In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.
Early morning.
The weather was perfect, without a cloud in sight.
The Alcor had her sails spread wide, cutting through wind and waves as she led the Crux Fleet onward.
Fang Qiu, the Traveler, and Paimon had risen early, and after washing up, they made their way up to the deck.
On deck, the sailors were busy at work, Kaedehara Kazuha among them.
"Traveler, Miss Fang Qiu, good morning. We should be reaching Inazuma sometime today."
Several of the crew glanced their way and called out greetings.
Kaedehara Kazuha paused his work as well to bid them good morning.
Hearing that they'd reach Inazuma that very day, Fang Qiu returned everyone's greetings before heading up to the bow with the Traveler and Paimon, a little excited.
They were finally almost there.
She hadn't suffered much seasickness, but after so long cooped up on the ship, she was more than ready for land.
"Mm..."
Fang Qiu stretched and drew in a breath of the crisp morning sea air.
Unlike the faintly fishy smell of the harbor, the air out on the open sea at dawn was wonderfully fresh.
She brushed back her wind-tossed hair and gazed out toward the horizon.
Hmm...
Still nothing to see, it seemed.
Weren't they supposed to be close?
By rights, shouldn't there be at least an outline visible by now?
"Ha, it's still early yet. We won't get there till around noon."
Just as Fang Qiu was puzzling over it, Beidou's voice came from behind her.
"Morning, Sister Beidou."
Fang Qiu turned and, seeing Beidou standing there, quickly returned the greeting.
Though something had changed since before.
Now, whenever Fang Qiu looked at Beidou, there was a faint trace of awe in her eyes.
It wasn't for no reason.
A few days earlier, something had happened — something that was probably no big deal to Sister Beidou, but had left a deep impression on Fang Qiu.
That night, while they were eating on deck, they'd spotted an iceberg in the distance.
The fleet had been moving at full speed, but since they'd spotted it in time, there was still room to change course.
Beidou, however, declared that changing course was too much trouble. She drew out that greatsword of hers — heavier than her own body — and strolled up to the bow with easy nonchalance, telling Fang Qiu, as she walked, to sing a verse of "Sha Po Lang."
Fang Qiu had no idea what Beidou was planning.
But she sang anyway.
As the iceberg drew closer and closer, her voice began to shake.
Jack and Rose hadn't exactly met a happy end, after all.
The seawater at night was close to freezing, and with her own frail little body, she doubted she'd survive till morning if things went wrong.
Still, she chose to trust Beidou.
So when she reached the line about killing being a form of praise, Beidou kicked off the deck and turned into a streak of purple lightning, hurtling straight toward the towering iceberg.
Before Fang Qiu could even process what was happening, a thunderous boom shook the air, and the massive iceberg shattered apart in an instant, exploding outward.
The next moment, the ship sailed safely past.
The sky full of scattering ice shards on the water's surface, and the great broken chunks sinking beneath it — the sight had burned itself into her memory, impossible to forget.
She'd heard the crew mention before that once, while sailing and watching The Eternal, they'd actually run into a real iceberg.
It had been too close, with no way to avoid it.
Beidou had stomped a hole clean through the deck and launched herself into the air, shooting toward the iceberg like a fierce arrow, then swung a blade so vast it seemed to carry the weight of mountains and seas, splitting the iceberg clean in two.
Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it happen right before her own eyes left Fang Qiu utterly stunned, beyond words.
It made her understand, in the deepest way, what it truly meant to be the Uncrowned Lord of the Ocean...
The only difference, apparently, was that last time, Beidou had left a hole in the deck when she leapt off it.
This time, there was none.
It was just... terrifying.
That night, Fang Qiu dreamed she herself had split an iceberg with a single blow, and the disappointment she felt upon waking was beyond words.
Not only that.
Sister Beidou's seafaring experience was extraordinarily rich as well.
Partway through the voyage, they'd run into a storm, the sea rising up like a wave of black ink sweeping across the sky — but under Sister Beidou's calm command, the Alcor had led the Crux Fleet safely through it.
Seeing Beidou, the Traveler and Paimon greeted her too.
"Morning. Sleep well?"
Beidou asked with a smile.
"Slept great."
Fang Qiu nodded, smiling.
"I slept great too — I even dreamed about eating Inazuman food. What about you, Traveler?"
Paimon chimed in with a grin.
"Same here."
A flicker of unease passed through Lumine's eyes before she nodded and answered.
These past few days, she'd come to understand exactly why Shenhe had said that Fang Qiu liked to hug people in her sleep.
The morning after they'd set sail, she'd woken up gasping for breath.
Only to find herself locked tight in Fang Qiu's arms.
It had taken real effort to wriggle free without waking either Fang Qiu or Paimon.
Though in the process of getting free, her hands had inevitably brushed against certain soft places she really shouldn't have touched.
She'd originally planned to have Paimon sleep in the middle the next night, but on second thought, Paimon was likely to end up waking Fang Qiu.
So the next night, she took the middle spot again herself.
And sure enough, by midnight, Fang Qiu was once again half-draped over her, just like the night before.
Since there was no fighting it, she'd stopped trying.
She let Fang Qiu hold her as she slept.
Only, each morning, she'd wake early and slip quietly out of Fang Qiu's arms before anyone noticed.
Thankfully, Fang Qiu was a heavy sleeper and never woke up.
It went on like that, night after night.
At first, she'd found it strange. But by now, she'd started to think that being held by Fang Qiu while she slept was actually rather nice.
"Good to hear."
Beidou laughed heartily, then turned to Fang Qiu and asked, "How's the book coming along?"
"Right on schedule. It's pretty much finished."
Fang Qiu nodded.
Once they docked, she'd meet with her editor and hand over the new manuscript.
Since she was signed under Liyue Publishing House, even though the book would be edited and first published through Yae Publishing House in Inazuma, Yae Publishing House would only take a distribution cut.
That was to say, half of half of the total sales.
She'd keep half, and the other half would be split evenly between Yae Publishing House and Liyue Publishing House.
That was what Bai Qing had told her, the day she'd come by the house.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered writing a new book on the ship at all.
"Good to hear."
Beidou smiled and said, "I'm really looking forward to your new one."
"I hope it lives up to Sister Beidou's expectations," Fang Qiu said with a soft laugh.
Hearing this exchange, the Traveler and Paimon's faces both turned a little sour.
They'd been right there the whole time, accompanying Fang Qiu through the entire writing process...
During the writing of this particular book, Fang Qiu had cried more times than they could count.
Tears streaming down like rain, the whole time.
So what exactly was in this book — neither of them dared to even imagine...
"No need to sell yourself short. I've got plenty of faith in your skills — way better than those fussy, flowery writer types," Beidou said, waving a hand.
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