The man, a mercantile noble by the name of Demelkas, is an agent from the capital Aki had met briefly upon his arrival. Initially his mission was to investigate the sudden silence from New Pinacca, but the skyship he and his men were on was shot down the moment it crossed into Estril territory.
The conflict was long over by the time he reached the gates. His arrival was bloody, missing half his troops and an eye, but somehow kept a positive attitude.
With life secured and mission accomplished via a third party, Demelkas and his crew were given a new assignment – re-establishing connection with Deika City.
Perhaps a testament to nerve and skill since he had no qualms sailing a ship on water.
Demelkas looks over the oncoming supply loaders and gives one last hurried wave before disappearing back aboard.
Aki's eyes flash silver as her Crown ability activates.
"You heard Sir Demelkas. Make haste." Dent fastens his sword and hurries aboard.
She quickly follows and the ship takes off without further waste as the sun breaks the horizon.
The deck is made of wood with a glossy sheen over its surface, as is all of the wood to be seen. The mast, foremast, and mizzen are all wood as well. Metal itself does cover what appear to be sensitive or otherwise important points of the ship and the doors themselves.
Sailors quickly move to their respective duties. Each one of them fully armed and the occasional nervous glance between the Star Sea in the front and the land behind.
A faint voice from ashore calls out for the ship, catching Dent's and a few other sailor's attention. Closer it comes and louder as well. Dent turns around now and narrows his eyes.
"It seems Winter is riding out to us, Aki."
Aki follows his gaze and sees Winter sprinting full speed onto the docks.
"Wait! Wait, hold on a second!" He wildly waves a hand to the retreating ship. "I need to go too!"
Just like that, he sinks into the shadows then springs out from the dock's edge, flinging himself with surprising force toward the ship.
The crew nearest exclaim in surprise and awe as they see a boy come flying over the water. A few make rushed bets on whether he can make the jump or not. Meanwhile, Demelkas himself makes no effort to heed Winter's request.
Without the ship slowing or stopping, the distance grows too much and the gap Winter needs to clear is too far for him to make.
"He's gonna fall!" Aki scrambles to find her pendulum, dropping her belongings in the process. "Ah, the water boots, or maybe–"
While Aki scrambles, Dent sighs and flicks his sword out. A gale of wind spins Winter in place, flinging him the extra distance and then some. He makes a rolling landing and crashes into the main mast.
"Ouch."
The boy, dressed for travel in somehow stereotypical clothing for a travelling otherworlder is upside down against the mast. He unfolds from the awkward position and sits up.
"Uh, hi."
Before Aki or Dent can respond, a voice from behind them announces the speaker's presence
"Is this what can be expected of today's youth?" Sir Demelkas stares down at Winter. "Honestly, what is Lord Estril doing, giving favour to such people?"
Aki whirls in place to look up at the tall man. Up close, his handsome features are more evident. The soft curve of his eyelids contrast the sharpness of his jawline. His hair, a glossy silver in contrast to the red band on his head. Even the officer uniform he dons a rich dark blue as dark as the night sky emphasising his glamorous appearance.
"My ship, the Grand Volume, is certainly elegant and can accommodate its crew as well as merchandise with ease." He says proudly, waving a stack of papers he pulled from somewhere Aki hadn't seen. "All the more reason manifests exist. Boy, I'll give you leniency but you best have a reason for brazenly hopping aboard or you'll be swimming back to shore"
Winter puts on an unconvincing smile. "I really like boats."
"Lord Estril won't approve of your journey?" Sir Demelkas asks.
Winter nods slowly.
"In that case, welcome aboard!" Sir Demelkas laughs, though the humour in his tone is more like a bark. "I already did a favour for Lord Estril by giving these two private rooms at cost of crew. Go with the woman. I don't want to hear you crying for your mother and be prepared – all of you – to do your share of work. Even as guests, sailing the seas is more dangerous than the skies and you will do your part. Dismissed."
His demeanour and speech is quick and certain. Like a whirlwind he leaves, snapping his fingers and directing a free crew member to take them to their individual quarters in record time.
Next thing Aki knows, she and Winter are shoved into one of the rooms cleared for her and Dent.
"Wow, I didn't even get a good look at this place."Aki laughs. "Guess we should settle in."
The room is decently sized. On either side of the room are indentations marking the shadows of bunks that were once there, cleared out especially for private use. A wide desk sits against the far wall and a magic lamp is embedded into the ceiling, its bluish white light mixing with the four glowstones in the walls. Aside from the door and its frame, the entirety of the room is made of high quality wood.
Brushing her hand across the surface, Aki can feel a multitude of enchantments rooted within the material. Though she doesn't have the skill to tell which enchantments, she knows it was well done.
Aside from the desk is a single small bed on one side, an armoire on the other with a couch next to it, and a divider that leads to a compact but long bathroom. Each piece of furniture clearly bolted in place.
"I'll take the couch," Aki settles in, unhooking her bag and tossing it in the armoire and testing the cushion of the couch. "So feel free to take the bed."
"W-what? No way, I can't do that." Winter's flustered expression of the situation is too clear to see. "Besides, I can't share with you! Just because my body is like this, I'm still a 30 year old on the inside."
"Does Sir Demelkas know?" Aki grabs Winter by the shoulders and guides him to sit on the small bed.
"No… we thought it'd be better if the fact I'm an otherworlder be kept under wraps. My, well my parents are still struggling with me being their age mentally. Dad is mostly okay but mom is still having trouble sometimes." Winter looks despondent as he recites these worries of his. "I thought she was accepting of it since K- Vira. But sometimes she breaks down and… woah I am just spilling everything, huh?"
Aki glides back to the couch and sinks into the cushions. "So there you go. Sir Demelkas assumes you're just a little kid, so don't worry about it. More importantly, why did you decide to come with us? Not because you're just trying to give Mr. and Mrs. Digger some space, right?"
He pats the bed with his hands noncommittally, his pursed lips curling to the side to match his faraway gaze. Blinking, he turns his attention back to Aki.
"Yeah. When I was looking over the books that survived the library's destruction, I found an old map of the East side of the continent. There's an island in the Star Sea with a familiar name." Winter explains. "Cosm Island. It's a long shot but in Carnia Love, the heroine finds an empty dungeon during a sidequest. According to the little lore bits it gives, that island has a connection with Winter. I'm guessing it's where he became the OP superboss before the game starts."
A loud knock and the door to the room swings open. Dressed in light armour, Dent leans against the doorway. One hand on his sword and the other hand with his thumb inside the edge of his chest plate.
"Making plans for power? You know Tsar'jar isn't a game. Any shortcut has a steep price. Rather than dream of such things, train yourself to not need it in the first place. Of course, an additional card in the deck is another thing entirely."
Dent stands up properly and pats his sword handle. "Come. Since you seek power, I'll ensure you can handle it. Join us, Aki. Then we can get our fill-in assignments from the first mate as temporary crew members."
Aki and Winter exchange a look of quiet embarrassment.
"Shortcuts to power…" Aki rubs her wrist and places a hand over her eye without thinking.
The phantom aches of piercing pain sends a chill down her spine. A lingering reminder of her choices old and new.
"I have been wanting to get better at self-defence. Fighting ghosts and ghouls is one thing but living people is another."
Hopping up, Aki quickly runs to catch up to Dent with Winter not far behind.