I was currently aboard a ship that, in theory, was supposed to take us all the way to the port of Krilm. From there, the remaining journey to the capital would be a mere week by carriage.
The problem was the ship itself.
It groaned with every wave. It had rotting planks, patched sails, and a stench of dampness and stale alcohol that didn't go away even with the sea breeze. It gave the impression that it was going to fall apart at any moment.
However, it was the only one setting sail for Krilm that day, and it wouldn't return for two weeks.
That was bad enough.
Then came the other problem.
—Asagao~! Why are you making such a sour face?!
Yes.
She was here.
It wasn't that I hated her. I owed her my life. Someday, I wanted to truly repay it. Thanks to her, that night I didn't end up as a toy for the Devils, and now I was even capable of trying to do my best.
Alstroe-nee wasn't exactly coming as my escort. She had an subjugation commission in the Valley of the Ancients. The guild master had decided to kill two birds with one stone.
That very morning, Cecille-san had appeared in my room with a complicated expression.
—Princess... there still isn't any A-rank adventurer willing to accept the assignment.
I lowered my gaze, disheartened.
Should I try it alone? I doubted it. Since arriving in this world, I had barely left the capital. I knew almost nothing about the roads, towns, or dangers of the Land of Prosperity.
—That's why the guild master proposed the following—Cecille-san continued—. Alstroe has another subjugation commission and will depart as soon as she is notified. The plan is for you to board the same ship as her.
—The ship?
—Yes. Up to the port of Krilm. It's much closer to the royal capital. From there, you'll only need about a week by carriage. When you arrive, you can request a new escort commission.
We've already prepared a letter of introduction for the Krilm guild master. You just have to hand it to any staff member.
I hesitated for a moment, but ended up accepting.
—...I think that's better than staying here indefinitely.
—Exactly. Though... Alstroe hasn't shown up yet. I wonder what she's doing right now.
—In the meantime, I'll go have breakfast.
I headed out to the small restaurant near the guild. Before I went in, an elderly woman sitting on a crate beckoned me over.
—Young lady... would you like the stars to read your destiny?
—Um... I'm not interested in scams, sorry.
—Kekekeke... This is a free service! I can see the vivid color of the threads of destiny around you!
I hesitated, but ended up walking over.
—Hmm... for today... avoid water and drunkards!
—That doesn't help at all!
—Kekekeke!
I quickly walked away. For some reason, my usual shyness had softened a bit. Perhaps because, without realizing it, I was beginning to associate almost everyone in this port with Alstroe-nee's absurd energy.
After breakfast, I returned to the guild.
She was already there.
In a corner, she was keeping her entire body suspended in the air, supported solely by a single index finger touching the ground. Her other hand was open in front of her chest, as if in prayer.
Was she... meditating?
—Asagao, did you have breakfast yet? —Cecille-san asked in a low voice.
—Un. Is Alstroe-nee...?
—It's one of her daily routines. She says that the finger pointing at the ground allows her to understand the movement of the world and communicate deeply with it. Read the latest chapters at novelping . com.
I was left speechless.
—She's a genius and, at the same time, a complete idiot—Cecille-san concluded with a tired sigh.
We explained the plan. Alstroe-nee accepted it without asking a single difficult question. As always.
And that was how we reached this moment.
—Gyahahaha! I only have two such pretty flowers aboard my ship!
The captain was a middle-aged man with a red nose and breath reeking of cheap alcohol. A full-blown drunkard.
As the ship pulled away from Nanab, Alstroe-nee was leaning dangerously far over the railing.
—Look, look, Asagao-chan! There are fish jumping in the ocean!
Water.
Ocean.
The old woman's warning echoed in my head a second too late.
CRUUUNCH!
A horrible roar shook the entire vessel.
—WHATTTTTTTTT?!
The drunken captain had crashed his own ship against a rock that barely protruded from the surface. Without wasting time, he jumped into a lifeboat and began to row away at full speed, leaving us behind.
A good captain goes down with his ship, you idiot!
—Ahahaha! It's sinking! —Alstroe-nee laughed, pointing at the hull starting to fill with water.
—Why are you laughing?! This is no joke! We're already quite far from Nanab!
Water was beginning to rise onto the deck.
—Alstroe-nee! This is a huge problem! To be honest with you... I don't know how to swim!
—Kyahahaha! It's fine, Asagao! We're partners in the girls-who-can't-swim club!
—UEEEEEHHH!!
This was a disaster!
—A-Alstroe-nee! Can't you do something?!
The drunkard was already too far away. Mentally, I wished that his next drink would taste horribly sour.
—This is nothing! Leave it to big sis!
Why was she making that chest-puffing pose in the middle of a sinking ship?!
—Come, Asagao!
—Ah, what am I supposed to do?!
Before I could protest any further, she invited me onto her back. I had no other choice. I clung tightly to her neck.
—Asagao! Hold on tight!
—Eh? Oka—!!!
She jumped.
It wasn't a normal jump.
It was as if the whole world had suddenly stayed down below.
I buried my face in her back out of sheer instinct.
When I finally dared to look, the ship was already just a pile of broken planks in the distance. The takeoff speed had been so brutal that I could swear we had broken the sound barrier. Visit NovelPing for the full chapter.
I squeezed my eyes shut... and then I heard her excited voice.
—Look, look, Asagao! What a beautiful view!
I opened my eyes.
The world stretched out beneath us.
I could see the complete shape of the human continent, like a half-moon. On one side, the vast elven forest. On the other, the immense Valley of the Ancients.
Further away, on the opposite side of the world, the Land of Mana was also shaped like a half-moon, flanked by the dwarven mountains and the fairy Healing Jungle.
On the ridge between the elven forest and the mountains, the beastfolk islands could be distinguished.
Clouds floated around us. Some birds tried to follow us. The ocean shimmered in a deep, dazzling blue. The breeze was cold and clean. On the horizon opposite the rising sun, the three moons were visible.
—Uwaaah…!
A white-scaled dragon passed close to us, majestic. I could swear it looked at us... and winked.
Then I saw the central continent. Barren land, withered forests, a massive dark fortress standing tall in the midst of desolation.
There...
That's where you were, right, Nil?
—Um... Asagao—Alstroe-nee suddenly said—. We're falling now.
—EH?! Can't you fly?!
—Eeeh... don't be absurd.
—The absurd one here is you!
—KYAHAHAHA!
—Hehehe! What the heck?!
We both laughed as we fell. I don't know why, but at that moment I felt strangely alive, free, as if the weight of the last few days had stayed down below on the sunken ship.
Then an idea struck me.
—Alstroe-nee! If you have something to push off from, you can jump again, right?!
—Of course!
—Then I'm going to create a scaffold!
I concentrated. I molded my barrier into a flat, compact surface, dense enough to support weight and impact. I placed it right beneath us.
—Ready!
Alstroe-nee landed on the platform with the same brutal force as before and propelled herself back into the sky. I clung with all my might to her back.
—Asagao! This is so much fun! We can do this all day!
—Alstroe-nee! You're going to get tired!
—Ehehe! Then we need some motivation!
—ORYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
—ORYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
We flew once more, free, screaming like idiots in the middle of the sky.
It was one of the most surreal and beautiful sensations I had experienced since arriving in this world.
.
.
.
Later on, we would discover that, in all the excitement, we had flown in the completely wrong direction.