The night was tranquil, only the ticking of the clock on the wall slowly extending, like threads wrapping around the rhythm of the heartbeat.
As Mia yawned and turned over to sleep, a faint ray of light just happened to pass through a gap in the curtains.
That was the glow of the Purple Crystal Do in Demon City—
Dawn had arrived.
...
Dawn had arrived.
On the beach of the Gana Continent, the bright waves gently lapped at the shore, leisurely like a seagull strolling by the coast—as if the storm two weeks ago happened in another world.
This land still seed forgotten by the world.
Captain Kaidesen rubbed his eyes, lifted a corner of the rain cover, and rose to face the cool morning wind, stepping outside.
He was still wearing that sun-hardened old coat, the dried sweat leaving salt residue that could be wrung out... but he didn't have the leisure to worry about being slovenly now.
Stretching, he walked along the edge of the camp, stepping on sand, heading toward the cook's wooden shed.
The pot cooking porridge bubbled with steam, in the murky broth a few mushy grains could be seen, oysters floating atop, and so unknown seaweed drifting beside.
The cook handed him a bowl cut from a coconut shell.
"Today there's fish bones added, the taste should be a bit better than yesterday."
"You didn't wash the pot yesterday, did you?" Kaidesen said weakly while taking the bowl.
The cook laughed sheepishly, not answering, tacitly admitting to many things.
Joking aside, Kaidesen knew it wasn't the ti to be picky, soon finishing the bowl and even letting out a contented burp.
Once full, it was ti to work.
He shouted in the camp, waking those lazy guys, then led them into the tasks of the new day.
It had been a whole week since the Traveler was stranded on this unfamiliar continent.
With the tools sent by Baron Ticky—hamrs, nails, cloth, and wood—and a pile of "strange but surprisingly useful" Magic Devices, they managed to set up about a dozen shelters against wind and rain on the storm-torn beach.
No longer sleeping in tents was already a huge improvent.
Though life was still tough, with endless labor during the day, mosquitoes at night, and baths in seawater becoming increasingly uncomfortable—life sohow had a glimr of hope.
Humans are highly adaptable creatures.
Especially those who have lost everything, are quite easily satisfied.
Following Baron Ticky's orders, they erected a few wooden stakes by the sea, barely making up a simple wharf—though it could scarcely tie up a few broken fishing boats at best.
The na Withered Wood Port finally seed sowhat fitting.
Kaidesen felt incredulous every ti he saw the fortress on the hill.
Initially, he thought those city walls were crude, now they seed like a miracle on the Vast Ocean—building a castle in this godforsaken place was truly remarkable!
If only the master could also build a proper port for them alongside Withered Wood—that would be great...
Of course, Kaidesen was only wishful thinking.
He understood that the fortress might have been through centuries of efforts and accumulation by the Colin family on this land, and now they could only rely on themselves.
It's worth ntioning that two nights ago, Kaidesen discovered that he and his company weren't alone on this continent—
They encountered a group calling themselves the Tide Clan Lizardn.
Those folks, so male, so female—or perhaps should say, male and female—were adorned with fins and scales, so even leaning on fishbone canes—migrating from the mountains toward the shoreline.
Initially, both sides were startled by each other, but fortunately, it didn't escalate into a conflict. The opposing side very consciously avoided entering their camp, and they subdued their impulse to act, rembering the Baron's warning to avoid bigger trouble.
Finally, it was roughly their leader proposing to exchange fish catches and pearls for the resources they had—mainly those barrels of rum.
Kaidesen agreed imdiately, the rum inside was already leaked out anyway, might as well make it a gift and improve their als.
And those pearls, well they're valuable things.
If they could be brought back to the Imperial, they might exchange for quite a few silver coins... of course, that's assuming they can return.
There's another strange thing to ntion.
Not sure if it's been too long since feeling a woman's touch, but Kaidesen suddenly noticed those Lizardn looked rather charming?
He wasn't the only one thinking this, other sailors seed to have the sa idea... but the Lizardn clearly didn't fancy them and left once the trade was completed.
The matter with the Lizardn ended there; no further news after they left.
Kaidesen reported this to Ticky, who remarked that such trivial matters didn't need to bother him—he's a Baron, a Noble, a landowner... not their father.
This guy always had that proud deanor, though sotis Ticky seed maybe not inherently bad?
Although he always acted like a Noble, putting on airs, bossing around, forcing them to work—but much more agreeable compared to the Barons of the Old Continent.
At least he didn't treat them like vagrants; at least the als after labor were decent; at least all the way they've been building their own hos, solving their own daily needs—and they hadn't gone bankrupt or been hanged because of those damned trees.
This in the Old Continent was considered quite humane.
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