After that chaotic training, I managed to heal Narmaya, and now she is fully recovered. Even her clothes which were previously torn by her katana are back to normal.
"Just leave Narmaya to me. You all can go buy the necessities for Grandcypher and leave her here with me," Rosetta said to us.
While I was healing Narmaya, I forgot that Lucifer's energy would affect her bodies like it did with Vira... As a result, Narmaya is still unconscious because her body is filled with my energy, and she needs time to process its power.
"Then we leave Narmaya to you, Rosetta. If something happens, use your power so I can feel it, and I'll come right away," I said to Rosetta.
We are currently almost at Golonzo and just need to queue and park the Grandcypher because we can see that there are many airships visiting this place.
Golonzo Island is where weary skyfarers come to rest. It is an island of top-class craftsmen who possess skills in independently repairing any airship in the Phantagrande Skydom. Although simple fixes for airships can be performed anywhere, Golonzo is the only place trusted by skyfarers for large repairs and upgrades.
"What could possibly happen? We just need to buy the materials we need and continue our journey," Djeeta said to me.
"Well..." I then pointed in a direction that made everyone turn to look.
"You gotta be kidding me..." Katalina said while facepalming.
"Oh great, they're here too!" Vyrn looked really annoyed when he saw what I was pointing at.
I was pointing at an airship belonging to the empire, parked at the edge of the island. I could see that the airship is huge, almost as big as the Grandcypher, and there were many empire soldiers on board.
"So what now?" Eugen asked Djeeta.
"Hmm..." Djeeta seemed to be deciding whether to go to another island to buy supplies for the Grandcypher or just land here.
"Maybe it's better to ask Rackam since he knows about the Grandcypher's supplies and what we're running out of."
We all agree with what Djeeta says, so we go to Rackam, who is piloting the Grandcypher.
"Unfortunately, the supplies we need are only available on this island, so we have no choice but to land here," Rackam says, shaking his head.
"Well, you heard him..." Vyrn says.
"We just need to buy quickly and leave before the empire finds us. I don't want to get involved with them again..." Io says to us.
But meeting the empire here is actually good for me because I can steal their memories with Celeste's power and find the location of Akasha.
After that everyone agrees to land on Golonzo and try to avoid the empire, Rackam lands the Grandcypher in one of the parking spots.
Then, all of us except Rosetta and Narmaya disembark and start walking through the building. Suddenly, someone calls out to Eugen.
"Huh? Well if it isn't ol' Eugen!"
Eugen, recognizing the caller, immediately approaches him. "You—you're that barkeep! You're still living here after all this time?" They shake hands so vigorously that their muscles become visible.
"Huh, that's quite an exaggerated handshake..." Io says while watching them.
"Well, that's probably normal for them," I reply to Io, while continuing to observe our surroundings, hoping to spot an Empire soldier.
Eugen and his friend begin talking about their past until Vyrn says, "Oh yeah, Rackam and Eugen, you guys have been to Golonzo before, right?"
Rackam surprised to hear his name suddenly get called answers hesitantly, "Sure, um, you could say that..."
Seeing Rackam's hesitation, the others ask him, "Why are you hesitating, Rackam?" Djeeta asks.
But before Rackam can answer, Eugen's friend notices Rackam and shouts, "Oh? I don't believe my eyes! It's little Rackam! But you aren't so little now, I suppose."
"Hahaha, look now, Rackam's grown up to be a real, red-blooded Skyfarer!" Eugen says to his friend.
"Huh. He used to cry heaps and heaps at my bar!"
"What! I never cried once!" Rackam says to the man, his face red with embarrassment.
They both laugh loudly at Rackam's reaction, and then the three of them start talking about their past.
"It seems like Rackam doesn't remember his childhood here," I say to the others.
We stay back, letting Eugen and Rackam talk with his friend since they haven't seen each other in a long time.
"Yeah, maybe that's why Rackam is hesitant to answer Vyrn's question," Djeeta adds.
"Well, can't blame him, it's been so long, so it's normal for him to forget," Vyrn says, then flies up and lands on my head.
I try to move Vyrn who is lying on my head to get him more comfortable on top of my head. "So, what should we do? It seems like they won't finish talking anytime soon."
"Well, we have the list of what we need to buy. How about we just go and buy them?" Katalina suggests while pulling out a piece of paper with our shopping list.
"That's a good idea. I also want to see the sights on this island," Lyria agrees with Katalina.
After everyone agrees to shop first, I go to inform Rackam and Eugen that we will go ahead.
"Huh, wait, then I'm going to follow you so you know which ones to buy," Rackam says to me. Then he bids farewell to Eugen and his friend and leaves with us.
We walk through the city, hoping not to encounter the empire—except for me, who wants to meet them...
"Alright, first things first. After we're done here, which island are we headed to next?" Rackam asks Djeeta.
"Well, to leave the Phantagrande Skydom, we're going to have to collect the missing pieces of the sky map," Djeeta says to Rackam.
"How many sky map pieces do we have now?"
"Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, we have six," I say, recalling the sky pieces in my room.
We decide to keep the sky pieces in my room since it is the safest place, and Djeeta and Lyria often stay there, making it the best place to keep them.
"That means we only need four more to leave this place," Lyria says excitedly, eager to see Nalhegrande Skydom.
But in the middle of the conversation, I suddenly sense a primal beast approaching us, causing me to look back slightly.
From the strength of the primal beast I sense, it seems this primal beast is not for fighting. 'Noa?'
Strangely, I notice Lyria doesn't sense the primal beast at all, which makes me certain he's hiding his power just like Rosetta does.
"Just as I thought, you can sense me even when I'm hiding my power," we all hear a young voice from behind us.
"Huh? Boy... Who are you?" Rackam asks the young man.
"Rackam, it's been quite a long time," the young man says while smiling at Rackam.
The young man who suddenly appears has long white hair and is wearing very unique clothing, and he isn't wearing sandals?
[IMAGE]
"Huh? Sorry, but do I know you?" Rackam looks confused, not recognizing the young man in front of him.
"Well, it looks like you've forgotten about me, but it can't be helped because you are so young when we meet. But your eyes haven't changed. That's comforting," Noa says to Rackam.
"He is the Primal Beast Noa," I whisper to the others, not wanting the other townspeople to hear.
"Wha-!" I cover Lyria's mouth to stop her from shouting. "No need to be so surprised, Lyria. We've met many primal beasts by now..."
Hearing me make Noa smiles and bows slightly to me. "Yes I am Noa, Primal Beast of shipbuilding. It's nice to meet an Astral without chaotic emotions."
Hearing Noa refer to me as an Astral make me look around to see if anyone else heard. "You don't need to worry; no one heard what I said," Noa reassures me.
"How about we return to the Grandcypher to continue our conversation?" Katalina suggests.
"Sure, I have no problem with that," Noa replies happily, eager to see the Grandcypher after so long.
But as we start to walk back to the Grandcypher, we suddenly hear a woman's voice from behind us. "Now, isn't this an irritating predicament."
"Who goes—No... It can't be!" Katalina after turning around immediately recognizes the speaker.
The person calling us is an Erune girl wearing glasses and dressed in Erste Empire attire, but with a luxurious cloak that indicates a high rank.
[IMAGE]
"I am Freesia von Bismarck, Prime Minister of the Erste Empire. You, skyfarer with the red lizard. Are you the captain of this crew?" Freesia points at me while glaring sharply.
"The Erste Empire demands that you and your riffraff return our research property. Hand over Lyria."
We all fall silent after hearing her command. "Are you serious? And I'm not the captain, she is the captain," I say, putting my hand on Djeeta's shoulder to indicate she is the captain.
"Yes, I am the captain!" Djeeta says angrily, feeling irritated at not being acknowledged as the captain.
"I don't care who the captain of your crew is! Return Lyria to us now!" Freesia demands, pressing us to hand Lyria over.
"Guess it was a matter of time until we finally ran into the empire... So, what happened to the Black Knight?" Io asks, noticing that the Black Knight is not with them.
"Th-there is no need for you to know that. You should be more worried about yourselves! We'll have our revenge, and you'll return Lyria to the empire, Lieutenant Katalina!" Pommern who is also there says to us.
Strangely, he seems very afraid to look at me, constantly trying to avoid my gaze...
"So, what do you all want to do? Fight them here or...?" I ask Djeeta and the others.
We are in the middle of the city, with many curious townspeople watching us to see what's happening.
"Well, no other choice..." Katalina says to me while nodding.
"Yeah, we run!" Djeeta shouts, and we all start running away, with Rackam pulling Noa along.
Seeing us suddenly flee, the empire soldiers prepare to chase us, but suddenly, thorny green vines spring up from the ground and hold them back.
"Wha!?" "What is this!?" "Ahh, it's stabbing me!!!" They all start to panic as the vines press against them with their sharp thorns.
"Hahaha, take that!" Lyria yells at them while continuing to run.
While they were demanding we return Lyria, I quietly channeled Rosetta's thorny vines into the ground and waited for Djeeta's signal to use them.
I really wanted to steal Freesia's memories, but unfortunately, there are too many people here who would be affected by Celeste's power.