Chapter 718: Flowers and Rumor
After careful consideration, Angor came to the top level of the ship and entered Romanâs room.
He examined the room before when Roman was killed, and he found nothing other than common books used for passing time. It was obvious that Roman had taken away all valuables when escaping.
He came here again because he remembered there was a book about Devilâs Water left behind.
Soon, he found what he was looking for on a black wooden bookshelf, The Sea of Devils.
The book didnât tell him who wrote it. But the back cover suggested that it was a public edition made by the White Clam Association.
He spent half a day to fully read it, which contained comprehensive intelligence regarding charted areas and routes in Devilâs Water, as well as limited info for the remaining regions such as Gearwheel Grave and Sirensong Sea where ships tended to disappear for no reason.
But the book didnât mention anything related to what Lucas described.
âIs Lucas an actual liar then? But his ship did end up in Devilâs Water, and it doesnât look naturalâŠâ
With nothing to go by, he called Helen to him.
âHelen, during all the years you spent at Devilâs Water, have you heard of a place full of flowers?â
âUm? Do you mean a flowerbed grown on an island, sir?â
âNo, flowers on top of the sea.â
âFlowers on the seaâŠâ Helen muttered. âI donât think I know anything like that. However, Devilâs Water has many more areas that weâve yet to explore. Perhaps there is such a wonderful sight somewhere I donât know.â
âI seeâŠâ Angor nodded. âThank you, you can return to work.â
After Helen left the room, Angorâs lips twitched as he stared at the logbook.
I must be mad, to think that the story was trustworthyâŠ
But instead of burning the book up, he still decided to keep it in his bracelet for now. Even if not to consider Lucasâ stories, the âghost shipâ had many strange elements worth inspecting, which meant the logbook might be useful in the future.
Next, he took out his draft and continued to work on his âflying bootsâ.
âŠ
After leaving Angor, Helen headed to the dining hall of the ship.
It wasnât the right time for meals so there were only a few sailors with her. She took her share from the chef, found a random seat, and quickly dived in. Devilâs Water could surprise them with unexpected danger at any second, so there was no time to enjoy meals. Getting the food into her stomach was enough.
Two individualsâErwin and his lieutenantâsuddenly entered the hall and sat across from her.
âHavenât had yours yet, Capât?â Helen asked as she swallowed her last bite. She was a bit confused since she saw Erwin heading here when she went to answer Angorâs call, which meant Erwin should have done eating by now.
âI went to check our water storage. We donât have rain in this fog, and water is running low. Man⊠it wouldnât have been such a big issue if we can find water from Silver Palm.â
The lieutenant chipped in, âWe always trusted Mister Roman, and he actually wanted us dead for his own gain? What a loser! It serves him so right to get eaten by a monster.â
âQuiet, Tulu!â Erwin scolded. âMister Roman might be ill-advised this time, but we canât deny the fact that he saved The Limpet from danger many times before.â
Lieutenant Tulu was an 18-year-old young man with a keen sense when it came to predicting the weather. Erwin recruited him from a fishing village.
âYouâre being way too faithful to him, captain.â Tulu made a duck face. âI mean, everybody on the ship would agree with me, that weâre still breathing all thanks to Mister Padt.â
Helen interrupted their talk before Erwin could say anything further. âHeâs right, captain. Roman guarded The Limpet because it was his job in the association. And when he disregarded his job, he almost got us all killed. We have proof of it. We should not deny his crime now.â
Tulu threw his hands in the air and winked at Helen. âNice one, Officer Helen!â
âOh, stop it. Kids these daysâŠâ Helen complained.
âAlright alright, letâs not argue about that anymore.â Erwin chuckled. âSeriously now, weâll have a serious problem if we canât find water or rain soon.â
âShould we talk to Mister Padt?â said Tulu.
âLetâs⊠try not to bother him unless necessary, heâs not a member of the association after all. Heâs not obliged to assist us. Hey, Helen, Mister Padt just called you, so what was that about?â
âHe asked me a very weird question and sent me off.â
âA question?â Tuluâs eyes gleamed. âAbout that ghost ship? Hey hey, tell me!â
âSo you can show off your smartass-ness to your buddies?â Helen thought about Angor again, who was of a similar age as Tulu but always displayed a completely different character.
âYeah, heh hehâŠâ Tulu scratched his head. âChief Naki also wanted to know more. Well, we both do.â
âNo, Mister Padt didnât mention the ghost ship, itâs something else,â Helen said as she looked at Erwin. âCapât, have you heard of a place on the sea that grows flowers? Like, flowers directly on the water?â
âMister Padt asked you that? And⊠no, I donât think I have.â
âNeither have I.â Helen shrugged. âMaybe something to do with other mighty wizards. Itâs just right that we donât know.â
Helen waited for the others to finish their meals, collected their dishes, and walked toward the command room together.
âTulu, something else on your mind?â Helen asked when she noticed that the boy was looking at the floor.
âIâm thinking about that question earlierâŠâ
âWhich question? The flowers on the sea? Wait, donât tell me you know something?â
âNo.â Tulu shook his head. âBut there was this story passed around by the fishers in my villageâŠâ
âŠ
Angor, who was believed to be a âdisciplined gentlemanâ by Helen, just finished a glass of milk and was fiddling with a quill out of boredom.
When he heard someone knocking on his door, he quickly put away the glass of milk, dropped his quill, and pretended that he was working.
Helen and Tulu entered the room.
âWhat is it?â Angor feigned a cold look.
âApologize for the intrusion, Mister Padt. Just now, Tulu told me about a story about flowers. I donât know if it has something to do with what you asked, but I still brought him here, just in case.â
Angor looked at the young man beside Helen who looked very nervous. âYou⊠knew about this flowerbed?â
Tulu shook his head. âItâs only a rumor told by my grandmother. Iâm not sure if itâs what youâre looking for, sir.â
Angor crossed his arms. âLetâs hear it.â
âUm, during my childhood, my granny often told me bedside stories before I slept. But she canât read well, and she didnât know many stories. One of them was called âNayah the Charmerâ.
âItâs a pretty brief story. That there was this viscountess called Nayah, who came from the Age of Silver. Sheâs beautiful, sheâs kind, and she had a perfect husband who loved her. But her twin sister set up a plot and ruined her face, then sold her to a slave ship. Then that evil sister took on her looks and enjoyed everything she had.
âFrom that day, Nayah the Charmer became Nayah the Stinky. One day, she couldnât bear the misfortune anymore and decided to give up her life. Standing on the prow of the ship, she told her sad story to the other slaves. Her tears fell into the ocean and caused flowers to suddenly grow. Then she jumped into the water and disappeared, along with the flowers.â
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