"Are your eyes better?"
Midday, Gran Faro.
Seeing the previously "blind" cleaner regain his sight, Vane gently patted him on the shoulder.
Feeling the groan coming from his shoulder blade, the cleaner said seriously:
"Actually... I have a blind twin brother."
Vane chuckled upon hearing this; this guy's survival instinct is pretty strong.
"If you're so funny, why didn't you go to Victoria to act in a play? Why are you working as a cleaner in the Inquisition?"
"Oh... because I'm an orphan, and the Inquisition raised me."
Vane: "..."
Feeling the condemning gazes around him, Vane stiffly straightened the other person's collar.
"Um... how about I sponsor you to go to Victoria?"
"No way, I've heard that people from out of town get tricked into working in factories there."
The surrounding gazes became even more piercing, so Vane simply shut his mouth.
To avoid an even worse conversation, Vane went into the hallway.
The damp rain drifted in with the wind, wetting the brim of my hat.
"Damn this weather..."
Don't you like rainy days?
Looking towards the source of the sound, Skadi was lying by the fence, staring blankly at the sky.
Rainwater slid down the hunter's hat, soaking into his silvery hair, making Vane feel uncomfortable.
"Only Aegir like this damp feeling, right? By the way, does it rain where you're from?"
Skadi did not respond; her eyes, hidden beneath her hat brim, gazed silently at the town.
Even in the deep sea of Aegir, it rains, but it's artificial rain created by simulating an ecosystem, a completely different feeling from the rain curtain in Gran Faro in front of me.
Unlike the ever-bright Aegir, the dark Gran Faro was tranquil yet full of life, reminding the girl of her dormitory.
As for home... that's a distant concept now.
Suddenly plunged into darkness, Vane pressed Skadi's hat down.
"Moshi Moshi~ Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you."
Are you angry?
"No."
Skadi lifted her hat again, not angry at all, after all, the force she had used just now wasn't even considered a "pat" among hunters.
Why do this?
"Emm..."
Of course, Vane wouldn't say that he just wanted to pet the orca's head.
"I just sensed you were thinking about something negative. Were you homesick?"
Skadi felt a sense of familiarity; this strange behavior reminded her of the second team's shark.
She also always liked to do some strange little things to her...
"Are you really homesick?"
Vane misunderstood Skadi's silence and tried to comfort her:
"Should we wait a few more days? Maybe Aegir will surface from the seabed."
Skadi stared at Vane with the look of someone who thought he was an idiot, offering a feeble explanation:
"I don't miss Aegir."
After saying this, the girl fell silent again.
Skadi hadn't forgotten Vane's words, she just hadn't thought about them that much.
After things calm down, those things you don't want to face will eventually come knocking.
If everything Vane said is true.
Her family did not die at Seaborn, and the monster she saw was not as terrifying as she had been taught.
So what exactly was Aegir to her?
Were all those educational experiences, life lessons, and missions just a facade?
On the opposite street, two children were playing with stones under the eaves. Skadi watched quietly until their parents called the children away for dinner.
Are you hungry?
After standing for a while, Vane simply lay down on the fence like Skadi.
After admiring the sturdy construction of the Inquisition for a moment, Vane tilted his head, letting the Cizera pull out of his neck for some fresh air.
The flowers stretched out their bodies, and occasionally a staff member would pass by and cast a curious glance.
This is the terrifying Seaborn that Aegir spoke of...
Skadi reached out her hand, and Cizera responded by extending a branch.
No... Seaborn is not scary.
Where did Mom and Dad go?
[I'm so sorry, my children... they won't be coming back.]
[Why?]
[Your parents... have tragically perished in the attack by Seaborn.]
Skadi lowered her hat brim and closed her eyes.
Talented people are terrifying...
"Ha!"
"Hmm!"
Skadi was startled by the sudden noise, and instinctively tightened her grip, causing the sturdy fence to crack.
Big Eater·jpg
"... What are you doing?"
Skadi puffed out her cheeks, Vane rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing? You just connected to the We Many, aren't you afraid of being turned into Seaborn?"
"Seaborn..."
Skadi tensed up, thinking of her fallen compatriots.
Their fate wasn't good; after all, the captain's weapon was an anchor...
Thinking of this, Skadi subconsciously looked towards the second-floor window and met Ulpianus's gaze.
Orca trembling ·jpg
"Is it really that scary...?"
Vane waved to Ulpianus, who immediately drew the curtains.
"It's terrifying."
Skadi replied earnestly, but suddenly remembered that the person in front of her was someone the captain would avoid, and immediately shrank back.
I'm even more scared now...
"Hmm... how about we think of something happy?"
Vane was unaware of the girl's thoughts, while Skadi was taken aback upon hearing this.
"Something happy about... fixing the circuits?"
"What are you talking about?" Vane squinted. "Isn't that work? Don't you have any other hobbies?"
"But repairing circuits is really fun."
Skadi's eyes brightened.
"Connecting each place together, like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, will light up the entire city."
"But Aegir should have very few power problems, right?"
"Really..."
Skadi nodded affirmatively, her regret evident in her expression.
Thinking of the city still under transport, Vane propped his chin on his hand and said:
"Just wait, you'll soon have access to the entire city's electrical circuits."
"Real?"
Skadi's eyes lit up as she sensed the other's spirit and the We Many rapidly moving away. Vane nodded affirmatively.
"Real."
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Skadi's demeanor noticeably brightened.
As if she had thought of something, the girl asked:
Is there anything you want?
"I?"
Vane was somewhat surprised; was this a way of returning the favor?
"Then let me touch your hair."
"No."
Vane squinted, Skadi quickly added:
"My hair has become rough because I haven't taken a bath in the past few days."
"That tastes great."
Skadi: "???"
"Ahem... well, let's wait until next time."
Without offering any explanation to the girl, Vane got up and walked into the rain.
He should go keep his appointment.
"Emm... I got stood up?"
After waiting for a long time at the agreed location, Jordi still did not appear.
Just as Vane was contemplating whether to leave, the boy's shouts rang out.
"Mr. Vane ...phew...sorry."
Seeing the boy, soaking wet without even an umbrella, Vane spread out his wings and covered the sky.
"Why are you in such a hurry, buddy? You didn't even open an umbrella."
Jordi, catching her breath from her knees, coughed a few times and said apologetically:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Vane, we can't go to see the lighthouse with you today..."
"Someone stopped you?"
Vane narrowed his eyes, and his dangerous gaze made Jordi quickly object.
"No, no, no! It was my fault for agreeing to help someone without permission... I'm so sorry!"
"Brother... your race should be Laterano (angel)."
Vane patted the boy's shoulder silently.
"Forget it, the weather's not good today anyway, I can take you anytime."
"Thanks!"
Jordi breathed a sigh of relief; after all, that lighthouse was his dream, and it was best to be forgiven.
"By the way, what are you busy with? Do you need any help?"
Vane hooked his arm around Jordi's shoulder; the boy's anxiety was evident in his brows, but he didn't mind helping out.
"Grateful!"
Jordi didn't refuse, and said somewhat seriously:
Grandpa David has disappeared!
"Who?"
Bang--Bang--Bang--
The crisp sound of hammering echoed through the dilapidated dock. The old man wiped away the sweat and returned to his work.
Dragging the plank, he pressed his body against it, struggling to align it with the keel.
When was the last time you were on a ship?
The old man got up, panting, then suddenly everything went black and he collapsed to the ground.
Dense raindrops pounded against the metal sheeting of the dock, noisy... yet peaceful.
That was more than 50 years ago...
"You brat! What are you doing?!"
"Mom! When did you get here?"
The boy, drifting with the waves, turned back in terror to see his mother running towards him across the waves.
The woman grabbed the boy by the ear and pulled him back to the shore.
"Are you out of your mind?! You dare to go out to sea with just a few pieces of broken wood?!"
"It's not a piece of broken wood! That's my King No. 3!"
The woman's forehead veins throbbed slightly as she raised her hand to slap him.
"... I'll show you today who's the king and queen of this house!"
"Awooo--!!!"
After a long while, the panting woman stared wide-eyed and asked:
"What's so great about the ocean? Do you even know that your damned old man was swallowed up by it!"
"Wrong!"
The boy grimaced and denied it.
"The sailors said that Old Man is just asleep at the bottom of the sea... I have to bring him back!"
The woman stood there stunned for a long time before her rapid breathing gradually calmed down.
"Those few broken logs can't cross the sea."
"It's King No. 3!"
The boy stubbornly corrected her, and the woman's lips twitched. She then grabbed the boy and dragged him home.
"Whatever it's called! Just don't go near the sea again!"
The boy struggled in vain and finally slumped down in despair.
What will it take for you to agree to let me go to sea?
The woman paused and pointed to the cliffs on the distant coast.
"If you can build a ship even taller than that, I'll agree to let you go!"
It's a deal!
"You want to be my student?"
"Yes! I want to build a ship bigger than a cliff!"
Looking at the spirited young man before him, Breogan became interested.
"His Majesty the King doesn't welcome us. Aren't you afraid of being implicated?"
"It was those nobles who kept the news under wraps, otherwise His Majesty the King would definitely have come to invite you!"
Breogan even more interested and was already considering taking the student in, but he still joked:
"Even so, what reason would I have to accept you as my apprentice? Or do you have a way to get the king's attention?"
Of course!
The young man grabbed the teacher's hand and pointed to the large ship on the sea.
"Once we build bigger ships and sail along the coast, everyone will see... including His Majesty the King!"
"Interesting..."
Breogan did not pull away from the young man's hand, even though the stain had stained his sleeve.
"I will teach you how to build your ideal ship, but this ship can only be built by you alone, do you agree?"
"No problem!"
Nodding in satisfaction, Breogan asked the young man his name.
"David! My name is David!"
"Okay, David."
Breogan nodded, his expression turning serious.
"Before I begin teaching, I have a question to ask."
What do you want to do with that big ship?
"Is there even a need to ask?"
David pointed to the sea, his eyes shining.
"I will use it to cross the sea! To become a warrior who conquers the sea!"