Since someone could help look after the cat, Shade no longer needed to rush home, and his evening plans felt far less urgent.
As usual, he passed through Dragon Nest before entering the city via Saint George Stone Bridge. By the time he reached the Dock Area in the south, the brilliant sunset had illuminated the ships at anchor and the dockside piers from the sea surface. The rippling light made the harbor's nightscape even more breathtaking, while the city itself, shrouded beneath perpetual clouds, seemed much darker than the area near the docks.
The ship carrying prohibited herbs from the New Continent had already reached the Moon Bay waters, though it had yet to enter port. As for Freeman Hawthorne and his group, they were currently waiting in a Dock Area tavern for the ship to dock.
Wanting to be more cautious, Shade did not act in the tavern to "ask" for information. Instead, he turned into a swarm of butterflies, flew close to the sea, and then entered the cargo ship.
Leisha could use grain to conceal those special alloys, and Freeman Hawthorne could naturally use grain to conceal herbs. After boarding, Shade easily avoided the sailors busy with bringing the ship into port. Once he entered the lower cargo hold and conducted a brief inspection, he knew he had found the right vessel.
Besides the grain meant to mislead others and the illegal herbs that were the actual cargo, Shade unexpectedly discovered a well-hidden safe amid the grain piles in the lowest cargo hold. Inside it, he found several strange stones. Only after examining them did he realize they were fossils of some kind of Egg. Touching them confirmed that they had completely turned to stone and possessed no Elemental Reaction at all:
"What is this? Echoes