Artemis' appearance was a surprise, but Morpheus quickly noticed a problem.
"Your power?"
"It's a Servant summoning, so as a goddess, I'm restricted. My strength is greatly diminished!" Artemis pouted, still clinging to Morpheus.
"But meeting you makes it worth it. Weaker or not, who cares!"
As Morpheus and Artemis landed on the ship, they naturally drew attention.
Artemis' attire was much like it had been in Greece, making her exceptionally eye-catching... at least to the pirates.
Morpheus glanced at them, warning, "If you don't want to die, don't even think about it."
"Are you jealous?"
"Yup!"
"Hehe!"
Artemis tightened her grip, and Mash and Ritsuka Fujimaru, rushing over, witnessed the scene.
Not only them, but those at Chaldea, connected via communicator, saw it too.
"Who's that?!" Olga Marie shouted.
"Who's this?" Mash asked, eyeing the voluptuous yet charming woman with curiosity.
Ritsuka Fujimaru, wearing a spectator's grin, was curious but knew answers would come without asking.
"She's a Servant! Clear Servant signature!" Romani declared. "Her stats are high... definitely top-tier. Her class is likely Archer!"
"Archer, and close to Morpheus... not Atalanta?" Olga Marie grew more puzzled.
But Romani's expression turned serious. "No, there's another. Morpheus mentioned her in his report…"
Olga Marie froze, then recalled a figure from the report.
"No way?!"
"Oh, yes!" Morpheus cut into Romani and Olga Marie's conversation. "Just as you guessed."
As a product of advanced technology and civilization, Artemis instantly understood Chaldea's communication device and didn't question it.
Olga Marie's voice crackled through the communicator. "You mean she's the Greek moon goddess Artemis?!"
"That's right! I'm Artemis, the moon goddess... a deity!" Artemis said proudly, still hanging onto Morpheus.
At that moment, Olga Marie understood why this woman was so close to Morpheus.
How could she not be?
This was Artemis, his lover from ages past!
Of course, she'd be close to him!
Romani, watching Olga Marie's expression, turned his head away, unable to bear looking.
Ritsuka Fujimaru's eyes widened. "The moon goddess?!"
Mash was equally shocked. "Can gods become Servants?"
"It's probably this place," Morpheus said, glancing at the sea around the ship. "The Okeanos Sea, a legendary ocean. Though the Age of Gods is over, this place bears its traces. This Singularity is trickier than the last ones."
"By the way, it's not just me... Atalanta's here too!" Artemis added.
Morpheus was surprised. "Atalanta's here?!"
"Yup! This region favors summoning Greek Heroic Spirits, so she came down. Knowing you'd likely be here, it was a chance. And not just Atalanta... Medea's here too."
Hearing these familiar names, Morpheus blinked.
"So, we're all together again?"
"We need to find them first. The summoning scattered us," Artemis said, looking into the distance. "I can sense them that way."
"That's the ship's heading."
"Yup, go that way, and we'll find them!"
With the pirates rowing diligently, they reached a scenic island. However, it was inhabited by pirates who, pitifully, tried to rob them... only to be instantly subdued by Mash alone.
Ritsuka didn't even get a chance to draw her weapon.
Thus, the defeated pirate became their source of information.
"You're saying we should talk to your captain?" Morpheus asked the pirate.
"Yes, yes! Ask the captain... she's the smartest!" The pirate nodded eagerly, not daring to hide anything. "Things are strange here. The captain might be the only one who knows what's going on!"
"What's your captain's name?"
"Francis Drake."
"It's her!" Morpheus was surprised but muttered, "Not genderbent again, is she?"
"The captain's always been a woman!" the pirate protested. "Great figure, beautiful too!"
Morpheus sighed. "Of course."
Francis Drake, the first person to complete a circumnavigation of the globe while alive, had an indelible legacy in human history. Now, this pirate appeared in the legendary Okeanos Sea, a place nonexistent in reality... the edge of the world.
Morpheus made up his mind.
"Take us to your captain!"
"You've noticed something?" Artemis asked.
Morpheus nodded, following the pirate, with Mash and the others in tow.
"Drake is too significant to human history, so she's likely central to this issue. Stick with her, and we'll find the problem... and the enemy."
Morpheus quietly explained to Artemis, who nodded, then suddenly looked surprised. "Wait, your body…"
"What about it?"
"Your divinity... it's stronger, denser than before. If you wanted to become a god, with this divinity and Father's help, you could ascend immediately!"
"Hm, probably because some people are worshipping me, boosting my divinity. But I'm not planning to become a god yet. There's still a path to walk, and skipping steps could cause trouble."
"Your magical training?"
"Yup, that's the trouble." Morpheus didn't hide it. Artemis knew about his unique magical practices, so there was no need to.
"I can feel your power's grown stronger. You've been through a lot since leaving Greece."
As they spoke, they reached the pirate camp and saw a scantily clad, strikingly alluring woman with red hair... Francis Drake.
Drake eyed them and grinned. "Bonnefoy, you've brought quite the odd crew."
"They're worth something, though!" the pirate called Bonnefoy shouted. "They saved our lives and said they admire you, Captain, and wanted to meet you!"
Despite being beaten, he spun a different tale. Morpheus could only marvel at the pirate's silver tongue.
"Admire me? Really?!" Drake's expression showed clear disbelief.
Bonnefoy pressed on. "Yes, yes! All the way here, they praised Captain Drake as a great figure, saying you could single-handedly crush the Spanish navy and that you're a three-meter-tall giant who can down a barrel of ale in one gulp!"
"What?! That's nonsense! I haven't done half those things!"
Morpheus resisted the urge to facepalm. Half the claims were true... like defeating the Spanish fleet, which Mash and Ritsuka had mentioned while introducing Drake. The three-meter-tall bit? Pure fiction.
"Didn't expect the legendary Drake to actually be a woman, Senpai," Mash whispered to Ritsuka.
Romani, via the communicator, was shocked too. "Yeah, I didn't either!"
Olga Marie, however, was unfazed. "Isn't that normal? We've seen plenty of historical men turn out to be women, haven't we?"
Romani fell silent.
Ritsuka added, "We already confirmed Drake's a woman."
"But it's still surprising, Senpai! Hearing it and seeing it are different... the impact's not the same!" Mash replied.
As they whispered, Drake addressed them. "So, who are you lot? Seems my idiot crew owes you."
Mash stepped forward. "You're Francis Drake, correct? We're from an organization called Chaldea. I'm Mash Kyrielight."
She introduced the others, hesitating briefly before saying, "This is Miss Artemis."
Drake raised an eyebrow. "Named after the Greek moon goddess?"
Artemis didn't react, unbothered by being mistaken for human. She'd hidden her identity among mortals before.
Drake frowned slightly. "Chaldea? Stargazers looking for me? What, selling new star charts?"
"Wow, didn't expect this drunk to be so learned… Knowing Chaldea's origins!" Romani exclaimed through the communicator.
Drake's brow furrowed at the voice. "…I sense a shallow aura. The kind I hate... weak, pessimistic, spineless, yet a total goody-two-shoes."
Mash's eyes widened. "…Too perfect, Senpai. Her analysis... or intuition... is spot-on!"
Clearly, both Drake's assessment and Mash's reaction hit Romani hard.
Thankfully, Drake didn't press the attack. "Whatever, too much hassle. So, what do you Chaldea folks want?"
Mash briefly explained the situation. Drake fell into thought. She seemed drunk but was surprisingly sharp.
However, she didn't share her own experiences, instead saying, "We're pirates. If you want info, you'll have to fight for it!"
Without room for negotiation, Drake issued a duel challenge.
Naturally, Mash took it on.
Morpheus didn't feel like fighting, Artemis was glued to him, and Ritsuka's combat power would spike too high with her sword, making it hard to control.
So, Mash was the best choice.
Surprisingly, despite being human, Drake displayed formidable strength, much like Nero!
After a prolonged battle, Mash finally defeated her, catching her breath and whispering to Ritsuka, "If not for the training, I might not have won. She has clear mana signatures... she might be a magus or a natural hero."
Drake conceded, "I lost. Ask what you want, or we can help... everything but my life's on the table."
Mash immediately asked, "Where is this place?"
Drake shook her head. "No idea. Currents and all are off, impossible to pinpoint."
"As we thought... Drake doesn't know either…" Mash nodded, then revealed, "This is the Okeanos Sea, the legendary edge of the world…"
"The Okeanos Sea? Didn't expect to end up here, but that's not important now. I lost, I surrender. We're allies now!"
With that, Drake tried to drag everyone off to drink. She even grabbed Mash, attempting to pour liquor down her throat.
Ritsuka hesitated, then joined in, aiming to build rapport... through drinking, naturally.
When it was Morpheus' turn, he shook his head. "I'll stand guard. It's not safe here yet."
His excuse was flawless, and no one pressed him to drink.
***
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