EeDechi and the others finally arrived at the mechanic's residence.
It was a twin-tower structure, with a suspended dock stretching between the two towers. A skyship fitted with propellers was moored there.
A spiral staircase wrapped around the outside of the tower. The group climbed the wooden steps and entered a cavernous workshop where the wind howled constantly.
A wooden model skyship hung from the ceiling, swaying back and forth in the gusts. Beneath it stood a middle-aged man in goggles, screwdriver in hand, carefully making adjustments to the model.
He was Floch Reichel, the only mechanic on Dragon Island.
Floch came from a long line of craftsmen. By chance, he had once obtained a handwritten manuscript dating back to the era of the Eight Greed Kings, from which he learned how to repair skyships and even build simple ones.
Unfortunately, simple aircraft were about the limit of his abilities. Without the necessary materials or the complete manufacturing process, he had no way to recreate the powerful skyships of the Eight Greed Kings' era.
Floch had once lived on the mainland. But after one of his aircraft crashed and killed someone, the local mages branded his work heretical and persecuted him, forcing him to flee to Dragon Island.
When he heard the Grand Elder's request, Floch readily agreed.
He might not be able to build a skyship from the era of the Eight Greed Kings, but repairing EeDechi's small skyship, the Apocalyptic Mourning Bell, was well within his capabilities.
EeDechi took out the skyship and placed it in the dock.
After leaving the workshop, the group found a tavern and settled in to wait. They ordered a bottle of chilled sweet plum juice and a bottle of aged wine, while EeDechi asked for a pot of boiling water to make tea.
Lich Gray obediently sat on the floor.
The five finger holes in his skull were still gleaming brightly.
A black cat crouched on the bar and let out a shrill laugh, as though mocking Gray's misfortune.
The Grand Elder hurried to pay for all the drinks before anyone else could, then left the tavern with an ingratiating smile.
Once outside, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead—only to run straight into one of Dragon Island's senior dark mages.
"Those outsiders still haven't left?" the dark mage asked.
The Grand Elder sighed. "Soon. Once their skyship from the Eight Greed Kings' era is repaired, they'll fly away."
The dark mage lowered his voice. "Who do you think is actually the Lord of the Sky's friend? I was one of the people who received them when they arrived. The shock on their faces when they saw Dragon Island didn't look fake at all. They might not even know the Lord of the Sky."
"Let me think."
The Grand Elder stroked his beard.
"That girl in black doesn't look like the type who could lie. She probably knows nothing about the Lord of the Sky.
"The adventurer with the longsword might know the Lord of the Sky, but he's just a human. There's no way someone like him could be friends with the Lord of the Sky.
"As for that handsome young mage, he's far too young, and his morals are awful. I caught him sneaking looks at that pretty witch beside him several times with a lecherous, sleazy expression. There's even less chance the Lord of the Sky would be friends with him.
"And then there's the little blonde girl. She can fly, sure, but she's still just a brat. I couldn't sense any magical energy from her at all."
The dark mage nodded solemnly. "Exactly. The answer is obvious! I came to the same conclusion!"
The Grand Elder declared with absolute certainty, "Without a doubt, the Lord of the Sky's friend is that fat blue cat!"
"Esteemed feline guest," the dark mage whispered. "Don't call it a fat cat. If the Lord of the Sky hears you, we'll be in trouble."
"Right, right."
The Grand Elder immediately shut his mouth. He glanced around before continuing.
"By the way, what were you people doing at the entrance? How did you let these troublemakers onto the island in the first place?"
"They brought us a treasure we couldn't refuse. According to our usual rules, that entitled them to tour Dragon Island."
The Grand Elder's curiosity was instantly piqued. "What kind of treasure?"
"A pair of panties."
"Huh???" The Grand Elder looked as though he had been struck by lightning. "Take me to see them!"
...
The Grand Elder arrived at Dragon Island's treasury.
Several staff members brought out a beautiful pair of silver panties and placed them in his hands.
"These truly are no ordinary item!"
The Grand Elder rubbed the panties between his fingers, took a deep sniff, then turned them over and over for a closer look.
Suddenly, his expression changed. "Sell these immediately!"
The treasury staff stared at him. "Why?"
The Grand Elder pointed at the emblem on the fabric.
"These came from the Great Tomb of Nazarick! They might even be the personal belongings of one of its Demon Lords!"
He continued gravely,
"I've been using black ravens to gather news from the mainland. An organization called the Great Tomb of Nazarick has risen to power. It has several Demon Lords among its ranks, with power comparable to the Eight Greed Kings!
"If we don't want Dragon Island dragged into a disaster that has nothing to do with us, contact the City Alliance and sell these things at once!"
The treasury supervisor hurriedly put the panties away.
"Yes, sir! I'll contact the City Alliance immediately!"
...
The skyship repairs would still take some time.
EeDechi turned her attention to Lich Gray, who was sitting on the floor, and asked sternly,
"How long will it take you to remove Death's Kiss? We might leave Dragon Island tomorrow. If you can't remove it by then, you're coming with us."
Gray immediately panicked. "It'll take much longer than that! And I can't leave with you! If I leave, I won't be able to remove the spell. I need the magical equipment in my laboratory, along with my books and magical materials."
EeDechi thought about it. "That is a problem."
Gray quietly breathed a sigh of relief and began thinking up his next excuse.
"Then we'll just take your laboratory with us," EeDechi said.
"H-How are you supposed to do that? I have a lot of stuff!"
EeDechi lightly clapped her hands. "Aetherial Secret Coffer, come!"
Several seconds of silence passed.
Then the sound of rushing wind came from outside.
Crash!
The tavern window shattered as an ornate chest smashed straight through the glass, flew into the room, and landed neatly at EeDechi's feet.
Barrett shook his head helplessly, pulled out a handful of gold coins, and placed them on the counter. "Here. For the repairs."
The bartender could only stare at him, dumbfounded.
EeDechi opened the Aetherial Secret Coffer and pointed inside. "From now on, you live in here. You can leave once you've removed Death's Kiss. Move your laboratory inside too."
Gray cautiously poked his head inside.
His eyes widened. "What a treasure! There's so much space in here... and there's even the corpse of a dragon. Can I use that for magical materials?"
"No!"
The one who shouted wasn't EeDechi.
It was the little girl, Kilua.
EeDechi and Gray both looked at her in confusion.
Kilua's face reddened. She fidgeted awkwardly before saying,
"Captain, you absolutely can't let him have it! The remains of the Dragon Progenitor contain extremely powerful magical energy. This filthy lich will definitely use them for something horrible!"
"As if I'd dare!" Gray hurriedly proclaimed his loyalty.
EeDechi glanced at Gray's Justice Value and frowned.
"You piece of trash with a Justice Value of negative 268. You are only allowed to work on removing the Death's Kiss spell. No tricks, no schemes. Otherwise, five holes in your skull will be the least of your problems."
"Yes, yes! Of course! Absolutely!" Gray agreed at once.
The overwhelming aura EeDechi had just unleashed was so terrifying that even his artificial stomach was cramping.
He cautiously tried to flatter her. "Captain, ma'am... what exactly is a Justice Value?"
"You're not qualified to join my party, so don't call me Captain."
EeDechi looked at him disdainfully.
"I have an Innate Talent that lets me see other people's Justice Values. It measures how good or evil a person is. Something like you, with a Justice Value of negative 268, is the kind of scum who deserves to die the most!"
"I'll change! I promise I'll do good deeds from now on!" Gray muttered inwardly, I'm a lich, after all.
Then he tried ingratiating himself again. "And what is your Justice Value?"
The moment the subject turned to her own Justice Value, EeDechi puffed up with pride.
"My Justice Value is 518 points higher than yours. It's 250!"
"Two hundred and fifty? Ah... yes. That certainly is very high." Gray smiled obsequiously, though inwardly he felt strangely confused.
For some reason, that number didn't sound quite right.
The group left the tavern and headed to Gray's residence to move his belongings.
Lich Gray had quite a lot of belongings.
Now that EeDechi had effectively dragged him aboard against his will, he had no choice but to prepare for a long journey. One by one, he moved his magical tools, personal possessions, books, and dark-magic materials into the Aetherial Secret Coffer.
Kilua, usually the laziest member of the group, showed a rare amount of attentiveness and stood nearby supervising him the entire time.
Lich Gray looked like a skeleton, like a decaying corpse freshly dug out of a grave.
He specialized in dark magic involving the soul and flesh, and had created an assortment of organs for himself: a stomach, lips, a throat, a gullet, and even a matching digestive system complete with things like a large intestine.
All of these organs were exposed to the open air, twitching and squirming from time to time.
EeDechi found the sight unbearable and ordered him to put on a robe.
Gray's right hand was a braised chicken foot.
Every so often, he would take a bite out of his own hand, tear off some chicken skin, chew it carefully, and swallow it into his stomach.
It wasn't until EeDechi told him to hurry up and get to work that he finally removed the mangled chicken-foot hand and replaced it with the bones of a human hand.
At one point, Gray picked up a cloudy glass jar and gazed at it lovingly, as though he were cradling some priceless treasure.
The jar was filled with chicken feet, drifting slowly up and down in the murky liquid.
Gray carefully placed the jar inside the Aetherial Secret Coffer and closed the lid.
Then he looked around his now-empty home.
The thought that he was about to be abducted onto a skyship by a group of strangers made him let out a long, miserable sigh.
Just then, a ceramic dog came trotting over happily. It stuck out a bright red ceramic tongue and slapped it against Gray.
A real dog soon came running over as well, wagging its tail excitedly.
The ceramic dog immediately climbed onto the real dog, whimpered once, and began thrusting back and forth.
The two dogs started mating right there.
"Your creation?" EeDechi frowned.
"Yes!" Gray looked immensely pleased with himself. "I made it to take care of the needs of the female dogs on Dragon Island when they're in heat. That way, they don't get pregnant and produce puppies that end up as strays. Heh heh, I really am a genius! Do you like—"
"Ew... disgusting!" EeDechi's face twisted in revulsion.
Gray looked deeply wronged.
He picked up the Aetherial Secret Coffer and said, "Ma'am, everything has been packed."
"Good. Let's go find Floch and get ready to leave!" EeDechi raised her head proudly.
"We're going to find the World Will—and defeat it!"
With EeDechi marching at the front full of confidence, the group set out once again.
Only this time, besides the little blonde girl following close behind, there was one more figure among them:
a lich carrying the Aetherial Secret Coffer.