Chapter 271 Friends
The sea, the domain of Odileus, the god of the sea. Marshilin expertly tightened and knotted the mainmast's cable. A task that would have required two or three crew members, she accomplished quickly and efficiently on her own. After spending so much time on the ship, the bandages binding her hands would release fine grains of salt, twisting the cloth into strands, revealing the wavy divine seal on the back of her hand.
The weather was getting hotter, and the sweat from her hands made her palms sticky and uncomfortable. Since it was just her and Ole on the boat, Marcyline leaned against the side and simply untied the yellowed straps corroded by the sea water and threw them into the sea, letting them be swallowed silently by the waves in an instant.
Praying to the sea god Odres was a must for fishermen before setting out to sea, for a full catch and a safe return. But it was also common to hear of husbands vanishing in the storm, or children starving to death at the dinner table. After all, Odres was capricious, generous yet cruel. If bad luck struck them, they should pray to Aranbe, the god of luck; no one seemed to think of blaming the sea god.
"Don't worry, we'll be back in Port Morris soon. We'll figure it out." Seeing her staring blankly at the divine seal on the back of her hand, Orel, who had jumped down from the observation deck, coughed lightly and comforted her in a gruff voice, "You're a warrior, your soul is freer than mine. I'm fine, so you'll be fine too."
"I'm not worried about that." Marcylin shook her head and silently stared at the deep, inky-black sea.
"When Dad was trying to scare us, he told us a story. He said that hundreds of years ago, every fisherman's family along the coast had to raise their firstborn son until he was fifteen, then offer him as a slave to the sea god's priests." Her voice gradually lowered. "A new ship might launch, or they might encounter a storm, or the bloodline of a noble high priest might die at sea—there were many reasons. You might be skinned alive and thrown into the sea as a sacrifice to the sea god."
"I was very angry when I heard this story." Marcylin couldn't help but use some strength in her fingers, and ended up cracking the wood on the edge of the boat. She relaxed her grip as if waking from a dream and silently put her hand down.
"I asked my father why the priests of Poseidon Temple sent the children there if they were so cruel," the red-haired girl said softly. "He told me that only in this way could the Temple appease Poseidon and prevent his anger. And those priests also have a good side. Slaves over the age of thirty would receive a gold coin and then go home."
"I don't agree with him. How many slaves are lucky enough to live for fifteen years between the ages of fifteen and thirty?" Maxine lowered her eyes. "So from now on, when I go to the Temple of Poseidon to pray, I will keep my mouth tightly shut and refuse to say a single word."
Orel looked at her silently. She had always been a girl who hated evil and had even suffered a lot for her "justice" in her early years.
But this is Marchline, the Valkyrie Marchline, who, like her name "little warrior", will always fight passionately and sincerely.
"...But His Majesty told me that God is human." Maxine finally couldn't help but reveal her long-buried thoughts to her friend one by one: "Since he is human, he must know the true meaning of what those priests did, but he chose to let it all go. Now he is hidden in my body with the seal of God. Maybe one day this cruel guy will take over my body and hurt you. What if—"
The more she spoke, the more excited she became. Suddenly, she gasped for breath and punched the sea surface fiercely. The sea water not far away suddenly exploded, stirring up waves several meters high. Even a few unlucky sea fish were blown into the sky and fell on the sea surface with their bellies exposed.
Aolei skillfully used magic to shield the two from the pouring seawater, then pressed the red-haired girl's shoulders and said, "Listen, girl."
"None of us will be in trouble." He stared into those trembling green eyes and said solemnly, word by word: "This is not your fault."
“…”
"The slaves of Port Morris were freed, the God of Night and Death died, Melda's family is alive and well, and the crew of the Kasa Strait defeated the entire navy - you have done so many remarkable things since your rebirth." He nodded solemnly to the red-haired girl: "Greetings, ma'am."
Maxlin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly her mouth pursed. She took a step forward, hugged Ole tightly, and lifted his feet off the ground.
“Ore!” She burst into tears, all the anxiety, sadness, self-blame and confusion since her rebirth turned into hot tears: “How come you, idiot, suddenly become so warm and considerate? Ugh…”
Ole, whose ribs ached from being held so tightly by her, and who even suspected that some of them were broken, grimaced silently: "..."
"Cry, cry." He sighed, reluctantly pulled out one hand, and patted the red-haired girl's furry head lovingly: "It will be fine after you cry. Don't be like that guy Azuka, who didn't say anything and ended up turning himself into a psychopath..."
"Actually, he did say that," Marcyline corrected him with sobs. "Although every time he spoke from the heart, it turned out that he had ulterior motives..."
“…it sounds even worse.”
While no one was around, the other two protagonists took turns complaining about someone, and the topic eventually turned irreversibly to a tyrant.
"...So His Majesty really agreed?!" Ma Shilin, who was gossiped about, couldn't help but widen her eyes.
"I find this as incredible as you do," Ole said darkly. "Unfortunately, yes, and it's been confirmed by both parties themselves."
The red-haired girl couldn't help but look conflicted. "...I won't tell this to Azuka, but you know, in my previous life, my biggest impression of that Majesty was 'terrifying,' followed by 'omnipotent.'"
"Even though I saw his head fall off with my own eyes, I still feel like he's not dead, at least not in my nightmares." As she spoke, Marcylin shuddered. "Especially during the period immediately after his death, I woke up almost every night, dreaming of him reappearing. Everything I see now is just a trap he set up..."
Even someone as thick-skinned as Maxine had developed an extremely deep psychological trauma towards others. She was only willing to re-examine the other party impartially for the sake of "justice" - in fact, it was no wonder that Orel had a bad attitude towards people at first.
"But fate is always so fickle, isn't it?" The red-haired girl raised her head, looked at the seabirds circling in the sky, leaned against the side of the boat and exhaled softly: "I can actually get to know him again now, and find that he is actually a very lovely and even respectable person——"
"So I will bless them. I can't guarantee that they will be free from storms in the future, but I can only wish them never to sink in the storm and never get lost." She turned her head to look at Orel, her green eyes still shimmering with water soft and bright. "Although, uh, I may need some time to get used to it. And if they kiss in front of me, I don't know whether to cover my eyes or my heart first..."
Ole was silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed loudly.
"Okay, don't look at me like that. I didn't say I disagree. Besides, what good would it do if I disagreed?" He muttered angrily, "That guy is definitely going to suffer the most in love anyway. I can't even gloat over his misfortune. That bastard Azuka is so lucky to have such good friends like us..."
"Let him treat us to drinks when we get back!" Marcylin urged cheerfully, "Let's have the most expensive drinks, make him bleed profusely, and get him drunk. I've never seen him drunk before! As for His Majesty not drinking—well, I'm sure he'd be happy to have coffee instead..."
"And only give him a small cup, nothing more." Ole added in tacit understanding: "That way, neither of them will be happy."
The two looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter. Their laughter startled the seabirds circling overhead and flew towards Port Morris that appeared on the sea level.
Home. As he set foot on Port Morris soil, Ole felt a surge of warmth for the first time in his life. The sun was warm, the sea breeze was salty, dragons flew across the sky, everything was so vibrant, so beautiful, and so—and so much more.
Ole stared at an old acquaintance who looked very familiar not far away, his pupils trembling violently. The next second, he took out two scimitars and held them tightly in his hands, one on the left and one on the right.
"What's the matter?" Marshilin, who was following behind him, stuck her head out in confusion and happened to meet the eyes of a knight commander with an expressionless face.
Marshilin: "...Wow."
——What the hell is going on with those two?! They were robbed and made their way to our base camp!
"Mashilin, go find Azuka." Ole said gloomily, watching Yialos's every move with extreme vigilance.
The guy had lost an arm for some reason, and in his only remaining arm was a pile of documents. His face was extremely haggard, and even his usual elegant and noble temperament was gone. He looked as if he had been dead for a long time. However, this knight commander of the Kite Heart Guard was a Lord Prayer-level warlock, and his strength was comparable to his. He should not be underestimated. Even if he was disabled, he was not something that Maxline could deal with now.
Yialos glanced coldly at a certain notorious assassin who had fought against them many times and caused them heavy losses. "Excuse me, please move aside."
"Huh?" Ole sneered and gritted his teeth, his body tense as if ready to strike. "Who do you think you're talking to, you lackey of the royal family?"
"You're blocking my way," Yialos said expressionlessly, his expression more numb than indifferent. "I have to report to the Ghost, and I have three minutes left before his deadline."
Ole: “…”
Ole: “???”
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