"The farther south we go, the more active the frequency becomes." She handed the booklet to Su Li, her finger tapping the peak on the chart. "It matches the vein regions marked on the sea chart exactly."
Su Li flipped through two pages, then closed it and set it aside.
"Got it."
Elonore waited, but no further words came.
"Aren't... aren't we going over there to take a look?" she asked softly.
Su Li shook his head. "No rush."
Talia had listened to the entire exchange from the side, a pen cap clenched between her teeth, her expression as though an ant were crawling back and forth over the tip of her heart.
"That data is extraordinarily valuable." She held it in for five seconds before failing to hold back. "If we move closer to the vein region, we might even be able to collect aether samples with concentrations above the fifth tier..."
Su Li stood and brushed the dust from his pants.
"Let's go home and eat first."
Talia's mouth hung open, and the pen cap nearly fell into it.
Su Li had already walked far away.
After returning to Royal Wilderness, the first thing Saina did was go to her parents' house.
Old Buck sat in the yard basking in the sun, a thin blanket draped over his knees. Martha sat beside him, mending shoe soles, her movements much slower than before.
Saina walked over, crouched beside Martha, and took the loose end of thread to thread it through the needle.
"Mom, I'll go for a walk with you out back this afternoon. They've laid new stone slabs along the path, so it won't be slippery."
Martha looked up at her and smiled. "Aren't you busy with the ship?"
"The ship isn't going anywhere." Saina handed the threaded