"B-Before we make any decisions, let us at least look inside the ship. Maybe the exterior is only ugly since it's been used a lot; the ship may actually be in great condition." Said Alexander softly as he looked at Lazuli, who was walking away, causing her to stop before turning around.
Lazuli didn't say anything and simply gave me a blank look before sighing, which was a rarity for her, but she did stand beside me, seemingly at least giving Cinc's ship a chance.
"So, how do we board the ship?" Asked Lazuli blandly as she observed the ship, prompting Alexander to awkwardly rub his head.
"Umm, we jump onto it?" Replied Alexander in uncertainty as he glanced at Lazuli, who glanced at the ship before immediately turning around and walking away, though he grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"C'mon, don't be like that, Lazuli; we can't just judge a book by its cover." Said Alexander sheepishly as he yanked Lazuli into his embrace before lifting her into a princess carry, prompting her to stare into his eyes.
"I believe it's fair if that same supposed book is meant to sail us across the dangerous ocean." Said Lazuli indifferently as she eyed Alexander, who nodded at her words, unable to refute them.
Knowing Lazuli would win any arguments, I stopped talking as I leaped off the pier and onto the ship, only to widen my eyes when I spotted the deck.
'S-Shit!' Thought Alexander with an ugly expression as he stared at the rotting wood that lined the ship's deck.
Just as I was about to land on the deck, I swiftly lifted Lazuli higher into the air, which turned out to be the correct move as the rooting wood deck gave way under our weight, causing me to crash right through it.
"A-Are you fine, Lazuli. Talis?" Asked Alexander wryly as he violently coughed before raising his head and gazing at Lazuli, who was still above deck.
"Ugh, ouch. Yeah." Said Talis in annoyance as she stood up, flapping her wings and ridding herself of dust and debris before returning to her spot on Alexander's shoulder.
"Can we go now, or do you wish to continue looking around?" Asked Lazuli in slight annoyance as she twisted her head in a complete one-hundred-eighty to glance at Alexander, who sighed before reluctantly nodding.
"Haa, I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, Cinc. You can't be mad at that." Muttered Alexander softly as he slowly lowered Lazuli through the hole until she was at chest level.
"Good." Said Lazuli with a small smile as she gently patted Alexander's cheek, causing his expression to constantly twitch before he simply shook his head.
Ignoring Lazuli's behavior, I turned and started walking through the second floor of the ship, searching for some stairs, but for some reason, I didn't find anything that led to the upper deck, causing me to tilt my head in confusion.
"There is something seriously wrong with this ship. This is a ship that's supposed to be on display, not one that's actually meant to be sailed with." Muttered Alexander with a slight frown as he observed the lower deck before shaking his head.
"Also, is there a storm coming or something? Why is the water so rough right now?" Added Alexander in slight confusion as he glanced at the floor before sighing, doubling his efforts to find a way out.
In the end, I didn't find a proper way out and just used the hole I crashed through to leap out, though this time, I didn't end up crashing through the floor. Thankfully. However, while we didn't crash through the floor, we were met with something worse… Something much worse.
There was no dock surrounding us; matter of fact, I didn't see anything nearby except for water and more water. Actually, off in the distance, I did see land, along with a few large ships, but it wasn't anywhere close.
"Wasn't the ship tied to the dock?" Asked Alexander softly as he glanced down at Lazuli, who nodded with a twitching expression.
"If so, why the hell are we so far out at sea? H-How did it even happen so quickly?" Added Alexander in pure confusion as he looked at the Mezcla continent off in the distance before raising his head and looking around, only to spot a small yet stocky man.
"C-Cinc?" "I'm going to end him." Said Alexander and Lazuli, respectively, as they turned and gazed at Cinc, whose back was facing them.
Just as I finished speaking, Lazuli jumped out of my arms and walked towards Cinc while her arm morphed into its cannon form, causing me to quickly stand in front of her, blocking her line of sight with Cinc.
"L-Let's just calm down, Lazuli; we're still pretty close to Mezcla; we can just ask him to turn around rather than your option." Said Alexander lightly as he used his quick thinking to diffuse the situation, causing Lazuli to raise an eyebrow before reluctantly returning her arm to normal.
"Oi, how did you two exit the lower deck?" Asked Cinc curiously as he turned and glanced at Alexander and Lazuli, prompting the former to point at the hole.
"Oh, genius idea; I always have to bring a ladder to get out of the lower deck. It's so tedious and annoying." Said Cinc lightly with a faint smile as he gazed at the hole, causing Alexander's face to twitch.
"W-Where is this ladder?" "Oh, I didn't bring it with me; I left it somewhere at my house. Anyways, it should be fine; I doubt we'll need to enter the lower deck." Said Alexander and Cinc, respectively, as they looked at each other, only for the former to aggressively rub his face.
"A-Anyways, Cinc, can you take us back to land?" Asked Alexander lightly, his words causing Cinc to nod with a hearty chuckle.
"Hahaha, I'm doing that right now, you fool; it should only be about six days until we arrive at the Asckbon continent. I told you, my speed is unparalleled when at sea!" Declared Cinc proudly as he raised his head, causing Lazuli's face to twitch in annoyance.
"Um, y-yeah, that's cool and all, but I meant, can you take us back to Mezcla?" Asked Alexander softly, causing Cinc to raise an eyebrow as he released the helm and leaped off his stack of books before glancing at him.
"Nope. No can do; the ship can't make any big turns out at sea; the rudder has rotten, so anything more than slight turns will break it, and if that happens, you can kiss your life goodbye. However, don't worry. I haven't used this ship since I got it, so the rotted rudder should still be in okay shape." Stated Cinc lightly as he shook his head at Alexander before walking to the ship's bow while leaving the helm unattended, causing the ship to tremble aggressively.
While the information I had just received from him was more than just a little shocking, the ship was beginning to shake, so before we happened to sink or break the rudder, I quickly leaned forward and grabbed the helm, stabilizing the ship as we continued to head further and further away from Mezcla; now I could barely even see it anymore.
"No one should know if I toss his corpse overboard." Said Lazuli lightly as her eyes took on a reddish hue while she approached Cinc, causing Alexander to groan as he reached forth and grabbed the back of her shirt collar with his hand.
"Y-You don't need to kill him; let's just swim back to Mezcla; it's not that far away, so it shouldn't be a big deal to us." Said Alexander lightly as he glanced at Lazuli, who clicked her tongue before reluctantly nodding.
'I would highly advise against that, Master.' Said Trina lightly as she snuggled within Zartha's embrace while the two lay atop the clear ocean.
'Haa, what is it now?' Asked Alexander in distress as he lowered his head, dreading the words of his swords.
'You probably don't know, but every ship comes fitted with something called Oceans mimicry; it's essentially a thin film of mana that you coat the entire ship in. Over a short time, it'll seep into the ship and mimic the ocean's aura while also masking your own since if it doesn't, sea monsters will quickly find us. I hope you don't think dungeons only appear above the sea; they appear wherever there is land.' Stated Zartha lightly as she looked at the sky, watching as Alexander released a deep sigh of annoyance.
"So, you're telling me we're essentially stuck on this ship now?" Asked Alexander in defeat as he raised his head and gazed at the sky, wanting to cry but no tears would form.
'Well, you can try to swim back; the monsters you encounter might be weak. But I would advise you not to take your chances.' Replied Zartha coldly as she shook her head while rubbing Trina's head, causing her to softly chuckle.
"Now, can I kill him?" Asked Lazuli as she glanced at Alexander, who released a deep sigh of frustration.
"A small part of me wants to look the other way, but we really can't do that now; he's the only one among us who knows how to sail. Killing him would be killing us as well." Replied Alexander in slight anger as he tightly gripped the helm, causing it to crack slightly.
"I-I just wanted to take a look at the ship. How did it end up like this?" Muttered Alexander softly as he sighed to himself.