Belei stood up again under everyone's astonished gazes and returned to work on the exploration ship.
No one knew how much of his lifespan he had paid to heal those rotting legs.
But as he saw it—
So long as he could achieve some great deed upon the ocean, earn the gods' recognition and blessing as his father had, become a Prophet, and gaze upon the legendary sacred land, then everything was worth it for the honor that was soon to come.
Yet the man he was now was no longer the high-spirited, confident son of a priest he had been before.
His face was now filled with an anxious, scorching agitation, and he had lost his former unhurried composure.
"Faster."
"There isn't much time."
Whenever Belei directed the people in preparing supplies, he would often say this irritably.
The "there isn't much time" he spoke of
sounded as though he were saying it to everyone, and also as though he were saying it to himself.
At the same time, because of what had happened earlier, quite a few of his original followers had gone to other fleets. The personnel of the fleet had also been reshuffled, and there were some new faces aboard his ship.
Belei soon saw, inside the cabin, a short figure wrapped head to toe in an oxhide cloak, even his skin wound with sackcloth, his entire body covered up tight.
As if afraid Belei would notice him, that short figure huddled at the stern, not daring to move.
After meeting those timid eyes, Belei said coldly, "Why is there a Cave Dweller on my ship?"
The moment those words came out, the air instantly went silent.
This was a question many people had as well.
Although they had lived with the Cave Dwellers on this