I returned back on the path I had come from, careful not to be seen by anyone. Considering how large the Fusou Tree was, people would have been able to see it lifting me up from an incredible distance away. The frontline fortress city of Chinju already looked to be in an uproar...and I suspected that the commotion would reach Outo soon enough. If they learned that the tree’s movement was all because of me, things would probably get worse. I had decided not to interfere with what was happening in Fusou any further, so I didn’t want anyone to catch me. I suspected Old Gon and Mizuyo would realize it was my fault on their own, but knowing those two, I was sure they’d understand and laugh it off.
After about a month of travel, I had made it back to Sunsea Harbor and boarded a ship headed for the mainland. That said, Fusou only did trade with the Ancient Gold Empire, so this ship could only take me as far as Blue Sea Province. From there, I’d have to find another ship to carry me to the center of the continent. It was quite a journey, so I’d probably have to change ships a number of times.
There were apparently some ships that traveled directly from Blue Sea Province to the center of the continent, but booking passage on one would be quite challenging, as they were huge ships that traveled in fleets controlled by the government. It wasn’t the kind of ship some stranger could hop onto just by passing them a bit of coin, and they didn’t make the journey all that frequently anyway. It was possible the mystics of the Ancient Gold Empire would book a trip specifically for me if I asked them...but I didn’t want to be such a burden on them.
Anyway, as homesick as I was starting to feel, I wasn’t really in that much of a rush. Even if it took some time changing ships here and there, as long as I made it home there was no problem. I would rather take the chance to enjoy the voyage.
Taking a look around the ship, the atmosphere was quite different from the one on the ship that had brought me to Fusou. That time I had been surrounded by men looking like mercenaries, but this time it was just me and the crew. Fusou really was that kind of place, wasn’t it?
A traveler heading back to Blue Sea Province from Fusou was rare enough, let alone an elf—or in their terms, a forestfolk—so the crew and captain had all sorts of questions for me.
“I’ve been traveling all over. I went to Fusou to see the Fusou Tree. It was incredible! It was big enough to put all the other giant trees I’ve seen to shame.”
But after an answer like that, most of them were satisfied. In particular, the crewmen who had been born in Fusou were particularly happy to hear my evaluation. It was impossible to say Fusou was a safe place to live, but the pride they felt at seeing a stranger so enchanted by the symbol of their nation showed just how much they loved their homeland. After all the experiences I had there and all the people I met, I could understand how they felt.
The only problem was when they brought up the rumors of the Fusou Tree moving. It seemed it had caused quite an uproar after all.
Minute by minute, one of my newfound loves in the land of Fusou receded into the distance.
Apparently I had left a good impression on the crew, as when we made it back to Blue Sea Province, they helped me find a ship to take me farther. Though there were plenty of ships about, the quality of the voyage they offered differed vastly between them. They might have been similar to carriages in that they carried people and goods, but you couldn’t just step off a ship if things went sour. Well, okay, technically I could and just walk back to land, but normally you couldn’t. As such, the captain and crew of a ship held a great deal of authority when at sea. It wasn’t all that uncommon for them to use their leverage to force all sorts of things on their passengers.
However, rumors of their behavior and attitude would flow through the cities naturally, allowing one to get a good grasp on the good and bad ships. On top of that, an introduction from fellow sailors would probably result in better treatment, as they wouldn’t want to build a poor reputation among their colleagues. It was really quite a help. Though I wasn’t in a hurry, that didn’t mean I was interested in suffering through my trip.
With the help of the captain of the ship that brought me here, and after a two-night stay in Blue Sea Province, I boarded another ship. I used that free time to write a letter about what I’d learned in Fusou to the mystics.
The ship I boarded traveled south and then west, skirting around Red Mountain Province, stopping at a few of the islands along the way to one of the kingdoms south of the Great Grasslands, known as Mintar. After unloading its cargo and stocking up on new goods, it would be heading back to Blue Sea Province, so I’d swap ships again there. It seemed my best course of action was to build a good relationship with the crew during our trip, in hopes they could recommend to me a good option for heading farther west.
I held my arms out to the side, basking in the sea wind.
Ah, that’s right. About my journey to Mintar, and what led to my good luck in getting a recommendation for another ship...
The problems you could face at sea weren’t just limited to the quality of the ship and crew that carried you. The sea in this world was teeming with monsters. Like their landbound counterparts, they were strong, intelligent, and violent. However, compared to the boats that plied the inland rivers, the ships traveling the seas were enormous. When it came to nature, monsters were no exception in recognizing that size represented strength. There weren’t many monsters willing to challenge a ship large enough to cross the ocean. There were some, of course, but they tended to stick to their own territory, so through no small amount of sacrifice, sailors had managed to map out safe routes around them.
Even though the sea appeared to be a flat, unmarked expanse to me, it was actually covered by a network of roads. However, once the route a ship could take was limited, that created easy hunting grounds for another kind of threat: pirates.