Noir, carried by the Express Shrimp, had soared up to the White-Sea Clouds at an altitude of 10,000 meters, unaware that he was now a wanted person on Sky Island.
In the vast Sea Clouds of clouds, Noir's ship spotted distant islands. Cloud islands supported landmasses, with layered structures forming aesthetically pleasing sky island clusters.
Robin, gazing at the distant shore, marveled, "So this is Sky Island. It's truly magical."
Noir nodded, examining Sky Island with great interest. This was a sight he couldn't have seen in his previous life. This bizarre world truly held all sorts of wonders...
Before they could admire the view much longer, a loud crash came from beneath their feet. Noir quickly ran to check the ship's bottom, finding a large hole in the wooden planks.
Noir promptly asked Robin to steer the ship towards the shore while he hastily used his sand ability to patch the hole. The battle-worn ship, after its final voyage, ultimately collapsed at the edge of Sky Island.
The soft island clouds felt like standing on a beach. Noir and Robin stood on the cloud island, looking at their nearly disintegrated ship. Noir felt a pang of sadness; the ship had accompanied him through a long period of sea voyages, and its demise was truly saddening.
Fortunately, the items on the ship weren't damaged, which brought Noir some comfort.
Robin cautiously walked on the cloud beach, soon finding two cloud-made chairs. She sat down gently, exclaiming, "Crafting furniture from clouds, how interesting!"
Noir bounced around excitedly on the island cloud. These clouds looked soft but were actually very solid and highly moldable. It felt almost like sand on a beach, but more intriguing.
Noir sat cross-legged, building castles with the clouds, as if rediscovering his childhood.
As Noir was childishly building houses, a bright white fluffy tail suddenly appeared before him. Noir was startled and followed the big tail down to see a snow-white, petite fox.
How cute...
Robin, outwardly unresponsive, was secretly charmed.
A Sky Island fox, so it should be called a sky fox or cloud fox, right?
Delighted, Noir grabbed the little fox's tail, lifting it up, and said while licking his lips, "I wonder what Sky Island food tastes like."
The little cloud fox seemed to understand Noir's words. Even while suspended in the air, its hind legs and two small paws moved frantically. Its tiny eyes glared angrily at Noir, as if condemning his heartlessness.
Noir ignored the little creature's gaze, weighing its hind legs and muttering, "Good legs!"
Seeing the human's eyes gleaming with hunger, the initially lively cloud fox began to tremble, desperately twisting its body to escape.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Worried about damaging the meat, Noir didn't grip too tightly, and the little cloud fox quickly broke free from his grasp, running towards Robin.
The cloud fox swiftly jumped onto Robin's foot, its small paws clinging tightly to her leg, hiding its head under its big tail, as if thinking this would make it invisible.
Robin bent down to scratch the little one's neck, feeling its body tremble, and said, "Cute little thing, I wonder if it has an owner."
Noir scratched his head, unsure of what to say.
At this moment, his ears twitched. Noir's keen hearing caught a distant sound, and he said, "I think I hear someone playing a harp?"
"It's coming from over there," Robin pointed in a direction, and they both walked towards the cloud beach.
The fox, seemingly terrified, clung to Robin's foot, refusing to let go. She had no choice but to walk with this little burden.
As they approached the source of the harp music, Noir and Robin were stunned.
Above the sea of clouds, they saw a beautiful blonde girl in a high-necked light yellow dress. With her eyes gently closed and a lovely face, she had playful white feathered wings on her back, resembling a Sacred maiden. Blessed by the sunlight, she was lightly strumming a harp.
The melodious notes flowed from the maiden's delicate hands, the enchanting sound captivating Noir and Robin as they approached.
She really looks like an angel from heaven...
Noir and Robin listened to the soothing music, reluctant to disturb the playing girl.
However, the little fox at Robin's feet had other ideas.
"Yip!"
The little fox, hearing the harp, peeked out from under its big tail, looked around twice, then called out and ran over.
The girl stopped playing upon hearing the sound. Seeing the fox running towards her, she called out joyfully, "Suu, where have you been?"
The fox, named Suu, leaped into the girl's arms, looking pitiful as it stretched out its paw, pointing at Noir and itself, gesturing vigorously.
The girl didn't understand its meaning. Fearing a misunderstanding, Robin stepped forward and said, "We just met it on the beach over there. It seems to have been frightened."
Noir nodded seriously, saying, "Yes, yes, this fox is really timid."
Suu stared at Noir in disbelief, so angry that the little one started biting its own big tail.
The girl showed no hostility towards the two and smiled as she introduced herself, "My name is Conis, and this is my cloud fox, Suu."
Hearing its owner mention its name, Suu cooperatively raised its paw to greet Robin, then snorted at Noir.
Robin smiled and patted its head, saying, "We came from the sea below. I'm Robin, and this is my captain, Noir."
Perhaps because they had arrived on Sky Island, a place difficult for the Marines and World Government to reach, the usually reserved Robin had become more cheerful.
Conis's curious big eyes sparkled as she said, "You came from the Blue Sea? That's amazing, to be able to reach such a high place!"
Recalling the arduous journey to the Top of the West, Noir said, "It was indeed troublesome. Our ship was destroyed, but at least we're still alive."
At that moment, the sound of an engine roared through the sea of clouds. Conis looked at Noir and Robin, smiling apologetically, "That must be my father, Pagaya. He's a Waver technician."
"Waver? What's that?" Robin asked curiously.
Before Conis could answer, a tall, thin old man riding something resembling a jet ski, moving as fast as a seaplane, flew towards the beach.
However... the more flamboyant the take-off, the more disastrous the tree collision.
Pagaya, riding the Waver, crashed hard into a nearby coconut tree.
Then a coconut, hard as iron, fell from the tree, knocking the old man into the clouds.
"Father!" Conis ran over worriedly, with Robin following to check on him.
Here's a joke: the Waver repairman can't ride a Waver...
Noir silently quipped to himself.