Renewed City

They watched from the promenade deck as the public ship Timothy and his companion boarded sailed into the port and lowered its gangway.

The other ships were docked in the area surrounding the port, and a lengthy road ran along the city's waterfront.

Chiaki latched her hand on the handrail and used the other to swipe her hair behind her ears. "Check all those people! And those buildings! I'm not used to anything like it."

As Timothy held the handrail and smiled, the wind galed around them, and the flock of seagulls soared into the sky. "Good! Looks like we arrived safely," Kheer answered and kept his elbow leaning on the wall while Alpha stood there with her arms pocketed.

Timothy grabbed the letter to read the coordinates one more time. "Pretty sure this is it. But I don't really know who I should find." Chiaki glimpsed at him and grabbed the letter to read the coordinates for herself. "Hm... I wouldn't know. My brother tends to make things complicated." Chiaki responded and flapped the letter in the air.

"May I see?" Kheer wondered, drawing Timothy and Chiaki's attention to him. "Um, sure..." Timothy allowed him to read the coordinates and in an instant, came up with an answer. Kheer responded and gave Timothy the letter, "Hm, I'm very confident this leads to the city hall's administrator, Forest."

"Forest? Administrator? I don't believe I've ever heard of him." Chiaki put her head on her shoulder and said, "I think..."

Timothy crossed his arms and looked over Chiaki's little head, "Well, it's worth giving a shot. But finding it is a different story," Yet Kheer chuckled and politely requested to help them, "If you like, I can take you there. I planned on visiting the administrator myself to request some supplies."

Timothy stuffed the letter into Chiaki's pocket and smiled, "I think we'd appreciate some help. And honestly, I hope I finally get something for my stomach. I've been starving, and the seafood isn't my style."

Chiaki crossed her arms, looking at him unimpressed, and saw his eyes wearing a reflection of steaming meat. "Is that your excuse because you can't taste Ralphie's meals?" Timothy flipped his head around and nodded rapidly, "Mhm! Mhm!" until he finally felt Alpha bonking the top of his head and practically causing his torso to hang over the handrail. "If you're so hungry all the time, why don't you make food for yourself?"

Timothy grabbed his head's top, inhaled, exhaled, and crossed his arms innocently. "Because I don't know how to cook. If you want me to cook, then you may as well eat raw fish. Because I can't make anything better than that."

They eventually disembarked the ship, went ashore, and swiped their ID cards to enter the Acropolis after Alpha rolled her eyes.

They saw residences made of white bricks and bituminous roads driven over by cars as they entered the city. There were many glassed windows in the variously sized buildings.

On some of them, a flag of the global government even unfurled.

"Cars and other vehicles... Something I haven't seen for months. Pretty strange to see them driving on islands. I guess that makes sense in 2021." Timothy answered, observing the civilians moving among the streets. "East and west truly do differ. Administrator Forest intended to share this technology with the west, but the world government didn't approve. I think it's due to too many pirates in the west."

Timothy seemed impressed and scratched the back of his head, "So the west is where the pirates sail, and the east is where the Sea Nobles and Emperors rule, huh?"

Kheer nodded, "But there are still pirates sailing on the east, many fewer, but they seem to be pirates like you. These pirates are more familiar with technology than those in the west. We call them "Neoteric Pirates." They came from the west and studied the newer technology until they became intelligent and more dominant than those in the west." Kheer explained. He nodded, "That's why most people prefer to stay in the west to avoid any unneeded danger."

Timothy, Chiaki, and Alpha continued walking beside Kheer, looking at him, "I guess we'll need as much skill and power as possible to sail through the eastern waters." Kheer looked at him, "Oh? You're planning to change your course and move to the east? Fascinating, then I suppose we might see each other more often."

Timothy smiled and nodded, "But I'll have to meet up with the rest of my crew back on the west on Winterpeak Island. So we can sail to the east together. Besides, you mentioned it's not safe to sail the east without a strong crew, so-"

Timothy suddenly heard an instantaneous clicking noise and brightened his view with a flash, "Ah! W-What?!" He called, regaining his vision and suddenly smelled a fresh magnolia flower scent of someone's perfume. "Ehehe! Sorry! I just wanted to snap a quick photo of you!"

Timothy blinked in confusion and noticed the girl rotate the camera in his direction, "Look at you. You look so silly! I didn't mean to scare you." The picture of Timothy seemed goofy and unimpressed him.

The girl's long, blonde, straight hair fell just below her hips. She wore clean clothes and had lovely blue eyes. She was dressed in a tight pair of bright blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black jacket. She appeared to be about Chiaki's height. And she had a polite, kind-hearted disposition.

"Aurora...Did I not tell you not to snap a photo of strangers? It's irresponsible for an 18-year-old." Answered Kheer, putting his fists on his hips. "But I don't. I only snap a photo of those who I know won't mind. You already know I have a good orientation to knowing who I can photograph and who I can't. And as it turns out, I was correct." Aurora answered, smirking, looking at Timothy, who mostly seemed bewildered instead of upset.

"Uh...?" Tim was speechless, "Sorry. This energetic, pretty young lady here is Aurora. She's a student at the Central Valley Academy who decided to join the photography club." Kheer explained, introducing Aurora to them.

Timothy looked at her, "Nice to meet you, Aurora. My name's Timothy. Just call me Tim if you prefer it that way." He claimed and witnessed Aurora releasing her camera. "Riiiight! You're that well-behaved pirate from the west. It's good to see you in person. Nice to meet you, Tim." She called, pressing her palm on her chest in polite manners.

"And you must be Chiaki and Alpha. I saw the public information regarding your crew's 2-year hiatus. It's unfortunate I can't meet all of them, but I'm more than happy to meet their captain." Aurora chuckled as Chiaki nodded while Alpha grunted with a self-assured grin. "Won't lie... feels awesome when you're well-known across the world," Alpha answered.

"Aurora, I planned to bring these fellow people to administrator Forest. Do you know if he's there?" He questioned, giving Aurora some time to respond. "Nope! Well... he was, but he needed to meet with the academy's principal in his office. He might still be there."

Kheer sighed and grabbed his forehead, "Great... Just where I didn't want him to be. Aurora, could you take over and bring them to the administrator? They were sent here by one of their allies to help Chiaki learn more about her soul-linking abilities." Kheer explained, a bit on the edge.

"Huh? Kheer, why can't you take us there?" Timothy wondered in bewilderment, "I'm not in the best affiliation with the school's principal. I have had some arguments in the past and never ceased to stop them. Another reason why I moved to Itto-Itto Lands." Chiaki kindly interrupted, "May I interrupt if you don't mind? What was the argument about? No need to answer if you wish not to share."

Kheer chuckled "It's of no significance. He considered me an enemy because I supported the pirates when I was a student at his academy since I wanted to learn how to be a shipwright and construct or repair ships. To put it briefly, he ejected me from the school last year because he wouldn't let me pursue a career as a shipwright. I was fortunate to have administrator Forest on my side once he spoke with the principal so that he would give me another chance at school. Since then, I've never genuinely communicated with the principal. And he never offered to help me when I asked for it."

Timothy listened, "And it's similar to Aurora. He doesn't support her in wanting to become a photographer. But she's in better affiliation than I ever was. He at least didn't expel her from the academy." Kheer explained, and Timothy noticed Aurora briefly losing a smile, quickly regaining it.

"It's fine, really. The principal is a bit... hmm... how should I put it? He's a bit... rejecting... you know, disapproving some of our wishes, but he's a good guy deep down on the inside." Aurora replied, gently twisting her hand aside. "So, if you don't mind. I can take you there. And try not to mention you're pirates. Because if you do, things might get a bit messy. So, please... be careful about what you say."

Aurora smiled awkwardly and looked at Alpha. "I thought he'd know us..."

Aurora shook her head in denial. "He doesn't look too deep into piracy because he despises it, but I'm sure we can figure something out as long as you keep quiet. Once we enter his office, just pretend you're people with developed abilities, not some scary pirates. There are students at the academy who develop their abilities, so it should be fine." Aurora explained, seeing Timothy crossing his arms.

"What about you? Are you one of the students who wish to develop an ability?" He questioned and spotted Aurora shaking her head. "I'm just a girl with a hobby. Not special. But I'm quite good at communicating. So, leave the major parts to me, okay?" Timothy sighed, shutting his eyes, and then heard Alpha argue.

"I don't wanna deal with somebody who can't accept people in life. So, I'll just go spark some stuff around the city." She prepared to leave them, but Kheer interrupted. "If you would like. You can come with me." Alpha rolled her eyes into a sidelong glance and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care. But I could use an escort."

"Very well then... Aurora, make sure to keep out of trouble." Aurora neared her hand to her forehead and laughed, "You know me! I don't have much trouble," She observed Kheer and Alpha stroll away and then locked her eyes on Timothy and Chiaki. "Whenever you're ready, we can go."

To be continued...