Shade stared at the map as the Duchess's hand continued to move:
"West Coast of the Old Continent, Eye of the Storm. An ancient island people formed the Archipelago Kingdom—Kelageli—around the Eye of the Storm. Their fierce customs, harsh living conditions, and lifestyle utterly different from that of the mainland have made these islanders, who live by fishing and piracy, yearn even more for the wealth and civilization created by the Old Continent. In recent years, both we and Kasonlik have sent fleets to wage war against the Archipelago Kingdom in order to protect the sea routes to the New Continent, but that has not made them submit."
The so-called "Eye of the Storm" referred to a unique natural phenomenon—or rather, natural disaster—on the waters off the West Coast of the Old Continent. Once an Eye of the Storm formed, several massive ocean storms would strike the same area at once. The Eye of the Storm only formed near the Archipelago Kingdom. The famous novel Storm Eye Adventure Guide depicted a fleet sailing to the archipelago for trade, encountering a storm, and a lone surviving sailor adventuring and living alone among the islands.
The three forces Miss Galina had pointed out were only the greatest troubles at present. Delarion and Kasonlik faced no shortage of other challenges. She gave Shade time to think. The chaotic situation could not be clearly explained in a sentence or two, but at least it allowed Shade to understand that war might arrive even more easily than imagined, and that the problems Delarion faced were definitely not limited to Kasonlik.
As the two spoke, Director Anlos knocked and entered:
"Duchess, did you need me for something? Is it about the Green Lake Region again—"
He spotted Shade at once and swallowed the rest of his