Chapter 375

Chapter 375: Reflection

Eddie boarded the small boat bound for the Sea Mist. The Undying sailors with their dreadful faces looked him up and down like they were studying a rare beast.

The confidential secretary felt uncomfortable all over, even a little chilled to the bone.

“I really didn’t expect you to insist on coming alone,” the swollen Undying sailor said, sounding almost admiring. “Our captain said he would let three people come aboard.”

“There’s no difference between three and one,” Eddie said, shaking his head. “If General Tyrian allowed me to bring an entire team, of course I would bring all my advisers and assistants. But he only allows three people… so it’s no different from going by myself.”

“You could bring two soldiers along to steady your nerves.” Another Undying sailor burst out laughing. The wind whistled in and out of his holed throat as he did.

“I don’t need help with my nerves. soldiers wouldn’t be any use,” Eddie said, very serious.

His answer made the Undying sailors lose interest. Someone muttered on the boat: “…posing official.”

A short while later, Tyrian met the envoy from the city-state—a man in formal dress with gold-rimmed glasses, hair combed so neatly it might have just been done, a man in his thirties or forties who looked as if he had been drinking tea in an office only a moment before.

He was slick and well-groomed, and he had come alone.

The Pirate Lord, who had been ready for something very different, was surprised. He even felt a little awkward, with his strength having nowhere to go. He had thought the first person to board the Sea Mist would at least be from the military.

Soon, though, he guessed what Frostholm’s authorities had in mind.

Relations between the Sea Mist fleet and the city-state were already tense. The two sides had faced each other over a powder keg for fifty years. In such a sensitive moment, sending a few more officers over to talk would do no good at all. Sending a clerk at least showed some goodwill.

This clerk, however, was clearly a little nervous.

On the deck of the Sea Mist, Tyrian looked the “city-state diplomat” up and down. He could easily see the forced calm in the man’s eyes and hear the uneven rhythm of his breathing. The man’s poise would have been enough to fool ordinary people, but it could not fool a captain who commanded a legion of Undying.

Tyrian could even hear every beat of the diplomat’s heart.

Eddie was also studying the Pirate Lord in front of him—the man who had once defended the city-state, and who had now become the source of almost every horror story in Frostholm.

Tall, strong, silent, and stern, with a single eye that held both judgment and cold disdain, every one of Tyrian’s glances felt like a verdict.

In front of this Pirate Lord, even breathing seemed hard work.

“General Tyrian,” Eddie said. He took two deep breaths, straightened his back, and met the Pirate Lord’s gaze. “On behalf of the city-state of Frostholm, I offer you our greetings. I’m very glad to stand on this legendary warship.”

“Half a century,” Tyrian said. He looked calmly at the man who was a head shorter than he was. “It took Frostholm half a century to find the courage to speak to me?”

Eddie ignored the provocation in his words and went on: “I came here under orders. The feud between Frostholm and the Sea Mist fleet is real, but that is not what we are here to discuss today. You know what kind of trouble the city-state is facing. We only want to know the purpose of the Sea Mist fleet’s arrival. Captain Tyrian, what do you want, and what do you intend to do?”

“‘General’… spare me that title. I don’t enjoy it,” Tyrian said. He gave Eddie a light glance and walked slowly toward the rail. “As for what I intend to do… isn’t it obvious? I’m blockading this city-state that is about to fall, to keep your mess from spreading and hurting my ‘trade partners’ on the Frost Sea.”

“Trade partners?”

“I think that’s a fair name. They pay the price, and the Sea Mist fleet protects their safety on the Frost Sea,” Tyrian turned his head. “Don’t you think that’s an excellent trade relationship?”

Eddie’s mouth twitched, but he quickly hid the change. He glanced at the Undying sailors around them, then walked slowly to Tyrian’s side and said: “You mean… you simply want to help Frostholm contain this crisis?”

“That’s a bit self-flattering, but if you want to see it that way, I won’t object,” Tyrian said lightly. “I don’t really need you to do anything, as long as you don’t get in my way.”

Eddie fell silent for two seconds, then finally asked with care: “May I know why you are helping us at all?”

Tyrian rested both hands on the rail and did not turn his head. “Is that reason so important?”

“I need a reason. It will help my superiors and my colleagues feel a little easier.”

“Ah, Mr. Eddie, so what you need is a reason that can put people’s hearts at rest.” Tyrian laughed and turned back, locking eyes with Eddie. “Then I’ll tell you the reason—it’s simply my Father’s order.”

Eddie froze.

A moment later, horror crept visibly over his face.

“Looks like you understand,” Tyrian went on. “Yes, my Father’s orders. You can think of them as coming from Subspace. He told me to surround your pitiful little city-state with troops. So go back and tell your superiors that the Sea Mist fleet is carrying out the will of Subspace,” Tyrian said, his tone quite cheerful. “Then they can all sleep like babies.”

The joy on the Pirate Lord’s face was plain. Eddie finally reacted—or thought he did. He let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. “That joke is not funny at all, Captain Tyrian… I understand. Since you don’t wish to explain further, I won’t ask.”

Tyrian stared at the “Frostholm ambassador” in front of him for a moment, then clicked his tongue.

These days, no one believed the truth.

Still, his mood was very good.

It was fun to watch this deadly serious Frostholm high official jump at every word in front of him.

“You may go, Mr. Eddie,” he said politely. “We haven’t prepared dinner for you aboard.”

Eddie clearly froze. “Ah? Wait, I still—”

“You still have many questions,” Tyrian said, still calm. “About the Sea Mist fleet’s next plans. About Dagger Island. About the Queen and the Abyssal Trench Project in those days. But sadly, I don’t have much to say to Frostholm. You’ve already achieved your goal and finished your mission. Go back and report to your superiors. If anything else comes up later, you can contact us by wireless telegraph. There’s no need to send people anymore. We can hear you on any open frequency.”

Eddie blinked, then quickly understood, and a trace of joy crossed his face. “Ah, all right, Captain Tyrian. Thank you very much for your understanding…”

He stopped there, as if something had just come to mind, then hurried to add: “Ah, wait, one more question—the last question!”

Tyrian raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“It’s about… that mysterious light signal you flashed to our scout boat before,” Eddie said, his face a little awkward as he chose his words. “We spent a long time trying to decode it after we went back…”

Tyrian watched him quietly, staring at the envoy until Eddie’s expression grew more and more strained under his gaze. Then Tyrian suddenly smiled.

“The sailors were careless with maintenance. The signal lamp was broken, that’s all.”

Eddie: “…?”

Tyrian finally burst into happy laughter.

Eddie’s face went through a series of changes. His hand brushed over the buttons of his coat. But in the end, he also began to laugh, and soon he was laughing along with Tyrian.

Then Tyrian stopped laughing all at once.

He reached out and slapped the “Frostholm ambassador” on the shoulder.

“They sent a very good man, Mr. Eddie. I almost want to invite you to stay aboard for dinner.”

“But I have to get back to my ship in time,” Eddie said, also stopping his laughter and slowly shaking his head. “Too many people are on edge. We can’t keep pouring all our energy into watching and guessing about each other.”

Tyrian said nothing. He only nodded gently, then held out his hand to the side in a gesture of farewell.

Eddie nodded back, straightened his coat and tie, and started toward the ladder on the other side of the deck.

Just then, something seemed to catch at the edge of his vision, and his footsteps stopped.

The Frostholm envoy walked to the rail in surprise and looked down at the sea. “…Captain Tyrian, what is that?”

“Hm?” Tyrian frowned and followed the line of Eddie’s pointing finger.

He saw it. It was a shadow.

Beneath the surface, at a depth he could not judge, a hazy shadow was crossing the wide space between the Sea Mist and several escort ships, moving quickly away.

The shadow was faint and translucent, like the reflection of a ship cast into the water, yet no structure of the vessel could be seen. Tyrian stared at it for a long time. In the end he could only think that it looked like… the bottom of a ship.

It was as if an upside-down ship were sailing under the surface.

Tyrian lifted his head and looked toward the direction where the shadow was sailing.

That was the direction where Dagger Island had once been.