As they spoke, Andre and the others reached the deck, gaining a full view of the island's port.

The port had expanded into a full-fledged city, with buildings of all kinds scattered across the area. It boasted countless berths, bustling with ships of every size. The vessels flew various flags, and their specialized designs marked them as anything but ordinary. Through his magical vision, Ed saw many sailboats gleaming with enchanted light, spellcaster ships.

They had waited outside for some time before finding an empty berth and finally sailing in.

"I'm not going ashore. I don't like running around," Gami stated from the side, before piloting his mechanical vehicle back into the cabin.

Andre didn't insist. After all, if Gami were to disembark, he couldn't exactly ride that conspicuous contraption; he'd have to walk around in a child's body, which would hardly be convenient.

Ed had just jumped off the ship when he spotted several non-human races in the distance. Most were Fishmen, like Sankaka in their crew, though Ed couldn't distinguish their specific type from appearance alone. Unlike humans, Fishmen came in a wide variety.

This was, in fact, the first time Ed had seen another race besides Sankaka, and Lucilia, though given the era she was from, he didn't hold much hope of meeting a living Elf anytime soon. So for now, he settled on looking forward to seeing a beautiful Fish-woman.

"The Blood Gold Alliance and the Holy Mother Church are purely human forces, located in very stable and safe regions. Other races wouldn't go there without reason," Elena explained, following Ed's gaze. Of course, had she known his true thoughts, she would have likely thrown him into the sea in anger.

She knew Ed understood little about the outside world, so she often answered his questions before he could even ask them.

Ed nodded, unconcerned that she had misunderstood him, which was natural. To everyone but Jason, he appeared a good and honest boy.

He recalled seeing a place called Fishman Bay on the map earlier. According to Sankaka, it was a gathering place for Fishmen—somewhere Ed had been eager to visit since learning of it. Sadly, his cheap captain had no desire to go there anytime soon.

"This island is called Guardian Island, though locals probably prefer to call it the Southeast Corner."

"Why do you say that?" Jason asked, turning his head curiously.

"Because the two major supply islands before entering the Dark Region lie at the southeast and northwest corners of the sea, respectively."

By now, the group had entered the port area, where countless dockworkers were unloading all manner of goods. The atmosphere was lively, more like a massive commercial trading hub than a simple port.

"So many people want to enter the Dark Region for treasure?" Ed remarked. There were far more people coming and going than he had expected, arguably the most bustling place he had ever experienced. These individuals were either here for trade or to venture into the Dark Region, and clearly, most were lured by the promise of treasure and wealth.

"I didn't expect so many people," Elena exclaimed in surprise.

Andre, overhearing them as he walked ahead, said, "The now-destroyed Menichel Alliance was once one of the wealthiest nations of its time. They amassed fortunes by discovering new sea routes and eventually formed a massive alliance led by merchants. The wealth left behind by such a power is naturally very attractive."

"Unfortunately, most of these hot-blooded fortune seekers, blinded by greed, won't survive long in the Dark Region."

With that, Andre led them into the city.

Merchants and shops lined the streets. Several weapon shops and blacksmiths stood within easy reach, alongside stores selling medicine, food, ship equipment, and life-saving supplies, all catering to treasure hunters.

The newcomers were immediately excited.

"What are we doing on this island?" Jason asked, puzzled. In contrast, Ed had already spotted his destination and couldn't wait to slip away from the group.

After all, their ship's supplies and provisions for the Dark Region had already been delivered earlier by the church's merchant ships. Everything was quite complete, requiring little effort on their part. Even recent updates about the Dark Region had been provided.

"We have our own tasks. If there's anything you wish to buy, you may disperse and look around. We'll regroup on the ship by evening," Andre said, glancing at his watch before heading down another path.

The others exchanged looks and split toward their own interests.

Jason and Ed headed in the direction of a weapons shop, a move meant to disguise their intentions and avoid suspicion about their otherwise "honest" characters.

"Ah, sorry, sir."

A child bumped into Ed. Ed gave him a quick glance but ignored him. The boy didn't stop for a second; even his apology was uttered on the move before he scurried away.

Seeing this, Jason frowned. "He might be a thief, probably stole something from you. Aren't we going to chase him?"

Ed smirked mockingly and waved his hand with the pocket ring in his finger. "You beggar don't understand the ways of the rich. Wealthy people don't carry wallets. We keep our valuables in personal storage, like the one on this ring."

Looking at the ring on Ed's hand, Jason's eyes flashed with envy. He clenched his fist in frustration. "Just you wait, you bastard. I'll work hard and definitely buy one soon enough!" With that, he ignored Ed and quickened his pace.

Putting the small incident aside, the two entered the nearest weapons shop.

Inside were various swords, knives, and countless firearms. Crates of ammunition of all types were stacked nearby, available for purchase. Quite a few customers were browsing and buying weapons.

After looking around casually, they stepped back out.

"No good. The weapons here are much worse than what we have," Jason said with a pout. When he had no money, everything looked like premium goods. Now that he had some, he couldn't find anything worth buying—and what he did find was over his budget.

Hearing this, Ed couldn't help but retort, "What we have are masterpieces modified by Bobby. You can't just walk into some random roadside store and easily find better weapons than those."

Jason rolled his eyes. "I was just venting. You don't have to answer every time. Anyway, I'm going to find some hot chicks. Want to come along?"

"You go f*ck those cheap b*tches, rookie. I'm going to find my own exclusive woman, unlike you, where anyone can get a turn for a few coins. And why the f*ck would I come with you? Want to try a threesome or something? F*ck off. I've got no interest in dirtying my eyes with that little thing of yours."

After insulting Jason to the point of making his ears burn red with anger, Ed, feeling satisfied, walked away. He quickly headed in the direction where he had spotted his target, but first, he needed to buy some crafting materials.

He planned to purchase more fire-related materials to practice crafting red cards.

[ Cross of Righteous Fire ] was the most powerful of the three cards, but even now, Ed hadn't succeeded in crafting a perfect one. All he had produced were defective or unfinished versions. While usable, their explosive power was… underwhelming.

So, he decided to buy some cheap, low-quality fire materials to practice with quickly. The fire-related materials on the ship had come from the church, top-quality stuff, and using those for practice felt too wasteful.

As for blue and silver cards, Ed could craft those quite well already. After all, the incantations for those two cards were clearly a level below [Cross of Righteous Fire].

Once he had bought the materials, Ed rushed toward a three-story building with nice architecture. A beautiful mermaid statue hung from the middle of the top floor to attract guests, and below it hung the building's name: Ocean Paradise.

Yes, the name was cheap and cliché, but the people entering clearly didn't care, just like Ed, who had learned about the place from a few keywords overheard from passersby. That was more than enough.

"Welcome to Ocean Paradise, sir. How may I help you?"

As soon as Ed pushed open the large entrance door and stepped into the dimly lit, beautifully decorated interior, he was greeted by a vast hall full of aquatic ambiance.

A giant fish tank, over four meters tall, stood inside, within which sat two young, beautiful Fish-women. They were quite different from what Ed had imagined.

He had expected mermaids, the usual logic, but he was quite wrong. They weren't mermaids, which was disappointing, but they weren't completely unacceptable either.

They had human-like bodies with some extra fish-like features: completely blue skin, green eyes, pale white skin, and colorful hair mixed with blue, green, and purple.

A long, fish-like tail extended behind their backs, a shark-like fin, and transparent, fin-like webbing between their fingers and toes, likely to aid swimming, along with gills around their necks to breathe underwater.

Except for those aquatic details, they were no different from humans, which surprised Ed. After all, Sankaka, a Fishman, could be considered absolutely ugly by human standards, if you ignored his mouth-watering muscular body. But these Fish-women, with their pitiful expressions and the super-hot, erotic scraps of clothing barely covering their private parts, made Ed's little brother stiffen in an instant.

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