novelraw Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Ch.56 Spring has come
As Hans headed towards Captain Carlos of the Freya’s usual tavern, Siren’s Song,
Selena walked beside him, sulking as if something displeased her.
‘Did I upset her by ignoring her?’
While I was puzzled over how to cheer her up, we arrived at the tavern.
Perhaps because it wasn’t yet evening, only a few patrons were inside—making it easy to spot Carlos’s familiar face.
Sure enough, a striking man in his mid-thirties, with black hair and sparse beard growth, immediately caught my eye.
—Thud!
“Ugh… I’m ruined.”
Carlos slammed his drink down with a grimace, clearly troubled.
Where was the cheerful, Arctic-obsessed adventurer I knew? Why did he look so utterly defeated?
“That’s the captain?” Selena asked anxiously, glancing at his gloomy figure.
I nodded. “He is—but…”
I didn’t understand why Carlos, usually so brashly enthusiastic he was called foolish, now seemed so broken.
I’d never seen him this disheartened before.
Curious, I approached him.
“Hello. Are you Captain Carlos of the Freya?”
—Thud!
“Yeah, what do you want?”
His dull eyes rolled toward me, forcing a bitter smile.
Carlos looked to be in his mid-thirties—an age where one should be fully self-sufficient.
Yet this alcoholic…?
“I… heard you were recruiting crew for an Arctic voyage, so I came.”
It was odd to find him here—normally, he’d be recruiting sailors on the street.
“The Ar-Ar-Arctic?!”
His face flushed red and purple as he bellowed:
“Ugh! You idiot! In my current state, are you seriously talking to me about the Arctic like it’s cracking sunflower seeds?!”
Staggering to his feet, Carlos even jabbed a finger at me.
“It’s bad enough I’m ruined! How dare you bring that up in front of me?!”
He swung a wobbly fist through the air—but I easily dodged it.
—Crash!
“Urgh…!”
He collapsed to the floor in a pitiful heap, groaning.
What? This wasn’t the Carlos I knew.
Carlos was supposed to be fiercely competitive and unyielding—so persistent in his Arctic expeditions that, unless the player intervened, he’d keep attempting them despite constant failure.
Even as an NPC, he commanded respect.
Yet here he was, drowning in alcohol, utterly broken.
Something was clearly wrong.
This wasn’t the game world. It was another reality.
Judging from the phenomena I’d witnessed in Auros’s chamber, this place couldn’t be mere game data.
Selena gently reached out and helped Carlos to his feet.
“We just want to go to the Arctic.”
“The Arctic? Why?”
I answered the half-conscious man: “We have something to find there.”
“Pff—You must think the Arctic’s a walk in the park! It’s the most dangerous place in this world—got that?”
Carlos chuckled, his face flushed from drinking.
“I know well. Hidden icebergs and Merfolk ambushes make reaching the Arctic nearly impossible.”
(Truth be told, I’d been to the Arctic countless times in-game—so I had a rough idea how to handle it.)
At my calm response, Carlos tried to glare—but too drunk, his eyes remained half-lidded as he scanned me.
His boozy, intense stare annoyed me, but needing his ship, I forced a smile.
“How do you know all that? Have you been on an Arctic expedition before?”
“Not personally, but I know the basics. And besides—I know the Freya is the only ship in Nook sailing to the Arctic.”
Finally sensing my sincerity, Carlos’s aggression softened. He sat back down at the table.
“Well… anyway, I can’t go. I’ve got no money.”
He speared a sausage and popped it into his mouth.
“See, I invested in cotton farming—right when the Central Continent got dragged into war. Thanks to that, I’m utterly ruined and drowning in debt. Arctic expeditions are off the table for now.”
Ah—so that’s why he’s like this.
The recent war over slavery, sparked by Scarlet’s group,had thrown the New Continent’s central regions into chaos.
Seeing Carlos caught in the fallout of a war caused by the Hero Party made my chest ache.
I felt deeply guilty—after all, it was highly likely I’d summoned them here.
But regardless, I needed the Trident of the Sea God.
To smoothly handle the ‘King of the Dead’, I had to recover the artifacts and gold from the sunken ship that sank when I first arrived in the New Continent.
“How much debt do you have?”
“A huge amount.”
Frustrated, Carlos downed more rum. I pressed again: “Exactly how much?”
He replied listlessly, “Why? Are you going to pay me? If not, why ask?”
“I will. How much is it?”
His face flushed even deeper in shock.
“You think I’m joking?! Forget it.”
As he tried to stand, I pulled out a leather pouch and revealed hundreds of gold coins.
“Seriously—this proves I can pay. So, how much?”
—Gulp.
The glint of gold drew every eye in the tavern toward us.
—Tap.
Selena nudged me with her elbow.
“Hans, you’re drawing too much attention.”
I quickly tucked the pouch away, and we sat across from Carlos.
“So, how much?”
Carlos remained skeptical. “1,500 gold.”
A considerable sum.
“If I give you that, can you take us to the Arctic?”
“Well… honestly, I’ve only ever sailed near the Arctic Ocean—not all the way.”
I nodded. “I know. But I must go.”
I pulled out a checkbook, wrote “1,500 gold,”
—Riiip!—and handed him the torn check.
“Use this to clear your debt, then take us to the Arctic.”
Carlos stared blankly, alternating between the check and me.
“But… I really don’t know the route to the Arctic! I mean—I don’t.”
(At least the money swayed him—he’d even switched to polite speech.)
“I’ll guide you. Following my directions, you’ll reach the Arctic.”
After finalizing our unorthodox deal, we left the tavern.
“Hans, you spoke like you’d been to the Arctic before. Are you sure you haven’t?”
Selena’s face was full of doubt.
“I haven’t—but I have a rough idea how to get there.”
“How?”
‘Because I’ve done it in the game—but I couldn’t say that.’
“Just… a hunch, I guess?”
“Tch. Unlucky.”
Selena scowled.
Before I could respond, an idea struck me.
“Selena, want to head back to the inn first? I forgot something—I’ll be right back.”
Thinking I was trying to ditch her, she gave me a sullen look.
“Take me with you.”
“I’m meeting a local friend—it’d be awkward to bring you. Sorry.”
My firm refusal made her snort.
“Hmph. Fine.”
She slowly faded from view.
Ah… she’s fallen too hard for me.
Though Selena was subtly obsessive, I knew she was nothing compared to Cecilia—so I headed to a nearby flower shop.
***
‘Hans… what are you really?’
Traveling with Hans, Selena had tried to uncover his true identity—but to no avail.
“If he knows prophecies, he should be a Vatican believer… yet nothing adds up.”
So far, Hans didn’t seem particularly skilled in magic.
But he already possessed three divine powers—and Selena knew it was impossible to obtain them by mere chance.
‘And he even secured a ship to the Arctic.’
She was certain Hans held extraordinary power—otherwise, how could he so easily charter a ship to the Arctic, a route even hardened sailors avoided?
‘Could he possess a Gift?’
If he held a Gift—the blessing of the gods—his actions would make sense.
“Then I need to find out what Gift he has. Sigh…”
Hans was full of secrets.
To defeat him, she needed to know his Gift—but he hid everything from her.
He never explained how he knew about the ship or the captain, making it clear prying information from him wouldn’t be easy.
‘I must make him confess somehow.’
She’d attempted assassination after assassination during their travels—only to fail and be killed by Hans each time.
Desperate to steal his divine powers, she’d ultimately failed—and now, fearing she’d lose them forever, had followed him to Nook.
Perhaps his hidden ability was either locating divine powers or foreseeing the future.
“Sigh… but how do I deal with him?”
To take his artifacts, she had to eliminate him—yet every time she attacked, some force intervened, and Hans killed her.
After countless failed attempts—too many to count—Selena seethed with frustration.
‘He’s the master of Equality, after all. But I’m no pushover either. Just wait—I won’t let you destroy the God of Death.’
As Selena steeled her resolve—
—Knock knock.
Someone tapped on her inn room door.
“Yes, go away.”
—Creak.
The door opened to reveal Hans.
***
Seeing Selena’s pouty expression, I decided I needed to get her a gift.
She was the first sane person I’d met here—and stunningly beautiful, enough to make one’s eyes spin.
As a self-proclaimed ‘Destiny’ veteran, I found her mysterious—so enigmatic I didn’t even know her name at first.
And now, she clearly liked me.
—Selena, I’ll check on the Arctic-bound ship tomorrow. Where will you go?
—I’m going to the Arctic too.
When I mentioned the dangerous Arctic, she didn’t hesitate to follow.
This was truly my otherworldly life.
How much have I suffered until now?
The moment I arrived here, I scrambled for food, settled in, and spent my days managing four insane women.
And that wasn’t all.
I’d crossed oceans, trekked deserts, wandered snowfields, and even prevented the dragon war—the New Continent’s greatest calamity…
Yet those madwomen were still hell-bent on tearing me into four pieces.
After all that hardship, finally…
“Spring has come.”
“Mom? That guy’s weird. He says it’s spring—even though it’s autumn.”
A boy around ten pointed at me, and his mother quickly yanked his hand away.
“When you see people like that, pretend you didn’t and just walk past.”
Though hurt, I shrugged it off.
“Since spring has come…”
My steps toward buying Selena’s gift were light as air.
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