Chapter 101: Welcome to Sekhtar

After a while, the pirate ship had reached where Shina was. The twins threw a rope for her and Remi to climb on to the boat.

Shina went limp as soon as she was on the deck, Remi did the same. They lay down on the wooden floor, visibly exhausted and trembling in the cold.

“I can’t believe it…” Finch muttered.

“You’re really planning to reach Sekhtar. We thought there would be the marines here waiting for you, but it turns out Jessika was right.”

Nozomi stepped in and said:

“Save the talk for later. Jessika, bring her to the bath and warm her and the dragon up.”

The brown-haired girl, assisted by Rico, took Shina and Remi to the baths inside the ship.

When only Finch, Nozomi and Franco were left on the deck, silence hung thick in the air.

Guilt was evident in their faces.

“Man… I’m glad we changed our mind. Her blood would have been on our hands,” Finch stated.

He and Franco watched as Nozomi walked up to the opposite side of the ship. The swordsman rested her elbows on the edge and silently mused while gazing in the dark horizon.

Finch knew that out of all of them, she felt guilty the most.

It was merely a stroke of luck that they managed to spot Shina in the middle of the dark ocean. Even though Finch had predicted that Shina didn’t know the safest routes and that she would go straight southward, the chances of them finding her was very slim. Not to mention that they were also putting themselves at risk by sailing in these parts.

So, as soon as they retrieved Shina and Remi, they turned once again and chose the areas where sailing wouldn’t cost them their lives.

***

In the middle of the dark ocean, only the warm glow of the ship light could be seen. The winds were getting stronger the further to the south they drifted, along it were the growing waves gently swaying the boat.

Shina was covered in thick clothes as she and Remi sat at the dinner table. Everyone around her was silent, and none touched their food except for the hungry dragon who was gobbling up the bucket of fish.

It was an awkward situation.

Fidgeting with her fingers, Shina decided to speak when she and Nozomi accidentally went at the same time.

“Y—You go first,” Shina said.

“N—No, go ahead,” the swordsman replied.

Shina took a deep breath and then said:

“Thank you for coming back for me.”

A frown crossed Nozomi’s face.

“We never should have abandoned you in the first place. Please forgive us for not trusting you.”

Shina shook her head.

“No, I understand, really. What’s important is that you still came back even though you had every reason not to. And that you made it in time before Remi and I turned into frozen monster snacks.”

Nozomi lingered for a moment. She chuckled, wiping the drop of tear from the corner of her eyes.

“You can still joke around even at a time like this.”

Shina laughed and then got up from her chair. She then approached Nozomi who was leaning on the corner of the wooden walls.

“Thank you for trusting me,” Shina uttered.

A clear emotion was contorting Nozomi’s face. Before it overwhelmed her, the swordsman hugged the princess tenderly.

Shina returned the hug.

“Hey, let me into that, too!” Jessika exclaimed before joining the hug.

Finch, Franco and Rico exchanged glances.

“Should we join in, too?” Franco innocently asked.

“Probably not,” Finch answered.

They turned to Rico who was spreading his arms.

“Maybe we can have a group hug of our own?” he said.

With that, the men also embraced each other, and Remi couldn’t decide which group hug to join in.

The crew had their dinner like they always did after that, and everything went back to the way it was.

After dinner, everyone went to sleep except for Finch. The captain of the crew went up to the quarterdeck and observed their position. Currently, they are getting farther and farther away from the dangerous parts of the southern ocean.

But he couldn’t help but wonder… what happened to Shina’s boat? And if she did get attacked, how did she and Remi survive?

They were traveling from an Olcourian port located in the east and traced the southern waters. They would then circle around the area known as the perilous ocean to avoid the sea creatures before eventually docking on the eastern coast of Sekhtar.

Shina was found in the middle of the perilous ocean. It was a miracle that she was still alive.

’The one with us isn’t a doppelganger… is she?’

Finch shook his head to try and make the scary thought vanish.

< THE NEXT MORNING >

The boat was battling the ravaging waves of the southern seas. It was like they were in a constant earthquake and it made Shina’s head spin.

Since the first hour when she woke up, she threw up about five times already. Fortunately for her, Nozomi and Jessika were there to comfort her.

But her physical condition aside, Shina was extremely happy and quite excited too. Just knowing that Dheinyrus was alive and well gave her the strength that she needed to endure this wild ride she was currently experiencing.

She didn’t know much about the land of Sekhtar, but she was pretty sure it was a dangerous place. How Dheinyrus survived was a mystery. Perhaps, he was just that good of a fraud that he managed to trick the entire demonic continent.

Shina was catching her breath while Nozomi was patting her back.

The boat was dancing up, down, and side to side. This was the worst ship ride Shina had ever experienced.

But her attention shifted to Finch who shouted a couple words.

“We have arrived, ladies and gentlemen!”

Shina, despite the extreme dizziness, tried her best to go up near the beak of the ship. Up ahead was the body of land that she saw for the first time after several days on the water.

The remaining few hours weren’t as excruciating anymore. Everyone saw how the princess so eagerly desired to set foot in the land of demons.

By noon, they were able to dock at the shore. Shina immediately jumped off the ship and Remi followed behind her. She stepped into Sekhtar as Shadowblade.

The crew also decided to come down and look around.

“This just the eastern coasts of Sekhtar. We’ve never really gone beyond this place nor did we encounter any demons,” Finch said.

“The only times we come here are when people as crazy as you commission us.”

Shina turned around and then gave the crew a warm smile.

She spoke.

“Thank you for all your help. I will be fine from here.”

Her agreement with the crew was a one way escort. After taking her to Sekhtar, they would return to Olcour and she would be responsible for finding a way back home. Of course, she had no choice but to agree to their terms.

But in the back of her mind, Shina thought that if she wasn’t able to find Dheinyrus, going back home was the least of her concerns. Now, however, she was sure that he was still alive. All she had to do now was search for him in these demonic lands.

Shina had many questions herself. The fact that Fiorelle was a demon was also something that intrigued her very much. Shina figured that she could do her own investigation in her time here.

The crew was silent for a few moments before Finch spoke.

“Actually, we have decided.”

Shina furrowed her eyebrows.

“Huh?”

Returning back her smile, Nozomi said:

“We will accompany you until you achieve your goal.”

Upon hearing that, Shina’s eyes widened, her face was filled with shock and confusion.

“See it as our way of apologizing. You had to endure unnecessary suffering because of us, so this is the least that we could do.”

Shina spread her gaze to everyone, and it seemed like they were really determined to do what they decided on, which was to help Shina navigate the demonic continent.

They of all people should know how dangerous this was going to be. As pirates, they were wired to prioritize their self interest at all times. So the fact that they were willing to risk their lives just to make up for abandoning her showed how firm their decision had been.

It wasn’t something they would want to do on a whim, so Shina respected their resolve.

Taking a deep breath, the princess answered.

“I humbly accept your offer of help.”

They exchanged smiles and nodded at each other. But then, Jessika asked:

“Since we are going to help you find this person, I think it’s about time you revealed to us who they were? We promise to keep this between us.”

Shina also realized that she would need to tell them if they were to join her in her journey in Sekhtar.

But now, the situation has changed. She knew that Dheinyrus was alive and was relatively safe. The narrative that he needed saving no longer had to be applicable.

So, she answered:

“I’m here to find Dheinyrus Theocheirós, the God Tamer.”

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