The reason why the cure for Maddie’ disease was discovered so late was because the required ingredient only grew in Tenus, a land ruled by Terminus.
Although Terminus was the 6th family of the Western Continent, unlike the other families, it didn’t stand out with noticeable activities. Much about it was shrouded in secrecy, making it hard to deal with it negatively despite its mysterious nature.
The reason for this could be traced to the location of Tenus. To be precise, the Western Continent’s boundary meant the ‘Dead Lands.’
The ‘Dead Lands,’ a troublesome region for both the Eastern and Western Continents, was an area where no life could grow.
Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that no life thrives there?
‘Well, there are things resembling life, but calling them alive wouldn’t feel right.’
Strangely shaped entities rose from the land, greedily encroaching on the fertile ground where life bloomed. Usually, eliminating such corrupt beings required considerable forces, but the head of Terminus, possessing the powers of a seer, could handle them alone.
However, this also turned Tenus into a sinister place perpetually reeking of death. This was such a significant issue that even the remaining members of the 6th family avoided visiting Tenus.
‘Wasn’t their destruction predicted at some point?’
To make things worse, Terminus was set to be wiped out within 20 years. It was foretold that the head of Terminus would plunge into eternal darkness and spiral out of control.
‘Ugh, but how am I supposed to go there?’
Should I perhaps find a courier and ask them to procure the materials? No, that wasn’t possible. Only I currently knew precisely what the medicinal herb looked like.
One mistake and they might bring the wrong item, wasting both money and time.
‘And it’s not like hiring someone to go there would come cheap'”
It would cost at least 500,000 Wetten.
Moreover, it wasn’t realistic to ask my family to go there… While I was agonizing over the situation, I noticed the other sailors bustling about, seemingly in a panic.
‘What’s going on?’
Since sitting here alone wasn’t going to bring any solutions—and it would only hurt me if I didn’t check—I hurriedly went over to that side.
‘Are they in the middle of a meeting?’
Everyone was gathered in a circle with serious faces. At the center of the group stood Nereus, holding something. It was a document I had swiped earlier from the island managers.
“Dad, what are you doing there?”
“Lala, what’s going on with your hair?”
“Well, it’s been a mess since you tied it up, so it’s fine.”
As I fiddled with my slightly tousled hair, I walked over to him.
“The way you talk…”
“So, do you hate it?”
“No, I adore you to death.”
As I approached, Nereus naturally bent down, opened his arms, and easily picked me up.
“So, what’s going on that everyone’s gathered here like this?”
“Oh, it’s about the route.”
“The route? Haven’t you decided where to go yet?”
“No, not yet. Well, we don’t always set a destination before we leave, anyway.”
That made sense. At the moment, we didn’t have the Eternal Compass, which was believed to be a treasure map, and we weren’t in dire need of supplies that required us to head somewhere specific.
“Navirbarco wouldn’t be a bad option.”
“I’d rather stop by Barkinfo.”
“With the treasures we’ve recently obtained, how about heading to Phamus instead?”
In order, Titan, Gilbert, and Nancy offered their opinions.
Nereus waved the document he was holding dramatically.
“Quiet! You’re just throwing out the places you want to go, aren’t you?”
“Maybe Titan is, but Nancy and I suggested destinations with solid reasoning, didn’t we?”
Barkinfo was an island known for trading information popular among pirates, while Phamus was an island where gold and treasures could be exchanged for jewelry or money.
“Can’t we just use the magic west globe for Barkinfo’s information? As for Phamus, their fees are outrageous these days.”
“But you’d get better quality information if you go in person. Well, we don’t urgently need any specific information right now, anyway.”
“There’s been talk for years that the ownership of Phamus is changing. Maybe that’s why?”
“Anyway, both options are rejected, rejected!”
With Nereus’ declaration of rejection, Gilbert frowned but didn’t argue further.
Looking at the document he was holding, I realized something.
“Aha…”
The document detailed information about Terminus. Specifically, it showed the fastest route to Tenus.
“Dad, Dad, where is Tenus?”
Feigning ignorance, I asked Nereus.
“Oh, our little princess doesn’t know that? It’s a land at the edge of the Western Continent, ruled by one of the Sixth Families. They say no pirate has ever seen its ruler in person.”
“To be precise, no one who has seen that person has ever returned alive.”
“Well―the Mermaid Strait is nearby, after all. It’s a tricky area to navigate.”
The Mermaid Strait existed in various parts of the sea, but a particularly large colony had formed near Tenus.
‘Mermaids don’t seem to like humans much, do they?’
It’s said that mermaids, upon seeing a ship carrying humans, would enchant the sailors with their songs, drown them, or sink the ship. For this reason, naval ships wrapped their hulls in metal.
Gilbert read the tone of the conversation between Nereus and me, then frowned deeply.
“Don’t tell me you’re suggesting we go there? It’s a dangerous area where there’s nothing to gain and plenty to lose!”
“Hey, take a closer look at this.”
Nereus suddenly held out the document he was carrying to Gilbert.
“………….”
“Will you still say it’s all losses after reading this?”
The contents weren’t much different from what I had seen. It mentioned that Angel’s earnings were being directed to Tenus.
“We’re not knights of justice, Ner. We helped Odlo because we don’t like seeing victims of illegal drugs, but anything beyond that is someone else’s responsibility.”
That was true. No matter how different Caelum’s pirates were from the others, a pirate was still a pirate.
‘But the benefit Nereus mentioned must be something else.’
While the Caelum pirate crew generally disliked situations like those on Odlo Island, they didn’t see catching the culprits or instigators as a gain.
“Hey, hey, hey! Think about it after reading further. Huh? Do you think that’s the benefit I’m talking about?”
It was common to deposit profits into a bank. However, the document showed that all of Angel’s earnings were being transported to Tenus via the Mermaid Strait.
Even if they were trying to pocket illicit money, the act of blatantly heading to Tenus like this was highly suspicious. If this document were discovered, there would be no way to deny it.
“Doesn’t it seem strange?”
‘Now that I think about it, it is weird.’
Eight out of ten ships crossing the Mermaid Strait would sink. Humans had no choice but to avoid these straits scattered across the sea.
‘Especially for a heavily loaded merchant ship, the losses from a wreck would be huge.’
“Hmm…”
Gilbert crossed his arms, thought for a moment, and nodded.
“There are several possibilities to consider. For instance, the mermaids might have started dealing with specific humans, or there’s an urgent reason to risk traveling quickly, or maybe the Mermaid Strait itself has disappeared….”
“…Or perhaps, this document is just a decoy?”
Nereus smirked.
‘The Mermaid Strait near the Tenus Territory still existed even after the fall of the Terminus Family.’
And the mermaids’ hostility toward humans only intensified due to an incident that happened a few years later.
‘In other words, they either had a pressing reason to move quickly or it’s a decoy—one of the two.’
Either way, if the destination was Tenus, it was a gain for me. The only thing slightly concerning was the possibility of the head of the Terminus Family going berserk….
‘But it’s not the time for that yet.’
There’s a 98% chance it would still be safe. Besides, the head of Terminus was too preoccupied with guarding against corrupted beings, so if we fled to the sea, they wouldn’t be able to leave their territory to pursue us.
“By taking this route, we could uncover the misappropriated funds. Or at least gather information. It’d be intel even Barkinfo couldn’t provide.”
“The monetary gain from that would be… at least 100 million, right?”
“Exactly.”
After explaining, Nereus briskly walked up to the deck. All the crew gathered around him as he leaned against the railing near the ship’s bow.
“Alright, then. Those in favor of heading to Tenus, raise your hand.”
Except for a few, everyone raised their hands.
Thus, Caelum set course for Tenus.
***
“Does it still hurt now?”
“It didn’t really hurt much to begin with.”
Ethan’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘It really didn’t hurt that much.’
He was examining my foot. I had injured it while running barefoot on Odlo Island, and he seemed to be checking if the wound had left any scars.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t look like there will be a scar, but do you know how worried I was when you got hurt like that?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would turn out that way.”
To be honest, I might have expected it a little. I didn’t anticipate running into my family there, but Ethan still looked upset.
‘Come to think of it.’
Since that day, Nereus and Gilbert had been much more protective of me. To the point where, when I said I needed to make medicine, they kept urging me to stay in bed instead.
Under the guise of protection, Ethan and a few other crew members kept a close watch on me. I was only allowed to make the medicine after promising to rest if I looked even slightly tired.
“Thanks to Ethan taking such good care of me, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“There shouldn’t have been a reason for you to get hurt in the first place. Especially when someone as frail as you gets tangled up in something like that….”
Ethan continued to regret having let me go off on my own.
‘It’s not something to feel that guilty about.’
In Caelum, few people were genuinely familiar with children. At best, there was Lamis, who had grown up in an orphanage.
I didn’t know much about Ethan’s past, but whenever we encountered other children on the streets, he wouldn’t even try to approach them, let alone look at them. It was clear that he struggled with dealing with kids.
‘And maybe that’s why he’s not used to it.’
Caelum, being unfamiliar with children, would oscillate between overprotecting me and leaving me in dangerous places. Having grown up surviving harsh environments, they couldn’t accurately discern what was dangerous for a child.
“Ethan, Ethan.”
“What is it?”
“I’m sooo happy that Ethan is Caelum’s doctor.”
“…..….”
As I giggled foolishly, Ethan’s eyes widened, as if he were oddly moved by my words.
“Ahem. Don’t try to change the subject. Be more careful next time.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll be crossing the Mermaid Strait soon, so keep that in mind.”
“I know.”
With that, he firmly pressed wax into my ears.
‘Wow, I can’t hear anything.’
He was saying something, but I couldn’t make out a word.
Once Ethan confirmed that I couldn’t hear anything, he covered his own ears and led me out of the crew’s quarters.
Everyone had their ears plugged.
Yes, we were about to cross the Mermaid Strait.
