After the storm raged, Lexington, which had not yet completed a full day at sea, lay in disarray on its deck. Seaweed and lively fish and crabs covered it, and the ship had suffered some damages.
— The main sail was torn.
Fortunately, the ship was sturdy enough to avoid hull breaches or flooding.
But with the main sail damaged, power was temporarily lost, leaving them adrift at sea.
They rested one night, and the next morning after breakfast, the first thing they did was patch the torn main sail.
Arion climbed up the mast with patching tools, working with Assistant to repair the sails, and it took most of the day until sunset before the ship had regained power.
Another night's rest, and a second problem emerged: they had deviated from their original course.
Using the sextant, compass, maps, and other traditional navigational tools he learned from the fishermen, Arion managed to determine their sea area, but found that their ship had drifted with the current toward the Yotsuba Island Region.
That was a long way from the Conomi Islands.
Still, with no choice, they decided to dock near a town to complete the mission, repair the sails, and then press on.
Arion isn't a professional craftsman; the repaired sails aren't perfect, only barely usable.
The nearest town was Shells Town, home to Marines 153rd Branch, Hand Morgan's town, and a place famous for a Marine hero who could literally cut a man down with a single strike, known for oppressing townspeople.
After a moment's hesitation, they steered the wheel toward Shells Town.
After half a day's voyage they finally reached the destination.
Under the guidance of dock workers, they moored, dropped anchor, and tied off, and once they stepped ashore, a notification sounded: Stage Two of the mission completed.
Crossing the storm, they had left the novice village and entered a new map.
Task requirement: obtain their own ship and go to sea
Task status: Completed
Task status: one more lottery draw (arrive at a new town for distribution)
New task: having witnessed the ocean's mysterious weather and current changes, Navigator's importance in this world becomes clear
Partner requirement: Navigator (female preferred, with exceptions for special fetishes)
Task status: In progress
Task reward: a proficiency point (can be allocated on the personal panel; once allocated, cannot be changed, choose carefully)
The last mission requiring partners was swordsman, and the summoned character was 2B.
This time they need a Navigator; summoned character should be related?
Who could it be?
Arion pondered, but no familiar character matched the Navigator's role.
It seems they must summon to know.
Not rushing to summon yet, they approach a dock worker who carries a notebook and asks, "Do you have shipwrights? Can you repair sails?"
The dock worker looks up, frowns, and says, "The sails are badly damaged. If you want repairs, add ship docking and maintenance costs, total one hundred thousand Belly."
Arion doesn't understand market value, but by purchasing power, repairing sails and docking would cost one hundred thousand Belly—too steep.
"Too expensive. fifty thousand Belly."
The dock worker flashes a bright smile, eager not to lose the potential business, and agrees: "Deal. Pleasure doing business."
This price still felt high.
They sign the contract, secure the ship's insurance documents, and, after paying a deposit, leave the ship with a briefcase containing over thirty million Belly, along with 2B.
As for Assistant, it remains aboard; it can contact them via radio if needed and can return at any time.
This town is a Marines base town, with a blue-black color scheme and a large building that screams Marines.
For Marines towns, avoiding pirate raids is a major advantage; in theory, it would be bustling with merchants from nearby islands.
But in reality, the streets are sparsely populated, with few shops, and the roads are just hard-packed dirt.
Even Eel Village wasn't so sparse.
This is likely due to Morgan's governance as captain.
Using force and power to do harm, how could the town ever become prosperous?
Arion doesn't want to get involved; it won't be long before karma comes for them anyway.
For now, the priority is to eat.
Having lived on dried rations for days, they headed into a nearby tavern for fresh meat, meat sauce noodles, a hearty vegetable salad for vitamins, and barley juice for 2B.
The taste wasn't exceptional, but far better than dried rations; Arion ate one plate and still wanted more.
They ate as much as they could, then wandered the streets and bought some fresh fruit before returning to the ship.
By then, the sails had been removed for repair, and no one had entered the captain's cabin.
With hands busy but not dirty, they headed back to their room.
Arion couldn't wait to start the lottery, calling, "System, draw a lottery."
"Drawing… Congratulations to the Host, you have obtained the character 'The Great Astrologist' — Mona Megistus."
As usual, Mona spent the writing fee with reckless abandon, buying rare grimoires and expensive astro equipment.
Knowledge is priceless; Mona considers this worth it, even if it leaves her poor for a month, living off mushrooms and greens.
After receiving the package from the courier, she hurried to change into the clothes worn during experiments, opened the package, and plunged into the sea of knowledge.
"Hmm? What is this?"
Mona is drawn to a page in an ancient book.
"This looks like some teleportation array… these characters are old… wealth? The end?"
Seeing this, Mona instinctively extends her finger and conjures elemental energy in the void.
As the last stroke of the pattern completes, blue light flickers, and Mona realizes something is wrong.
"Uh-oh…"
With a bright flash, there is no longer any sign of the girl in the room.