Many people who have lived in dense forests or high mountains for generations have a misconception that traveling on the vast ocean is monotonous and boring. As far as the eye can see, there is nothing but azure water, except for the sun rising in the east and setting in the west every day and the stars silently parading.

But only those who truly live on the sea can tell you how great the sea is . And Jebo, the captain of the Conch, is exactly such a person. Even if you exclude the background of the harbor and the background of the big ship, anyone who sees Jeb will say: "Look, this is a sailor!"

With his tanned skin and the ravines on his face caused by the sea breeze, plus his eyes that have been squinting, and without having to hold his calloused hands from pulling the rope , Vincent can rest assured to carry out the important task of this trip. Leave it to him.

"Welcome aboard, gentlemen!" Jebo hid his chewing tobacco deep in his cheek and said, "Everyone, hurry up and board the Conch, because we are about to set sail. The current sea breeze is very suitable for sailing."

Mond had been walking at the front of the team. At this time, he turned back and explained to the others: "Because there is a legend among sailors that women boarding cargo ships will bring misfortune. Although no one believes this anymore, but There will be no ladies in the captain's welcome speech." The knight added: "Don't worry, he welcomes you in his heart."

"Of course." Vincent touched Soka's head: "We have a little guy who can bring luck, how can he not be popular?"

Although the Conch is a cargo ship, it looks like it has been well maintained to welcome several guests. The decks and cabins were all scrubbed clean, and even the curtains used to protect them from wind and rain were cleaned spotlessly. The clothes on the sailors also looked very new. They greeted several guests with enthusiastic eyes. It seemed that the coins given to Bob were spent in appropriate places. At least along the way, it is possible that according to what he said, they would be "received by others" Treated like a king.

"Please follow me, gentlemen, this way." Captain Jeb led everyone: "Our ship is not what it looks like. Its interior is very luxurious, and the best has been prepared for possible guests. The cabin ensures that you will experience the charm of the sea without suffering the pain of bumps.”

"That's the best." Vincent's eyes had already seen the ship thoroughly. There is nothing wrong with this ship except that the specialties of the Elf Kingdom stacked in a corner of the cargo hold are illegal smuggled items. The ship was well maintained. Even if a storm could destroy it, it would only be a very powerful natural disaster.

Soon after, skilled sailors sailed the ship north. It glided slowly across the water first, with the harbor far behind. The sails were all unfurled. Three large white sails seemed to have added wings to the ship, allowing it to fly briskly on the sea.

Vincent carries all the important things with him, and the space bag solves his travel troubles, so the mage stood on the bow of the boat early and breathed in the sea breeze blowing in front of him.

The last time such a pleasant trip took place five years ago, when Vincent was going from Im to the southern lord's territory to find the whereabouts of a magic item. Although the treasure hunt ended in vain, the voyage across the land and sea left a lasting impression on him - and a scar that no longer exists.

"Young man, it's not good to have strong winds like this all the time." After explaining the sailing matters, Captain Jebo began to inspect the ship. He stood behind Vincent and said: "These salty winds will slowly corrode your skin, making it rough and cracked."

"That's nothing, Captain." Vincent didn't look back. He leaned his upper body out of the boat and admired the sight of the white waves breaking through the bow: "I will take care of myself."

"Then I'm relieved." Jeb straightened the non-existent wrinkles on his clothes and said, "However, if you allow me, I still like to wear the original clothes. Although Barrel Bob wants us to dress up It will have to be tidy, but I believe that old dress is my lucky outfit and will make the voyage more comfortable.”

Vincent turned around, looked at the captain, and said: "Then please do as you please, Mr. Captain. I think we all have to listen to you when it comes to navigation."

"In that case, that's great." The captain said: "Of course, I don't have any objection to this new dress. It's just that I think it should be used for the celebration after landing. Sir, you have to know, Life at sea is always hard and tiring, and it never goes well with this kind of new clothes."

"Don't always call me sir. My name is Vincent. That's enough." He thought for a moment and said, "Did Barrel Bob ask you to call me that?"

"Ah, yes!" Jebo said with a smile: "He said to us, 'The princes and princesses from the mysterious country who are going to board the ship this time. Don't neglect it, otherwise you will never stop at Mislanda again. Come to the port. 'Mr. Vincent, we sailors are quite afraid of tavern keepers. If we offend them, there will be no cool rum to soothe our throats, which is simply worse than having no sea for us to sail. "

"Yeah, I feel the same way." Vincent agreed with a smile: "I never asked, how is the food on the ship? If there is a good chef here, this trip will be perfect."

"Everyone who sails on the sea is a good cook, you can rest assured of this." Jie Bo patted his chest: "And this sea will be the richest market, I guarantee that everyone's appetite will be satisfied. In addition, in the cargo hold There are also a lot of vegetables and fruits piled below. To be honest, because a few guests are on board, we sailors can also have a meal on the return trip and always have fresh food."

"You can take control of these things." Vincent pointed to the sea and said: "If possible, we would like to eat more food from the sea. Besides, the fishmen on the route should not pose any threat now, right?"

"Yes! This is the best news for us!" Captain Jebo lightly stomped his foot three times. I don't know if it was a habit he used to express his happiness or to indicate that he would step on those fishmen three times under his feet. , he said: "The elf did a great job this time, and finally taught those things a lesson. Remember, if there is no cargo on the ship, the Conch's brisk speed can get rid of those greedy guys; but whenever we return with a full load, we have to Buy them the right to sail safely or accept the threat of having no bottom, and no sailor will be in a good mood at that time.

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It is said that they sometimes take a fancy to the goods in the cabin, even if they pay a fee. It will also be scuttled. Mr. Vincent, do these guys have particularly sharp noses? "

"I don't know about that." When the mage saw Shelley and Sokka walking towards them, he smiled and said to Jiebo: "Here, let me introduce these two ladies to you."

But Jiebo just bowed slightly, and then said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Mr. Vincent. Although I really hope to meet these two beautiful ladies, in order to reassure the sailors under my command, it is better not to make such an introduction. . You know. There are still many people who are superstitious now." As he spoke, he walked back and left: "I wish you a good time."

Sokka, who had been holding the white tiger in his arms, jumped to the mage: "Brother Vincent, how big is this blue sea?"

"I don't know about that." Vincent greeted Shelley first, and then explained to the angel: "Due to the terrible storm on the ocean, there are still many places in this ocean that we have not been able to explore. However, maybe there are In one day you can fly over all this water with the help of your wings.”

"Then I will definitely get lost." Soka shook his head: "If we fly farther, I don't know if I can find the ship again."

"I think there's no problem." Vincent pressed Angel's nose and said jokingly: "I know your sense of smell is very sensitive. You can find the hidden fruit every time."

"Soka. Your little tiger should have recovered from his illness." Shelley looked at the shy little girl and said, "Just put it down and let it exercise more, so that it can grow up faster."

"Yeah!" Sokka opened his arms. The white fur ball was finally liberated and ran happily around the deck. Sokka chased it with a smile, and "hehe" and "dong dong" footsteps came from the ship from time to time.

"Shelley, this is the sea." Vincent asked her with a smile: "How do you feel now?"

"I can't tell. I'm a little conflicted now." Shelley held the side of the boat and said: "On the one hand, I feel that this place is full of freedom, and my body and mind are relaxed; on the other hand, I feel more and more that I am so small and overwhelmed by the huge Imprisoned by heaven and earth. No matter how strong I am, I can't escape this cage. Vincent. Do you feel this way?"

"Sometimes there is, sometimes there is not." Vincent thought for a while and said: "If I were locked in a nut shell, then I might call myself the king of the universe; but in this vast world, I really don't Dare to be so confident. But, on the other hand, it is not this vast world that makes our lives full of fun." He scratched his head and continued: "If I were locked up in a world full of endless changes, I would never be able to explore If I am in an endless prison, then I don’t think it is a prison. Therefore, the happiest thing is that my small self is matched with the infinite world."

"Your ideas are always very unique." Shelley smiled and looked into Vincent's eyes: "Although the starting point is the same, you can always see different results. Say it, my Mr. Mage, if you look at me, What will you see?”

"This question is too difficult." Vincent smiled bitterly: "If I only start from a rational point of view, I may be able to answer your question. But the current situation is that perceptual emotions have completely lost my ability to think, making me My mind can’t clear any clues. So, you’d better change the question.”

"That's not necessary." Shelley cast her gaze back to the sea, not letting Vincent see her expression. She said: "Actually, I heard a much better answer than I imagined. Vincent, now tell me about your past? What did you do before coming to the Underdark?"

"Oh, that's a lot of things." He looked at Shelley and said, "At least compared to my age, that's a lot of things..."

On the other side of the ship, in Vincent's cabin, the knight Mond was cleaning his sword. Sometimes, his heart is full of passion, and he feels that his blood is boiling, and everything will be wonderful tomorrow; but other times, he becomes very depressed, and the past is so overwhelming that he can't breathe. Since being revoked from the title of Paladin, he has also lost the most important part of his support. Perhaps he had never felt that the pure white armor on his body was so important to him in the past, but now he fully realized this desire from the depths of his heart.

" God of Greafury , what should I do?" Although Mond's hands were still working non-stop, his thoughts were far away: "I called your name in my heart, looking forward to your response. Although he was beaten by the Knights I lost the title, but I still hope to walk on the bright road, if...if..."

Mond thought about what had happened to him. A young knight is about to be disqualified from being a paladin because he is suspected of violating the teachings of Greafury , the god of light. He argued hard but no one listened to his arguments. Just when the Knights finally delivered their verdict. However, he used the magic of Greafury, the God of Light, in front of everyone, proving that he had never been abandoned by Greafury . The Knights ultimately decided to reopen the case. Many years later, although the young man had died in the battle against the orcs , his innocence was proven, and the God of Light, Greafury, unanimously recognized him as a Paladin.

"Maybe I should try using magic too?" Mond thought to himself. The heart that was originally shattered began to loosen a little bit with Vincent's encouragement. "But what should I do if there's no response?"

His whole body stiffened, as if he was frightened by this thought. A long time passed. He finally said to himself: "I don't have much to lose now. Do I have to abandon even my last courage? Do I not even dare to face the future?"

So he knelt down and prayed to the God of Light in the most pious language from the bottom of his heart, expressing his belief. Then he recited the paladin's rules silently over and over again, firmly remembering the sacred meaning of each word.

He stretched out his palm and softly recited the simplest magical incantation . But there was no reaction on his calloused hands.

　　Knight Mond fell to the ground, the biggest burden in his heart disappeared, but this disappeared burden contained his last hope. "Sure enough, I did something that violated the norms of the Paladin. I should be punished the most severely. What should I do?"

Just as he was mumbling to himself. Sokka just ran to the cabin.

The freed little tiger and the little angel played hide and seek. I don’t know where I ran to. Sokka felt that he could lure the white tiger out with delicious food, so he came to the rest cabin and prepared to dig through the package.

But I saw the old man sitting on the ground. The little angel immediately forgot about the tiger. She tiptoed over and asked softly: "Grandpa, what's wrong with you?"

"Alas..." Mond sighed and looked at the innocent little girl in front of him: "I'm fine, you don't have to worry."

"No, you can't lie to me." Sokka acted like a little adult and imitated his mother's tone and said: "When a person sighs and says that he is fine, then something must be wrong. Grandpa Knight, what did you just say? doing what?"

"I'm no longer a knight, so don't call me Grandpa Knight." Mond touched Soka's head lovingly. It was like stroking his own non-existent child. He said: "If you are happy, just call me grandpa."

"Why aren't you a knight?" Sokka tilted his head and asked, "I heard from Brother Vincent that you used to be a powerful paladin who specialized in fighting bad guys. He also said that if it comes to paladin, he would be the first one to do it. You think."

Of course, the first thing Vincent thought of was his best friend Lambert, and the second was Mond. However, Sokka felt that there was nothing wrong with changing the order of the two people.

"Thank you, Little Sokka." Mond said: "It's just that I have been abandoned by the God of Light, Greafury , and can no longer carry out the mission of the Paladin. I have not felt the call from the God of Light for a long time."

"What's that?" Sokka pouted and said, "I remember Uncle Kubert said that I am still a saint of the God of Light. But I have never heard of any 'summons'. On the contrary, Brother Vincent calls me all day long. .”

"Saint of the God of Light?" Mond looked at Soka with confusion and asked, "What is going on?"

Soka looked around, then put his small hands around his lips, and whispered in Knight Mond's ear: "Grandpa Knight, don't tell anyone, I am a little angel." She imitated the mage again. In a pretentious tone, he said: "If you talk nonsense, be careful the bad guys will catch you and eat you."

Knight Mond smiled and nodded, happily helping Soka tidy up his hair that was messed up by the sea breeze. Now, he finally found what he should do.