novelraw Chapter 393: Interception
Chapter 393: Interception
Fisher squinted, looking at the distant port. After seeing quite a few familiar crew members of the Iceberg Queen Ship disembarking to unload cargo, she herself didn't stay there for long. Conversely, she very naturally carried a bag of something and headed in this direction, clearly exactly as Old Jack had said.
Fisher's expression didn't change, but he very quickly turned his head back to look at Old Jack before him and said in a low voice,
"I came here just to verify your situation. I can't stay here long, especially since Renee is still here... Oh, right, where is Isabel? I didn't see her here."
Old Jack shot him an exasperated glare and wiped the wine glass in his hand while saying,
"Previously, I wanted Isabel to stay on the island to act as my assistant. With Alagina's protection, it would be very safe here. I was also afraid that if something happened to her, Her Highness Elizabeth... Her Majesty the Queen would blow this place flat. But she completely refused and insisted on sailing out to sea with Alagina and the others. She came back once a few weeks ago, completely tanned. However, she's grown quite a bit, and is vastly different from when she first left Naris."
He then cast another glance at Fisher, waved his hand, and said,
"Everything is going well around here. Pakhz likes Karma and the others quite a bit. Because she worships the Frost Phoenix, she doesn't discriminate against Demi-humans. Although she's from the Sardin Woman's Country, she's actually quite meticulous; she's a good person. Captain Alagina doesn't do the dangerous work of plundering ships anymore either; the Black Chieftain is looking for the Stormsea, so they've been wandering deep in the Eastern Ocean these days, which is a much better life than dodging cannon fire like before. Let alone Isabel, she's sturdy and fierce like a little leopard now, you can't even tell whether she's a Nali Person or a Sardin Woman's Country native..."
"Right now, the most critical problem is you! You bastard kid, back in Naris you had some ambiguous relationship with Her Majesty Elizabeth, dragging it out constantly until she eventually started chasing you all over the world... Now that you're out, you still won't settle down! Captain Alagina is a woman from that matriarchy and so sincere; her heart has been honestly tied to you. She wanted to write letters to you countless times but was afraid of disturbing you. Now you've brought another woman back! When exactly did you even meet her?"
Hearing the words of Old Jack before him, even Fisher felt too embarrassed to push the majority of the blame onto the Demi-Human Completion Handbook in his pocket. He had actually admitted a long time ago that his own greed had created these mistakes. The Demi-Human Completion Handbook might have played an indispensable role, but the main problem was still himself...
From this perspective, he was indeed the purest gentleman in romantic Naris. Even with the traditional ascetic blood of Kadu mixed in, it hadn't diminished his nature in the slightest."In Schwari. Actually, Alagina has met her before."
"Wow, you're really brave. Aren't you afraid Alagina, whom you've cuckolded, will devour you alive? Schwari... just how long ago was that? You had just graduated from the Royal Academy less than half a year prior? And after that? You went to the Southern Continent, and you just came back from the Northlands. Are you planning on having relations with a lady in every single place you visit?"
Fisher's expression was indifferent, but his gaze dodged subconsciously. He backed away a bit from the counter, looked back at Renee who was very far away from him, and said,
"I know what I'm doing, don't worry. I will go see Alagina shortly... But we have to leave right now. Just don't reveal that Renee came here."
Old Jack sighed and didn't reply, merely continuing to wipe the glass in his hand.
Fisher calmly calculated in his mind, then went to Renee's side. He watched her enthusiastically rubbing the ears and hair of the three rat-girls; evidently, she also liked these lively children very much.
"Let's go, Old Jack and I have pretty much finished talking."
"Eh? We're leaving so soon?"
Renee was somewhat confused. Karma, the most lively little rascal, also chimed in,
"Yeah, yeah! Fisher, you were gone for so long before coming back, you can stay here a little longer... Grandma Pakhz takes a long time to come back once, usually it's Auntie Al—"
Fisher unwrapped a piece of candy and stuffed it into Karma's mouth, turning all the words she wanted to say into the action of tasting the candy. Giving another piece of candy to the other two eagerly watching girls, he smiled and said,
"We still have other things to do. We'll definitely come back in the future and stay for a very, very long time, alright?"
"Okay!"
Fisher glanced at Renee, who also smiled and nodded. Smoothing her dress, she stood up, gave Old Jack a greeting, and walked to the shop's door,
"That works out. Purple Lightning Waterweed Material can't be stored for too long, so it's best we set off today anyway. The sooner your problem is resolved, the sooner I can be at ease... Goodbye, little ones, hurry and go read your books! We're leaving now."
"Okay, bye-bye, Renee! Fisher!"
Renee didn't have any intention of forcing him to stay. Seeing that Fisher showed signs of wanting to leave, she gracefully walked out. Fisher also followed her, walking in another direction, intending to stroll a bit longer before returning to the ship to set off toward the destination Renee mentioned. Very quickly, they disappeared into the crowd.
Inside the tavern, Old Jack watched Fisher and the others disappear quickly. After pondering for a moment, he let out a sigh and said to the Karma sisters who were still eating candy in front of the table and chairs,
"You girls have been playing all day! You agreed to take an afternoon nap, hurry up and go rest!"
"Grandpa, just let us finish this piece of candy... Also, Sister Alagina is coming back soon, we want to see what gift she brought back for Grandma Pakhz..."
Old Jack thought to himself, 'If I leave you three little rascals with loose lips here, Alagina will definitely discover Renee's existence in minutes.' Although Old Jack wasn't intentionally trying to cover up Fisher's poor behavior, objectively speaking, now was simply not the time to handle their relationship issues.
Alagina was working hard to earn the opportunity to return to the Sardin Woman's Country, and her status in the Pirate Harbor was soaring like the midday sun. And there was no need to speak much about Fisher; he was currently being hunted by Empress Elizabeth. If he added an Iceberg Queen into the mix... well, he didn't know if that counted as "having too many debts to worry about them."
To conclude, Old Jack believed this problem definitely needed to be resolved eventually. At that time, even if these ladies wanted to hack Fisher to pieces, he wouldn't interfere, but it absolutely could not be at a time like this.
"Hurry up, don't make me say it a second time! Pakhz spoiling you has made you too cocky, hasn't it? Go to sleep!"
"Oh..."
Under Old Jack's command, the three rat-girls finally, Reluctant, dragged their bodies into the inner room. Only the upright Old Jack was left alone, continuing to wipe the glass behind the counter, incidentally saying a silent prayer of confession in his heart for this behavior.
As for Fisher and Renee, after leaving Old Jack's tavern, they began to slowly stroll in the other direction. Renee led the way, humming a song with a smile, her eyes constantly sweeping across the various shops lining the street. Behind her, Fisher was pondering what excuse he could use to temporarily slip away from Renee.
Alagina was pure but not stupid, and Old Jack was an honest old man; even if he wanted to explain things for Fisher, the effect would be poor. When she returned, she would definitely realize something was wrong. Moreover, she still had the messenger to contact him; even if he left with Renee, that paper airplane would still come flying.
Another reason was that out of both emotion and logic, Fisher absolutely should go see Alagina, whom he had not seen in a long time. If this departure failed to successfully shake off Death, then this would very likely be their final meeting...
"It's been a long time since I've walked through such a lively place with you. In the past, when you were in Naris, you were either writing papers or out on field trips to other nations. Even with a beautiful girl like me giving you the opportunity, you failed to make use of it."
"These are all ruthless pirates. Even since we first got onto the island, people have been watching us; they only left after seeing us enter Old Jack's tavern. The liveliness you're seeing now just means you'll be viciously ripped off when you go buy things later. That suit you bought for me would cost less than three hundred Nario in Naris, but here they're selling it for the equivalent of a thousand..."
Renee rolled her eyes and turned around irritably. Stabbing Fisher with her finger as if wanting to pierce right through him, she said,
"Go to hell, go to hell, go to hell, Fisher! Are you allergic to romance?! Was that what I was talking about?!"
"Sorry..."
Fisher smiled helplessly, reaching out to grasp the hand probing him. Suddenly recalling the illusion of Renee's voice he heard while studying the Soul Completion Handbook in the Northlands, he continued,
"Actually, while you were away, I thought... if I had urged you to stay when you wanted to leave back then, telling you that my rental apartment in Naris is your home... if I had acted a little more foolish when you flirted with me, and not said such overly logical, unromantic things... you wouldn't have left. I didn't expect that right after relaxing around you, I'd subconsciously say those things again."
Covering her mouth with a smile, Renee pouted and reached out to cradle Fisher's chin, saying,
"It's praiseworthy that Gentleman Fisher has come to such a realization. But this is just your nature... Being Insensitive To Romance doesn't mean you don't understand romance, it's just that you don't reciprocate it. If you reciprocated every lady's romance, that would give me a headache... So you aren't allowed to reciprocate other ladies' romance from now on, otherwise I'll be very jealous~"
Without waiting for the Fisher before her to answer, Renee already turned her head with a smile, looking at the afternoon street before them. Right now was the perfect time for people to nap, so it was somewhat quieter compared to when they first arrived. As if infected by the scenery, Renee also stretched her back and continued,
"Now, let me think... Oh, right! I just suddenly remembered there's still a little something I haven't prepared. Even if we fly to our destination, it's still a one-day journey; we need to prepare some supplies. I'm not sure if the Magic Materials you bought are enough. Previously when I told you not to spend money you wanted to, now that I'm letting you, you're being so frugal. Go buy a bit more to keep as backup... Also, I originally said I wanted to give Eimhart a gift for our first meeting, but I only bought things for you and completely forgot about him. Come on, let's go have another look?"
Fisher cast a glance at the street before them. Thinking for a moment, he shook his head at Renee and said,
"That would be too much trouble. How about we split up to buy them? I'll go prepare the supplies and Magic Materials, and you take Eimhart to buy his gift. We can meet up at the ship in the port in a bit."
Hearing this, as if abandoned by her lover, Renee immediately clutched her chest and took a step back. With tears at the corners of her eyes and her voice begging for pity, she falsely sobbed,
"Wuu wuu wuu, could it be... could it be that Fisher is already tired of me after spending less than a single day together? Ah well, it was all in vain after all."
"Renee..."
It was only after the gaze of the islanders nearby who were just about to rest drifted over, and right before Fisher's face darkened little by little, that Renee finally laughed while clutching her stomach. Pulling a pouch of Carduan silver coins from her pocket and placing it into Fisher's hand, she reached out and snatched Eimhart, who was constantly winking at Fisher, out from his chest.
"Alright, alright, enough messing around. We'll just gather at the port later... Let's go, Eimhart, what do you want to buy?"
"Whatever, it would be best if we can find some books I haven't read..."
Hovering in mid-air, Eimhart looked at Fisher for a moment, then at the smiling Renee beside him. Only after exchanging a glance with Fisher did he follow Renee with a look of Nothing Left to Live For. Clearly, he already knew Fisher was going to use this time to meet Alagina...
Clutching the coin pouch, Fisher cast a grateful glance at the heroically sacrificed Book Viscount. He then purposely avoided taking the same path they used from Old Jack's tavern, instead heading toward the road that led to the market they had visited earlier. He planned to circle around and return to Old Jack's tavern.
Alagina carried the fish Pakhz had brought for Old Jack towards his tavern just as before. Logically speaking, this matter of replenishing supplies clearly didn't require the Iceberg Queen, who was the captain, to do personally; she naturally had other matters to attend to.
If one recalled their time in the Southern Ocean, she had received a message magic sent by the Pirate Harbor, from which she learned that Fisher was wanted overseas by Naris. But these types of maritime messages were used for disseminating missions and major events. Although the Pirate Harbor had established intelligence networks in various countries, the information was mixed and unrelated to the majority of pirates' missions, so it was impossible to send it constantly to the pirates via message magic.
Therefore, to keep abreast of the news from the Northlands, she would frequently return personally to read the newly obtained intelligence at the Pirate Harbor—usually once every two weeks.
Of course, she could also write letters to Fisher; after all, she carried the messenger Fisher had given her specifically for contacting him on her person at all times, treating it like some sort of amulet. But she simply wasn't a very eloquent native of the matriarchal country. Several times, she had lifted her pen, only to stare blankly for a long time and merely write down the words "I miss you", completely disregarding any concept of literature. She also worried somewhat if that made her look too "manly" and petty...
So weighing her options, she still only came over to stealthily check the situation in the Northlands to guess Fisher's current state. This time was no exception. First, she was delivering a gift back to Old Jack on behalf of her aging First Mate, Pakhz, whose romance was finally blooming.
"Old Jack, this is the gift Pakhz brought for you; she sends her regards."
Alagina pushed open the door of Old Jack's tavern and greeted him expressionlessly, just as always. But she very quickly realized that the atmosphere today seemed slightly amiss.
"Ah... Captain Alagina... Just set it over there... Erm, how has your sailing been these past few days? Is it still safe?"
First was Old Jack; usually, he would casually nod, and that would be the end of it. Today, however, he unexpectedly and uncharacteristically asked about their voyage to find the Stormsea while his eyes dodged, and his expression wasn't very natural...
Alagina, with her background in the military of the matriarchal country, quickly noticed something was wrong. She sharply scanned Old Jack while pondering in her mind, then replied,
"It's fine..."
"Mm, mm, that's good."
Alagina placed the fish on the table and chair by the entrance. She didn't see those three noisy rat-people as usual, but instead noticed a pushed-out chair in front of the table nearby... The tavern's chairs were quite tall. Karma and the others were very short and didn't like sitting on them; even if they did, it would be impossible to only sit on one chair. Furthermore, there were two open bags of candy on the table, and discarded candy wrappers thrown on the floor...
"Where are Karma and the others?"
"Oh, they're taking an afternoon nap. They just fell asleep. They got tired of reading books this morning."
Alagina stared at the candy wrappers on the floor without responding. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said,
"Old Jack, have you received any news from Fisher?"
"...No, didn't he go to the Northlands? If you're worried about him, then write him a letter... I mean, later."
"Mm, I will... I'm leaving now."
As if she hadn't noticed anything, Alagina nodded at Old Jack, then slowly pushed open the tavern door and walked out, allowing Old Jack, who was standing behind the counter committing such a bad deed for the very first time, to heave a sigh of relief.
He was just a bystander, and yet his heart was beating rapidly just from covering up for Fisher slightly. He really couldn't fathom how that guy Fisher was capable of staying so calm while situated right in the eye of the storm. Was it relying purely on his courage?
Inside the tavern, Old Jack stood in place, his thoughts unsettled. He no longer wiped the glasses. He didn't know that once she exited the tavern, Alagina stopped at the street intersection. Furrowing her brows slightly, she glanced left and right down the street. She guessed in her heart that someone Old Jack was intimately familiar with had visited here recently; otherwise, he would absolutely never allow an outsider to bring candy to feed his most beloved Karma and the others...
Old Jack came from Naris. Alagina didn't know the exact details of his social connections; she only knew from Pakhz that all of his family members had passed away, and he only knew Fisher in Naris... Then the identity of the person who came was most likely settled. There wouldn't be anyone else who would travel such a great distance to the Pirate Harbor deep in the Eastern Ocean.
But... if it was Fisher, why wouldn't he let Old Jack tell her when he arrived?
Could it be that something happened to him, and he didn't want to worry her?
Yes, even in a situation like this, the very first thing Alagina considered was whether some accident had befallen Fisher and he didn't want to make her worry.
But no matter what, she wanted to see Fisher. This increasingly intense thought caused her heartbeat to accelerate pace by pace, urging her to swiftly retrieve the messenger Fisher had given her previously from her pocket. The writing on it, Fisher's handwriting, was still clearly visible: "My Queen".
During the time she was separated from Fisher, Alagina carried it with her every moment of every day, treasuring it as if it were her own protective amulet; she believed that her feelings for her lover would transform into luck to shelter her.
Therefore, at this very moment, as she carried a feeling of apprehension to verify her conjecture, and injected Magic Power to activate and throw the paper airplane messenger in her hand, that paper airplane wobbled in midair. Subsequently, it didn't point in the direction of the distant Northlands, but rather swiftly reversed its direction, swaying as it flew toward a specific direction on the island.
Fisher truly was on the island!
Alagina's breathing slightly hitched. Numerous thoughts flashed through her mind, difficult to put into words, but the action she was about to take was solitary and absolute: she was going to follow the messenger to see Fisher.
She took a deep breath, adjusted her expression, and very quickly ran in the direction of the paper airplane.
At the same time, Eimhart, who was floating beside Renee, was simply totally bewildered, appearing to have absolutely no idea what the current situation was.
Renee had clearly just said she wanted to buy a gift for him, which was why she brought him along. But after separating from Fisher, she didn't even ask him what he actually wanted. Instead, she just roamed around aimlessly, taking him along near the spot where they had separated from Fisher, completely engrossed in herself. One moment she'd look at this shop, the next she'd gaze distantly at the ships sailing on the sea...
Renee's silence made Eimhart, who had already made full preparations and sworn to sacrifice himself to cover for Fisher, feel somewhat At A Loss, evidently not knowing what the real intentions of this suddenly appearing old flame of Fisher were.
Watching Renee looking thoroughly at the jade stones sold by the merchants before her with her hands clasped behind her back, he finally couldn't help but clear his throat and speak,
"Um... Miss Renee, you still haven't asked me what I want..."
"Eh?"
Astonished, Renee turned her head to look at Eimhart hovering in midair before her, as if she had suddenly remembered that he was right there following her... That Totally Unexpected expression made Eimhart instantly want to lose his temper. This was the first time the great Eimhart had been ignored so thoroughly, but when he thought of the great mission Fisher had entrusted him with, he still forced his temper down and didn't say anything.
"Ah, sorry, Eimhart. I completely forgot that we were here to buy you a gift... What is it that you want? I'll take you to buy it once things finish up here. Books, or decorations?"
Finish up?
What could possibly "finish up" here?
Wasn't she just bringing him to buy a gift? Or could it be that she was waiting for Fisher to finish buying his things and return?
No, that wasn't right. Didn't Fisher say they would meet up at the port? Waiting here made no sense!
As smart as Eimhart was, he temporarily failed to keep up with Renee's words; he just had a vaguely ominous premonition brewing in his heart...
And exactly as he expected, in the next second, Renee tapped her red lips, then suddenly beckoned upward with her hand. A swaying paper airplane flew straight into the palm of her hand.
Renee didn't speak another word, nor did she look anywhere else. As if not surprised in the slightest, she unfolded the paper airplane in her hand bit by bit. That clear line of text on it was just that eye-catching, piercing, even.
"My... Queen... Hehe."
The instant he saw the text on the paper airplane, even though he was a book, an icy chill still instantly shot to Eimhart's head. Clearly, he recognized that this paper airplane was the exact messenger Fisher had previously written for Alagina to communicate.
Frightened, he immediately began to tremble. He looked at Renee present before him, who was grasping the messenger and wearing a dangerous smile. Following that, he immediately turned his head to look in the direction the messenger flew from out of a feeling of premonition. That remarkably tall, incredibly handsome Iceberg Queen was so conspicuous. At a single glance, she had also spotted the familiar figure within the crowd, dazzling like the sun—Renee...
"Rumble!"
Though the sun shone brightly, a thunderclap exploded within Eimhart's heart, nearly making him faint and perish.
And Renee, who had bizarrely intercepted the messenger, also straightened out her black dress and turned to look at the Alagina in the distance, who had furrowed her brows but was still marching over aggressively.
A huge battle was On The Verge Of Outbreak.