Departure

Right after his conversation with Freyya, Haalfrin goes directly to the boats Prella's devoted followers had made for her. He had already instructed his companions to meet him there so they can get sailing right away.

So, Haalfrin props himself atop the mast of the ship, and he sends a crow using a pseudo possession spell to the Pit with a note attached to it, telling the others that he's at the boats already.

The only thing left to do now is wait…

As Haalfrin is waiting, he feels a bubbling sense rush of excitement wash over him like the sea. 'Free at last, huh?'

"…What's gotten you so excited…?" comes a dull girl's voice from behind him.

Haalfrin turns around to see Frey standing on the bobbing ship behind him. "I thought you were still at the Pit, Frey?" Haalfrin asks. "Didn't you hate being outside?"

"…I was worried you'd leave without saying goodbye," she mutters.

Truth be told, Haalfrin finds it awkward to say goodbye to her. He's not sure why, though. Thus, he wasn't planning on saying farewell again.

Sighing, Haalfrin hops onto the ship and stands next to her. "Girl, you don't have to stay behind. I'd feel bad leaving you."

"Floor 32 is my home, Haalfrin," Frey sternly puts her foot down. "I don't like the idea of roaming around aimlessly, like you."

"I'm not 'roaming aimlessly'," he corrects her, "I have a destination. I'm going to the Otherworld."

Frey rolls her eyes and blurts out, "It's not that exciting, you know."

"What did you say?"

"Ehem!" she coughs, "I mean... Why are you going to the Otherworld? You have any plans?"

Haalfrin looks down and spends a minute thinking about it.

'That's right... why do I want to go? I mean, I was planning on going there before I got imprisoned because I wanted to die in battle. But... do I really care about that now? I just want to get out there and enjoy my life a little bit.'

So, Haalfrin looks back down at Freyya and shrugs. "You know what? You're right. I will just be 'roaming aimlessly'. I'll trust you when you say that it's a boring place."

"I never said tha.... Oh, never mind. Have a safe trip."

Seeing Frey looking away from the sky and standing in the shade, he feels a trace of pity. This girl has never really gotten to have a life, and he's convinced she's making a mistake by choosing to stay behind. A prison is NOT where anyone is meant to live their life.

Noticing the look on Haalfrin's face, Frey knows what he's thinking. She lifts her head up and matter-of-factly states, "I'm a free woman now. I get to choose my own cage. You can't tell me I can't stay anymore."

Haalfrin lets out a frustrated breath. He knows the girl is 600 years old by now; she's way past the age where she can't make her own life choices. She made a good point just now too; it's not his place to make her choices for her.

He puts his large hand on top of Freyya's scalp and ruffles her messy hair, then pulls her in for a hug. "Take care of yourself, OK?"

He feels her two hands tighten around the back of his shirt as she curls her fists, and they stand there for a few moments. When she finally breaks away from the embrace, she backs away, then runs off into the distance with a red face.

Haalfrin looks down and sees two little wet stains on his shirt where her eyes were.

Feeling worried and a little annoyed, Haalfrin plops onto the deck of the ship and leans against the mast with his head back.

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Several hours later, Haalfrin is still leaning against the mast absentminded, when he looks up and sees Dee standing in front of him.

"Haalfrin," she says, "Will… you and the others be able to sail off without me? Will the ship run ok?"

"…What?" Haalfrin sits up and asks her.

Dee looks down and shuffles her feet, "I was thinking… these people don't know anything about magic. They don't even know how to become a mage safely – much less, they don't have the mana to do it."

She looks down at her hands and says, "I… I haven't felt like anything in my life was worthwhile in my whole life until I helped that one village girl get out of her soul realm and become a mage. I can't just leave these people like this."

Haalfrin leans back again and relaxes. Now that he thinks about it, he's not very surprised that Dee is bringing this up; she couldn't stop talking about Gabella for a few days spent here.

"What are you planning on doing?" Haalfrin asks.

"There's some ambient mana deep in the mountain, where the Pit used to be. I also seem to be on good terms with the locals. I could teach them all about what soul gates are, and how you become a mage. I'll instruct them to never open their Gate without the assistance of another mage, or without being carried up into the Pit where there's still mana. Vic and Garr both volunteered to stay with me and help me get mana stone production going. Once that's established, all the villagers can carry some mana with them at all times."

"What are you going to do after that?" Haalfrin asks. "That task might take several years at most. What then?"

Dee looks up and says sadly, "We have nothing left for us in Brancotte. These people seem to love us, and I'd like to make my home here."

Haalfrin sighs and waves her off. "Ok, take care of yourself. Some of the natives wanted to sail off with Prella and I, so we'll manage. We also have Nella and Stalfon with us to keep the enchantments on the ship running."

He then reaches into his pocket and gives Dee a glowing green rock. "I enchanted this with a tracking spell. Give it to the remaining guards so that they can find Prella, who has the other stone. That way, they can find the way back to Brancotte."

Dee gives Haalfrin one last solute before disappearing into the trees. Haalfrin silently looks on, and he knows he won't be seeing those 3 ever again.

Once Nella and Stalfon show up, the native volunteers get aboard, and Prella is safely secured belowdecks, it's finally time to set sail.

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Throughout the whole journey, most of the young men who came with them are utterly terrified of the sea; they've gone fishing before, but they've never gone far enough to lose sight of their island. They get even more terrified when Stalfon (one of Haalfrin's companions) starts telling them in detail about how deep the ocean really is, as well as the horrors that lurk there.

Other than that, everyone aboard, except for Prella, is consumed with a sense of adventure. The 3 ex-prisoners are happy to finally go home, and the natives of the island are excited to see a brand new continent full of strange new things.

On the first day across the sea, Haalfrin orders Prella brought back above decks. "No sense in keeping her locked up," he says. "Even if I can't find her on this little boat, she can't run anywhere."

Once Prella is brought up, she sees Haalfrin leaning against the edge of the ship. She instinctually shies away, but when he beckons to her, she doesn't dare ignore him.

She stands next to Haalfrin, leans against the ship, and looks over the sea with him.

"So," Haalfrin asks, "I've been curious this whole time… why did all those villages have the Brancotte Crest on them?"

Prella stutters out, "B-because, Stanrock Island is an abandoned Imperial Colony. The emperor's ancestor thought there was something worth looking at, after discovering there was no ambient mana. He even moved miners there to dig deep into the mountains… hoping there was some secret."

"…And?"

"They found nothing," Prella finishes. "The emperor grew frustrated and abandoned the colony. It was only the emperor after him that sponsored my Vanteri Family to build the Pit in the mountain."

"Why did all the natives think the mountain was cursed?" Haalfrin asks. He has his own guess about this, but he'd like to hear HER answer.

"Because," she replies, "my family wanted the Pit's location to be an absolute secret. Any unauthorized people spotted within a mile of the Pit were to be killed on sight."

Haalfrin turns around and points at some of the boys who stopped working – noting the displeased looks on their faces. "See?" Haalfrin laughs, "you just made them mad."

Prella defends herself impulsively, "What? It's BECAUSE the Pit's location was discovered that the dragon could come here and destroy so many lives! It was the right decision."

Shrugging, Haalfrin replies, "I'm not the judge of that. You don't have to explain to me. Anyway, I was just curious."

"A-anyway," Prella changes the subject, "What're you planning on doing once we reach the empire again?"

"... Dunno. Whatever I feel like."

Prella shudders upon hearing this. 'I hope he doesn't slaughter more people,' she thinks… but she doesn't dare say it aloud. The only thing she can do is pray.

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End of Volume