Dusk falls in West City, at the Huggins mansion, the last night before heading north.
"Your Majesty, I never expected you to come to my home!" When Huggins saw the king appear at the door, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief and struggled to get out of bed.
Todd rushed forward and pressed down on his shoulder: "Lie down, lie down."
Ignoring all advice, Huggins struggled to sit up, supporting himself on the edge of the bed, trying his best to endure the dull pain in his spine while maintaining a smile.
Todd asked with concern, "How's the wound?"
"I've been doing rehabilitation training under the supervision of the monks lately, and now I can walk for an hour every day," Huggins said with a smile, patting his chest as if it didn't bother him at all.
Todd nodded and said, "That's good. Take your time to recover. There are still many things in the kingdom waiting for you to do."
After chatting with Huggins for a few more minutes, Todd handed the gifts he had brought to Huggins' wife and daughters, and then left the house under a pretext.
Looking back at the mansion entrance, where his wife was supporting him as she insisted on seeing the king off, Todd waved his hand and climbed into the carriage.
Rachel sat in her seat, quietly awaiting the king's arrival.
"Let's go back."
Upon hearing the king's command, the guards began moving towards the Knights' headquarters.
Todd lowered the curtains in the carriage, blocking out the street view, and sighed softly.
"Is this the last one tonight?" Rachel asked softly.
"That's right, this is the last one among all those who need to say goodbye."
“Your Majesty, I understand your feelings, but you should also know that every day we delay is a day of loss for your life…”
Todd rolled up his sleeves, looking at the wound caused by the mutation, which had spread to most of his forearm, and said helplessly, "I understand. In any case, tomorrow morning is the day we set off."
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, there were very few pedestrians on the street.
A man and a woman, both shrouded in black robes, rode their horses out of the back gate of the Knights' headquarters and headed towards the Port of Twilight.
Aisha's "Black Pearl" was already anchored in the harbor. Its captain had taken off his heavy, floor-length robe, tied his long, smooth, black hair into a bun, and wore a leather armor that didn't quite fit his slightly dark body.
Seeing the kingdom token held up by Rachel, Aisha frowned, looked at the passenger behind the woman who was hiding his true face, and said, "Come on up, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
As she brushed past the two men, Aisha raised her head, her heterochromatic eyes gleaming: "I don't care who you were before, once you're on my ship, you're my cargo. If you dare to do anything that doesn't suit your status as 'cargo,' I won't hesitate to throw you into the sea myself!"
Rachel nodded and pulled Todd straight down onto the deck.
"Strange guy."
The whispers from the sailors annoyed Aisha, who drew her dagger and stabbed it into the tall mast.
"Shut up! Go back to your seats and let us leave!"
Sitting in his cabin, Todd felt a slight vibration beneath him and heard the sound of sails unfurling.
Through the high windows, the direction of the sunlight slowly changed, and the ship gradually left the harbor's pier.
The view of the hills of Twilight City receded further and further into the distance. Todd glanced at Rachel, who was looking around the cabin, and said in a voice only he could hear, "Goodbye, Twilight City."
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The Black Pearl sailed for two full days after leaving Muxi Port.
Unlike the ship journeys of my previous life, the days sailing on the sea were dull and tedious.
Inside the cabin, after spending a few minutes entering his soul space and concluding a brief routine meeting with the officials of Twilight City, Todd listened to the sound of the waves outside the ship and idly flipped through the books he had brought with him.
Rachel made detailed preparations for this voyage.
Food, clothes, books, and even experimental equipment were all prepared perfectly.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Todd took Rachel's advice and confined his living space to the cabin, even having the latter fetch his meals.
But soon, the angry shouts and arguments coming from the deck forced him to put down his book. He put on a robe, used the 'shapeshifting' ability given to him by Clarence to transform his face into that of a rather dashing young man, and pushed open the door to go up the stairs.
Rachel stood on the deck, a strong sailor lying at her feet, groaning incessantly. The sailor was covered in sweat, clutching his right arm, which was twisted into an odd position, and cursing all sorts of vulgarities.
"You broke my arm! You bitch! I'm going to strip you naked and hang you on the mast to dry into a mummified corpse!"
Todd walked over to Rachel and gave her a concerned look.
The woman shook her head, indicating that she was fine.
"What's going on?!" Aisha, carrying a short sword and wearing a sailor's robe, stepped onto the deck. Her sharp gaze swept back and forth among the sailors and passengers before finally settling on Rachel.
“It seems your men aren’t entirely obedient.” Rachel dusted herself off and smiled at the captain.
Aisha immediately understood what had happened. She knew these crude and vulgar subordinates all too well; it was perfectly normal for them to immediately reveal their pirate nature once they entered international waters.
Aisha lowered her voice and roared fiercely, "I told you! They are valuable goods! Keep your manhood to yourself and don't make me waste another word!"
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