For three full days, Simond spent his time with his sister and Aldred's group. Since he was now Aldred's brother-in-law, Bartrem invited the warship's crew to eat. So they left their warships and used a small boat to land on the small island.
It was a grand feast indeed.
On the last day, Mally told Simond to return to the motherland.
Simond sighed. Deep inside, he wanted to stay close to her, but it would be impossible. They had their roles in society now.
"If you do come back, please let me know, sister," Simond said.
"Sure. Now go. Make Mom and Dad proud. And don't tell anyone that I am alive."
Simond nodded before he boarded the small boat. He turned around and waved at her for one last time.
"I thought you will spend more time with him," Aldred said. "You haven't met each other for years."
"I know. I want to, but… if I do that, I am afraid I couldn't let him go. He grew so well, so fast. He's even taller than me now. How time flies."
"By the way, did you give him back the sword?"
"Yeah, I did."
"I see. That's unfortunate."
Mally hit him softly. "Don't take my brother's sword. I gave it to him."
"Where did you get it? That thing is quite powerful."
"I found it in a dungeon. But even I didn't expect the sword to grow that powerful."
Aldred nodded. "So even you didn't know."
"Aldred," Mary called. "Are we going to continue our journey?"
"Of course! Stella, please call Burchard to pick us up."
Stella nodded and closed her eyes to transmit a message using her star magic.
Aldred turned around and saw Mally sighing as she stared at the empty sea. Simond was long gone along with his fleet. He approached her and tapped her back. "You will see him again."
"I hope so," Mally said.
Aldred smiled. "I will make sure of that. Don't worry."
Mally smiled and hugged him.
Aldred's group waited for a few hours until the Destroyer's Fleet arrived.
Dozens of small boats quickly went towards the island with golems as the driver. The golems picked them up and escorted them back to the mothership.
In the command room, Aldred asked: "What about other ships that stay in the Great Lake?"
"They are still there," Burchard said.
"So where are we now?" Aldred asked.
"We are actually still on the Great Lake, but quite far from the dungeon."
"Okay, before we can continue our journey, we have to go to a place first," Aldred said.
"Where to, My Lord?" Burchard asked.
…
The Destroyer's Fleet arrived at the southern part of the Lympsian Theocracy, at the city of Burlisleho. A port city that relied on trades for its income.
The people on the merchant ships were of course shocked to see such a huge fleet coming towards the city. All of them were on alert for an attack, and the wealthy men were already preparing to leave the city as soon as possible. But the coast guards had some dialog with Burchard and tell everyone in the city.
They all sighed in relief. A fleet that large could bombard the city into rubble if it let, though most of them were quite confident in the power of the coast guards. After all, this city depended on the sea, so it had quite a lot of warships to protect it.
When the bridge was connected to the dock, Aldred and his wives walked out and stepped onto the dock.
They took a deep breath and let it out with a smile.
"Finally, a city!" Mareona lifted her fists. "I am bored of seeing the ocean."
"Say that to the sailors, Mareona," Aldred said. "They got it worse."
As they were chatting with each other, a group of guards approached them with a nervous expression. They were a part of coast guard members, but they were even nervous to talk to the boss of this massive fleet. Not to mention they had dozens of soldiers wearing rare-grade treasure from top to bottom.
Just by looking at them, the guards knew they were dealing with a powerful man.
"Welcome to Burlisleho, My Lord. May I know the intention of your visit? " The guard bowed slightly.
"I am just looking for someone. Don't worry about us," Aldred said to the guard.
"And what can I call you, My Lord?"
"Just call me Aldred."
"Yes, Lord Aldred. Will you be willing to spend some time meeting Lord Langdon Hildom, the governor of this city?"
"Langdon Hildom? That sounds familiar." Aldred raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you meet someone on the Sea Fruit Market named something Hildom that time?" Mareona asked.
"Oh yeah, her name was Lura Hildom if I am correct."
The guard showed a surprised expression. "Lord Aldred, do you perhaps know the young lady?"
"You can say so. She gave me a bunch of sea tokens." Aldred summoned a small bag that Lura gave him.
When the guards noticed the symbol on that bag, their eyes widened. That was Lady Lura's personal bag. For her to give this man her own bag… who was he?
"Will you be willing to meet the governor, My Lord? Lady Lura is his daughter, so I am sure you will meet her there as well."
Aldred looked at his wives. "Should we meet her?"
"Why not. We don't know her for too long, but having free accommodation would be nice."
"In that case, I am willing," Aldred said to the guard.
"Please follow me, Lord Aldred."
…
"Who did you say his name was?" Lura asked the guard.
"He said his name is Aldred, and he even brings your personal bag with him."
"Ohh, that guy. I never thought we would meet again. Wait, did he bring the whole fleet with him?"
"Yes, Lady Lura. The fleet is massive, consisting of two powerful motherships, and more than seventy warships."
Lura almost got a heart attack when she heard that. "You can leave now."
"Yes." The guard bowed and left the room.
Lura left her room as well and entered her father's room without knocking.
"Lura, what makes you in a hurry?" her father asked.
"Aldred is here."
"Who is that?"
"The person I told you about the other day."
"The ones with a massive fleet as strong as ours?"
"His fleet might be stronger than ours now."
"Are you sure about that?"
"If you don't believe me, you can go out and see it for yourself."
"He brings his whole fleet? Here to my city?"
"Yes!"
"Shit. We should meet him right now to avoid any miscommunication."
"The guards are bringing him to us right now."
"What? I am not ready yet! Maids! Clean this room, bring our most expensive food and drinks, and don't forget to burn the magical agarwood so this room can smell nice."
The maids bowed and immediately went to work. They cleaned the room inch by inch as more maids came in to help. They lifted the furniture away and brought in a new one. It was so new that someone would think the craftsman just crafted it a few seconds ago.
"Lura, you get ready as well. Don't let the guest think you disrespect him by wearing casual clothes."
"Yes, Father."
A few minutes later, the door opened and the guards escorted Aldred inside.
