Chapter 77

“Take this, Gloriosus. Just come this way.”

“Understood, Sister-in-law Ofenia.”

“You can find your way, right?”

“Do you see me as a child?”

The man with the sideburns took the small piece of paper.

It was stiff, coated in mana.

It had the location where Kifkos’s gang would be staying on the Hanchamus Islands.

Since it was a secret island, it would be difficult to find without this paper.

“Ofenia! Don’t talk to a guy like him for long!”

“Don’t talk to your sworn brother like that! Even if Gloriosus is just a gambler with a big mouth!”

At Ofenia’s scolding, Kifkos shut his mouth.

Gloriosus also closed his mouth in tandem.

A clear scar was left in his heart.

Ofenia laughed, covering her mouth as if she had made a mistake.

“That was a bit harsh, Gloriosus.”

“…It’s nothing, Sister-in-law.”

“See you in Hanchamus, and thanks for your hard work.”

“…Yes.”

Kifkos’s gang left.

Ofenia led the way, with Kifkos beside her and the rest following behind.

They smiled pleasantly in the bright sunlight.

They couldn’t help but smile as they envisioned a bright future on the warm island to the south.

“The treatment within the organization is too much.”

“…I’m used to it.”

Sniffle.

Gloriosus pretended to cry.

Shion didn’t ask any further.

Although he had become acquainted with this man with the sideburns by chance, he had no desire to care about his prestige within the organization.

Gloriosus also didn’t drag it out further and smiled brightly.

“More importantly, let’s talk about a bright future, Mr. Pasionus.”

The man with the sideburns pulled the corners of his mouth up, as if he had never been gloomy.

He was as energetic as if he had been drinking alcohol.

Shion pretended not to see the single tear glistening at the corner of his eye.

“What do you want? Where do you want to go?”

“I’m going to leave.”

“Leave? Where?”

“West.”

“West! As I expected!”

I knew it the moment you came to Mekeros!

The Empire strictly controls all exchanges with other countries.

The gatekeepers of the Drako Great Mountain Range have the authority to summarily execute smugglers as a matter of course.

All the routes to the west are extremely difficult.

The least difficult one is here, the port city of Mekeros.

Just like Sillemol, it was a hidden breath hole that the 11th Legion had intentionally left open.

If Niko were to pull in his net, a swarm of smugglers would be caught, but not right now.

“Just trust me. Half of my four hundred drinking buddies in Mekeros are smugglers. I’ll find you the best spot.”

“No, I want to go secretly, without going through a smuggler.”

More than that, is it okay to have such social connections?

To Shion’s question, Gloriosus replied with a whistle.

Seeing his blatant avoidance of the issue, the Regressor Prince decided to continue the conversation.

“You said you’re a navigator, so I’d like to ask a favor.”

“A small ship is fine. But you can’t navigate without a ship, can you?”

“Let’s buy one.”

“Ah, Mr. Pasionus, you were rich.”

Gloriosus nodded.

He asked if it was okay for him to skim some of the money he had received for entertainment expenses, and Shion replied that he could do whatever he wanted if he was confident in keeping his wrist intact.

“T-Then it’s roughly settled.”

The man with the sideburns scratched his chin.

“Let’s hear the destination specifically. Where in the west are you going? Maesh, of course, right? Or are you going a little further?”

“I don’t intend to ask you to go all the way to the west with me. I’ll just ask you to get me across Hobel Bay.”

“That’s good news! Anywhere within Hobel Bay is easy. The area outside Hobel Bay is also fairly easy!”

Gloriosus chattered excitedly.

In truth, he wasn’t very confident about the voyage all the way to the west.

It wasn’t an easy sea route to cross alone on a small ship as a navigator.

But if they didn’t stray too far from Hobel Bay, it would be a very easy voyage.

He had roamed around so much while in the 11th Legion that he could instinctively imagine where the wind blew and how it blew in this season.

“Just say the word, just say it! I’ll take you anywhere!”

“Really, anywhere?”

“Of course. Unless you’re asking to go to Arete Island!”

“Euhm.”

Shion hummed.

At his strange tone, Gloriosus slowly turned his eyes.

Shion Pollinglight smiled like a shy girl.

That made him feel uneasy.

“…What’s with that face, Mr. Pasionus?”

“Euh-heuhm.”

“…Are you serious?”

The Regressor Prince just smiled.

The sunlight was warm.

His smooth skin shone brightly, and Shion Pollinglight looked innocently beautiful.

Unease rolled around and grew larger in the heart of the man with the sideburns.

“…You want to go to Arete? That cursed island!?”

“Euh-heuh-heuh-heuhm-!”

Gloriosus dashed away.

“Bro, Brother Kifkos! I’ll just go to Hanchamus with you…!”

“Behave like a man of Hobel Bay, Mr. Gloriosus.”

An invisible hand grabbed the man with the sideburns.

The man moved his feet but could not advance further.

Gloriosus’s face became as gloomy as it could get.

“We’re going to Arete.”

***

“Arete, Arete…!”

Gloriosus was in a constant state of lament.

He didn’t have the courage to protest directly to Shion, but he couldn’t not do it, so with every step he took, he muttered three complaints.

“When I was a kid, my mom used to say she’d abandon me on Arete if I didn’t listen. This must be my punishment for not listening back then…”

Shion pretended not to hear him.

Listening to his grumbling was quite interesting.

“I didn’t really not listen that much, though. A little bit of the liquor I was told not to drink, a little bit of the gambling I was told not to do, and skimming just enough to not get caught…”

“And betrayals, too.”

“That’s okay because it was an agreed-upon thing!”

Is this as far as I go?

Gloriosus even began to get teary-eyed.

Shion opened his mouth with a look as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

“Stop being scared, that’s not like a man of Hobel Bay.”

“I’m scared because I’m a man of Hobel Bay!”

His complaints burst out.

“Anyone from Hobel Bay grows up hearing stories about Arete!”

Ugh! Gloriosus shuddered.

There was a story he had heard to the point of exhaustion.

The depraved Aretions and the calamity that befell them. Hundreds of thousands of people who disappeared in an instant, and the island that had ferociously rejected all access ever since!

It wasn’t just a simple bedtime story.

The most chilling part was that it was something that had actually happened 46 years ago.

The most beautiful and prosperous island in Hobel Bay had turned into a place swarming with monsters overnight!

“They say new reefs have risen, the storms never stop, and there are unidentified things roaming around the island, so who wouldn’t be scared? They even say that the, ugh, that thing from 46 years ago is still there, just sleeping…!”

“Niko wouldn’t be scared.”

“…Ah, the Legion Commander would, wouldn’t he?”

The man with the sideburns was speechless.

Comparing him to the Whale of Hobel Bay felt a little unfair.

He was a man who had even thrown a punch at the Great Emperor.

Shion said in a gentle tone.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s not like the rumors.”

“…Have you been there, Mr. Pasionus?”

“I’m talking like this because I’ve been there, haven’t I?”

“…You’re so good at joking.”

“I’m serious.”

The man glanced at Shion.

Who would have gone to Arete after what happened 46 years ago?

That cursed island.

But when Shion said it, it somehow didn’t feel like a lie. Hadn’t he seen him fight and drive away Niko Nereyades?

“Be honest. You just look like a kid, but you’re older than me, aren’t you, Mr. Pasionus?”

“Pasionus is eleven years old.”

“…”

Gloriosus’s expression soured at the sudden display of aegyo.

He felt so bad he was fuming, but he held it in.

“…Anyway, it’s not as bad as the rumors, right?”

“No. It’s twenty times more dangerous than the rumors.”

“Brother Kifkos!!”

“Let’s go look at a ship instead.”

***

A ship is not an item you can easily buy just because you want to.

Certainly not if this wasn’t Mekeros.

Shion clicked his tongue in amazement.

After walking for a bit, he saw all sorts of ships being sold along the coast.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve navigated. It’s probably better to just hire a skilled navigator instead of me…”

“Stop grumbling and go find a ship. A sturdy one, that can get the two of us to Arete.”

“Yes, I should do that.”

The man with the sideburns walked with a pout.

He looked around very half-heartedly and then called out to Shion in a very half-hearted manner.

He pointed at a bundle of old planks that claimed to be a ship.

“How about this ship? It’s really good, isn’t it?”

“It’s really good. It looks perfect for sinking halfway through.”

“That’s what I’m saying. The fact that it absolutely can’t go to Arete is what I like about it.”

Arete?

The old man selling the ship glared at them.

He looked as if they were saying something ominous and crazy in the middle of the day.

Shion, feeling self-conscious from the old man’s gaze, whispered to Gloriosus.

“Oh, right. Did I not tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’ll be entering the island alone. We’ll probably part ways there.”

“Huh?”

Gloriosus asked back.

A smile began to spread across his face.

“What are you going to do with the ship then?”

“I can’t just abandon it, so I was thinking of giving it to someone who worked hard to navigate it…”

“You should have told me that first!”

He immediately regained his energy and leaped up.

Then he ran all over the ship market, telling him to wait a moment.

The sideburns were drenched in healthy sweat.

Gloriosus pulled Shion’s hand.

Come here, I found it! He found it quickly.

The man with the sideburns said with a wide smile.

“How about this ship! It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

“…No, even so, a 120-person cruise ship is too much.”

Well, at least he’s motivated.

“Find a proper one. A sturdy one. We’ll have to sail for ten days, after all.”

***

Shion and Gloriosus left Mekeros on the ship.

It was just as the sun was setting.

“The sea breeze is nice.”

When his own interests were at stake, Gloriosus became a more trustworthy man than anyone else in Hobel Bay.

He had found a ship that perfectly met Shion’s requirements before the sun went down.

“More importantly, I’m curious. What did you do to get a ship like this for twenty-three gold coins?”

It wasn’t an amazing ship, but it was very practical.

Although small, it was sturdy and it had a navigational assistance device approved by the Imperial Academy of Magic, so it wasn’t a problem for Gloriosus to operate alone.

It was perfectly suited for a small number of people to go out to the distant sea.

“The original price must have been at least fifty gold coins.”

“It was seventy gold coins.”

“Who are you trying to fool? They were asking for exactly forty-nine gold coins at first, weren’t they?”

“…Were you watching?”

Shion took out a bundle of gold coins from his pocket, or to be exact, from inside Valziart.

They were jewels he had exchanged for money while staying in Sillemol.

“Here. Twenty-three coins for the purchase. And ten more as a reward for your excellent bargaining.”

“Mr. Pasionus, you’re a really good client.”

“Let’s just sail the ship.”

Alright. Gloriosus hummed and headed to the cockpit.

‘There aren’t many jewels stolen from the Imperial Palace left now.’

It didn’t matter much.

He could always earn more money.

He just needed to arrive safely in the west.

He downed another bottle of Golden Medicine.

He was very pleased that there were no side effects.

‘More than that, let’s rest. I need to recover my stamina as much as possible.’

To recover from the aftereffects of Lahukala or his unhealed wounds, he had to eat and rest well.

He had already bought a lot of sweet preserved food in Mekeros.

Shion threw his body into the hammock.

His eyelids closed easily.

‘On Arete, I’ll bring it to an end…’

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