Novel Bin Chapter 341 – The Expedition Begins
Chapter 341 – The Expedition Begins
The Expedition Begins
An air of restlessness began enveloping the city as the day of the departure gradually approached. No, everyone had been restless for the past six months.
A general announcement had been made to the public about the first batch of deployment to the new continent, and after that, a new batch would be coming in for the second deployment.
Right now, Ville Zentra was the busiest and most crowded place on the whole continent. Merchants brought in large quantities of goods to take advantage of this business opportunity. Foodstuff sold like hotcakes since it was vital for the expedition.
Despite the hustle and bustle of the city, Hikaru and the others spent their days quietly. As for the silver coins he received from the Quinbland Empire, he sold them via Kelbeck’s connections. They had plenty of funds for now.
Lavia was happily choosing which books to bring on the long journey. There was something different about her now—her hairpiece. A magic gem sewn into a pink ribbon to match her silver hair. It was a magic item imbued with mana of the holy attribute and had the effect of repelling mana from the evil group.
The craftsman simply followed Hikaru’s instructions on what he wanted, while the mana itself came from Paula.
Since they didn’t know what awaited them on Grand Dream, Hikaru gave it to her as a birthday present.
Lavia, on the other hand, gave him a bracelet with the same effect as the hairpiece for his birthday this month. They already had a necklace prepared for Paula on her birthday next month.
「All right. Time to go.」Hikaru said.
「Yeah.」Lavia agreed.
「L-Let’s go!」Paula exclaimed.
Hikaru, Lavia, and Paula registered themselves as adventurers going on the voyage, and accepted a commission to help open an Adventurers Guild in the new continent.
Hikaru was a D-ranked adventurer. Although only rank A and B adventurers gathered all the attention, a good number of rank C adventurers were also going to the New World, and rank Ds outnumbered them even more.
An employee from the Adventurers Guild worked the reception at the port of Ville Zentra. As soon as they passed through here, they would be boarding.
Hikaru, Lavia and Paula each bought a slightly larger backpack for change of clothes and other essentials.
「Wow, that’s new.」
The Adventurers Guild had rented a newly-built Vireocean ship.
Hikaru and the girls were given a cabin with two bunk beds, which meant one empty bed, and no one else would be coming. The case with King Allegro’s Treasure Chest and Hikaru’s grimoire purchases had earned him a little reputation with the guild, allowing him to get a whole room to themselves.
Lavia sat on the bed, letting her legs dangle. The bed itself was just a wooden board covered by a sheet and a blanket on top, with no mattress. Nevertheless, they were new and clean and much more comfortable.
「I wanna explore the ship.」Hikaru said.
「That’s a great idea.」
「Yeah. Let’s go!」
The three left the room. The passage in the section where the cabins were located was narrow; they could barely go through when they met other adventurers.
Hikaru was curious why there were only female adventurers around, but realized perhaps the guild arranged it that way for their sake.
I’ve gained quite a lot, Hikaru thought. Gotta cherish these kinda relationships.
Pleased with himself, Hikaru looked around the ship.
The floor Hikaru was on had a private room. Below them was a large hall where people huddled together to sleep. It was extremely unpleasant, but incredibly lively.
「Come on, come on!」
「Cheers!」
「How about some fruit?」
「Gotta sell them before they rot, huh?」
Some were gambling, and some began drinking. Some were obviously not adventurers, but peddlers, hawking fruit that might rot during the voyage.
「It’s lively, but kinda stinks.」
「It’s like all sorts of smells mixed together.」
「Ahahaha...」
All three were holding their noses when a gong sounded in the distance, signaling the departure. Everyone rose to their feet, stopping whatever they were doing, and headed towards the deck.
Hikaru and the girls made it to the deck first. A pleasant, chilly sea breeze was blowing, one that heralded the coming of spring.
Many people had gathered on the dock below, most of them probably seeing off people in the army. The joint army—they boarded the Vireocean and Dream Maker warships—was setting out at the same time too. A band was even playing heroic music.
In the middle of them all, the Supreme Leader Patricia, the mayor of Ville Zentra, and the representatives of other countries were standing on a higher spot.
「Brave men and women! We wish you a safe voyage and the success of your mission!」Patricia gave a salute, bringing her fingers to her temple—the same kind of salute from Earth.
The representatives beside her did the same, and the soldiers on the ships returned the gesture.
「Ah... We’re really leaving, huh?」Hikaru felt a little sentimental, but only for a moment.
I will avenge your death.
Hikaru vowed once more to avenge Duinkler, a portly man who only acted on what’s best for Dream Maker.
He also had a strange premonition. Whether it was his Intuition whispering to him, he didn’t know.
But he had the feeling that this expedition would involve experiencing the darkness of this world.