Book 2: Chapter 222
Book 2: Chapter 222
—About a month before the Championship.
Akad Port City.
“You want to go to Temple Island?”
“That’s correct.”
“Hmm….”
An old man looked at him with a dull expression before saying.
“You an outsider?”
“Yes.”
“What does an outsider want with Temple Island?”
“Do I have to answer that first?”
“Normally, you wouldn’t have to, but the situation here has changed a bit recently. I can’t discuss information about our sea route to someone suspicious.”
The man standing in front of the old man thought for a while before slowly opening his mouth.
“…I can tell you about my personal circumstances, which would be long and boring.”
Then he flicked a silver coin into the air with his finger.
With agility that belied his age, the old man snatched the coin out of the air.
It was a silver 10 eru coin.
“Or I can cover senior’s drinks for the night. Which one would you like to choose?”
“…hmmm.”
The old man scratched his chin with one hand while pocketing the silver coin with the next.
Then, he gave a bright smile, showing off his yellow teeth.
“The price of alcohol has risen a lot these past few days.”
The man didn’t answer, and instead directly flipped another two coins over.
Like their predecessor, they were similarly snatched from the air before they could reach the peak of their flight.
The old man licked his lips.
“Follow me.”
Before following him, the man, Lukas, turned back.
He was looking in the direction of Lirua.
“…”
It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t worried at all.
But Lukas shook his head.
‘I just need to rescue Sedi and return home as soon as possible.’
Then he heard a voice.
“What’s going on? Are you coming or not?”
Lukas stared for a few more moments before turning and following the old man.
* * *
Vessels that seemed to focus more on beauty than practicality were moored at the pier. In a way, this hinted at the level of the Dragonmen shipbuilding industry.
The man slowly walked along the spacious pier. Following him, Lukas felt his surroundings become quieter and quieter.
Not just ships, even the people in the area were few.
“It’s best to not do something like that next time.”
The old man continued to speak in his slow drawl, and he continued without even waiting for a response.
“Trying to shut someone up with money. There are a lot of idiots like you who think this city is a safe place.”
“Isn’t it? This was chosen as the best city to live in the entirety of Combat Island.”
When Lukas said that, a loud, wheezing laugh erupted.
“Did you read that in a newspaper? Those publishing houses really won’t go bankrupt as long as there are idiots like you around.”
“…”
“You wanna know what’s the most disgusting thing about those publishing houses? They can write articles about their own opinions as though it’s the truth.”
The man spoke in a cynical tone.
But it didn’t seem like he was criticising Lukas. Instead, his tone was closer to self-deprecation.
“Of course, since you’re an outsider, you wouldn’t know the truth about anything. However, the Major City Lord of this city…”
After speaking up there, the old man shook his head.
“Forget I said anything. When we open our eyes and see the world, old men like me sometimes talk to ourselves about foolish things.”
Lukas knew the Major City Lord of Akad.
Not long ago, before killing Kangki, he’d even met him face to face.
Spera.
A Dragonman with the appearance of a young boy.
Of course, he didn’t actually think he was young. And after a few conversations, he learned that he was actually a few hundred years old.
“Understood. I’ll be careful.”
By the time Lukas said those words, the old man stopped walking.
They were now standing in front of a small boat that was moored to the pier in a rather lonely spot.
It was an old boat.
The man looked up at the sky. Since there were no clouds, it was easy to see the position of the sun.
“He’s probably still asleep…”
“…”
“The captain of this ship has probably passed out in it right now. Tell him that Grandpa Marco sent you.”
“Thank you.”
“You really came to the right person this time.”
Although his tone didn’t change, it was obvious that he was showing off.
The old man continued.
“I don’t know who told you about this old man, but I definitely found the right guy for you. Don’t worry if he appears a bit unreliable. As far as I know, he’s the best sailor in this city.” (TL: The best sailor always lives secluded in a shabby house/boat.)
After saying that, he turned around to leave as though he’d already completed his task. His attitude was truly heartless, but Lukas wasn’t too upset about it.
His eyes turned away from the old man’s back, and once again returned to the old boat. Then, he stepped onto it.
Creak!
The deck screamed shrilly the moment he stepped onto it. Lukas wasn’t being careless. Instead, he remembered the old man saying that the captain was probably asleep.
Although this ship looked old on the outside, he thought that it might be better on the inside.
Since it was a small ship, there weren’t many places that the captain would sleep. He decided to head to the cabin first.
Knock knock.
“…”
Knock knock.
He knocked several times on the door, but there was no answer.
Lukas pondered for a while, and instead of just knocking louder, he decided to just directly go inside.
Creak.
Tuk.
But immediately after opening the door, his foot hit something.
“Ugh…”
He looked down and saw a middle-aged man.
The first thing Lukas noticed was his unique appearance.
To be precise, his appearance was quite familiar to him, but rare in the Heavenly Realm.
He didn’t have sharp claws, and the teeth that he could see through his open mouth weren’t sharp. He didn’t even have scales.
This man was an outsider.
“Mmm…”
It seemed that the tip of his shoe had hit the man’s thigh. Although he didn’t hit him hard, it was still enough for the man to wake up and look around with a blurry gaze.
“…”
After looking around for a while, seemingly to figure out where he was, the man’s eyes found Lukas.
“…who’re you?”
“Grandpa Marco sent me here.”
“…so you’re a customer.”
The man said this with a hoarse voice and a wrinkled face. If a timid person had been there instead, they might feel guilty for waking him.
Staggering, the man stood up before beckoning to Lukas.
“Get out of the way.”
When Lukas complied, he went outside, spat out some phlegm, and returned.
“Then… First things first, do you have money?”
“How much?”
“Depends on where you’re going.”
“I’m headed to Temple Island.”
“That’s a rare destination.”
“Can you do it or not?”
“I can, but it’ll cost you.”
They once again returned to the original question.
The middle-aged man, who was probably the captain, continued.
“3,000 eru for a round trip.”
That was pretty expensive.
Before searching for a ship, Lukas had scouted the market prices to an extent.
Even if he wanted a round trip to one of the Seven Islands, it wouldn’t be as expensive. Moreover, Temple Island wasn’t that far away.
“I’m telling you in advance, I’m not gonna give you a discount. If you don’t like my price you can just go find someone el-…”
He froze as Lukas pulled out 30 gold coins.
Each gold coin was worth 100 eru.
“…”
The captain frowned.
Apparently, he hadn’t expected Lukas to be so rich.
“…this is the perfect time for a nap.”
After saying that, he sighed.
“Only people with special qualifications can enter Temple Island.”
“I know.”
He didn’t need to worry about that.
The Dragon Plaque that he’d received from Arid should be enough to prove his qualifications. What he was more concerned about was finding a ship.
Lukas looked around the cabin.
It seemed that the cabin also served as the wheelhouse(1), and there were no other rooms on the ship. There was a small space under the deck that seemed to be for cargo, but there weren’t many signs of use.
“Are there any other sailors?”
“It’s just me. It’s not that big of a ship.”
“…”
Lukas wasn’t very knowledgeable about the sea and sailing, but he knew that it wouldn’t be easy to sail alone, even if the boat was as small as this one.
For a moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if this man was just bluffing. Or if he was a scammer who had good control over his expressions.
(Note:
1.a part of a boat or ship serving as a shelter for the person at the wheel.)