Looking at the shimmering fountain, Misha suddenly murmured:
"The water in the pool is like a gemstone, set within the dreams of all who set sail.
"Every day I spend adrift, gazing at the points of light beneath the waves, I feel as though I've returned here, returned to your side..."
"Misha, did you remember something else?" Himeko asked.
"These are words Mikhail wrote in his sailing log," Misha said. "Grandpa said that although going to sea meant facing many dangers, whenever he stood on deck in the afternoon and looked at the shimmering sea, he always thought of this fountain outside his home.
"He often said that, in that moment, it was as if he were back with his family. However hard life at sea became, it no longer felt so difficult to bear."
Listening to Misha, the sentimental Little March suddenly sighed and said rather gloomily, "Ah, I can understand that feeling, too..."
"Don't pull the seniority card, Senior March 7th." Stelle gave March 7th a half-lidded look.
"And don't sigh all the time. You'll get gray hairs," Jiang Yu added.
March 7th's expression changed instantly at that, and she immediately complained to Himeko:
"Himeko, these two think they can spout nonsense just because they're good-looking! You've got to rein them in!"
Himeko raised an eyebrow, a gentle smile on her face.
Honestly, for the adults aboard the Express, the children's bickering was a little show they couldn't go a day without watching.
"Perhaps every adventurer far from home has a fountain like this in their heart," Himeko said with a smile. "The far side of the ocean is always full of unknowns, but the fountain outside Grandpa's home was his compass, always guiding him back to the loved ones he missed."
With the soft sound of the