Chapter 767: Captain Alagina
“Swish, swish.”
“It seems like it’s going to rain.”
The summer in the Northern Region finally began to warm up. Of the year, only summer and autumn are suitable for fishing. At this moment, the weather is just right and the sea is calm, urging the fishermen of the Hammond Fiefdom in Sardinia to busy themselves.
Many women from Sardinia set sail under the watchful eyes of their husbands, carrying hope and dragging fishing nets to provide for their families.
At this moment, the parasol trees in the Northern Region are thriving. The collapse of Nali overnight has made Sardinia nearly give up resistance, beginning to embrace the once waning belief in the Frost Phoenix. However, belief is only the first step toward peaceful evolution. Anyone can see that the decaying royal power of the fief is gradually weakening under the wings of the phoenix.
Perhaps in just a few generations, Sardinia will once again return to the embrace of the parasol trees, and the Northern Region will reunite like the Southern Continent.
But all of this seems to have nothing to do with the Sardinian woman dressed in coarse linen and sporting a snow-white ponytail at the edge of the warm harbor.
“Miss Alagina, we’re setting off!”
The fishermen around her, carrying harpoons and fish buckets, greeted her cheerfully, prompting the expressionless woman, who resembled a noble, to nod slightly in respect.
She surveyed the beautiful scenery outside the harbor, paused for a moment, and then took the several bunches of beer that had been at her feet toward the port, approaching her medium-sized fishing boat moored at the shore.
On the deck, a handsome man draped in a wool cloak was barefoot, wiping the deck.
His long black hair was gently stirred by the sea breeze, revealing his exceptionally beautiful profile. He was Fischer, a gentleman from Nali.
Just looking at his busy figure on the deck from afar made Alagina’s lips lift slightly, and even her footsteps became a bit lighter.
Alagina lightly jumped onto the boat, causing the vessel to sway slightly, prompting Fischer to turn around and smile at her.
“You’ve returned.”
“Ah,” Alagina’s face flushed slightly as she nodded, unsure of what to say next. She lifted the beer she was holding, “I bought some beer.”
“Oh, that’s great; we can drink it after we set sail.”
“Yes, everything is ready. We can leave soon.”
Alagina nodded with an expectant look, then placed the beer next to the captain’s cabin.
Although Fischer often came to the Northern Region, he visited the parasol trees more frequently.
Alagina used to stay there, but after a long time, she felt uncomfortable and returned to Sardinia, visiting her sisters who were living well there from time to time.
As for herself?
She lacked neither money nor power; she simply sought freedom of movement, experiencing a variety of lifestyles, while sharing the feeling of having a home with Fischer.
At this moment, she and Fischer were preparing to go out to sea like a couple of Sardinian fishermen.
Once the fishermen of the Northern Region set out to sea, they wouldn’t return for ten days to half a month, only heading back to sell their catch after hauling in enough fish.
However, unlike other Sardinians, she did not need to go out to sea alone, leaving her husband at home.
After all, the men of Sardinian fishermen generally stayed on shore to take care of the children, not setting off to sea while their wives faced rough waters, and she couldn’t stand loneliness.
“Vroom, vroom!”
The engine started, and the fishing boat was propelled towards the depths of the sea by the power from below, feeling the warm sea breeze brush against their faces. Fischer then felt that the wool cloak was a bit of a nuisance, so he gently untied the straps, revealing his upper body, enjoying the sensation of the cool breeze.
At this moment, the world was peaceful, and even the scenery became pleasant.
Asuka’s soul had already departed from Jasmine’s body, but it would take some time for her to recover, which worried him.
However, apart from that, everything seemed fine, and thus he felt entitled to enjoy the moment.
Little did he know, behind him, Alagina was watching Fischer’s exposed body, swallowing nervously but defiantly casting a glance at the distant ships near the coast, fearing that some lascivious women might be peeping from afar, sharing what should be her exclusive beauty.
Still uneasy, she quietly moved to Fischer’s side, picked up the wool cloak he had discarded, originally intending to drape it over him, but gazing at the muscle lines on his back, her hand instead clenched around the cloak, and then she extended a finger from that cloak, gently tapping Fischer’s shoulder.
“Ah?”
Fischer turned in confusion, only to find Alagina with a hesitant expression.
“Uh…”
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she pointed at the nearby captain’s cabin.
The meaning was obvious: Come, go inside with me.
Fischer opened his mouth, glancing back at the harbor still in sight, helplessly smiling, “We just left the harbor. Aren’t we supposed to go fishing?”
After pondering, Alagina felt that she might be too impatient. They hadn’t even exited the harbor yet; maybe they should at least wait until they had sailed for a while before discussing it.
But in the end, her desire overcame her thoughts, compelling her to say,
“There’s enough time.”
“Uh…”
With that, she dragged the reluctant Fischer into the captain’s cabin. Before long, the boat’s engine went quiet, gently rocking with the sea breeze.
This day was June 20.
On June 21, they did not set sail.
On June 22, it rained, so they rested for another day.
On June 23, Alagina said it was time to set sail for fishing, and Fischer also felt it was time to stop indulging themselves.
On June 24, they still did not set sail.
On the morning of June 26, the engine roared to life once again, and it seemed that there was only their boat left in the waters near the harbor.
In high spirits, Fischer leaned against the edge of the deck, watching the constantly passing sea views, and could not help but ask Alagina, who was inside the captain’s cabin,
“Why do you suddenly want to return to Sardinia? I thought living by the sea had made you tired of the long sea life.”
At that moment, Alagina had not tied up her ponytail, allowing her long white hair to fall freely, taking on shapes from the sea wind.
She tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear, gazing at the half-risen sun on the horizon, and softly said, “I don’t know. I used to think it was me who was tired when I went ashore with my sisters, but after staying at the parasol trees for a long time, I realized it was them who were tired, not me.”
Fischer threw her a glance and asked nonchalantly, “Was there something wrong with that place?”
“Well, actually, there’s nothing wrong with any place. If I had to point out something, even my homeland, the fief of my mother, has nothing wrong in my eyes. It’s just that for some reason, there’s always an impulse in my heart that can’t settle.”
Alagina shook her head, knowing that Fischer was worried about her conflict with Valentina. She looked at Fischer empathetically and explained, “Fischer, there is a long-standing tradition of raising ornamental birds in the Northern Region. Various rare birds were captured by nobles and kept in cages, pampered to cultivate their beautiful feathers. Among them, there was once a very unique bird called ‘Dumb Feather.'”
“Dumb Feather?”
“Ah, the bird lives up to its name, entirely blue in color, living by the sea, and attracted the attention of many coastal nobles. As a result, bird dealers captured them, caged them, and sold them to the nobles for enjoyment. However, this bird has a unique characteristic: it cannot be kept in a cage. Most Dumb Feathers, once they reach adulthood, fly consistently in one direction, forever and ever, until they reach the sea.”
Alagina looked out at the distant sea surface, softly saying, “The Dumb Feathers caged do not suppress this impulse, even if they collide with their cages with their heads, they would rather die than give up flying towards the ocean. It’s precisely because of this characteristic that they are named Dumb Feather. No one knows why they want to fly towards the ocean, even those Dumb Feathers who were raised without parents will fly towards the sea.”
“Because of this trait, along with the fact that these birds are inherently mediocre, they aren’t as good-looking as traditional ornamental birds, and they won’t mimic sounds, classifying them as a kind of species that one can appreciate but can also easily discard. Over time, no one raises them anymore. During the yearly tides, fishermen by the sea are able to see them leave the shore in droves, flying towards the endless ocean, and everyone knows that waiting for them beyond the sea is death.
“And in the eyes of fishermen, they are not just foolish; they are also called ‘free birds,’ because within their mediocre and unremarkable bodies lies the soul of every person shackled by the chains of reality, yearning for freedom.”
Fischer parted his lips, looking at Alagina, who was unknowingly smiling while gazing at the ocean. The sunlight spread over the horizon, making the surface of the sea shimmer.
He couldn’t help but smile slightly, turned to look towards the sea, and suddenly noticed a group of fish leaping joyfully amidst the morning light, radiating their vigorous life.
“Fish!”
“There must be a big fish driving them!”
The experienced Alagina looked at the anomalous dark mass of small fish below the surface, where the schools of fish undulated like a black storm floating in the blue sky, floating this way and that.
Before they could take any further action, an enormous abyssal jaw, roughly the size of half a ship, suddenly opened wide beneath the school of fish and gulped down large quantities of small fish.
The vacuum created by that suddenly opened massive mouth formed a whirlpool beneath the sea surface, and great waves surged under it, pushing their medium-sized fishing boat aside.
“Bang!”
The boat erupted in a cacophony of noise. Fischer, being of higher rank, lightly grasped the edge of the deck, remaining steady like a rock, pulling Alagina so that she wouldn’t sway like fishing gear in the boat.
“Clang!”
The hull emitted a metallic roar as the waves combined with the sky and fell as a sprinkling of salty rain onto Alagina, soaking her freshly changed clothes.
Fischer wrapped his arm around her waist and turned to look at the enormous fish that had revealed most of its black body on the sea and ridiculously raised its black tail before swimming away, asking in surprise, “Are there really such big fish near the coast of the Northern Region? That’s almost the size of a sea monster, right?”
“Ah, this is a kind of sea monster called ‘Bamah.’ Typically, you would need an ironclad warship to catch it. But this sea monster is very cunning; it knows that the military’s ironclad ships won’t compete with fishermen for fishing grounds, so it appears when fishermen go out to catch fish for their livelihoods. Once the fishing boats attract schools of fish or set nets to catch them, it will take advantage of the opportunity, stealing away the catch. Sometimes, if it encounters fishermen who refuse to leave, it will even attack their boats.”
Fischer nodded, analyzing the giant sea creature, which was larger than their fishing boat, “Our fishing boat isn’t small for individual ownership, but most fishermen’s boats wouldn’t be able to handle it. I suppose we can’t do much about it. Should we deal with it?”
“Hmph, it will soon realize it has messed with the wrong people.”
Originally, Fischer had intended to leap into the water and catch it for a high price, but Alagina, who stood behind him, let out a cold snort, and her eyes sparkled with ghostly light.
“Click, click, click!”
In the next second, a terrifying roar erupted from the entire fishing boat’s interior.
Fischer was slightly stunned, looking back to see several blue-lit steel tubes sprouting from the engine of the ship’s propeller, which looked like something out of a transformer, clearly some kind of mechanism. The deck also erupted with a loud noise, and dozens of drones and a gigantic particle cannon emerged.
Fischer opened his mouth, turning back to the expressionless Alagina, pointing at the mechanized creations on the boat, “Is this also for fishing?”
Alagina smiled slightly, taking a moment to compose herself and delivered her amusingly dry joke, “This is the ‘Alagina’ style of fishing.”
“Uh…”
“We’re setting off.”
Alagina beckoned, and the mechanized engine at the back of the boat suddenly burst forth with brilliant blue light, an enormous thrust sensation swept through, and Fischer grasped the railing tightly, watching dozens of drones take off to track the position of the sea monster.
“Buzz, buzz.”
The sea surface, which had just been joyfully playing in the water under the bright summer sun, was where the sea monster that had toyed with Alagina once relaxed, as it did every year at this time.
It was proved to be not only cunning but also delighted to listen to the fishermen’s curses over lost fish.
However, this time, it would not hear any emotional cursing but rather the engine’s roar, ringing like a death knell.
In the water, the sea monster was taken aback and turned its head in surprise, only to see their fishing boat, which had mysteriously approached, and that giant cannon made of steel, almost pressing against its head.
All this reminded it that the times had changed.
“Boom!!”
The particle cannon violently penetrated beneath the sea surface, unleashing a power unmatched that instantly lifted a seawater column like a mountain. The now pale seawater mixed with the sea monster’s severed limbs, along with countless innocent small fish that were swimming freely below, was thrown into the air by the immense force.
“Crash!”
Amidst the violent shaking of the entire fishing boat, Fischer helplessly watched as the boat suddenly transformed from just a light sprinkle of rain after being attacked by the sea monster to a torrential downpour, drenching him and Alagina completely.
“Plop, plop.”
Fischer helplessly wiped his face; before he could say anything, a rain of fish from above fell upon his head.
Alagina quickly reached out to protect him, but her feet slipped, causing both of them to fall onto the deck.
“Thud!”
Fortunately, the deck was now alive with flopping fish, and soon enough, the boat was filled with the smell of seawater and fish.
Laying on the deck, completely soaked, Fischer found himself looking like a dead fish with dull eyes.
This method of hurting the enemy while injuring oneself was learned by Alagina after all.
He turned his head helplessly to look at Alagina lying beside him among the fish. Alagina also looked at him with concern, only to see his wet hair and his helpless expression.
After a moment of silence, she unexpectedly covered her mouth and started to laugh,
“Pfft.”
Fischer was taken aback, perhaps for the first time seeing Alagina in such a mischievous light, drastically differing from her usual serious demeanor, causing him to momentarily overlook everything around him.
Alagina covered her mouth but, unable to hold back, leaned in and kissed Fischer.
“Plop, plop, plop.”
Amidst the abundance of fish on the deck, Alagina passionately kissed him, letting the aroma of the sea salt fill his mouth.
It was as if those flavors and colors that she usually kept hidden were about to fill his entire world at that moment.
After a long while, Alagina smiled and lay back on the deck, soaking up the morning sunlight together with Fischer.
“Haha.”
Listening to her voice, which was half laughter and half breath, Fischer couldn’t help but smile, pulling her into his embrace.
“Coo, coo, coo!”
In his peripheral vision, Fischer suddenly spotted a bird, entirely covered in blue feathers, perched on the railing of the deck, curiously watching Fischer and Alagina lying on the deck, soaking up the sun.
“Coo!”
Fischer was slightly startled and quickly patted Alagina, who was leaning against him.
“Alagina, look!”
“Ah?”
Alagina looked up, and when she saw the bird, her eyes lit up slightly.
“It’s a Dumb Feather!”
“Is this a Dumb Feather?”
Just as Alagina described, the bird wasn’t exactly cute or beautiful. Its blue feathers lacked sheen, yet under this situation and the bright summer sunlight, its head tilting and those large black eyes seemed irresistibly vivid.
Fischer instinctively wanted to reach out and touch it or coax it to land on his hand.
After all, he was the man who had gained animal affinity from the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans.
The bird obediently let Fischer pet its head, but just as he was about to take it a step further and urge it to stay on his hand, the bird suddenly spread its wings and took off, flying into the distance.
Alagina opened her mouth, and Fischer, watching the bird growing smaller in his line of sight, was momentarily stunned. He quickly shouted,
“Dumb Feather, where are you going?!”
“Flap, flap.”
All that greeted him was the silhouette flying deeper towards the ocean.
Against the morning light, every feather on it wrote the word freedom.
(End of Chapter)
