Reincarnated Hero System

Chapter 1228 1228: A ‘Voyage’ Begins [Monthly Bonus 2]

The 'Voyager', a luxury cruise liner representing the pinnacle of current Aidosian technology.

It was docked at Avalon Harbour in the Avalon Gulf of the northern Alpha Continental nation of Lyria, the country that had brought together the latest technological breakthroughs of recent years to create the marvel known as the 'Voyager'.

The ship was essentially a floating city, its deep blue hull gleaming beneath the sunlight.

From the deck rose tiers of magi steel structures stacked layer upon layer, tallest at the centre and gradually descending toward the edges.

They resembled miniature buildings complete with windows, balconies, and domed rooftops, with plazas and open courtyards stretching between them.

Billions of gold had gone into constructing this 'city on water', with investors from various Alpha and Beta Continental nations, nobles and wealthy merchants alike pouring money into Azure Horizon Cruises, the company behind the Voyager's construction, and in the 6 months since the ship's launch in July of 1055, it had become clear they'd not only recover their investments but earn enormous profit given how many people flocked to it after the overwhelming success of its maiden voyage.

"A 'city on water', huh? Reminds me of the Triton's Ark," Evan said as he sat on the balcony of a seaside hotel that offered a clear view of the 600-metre-long cruise liner.

[Concept Art in Paragraph Comment.]

"Triton's Ark?" Eliza repeated, lifting her head from his lap and looking up at him.

"Mhmm… It was a floating Island Fortress the Gozonians used on Aramis," Evan replied, running his fingers through her blonde hair as he went on, "Except that one was an actual island floating on the ocean rather than a ship. The thing was thousands of square kilometres in area."

"How did they even get it to float?"

"Magic? What else?" Evan answered with a shrug. "Well, not only magic. There was universal law manipulation involved, too. The materials used in its construction were special and had been enchanted to lessen its weight, adjust the centre of gravity, and handle all that technical stuff."

Evan wasn't particularly well-versed in shipbuilding, so he could only comment on the parts he'd observed and asked about.

Eliza also wasn't interested in how the vessel functioned, so she silently rested her head back on Evan's lap, returning her attention to the glowing ship in the distance that they'd be boarding in a few hours.

In the 2 months since Evan and Eliza had travelled to Earth V to meet Evan's true parents, quite a bit had taken place.

To begin with, Evan had officially become 'Marquis' Bourne, taking up the title Emperor Rudeus had promised him years earlier after the resolution of the Dullahan Attack.

The ceremony hadn't been a grand affair, but it was still public and broadcast across the continent via TVs, which kept people talking for weeks.

An 18-year-old Marquis? It was an unusual and almost absurd occurrence, and outside of cases where a noble of that rank had passed away while their heir was still young, it hardly ever happened.

But everyone knew of Evan's accomplishments and how deeply involved he had been in resolving the terror events of the past few years.

National Leaders were also well aware that the GWE was clearly seeking to expand Evan's political influence even further, on top of the authority he already held, and awarding him such a high Noble Rank was simply one step in that direction.

As for Evan, he didn't linger long in the GWE after the conferment ceremony and set out to the Billowy Depths Ocean west of the Alpha Continent, bringing all of his companions and fellow Heroes with him.

Their mission was to scout for the remnants of the Demonic Hand's Fifth and Sixth Divisions on the islands there, marking targets for the Heroes and Demons to eliminate once Evan and Eliza departed for the Beta Continent.

While that was ongoing, Evan leveraged his connections with leaders of nations such as the GEE, Utraria Republic, and Tarse, all major trade powers in their respective regions, to arrange meetings with investors and shareholders in various multinational companies for him.

He went into those meetings with Nadarus and came out as a shareholder in several multinational companies across the continent, leveraging both Nadarus' connections with some of these shareholders, whom he'd scamme—correction, done business with in recent years, and the Demon of Greed's power to induce 'Greed' in them, making them more willing to sell some of their shares to Evan.

Tarse provided Evan with a substantial amount of monetary reward, so it was no surprise where he got the capital to break into the economic world and begin buying out shares in various companies, a calculated move to gain some measure of economic influence.

One of the target companies was Azure Horizon Cruises, the owners of the Voyager cruise liner he and his fiancée were currently looking at.

Roselia, Nadarus, Leviah, and Emrel were all staying behind on the Alpha Continent instead of following him, Eliza, Kayla, and Kuro to the Beta Continent, and leaving aside Emrel, who was just going to sleep most of the time, Nadarus would continue the buy-outs on Evan's behalf, while Roselia and Leviah were going to hunt down anything 'Demonic Hand' related, including several High-Rank Demons that had been sealed a thousand years ago.

Evan had always known the locations of these sealed demons, but he hadn't mentioned anything because his party hadn't had the strength to deal with them.

However, since Ferrid had decided to open that can of worms by unsealing some of those on the Beta Continent and sending them to aid the Fifth Division in Tarse, Evan decided not to hold back either.

It was even better now that his companions were all at least Level 700, so they wouldn't be instantly killed by the Level 700+ High-Rank Demons.

He was also confident that the Deadly Sin Demon siblings would encounter Demonic Hand Senior Members from the First Division there, attempting to unseal those High-Rank Demons under Ferrid's orders.

"Make my departure from the Alpha Continent known, so the Demonic Hand thinks I'm heading there with everyone, letting those left on Alpha lower their guards a bit, making it easier for Roselia and the others," Evan muttered quietly.

Hearing him, Eliza asked, "What about your contract with Leviah? Didn't it include something about you unsealing her brother on the Beta Continent?"

She was referring to the agreement Evan had made with the Demon of Envy when he removed her from "The Depths of Nature's Jealousy," the dungeon in the Beast Kingdom's Dungeon City Grimsgil, where she had been sealed.

"In return, when we get to the Beta Continent, Gluttony would be the first priority."

Those were the exact words Evan had spoken to Leviah that day, and Eliza wondered why the Demon of Envy wasn't following them despite that clause.

"Well, she doesn't want to be outdone by Roselia and lose her current power advantage, so she's busy clearing out dungeons like a mad lad," Evan replied.

"Since I can't unseal Gluttony while she isn't there to explain why he shouldn't immediately attack me, the successor of the man who put him in there, I'm not contractually bound to unseal him. After all, I did say when 'we' get to the Beta Continent, not when 'I' get there."

Phrasing was crucial in contracts like this, after all.

Thanks to that, Evan didn't have to face a hungry, hostile Peak-Rank Demon without Leviah present to act as a mediator.

"You bought a lot of shares in the company that owns that ship. What are you planning?" Eliza asked, lightly curious about Evan's real intentions.

"Nothing that involves the ship directly. The ship's route and its passengers are more my priority than being one of its owners."

"The passengers? The thousands who want to cruise the ocean and make several stops on the islands, or a select few?"

"A select few. Just two, in fact," Evan replied, picking up a pamphlet on the side stool to his left and opening it, revealing the large banner image for a Real Estate company in the Aelum Kingdom.

Eliza glanced at it, and seeing the company's head office address ending with 'Eblor', the Aelum Kingdom's capital, she quickly figured out one of the people Evan was after.

"The Aelum Kingdom's Fourth Princess? You've been talking with her a lot lately."

"She's close friends with Duchess Johnston and an associate of Duke Zylwenys. She'll be useful to me when I get there."

When Evan said this, Eliza thought back to Tisha, the adventurer they'd met in Bultom City in 1052, who turned out to be the daughter of Duke Zylwenys that Evan had just mentioned, and was currently in a party with Yetu, the former Boss monster of the Graveyard of the Arrogant.

"Did you approach Tisha knowing who she was when we were in Bultom?" Eliza asked, curious about how far Evan's plans went.

Evan understood the intent behind her question and couldn't help but laugh softly.

"Unfortunately, your fiancé doesn't have that much foresight. Meeting Tisha was a happy coincidence, that's all."

"Then what about this Duchess Johnston you mentioned? Who's she?"

"A little girl I helped about 20 years ago," Evan replied, recalling the last endeavour he had while waiting for Idrilla's soul to be reincarnated in the Aelum Kingdom.

He'd saved the daughter of the deceased Johnston Ducal couple, who was about to be assassinated by her uncles, becoming her guardian, helping her contract with spirits, and eventually aiding her in reclaiming her rightful position as Duchess.

While he'd hidden his face whenever he was in public, the young Duchess knew what he looked like, so he was really looking forward to seeing her again and witnessing her surprised reaction.

"She might be the only person outside my circle who knows I travelled through time," Evan said with a wry smile.

Eliza was silent for a moment, thinking of the poor duchess who'd gotten caught up in Evan's schemes, before muttering a light warning.

"Try not to go overboard, okay?"

"Okay, I'll try," Evan replied, placing strong emphasis on the word 'try', which made Eliza even more suspicious of him.

She raised an eyebrow at him, but Evan acted as if he hadn't noticed, setting down the pamphlet he'd been holding and ringing the bell to call for room service.

It was 3:00 pm on Day 10 of January, Year 1056 of the 51st General Calendar, three hours before the Voyager would set off on its fourth and most eventful voyage across the Divider Ocean.