Departure

Two days later, after Jawjack's fall. Everyone had gathered in the town's open-service restaurant to thank them, and people had been serving them free food, and Tim, as usual, had been stuffing his mouth with the meat and other food on the table.

The marines were able to capture Jawjack during these two days, and Ayuka's condition had improved, and she was no longer fatigued or injured owing to the doctor's treatment.

The three males proceeded to eat quite quickly, while the girls appeared to have a pleasant demeanor. "They're eating as if they haven't eaten in two days." Ayuka leaned on the table, delicately inserting a soft, freshly cooked steak.

The food was flying all over the place, and other individuals were enjoying the party and finally showing signs of contentment. They were yelling at each other. "Finally, we have our independence! Jawjack is no longer a problem!" While the boys continued to eat, they continued to shout. A passer-by stretched out to shake Ayuka's hand.

"Please, tell us your name. We'd appreciate knowing so that we may thank you for what you've done." Ayuka nodded and smiled sweetly. Elliott became envious as she introduced herself. "She doesn't mind if I'm kind to her..." Tim's gut was nearly full when he placed the last piece of steak into his mouth.

"It feels great..." He smiled as he tapped his stomach.

A few minutes later, they had finished eating and were gathering their belongings to return to the open sea. Elder Rai was conversing with Ayuka, who was turning away while putting on her stitched hoodie. Elder Rai's nose began to bleed gradually, but he acted normally, covering it with his fingers.

"I'm assuming you're on your way to the "Outer-Sea Barrier" right now? Is this correct?" Rai was perplexed. Ayuka smiled as she looked back over her shoulder. "That's exactly what we've been trying to achieve the whole time, but we ran out of food and ended ourselves on your island."

Elliott and Nina had been quietly watching Ayuka chuckling from the shadows. They were hoping to see her naked, but all they got was a glimpse of her in a bra because she had her back to them.

"Why didn't she switch bras...? Do you gals not change them when they get dirty?"

Elliott made a point of keeping his voice low so that neither Ayuka nor Rai were aware of his presence. Nina was similar, but she made an effort to keep out of trouble.

"I mean, we do... But at the moment we don't really have a lot of clothes... I'm not sure why I followed you here. Simply by being in your presence, I appear to be a pervert." Elliott continued to look at Ayuka, almost starting to applaud from enthusiasm, so her protestations were pointless in the end.

"The "Outer-Sea Barrier" is a great distance away, but I'm sure you already knew that. We'd be delighted to share some of our freshly prepared meals with you before you left, and there's one more thing. Is it possible for your team to welcome Karisa onboard? She's a good hunter in the wild, so I'm confident she'd be a wonderful addition to your crew."

Our heroine was taken aback by it. She remained there calmly, her belly fully covered, before turning around in bewilderment. "You want us to welcome Karisa as a member of our crew? Well, I wouldn't mind, but you'd have to check with Tim on that. But what prompted you to make such a bizarre remark?"

It drew the attention of Elliott and Nina, and Rai began to explain.

"Ever since her childhood, Karisa had always wanted to travel across the seas into the wild. She had created so many maps of the world throughout her life that many people began to regard her as an artist. She couldn't draw anything other than the imagined islands she'd conjured up in her head. Due to her addiction to drawing nature, she has always desired to make maps of real islands. She'd be able to draw the islands you came across if she boarded your ship."

"She has all the makings of a perfect wife." From the love, Elliott's eyes formed pink hearts, and he gently began to drag himself out from behind the door's corner.

"What exactly are you up to? Idiot, do you want her to see us?" Nina grasped Elliott's leg and began to pull him back, stressed and angry. He, on the other hand, kept crawling out, and their whispers were gradually reaching Ayuka's ears. Her ears wiggled and her mouth shook, indicating that she was upset.

Ayuka didn't take long to grab a ball and throw it forward. "What are you doing there, you two?! You perverts, get out of here!"

Even Rai, who blinked on the spot, was startled as the ball spun through the air. Nina tugged Elliott's body back far enough for the ball to miss them, but it wasn't a complete miss. Instead, the ball landed in Tim's face, which he had been filling with meat. It flung him back like a feather, slamming him against the wall, shocking the others.

The weight of the walls fell and heaped on top of Tim, who screamed in pain as one of his arms dangled from beneath the mound, shaking. Others were deafeningly quiet as Nina took a step over Tim's lifeless body, her finger on her lips. "Will you be all right?"

Tim had a massive bump on the side of his head and his cheeks bulged out as he sat in the chair with crossed arms and a beat up face. Ayuka was treating him as a result of her accident.

"That's not right! It's all your fault, Nina! The ball would hit me if you didn't get me out of the way. Ayuka herself would now treat me How could you make such a callous mistake?!"

"Whatever you say seems Ok. I'll just let you get slammed by a harmful object next time. I'm looking forward to seeing you get hammered like that. Hopefully, that will remove your perverted thinking from our lives."

"At this point, you should be fine..." Finally, Ayuka stepped aside and walked alongside the others. "Nina, I see what you're up to. Everything was prepared by you! You didn't want me to get hit by the ball because you didn't want me to be jealous. I was under the impression that you attended a medical high school rather than Ayuka."

"I graduated from medical school, but I am not a doctor! Besides, if you hadn't dragged us into this strange oceanic reality, I'd still be in high school! But if you want to be beaten up by my hands, I'll gladly oblige!"

"Tim, we should get going. We may leave now. Codey's already on board." Tim stayed immobile and mute while listening to Ayuka's suggestions, but he promptly denied them.

"I'm not going..." Everyone stared at him, perplexed, as if they didn't understand what he was doing. "However, we must move forward. We'll never be able to leave this dimension if we stay here."

"Maybe I don't wanna..." To avoid impressing Ayuka, he raised his head with confidence and crossed his arms. "I said... We should be leaving,"

He denied it again, which infuriated Ayuka even more. She snatched his legs and dragged him to the ground. "We're getting ready to leave! So, let's go!" He screamed and clung to the ground like a cat. "No way am I going! This is a far nicer location to the water!"

"What's the matter with you? Are you terrified of water of a recent screwup? Let's get going before I slam my fist into your skull from the outside!"

"No, I said! I've got enough food to last the rest of my life! That is all I need!" As he hung by the floorboards, he felt unamused. "We'll go on a food quest in the woods! For the time being, we've had enough, so don't be obstinate!"

"I told you no!" Others were perplexed as they proceeded to rehash their case.

"Oh, I'm going to rip your legs out! Start walking if you don't want that to happen!"

"No!"

"Let's go!"

"No way!"

"Are you stupid?! Let's go!"

"Nah-Uh!"

Suddenly, the sound of something being struck reverberated throughout the room. It wasn't long before Tim stood up, his face battered once more.

"All right, I'm ready to go."

Everyone had boarded the ship. Tim leaned on the ship's railing. Others were allocated to their tasks, while Codey waited at the top of the crow's nest for them to set sail.

With smiles on their faces, Karisa and the others waved to them. "I'm hoping we'll see you again!" When Ayuka leaned forward, Karisa called out loudly. "You don't have to be concerned about that, right Rai?"

He had his arms crossed behind his back, making her look puzzled with thanks. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I believe it is self-evident! You'll be joining us." Karisa's face flushed as she felt compelled to inquire about what was going on.

"Huh?"

"Are you still planning on drawing the maps of the real-life islands? That is why I believe it would be fantastic if you could join us! You'll be able to view a lot of islands, which you'll be able to scout out and draw!"

"What about this island, though? What if they require my help?" She didn't want to leave because she was humiliated. Despite her concerns, she desired to venture out into the sea. "I won't be satisfied if they need my help, and I won't be sad if I have to abandon my ambition."

Rai then stroked the top of her head and gently patted her. "Don't worry, Karisa. We'll be able to live in peace again now that Jawjack has been defeated. Don't give up on your dream, please. I'd prefer to see you grow up as someone who obtained their dream. So, please, go with them!"

"Yes, Rai is correct! If something happens, I'll make sure they're safe. From today on, I'm going to work out and train hard! You can count on it!" Hidd laughed and agreed with Elder Rai's suggestion by gripping his muscles.

"Even your closest friends and family members want you to achieve your long-awaited goal! So jump on board and join us on a tour via various islands! We'll have plenty of paper for your creations!"

"Even if I'm not a superb warrior, you'd let me join your team?"

"What does it matter if you have a lot of power? We're here for the companionship, and if you're artistically inclined, you might be able to draw a better flag than Nina!" Tim was immediately pummeled by Nina's hand when he laughed at that.

"How about accepting my abilities for a change?!" He returned his gaze to Nina as he gripped his hit head. "What ability do you have? I don't think you have any talent." Everyone became silent in disbelief, and Nina began smacking Tim to the bottom of the ship's timbers with rage.

"It's not because of me. I'm not a naturally born murderer, fool! What do you think about this? When it comes to beating the crap out of you, I think I'm very good!" Tim's agonizing screams continued to reverberate throughout the room, and Karisa made up her mind quickly.

"Then I'll make certain not to give up on my ambition! Just give me a moment to get some of my items!"

Karisa returned with her belongings and boarded the ship a few minutes later. The ship's anchor was raised, and the flag was spread out above it. With smiles on their faces and joy on their faces, the folks waved their arms in unison.

"Make sure to design a lot of maps with your new friends along the way, Karisa! I'm confident you'll grow up to be someone we can be proud of! Goodbye, and thank you once more for your kindness!" Our heroes heard the final cheers, and the long trip to the "Outer-Sea Barrier" resumes.

To be continued...