Chapter 17

"Sorry, lad. We did not go to that place anymore. Not only because of the fortress that blocks the path to that place but also because we don't want to make the other noble hate us for taking you to that place."

I release a sigh. I know this will happen, but I never thought that all of the ship owners did not want to go to that place.

"Do you know who is willing to take us there?"

"You are not giving up, huh? Well, you can try Raftfleet. I think they are willing to take you there. Those people will take you there."

"I see. Then can you take us to Raftfleet?"

The old man grins at me and says.

"I can do that. A thousand potch for each person."

I nod and give him a ten thousand potch.

"Take the rest for your information."

"Heh! Thanks, lad. Anyway, come abroad."

=//=

The journey takes us four hours, and we arrive at Raftfleet just before the sun goes down. We thank the boat driver, and I finally see the moving city, Raftfleet.

Just like its name suggests, Raftfleet is a bunch of rafts put together to create a 'land' for their home. Even the store and the inn are rafts filled with goods. I learned from the boat driver that Raftfleet would move to another location every half a year.

I shake my head and ask the nearby boater where the inn is. We go to the second biggest ship in Raftfleet and walk inside it, where I can see the inn and tavern side by side. I walk to the receptionist and say.

"Room for four people, please."

"That can easily be arranged. For how long?"

"Just for tonight."

"One thousand and two hundred potch, three hundred for each of you."

I pay for our room, and the woman gives me the keys. I give my companion their room key and say.

"Alright. You can go and enjoy yourself. We will go early in the morning. We will go after some breakfast. As for today, you guys do what you want."

After saying that, Gavaya quickly gets out of the inn to explore the city while Norma and Ernst decide to stay inside the inn because they are rather tired. That leaves me with Nikea, who decides to come with me.

"So, what should we do now, boss? Should we go to the market? I hear someone sells some good fish in this place."

"I think we need to check the ship first. I want to make sure someone is willing to take us."

"Sure! Let's go!"

=//=

An hour. That is how long it takes us to search for someone who wants to take us.

"A thousand and two hundred per person, right?"

"Yup. That is the price for me to take you there. I will even wait for a day or two but more than that? You will need to search for your own way to survive."

"Fair enough."

"Anyway, we will go early in the morning. We will go at six, and I'm willing to wait up to one more hour. After that? I will take other customers."

"Fair enough. We will be here before six."

"That's good. Anyway, that is all. As long as you pay me half when we depart and half later when we return back to Raftfleet."

I nod, and the two of us walk away from the dock. I take out my phone and open up the catalog to see if there is someone I can capture in this city. To my surprise, there are a few of them. Kisara, an A-grade MILF with huge titties and abs that can grate cheese. She is a Tier-4 waifu that I can capture for six points.

The second one is Lun, a tomboy who likes to explore, cause mischief and fight someone with her spear. She is cute and has great combat experience. She is a Tier-4 waifu that I can capture for six points.

The last one will be Subala, another tomboy, but this time, she is more of a hot-headed kind of tomboy. Just like Lun, she is also great with weapons like spears and tridents. She is a Tier-4 waifu that has the potential to be a great fighter with enough training.

Sadly, the two of them are rather hard. I can think of a few ways to capture Subala but Kisara and Lun… yeah, that will be hard.

Subalu can be found around the fishing area, and I can maybe fool her. Hmmm, this will be hard. That only leaves me with one way to do it—sleeping spells and sneaking around. I need to know where she lives, and I can stamp her.

Kisara and Lun will be last because they are living with the leader of the Raftfleet and the former Admiral of the Queendom. I have a feeling that their place will be guarded and have some kind of alert barrier around them.

Tch. I really need that magical template, or maybe I can take a ninja template? Or some kind of sneaky magician. I need to consider it because I will get the points needed to buy another template after capturing Gavaya.

"Boss?"

I snap from my thoughts and see that I have stopped walking. I can see Nikea looking at me with worry on her face.

"It is nothing, Nikea. Anyway, you said that there is a great fish dish in this city?"

"Yes! Come on! I think they are still open."

And just like that, Nikea dragged me to the restaurant she wanted to visit.

=//=

"Follow the river to the Southeast. After two or so hours of walking, you should see Lordlake."

"Thank you."

I thank the boat driver and walk to the Southeast, where the Lordlake should be located. We continue to walk and follow the river and even past the fortress that blocks the flow of the river to Lordlak—another punishment from the queen for the people of Lordlake who dare to rebel against her.

The Sun Rune curses the land so it cannot rain and dry the water underground, combining it with the fortress blocking the Falena River's flow.

And after walking for another half an hour, we see the result of such action. We can see dead trees across the land and many skeletons of many animals. Not only animals, I can even see a human's corpse on the ground start to turn into a skeleton.

I frown a little and wave my hand to create a hole using my magic. I then float the corpse and bury it.

"This is the least thing we can do."

After burying the body, we continue our journey.

"Just what kind of power can cause this much damage?"

Gavaya looks around with a frown on his face. I look at the barren land and say.

"Sun Rune, one of the twenty-seven True Rune and one of the most destructive runes out there. The rune makes sure there will be no rain and makes the land infertile and barren."

"And here I thought the New Armes was a barbaric kingdom, but here we are."

The rest of us did not say anything as we continued our journey. After another hour of walking, I can see a massive city in the distance. However, by the look of it, the city will be a ghost city. If I remember correctly, Lordlake has twelve thousand people on its peak day, but I have a feeling not even a tenth of that number still stays in this city. Either they are running away, or they die from thirst and starvation.

As we get close to the city, I can see a group of people already waiting for us at the entrance of the city. When we get even closer, an old man walks forward and greets us.

"Welcome to our city, stranger. My name is Talgeyl, and may I ask the reason why you are coming to our city?"