国产精品久久九九

Chapter 167: Please Protect Her Well

Over the course of the day, Roel got to experience firsthand the strategic difference of having a healer on the team. Knowing that he could count on Charlotte to treat him, he began exploiting his abilities without any worries.

Watch how the enemies go brr under my frost aura!

Now that he knew the great prowess of Glacier Touch, he specifically chose to hunt down stronger enemies. Even if he got injured, all he had to do was to find ‘Omnipotent Plaster’ Charlotte to heal him up. She needed to train her control over the Golden Soul anyway.

Admittedly, it was also quite comfortable hugging Charlotte, and it healed his soul too.

Of course, Roel was a person with a sense of propriety, so he made sure to avoid doing anything inappropriate to Charlotte. He also wasn’t intentionally exploiting his new spell to take advantage of her. He too needed to familiarize himself with his new ability.

Glacier Touch was a rare spell manifested directly from his Crown Origin Attribute. According to the System, Glacier Creator was a mutation of the Crown’s Stone. Roel didn’t understand the true significance behind what that meant, but he at least could tell that this was a spell exclusive to him and him alone.

Unlike the Strength Origin Attribute and undead reanimation spells that he had been leeching off Grandar, Glacier Touch was a spell that truly belonged to Roel, which meant that it was possible for him to further develop it. The more he used it, the stronger it would become.

Indeed, Roel was trying to raise his mastery of Glacier Touch at the moment, mainly to assuage the unease he felt.

Roel thought that his interference had curbed the egg, allowing the flagship SS Saint Mary to speed up significantly. With this, the Golden Fleet should be able to shake off its enemies, and he and Charlotte would be able to leave peacefully in two days’ time. However, earlier in the afternoon, he heard some words from Isabella that stoked his worries.

“Things are not looking good. The Silver Hawk lost sight of Gordon and his forces two days ago and we haven’t seen them since.”

Silver Hawks were flying magic tools used to scan the vicinity to scout out intelligence and search for enemies. Made out of silver and gemstones and fueled by mana, they could travel far faster than any ordinary bird.

Isabella and Gordon had been keeping a close eye on one another all this while, but ever since Roel and Charlotte’s arrival, Gordon’s fleet had suddenly vanished without a trace. Clearly, their arrival had forced Gordon to alter the original strategy, cloaking the future with a veil of uncertainty.

On the surface, Roel looked unfazed by news of the disappearance of Gordon’s fleet, but he was doubtlessly feeling unnerved on the inside. It manifested as restlessness, where he found himself unable to stay still at all.

He felt that he should at least try to raise his strength, even if just a little bit, so as to prepare himself for whatever would come.

As a result, many Scalemen ended up freezing into popsicles before sinking down into the depths of the sea. Even the tentacled sea monsters began to avoid Roel instinctively after having realized the threat he posed—though the tentacle still frozen to the deck was arguably a telltale too.

After several clashes, the enemies no longer dared to approach the Golden Fleet out of fear of Roel’s frost aura. So, the still restless Roel decided to experiment with Glacial Touch to see if he could adjust it for day-to-day use, perhaps creating a refrigerator or an air-conditioner. However, he soon realized that it was infeasible.

The frost aura produced by Glacier Creator was not ordinary cold air. Its prowess couldn’t be weakened. Even with a slight nick, it could freeze up the tower-like tentacles of a sea monster. On top of that, it was also hard to defrost anything touched by the frost aura. The tentacle that was still firmly attached to the deck even after a day had passed was the best evidence of that.

In the evening, when Roel was hugging Charlotte for the fifth time of the day, the latter pinched him hard on his waist, making him realize that he had gone overboard. In the end, he was left pacing around the deck restlessly. He thought that maybe the evening sea breeze could cool him down, but it didn’t seem to be working.

Unexpectedly, a guest appeared.

“Catch it. It’s top-quality ginkgo wine.”

Roel caught the bottle filled with fine wine before turning to look at the approaching auburn-haired woman with a smile.

“Big sister Isabella, I’m still a child. This wine is too heavy for me.”

“Men like to drink strong alcohol to bond with one another. You should get used to it early.”

“Men? You’re drinking it too though.”

“The concept of genders doesn’t apply to rulers.”

Isabella chuckled softly as she took a gulp from her own bottle. Then, she walked over to Roel’s side along the railing and watched the darkening seascape. Specks of light could be seen from the dozens of ships sailing over the waters, and vaguely, the singing of sailors could be heard.

Roel uncorked the bottle and took a sip, only to choke on its spiciness. Isabella guffawed at the sight before snatching over the ginkgo wine from his hand to replace it with a bottle of beer.

“Forget it, drink this instead. Beer is more fitting for someone of your age.”

Isabella’s smiling words induced a smile from Roel too. Looking at this beautiful yet suave woman before him, he suddenly found himself a little envious of Winstor.

It was probably a mixture of Winstor’s good looks and the wondrous workings of fate that allowed him to win the affection of this woman. Ordinary men would be intimidated just standing in her presence, let alone dredging up the courage to court her.

“Big sister Isabella, you were looking for me?”

Roel took a sip of the beer and relished in the familiar taste he had enjoyed over the last few days before getting on with the conversation. Isabella lowered her head contemplatively for a moment before asking.

“It’s nothing much. I just wanted to ask what you think of Charlotte.”

“Charlotte?”

“Yes. I heard that the two of you only met one another a few days ago, even though you have already gotten engaged with one another. So, I’m quite curious to hear what your view of her is.”

With her long auburn tresses fluttering leisurely in the evening sea breeze, Isabella stared at Roel intently, leaving him with a feeling as if he was meeting his partner’s parents. This inexplicable thought suddenly made him feel a little nervous.

“I... I think that Charlotte is a wonderful woman.”

“Wonderful? How so?”

“Err... Everything. We coordinate well when battling alongside one another, and she’s the one who has been treating me whenever the side effect of my ability strikes. While we often argue with one another, we usually mean no ill-will toward one another...”

Under Isabella’s oddly intent gaze, Roel found himself speaking a whole ton of words. Isabella initially nodded quite frequently in response to Roel’s words, but slowly, her expression turned a little bizarre.

Wait a moment, you call something of that level an argument?

Isabella thought about the interactions she had seen between Roel and Charlotte thus far, and her eyebrows shot up a little. Then, she took a sip of wine before getting straight to the point.

“Roel, do you like Charlotte?”

“... If you ask me whether I like her or not, I’d say that I do like her. However, the situation between us is a little complicated.”

Roel chose to reply with extremely vague terms. He couldn’t help but think about everything he had gone through with his fiancée in-name thus far, and his face began heating up. Seeing this, Isabella’s lips inched up a little.

“I see. I think I understand what’s going on. Since that’s the case, may I entrust you with a mission?”

Isabella held the railing before her and gazed into the vast sea with a tranquil smile on her lips. Her voice sounded very peaceful.

“You should know that my mission to deliver the egg is of grave importance. If Glacier Creator were to hatch, it could potentially bring human civilization as we know it to an end. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to pull it off or not, which is why I have to take an additional safety precaution.

“The Perpetual Seal Project, that’s the insurance I have taken for this mission. The Perpetual Seal will melt the tons of solidified Golden Soul in the ship’s keel and encase the egg in it. It’ll drag the origin of calamity down into the depths of the sea, where no one will find it until the seal dies out.

“Thus far, I was the only one whose bloodline is pure enough to invoke the Perpetual Seal, but then Charlotte came along. Gordon knows of this safety precaution too, so I’d be his first target if he intends to make an attempt on the egg. However, if he learns that Charlotte wields the same authority over the Perpetual Seal too... Do you understand what I’m getting at?”

Isabella turned her head to observe the wide-eyed boy with a solemn look on her face. Her tone sounded graver than ever.

“The possibility is slim, but if a battle occurs, they might notice Charlotte’s existence and attempt to eliminate her. I hope that you can do your best to protect her when the time comes.”

“...”

Roel fell silent. He thought about the Cursed Bay, and his heart suddenly grew incredibly heavy. He stared back at Isabella’s emerald eyes for a long while before finally answering her question.

“Charlotte is my fiancée. It’s my responsibility to protect her. We came here together, and I’ll make sure that we leave this place together too. No matter what happens, I’ll be by her side.”

“... I see.”

Isabella nodded her head in satisfaction at Roel’s answer. His courage stirred some memories in her head, causing her to look into the distant sea wistfully.

“You really do resemble him.”

“Him?”

“I’m referring to Winstor. He always says such cheesy words with a straight face too. Hold on, is that some kind of unique trait of your lineage?”

Isabella stroked her chin contemplatively, provoking a slight chuckle from Roel. Roel looked at this big sister who treated him and Charlotte as her younger siblings, and the salty sea breeze suddenly tasted a little bitter to him. He thought about the ancestors of the Ascart House who had passed away in their prime, and he couldn’t help but pose the question that had been plaguing his mind for a long while now.

“Big sister Isabella, is fate... unchangeable?”

“Hm? Of course not.”

Isabella was a little surprised by the solemn look on Roel’s face as he asked this question. She was intrigued, but she chose not to probe deeper into it. Instead, she answered with a question of her own.

“You should have seen it too, right? The Balance of Fate. Have you ever wondered why the Goddess of Fate holds a balance in her hand?”

“Ah?”

“Be it divination rune stones or cards, there are many objects that could be used to symbolize fate. Rarely does anyone associate it with a balance, so why do you think that the Goddess of Fate holds it in her hand?”

“This...”

Roel had no answer to Isabella’s question, and in fact, she wasn’t really expecting him to have one either. With a chuckle, Isabella revealed the answer.

“That’s because fate is ever-changing. We, the worshipers of the Goddess of Fate, know that the best. Every single second, every reunion and every parting tilts the Balance of Fate. I don’t know what kind of fate you have been pinned with, but you need not fear. Just reach out your hand and do whatever you can to shake the Balance of Fate. That’s what you should do.”

There was a hardy, unyielding look on Isabella’s face as she gazed at the boundless sea before her. She raised her hand and took a big gulp of the ginkgo wine, filling her mouth with its aroma.

“Fate doesn’t exist to be surrendered to; it’s there to be altered, so that you can create a world you desire.”

As Isabella said those words, she thrust the nearly empty wine bottle into Roel’s hands and looked at him with anticipation in her eyes.

“Don’t put on such a bitter face, Roel Ascart. You still have a long road ahead of you.”

Leaving behind those words, Isabella left with a smile. She knew that she should give the boy some time to think things over by himself. Roel looked at Isabella’s departing silhouette for a while before gulping down the final bit of the ginkgo wine.

“Thank you.”

It was a windy evening, but the cold breeze couldn’t extinguish the spark of hope that had ignited in the heart of the boy.