Chapter 44: The Mangrove Port — Never Seen Anything Like It, Right?

I woke up on a perfectly ordinary morning.
I lazily rubbed my eyes, wanting to stretch, but then I found a small, sleeping dumpling using my arm as a pillow, sleeping sweetly in the crook of my arm.

The light blue hair on her small head was a bit messy.
After a night’s sleep, they had playfully stood on end, teasingly running beside their master’s small, delicate nose.
They swayed with the rhythm of her breathing, and then…

“Achoo~”

A delicate sneeze, cuter than a kitten’s meow, was tickled out by her hair.
The little dumpling groggily rubbed her nose and then her eyes.
Her large pink eyes, filled with the haze of just waking up, looked up at me, blinking and blinking.

It wasn’t the first time I had seen such a scene, but this appearance, which could melt a person’s heart, was simply against the rules.
No matter how many times I saw it, it was never enough.

“Good morning, Sister Verona. Did Conia wake sister up?”
The little one, who had just woken up, had a heavy nasal voice and was still a bit tongue-tied.
Her innocent look was very endearing.

And my voice was also slightly lazy:
“No, sister just woke up too. Good morning, Little Nia.”

I gently stroked the small, light blue head.
The fluffy texture felt very good.
Little Nia squinted her eyes, looking very much in enjoyment, and affectionately rubbed against me again.
At this moment, my heart felt like it had eaten honey sprinkled with Sichuan peppercorns—so sweet it was numbing.

Isn’t this better than opening my eyes to two dazzling golden lights?
She’s not handsy, but she’s very clingy.
The difference is clear.

A strong beauty is nothing in the face of cuteness.

“Since you’re awake, let’s get up quickly. Little Nia is at a growing age, so you need a healthy routine.”

“Okay~”

With a sweet response, the little person in my arms quickly got up and rubbed her eyes, even faster than me.
To set a good example, I also got up, not to be outdone.
Then, the two of us, one big and one small, stretched our bodies in perfect sync, clearing away all the lingering drowsiness.

After getting dressed and tidying up Little Nia’s hair, I put on my very recognizable witch’s hat, held the little one’s hand, and walked out of the room into the cabin.

At this time, it was the shift change for the ship’s day and night guards.
A few tired other-races with dark circles under their eyes walked down.
After a few words with the handover personnel, they went back to their respective dormitories.

They should have been going back to rest.
It was always like this in the past.
But today seemed to be different.
The night shift crew came out of their rooms not long after they went in, holding some things in their hands, I don’t know what they were going to do.

“You wake up quite early every day, Verona,” as I was watching the crew, a voice sounded not far away.
The owner of the voice walked towards me step by step, saying as she walked, “Good morning. Little Nia is awake too. Good morning~”

“Good morning, Sister Nadiesse,” Little Nia replied politely.

Who else could it be but Nadiesse?
The only person on the ship who would be so familiar with me, besides her, was Elvira.
But it was unlikely that the little black dragon would come out.

“Good morning, Nadiesse. Stop teasing me.
If I didn’t keep a regular schedule, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even make it to our destination,” I shrugged and said helplessly.
This was no joke.
With the current fragility of this body, the probability of sudden death is very small, yes, but it’s not zero.

I spent a lot of effort escaping the Holy Nation.
If I were to die on the way while the “map is loading,” wouldn’t I become a clown?
So I have been maintaining a good routine, and I even take a short nap every day at noon.

“Are you not used to life at sea? Ever since you got on the ship, Verona, I feel like you’ve been pale.
It’s been two months, and you’re still not used to it?” Nadiesse asked with a frown, looking me up and down as if trying to find the reason for my discomfort.

“Not being used to life at sea is probably only a part of it.
It’s more that my own body is not up to par,” I replied, and then I remembered the abnormal behavior of the crew just now.
It was a good opportunity to ask Nadiesse.

“By the way, what’s going on today?
I saw that the night shift crew had no intention of resting after their work was done.
Did something happen?”

“It’s a good thing for you. Go up to the deck and see, and you’ll know.”

“Why are you being so mysterious when you have nothing to do…”
I rolled my eyes at Nadiesse, but still took Little Nia up to the deck.
I looked into the distance, and the scene I saw made my eyes widen slightly.

In the distance, the land spread out, cutting off the ocean.
In the shallow sea near the shore were tall and straight trees, as tall as skyscrapers.
The roots of the trees had already separated before they entered the soil, supporting the trunks like a crinoline.
At the same time, near the sea surface, there were also man-made platforms for docking ships.

These trees stood in the sea like lighthouses.
On the trunk of each tree, a white flag with a black scythe pattern fluttered.
It’s not common to see a forest growing in the sea.
My mind raced, and the only thing I could think of was a mangrove forest.
But are there mangrove forests of such a large scale??

“We’ll be able to reach the City of the Sea of Trees in half an hour,” Nadiesse’s voice came from behind.
“The Mangrove Port can only be seen here, and this is a private port exclusively for the Scythe Blade Merchant Guild.”

“Private? Such a large port is private?” I turned to look at Nadiesse in shock.
The latter crossed her arms and raised her chin, very proud.

Seriously? Is this fox telling the truth about being able to contend with an army?
And, such a powerful merchant guild is actually under the command of that Blade Witch…

My goodness…

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, I looked down at the little blue dumpling, and muttered to myself:
I seem to have rescued a young lady from an incredibly powerful and wealthy family!

In my surprise, Nadiesse walked over to my side.

“We’ll be ashore soon. Aren’t you going back to pack your things, Verona?”

“Oh, oh, then you can stay with Little Nia for a while… I’ll go back for a bit,” I was in a daze, constantly thinking about the scale of the Scythe Blade Merchant Guild’s power.
How could they afford the expenses of a port all by themselves?
The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.
It wasn’t until I returned to the cabin that I came back to my senses.

If I can’t figure it out, then forget it.
Anyway, I won’t be on the opposing side of this huge force.
On the contrary, we’re friends.
This is a rare good thing, no matter how you look at it.

Er… speaking of which, do I need to pack my things?

It seems… I don’t have any luggage, right?
No, wait, I do…

My gaze wandered for a while, and finally landed on the long-closed wooden door—that was Elvira’s room.

My biggest “luggage” is probably this dragon.
During this time, apart from coming out at mealtimes, she has been cooped up in her room.
I know that with her physical fitness, there would basically be no problems, but that’s only physically.
Psychologically, it’s hard to say.

…Have I been too cold to her?
And I’ve also let her reflect for a long time.
It should be about time, right…
Continuing this standoff is not a solution.
If this goes on, I’ll even feel that I’m being too much.

I’ll… forgive her first.

Who told me to be beautiful and kind-hearted?

I walked to Elvira’s door and knocked lightly.

“Elvira, are you awake? It’s me, Verona.”

I waited for a while, but there was no movement inside.

Is she still not up? But the ship is about to dock.

I knocked on the door twice again, a bit harder than before, but there was still no response from inside, not a single sound.

This lazy dragon is sleeping too soundly.

Should I go in and wake her up… I should, right?
But it feels strangely embarrassing…

After thinking for a moment, I still decided to go in.
Since I’ve already chosen to forgive her, then I should take action.
So I turned the doorknob with a “click,” and slowly pushed the door open and entered.

In the room, a refreshing and elegant fragrance filled my nose.
What came into view was a black-haired young woman curled up on the bed, sleeping like a log.