The waves rippled, and the sun shone brightly.
The "Mermaid" had set sail and had been sailing south for two days.
Under the blowing of the northern wind, the speed of the merchant ship wasn't slow, and Lis, standing on the deck, could feel that the sea breeze brushing his face had warmed up a lot.
Since the route to the Boditch Kingdom had not been fully developed, all the merchant ships and sailors of Ward City lacked deep-sea sailing experience, so the "Mermaid" mainly progressed southward not far from the coast.
Occasionally, the distant horizon faintly revealed land.
However, the regions within sight were mostly uninhabited wildernesses, devoid of human habitation, and served as a paradise for various Magic Beasts and Extraordinary Creatures.
Only when absolutely necessary would the "Mermaid" choose to dock.
Helen, who had stayed in the cabin for two days, couldn't resist anymore and cautiously followed Lis to the deck to relax.
Seeing Helen's demeanor, Lis had already formulated some guesses.
Perhaps Helen had previously arrived in Ward City via some merchant ship, but her somewhat fearful appearance seemed to indicate that it hadn't been a pleasant experience.
Lis chose not to ask Helen; time would heal all wounds, until Helen emerged from her pain and chose to openly share her feelings with Lis.
In these days of travel, although Lis hadn't initiated much conversation with others, he had roughly gotten to know the key figures on the "Mermaid."
It goes without saying that Captain Loren was one of them. Being the most trusted person of the Milne Commerce, he had once served as the guard captain of the Milne merchant convoys, possessing considerable strength, and had crossed the Luoxue Mountains to the Feis Kingdom multiple times, naturally gaining considerable understanding of foreign conditions.
The First Officer, Rad, was a serious-looking man, tall and thin with somewhat pale skin, a genuine Dilon person, rumored to have traveled to both the Feis and Boditch Kingdoms and had some experience in sea voyaging.
Last time during the voyage to the Boditch Kingdom, this First Officer played a significant role, being the most skilled and experienced in sea voyaging among all the crew members of the "Mermaid," which also proved the value of Milne Commerce's high salary recruitment.
The Second Officer, Navin, was a smiley, good-natured individual. Mans mentioned that the former second officer had died accidentally during the last voyage, and Navin was specifically appointed by the Milne Commerce as a newcomer. His background was unknown, but with his amiable attitude and willingness to learn from others, he quickly blended in well on the ship.
Third Officer Mans, whom Lis had met on his first day on the ship, was quite enthusiastic, especially after a small "friendly match" with Lis on the first night, his attitude became even friendlier.
He had once been a mercenary and chose to join the "Mermaid" during the last voyage, claiming that life in the Dillon Kingdom had been too dull and the limitless secrets of the ocean fascinated him.
Besides that, the ship also housed many low-level sailors, carpenters, physicians, and chefs, making it a rather well-equipped merchant ship.
If there were times without sea breezes, some sailors would also be needed to row, so the total number of sailors on the ship was not small.
Naturally, in the world of Gaia, there were more advanced magic ships available, which could operate normally with just a few people, but those were beyond what Ward City and the Dillon Kingdom could presently access.
Before the proliferation of Self-Charging Magic Patterns, those ships were too magic power intensive, unless a Legendary Mage was available to open and stabilize a portal to the Four Elements Plane to acquire the necessary magic power.
Otherwise, merely absorbing the magic power from the surroundings was utterly insufficient to meet the consumption of a magic ship.
The number of mercenaries on the "Mermaid" was not many; after the last voyage, Captain Loren concluded that most low-level mercenaries weren't very useful, instead consuming a lot of supplies—bringing more sailors was far more practical.
Aside from a few Silver Level and High-level Bronze mercenaries led by Charles, Captain Loren did not hire any other mercenaries.
However, there was one particularly unique presence, that of the mercenary Evar.
Mans mentioned that this Evar was a local mercenary hired by the captain in Dan Port, possessing rich experience in sea voyaging, and he was also a follower of the Lord of Storm, endowed with some simple but practical special abilities.
Lis looked towards the small figure sitting on the ship's bow; his figure was somewhat majestically shrouded in a sacred aura.
Not a priest of the Lord of Storm, but yet possessed the divine aura of the Lord of Storm.
It seemed that this Evar had special divine abilities, although they were somewhat weak.
At the railing on one side, Charles was chatting and joking with some resting sailors and Lis heard clearly—it was either about which place had good drinks or which establishment had stunning beauties.
Beyond that, it was just some unimportant boasting about his past adventures.
Curiously, those sailor crew members all enjoyed listening; after all, experiences on the vast sea could be exceedingly dull, and this was one way to find some entertainment.
At first, Charles kept his distance from Lis, but when he realized that Lis hadn't actually done anything to him, understanding that his fear was entirely self-induced, he relaxed and even occasionally greeted Lis.