"Alrighty, everyone!" The Captain shouted, turning the wheel, "We have arrived! Prepare for docking!"
A wave of excitement and relief spread across everyone’s faces as they heard the Captain’s declaration. Finally, they had arrived at their destination.
Leaning against the rails of the bow, Lillian looked over the part of the harbour she was able to see. She found that a lot of the area was covered in markings and banners of an azure dragon.
Luton, otherwise most known as the Eastern nation, prayed towards the Azure Dragon—the primordial God of Water.
If the Vermilion Bird of the South, the primordial God of Fire, represented the flames to push through the unknown and continue striving forward in life, then the Azure Dragon represented the foresight into the sea of the unknown and making preparations against it.
’It’s also a land with aesthetics similar to that of Japan in my old world.’
Unlike the south, which had a slightly more north-western aesthetic.
Upon docking and anchoring the ship, everyone prepared to bid each other farewell.
The Captain opened his arms and brought everyone in for a large bear hug, completely intruding into everyone’s personal space. "Yar all were the greatest crewmates a captain could ask for! I’ve already given my number over to yar all, so send a message whenever yar need something!"
After giving her goodbyes to the Captain, Lillian smiled warmly, feeling rather emotional. Then, it got to Emilio’s turn.
She still needed to tell him about that thing she wanted from him as compensation for her pills.
"Hey, Emilio. You remember that thing I wanted to tell you about for our deal?"
"Oh, yes! I’ve almost forgotten about that, what was it that you wanted? I’ll try and get it as long as my family can—"
"No, no. This is something you can do rather easily."
Wrapping an arm around his neck casually and pulling him off to the side, Lillian leaned down and whispered into his ear.
At first, Emilio became easily startled, but the more he listened to what Lillian requested and had to say, the more intrigued he became.
Holding his chin, Emilio thought for a moment before asking, "What are your sources? I doubt THAT family would pair up with a group of terrorist like the Cult of Jesters."
"Do you really need an explanation from someone who led you through an entire Trial in the matter of a week?" Lillian said convincingly. "And plus, with that family out of the way, wouldn’t that mean there would be one less family to worry about?"
"That’s true... We Nightravens are looking to expand our territory..." Rubbing his chin, Emilio looked up, "Is that all?"
"Oh, uhm... One more thing..."
Lillian scratched the back of her neck while looking away for a split second.
"Marionette Von Roselle, you’re familiar with that name, aren’t you?"
"Huh? Are you perhaps talking about the Roselle’s Lady of Roses? The woman who managed to slaughter a bar-full of mages by herself with just a shot glass just to send a message?
"The woman who skewered 10 gang members on a wooden stake and placed them outside the gang’s hideout as an intimidation tactic?"
Lillian nodded energetically, folding her arms with a rather proud look on her face, completely ignoring how inhumane the last one was.
"The lovable Lady of Darkness herself."
"Lovable, huh? Well... a bit, then. Their family are quite close to ours when it comes to business, and I have seen her in person before." Emilio then looked away shyly for a split second, "She was rather... Beautiful to say the lea—"
Just as Emilio was about to finish his sentence, he felt a hand land on his shoulder.
Finding the hand belonging to Lillian, he found her to be wearing a rather unusual smile compared to her previous ones.
"Yeah... She’s beautiful, isn’t she? So, I’m sure you’ve already known I’m with someone, by now, yes?"
Emilio began to nod slowly, starting to feel nervous under Lillian’s gaze. But then, piecing it together, he jolted back with a shocked expression.
"N-no way! Y-you’re with the Lady of Ros—!?"
Clasping her hand over his mouth, Lillian stared down at him with a wry smile, briefly startled by his sudden loud outburst. Once she felt the stares of people walking by leave, she released her hand.
"Mhm~... She’s mine." Lillian stated, her voice slowly becoming possessive, "I’m just telling you this because the Legacy Table is coming up in a few days, I don’t want anything funny happening..."
"H-huh? The Legacy—but isn’t that event for nobles between 18 and 19 who had yet to get into a relationship?"
"Or for networking, but yeah. I’m not sure if she’ll be there, but there’s a high likelihood with what her family is like, if you know."
"I... Think?" Emilio muttered, rubbing the back of his head, "So... Her family doesn’t accept you yet, is that what you are saying? How are you planning on getting them to accept you?"
"Hm... Good question, I suppose... Getting on their good sides is definitely a start." Lillian placed a finger on her chin.
After a few more chatters, Lillian waved Emilio and Jon off. Apparently, before getting onto the ship, he had had had enough of adventuring around and wanted to return to his family.
His time in the Trial only cemented that, as he was still tired from it.
Lillian returned back to Viesta, who was currently reading something on her phone.
Looking up from her phone, Viesta smiled wryly at Lillian:
"We’ll be getting a train to Luton’s School of Prestigious Magic. But the train won’t arrive here for a few hours due to some repairs, unfortunately." Viesta sighed, "Ya know, I wonder if there is a world where there are trains that aren’t in need of constant repairs or being cancelled. Doesn’t that sound great?"
The two stared at each other for a moment before sighing in unison.
"Yeah... If only there were a world like that." Lillian muttered, remembering the number of times she was late because of public transport.