A day and a half later, after traversing winding mountain paths, pushing through bat-filled mountain caves with dripping stalactites, fighting off monsters that blocked their way, and camping inside the mountainous forest, they finally reached a path that descended a cliff, with the vast expanse of the sea before them.

When they looked down, they saw a simple village with wooden buildings, nets laid out for drying fish, and many fishing boats sailing the ocean, casting nets. On the cliffside next to the village, a cave was visible, with a large ship emerging from inside, seemingly ready to depart.

Ard, who was smiling, turned to look at Vahn beside him. Ard was shocked to see Vahn's face looked tense, and his eyes were fixed on the forest behind his village. Ard looked down again in the direction of Vahn's gaze. His eyes immediately widened, seeing several Imperial soldiers observing the village from behind the bushes at the edge of the forest.

"Vahn, them," Ard whispered.

"Yeah, Imperial soldiers. Alright, I'll head down first. All of you wait here for a moment and sit down. Don't let yourselves be seen," Vahn replied.

Vahn immediately ran off, taking some of his men with him. Then he crept along the side of the cliff and jumped down into the forest. Ard stopped everyone and immediately crouched down to sit on the edge of the cliff. Before his friends could ask, he signaled them to be silent.

Everyone, including Eva, nodded, then looked down, following Ard's gaze. A moment later, they saw movement below and heard a shout that was immediately cut short, like someone screaming whose mouth was instantly covered by someone else.

Shortly after, Vahn emerged from the bushes, then looked up, signaling Ard to come down immediately. Ard, Eva, and their friends saw his signal and ran down. When they reached the bottom of the cliff and began entering the forest, Vahn met them.

"They were Imperial spies from the port city of Vernice. But relax, they've been taken care of," Vahn said.

"Thank goodness for that," Ard replied.

"Do they often scout around here, Big Brother?" Claudia asked.

"Hmm... this is the first time I've seen them today," Vahn answered.

"Maybe because there's a war right now, they've become more vigilant than before," Mirea added.

"True, the entire Empire is probably tense right now," Ainsley added, adjusting his glasses.

"But will this be a problem in the future?" Milia asked.

"As long as no one got away, there shouldn't be any trouble," Rosalind replied.

"Oh, come on, can we get to the village already? I'm itching all over," Beatrice complained.

"Haha... alright, let's go, everyone," Vahn urged.

As they were walking towards the village, Ard turned to look at Eva, who seemed silent and hadn't said a word. Although her face looked calm, Ard was sure Eva was deep in thought. Ard stayed silent and didn't ask, but quietly he took Eva's hand. This startled Eva a little, making her look at Ard, who was smiling and looking straight ahead. After arriving at the village, Vahn and his men were greeted as usual by several children and other villagers who were going about their daily activities.

Ard, Eva, and the others observed the warmth of the fishing village belonging to the bandits and pirates. Almost all the residents looked unburdened and lived wholeheartedly. Though simple, they seemed happy, unlike the people living in big cities. Several small children approached Alicia, Milia, and Patricia.

They observed the three of them, then smiled widely and invited the three to play. Of course, Alicia, Milia, and Patricia immediately followed the five small children who approached them, although they were a little confused at first. They immediately went to the beach to play, and Beatrice and Rosalind followed, along with Claudia and Mirea who trailed them.

Geoffrey and Irwin were seen talking to a middle-aged man who was laying out his net and seemed to be excitedly teaching them how to fish in the sea. Ainsley seemed to be talking to a few women who were drying fish and tried a piece of fish given to him, observing it seriously with his glasses. Ard, Eva, and Vahn just stood in the middle of the village, watching everyone.

"So, when are we leaving, Vahn?" Ard asked.

"As soon as possible. Once the situation calms down a bit, we can leave. As my men just said, the port of Vernice is tightly guarded, and they are patrolling the coast. Please be patient for a day or two; I think it will be safe enough for us to depart," Vahn answered.

"Alright, I don't mind. What do you think, Eva?" Ard asked, turning to look at Eva.

But Eva wasn't paying attention to Ard. Her eyes were fixed on Alicia, Milia, Rosalind, Beatrice, Patricia, Mirea, and Claudia, who were playing with the small children on the beach, even rolling up their shirt sleeves and pant legs. Her face looked like she wanted to join in, but she also seemed embarrassed or perhaps too proud. Ard sighed, then raised his hand to Eva's back and thump, he pushed Eva forward a step, startling her and making her turn to look at him.

"What?" Eva asked.

"Go on. You want to join them, don't you?" Ard asked.

Eva, caught red-handed, opened her mouth and then closed it again. Her face flushed a little, and she turned back to look at the others.

"Go on," Ard urged.

"A-alright, I'm going," Eva replied.

Finally, Eva ran toward her friends on the beach who were playing. Ard snorted, putting his hands on his hips and smiling. Vahn put his hand on Ard's shoulder from the side.

"So she really is still a kid, huh?" Vahn said, smiling.

"Yeah... something like that," Ard replied. "Although Eva is actually very, very old, seeing her return to being Esmeralda before starting her adventure and while still living in the village... I'm happy to see it," Ard muttered to himself.

"Alright, come on, Ard. Follow me into the hall. You want to see our ship, right?" Vahn said, putting his arm around Ard.

"Okay, let's go," Ard replied, still looking at Eva, who was now playing on the beach with the others, smiling.

The two walked into the village hall. Inside, Ard saw many of Vahn's men. They opened a floor panel, and a staircase led downwards. Vahn invited Ard to go inside, then they walked through a busy and quite long underground tunnel. They saw many of Vahn's men going back and forth carrying wooden boxes filled with bottles of drinks, fishing and farming produce, ship supplies, rolled-up ropes, and so on.

When they exited at the end, they arrived inside a cave located in the cliffside by the ocean. Seawater flowed into the cave, creating a lake, not too large, inside the big cave. Ard's eyes widened, seeing a large, black ship moored at the edge of the dock inside the cave, with many crew members who seemed busy doing maintenance on the deck or going up and down using a wooden plank. Ard could also see the cannon ports on the side of the ship, which were currently closed, the sails rolled up, but its jolly roger flag was flying on the watch tower in the center.

"Wow... this is your ship, Vahn?" Ard asked.

"Yes. Her name is Shadow Serpent," Vahn answered proudly, putting his hands on his hips.

"Hmm... Shadow Serpent, huh?" Ard muttered, looking at the ship.

"Yeah... I intentionally made this ship look like a ghost ship, so it's easy to rob. Besides, at night, my ship is almost never detected because she has incredible speed," Vahn explained.

"So you're suggesting we leave at night?" Ard asked.

"Yup, something like that. It's better to play it safe than regret it later," Vahn answered.

"Hmm... you're right. Alright, I'll leave everything to you, Vahn. Thank you," Ard replied.

"Hey, don't thank me. I'm doing this for myself. Besides, like I said, we're even. If it weren't for you and Eva, my village up in the mountain would have been destroyed by that giant black dragon," Vahn said.

"Alright, I understand," Ard replied, continuously looking at the Shadow Serpent in front of him.

After that, Vahn invited Ard up onto his ship's deck to check out the condition of his vessel. Vahn was clearly showing off his prized ship, and Ard responded with genuine enthusiasm. Then, Ard went into the captain's cabin, invited by Vahn. They sat in chairs inside and drank together while chatting casually.

Meanwhile, on the beach, Eva, who was playing with the others and the small children, turned and watched several large ships sailing into the distance, heading toward the cape and the port of Vernice. Eva paused for a moment.

"What is it, Eva?" Milia asked.

"Nothing," Eva answered, startled, turning back to Milia.

"Come on, let's go. Looks like the others are heading back already," Milia urged.

"Alright," Eva replied, still watching the ships in the distance. She looked down at her feet, where the waves were washing over them. After that, she turned around and walked away from the beach with Alicia, Milia, and the others, heading back to the village.

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