The vast and boundless sea had returned to its usual azure blue. The Pretty Woman cut through the waves, advancing towards the shimmering water, its hull rising and falling rhythmically with the waves, emitting a creaking sound.
“Full sails! Move it, lads!” One-Eyed Jack roared. “Today we reach the Shallows!”
The sailors on the mast chanted as they pulled on the ropes as thick as three fingers, unfurling the sails inch by inch. On the ever-changing sea, such operations of raising and lowering sails occurred several times a day. Lian watched the people climbing up and down above her head, looking just like monkeys.
“What a hassle,” the old captain walked to the witches. “If I could have ships like those in Crescent Moon Bay that don't need sails, it would save a lot of trouble. What are those things called again?”
“Paddle steamers,” Lian raised an eyebrow. “They were made by His Highness Roland.”
“Why don't you ask His Highness to build one for you?” Honey said as she teased the seabird on her shoulder. “Others can't get a word in edgewise with him, but you're different.”
“Little imp, you make it sound like I'm very familiar with him.”
“You're familiar with Lady Tilly,” she stuck out her tongue. “His Highness Roland is very good to Lady Tilly.”
Jack took a deep puff of his pipe, looking heartbroken. “…Never mind. According to those merchants, a paddle steamer costs over a thousand gold royals. I couldn't raise that even if I sold all of you.”
“Not necessarily,” Zephyr teased. “In Sleeping Spell, Lian’s bounty is calculated in hundreds of gold royals. Last time, that merchant named Dulate Goldbeard even planned to hire her long-term for over a thousand gold royals. [Read more at] Lian alone is like this, let alone the four of us.”
“Zephyr!” Lian punched her angrily. “You know what he was up to. I don't want to hear his name again!”
“Just kidding,” Zephyr put her arms around her, laughing softly. “How could I bear to sell you? After Lady Tilly heard about this, she specifically negotiated with the Crescent Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce. No one will mention it again in the future.”
“You two are really close,” Jack blew out a smoke ring. “But… those two seem to rarely talk to you?”
Mentioning the other two witches, the three of them fell into a brief silence. After a moment, Zephyr opened her mouth, “They were originally witches from the Kingdom of Wolfheart.”
The old captain was puzzled. “Aren't they all witches?”
“Compared to Lady Tilly, they support Hedy Morgan more.”
“Morgan…” He stroked his chin, thinking for a moment. “Is she from the Wolfheart royal family?”
“Just a branch,” Zephyr waved her hand. “Actually, it's nothing. It's just that we haven't spent enough time together yet, and we can't open our hearts to each other.”
The old man probably realized something and didn't continue asking.
Lian didn't understand the affairs of the kingdom's nobles. She only knew that the witches of Sleeping Island were not like sisters in Border Town. Most of them came from Graycastle, and some came from Dawn and Wolfheart. Since Tilly was the organizer of the relocation, and her status was the most noble, everyone regarded her as the leader, and the witches from foreign countries were the same. However, after the churches in the Fjords Islands were wiped out, the situation gradually changed.
This was especially obvious to Lian, who had only returned to Sleeping Island during the Evil Moon. In just a few months, the Wolfheart witches had gradually lived together and rarely spoke to others during meals. According to Molly, they used to be members of the Bloodfang Association, similar to the Graycastle Mutual Aid Society, and the leader of the Bloodfang Association was Hedy Morgan.
When they first joined Sleeping Island, the Bloodfang Association had only twenty or so witches, which was a minority on the island. If it was just like this, it would be fine, but ten of the twenty or so people were combat witches. Or rather, they had selected members in advance, and only powerful witches could join. This was completely different from the Mutual Aid Society and Sleeping Island. Because of this, their combat abilities were extremely powerful. When Tilly implemented the cleanup plan, the Wolfheart witches took care of the Twin Dragon Island Cathedral, which had the largest number of believers.
Because of this, Hedy Morgan believed that the Bloodfang Association was the core of Sleeping Island. Even if the other party didn't openly declare it, Lian could feel it. She didn't like the idea that combat witches should have a higher status than non-combat witches, and she strongly agreed with Lady Tilly's claim of equality for witches. Unfortunately, not everyone thought so. During the days when Lady Tilly was away, Hedy had several conflicts with Camilla Dary, the "Sleeping Island Chief Steward," but fortunately, the latter was also a noble from the royal capital and was not inferior to the former in terms of momentum. In the end, she blocked them all without making a sound.
Thinking of this, Lian sighed helplessly. She wasn't worried about what would happen to Lady Tilly. After all, Ashes, the strongest witch on Sleeping Island, was a strong supporter of Lady Tilly. As the only transcendent who could fight while wearing a God's Stone of Retaliation, as long as she was there, the entire Bloodfang Association was no match for Ashes alone. What she was worried about was this trip. To be honest, she didn't want to stay with the Wolfheart witches at all.
Moreover, the selection of people this time was very strange. Besides her and Honey, two of the remaining three people on the Pretty Woman were actually combat witches… Logically speaking, Lady Tilly should know that His Highness Roland preferred support-type witches. His strange weapons were enough to allow ordinary people to fight against the Church's Judgment Army. In that case, why did she bring the Bloodfang Association's people?
After thinking for a long time without getting an answer, Lian had to put these distracting thoughts aside.
Perhaps Lady Tilly had considerations that she couldn't understand.
……
By the time the sun was setting, the shallows, dyed golden by the sunset, appeared in front of everyone.
At the same time, a hot air balloon floating in mid-air, and a huge monster bird also appeared.
“Oh my God… what is that!?” The sailors on the deck exclaimed in shock. They saw the monster bird folding its wings and swooping down towards the Pretty Woman. As the distance rapidly decreased, the sharp claws and blood basin mouth on its body were clearly visible.
“Is there an enemy?” The Bloodfang Association witches who heard the commotion rushed out of the cabin, and were also startled by the incoming behemoth. “What kind of monster is this?”
“No matter what it is, just capture it!” Another person quickly calmed down. “My cage doesn't care whether the target is big or small.”
“Wait… that's not an enemy,” Lian quickly stopped them. “It flew over from beside the hot air balloon.”
The other party glanced at her. “Hot air balloon?”
“A tool His Highness Roland uses to pick up and drop off witches,” Zephyr stood in front of the two. “Don't worry, trust Lian's judgment.”
The terrifying beast was getting closer and closer, and let out a high-pitched roar, but… Lian felt that it wasn't intimidation.
“Awoo—Awoo—Goo!”
Just as the monster was about to hit the sails, the huge figure suddenly disappeared, and then a pure white dove landed steadily on Lian's head.
“You're finally here,” Maisie rubbed against her cheek. “Welcome back, goo!”