"Captain, it's almost six. There's only one hour left."
A Sailor beside him spoke softly to Alger the Hanged Man.
On the deck of the Blue Avenger, all the Sailors had gathered at the bow, looking toward the quiet, mysterious Nameless Island not far away. Bathed in the evening sunlight, it seemed to have been coated in a glow the same color as gold.
"I know. Wait a little longer."
Alger nodded with a gloomy expression.
In another hour, it would have been a full day since the Empress and the World had landed on the island and lost contact. This was also the longest waiting time they had agreed upon beforehand.
After that, the Ghost Ship would leave. Being stranded on this uninhabited island far from shipping routes would almost certainly mean death for Mid Sequence Beyonders without the ability to Travel long distances.
Was the Gazer too powerful? Had their hunt failed, costing them even their lives? His own one-third share of the profits was still with the Empress, and she and the World were both important fighting forces of the Tarot Club... Would that young Empress, who could almost be called a girl, have to experience death once more?
The image of her face, always bearing a calm smile, surfaced in his mind. Alger pursed his lips and looked at the Sailors around him, who were similarly worried about the pair's safety—or concerned about the "remaining payment" for this mission. He was about to speak.
Bang—
A muffled impact came from beneath the bow. He leaned over and saw a thick plank nearly the size of a small boat strike the sturdy waterline of the Ghost Ship with the waves. After scraping against it twice, it slowly drifted away, heading toward the island nearby.
It was low