WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 125: The Sea of Return (3)

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The Pargon Strait was exceptionally calm after the autumn storm had passed. Thin, threadlike clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky.

A luxurious passenger ship glided smoothly across the water. It was the sailing vessel carrying Kyle, Elysia, and the members of the Black Crow Merchant Company. Having left the Corsa Archipelago behind, the ship was heading toward the Kingdom of Rustin in the Federation, just as planned. It was also moving far faster than their previous trade ship.

That was only natural. It was less than half the former ship's size and carried no cargo. There were no dangers like storms or pirates either. Thanks to that, Kyle and Elysia were able to spend their time in their room at ease. As befitted a passenger ship, its facilities were excellent and spacious.

The room in particular was especially large.

The following afternoon, after a day had passed.

“Phew...”

Kyle let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes. Only then did he feel the cold sweat soaking his back.

When he lowered his gaze, the first thing he saw was the white jewel in his hand. It was the Dragon Heart, fashioned into a pendant. The fragment of Prisia's heart, which had absorbed all of the Ice Dragon's Dragon Heart, had settled down stably. The mana raging within it was still violent, but it was no longer beyond his reach as it had been before.

“You seem to be pushing yourself too hard. The elder also told you not to force yourself to use Prisia's mana.”

Elysia, who had been sitting against the bed, closed the book she had been reading. There was unmistakable concern in her voice.

“It's fine. I'm getting used to it little by little.”

“Still...”

“I won't overdo it. I know my limits better than anyone.”

Kyle opened and closed his hand around Prisia's Dragon Heart. Prisia's mana was beginning to feel more familiar with every passing day.

Even so, he could not use it as openly as the mana in his ring. Just controlling a tiny amount of it with his will was exhausting enough to make him break out in a cold sweat. He had once become intoxicated by Prisia's mana, lost consciousness, and come within reach of death. He had no choice but to remain cautious.

Alfred told me not to be impatient. Everything has its time. If you try to forcefully pick fruit before it ripens, you'll ruin everything.

Still, he could not simply do nothing.

That was especially true because he had pushed back Izra's Thorn once. If it had been impossible, that would have been one thing. But after seeing even a sliver of possibility, it was difficult to remain calm.

Soon, I'll set foot in the Federation.

But am I rushing too much? Shouldn't I be calmer, just as the elder said?

Once the time comes...

“Kyle?”

Kyle had been lost in thought when Elysia's voice pulled him back to himself.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”

“No.”

Kyle shook his head. Elysia narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

“If that Dragon Heart steals your mind again, I'll have to use shock therapy. The elder was there last time, but now it's only you and me.”

“What kind of joke is that?”

“It's not a joke. Do you know how frightened I was then?”

“But it isn't happening now. I'm controlling it.”

“That is true, but...”

Elysia frowned. As she said, Kyle had not lost consciousness after being captivated by Prisia's mana as he had before. His eyes had not turned white, nor had his veins. He was only sweating more heavily because he was tired.

“More importantly, it's good that the sky is clear.”

Kyle deliberately changed the subject and looked toward the square lattice window on one side of the room. Unlike the Black Crow Merchant Company's cramped trade ship, which had no windows, this passenger ship provided by Cesar had large square windows. The room itself was incomparably larger as well. Its interior was on par with a decent high-class inn.

“Should we go get some air?”

Kyle rose from his seat. He put the Dragon Heart in his hand around his neck and tucked it inside his clothes.

“Here you go again...”

Elysia grumbled with an unhappy look, but she still followed Kyle. When they stepped onto the deck, pleasant afternoon sunlight slanted down over them.

“Ah, Mage!”

The moment Kyle and Elysia came upstairs, a young man spotted them and greeted them. It was Fabio, the navigator. As they approached, Fabio turned away from the distant land barely visible on the horizon and asked, “Did you come out to clear your heads?”

“Something like that.”

“Staying in the cabin all the time does make you feel stiff. Of course, comparing the rooms on this passenger ship with our merchant company's trade ship would be insulting.”

The other sailors nearby snickered at Fabio's words. Until yesterday, they had still been uncertain whether they should really leave the island, but they had already returned completely to their usual selves.

“Where's the captain?” Kyle asked.

“The captain? Ah, there he is.”

Fabio raised a hand and pointed toward the rear of the deck. Kyle gave a small nod and headed for the high stern with Elysia. The captain's cabin and the wheel before it were much smaller than those on the previous trade ship, but both the exterior and interior were better. Captain Jorde, who had been quietly judging the ship's course, noticed the two of them.

“Oh, you're here. Is anything uncomfortable?”

Kyle looked at Elysia beside him. Elysia, with her hood pulled low, silently shook her head.

“Fortunately, I don't think there is.”

“Is that so?”

“Honestly, as long as it isn't that cramped room from before, I don't care. I could barely sleep properly. More importantly, how much farther do we have?”

“Please wait a moment.”

Jorde took a compass from inside his clothes, unfolded the map in his hand, and looked back and forth between the hazy land in the distance and the sea.

“Let's see...”

He narrowed his eyes and hummed to himself for a while before opening his mouth.

“We don't have far to go. We'll arrive by tomorrow before sunset at the latest.”

“That is earlier than expected.”

“The Corsa Archipelago lies between Cadis and Belmar. We set sail after already crossing more than half the distance, so it is only natural that it would not take long. The weather is good too, so nothing is holding us back. If it had been a north wind, it would have taken another day, but fortunately we have a southwest wind.”

Kyle and Elysia remained on deck afterward. When late afternoon came, they went below deck for a simple dinner. Deep into the night, they slept soundly in the wide room's bed.

Then, at noon on the third day.

“We're here!”

“Belmar! Belmar is in sight!”

The two had gone up on deck as usual to clear their heads when they heard the excited shouts of the sailors. Following everyone's gaze, Kyle and Elysia naturally turned in the same direction.

A faint silhouette of land lay far in the distance. At first, it was only visible if they narrowed their eyes, but it gradually grew larger with time before taking the shape of a great city. Countless buildings rose across the clearly visible land, and ships were anchored along the coast.

It was Belmar, the port city of the Kingdom of Rustin, one of the Federation's five kingdoms.

* * *

The ship slowed as it approached the docks. Since it was a passenger ship rather than a trade ship, the docking procedures were not particularly difficult.

They brought the ship as close as possible to an empty pier. After tying the mooring ropes to the posts, they lowered the anchor. By the time they began folding the unfurled sails, a harbor official had already arrived. Though it was a Skaldir Family sailing ship rather than an ordinary merchant vessel, no one stopped them from entering. Like Cadis, Belmar frequently saw ships belonging to the Skaldir Family.

“Well then... I suppose it is time to part ways.”

As the sailors handled the remaining work, Jorde stepped onto the dock and muttered while glancing at the ship behind him. When he turned back to Kyle and Elysia, there was a faint trace of regret in his eyes.

“I am sorry. I would like to give you some money, but things are as they are.”

Jorde gave a bitter smile. The trade ship had been half-destroyed, and its cargo had long since sunk to the bottom of the strait. They had recovered the star iron sword, but that was all. In other words, he owed Kyle a great debt and had nothing to offer him.

“It doesn't matter. Your feelings are enough.”

“Thank you. To be honest, it had been weighing on my mind.”

Jorde's expression relaxed at Kyle's calm response. Kyle then asked what he had been wondering about.

“Are you going to deal with the star iron sword as planned?”

“Most likely.”

Jorde looked around once, then lowered his voice.

“The cargo was one thing, but that was why we planned to sail to the Federation through the autumn storm. We will finish what we came to do. Then we will likely return to Cadis. As for what happened with the Skaldir Family... we will not be able to hide it even if we want to. We also have to return the sailing ship we borrowed.”

This time, it had ended with a warning thanks to Kyle, but next time would be different. If Enrico, the Merchant Head of the Black Crow Merchant Company, was truly cautious, he would no longer smuggle goods through the Pargon Strait behind the Skaldir Family's back.

If I weren't being pursued by the Empire, I could have received a hefty reward.

Kyle snickered at the pointless thought, then cleanly pushed it from his mind. He could have returned to Cadis and demanded payment after placing the Black Crow Merchant Company so deeply in his debt, but Kyle and Elysia did not have that kind of time.

“Ah, it looks like they're done.”

The work on deck had ended just then. As soon as Jorde finished speaking, the sailors rushed to the railings and waved at Kyle and Elysia.

“Mage! Travel safely!”

“We owe you a lot! Take care!”

“Thanks for cleaning up the mess our captain and Merchant Head caused!”

There was no longer a dark shadow on their faces. Kyle felt the corner of his mouth move slightly and nodded at Jorde.

“Then.”

“Farewell. If we have the chance, I hope we meet again.”

Kyle turned away. Elysia took one last look at Jorde and the sailors waving from the deck, then hurried after him.

Once they left the docks, whose scenery felt both familiar and unfamiliar, an entirely new world stretched before them. Belmar, the port city of the Kingdom of Rustin, felt different from Cadis of the Sarmaren. Unlike the southern cities that bore Azaril's distinctive culture and colors so strongly, the Federation was neither part of the continent's south nor its west. It had an atmosphere all its own.

“So this is... Federation land.”

Elysia muttered frankly as they walked toward the center of the city. Dressed in a white robe with her hood pulled low, she kept looking around.

“It feels strange.”

“The culture is different. That must be why.”

“Even though it is the same continent of Velia, it is this different. There is only a border between us...”

“Hailen is even more distinctive when it comes to building styles. There is not even a proper port there.”

“I see. What will we do from here? Are we heading north like this?”

They stopped at the entrance to a narrow alley branching off from the side of a main road. Elysia caught her breath for a moment as she looked around, then asked.

Kyle silently looked up. The blue sky remained clear. The air brushing against his skin was damp because the sea was so close, but the cold chill of autumn had grown more distinct than before. Kyle realized anew that quite a bit of time had passed since he met Elysia.

No, was it the opposite?

It had not even been half a year since they first encountered each other at Ligrid Gate and began traveling together. Yet at some point, it had begun to feel natural for them to be together.

Perhaps it was because their time together had been so dense.

“First, we need to get horses.”

After staring overhead for a while, Kyle lowered his head. Elysia was gazing quietly at him.

“And we need to exchange some money.”

“Can we not use southern currency in the Federation?”

“Normally, we cannot. It is not impossible, but there is no need to endure inconvenience and invite suspicion. There are many money changers here because so many people from the south come through Belmar.”

“What else?”

“From here on, we will not use the Mercenary Badge in earnest. The same goes for your Magic Tower identification, Elysia. It would make it too easy to identify us. It will not mean much after coming to the Federation anyway.”

The southern Mercenary Badge would not be accepted here in the first place. The same went for the Arven Mage Tower identification that everyone in the Empire recognized.

Still, obtaining a Federation mercenary guild badge separately would be troublesome. Wooden Mercenary Badges were easy to obtain, but they did not serve as ordinary identification. Only from the iron rank onward would a mercenary be treated as legitimate. Building up achievements would not be difficult, but because they needed to reach Renavik as quickly as possible, even taking unnecessary requests was a risk. They could simply bribe their way through inspections.

“There is still plenty of time before sunset, so let us resupply first. We have shaken off the Empire's pursuit, but we still have a long road ahead.”

Kyle glanced toward the main road beyond the alley and was about to turn when Alfred's voice suddenly rang through his mind. His legs stopped.

“Please take good care of that child.”

“She puts on a strong front, just like you, but she is soft-hearted inside. She is so fragile that it would not be strange if she collapsed at any moment.”

“When she is having a hard time, it will be enough if you can be even a small place of rest for her.”

“Kyle...?”

Elysia called his name in a slightly trembling voice when he suddenly stared at her. Kyle stood still and looked down at her.

But only for a moment, before Kyle carefully raised his right hand. His rough fingers, twisted and calloused from gripping a sword for over ten years, touched Elysia's pale cheek beneath her hood. She flinched without realizing it. Clear golden eyes looked up at him.

“Elysia... How old are you now?”

“I am twenty this year. I will be twenty-one after my birthday next spring. Why do you suddenly ask?”

Twenty.

By Korean standards, she had only just become an adult. She was the same age Kyle had been when he first fell into this isekai.

Ah.

Kyle lost his voice for a moment and could only stare at Elysia. He knew she was young. It was not difficult to guess her age from her appearance. Yet only after hearing it directly from her did he truly realize it.

You are younger than I thought.

You came out into the world alone, with nowhere to rely on. Just like I did when I first fell into this world. You cannot trust anyone, and no one trusts you. Perhaps that is why you longed even more for warmth.

Just as I did at twenty.

“What is wrong? Are you really hurt somewhere? Or... are you dizzy?”

Elysia asked with worried eyes when Kyle remained silent. Kyle removed his hand from her cheek and spoke slowly.

“...It's nothing.”

“...”

“Let's go.”

Kyle glanced once toward the north, where Renavik lay, then took Elysia's hand and walked out of the alley. She nodded without thinking, then reflexively frowned at the sunlight pouring down around them.

The port city, beneath the high midday sun, was bustling with people from every walk of life. Kyle and Elysia's backs slowly blended into the crowd before disappearing completely.

Footnotes:

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