"Hheuup."
I took in the scent of the coffee beans packed full inside the box.
It was the rich aroma of Aricano!
How long had I yearned for this fragrance.
"Let's have a cup right now."
"You must have tasted it before."
"I drank it my whole life. How much is left?"
"It's not a small amount, but even for us, this tea is expensive. That's why we're selling it."
"I'll buy it. I'll purchase all the stock on this island."
"But I need to drink it too."
"Try to hold back for a bit."
Black Mane smiled for the first ti.
Maybe because she found sothing profitable.
Soon, five large sacks were brought over.
Two jars also ca in.
And a steaming cup of coffee was delivered.
"Mmm. This is really good."
The acidity and the flavor of nuts were simply exquisite.
It was a wild taste I had never experienced before.
"Isn't it bitter?"
"That's how it's best."
Black Mane gave a curious look.
The bitterness was rather strong. For first-tirs, they'd probably wonder what kind of taste this was and grimace.
If I took this coffee to the empire, tens of millions of coffee lovers would be born. Since it's imported so dearly, I'll have to sell it at a high price. But my house would buy it at cost.
I placed a pouch of gold coins as the price for the beans.
The paynt for the bow was already settled. Of course, the money had co from the magic pouch. They must have found it odd since gold coins weren't on the ship.
"Inside the sack, there are unroasted beans, and in the jar, there's ground powder that's been roasted just right. Don't put it straight in water—use a filter."
"Can't I buy coffee seedlings?"
"It's Yan's tree, so your people can't cultivate it."
"Then, please prepare so I can buy in bulk next ti. If you pack it in a sealed jar and keep it sowhere cool, it'll last long."
Black Mane stared at intently.
"Where did you drink this tea?"
"Doesn't matter. Can you do it?"
"Of course, I can."
"Good. Then let's go together."
"Hmm. Now I'm not so sure myself."
Black Mane put on her coat.
She was going to guide us to Hairopro.
She personally boarded our ship.
We headed to our vessel anchored by the shore.
The party was already on board.
Black Mane and I also boarded the ship.
"We're casting off!"
Our ship took the lead, followed by Black Mane's pirate vessels. Black Mane glanced at the deck and then peeked into the cabin.
"I don't see any bows at all."
"They're hidden beneath the ship's floor."
"Are there any magic weapons?"
"Ah, you caught ."
Black Mane chuckled lightly.
Eilin stood nonchalantly at the bow, looking out to sea. Unlike yesterday, today the sky was clear.
She wore sothing like a work outfit and long leather boots. A straw hat dangled from her back, swaying in the wind. And then—
The sight of her long hair blowing in the sea breeze was so beautiful. That figure from behind was really just like Ailin. She had also once done a photoshoot aboard a ship.
"She really is a beautiful woman."
"You're quite sothing too."
Black Mane looked at .
"You seem to understand won well."
"I don't really think so."
Black Mane looked back at Eilin.
"Do you know?"
"Know what?"
"That woman likes you."
I didn't reply.
Can sothing like that be seen.
I'm just standing here.
"Even I would fall for her, as a fellow woman."
"Do you like won?"
"Ridiculous."
Black Mane went to the stern.
She approached Eilin.
"Are you seasick again?"
"No."
Eilin smiled and looked back out to sea.
"Are you worried?"
"Yes. I'm afraid sothing might happen to my father."
Suddenly, there was distance between us.
Was she disappointed in about sothing?
Because she saw another side of that morning.
It couldn't be helped. The playful troublemaker is part of who I am, too. Shouting in rage is part of . Even being old for my age, like now, is just .
I had to show it all. Unlike catching monsters, even showing the blood-soaked fighting was part of . If she turned away, afraid or disappointed by that, then it just wasn't ant to be.
But do I really understand won?
No. If I were a gentle man, ailin wouldn't have cried twice because of .
I was just an ordinary man who made won cry because I didn't understand their hearts. Ailin was soone who always endured her disappointnts. Even that day, she drove off in tears because of .
My heart felt heavy.
Thinking of Ailin when looking at Eilin wasn't right. Why was I like this? Love isn't sothing to be afraid of.
"Is sothing bothering you?"
"No."
"I'd like to taste that black tea too."
"Wait a bit. I'll go make so."
Leaving behind Ailin—no, Eilin—who smiled brightly, I headed into the cabin. Why did I keep doing this? As ti went by, Eilin appeared more and more like Ailin to . Why on earth was this happening?
/ / /
There was nothing but fog in all directions.
The sea was so calm there were no waves at all, and fog was so thick that you couldn't see even two or three steps ahead.
The wind seed to have stopped completely. Strange cries of sea creatures could be heard beyond the mist. There were many reefs, too; one misstep and the ship could be wrecked.
"Is this the right way?"
"It's right. I've co here countless tis since I was a kid. Sotis the ship even ran aground."
"So is it safe or not?"
"We have to trust to luck."
It was the eighth day since we left Black Mane's base. For the past three days, again, we'd entered a foggy sea zone. This mist couldn't be explained as a natural phenonon.
"The weather's getting colder and colder."
"This is much farther south than Beltern's southernmost point."
"Is that right?"
I asked, and Black Mane nodded.
At this latitude, we were practically near the South Pole. It's a long way south from Beltern's southernmost point.
Kkaaaaaak—
A bizarre cry of a flying beast echoed from above. This side of the sea had many giant monsters—it was lucky we hadn't been attacked yet.
Kkaeaaak—
A dark shadow flew overhead.
A pterosaur? What could that be?
"We're almost there."
"How do you know?"
"That flying dragon lives in Hairopro."
"What's a flying dragon?"
"It's a monster called a small dragon."
"Is its body red, by any chance?"
"Have you seen one before?"
A faint laugh escaped .
The flying dragon is a vicious monster that in my previous life was called a wyvern. A giant reptile with featherless wings.
Those wyverns usually live near volcanoes. There's no way they could survive in this cold place. There wouldn't even be prey here. In fact, wet snow was even falling in the southern skies.
I'd only co to this area once.
Back in the days when I had no money, I ca here to find lightweight magic stones. After I made money, I could buy most things elsewhere.
Even during the ga as Rac, it would take a month to reach here. You needed to raise your stats and sell items, so who would waste a whole month coming here?
"By any chance, do they call that place the Rainbow Island?"
"Rainbow? That island is to the north. Only that island, which looks five-colored, is called that. Lots of mixed-bloods live there."
Rainbow Island wasn't Hairopro.
I'd never gone farther south than that island. I'd never seen fog this thick, either.
Black Mane's pirate ships stopped at an island midway. It's dangerous, and they couldn't let others know where Hairopro was.
"To the right!"
Ku-kung—
The ship brushed past a reef. Even with Tuji at the bow watching for reefs, it was hard to spot them all. The flying dragon was coming closer and closer.
"We're here. You can hear the cries of the Ohoons."
"Ohoons?"
"Giant deer."
Kgeugeugeuk—
A scraping sound from beneath the ship. Looking down, I saw we were almost at the shore.
"Get off! The ship's about to tip!"
Kiiiiiing—
The mont the words landed, the ship tilted. Everyone was already on deck, so we quickly jumped into the water.
Splash—
Each of us dived into the sea and went straight for land. There was a coral field beneath the surface.
The ship leaned almost halfway over.
But Allen didn't get off.
"What are you doing? Jump now!"
"Must I really go?"
"Then wait on the ship."
"Alright."
He must really hate the water.
So much that he could suppress his curiosity.
I climbed onto the sandy beach and surveyed the area.
The fog was so thick that I couldn't see the island or what lay ahead.
"Are you sure this is the island?"
"Who knows. We'll have to check."
"What do you an? You said we'd arrived!"
"Was there a sandy shore in Hairopro?"
It's only natural for islands to have sand, isn't it?
The whole group walked forward.
Kkiiaeak. Haung. Haung.
Kkururur. Kkekekekekek.
All kinds of strange sounds could be heard.
It sounded as if we had entered a jungle, but all around was just sand.
"Is Hairopro a jungle?"
"A very big one, yes."
"Is the fog always this thick?"
"Climb up higher and it'll clear up."
We walked blindly onward.
No matter how far we went, it was still beach, so I was about to ask again when a huge cliff appeared in front of us.
Black Mane said,
"We've co to the north of the island."
"Are you sure?"
"Let's head west."
We walked along the base of the cliff to the right.
No matter how far we walked, the cliff continued. Even the cliff looked like a fortress wall built by nature.
"We have to climb up here."
"That's pretty high."
"I'll go up first and pull you up."
Thud—
Black Mane kicked off the ground and soared upward. With the mist, it was impossible to tell how high it was. If Black Mane made it up, it must have been about five ters.
"Wait a mont."
Shooo—
I conjured up magic power with my left hand and leapt.
Even after jumping about seven ters, all I could see was wall, so I wondered if it was even taller, but then, right in front of , brush ca into view.
Thunk— I grabbed the edge and hung from it. As I tried to climb up, black Mane reached out her hand. I took it and was pulled atop the cliff.
"Everyone, climb! With all your strength."
As soon as she spoke, the crew and the Tuji brothers leapt up too. They couldn't quite make it to the top like , but barely grabbed the edge and pulled themselves up.
"Eilin, hold the rope tight."
"Okay."
I tossed a loop of rope and pulled Eilin up. After she was safely up, everyone surveyed the woods. Even higher up, it was shrouded in mist.
Directly ahead was a zone of brush, and the brush was taller than us. Even without the fog, you'd get lost here. I could hear the resonance unique to giant beasts.
"Let's go."
Black Mane pushed through the brush and went in. Who knew if she knew the way. I couldn't tell if she was going sowhere on purpose or just heading in blindly. It seed even to Black Mane, this side was unfamiliar.
Thud— thud—
After a little walking, we stopped. Sothing huge was passing by, like a dinosaur.
"Get down."
We sat where we were.
Soon a black shadow passed by.
A giant animal strolled past.
It was a huge deer.
And not just one—there were four.
Black Mane said,
"Those guys are dangerous too. If they startle and run wild, you'll be trampled to death. If trouble starts, just run straight ahead."
"Trouble?"
"This place is a hunting ground."
We followed Black Mane, keeping low and trying not to startle the giant deer, but there was no fooling the beasts' sense of sll.
Kkaaaaak—
The deer let out a loud cry and started to run. With four of them charging at once, the ground shook.
At that mont,
A dark creature ca shooting down from above. A wyvern was hunting! The deer, terrified, ran in all directions.
"Run!"
Black Mane dashed into the underbrush. We tried to rush, too, but couldn't leave Eilin behind. Just then, the deer herd charged right past us.
"Stop!"
The herd barrelled through and leaped over our heads. It was a situation where we could be trampled to death, and not just by one but dozens!
In the chaos, one giant deer leapt into the air and was seized by the wyvern's talons and carried away. The deer itself was bigger than a giraffe, but the wyvern could carry it away.
"Move!"
Once the deer passed, we started running again.
And the wyverns weren't alone. Scattered deer that had fled were now doubling back towards us.
Kkaeaeaak—
Kkaaaak—
Four wyverns swooped chaotically overhead while deer stampeded madly on the ground. In the midst of it, we ran frantically.
"This way! Twenty more paces!"
We ran toward Black Mane's shout. Ahead, there was a huge forest. Neither deer nor wyverns could get in!
Dodging the deer leaping overhead and racing as if to trample us, we narrowly reached the forest's shelter. Then, as we looked ahead, everyone was rendered speechless.
It was an enormous forest.
Fog was still thick there, but visibility was better and higher places could be seen. The trees were colossal.
"Just watch out for bugs."
"Even the bugs are big here?"
"Be careful of the giant spiders."
Co to think of it, there were cobwebs here and there above. I even saw spider victms cocooned up, and even the shed skin of a giant snake.
"Why is everything so big here?"
Black Mane replied,
"This is where the divine beasts are born."
"Are these animals divine beasts?"
"The divine beast is separate."
We delved deeper into the woods.
Black Mane stopped at the base of a giant tree.
We all looked up and couldn't close our mouths.
The tree's trunk was massive, and its height was unimaginable. It looked as if the entire forest had grown from the branches of this single tree.
And there were stairs on the tree.
Stairs that led upward without end.
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