"Understood!"
After Kanna finished speaking, the communication channel was quiet for a moment, then Saria's voice came back, her tone as calm as ever.
"Who are you talking to?" Saria's sudden question almost made Ifrit jump.
"Misery's plan for the upcoming operation!" Saria said, without batting an eyelid.
"??? Really? Why didn't I hear anything from my headphones?" Ifrit was a little disbelieving. They had talked for so long after meeting, had they still not figured out the plan? From what she knew of Saria, she wouldn't act so inefficiently.
"Captain's private channel."
"Why are you the Captain!"
"Because you snuck out…"
Hearing this, Ifrit suddenly thought of Silence from Rhodes Island.
"Speaking of which, Silence won't be angry that we ran so far, will she?"
Saria glanced at Ifrit.
"Ever since I agreed to come to Iberia with you to find Dahlia, Silence hasn't sent any messages…"
…"Saria, when we go back, if Silence tries to spank me, you absolutely have to stop her!" Thinking of Silence's angry expression, Ifrit involuntarily tensed up.
"You'd better worry about her chasing after us!"
"What! Silence is chasing us?" Hearing Saria's words, Ifrit jumped three feet high, directly hitting the car roof with a "thump."
"No! I met Silence a few days ago when I contacted Rhodes Island. She told me to keep an eye on you and not to get too emotional no matter what happens!"
Just then, Kanna's head poked down from the roof of the car, and her words finally put Ifrit's mind at ease.
"Phew, you scared me to death!" Ifrit slumped into the back seat, completely limp.
Kanna didn't quite understand the mischievous child's thoughts. "If you're so afraid of Silence, why do you still make her angry?"
"I wasn't trying to make Silence angry… I just, you know, that day I dreamed Dahlia suddenly exploded in front of me, and water splattered everywhere. At the time, I thought she was joking, but no matter how much I called, she never responded… This must mean Dahlia is in danger, and she's trying to warn me. I can't just let something happen to her so far away without knowing why. This isn't her home, and she has no friends; she'll be so lonely…"
Recalling her nightmare, Ifrit couldn't help but shiver. The wet feeling, even in her sleep, gave her the illusion that it was real. So, even though she knew sneaking out would make Silence angry, she resolutely chose this path.
Kanna stroked her chin. Speaking of the Gran Faro—Fools Ship storyline, the danger around Kaltsit wasn't actually that great, but she was worried Kaltsit might let Dahlia go with Skadi's group to the Fools Ship.
Because Kanna wasn't sure what a Purewater Spirit's strength would be like in the sea. With so many Seaborn, there might really be enemies that could threaten Dahlia. After all, Dahlia was too "young," and her inherent strength hadn't been fully developed.
"Didn't we all come here? You don't need to worry too much! Just treat it as a trip to Iberia to see the sea. Speaking of which, Ifrit, you've probably never seen the real sea, have you?"
Kanna didn't know if Saria had ever been to the beach or had any impression of the sea, but Ifrit, a girl who had always been in laboratories and infirmaries, certainly hadn't seen such a sight.
"The sea? Doctor and I went to Siesta before, and there was a sea there too! It was super beautiful, and there was a music festival and so many, many people!" Hearing Kanna's words, Ifrit waved her hand, recounting her experience that summer.
"Siesta? That artificial ocean?" Kanna recalled the game's plot after hearing Ifrit's words.
"Is it true that there's a giant Originium Bug in Siesta?" Kanna continued to ask.
"Of course! What was that guy called… Hmm… Pompeii… Yes, it was Pompeii! It's a shame my attention was all on the music festival at the time. I didn't get to participate in such a big event. Now that I think about it, it's a bit regrettable!"
Ifrit felt a bit regretful that she hadn't seen the giant Originium Bug and had only heard about it from others. If she had known there was such a big guy, she would have definitely gone to see it to satisfy her curiosity.
"It seems there's something up ahead!"
While Kanna and misery were chatting, misery, who was in front, sent a message.
"Hmm? I'll go take a look!" Kanna stopped chatting, climbed out of the car window, and with a light jump, landed on the vehicle in front.
Looking ahead, she saw a unit marching on the road.
"Don't worry, judging by their attire, this is the Iberia Retribution Army. I saw them when I came to Iberia with Kaltsit before. That 'chicken wing'—bah… Thorns from Rhodes Island is from this unit."
"Retribution Army? I remember this unit is for maintaining public order in various places, similar to the police forces in other countries, right? Why are so many people here? It looks like their goal should be the same as ours," misery's voice came through the headset.
"Not just that, from what I know, Iberia's main force against the sea is The Inquisition's Judges, and the Retribution Army, as an auxiliary force, is responsible for assisting the Judges in clearing Seaborn and apprehending heretics. It seems Gran Faro is quite active; this should be the deployment of the inland Inquisition to cordon off the area, after all, those heretics are even more slippery than fish in the water. If there are too few people, those guys will find a way to escape."
Speaking of which, although Iberia is relatively stable and harmonious, under its strong religious atmosphere, some dim-witted individuals or those whose faith has shattered are highly likely to be successfully swayed by the Abyssal Church after abandoning the Iberian state religion. And in Kanna's eyes, the members of the Abyssal Church are all traitors to humanity. After all, they abandon being good people and fantastically wish to embrace the Great Swarm. This can no longer be described as merely brainless.
These Abyssal Cultists are characterized by their cunning and elusiveness. Hiding in the shadows, they do not act unless they must, but when they do, it's always with a trail of bloody cases. Therefore, the Iberian authorities are merciless towards these individuals. If caught, the lucky ones are executed on the spot; the unlucky ones are taken to The Inquisition, where they are guaranteed to experience days they will never forget for the rest of their lives.
At this moment, the Retribution Army also discovered the vehicles approaching from behind. Knowing in advance about the events in Gran Faro, when they saw unidentified individuals heading in this direction, the army became very vigilant, setting up defensive fortifications from afar and awaiting Kanna's group.
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