Chapter 64: Set Sail!

Folded chainmail, an ivory dressing mirror, a tower shield, and a belt lined with extradimensional pouches filled a bulging backpack.

Sophia gazed at her preparations with a sense of accomplishment.

She muttered to herself, “Been busy all day. It’s late, isn’t it? Better sleep early for tomorrow’s start!”

“Knock knock knock.”

A servant’s voice came from the door. 

“Miss, dinner’s ready.”

“What?” 

Sophia glanced out the window.

The sunset lingered slowly, despite all she’d done.

She felt exhausted, yet so little time had passed.

Must be because the sun’s setting too slowly today.

“Coming.” Sophia headed to the door, planning to eat, pray, and go straight to bed.

The next morning, dawn broke.

At the Haisha Port Tyr’s Hand Knights’ garrison, the single-hand-and-scales banner fluttered.

The full name of the Tyr’s Hand Knights was the Poor Brothers of Tyr’s Order.

The name was too long, and someone with a penchant for grim humor had shortened it to “Tyr’s Hand Knights.”

Everyone simply called it that.

All thirty-one members of the Tyr’s Hand Knights gathered beneath the banner to bid Richard farewell.

The local commander stood on a platform, delivering a speech: “Brothers, our god once reached into a demon wolf’s jaws for justice…”

Amid the speech, the Tyr’s Hand Knights’ banner billowed in the breeze.

Nearby, Aurina squatted on the roof of a carriage.

“Yawn.” 

She stretched. 

“If I lost my hand and saw bugs forming some ‘Hand Knights,’ I’d kick their butts hard.”

The Haisha Port commander continued, “Today, Brother Richard seeks justice against the Yanting Empire’s emperor in court. We all know the emperor wields law as a tool of rule while secretly scorning it. It’s a pretext to lure Brother Richard into the wolf’s jaws…”

“Gah, so that’s it.” 

Aurina nodded thoughtfully. 

“These iron bugs know it’s a trap, yet they go. So stupid—they don’t see the third layer.”

That’s to take all the treasures that rightfully belong to this king, gahaha!

After exchanging coins in Haisha Port, Aurina could now roll on a thin blanket of gold.

She was itching to tumble in a proper pile of coins.

This king is the cleverest.

“Aurina.”

An iron-gloved hand tapped the carriage roof.

Aurina looked down and saw Richard. 

“Gah, my steed’s finally here!”

Richard darted into the carriage with dragon-slaying speed. 

“Don’t ride me in public.”

Aurina poked her head over the roof, hanging upside down to peer at Richard inside. 

“Your brothers are all watching you.”

Her long red hair cascaded like a waterfall, reaching the carriage door’s threshold.

“So don’t ride on my head, at least not here,” Richard said. 

“Thirteen brothers have already asked if you and I have some sinful relationship.”

“Now it’s fourteen.”

Aurina turned to see the commander, clad in steel, approaching.

He sported a red beard.

The red-bearded commander said, “You’re the daughter of the Dread Dragon, aren’t you? You love riding on Brother Richard’s shoulders—because you’re in love with him?”

“What? In love?”

Aurina felt grossly insulted.

She stood on the carriage roof, glaring down at the red-bearded commander.

Her gaze was a dragon’s disdain for a mere insect.

Her neck was rigid, her vertical-pupiled golden eyes staring downward, as if the target deserved only a flick of her gaze.

The red-bearded commander met her stare. 

“By love, I mean physical pleasure—coupling.”

“No way!” 

Aurina wanted to spew fire, to burn this insolent bug to charcoal or molten iron. 

“This king rides him because he’s the mightiest little bug, worthy of being my mount.”

The red-bearded commander stopped meeting Aurina’s gaze and stepped into the carriage.

Aurina could hear their whispered conversation.

She didn’t care for other bugs’ murmurs, but Richard’s? 

She’d crouch nearby to listen.

Aurina perked her ears, catching their words: 

“Brother Richard, beware her. The Dark Angel tempts people to wallow in evil’s sins, tainting your purity.”

“What do you mean, Commander?”

“I fear you’re sinking into her lust,” the red-bearded commander said. 

“Once you leave the order and join Sophia’s house, you can live happily. Don’t stumble over a dragon. Remember the teachings?”

“Lust is a man’s original sin.”

“Good.”

Richard said, “I’ve already told Sophia—after settling this debt in the capital, we’ll marry at once.”

Poor Richard. 

No wonder he’s so old with no heirs. 

Gah, what’s the use of having two of those?

Aurina shook her head.

Below, the conversation continued.

Aurina stomped the carriage roof with her foot.

“Gah, bugs, are you done talking?”

The red-bearded commander emerged. 

“For the gods’ sake, I’d love to slay a dragon.”

Aurina shot back, “Better not end up a cooked crab.”

“Aurina.”

“This king is here.” 

Aurina grabbed the roof’s edge, slid into the carriage, and plopped onto the seat. 

“Richard! When are we picking up gold?”

“It’s a fight for justice. Close the door.”

Aurina hooked the door shut with her tail.

“By the way, is that red-beard your older or younger brother? What’s his name?”

“Why so curious?”

“So this king can punish his insolence later,” Aurina said matter-of-factly. 

“He dared think I’d couple with you—what an insult.”

“I’ve given up correcting your racist nature,” Richard said. 

“And he’s my brother in the order, not family.”

“Huh? This isn’t your home?” 

Aurina said. 

“Twenty brothers? Your dad must be one-twentieth as great as the Dread Dragon.”

“There are thirty-one. You really can only count to twenty.”

“Twenty’s the smallest anyway.”

Richard said, “They’re my poor brothers. The order took me in at ten.”

“Then what?”

“It’s a long story, just a ledger of events,” Richard said. 

“Not exciting. Last time I told someone, she fell asleep.”

That means plenty of weaknesses to uncover.

Aurina’s eyes gleamed as she shook Richard. 

“Tell me, tell me!”

Looking into Aurina’s shining eyes, Richard thought she’d soon yawn.

Even Sophia had grown impatient hearing it.

A bard who admired him once asked for his life story; after twenty minutes, the bard struggled to stay polite.

“Due to my merits, the order deemed me fit for adoption. They taught me to read and write…”

“At twelve, I received Tyr’s blessing. I could beat everyone in the training yard with a wooden sword. That year, I met Sophia. Her father donated a fortune to the order.”

“At fourteen, I became a squire, unusually young. My partner was a thirty-year-old brother…”

“At sixteen, during a troll hunt, seven of our ten-man squad fell. I carried my partner’s body back…”

“At seventeen, the order nominated me for Tyr’s circuit court.”

Richard recounted every detail, a true ledger.

He spoke of hiding his “deformity,” nightly prayers, and their frugal lifestyle.

His mouth grew dry, yet Aurina’s eyes still sparkled with enthusiasm.

He found it suspicious and paused, tempted to wave a hand in front of her face.

“Keep going! Tell me more!”

Richard blinked, warmed by Aurina’s eager golden eyes.

But he recalled the red-bearded commander’s warning.

Dark Angel.

“I’ve talked enough,” Richard said. 

“Your turn.”

“You’re so poor,” Aurina said. 

“No blood ties, and barely any personal wealth.”

“We dedicate ourselves to a holy cause,” Richard said. 

“Only someone like me would leave to start a family.”

“So pitiful,” Aurina said. 

“Living so long, still a virgin.”

Richard raised a hand as if to knock her.

Aurina covered her head, chanting, “I’m just a kid!”

“By the way,” Richard said, “the carriage has been stopped for ages. Where’s Sophia?”

Later, they sent the carriage to Sophia’s mansion.

No matter how the servants called, Sophia, who’d slept twelve hours, wouldn’t wake.

They didn’t dare touch her.

Reluctantly, Richard went to fetch her.

In the carriage, the trio was complete.

Sophia said, “Last night, I was so excited about adventuring again, I barely slept. Where are we headed now?”

Richard said, “The commander said we should travel discreetly. He’s bribed a merchant ship to take us straight to the capital.”

He produced three loose hooded cloaks. 

“The carriage will take us to a secluded spot to change.”

Everything went smoothly, except for Aurina’s insistence on riding Richard, clinging tightly.

They changed in an alley, hiding their identities, and boarded the reserved merchant ship at the port.

As they boarded, the fat-faced captain waved enthusiastically. 

“Hurry, pull up the gangplank! We’re off!”

The sails billowed, and the ship left port.

He thumped his chest, assuring the trio, “Once you’re aboard, no one will snitch. The sea’s the best secret-keeper. I’ve prepared the finest cabins for you, ladies and gentleman.”

After they left, the fat-faced captain scurried to his cabin.

He scribbled on paper: “Richard, Sophia, and the dragon girl boarded. Expected to reach the Yanting Empire’s capital in seventeen days…”

He wrote three copies, then decided to sell to the fiercest buyer—Thousand Crows.

He took a white pigeon from a cage, tied the letter to its leg, and released it.

Watching the pigeon soar into the blue sky, the captain grinned, as if seeing silver coins flying toward him.

A fireball suddenly struck the pigeon.

A red figure pounced, grabbing it.

Aurina slid down a mast rope, holding the dead bird. 

“Gah! Richard! Look, I caught a bird! Time for a snack!”

The fat-faced captain watched, his heart pounding with fear.