Chapter 235
The night before departure day, I swung Priscilla in the air in front of the Thorn Garden dormitory.
Having succeeded in the first communication, I intended to continue the momentum and raise my proficiency with the magic sword.
But it wasn’t easy. The sensation was different from handling the sapling sword or firefly sword, and I found it difficult to exert power as I wished. Was it because there was a soul of a personality inside, so the method of control is different?
Every time I swung the sword, frost splattered irregularly, but that was all. The deadly cold storm I demonstrated during my first battle with Callios was impossible to recreate with my own power.
The only particularly good thing was that it wasn’t hot when training.
After finishing light training, I returned to the dormitory.
Trisha was quiet, perhaps having gone to bed early.
I checked my belongings one last time alone in my room. Everything else was fine, but there was just one thing lacking.
Money.
The only thing that could potentially become money was the “Love Potion”. I had received large sums of money twice from Sion's master, and a lot was left, but a few days ago, I gave most of the amount to Liria.
To begin with, I didn't have big spending habits, and since all my basic needs were met, I thought I wouldn't need money.
Now faced with the situation of having to buy souvenirs for some friends including Cecil, my pocket situation had ironically completely changed its stance.
If I touched Silveryn's safe, it would be solved at once, but I really didn't want to do such a thing. I'd rather beg.
The only way for me to make money right now was... to win the bet with that Hubert fellow.
In my drawer, there was still a letter that came from Misha. She asked me to help find the whereabouts of “Sweetie”, but I hadn't replied yet.
If I could win the favor of this girl named Misha, I might be able to fill my pockets, even if just a little.
I spread out the letter paper and pondered for a moment, but it didn't last long. Stirring up an Imperial young lady unnecessarily carried a big risk.
Especially with Trisha involved, it was an issue I needed to be even more careful about.
I should just give up on the bet and hope that the Love Potion fetched a good price.
I picked up the pen.
Since I had pretended to be Hubert to Misha during the artists' gathering, I wrote while maintaining that identity.
[About the guy wearing a mask and having scars on his body. I know him too, but I can't introduce him to Miss Misha. He's involved in various unsavory affairs. For example...]
I wrote a slanderous text combining various rumors surrounding Candy. Stories like he was obsessed with women, or he had intimate physical contact with women.
For her, who had been greatly confused by physical contact with me after I saved her from drowning in the river while wearing a mask, stories about the “pervert mask” would be mentally unpleasant.
Then naturally, her interest in Candy would fade.
***
"I want to go too..."
From early morning, I tried to console Trisha, whose lips were pouting because she wanted to go to Claridium.
"I'll buy you an interesting toy. Take care of your meals even when I'm not around."
"Can't I just sneak into your bag and secretly ride along?"
"Don't cause trouble."
I packed my magic swords and belongings tightly and left the dormitory.
From the time when the sun had just peeked out its crown, I took a carriage straight to the Rigved dock.
I thought I had left early, but I was quite late.
All the members were already gathered at the dock.
Despite the early hour, the surroundings were full of spectators watching the ship. Other students had gathered to see off the Art Club members as if they were migrating to some far-off land.
After a quick headcount, we boarded the ship one by one.
Professor Georgia hugged each departing student.
As I was quietly waiting for my turn...
"Damian!"
A familiar voice called me.
Turning around, I saw Cecil waving at me from among the crowd watching the ship.
"Cecil?"
She spotted me and immediately came out of the crowd, running towards me.
"Why are you so late!?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I was waiting for you."
"It's not like I'm going to do something great."
Cecil chuckled and said, "They say a woman should see off a man when he sets sail. It's said that's what makes him want to return."
"Don't worry, I'm not a sailor. I've never even seen the sea in my life."
Cecil tidied my bangs with her hand and brushed off the dust on my clothes. It was quite an affectionate gesture.
"That makes me even more worried. You're going to a place you've never been before. The sea is so dangerous."
"..."
Cecil tapped my cheeks lightly.
"The sea is very deep and the currents are strong, so don't swim recklessly. On wavy days, stay still in the cabin. Understand? And don't carelessly catch just any fish. You might get pricked by poisonous spines."
"Why are you suddenly acting like my mother?"
"Well, at least you're not handsome, so you won't be taken by sirens. That's a relief."
Cecil took something out of her pocket and pinned it to my chest. It was a small badge with a gray jewel.
"What's this?"
"A gift. It's to make sure you absolutely don't forget to buy my souvenir while looking at this."
"It's not something strange, is it?"
"Why are you so suspicious? Are you afraid I'll eat you?"
"..."
Cecil had once given me a magic tool that could secretly track the other person's location through a Stitch.
"Don't worry. They say ugly kids don't taste good."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
She hesitated for a moment.
"Ah, and..."
Cecil's tongue tip slightly moistened her dry lips.
Just then, Professor Georgia called me, "Damian! What are you doing there!"
Our conversation was hurriedly concluded. Cecil pushed me away.
"Go on now."
"Thanks for coming."
Cecil put her hands behind her back and smiled faintly, looking satisfied.
I headed towards Professor Georgia. Having sent all the members onto the ship, she hugged me once, just as she had done with the others. Then she whispered softly in my ear, "You're the most reliable among the first-years. Having Damian there gives me some peace of mind."
"I'll be back."
After the hug, she patted my back and sent me onto the ship.
After the sailors finished their final checks, they untied the ropes and retrieved the plank connecting the ship to the dock.
The bell announcing departure rang vigorously at the port, and the ship started to move away.
I leaned on the railing and took in the sight of Rigved growing distant. Cecil stood at the edge of the dock, waving her hand as we slowly drifted away. Her wistful figure looked just like a noblewoman sending off her husband on an expedition.
Just then, another familiar face suddenly appeared next to Cecil. The twin-braided girl and the pink-haired girl beside her. The five-member group from the Imperial Academy had appeared without warning.
"Wow, it really was the Golden Swallow Ship?"
"We didn't even have anything like this!"
"Did Eternia have connections with the imperial family?"
While friends were chattering, Misha looked at me with wide eyes.
"Mr. Hubert?"
In succession, Cecil seemed to have heard the name Hubert and turned to the side.
"Hu… bert?"
Her gaze remained fixed on Misha, not moving.
And finally, Cecil took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth.
My heart sank.
Feeling like I should make some excuse, I unconsciously moved forward.
Haley rushed over and grabbed my body.
"What are you doing?"
Water rippled beneath my outstretched foot. I came back to my senses.
"...It's nothing."
The ship moved away. Until it became a dot in the distance, Cecil didn't take her eyes off Misha.
***
Our ship, the Golden Swallow Ship, glided smoothly down the Eternia River with its magic propulsion system. The navigator explained that if we kept going like this for half a day, we'd enter the sea.
The river width kept expanding, and the current slowed down. I leaned on the railing, appreciating the peaceful scenery and soothing my troubled mind.
Seeing Cecil's expression still made my heart cold. I tried hard to erase the thoughts that kept coming one after another. It wasn’t like I had committed a crime.
Just in case, I should really put my heart into choosing a souvenir for Cecil.
To calm my mind, I tried to take a nap in the cabin.
When I woke up a few hours later, it was dusk outside.
When I came out to the deck, Haley, who was facing the wind, waved at me.
"Oh, First-year."
I approached her and leaned on the railing.
"Where's Senior Zenia?"
"She's feeling seasick, so she's resting."
Looking now, Haley's eyes were slightly unfocused, and there was something reddish at the corner of her mouth. It seems she had a glass of the smuggled wine while I wasn't looking.
"Are you okay, Senior?"
"I came out to see the sea."
"The sea?"
"Look, we've just left the lower reaches."
Haley stretched out her hand over the railing as if to show me. On one side, land was visible, and on the other side, the sea reflecting the sunset filled the horizon. Our ship seemed to be just crossing the boundary between the river and the sea.
"Sea... it is the sea."
"What? Is the sea a familiar face to you?"
"No. This is my first time seeing the sea."
"Really? Don't you feel your heart pounding when you see something this amazing?"
If it were in the old days when I still had the sensitivity to be intoxicated by romance, it might have been different, but unfortunately, I felt no excitement now.
Most first experiences were usually not as dramatic as expected.
I briefly reminisced about the time when I promised Lisa to see the sea together. In stark contrast to the romantic and lovely moment I dreamed of in my childish expectations, my first experience was realized in a dry manner. Heading towards a city on the brink of destruction, together with a drunk blonde Imperial woman I never dreamed I would be connected to like this.
"Does coming out to the sea excite you, Senior?"
"Well, my heart is pounding, but I can't tell if it's because I drank, because I'm seasick, because I'm seeing the sea, or because I'm seeing you."
"Don't worry. I won't tattle."
"I think it might be because of that. When I was young, my dream was to be a navigator. I think my heart is pounding because it feels like I'm on an adventure."
"You must have been a tomboy when you were young, Senior."
"That's right. I was a terrible tomboy. Unlike my twin brother."
"I didn't know you had a twin brother."
"Really? I had some heartache because of him. People praise him as calculating, smart, strong, and incredibly handsome, but I can't really tell because he's family. He's so perfect that I was always compared to him, born on the same day, from the same blood, from the same womb, asking why I turned out like this. My dream of being a navigator was crushed like that too."
"I think you're amazing too, Senior."
"Thanks, but it's true that my blood relative is superior enough to be compared to me. There's always a phrase that follows him like praise. They call him a Royal Roader. Because he followed the path that the greatest knights in Imperial history walked, without slipping once. To the point where it feels unrealistic."
"..."
"Unlike me. I only secretly deviate and cause trouble from behind, and the only deviation he ever made was..."
Haley trails off and hesitates for a moment. Then, relying on the effects of alcohol, she continues.
"...enrolling in Eternia instead of the Imperial Academy. Just that one thing."
"Eternia...?"
"Yes."
"Is it someone I know?"
Haley rested her chin on the railing and looked blank.
"There's probably no one who hasn't heard the name Elliot Felton."
"..."
"Of course, this is a secret. I absolutely hate being associated with Elliot as family."
Haley couldn't imagine that I had been mulling over Elliot's name since before I enrolled.
I swallowed once and my mouth felt dry. My chest ached as if hit by a club, but even that pain gradually subsided after a few breaths. The name wasn't particularly welcome, but it wasn’t painful enough that I couldn't bear to hear it.
Why am I adapting so quickly?
Since the sea didn't excite me, maybe the name Elliot didn't make me bitter either.
I was changing now too. Everything was diluted by the waves. My sadness, anger, memories, all of it.
"Are you jealous of your twin blood relative?"
"I used to be, but not anymore. My blood relative is indeed a special person, but I don't think he'll leave a big mark on the world."
"He's already following the path to become the best... why?"
Haley's answer was clear.
"Because he doesn't take adventures."