Chapter 263 – The Battleship"s SilenceDuinkler, onboard a separate ship, received word that the commander"s ship was. .h.i.t by an attack from an unknown source. He quickly proceeded to the bridge to confirm the situation, but he couldn"t believe what he saw.
First it was only one attack—Duinkler thought it came from a cannon—yet the soldiers were panicking too much. Commander Grucel himself took charge as flames engulfed the deck. It was clearly strange.
Gorja ended up taking all the glory, but obtaining a Healer was a blessing for Duinkler all the same. What they needed to do now was return to Dream Maker quickly and cure the king of his illness. That"s why he obeyed the order to retreat too.
What in the world is happening?!
Duinkler ordered the ship to get closer so he could examine the situation. Then all of a sudden, it appeared as though a scarlet beam of light came down from above, like a spear sent down from the heavens, and pierced the ship. Judging by the angle, it most likely hit the vessel"s power source. He knew what was about to happen next.
「Get lifeboats out! All of them! The ship"s going to sink!」
His men quickly followed his orders.
「Save the Healer at all costs! Do whatever it takes!」
The commander"s ship spewed flames and started sinking.
「What the h.e.l.l happened?」Duinkler muttered, dumbfounded, as he watched the scene unfolding before his eyes.
A boat was nearby where Hikaru and Paula emerged from the water.
「Ugh…」
「Hikaru-sama! Are you okay?!」
To the west of the sinking battleship, the two managed to climb up to the small boat that Hikaru brought with him.
The first time Hikaru saw the spell Flame Laser, he thought of its possible application for fast travel. Lavia, however, wore a disapproving look as it was too dangerous. He probably wouldn"t use it again unless they were in a really sticky situation.
First of all, it was dangerous. More importantly, it put too much strain on Hikaru"s arm. He had to steady his aim, or he"d screw up the trajectory. His bones suffered severe damage from the recoil too.
Hikaru had to fire twice while on the boat to catch up to the ship, once to escape from it, and another one to change their trajectory mid-air. Having fired four shots in total, his bones were cracked in places.
The boat they were on was equipped with a magic navigation device. As long as it stayed within a one-kilometer distance, Hikaru could see it using Mana Detection. He fitted his cloak with a frame, turning it into a winged suit, and used it to glide to where the boat was. Right before they landed, he then used the Gravity Balancer to slow down their descent.
「O" G.o.d who art in heaven, in thy name I ask for a miracle. In thy right hand thou offer the gift of life, in thy left the blessing of death——」
Hikaru"s arm healed as Paula chanted her healing magic. He resorted to this escape plan mostly because he obtained a new means of mobility. Also he had a Healer with him to fix the damage on his body.
It hurts, but I can do a lot of things depending on how I use it.
He grimaced at the itchy feeling of his bones connecting.
I should"ve brought some blankets with me. It"s too cold out here. Maybe I can use my Soul Board to try and reduce the recoil.
Paula wore a serious look as she finished the healing.
「Hikaru-sama.」
「Yes?」
「Hikaru-sama!」
「Ah, yeah.」
「You shouldn"t do anything dangerous like that ever again!」
「Sorry if I scared you. But it was the best plan to get us out both.」
「That"s not what I mean.」
Tears started streaming down Paula"s wet face.
「You shouldn"t hurt yourself for me. I don"t want you risking your life for me. But the one thing I really don"t like the most… is myself. I feel happy that you braved the danger for me, and I hate myself for it. I"m sorry…」
Hikaru pulled her head close to his chest.
「I told you I"d protect you.」
「Hikaru-sama!」
She wept for a while. The next time she raised her head, she looked completely refreshed.
Busy with rescue work, the ships didn"t bother going after them. They made it back to the harbor safely, and after a short while, Luke Landon and his men also returned.
They then switched hotels the same day. The next morning, Hikaru and Paula caught a cold.
Ten days had pa.s.sed since then. The seas of Ville Zentra had been nothing but peaceful, but the island of Dew Roke was still occupied.
Now that Dream Maker"s objective was known, it didn"t take long for the leaders to decide on a plan of action.
「We must have Dew Roke back.」Patricia said.「After that, depending on how negotiations go, we might send them a Healer.」
The former was the Supreme Leader"s wish, while the latter was Kaglai"s idea. The emperor thought it would be better to deepen relationships with Grand Dream, rather than be hostile.
Marquedo simply watched silently as this problem still had nothing to do with Forestia. Kudyastoria didn"t wish for war since Ponsonia itself was still not stable.
All this was decided while Hikaru was in bed with a cold. Healing magic could accelerate one"s recuperative abilities, or cure tumors, but unfortunately it couldn"t instantly kill viruses in a body.
「What are you going to do?」Kaglai asked.
「I think I"ll stay in town.」
Hikaru was curious about the continent of Grand Dream, and he didn"t really have any plans. He still hadn"t done a proper sightseeing in Vireocean either.
Kaglai, however, couldn"t stay away from the Empire for too long, so he decided to head home. Quinbland"s troops would remain in Ville Zentra just in case the enemy attacked.
「Very well. I will give you your reward, then.」
Kaglai handed him a fist-sized bag containing ten silver commemorative coins, each equivalent to a hundred thousand gilans. The knights standing guard looked shocked. They were made of silver, a precious metal, and each one of them was a magic item as well. Sequentially numbered, these coins couldn"t be forged. Hikaru"s reward totaled ten million.
「You"re one crafty guy.」Hikaru smiled.
Kaglai smiled back.「I did not have anything else on hand. I am certain you can figure something out.」
「Yeah.」
Hikaru casually shoved the bag into his pocket. It was possible for Kaglai to trace the coins. Silver Face could use them no problem, but if Hikaru used it, Kaglai would discover Silver Face"s true ident.i.ty.
It was an obvious trap, but Hikaru"s bad habit got the better of him. He couldn"t back down from a challenge.
「I will leave one of my subordinates behind. If anything comes up, just talk to her.」
The emperor wasn"t going to let him take a breather. He rang a bell, and a girl entered the room.
「You called, Your Majesty? Wait, Silsil?!」
「I told you to stop calling me that. I"ll kick you.」
「Ow! You"re already kicking me!」
It was none other than Alice Sunborn, a member of Quinbland"s intelligence network and a student of the late Unken.
「You seem to know each other, after all. I figured it would be convenient.」
And so Kaglai left for Quinbland. Hikaru later found out that Marquedo and Kudyastoria wanted to talk to him, but he thought nothing good would really come out of it, so he chose to forget about it.
Peace returned to Ville Zentra. Or so they thought, when a lone ship, carrying Gorja, appeared in her seas. He looked somewhat disheartened as he asked Patricia for a negotiation once more.