"What the–"
Aaron, who was watching the ships change, suddenly realized that the boat itself was being ripped apart.
"What should I do!?"
He shouted at Eleanor, who was holding onto the slowly deteriorating mast, trying not to fall through the floor.
"Try hitting the gem again!"
Eleanor yelled out, barely audible, over the loud cracking that was radiating from the boat.
He reached out with his hand and quickly tapped the sapphire gemstone in the same way he had activated the destruction.
The centerpiece began to emit a purple glow, with tendrils of lavender spitting from the ring, into the boat itself.
Rapidly, the destruction stopped with the missing floorboards beginning to reappear in the form of purple illusions until they became solid.
"I-It worked?"
Eleanor, who had been holding onto the mast for dear life, finally decided to walk towards Aaron to observe the strange tendrils.
The tendrils themselves slowly began to fade after repairing the damaged ship, returning inside the ring, which glowed a turquoise blue.
Aaron, who was silently watching the scene in awe, suddenly felt pieces of information enter his mind, clouding his vision.
This ring has the power to disguise and hide the ship completely! If I tap it once, it will vaporize the boat and move it inside the ring where it is stored, until I tap it once again. If I tap it twice in rapid succession, it will change itself and appear as a normal fishing boat… Thank you, Mr. Crab!
His mind was still clouded in certain areas about his past; however, he had the feeling that part of his past knowledge was being restored to him.
Eleanor watched him study the ring before bending down next to him to ask him a question.
"So… What happened? Did you learn something?"
Aaron turned to her and laughed as he spoke.
"Disguise won't be a problem anymore."
He smiled and stood up, walking towards the bow of the ship, looking at the far-off city of Sea Fallen.
…
Sitting on a small bench in the harbor of Sea Fallen, a man with gray speckled hair read the newspaper while drinking his morning tea.
He looked up towards the main dock, making sure that nobody was going to disturb his peaceful morning.
"Phew. Thank the Sea God that it's a slow day at the pier. After Sir Quinn's sudden inspection yesterday, I nearly lost my job…"
Turning his gaze to the paper, he began to read about the daily events that occurred in Sea Fallen.
His gaze caught on one of the articles that had been recurring throughout the past few weeks, causing him to sigh.
"They haven't found those missing girls yet? One of them was the priestess, too… She used to come visit me and bring bread for the elderly."
As he was about to turn the page, a sudden wind gust knocked the paper out of his hands, making him spill his hot tea on his pants.
"AH! DAMMIT!"
Jumping up in pain, he attempted to wipe the burning tea off, to no avail.
"At least it's a slow morning…"
The moment the words left his mouth, he looked up only to discover that a small fishing boat had appeared in the harbor.
"Of course… Just my luck."
He sighed with disappointment spreading across his face as he grabbed his police hat and walked towards the docking boat.
Upon arriving beside the mid-sized fishing boat, he addressed the two people onboard.
"You know the drill, right? Identification and a valid dock permit, please."
Still unhappy about spilling his tea earlier, he was in no mood to greet the fishermen with any hospitality.
Aboard the boat, he watched as the two figures came towards the edge, gradually becoming visible to him.
"P-Priestess?"
The man stuttered out the only words that came to his mind, as he thought about the headline he had read only moments earlier.
…
Eleanor, having heard the man's remark, smiled at him, answering his question in the tone she spoke to the followers of the Depths with.
"Yes, Mr. Reynolds, I've returned. Now, do I need any ID to return after I was kidnapped? I can run to the Church and quickly grab it if you need…"
The man frowned and quickly dismissed this idea, speaking to her in a friendly tone.
"No, it's quite alright. I would, however, like you to make your way over towards the police station whenever you can so we can learn about what happened to you."
Eleanor's smile widened as she thanked the man and gestured to Aaron that they could get off the ship now.
"Are you sure it's alright, Eleanor? I don't have any ID on me, so if somebody asks me, then I could be in trouble…"
She turned towards him and laughed before speaking carefully out of earshot of Mr. Reynolds.
"As long as you're a citizen registered in the Sea of Dreams, then you should be fine even without identification. Just don't get yourself arrested."
Aaron sighed with relief as he jumped from the deck onto the pier, careful to avoid the gap between the Ghostship and solid ground.
Mr. Reynolds, who was watching the situation, furrowed his brow at the strange young man accompanying the priestess.
"So, who might you be, young lad?"
Aaron looked at the man and smiled before replying.
"My name is Aaron. I helped this young lady get home, so I hope you don't require any further identification?"
Mr. Reynolds' face turned stern, and he began to walk towards Aaron.
Huh…? Does he require the ID? I thought Eleanor said it would be fine?
Aaron's face contorted with worry as the man came close towards him; however, when the police officer was only a meter away, he laughed before patting Aaron hard across the back.
"Don't you worry, boy. Anyone whom the priestess approves is fine in these parts. She once healed my son of his sickness, and she's helped a lot of other people in this part of town, so we should be thanking you for saving her."
Aaron smiled and politely responded to the man with relief clouding his face.
"N-No, I just helped her home, I didn't save her or anything, she did that all herself, so please don't thank me or anything."
Mr. Reynolds smiled and spoke again.
"Well, you still brought her home, kid, so that's enough for us. Come now, let's go have a chat over some tea."
Aaron looked at the man, confused, and quietly mumbled under his breath.
"Sir… Maybe you should get the old tea off first…"
Mr. Reynolds's smile faded as he looked down at his soiled pants.
"Uh… Yes, perhaps I should…"
The older man flushed with embarrassment as he hurried away towards the port house in search of a change of pants.
Eleanor, who was watching the man scurry away in shame, laughed and walked towards Aaron.
"Well, it seems like that resolved itself quickly."
Aaron smiled and scratched the back of his head before his expression faded.
"Guess it's time we part ways, then. Do you know where the Hunter's Guild headquarters is in this city?"
Eleanor sighed at his obvious lack of awareness, speaking with a small grin forming across her face.
"The sign to your left points directly towards the building…"
His face immediately flushed red in shame as he realized he had done it again.
Heh, maybe I need to get my vision checked after I earn a little money…
Sighing, Aaron's grin returned slowly as he spoke to Eleanor.
"Thank you for your help and, more importantly, for that sea terror heart that you brought."
She tsked under her breath before responding with a smile.
"You can never just thank someone normally, huh? Always got to bring up something physical like food…"
Aaron laughed and responded quickly.
"I'll try to work on that before we meet again one day…"
His smile faded as he realized that he might never speak to this girl who had kept him company and helped him greatly ever again.
Reading his expression, Eleanor grinned before commenting.
"Well, if you ever wish to learn about our lord the Sea God, then you can come to the Church of Depths near this port."
Aaron looked at her before chuckling.
An invitation, eh? Maybe if I go broke, I can become a beggar outside that place… No, she would just kick me out…
He spoke calmly with a tone of reassurance.
"I might have to take you up on that offer one day; however, it's time for me to go. You have things you need to take care of, too, so if you ever want to contact me again, then after I sign up at the Hunter's Guild, you can ask them for my location."
Aaron began to walk away, waving towards Eleanor, who stared at him from behind.
"Uh, Aaron…"
He turned backwards in surprise, wondering what she could be wondering about.
C-Could it be a confession? I didn't know she thought of me like that, but what if…
Aaron listened intently as she continued her thought from before.
"You know you're going the wrong way, right?"
He blinked.
"Uh."
Before she could even begin to speak, he ran in the opposite direction, making sure that this was the correct route.
Behind him, he heard a kind laugh that radiated warmth with it, slowly fading away the further he ran.
He mumbled under his breath with an embarrassed smile plastered across his face.
"Goodbye, Eleanor, I hope we meet again."