines."

Hebe frowned almost imperceptibly.

She didn't disagree with Medea's approach, but she was puzzled—how did Medea sense that the Pure Water Spirit was being held captive in the engine room?

While putting on airs, Hebe asked Medea a question.

Medea replied with a cold laugh, "The oyster told me."

Oysters... wait, could it be the oysters sold by the old sailor Jules?

"What do you think of the taste of this elixir?" a guest asked Hebe.

"Very fresh, very delicious," Hebe answered instinctively.

Of course, she was referring to oysters.

209 How about we go back to the Tom and Jerry set?

Hebe declined the invitations to the ball from the ship's VIPs, and by the time she left first class and returned to the deck, the old oyster seller Jules was nowhere to be found.

As dusk fell, the giant steel ship cleaved through the tides and sailed forward. The sea was gentle, and there was nothing unusual about it.

Hebe's room was naturally in first class, but her current destination was the third class, where sailors and the poor lived together.

Hebe walked up the ladder from the glamorous first class cabin to the somewhat plain second class cabin, and then stopped at the door leading to the third class cabin.

"Come out."

Rose walked out awkwardly from the aisle behind Hebe.

This rebellious girl was still not giving up and wanted to go on an "adventure" in third class with Hebe.

Hebe turned around, her fingers stroking the Cross Sword at her waist, her eyelids slightly lowered. "When did you start following me?"

"Just now! Just now, not long ago." Rose clarified urgently, "I started following you when I saw you come down from the deck and go to the second class cabin."

Rose's words were indeed true. Hebe pondered for a moment, then finally removed his fingers from the Cross Sword.

Regardless of whether the rebellious girl in front of us is part of Eris's conspiracy... if He can fish, why can't Hebe?

With that thought in mind, Hebe said no more and went straight up the narrow elevator to the third-class cabin.

If second class was merely a little more simply decorated, then third class was the embodiment of cramped and noisy conditions. On this large ship, third-class passengers occupied nearly 50 percent of the cabins, yet enjoyed less than 20 percent of the space.

When Hebe jumped off the elevator, the noisy and bustling third-class dining hall suddenly fell silent.