The Book Of Flowers

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-- Umibe City, Gong --

...

'CAPTAIN!! LET'S RUN!!"

...

'CAPTAIN!!'

...!

...!

'ALICE!!!'

"Alice!!"

"Ah-is?"

Veskal was surprised to see Cyth who suddenly woke up like that. Not to mention when he realized his cold sweat that was pouring profusely

"K- Why captain? Are you having nightmares?"

Cyth immediately scooped his face with his hands after realizing that Veskal was in front of him. The dream he had just experienced seemed to feel too real to the point that his entire body was moving involuntarily

Veskal who stood before him was immediately astonished. Not usually the cheerful looking captain put on such a gloomy face

"Captain. We're leaving, aren't we? So you better get ready quickly. We haven't even had breakfast yet, and I have a message to tell you from Vainzel"

"... Huh...? What are you talking about trying?" Cyth said

He was still sleepy and rubbed his eyes. Veskal just sighed, then threw a water bottle on the mattress, right in front of Cyth

"Drink first. Don't forget to refill"

Veskal then went out. He had to hurry up and immediately meet the king of Zen to deliver my message

But when she realized Cyth's gloomy face earlier, she became restless again leaving Cyth alone for now

......................

-- Half an hour later, the port of Umibe---

"Vescals. Where have you been?"

Cyth welcomes Veskal who comes towards him, but he stops and looks down respectfully when he sees the king of Zen following him

"Why did your highness bother coming here?" Cyth asked

Veskal interpreted the word Cyth to the Gong language that the king of Zen was able to recognize

"I just want to take you away. And all of you..."

He pulled Cyth's hand, then handed him a bag of money

"... It's for your supplies, not for our deal"

"Instruction...?"

'This is for you. It's not a ration, but a reward'

"Urgh-h!"

"Captain?"

Cyth felt dizzy and almost fell down for some reason. Erin and Veskal have often been shocked by her lately because of it

"Captain-"

"I'm fine. Maybe because I couldn't sleep a little bit last night"

...

Cyth walked up to the ship, ignoring the three people who were looking at him with a confused look. But even as he walked, he almost fell down again

"... Are you sure the captain will be okay? I meani... He'd better take a break, right?" Veskal asked

"... He forced me to come along. Although I'm sure, even everyone on board will notice his pale face

I don't know what else to say to her. Nor was he the type of person who just stayed silent and let everyone work for him"

It's only natural that he is. He's a captain, and he's lost a lot. What does a captain mean without men?

"... You better take good care of that guy" Zen said

Erin and Veskal looked at him, who was putting on a smiling but sad face

"... We will definitely do it, your majesty Zen. He's our captain" Erin said

Zen simply raised his head, still smiling as before responding to Erin

With that, they paid their respects to King Gong for the last time. The agreement we had planned was successful, and Walter would not be able to run easily out of Xiang

King Julius and the entire Orion fleet were ready to sail. Just waiting for the Black Hunt crew

"Mr Veskal! Lord Cyth! Prepare soon!" Julius called from another ship

Veskal just nodded at him, then refocused on helping a crew member to lift the anchor

Afterwards, he heard that the sail of his ship was stuck. Deftly he immediately jumped up on the mast of the ship to justify the snagged part of the sail of his ship

Everyone was busy bringing supplies here and there to fix the ship. A new ship promised to them by Julius

"Sail ready! Just get off the ground!"

"The driver is ready!"

"The anchor has safely ascended Erin!"

"Availability will soon be completed. Help us immediately for those who are finished!"

The atmosphere started to boisterous as everyone started to focus on helping Erin organize the supplies on board. They all work compactly, only their numbers are small so that the time consumed is quite long

Meanwhile, Cyth was just standing on the edge of the ship, staring at the clam-shaped necklace he was wearing with a stern look

I don't know how long she's been wearing the necklace, but the feeling in her chest still hurts every time she sees it. Supposedly, the necklace could heal his heart, but it had the opposite effect

"Captain..."

Cyth regained his senses when he felt a pat on his right shoulder. When he turned his head, Erin looked at him with a smiley face

He nodded towards Cyth, indicating that they were ready to leave for the final destination. Set out for their battle of revenge after what happened a dozen years ago

Cyth kissed her necklace like he always did. He also advanced towards the steering wheel, greeting his crew members who served there

He stood at the very front, enjoying the sea breeze before departing

His right hand was raised, and with a single stomp, his crew members removed the restraining rope of the ship. The sails instantly expanded and caught the wind, pushing the ship towards the sea as everyone cheered excitedly

Not long after, the entire Orion troop ship also began flying their ship's sails and caught up with Black Hunt from behind

"There is no problem with the captain's control! Everyone is ready! We're sailing again!!"

Everyone cheered more and more. Veskal just stood in the middle of those who were busy dancing and jumping on the ship

His eyes were then fixed on Cyth who remained standing in front of the ship, looking towards the open ocean. He slowly approached Cyth, then greeted him

"Looks... The captain is tense" Veskal said

"... I'm nervous Veskal. I always dreamed a day like this would come, but when the day came, I wanted to retreat" Cyth replied

He then glanced back at all his men

"I can't lose those 8 guys. No more. Erin, Farlan, Gaspal, Remus, Hugo, Asher, Yu, and Lock. They were all my friends, and imagining that I should lose one of them was the same as the one that had previously given me the creeps of fear"

"... That's normal, captain"

"... You're correct. They're the only place I've come back to, in all my years"

For both of them, such people are what hold them to this life. People who find them, and are willing to accept them for who they are

Imagining having to lose me and Verdea as well, spooked Veskal every night. That's why he wants to continue being strong, in order to protect us both

"What about you, Veskal? Are you ready yourself?"

"Well, that's how it is"

Veskal only patted his pants pocket once. But Cyth didn't understand what Veskal meant

The ship continues to sail the sea. And when the time came for the ship to stop, they had already met the person they were looking for