novelraw Chapter 125: Going to Sea
Chapter 125: Going to Sea
"Master Mentor, I want to eat grilled fish."
Anna's words broke Loren's stare-off with the crow. Loren couldn't help but complain helplessly.
"Didn't you just eat?"
"The restaurant's food isn't as good as Mirrorheart's cooking! And I just saw some grilling equipment for sale nearby..."
"Alright..."
Loren ultimately agreed to Anna's request. He truly had spoiled her rotten.
While Anna ran off to buy the grill and seasonings, Loren cast his fishing hook back into the sea.
But now, Loren kept an eye on that strange crow. For the safety of himself and the children, he wouldn't overlook any anomaly around him.
The second fish bit just as quickly. This time, Loren's technique was much better, smoothly reeling the fish in. Mirrorheart deftly scooped it up with the landing net and placed it into the bucket prepared in advance.
The bucket was filled with seawater, so there was no worry about the fish dying.Though Loren felt the bucket might be a bit too small—the fish was over thirty centimeters long.
Loren wasn't very skilled at fishing. In the era he came from, nature had been mostly destroyed, leaving almost nowhere to fish.
To put it more gravely, the mountain Loren guarded was likely the last piece of true nature left in that world.
Fish after fish were reeled in by Loren, and the bucket was soon full. Loren picked out a few with the best appearance and fed the rest to the flock of birds behind him.
Beside Loren, Laila and the others were also fishing. Naclis wasn't interested in this activity and simply stayed quietly by Loren's side.
"So annoying, I can't catch a single one."
Scarlett grumbled. Loren almost couldn't hold back a laugh because he hadn't seen Scarlett touch the bait at all.
"It's here, it's here!"
Anna came running over, carrying the grill on her shoulder. The nearby residents were somewhat surprised by the sight.
Loren didn't pay it much mind. The abnormality Anna displayed wasn't much. Anyone who practiced martial arts at her age could likely do the same, and Anna did indeed know quite a few martial skills.
She often carried a saber openly, and her public identity was that of a Knight.
Then Mirrorheart skillfully started the fire, prepared the fish, and began grilling, while Loren continued to provide a steady supply of fish.
Most of the grilled fish ended up in Anna's stomach. The others had all eaten before coming, so only Anna still had room.
"Be careful not to upset your stomach again... What's this?"
As he spoke, Loren felt the hook snag on something. The weight was clearly off. When Loren looked toward where the hook was, he saw a hand.
That hand had directly grabbed Loren's fishing line. It was clearly not something Loren had hooked.
In an instant, Loren drew his gun. Just before he could pull the trigger, the person in the water surfaced.
"It's me..."
When Mara saw the dark muzzle of Loren's gun pointed at her, she felt a pang of fear. She didn't dare imagine what would have happened if she had shown her face one second later.
"Why are you in the water... Never mind, that was a redundant question."
There wasn't a single good patch of flesh left on Mara's face. Although she never looked much like a human to begin with, her appearance now was even more terrifying. The half of her face that remained was almost shattered into pieces. She had truly suffered a lot to get here.
"Come find me here tonight. We set sail."
After saying this, Mara submerged back into the water. Loren guessed she had been psychologically scarred by the people from the Church of the God of Vows and Wind.
Since all the fish-related parts of Mara's body had been cut off, her ability to move underwater was even worse than a normal human's. Given that, it was quite a feat for her to stay submerged for so long. She really had a hard time.
"Are we setting off?"
Anna's mouth was stuffed full of food, making her words somewhat slurred.
"Yes."
Even though departure was imminent, Loren wasn't in a hurry. He continued fishing at a leisurely pace.
After all, vast amounts of supplies were stored in Scarlett's Life Thief space. He didn't need to pack anything. The only thing left to do was figure out how to arrange Mara's death.
Loren held a grilled fish in one hand and the fishing rod in the other. He would take a bite, then Starnight, perched on the fabric of Loren's chest, would take a bite.
Later, Loren caught many more fish. After Anna couldn't eat anymore, he distributed them to the surrounding residents, which was enough for them to have a meal.
The fish guts were also fed to the small animals. Although there were many ruins here, it was a scene of thriving vitality, full of hope.
There was light in their eyes;
they could see a future.
This made Loren start to consider what would happen to these ordinary people after the gods were destroyed. They had grown accustomed to a life dependent on the gods.
Other believers were easier to deal with. After the gods' authority was returned, the world wouldn't lack abundance. The moon would turn back to gold. Although there would still be Monsters, there would be no Anomalies.
The Outer Gods would no longer covet this world, and madness would no longer fester. So, their lives would only be better than before.
But the believers of the God of Vows and Wind had grown accustomed to fairness, and that wasn't something easily obtained.
"Forget it, no point thinking too much..."
Loren thought of a simple and crude solution. He couldn't be bothered with the rest of the world's people anyway. After everything was over, he would find a peaceful place to continue raising Witches. If needed, he could simply find a Witch willing to be a ruler to manage humanity.
Witches were simple-minded and free of evil intentions, so they could at least guarantee basic fairness.
Though she might arrest anyone who dared speak ill of Loren, but that wasn't a big problem.
Time passed bit by bit. Loren acted completely normal until nightfall.
Anselm's nights were quiet. They knew the nights were dangerous and understood the principle that a wise man does not stand under a wall about to collapse. So, they chose not to go out at night rather than blame the Monsters after being attacked.
Loren and the others walked on the empty nighttime streets. The previous attack by the night undead was etched into their memories, making them even more afraid to go out. Besides, most people were still hiding in other cities and hadn't returned.
At the seaside of the Kingdom of Anselm, right where Loren had been fishing earlier, a wooden ship suddenly appeared. Mara stood on the deck, waving at Loren.
Mara didn't make a single sound. The wounds covering her body spoke volumes about the consequences of speaking carelessly.
The ship was quite high, but Loren could still jump onto it. The Witches could too;
their physical fitness was sufficient.
Except for Scarlett. Loren carried her up.
Mirrorheart was the same. She wasn't a Witch, so it was normal for her physical fitness to be inferior. Loren ultimately chose to carry her up as well.
Though Loren suspected Mirrorheart's fragility was an act. Before, when she was fantasizing about being ignored, she could kneel for a whole day and stand back up without her steps faltering.
After everyone was on board, the ship began to move even though no one was steering it. This was the ghost ship.
The ship sailed toward the boundless ocean. Loren saw a light in Mara's eyes.
A pity it was about to be extinguished.