A still silence prevailed the hall.
This era is developed enough for your voice to get transmitted from the stage to every corner of the hall.
Normally, you get a device in your pockets to switch off this feature but here we got none and got pushed into stage without any preparation.
But, we were as cool and care free as we could be.
I gave two finger brushes to my hairs.
"Surprising shit here. I didn't know anything until a few minutes."
I know I did that on purpose.
************
Back to present...
"The thunder Leo's of all things. Do you think it was the cause of the fire column?" A man in red naval suit asked the one behind him.
"It may be or it may not be." said the one behind him while smoking a pipe.
They were on a ship going towards an abandoned island.
"I guess that you guess is not that helpful." said the former as he withdrew his eyes and telescope from the the island.
He turned back to look at his people working on the ship as a diligent crew was an essential tool for sea at this time.
Although, the ship was noisy to say at least, but it gave an essential feeling that they were on a ship.
"We will do a quick inspection and leave. We have greater plans back in empire." said the latter as he just threw his pipe down the ship in its sickening motion.
According to him, there is nothing to worry about that place since it is filled with nuke like beasts that can explode at any moment.
A small fire is nothing to worry about in that comparison.
A soldier clad in metal armour hurried upward to the deck, however, his footsteps got suppressed by the noises of the crowd around.
"Duke Moriarty, there are numerous ships coming from behind us and..." The soldier who came and got on his knees said speedily and suddenly became quiet.
"Those must be from those low life kingdoms and then what..."
The latter of previous men lowered his hat as if trying to hide his face from being identified while the former called duke Moriarty urged the newcomer to continue.
"Three ships from the opposite directions."
"Oh, is Ymir theocracy sending three ships on this wasteful venture."
'No, that can't be it. He just wants to hear it from his mouth.' thought the other man.
"The other two are from Askanier and Kaladier." The man said as sweat slithered down his eyebrows.
All the hustle-bustle going on, on the ship was gone. A deathly silence prevailed as only the sound of waves colliding against the ship was heard until- "Do you plebeians want to hear a noble man lower his status to curse at you?"
Duke Moriarty glared strongly at those beneath him as if highlighting the difference in status between them.
Everyone got to work again, albeit less cheerfully now.
The only reason they remained quiet after hearing the names of the two greatest evils of the world was because they didn't want to incur the wrath of Moriarty who can, at the time, be a greater evil.
"Leave and keep an eye on their movement."
His gaze turned to the knight and softened a bit however the discrimination in status still remained.
"You can act some evil if needed or are you just releasing your pent up emotions." The other man smirked as he came closer to duke.
However, the Duke just leaned against railing of the ship and said with a soft smile,
"Like always, this is all for the greater good."
*****************
In the private chamber of the Marquis khun the the Askanier empire...
A young man with aqua blue hair was feasting on kind of blueish, kind of purplish bunch of grapes or berries, as you would call them with great concentration.
The juice slithered down the corner of his lips and travelled through his neck, staining the top of white navy uniform with black borders and strips, purplish and blueish.
The sweet aroma travelled throughout the room that was sure quite intoxicating, depicting the state of kind of the eater.
Despite the mess made by him, the scene look quite exquisite to say at least with his legs over the one arm guard and head over other of the throne like seat and a weird fascination towards the fruit in his eyes.
"Marquis Khun, we are about to arrive at the island in 30 minutes, we have already been spotted by Athenian empire's ship but they still seem to move with the normal speed."
Despite the navigator's call, the Marquis paid him no heed, but navigator still left as just informing him was enough for him to hear due to marques concentration and slothful nature.
****************
In the ship of Kaladier family...
"Never thought this thing we brought on a whim after a massacre party would be useful today."
A man with teeth blackened due to lack of care, dusty and frizzled hair, and numerous scars all over his body with a savage expression was sitting on a broken barrel while rocking back and forth in the centre of a ship, with dried ancient blood stains and unrepaired damages from battle and fire all over it.
He was wearing a black chain mail of some kind and anticipated.
"Two heroes, I was so eager to meet them, but they never came. It would be a good practice against the beast, no matter how many times I think about it, I see no flaw in my decision. Why did Houston try to stop me and to think over it a hundred times?"
Despite, his thoughts of a thoughtful person, his expression and mannerism were nothing but savage as he continuously bit his lips and licked the blood flowing while rocking intensively back and forth on the lone ship.
Yes, lone and all alone.
After all, you don't need a crew on a mana ship.