Setting Out

Carmen did not know how much time had passed when she seemed to notice something. She stopped practicing, turned around, and looked at Locke, who was standing in the doorway watching her.

Her face reddened for no reason, but it quickly faded. She put on an angry expression and said, "Hmph! What are you looking at? Never seen a beautiful woman before?"

"Right! I've never seen one this beautiful!" Locke said with a wide smile.

"..." Upon hearing Locke's words, Carmen's complexion, which had only just returned to normal, turned completely red again. Even more amazingly, steam rose from her head.

"Th-that..." Carmen tugged at the corner of her clothes as she stammered, unable to get the words out.

"Alright, alright! I'll stop teasing you!" Seeing how shy Carmen was, Locke hurriedly cut her off. Otherwise, he was genuinely worried that she might accidentally burn out her brain.

With that, Locke took Carmen's little hand and led her toward the living room. As they walked, he turned back and gave Carmen, who was secretly watching him from behind, a handsome smile.

When Carmen saw Locke looking back at her, she lowered her head even further.

Fortunately, the walk to the living room was not very long. Otherwise, Locke was certain that Carmen, in her current state, would have found a crack in the ground and crawled into it.

Once they reached the living room, the two sat facing each other.

"Carmen, I have something to tell you!"

"Wh-what is it?"

"I'm leaving this island tomorrow to study swordsmanship on other islands!"

"Leaving? No! If you leave... I... I—"

"Alright, don't be like that yet. Let me finish!"

After hearing Locke's words, Carmen looked at him with a deeply wronged expression, as though she were saying, If you say anything bad, I'll cry right in front of you.

"Listen. I called you here because I wanted to ask whether you'll come with me."

"I'll go! Of course I'll go! Don't even think about leaving me behind. You promised me yourself that you'd help me become the greatest chef in the world!" Carmen answered without hesitation.

"Alright, then go pack your things. We'll set out tomorrow morning," Locke said as soon as he saw Carmen agree.

Carmen then skipped toward her room, as if that aggrieved expression from before had all been an act.

"You silly girl, how could I leave without you?" Locke murmured as he watched her departing figure.

After telling Carmen that they were leaving, Locke went to the seaside as usual and began practicing the sword swings he had trained for so long.

The sun rose and set, and another day quickly passed.

Early the next morning, a sea-scented breeze blew open the curtains. Sunlight streamed through the gap and into Locke's bedroom, and the black-haired youth on the bed finally groggily opened his eyes and woke up.

After washing up, Locke changed into a windbreaker embroidered with dragon-shaped patterns. He had designed the outfit himself and had the island tailor make it for him. It was also a small reminder of his previous life.

He picked up the Tang sword beside his bed, its blade about a meter long, then left his room and headed downstairs. By the time he reached the hall, Carmen was already waiting for him.

"Let's go! We're setting out!"

After picking up the luggage the old butler had packed for him yesterday, he spoke to Carmen.

Carmen nodded, picked up her own luggage, and followed Locke outside.

When they reached the door and slowly pushed it open, the rising sun rushed toward them, bathing their bodies in its light.

As far as the eye could see, a thin mist like pale smoke blanketed the waters around Chrisby Island, making the entire island seem like the mythical Penglai Immortal Isle—dreamlike and illusory.

"Let's go!" Carmen said from behind Locke, seeing him absorbed in the view before him.

Hearing Carmen's words, Locke came back to his senses. He turned and nodded at her before taking the lead toward the town dock.

They strolled along the road, and after about six or seven minutes, Locke and Carmen arrived in town. The townspeople were already awake and beginning a new day's work. Whenever they saw Locke pass by, they would nod to him with warm smiles.

After passing through town and walking for another two minutes, a small dock appeared before them.

This was the island's only dock. A few small fishing boats were moored there, but there was no sign of any large ships. Yet the vessel Locke and Carmen intended to board was a large merchant ship.

The island was simply too remote, and not even a large ship could dock there. So Locke and Carmen had to take a fishing boat out to where the merchant vessel was anchored before they could board the ship bound for Shimotsuki Village.

As usual, the harbor was nearly deserted today. Only a few people were on the fishing boats, and someone aboard one of them waved at Locke, signaling for them to come over.

"Uncle Iron, it's you!" As Locke led Carmen closer, he finally saw clearly that the one waving at them was Iron Yi, the town's only blacksmith. The Tang sword on Locke's body had been forged by him.

"Young Master Locke, you're too polite! Come, come, come! Sit down quickly." Once Locke and Carmen boarded, Uncle Iron hurriedly arranged seats for them.

After the two were seated, Uncle Iron immediately began rowing toward the distant sea.

Locke turned to watch the island grow farther and farther away, and an inexplicable trace of sadness rose within him. He did not know when he would return to this place again. He had already given all the island's properties to the old butler.

At that moment, Carmen seemed to sense his feelings. Sitting beside him, she patted his shoulder in comfort.

"It's alright, I'm fine! We'll come back someday!" Locke withdrew his gaze, turned to Carmen beside him, and said.

He did not know whether he was saying those words for Carmen's sake or for his own.

Still, Carmen nodded in response.

The little fishing boat had not traveled far before they saw a merchant ship quietly anchored ahead. It was a massive vessel more than ten meters tall, resting silently on the sea like a slumbering deep-sea beast.

Its sails had been furled atop the mast, leaving only a red merchant guild flag flying high in the wind at the very top.

At that moment, a chubby middle-aged man in a suit stood on the merchant ship's deck. He had a square face and two small mustaches. When he saw the fishing boat slowly approaching, he hurriedly waved to the sailors behind him, telling them to lower the ropes so Locke and Carmen could climb aboard.

"Ha! Ha! Ha... Little Locke! I haven't seen you in years, and you've grown so much! Come here, let Uncle get a good look at you."