The sea churned.
A merchant fleet, escorted by the "Sea Horse," had departed from the Kingdom of Ys. It passed through the Brahe branch of the Vandimion family, overseen by Manifico, entered the Northern Sea, and then headed straight for the Western Sea.
Several months ago, Nordic and Manifico had boarded the Sea Horse and reluctantly left the Island of Fairies and the Junction. This was a brief deviation from their legendary journey.
However, they also began their business with the Junction and the Island of Fairies.
Naturally, the products of the Island of Fairies were abundant. And the materials at the Junction were even more impressive than those on the Island of Fairies.
Moss medicines, pots, incense bottles, greases, various types of meat, plants, smithing stone minerals, and other valuable, previously unseen new resources were truly countless and eye-opening.
Nordic was the third heir to the Ys royal family and one of its fleet captains. He originally had a certain amount of authority to facilitate trade between the port of Ys, the Junction, and the Island of Fairies. He himself became the captain responsible for protecting this trade route.
Furthermore, the Kingdom of Ys was most famous for its shipbuilding and navigation. It immediately became the largest buyer of ships and sailors at the Junction.
With this route in his hands, he might indeed be able to compete for the throne of the Kingdom of Ys in the future.
Manifico also had his own ideas.
Wanting to leave a mark on the cold north, Manifico didn't want to just sell furs, linen, tin, and lead. So he decided to let the Vandimion family's branch in Brahe join the trade route.
However, as the trading ships came and went, Manifico felt some anxiety. He was afraid his father Federigo would write a letter to reprimand him.
After that, Manifico received a letter from Federigo. But upon opening it, he unexpectedly found that Federigo didn't blame him for his actions. Instead, he praised his initiative.
Manifico still rarely received praise from his father. He couldn't help but be overjoyed.
Later, he learned that Nidhogg had already sent someone with the Vandimion family token—the four-leaf clover pin—which Federigo had given Nidhogg as a symbol of the family's friendship, along with a letter.
The servant received the token and immediately delivered it to Federigo without stopping.
After reading the letter, Federigo decided to trade with the islands where Nidhogg, Farnese, and the others were located—the Junction and the Island of Fairies. The trading post would be the city of Vritannis.
He had never heard of these two islands before and hadn't thought they would have any resources. He did this solely out of his habitual investment behavior as a businessman.
As a result, after the trading ship completed a round trip, he realized something was different.
The goods brought back from the Junction and the Island of Fairies were not as sparse as Federigo had imagined. They were quite abundant. Many of them he had never seen before.
That was why he didn't object to Manifico's participation in this maritime trade.
Being a merchant, Federigo felt very sensitive to opportunity. He sent a group of people on the trading ship to the Junction and the Island of Fairies to investigate, learning a vast amount of information.
The Island of Fairies was indeed an island, and quite a mysterious one. Only one port was open. Outsiders could only trade beneath the giant golden tree in the harbor and could not venture deep into the island.
The Junction was even more mysterious. It wasn't an island, but an entire continent. Two major port cities were open—Stormveil City and Castle Morne.
With so many ships coming and going in the Western Sea, with such a large landmass and so many people, the sailors in Vritannis shouldn't have missed it.
Thinking this way, he feared it was related to the strange abilities of Nidhogg and the others.
Federigo recalled the power Nidhogg had displayed at the beginning. He considered the vast amount of information he had requested and the trading ships returning fully loaded. He decided to increase his investment.
The Junction successfully acquired the "labor force" they needed in Vritannis—slaves. When these slaves arrived at the Junction, they regained their freedom and became part of the reclamation and construction of the Junction.
Because the actual "king" of the Junction, Nidhogg, had abolished slavery in the area.
Thus, a trade route was established from Ys and Brahe in the north, to Vritannis in the south, and to the Junction and the Island of Fairies in the west.
Nordic naturally became the protector of this route.
In fact, Federigo intended to increase his investment in maritime trade not only for these reasons, but also because the business environment throughout the Holy See's circle had deteriorated sharply.
The Kushan Empire, which frightened them, was here!
The Kushan Empire's invasion led to the rapid collapse of small countries along the way. The front line of their army was even more focused on the Kingdom of Midland!
The Kingdom of Midland, which had been able to compete with the Tudor Empire for a hundred years, was now in decline.
Not only could it not stop the Kushan Empire's invasion, but it had even allowed the Kushan Empire to push deep into its territory, seriously threatening the royal capital of Windham City.
On top of that, a plague was spreading throughout the Kingdom of Midland. Even the King himself had contracted this terrible illness and was bedridden.
As a result, the situation in the Kingdom of Midland was bleak. The King was dying. The heir was a weak young princess. Foreign enemies were present. And the epidemic was spreading across the country...
The Vandimion family's business in the Kingdom of Midland was difficult to maintain, but it wasn't the worst.
People in the Holy See generally believed that this time, the Kushan Empire was extremely ambitious. Even if it successfully absorbed the entire Kingdom of Midland, it wouldn't stop so easily. It would continue to expand westward.
At that moment, the entire continent would be drawn into war and ravaged by the Kushan Empire.
Federigo couldn't imagine how much his business would suffer.
It was said that the "mediocre" Holy King was already organizing a holy war against the Kushan Empire. He hoped it would succeed.
Until then, this maritime trade route was Federigo's current lifeline.
However, this maritime trade route was too prosperous and conspicuous at that time. It would still become a target.
It was still easy to communicate with other countries in the Holy See's circle. If they wanted to do business, they did it together.
It was the Tudor Empire that was eyeing it. They didn't seem inclined to trade freely.
In particular, terrible rumors were coming out of the Tudor Empire.
It was said that a strange illness had begun to spread in the Tudor Empire, ruining families. Many were forced to leave their homes. They gradually turned into thieves and pirates.
Besides the pirate threat from the Tudor Empire, there was also the threat from the Kushan Empire's fleet.
Yes, the Kushan Empire had a fleet of ships called galleasses.
It was said that this fleet was commanded by the "Immortal General" Daiba, who was skilled in sorcery and tamed all kinds of monsters. He feared that sooner or later, he too would target this route.
Federigo grew increasingly anxious. The Ys fleet alone, under Nordic's command, might not be able to handle these two naval enemies.
He thought about it and decided to write a letter. He had people take a trading ship and deliver it to the Junction.
Federigo hoped that Nidhogg would respond to these two threats in advance after receiving the letter. Not to be as stuck as the Kingdom of Midland, and not to be as indifferent as the Holy King.