Pillar of Yita

”Good afternoon, Lady Tata,” Reed greeted the fairy with utmost grace.

Tata looked at the large Catfolk and nodded at him.

Lady Papamo was waving at them from below, signaling that Mr. Greyrock was ready, and Luo Yu and Tianlan let down a roll-up ladder to bring ’her’ up from below.

The Adventure Group was actually ready to depart three days ago, but they were waiting for the last of the supplies, the loading of provisions, and since it was their first time undertaking such an operation, it was slower than usual—

The only one who came to see them off was Princess Briana, which slightly disappointed Fang Hong, as he had been very curious about Sir Roban, the other hero of the Battle of Bain who hadn’t come.

According to Her Highness, Sir Roban was very interested in their group, but he was too busy to meet them.

”Take care on your journey.”

Princess Briana Karanshir waved to them.

The others also waved goodbye to her from the ship’s railing.

Mr. Greyrock stepped forward and before long, the figure of the Elf Princess was left far behind in the snow, reduced to a tiny black dot.

Only then did people lower their hands, a slight sorrow of farewell arising in their hearts; there was no telling when they would see this endearing Elf Hero and Princess again, loved by all, after their journey to the south.

However, the snow soon swept away the sentimentality from people’s hearts, and everyone got busy, taking up their stations. Atira, with Elisa’s help, started a fire in the kitchen stove, and heat traveled through the metal pipes into the ’ship,’ gradually raising the temperature.

The third helper in the kitchen, Tianlan, posted a sign outside, and the Papalarians and Xiangzi ran over to see what was for dinner, and then loudly complained:

”How come there are carrots again!”

”I hate carrots.”

Annoyed, Tianlan threw them both out of the kitchen.

Bakins, responsible for the lookout on the deck, glanced down at the hubbub below and shook his head helplessly. But the commotion reminded him of his own early days as a sailor.

Fang Hong closed the door to the storehouse, as if locking the snowstorm outside as well. He took off his coat, shook off the snowflakes, and hung it on the wall.

He looked up, and a line of text appeared in the system:

Miss Yugudola: ”Sorry, I couldn’t come to see you off—”

”It’s okay, you have your own missions.”

Miss Yugudola: ”Say hello to Gita and Luo Yu for me; it’s their first adventure.”

”I will.”

Miss Yugudola: ”Have you received the first batch of materials? Is it enough?”

”Yes.”

Miss Yugudola: ”If you run into any trouble, remember to contact us.”

”...”

Miss Yugudola: ”Still holding a grudge?”

”Not really.”

Miss Yugudola sent a ’lol’ emoticon: ”Insincere.”

Catching a glimpse of his own thoughts, Fang Hong’s face turned red.

After hesitating for a moment, she spoke again, ”Don’t worry, we are just fulfilling our duties as allies... Is it okay if the materials due in March are a little late?”

”What’s happening?”

Miss Yugudola: ”Nothing, why do you worry so much?”

Fang Hong nodded: ”I understand.”

Miss Yugudola sent a playful face: ”Lord Captain, you’re so laconic. Is that how you always talk to girls?”

Fang Hong was caught off guard: ”Red Leaf says the same thing.”

Miss Yugudola: ”Hehe, when Red Leaf comes back, how about I make her your liaison?”

The Communication Crystal dimmed.

Fang Hong exhaled, his faint white breath disappearing into the air.

He then made his way through the narrow aisle crammed with supplies and arrived outside his workshop—inside, a Crystal lamp hung, its orange hue radiating warmth.

At the other end of the workshop, Hilveld sat on her bed, knees up, leaning against the cabin wall, engrossed in a map. Seeing him enter, she looked up and smiled: ”Is everything topsy-turvy outside?”

”A bit.”

The room was quiet with just the two of them.

Fang Hong nodded; although it wasn’t a real ’ship,’ the platform had been redesigned with a complete system, and it was no simple task to keep it running smoothly.

The main issue was the exhaust pipe encountering various problems in the low temperatures, and the performance of the Guy Gas generator they assembled themselves was also not very good, preventing the airbag from lifting to full capacity.

There were also a few other minor issues that became apparent amid the wind and snow, something they hadn’t anticipated when originally testing the platform.

Fortunately, with him, a professional Alchemist, there to patch things up, they somehow managed to get everything working temporarily.

”I’ll need to go out and check again when the temperature drops to its lowest at midnight.”

”Do you need me to wake you, since I plan to work until then?”

”What’s wrong?”

”Planning the route. The information on the map isn’t always reliable, requiring constant updates and annotations. Some bridges in certain areas have been swept away by summer floods and haven’t been mended yet, or roads buried by landslides, some news of which has only recently come in, thus necessitating some changes to the plan.”

”Besides, passing north of Colin in the winter is not the same as in summer; these are things a Ship’s Officer has to consider.”

”But don’t worry, I’ll knock before I come in.”

Fang Hong heard the teasing in her voice and smiled.

”Thank you.”

”You’re welcome, Lord Captain.”

On deck.

Gita put down the Communication Crystal and leaned on the railing to watch Mr. Greyrock move forward through the snowstorm. Miss Yugudola knew several days before that their group was leaving today.