"Whenever noon and midnight alternate in these waters, violent storms may appear," Cattleya explained. She wore a black robe and thick glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. "The largest waves can easily smash this ship to pieces, so it's best to wait for the storm to pass somewhere safe."
At that moment, Angel stood by the railing amidships of the Future, watching the island draw closer. Unlike the floating island of scorched earth from before, this one was covered in trees that could also be found in the "outside world," and it possessed a natural harbor sheltered by mountains on three sides.
As the Future cautiously sailed inside, the dark clouds overhead had already joined into one mass, completely blocking out the omnipresent sunlight and turning the originally azure sea leaden gray.
Rumble, rumble.
Bolts of lightning flashed one after another, accompanied by low, sustained thunder. Then rain came pouring down. After securing the ship, most of the pirates returned to the cabins to take shelter from the downpour, and Angel followed Cattleya off the deck.
As she entered the inner cabin, she glanced back. A hurricane as thick as a wall, seemingly connecting heaven and earth, was carrying waves toward the small island.
If they hadn't docked in the harbor and had remained on the sea just now, that hurricane probably could have sent the Future flying in a single encounter...
Thinking about it with lingering fear, she returned to her cabin. Outside the window, dense raindrops struck the ship's side like bullets. The seamless thunder rolled sometimes far away and sometimes close at hand, while the huge waves stirred up by the passing hurricane lifted the Future high before dropping it back onto the sea.
Fortunately, although the storm was fierce, it didn't last long. Ten