The port of Vasconcelos gathers crowds daily. Every day, large ships unload tons of food that supply the city that was once an agricultural town.
Amidst so many ships anchored in the bay, the most beautiful ones are the crossing ships. These ships do not hold all the paraphernalia of a fishing vessel, for example, nor do they have a storage opening like others. There are only the guest rooms and the beautiful masts that carry sturdy white sails of this type.
In front of such a ship, Luke was ecstatic. It was not the first time he had seen one of this type, but this one looked even more beautiful than the others. The ship's hull was beige, and there were hardly any barnacles or any moss, which was remarkable.
It was a very sunny late morning, and the seagulls that flew over the harbor skies naturally made a lot of noise. Whoo! Cuá!
"Don't you have any bags, sir?" The baggage porter politely asked Luke, after he had already put Alexis' three bags on a cart to go up.
Coming back from his trance-like state, Luke answered him, "That won't be necessary. Thank you." The half-wolf has the <Inventory Normal> ability, so he never again relied on carrying a backpack.
"Good journey to you both. The crossing shouldn't take more than five hours." Ayumi spoke from afar, with one of her arms on Nathalia. "We're leaving in three days, so meet us at the agreed-upon place."
Luke and Alexis nodded and began to climb the ship's ladder. The half-wolf never thought his service as a bodyguard would end in such an unusual and positive way, so deep down, he was genuinely happy but worried about what his friends would think.
He had been selfish to reveal that he was once a thief and thus abandoned the whole plan of stealing the gene chariot, but he didn't feel sorry.
When they finally entered the room on the boat, Luke saw two single beds and threw himself on the nearest one. The half-dragon did the same thing, only on the other bed.
"Now can you tell me the real reason you decided to accompany me?" Luke asked the girl. He thought she would either stay in the Mansion like the twins or go on her own journey.
"What are you talking about? I didn't lie when I said that."
During the walk back to the Mansion the day before, Alexis decided that she would accompany Luke regardless of the Matriarch's answer because she feels that Luke will attract a demon sooner or later. She wants to be there to help him, especially if it is the First Servant.
"You are a very good person, Alexis. That's even cute." Luke complimented her, almost falling asleep on the comfortable bed.
"What are you talking about? I'm just doing my job as a mercenary for the Church."
Luke smiled, satisfied. Now he was even more confident with the half-dragon at his side; after all, there are few forces in the world that can conflict with a Class-S Adventurer and come out alive.
Little did he know that as soon as the ship's bells rang and the ropes that bound him in the bay were loosened, his body would be surprised by the rocking waves and would cause extreme nausea, including rounds of vomiting. This was his first bout of kinetosis.
The fast trip between Vasconcelos and Oukiwa is only possible because of the large lake between the two cities. This lake is so large that it is two to three times the size of Vasconcelos, and for this reason, even though it is only one lake, there are waves and tides.
The hours went by, and Luke gave up staying in the room and focused only on looking at the horizon, trying not to pay attention to the up and down that the bar was doing.
Finally, when the gigantic Oukiwa could be seen from the bow, the bells once again rang, announcing that they were close. A few clouds were gathering over the city sky, and some of these clouds were very dark, but it seemed that the rain would only come later in the afternoon.
In the waters of the city bay, many other boats and ships could be seen, even more than in Vasconcelos. When the crossing ship finally docked, Alexis got her three heavy bags and escorted Luke out.
"Can I try something?" The half-wolf asked as soon as they stepped onto the wood of the harbor. He pointed to the bags she carried.
"Sure, what is it?"
"I've been thinking about it during the trip and wanted to see if it works." So, Luke opened the <Inventory Normal> and tried to slip the pouch into the yellow square. To his surprise, the ability did indeed accept the bag.
[Two spaces available.] The voice in his head warned him.
'Oh, it will fit the exact amount.' Luke placed the other bags inside the yellow square and then listened to the voice alert him that there were no more spaces left. 'If I had known that, I wouldn't have kept one item at a time. That way we won't have to carry weight.'
Usually, the big things that Luke had no way to carry in his pockets, he chose to carry in his inventory, but nothing was so big that it couldn't fit in a bag like Alexis'.
"Shall we go? My friends' house isn't far."
"Let's go for it! I can't wait to meet them!"
The crossing ship docked in the rich part of the port, so they were indeed a few minutes away from the more industrialized region.
In the rich part of this port, many guards patrolled and made sure to give a good impression to those who arrived because this Oukiwa port is one of the meeting points of the big cities in the West.
In this vast city, there are two ports, one on the lake and one on the sea, on the other side of the town, which caters to new arrivals from different continents and the Parato Islands. Luckily, the shed where Luke lived with Meredith and the others was not far away.
In a hurry, the half-blood duo moved quickly until they reached the poor area of the port. The dirt roads, always muddy because of the constant flooding caused by the large ships, still made the half-wolf uncomfortable, but he focused on the good memories he had of the place this time.
However, the scene he saw from afar almost broke his heart. The shed where he had lived for some years was in ruins. In disbelief, he went closer for a closer look.
The beams that used to hold up the ceiling on the second floor were now on the floor. The wooden ceiling, which always caved in when it rained heavily, was almost non-existent. All the remaining beams, floor, and furniture were black as coal. There were no more doors in the shed, and the only intact part was the stone foundation of the place.
Luke didn't know how to react; after all, the odor of burning wood soot was not fresh.
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