The doors closed behind the Blue Sea Guild, leaving the audience chamber heavy and silent.
The Patriarch of the Gallon Family remained seated at the head of the table, his gaze fixed on the rattling window. His long, pale-blond ponytail, streaked with white, hung down unlovingly behind his head like a single streamer. The twin-twelve-feathered headpiece that framed his temples was subtle yet sharp, making his expression even more pronounced.
His expression was dark and restrained, but the tension in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.
One had to know that the offer given by the Blue Sea Guild was a huge fortune, regardless of what they chose in the end.
The problem was—
They didn't have Wind!
"We've made a mistake," the First Elder finally said…
He was a massive old man, tall and overflowing with muscles. He stood near the wall, his straggly pale-blond hair was streaked with white and black, hanging down around his shoulders. Behind his head, a long pin was set in place, shimmering faintly with an ethereal green light.
Unlike normal, he was not immediately refuted.
Unlike the younger generation of the Gallon Family, the elders had always disdained Wind. Her background was unknown, and her personality was stubborn. But now that they had finally gotten rid of her, it felt as if they had thrown away their path to the top, which was very vexing.
"A mistake?" the Second Elder scoffed—
He was a scrawny old man with hollow eyes that flowed beneath his long white brows. The beads at the ends of his drooping eyebrows swayed in the windless wind, each containing a condensed drop of crimson colored dragon blood.
"—That's an understatement!"
Murmurs spread through the room.
"We didn't have much of a choice," the Third Elder said calmly—
The bald, white-haired old man had large earrings, each filled with an ethereal, dream-like cloudy mist, which reflected the light as he spoke.
"—Even if we're powerful, 'that person' is still from the Hellion Family. If we make a single mistake and they accuse us of rebellion, who knows what might happen?"
The Patriarch exhaled and nodded.
He was tired…
"He's right. We can't risk what happened to the founding generation reoccurring, especially now, with the calamities quickly intensifying. We need to prioritize ourselves."
Silence followed.
The air was thick with a sense of regret, irritation, and unease.
"The Blue Sea Guild didn't come here, 'only' for Wind,' the Second Elder said thoughtfully. "They're searching for those with the White Whistle trait. If they're this desperate, then something must have happened beyond the continent…"
The First Elder nodded grimly. "If they're searching this directly, Wind's value should have only increased—"
"—And we no longer have her," the Third Elder added bitterly.
The head of the family closed his eyes. "We followed the royal family's 'suggestion'. That was the condition, and we let her go. We can't change it now, but…"
Several heads turned.
"She should be with the traitorous Heaven's Chosen," the Second Elder said in exhaustion.
The room fell silent.
"If that's the case," the Third Elder replied, "then finding her would be impossible, right? Those lunatics have been looking for over a year with no luck. From what I know, those that did find her are all dead or missing, many of the more prominent ones even show signs of 'stressed life crystals'…"
There was a moment of silence.
They all knew what that meant. A life crystal was a special stone that could resonate with an individual's soul. If this were to shatter, then it would mean the disappearance of the resonating soul, but if it were to appear stressed, vibrating, fluctuating, or even cracking, that was a sign of….
The room felt heavier.
"No," the Patriarch said firmly. "You're wrong."
That drew immediate attention.
"A few days ago," he continued, "in the harbor district—"
Before anyone could question him further, the chamber doors opened again.
A guard escorted a plain-looking youth inside.
The elders looked at him.
He had black eyes and pale blonde hair, with a white strip and a green pin that contained an emerald liquid. The youth bowed deeply to the elders, then spoke without waiting to be asked.
He began to describe his story…
"While walking through the festival, I encountered two children who resembled the missing Azurefell twins," he said. "After a brief 'exchange', I then encountered the Northern Region's Heaven's Chosen—Petra! Although I didn't see my missing cousin directly, I'm certain Wind is with her! When I asked, I could see it on her face!" He stepped back.
The room stirred with murmurs.
"If those girls have come to the capital," the Patriarch said slowly, massaging the bridge of his nose, "then Wind would naturally be with her, just like the twins, but…"
Hope, no, greed flickered in their heart.
The family head continued, "Ah, this is going to be troublesome."
"Hopefully," he added, "they haven't left the city yet."
"Patriarch!" the First Elder suddenly exclaimed.
"I just remembered something!"
The Patriarch straightened. "Hm?"
"There was chaos earlier today," the First Elder said. "An abnormal disturbance in the eastern gate of the outer district. Witnesses described a massive caravan-like beast wearing strange armor, rampaging through the city! From the words of a rather prominent information broker, a man from the Kastone Family of Solarin, he claimed to have seen a massive centipede as well!"
Several elders frowned.
"A centipede?" the Third Elder asked.
"Yes," the First Elder replied. "He described it as too 'large to be a mount', but thinking about it now… it does match the centipede on Petra's wanted notice, her contracted beast!"
Publicly, Petra was most known for her centipede and frog, but because of unclear information and certain limitations on the Cross Continent's beast-taming methods, they didn't know which one was her contracted beast.
The Second Elder's eyes narrowed.
"Then, if that is her, she's already left the city?"
"That's right," the First Elder said. "But instead of the border, she headed toward the eastern mountains."
The Patriarch's lips curled faintly. "Good."
He stood up.
"Send people to search." The orders were simple…
Follow and search, observe and investigate, and when the opportunity presented itself—
Look for an opening and bring the brat back!
He had no idea just how much of a scourge Petra could be….
The lights in the chamber dimmed as their preparations began.
Somewhere beyond the city, hope and malice walked side by side, wearing the same face. Petra had no idea that some extremely annoying people were on their way, but even if she did, she would probably just get excited and burst into a villainess laugh!
* * *
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da—! The explosive roar of countless legs bulldozed down the southern road!
The shockwave left a wave of wind in its wake.
The 'caravan' moved with steady, rhythmic steps, despite its size, and 'ran' parallel to the main road with a shocking speed. The armored Sea Spearing Centipede cut across the plains in a blur, passed through the hills of Llynun, crossed a landscape that shifted from fields into farmland, then into open grass, and finally brushed the edge of 'The Twin Talents Forest' before sweeping past the distant outline of 'Skysena', the city that had been used as an evacuation destination during the First Calamity. Soon, the land began to rise, the road bending upwards as the path ahead climbed into the snaking mountain range, before slowly angling eastwards again, towards the coast of the southern region.
It was an exciting advance that only spanned about a day!
As for the 'passengers—'
Inside, the mood was far more relaxed…
-
In the back of the train—
Petra leaned against the railing of the small balcony that poked out of the end of the train. She rested on her arms comfortably as she watched the scenery blur by.
Her hair fluttered in the wind.
With her was a chubby frog that loached lazily in her hood, a snake that peered out periodically from her hat, and a swaying little spider that slipped in and out of her sleeve.
The faint hum of stabilizing runes and the deep vibration of the Sea Spearing Centipede gave the entire train a strangely soothing rhythm, and this was exactly why she'd chosen it for the job. This carriage-like artifact was independent from the Sea Spearing Centipede, but Petra didn't have a convenient way of moving it around. Thus, the big bug took the stage!
As for the Verdelith Castle—
The Verdelith Castle could move, yes, but 'unplugging' it from the city wasn't something Petra wanted to do right now. Not only would it need to retract all the space corridors that it had secretly woven into the city's infrastructure, but it would also have to reintegrate them when they got back. They were leaving for a few days to visit a famous resort, so there was no need for such a 'big movement'.
As for the 'Castle Crawler' itself….
Well, Petra looked down at the cute little bug that was practically dancing in delight on her wrist.
With this 'projection', they didn't need to be separated!
Even if something did happen, Petra's connection with the Emerald Ghost Tree made it so that she would know even before the spider did! Therefore, everything on that side was properly prepared.
As for this side—
Petra stretched cutely, then decided to take a walk.
She started from the end and worked her way forward, hands tucked behind her head as she wandered.
The back-most car was the 'observation carriage', or the 'Observatory'.
There were wide windows curved along the sides, rounding at the top, reinforced with transparent rune-glass. Lilly and Luna were loitering near the back, their foreheads pressed against the glass, quietly watching the scenery fly past as their childish sides started to show through. Wind sat nearby, calm and composed, like a young heiress drinking tea, watching the landscape with an arrogant indifference.
Further on, the next carriage was the 'sleeping quarters', intentionally dividing the quiet observation deck from the rest of the train.
It was rowdy and cramped, with many of the bunks already occupied by the lazy ladies.
Several of the beast maids had found a bed, their animalistic features on full display. In addition, the bunny girls all slept together in a pile, one was even half collapsed off the bed, face down, ears drooping, with a face of soft and pokable ignorance, her 'tail' fully exposed. At the same time, one of the female butlers tiptoed around them, carefully adjusting the bodies that spilled out into the hall, before returning to the others and momentarily breaking their masculine masks, returning to the young lady lifestyle like it was the most normal thing in the world.
The twelve human girls all played a game of cards.
Next was the 'dining carriage', which smelled faintly of food.
Bell and Dorthy were seated at a table, a series of delicate snacks spread out between them, while Nebula sat at another, silently reading from a small black book.
At the same time, behind the bar-top countertop, Mell was taking this opportunity to clean up the dishes left behind after baking a series of snacks. She didn't know how to cook, but her pastry skills were strangely developed, which Petra found odd. When she asked, Mell explained that it was something her mother taught her when she was still a young child.
After that, she went silent…
Moving on—
Next, the 'lounge' was a lot louder, leaking liveliness throughout the train. This was a simple carriage designed to allow you to just sit around leisurely and do whatever you wanted.
Rose was leaning back with her arms crossed, sitting with her legs spread open, and lecturing Noah about when to use her fists and when to use her head. The studious sufferer was nodding in concentration.
Among all the servants, Noah was the closest to Rose for obvious reasons.
To the side, Lira was pacing back and forth in circles, listening to her big brother's lecture as she tried to understand it with a comically low level of comprehension.
In the end, she didn't…
Mm, anyways—!
Soryn sat off to the side, eyes closed and breathing slowly, her presence was cold and calm, not in an indifferent way, no-no, but as a composed collectiveness, something that read, 'I am ready for anything, just ask!' and she would add her Input from time to time. If not for her slight scowl, then perhaps she might even receive a question from some of the younger servants.
In addition, the Deer Maid and the Avian Alchemist, who were both noble by nature, talked amongst themselves, with Levy and Elli not far away, occasionally interrupting.
Petra energetically skipped away…
She passed the 'artillery compartment' next!
This was a special room that was basically just a huge series of artillery cannons that poked through special slots on each side of the room. Petra wasn't a specialist in weaponry, so she had no idea how to recreate Earth's weapons in Pillomal, leaving these weapons as the standard magic cannons used in siege warfare.
Mm, aside from that, this room was mostly empty and unused, functioning mainly as a simple hallway.
After that came the 'storage compartment'.
Petra took two steps inside and suddenly stopped. Her eyebrows rose, before a mischievous smile crept across her face.
"…Jillian~" Petra hummed.
—She was met with silence…
Petra looked around the room. This carriage was filled with all kinds of containers, stacked to the brim with food, materials, and tools. Scanning the room… There, crouched behind a stack of large crates, was a small patch of the black-haired elf's black hair.
Petra trotted forward—
And as she did, she could see the shoulders of the scarf-shrouded sneaker jolting with each step.
Petra approached.
In a small cubby created from crates and care, there were papers spread everywhere, and a portable chemistry lab glowing faintly beneath a pillow-fort-like structure.
It was quite cozy!
As soon as Petra's head popped out from around the corner—
Jillian froze like a guilty animal caught mid-bite.
Jillian: "..."
Petra: "..."
"…I-I'm not hiding," Jillian stammered, turning her red face away.
Petra stared at her for a long time.
Petra: Stare!
Jillian: Trembles!
Petra's eyes narrowed as she examined this little space. Jillian hugged a clipboard to her chest. "I-I needed a quieter environment! I-If I can't finish what I was working o-on! Then I can at least read!"
Petra scanned the 'reading materials'...
It was bullshit!
She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Jillian, before slowly pulling back and disappearing around the corner.
Jillian breathed a sigh of relief—
Swoosh! Petra's head suddenly popped back around, causing her to jump! Petra gave her one last 'I know what you're doing' look, before actually disappearing with a slow slide in silence…
With a shake of the head, Petra decided to let it go.
She would just pretend she hadn't seen anything.
After that small interlude, she passed through the 'mapping room'.
This was a circular room with a large table in its center. In the center of this table was a large map of the southern region, and surrounding it were dozens of smaller charts. Scattered around it were all kinds of cartographer tools. Wind would normally work here, but…
This room was currently unoccupied, so—
Petra moved on…
Finally, Petra reached the front-most carriage.
This was only a half-inclosed room, with the front part fully exposed to the outside world, relying only on a thin magic veil to prevent the incoming wind from attacking.
This was the 'Magic Train' she had built as a second source of transportation. She needed this for two things. First, it was a quicker method of transportation. Even with the Castle Crawlers massive size, it was still far slower than the Sea Spear, and second, as you may have guessed from the name, this was a mode of transportation through the sea. Come the third calamity, this was Petra's perfect piece to play!
After all… Petra and water didn't mix too well!
Petra walked up to the railing that cordoned off the protected section of the room, then rested her hands on the railing and looked forward with her big black eyes.
It had been a year, and in that year, they had all grown up a bit.
Now it was time for a few days to relax.
-
One day later…
Soon, they arrived at their destination, the 'Valley Stream Springs' (Hot Spring Resort!)
* * *
The Valley Stream Springs—