Ch.208The Romanticist (3)

The vast, boundless ocean stretched out before them.

Merlin had called this expanse a “lake,” but to Najin, that seemed like the wrong term. No one would call a sea that rippled all the way to the horizon a lake.

-No one, you say? In my time, we called it a lake.

‘How big is it then?’

-Well? Probably about the size of the Empire.

Najin gave up trying to understand.

Then again, where was this place? The Outer Continent, where common sense didn’t apply. Najin knew that in the Outer Continent, it was better to accept things as they were rather than try to understand them.

So we have to cross this…

Merlin had said they needed to cross this sea to find that witch. Seeing how confident Merlin was, this must be the right answer, but Najin couldn’t bring himself to take the first step.

How on earth are we supposed to cross that?

If it were an ordinary sea, he might try swimming, but this was an Outer Continent sea, millions of years removed from ordinary. Whirlpools churned, lightning struck, and massive monsters that belonged in the deep sea swam across the surface—truly a demonic realm.

“Beasts that devour stars.”

The transcendent one, Anton Kehano, didn’t seem much different. He too wore a helpless expression as he gazed at the sea.

“Those monsters swimming across the surface, every one of them devours stars. Have you seen those sky whales floating in the sky? You know, the ones the Morning Star rides.”

“I’ve seen them a few times.”

“Those creatures down there are their ancestors.”

What Anton pointed to were monsters floating on the water’s surface, each with a unique appearance. So grotesque that merely describing them would make one’s stomach churn.

‘Can you call something with hundreds of tentacles a whale?’

Whatever the case.

Najin sighed and stretched his body.

“Whether it’s the opposite shore or the middle of this sea, this seems to be the right direction.”

“Do you have a reason to be so certain?”

“My inner guide tells me so.”

“I shouldn’t be the one saying this, being called The Mad myself, but I have to ask. Are you sure you don’t have a mental illness?”

“Sometimes I hear voices inside me, and someone whispers in my ear, but it’s not a mental illness.”

“Oh my. That makes me even more worried.”

Despite his words, he didn’t seem worried at all. Anton stretched alongside Najin and began gathering wood and grass from the surroundings.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you think? If we’re going to cross that sea, we need to build a boat first. You weren’t planning to cross it with just your body, were you?”

“Do you know how to build a boat?”

“Look, I’ve been wandering the Outer Continent for 400 years. I may not have crossed that, but I’ve crossed several famous great lakes. Help me out.”

Najin began splitting wood according to Anton’s instructions. One transcendent and one who, while not transcendent, was close enough. With both of them working deliberately, the boat was quickly completed.

“Now let’s launch the boat. Do you have the oars ready, guide?”

When Najin lifted a plank he had carved into a decent shape, Anton clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“You can’t channel mana into a wooden plank like that. What’s that thing on your back for?”

“This is a spear. Not an oar.”

“It’s all in how you use it. That wide blade looks perfect for rowing.”

With a disgruntled expression, Najin unsheathed his spear. He never imagined using his spear for something like this.

Splash.

After launching the boat, Najin and Anton climbed aboard. Having completed their departure preparations, before rowing, Najin suddenly looked at Anton. Anton showed no signs of hesitation, which seemed strange to Najin.

“I hate to say this since I’m the one who pointed out the direction, but aren’t you worried?”

“Worried? About what?”

“I’m confident this is the right direction, but I don’t have any real evidence. What if I’m wrong?”

“Well, if you’re wrong, you’re wrong.”

Anton shrugged.

“I’ve been searching for her for 400 years. I’ve scoured every corner of the Outer Continent but couldn’t find her. I’ve risked my life for the smallest possibilities… why wouldn’t I trust your word? If you’re right, that’s good; if not, that’s unfortunate.”

Anton’s expression remained largely unchanged, as if he truly believed what he said. With a cheerful smile, he patted Najin’s back firmly.

“Besides, isn’t this all experience? It’ll be another story to tell her when I see her again. Hey, guide. No, since we’re on a boat, I should call you navigator.”

Walking past Najin, Anton placed his foot on the bow with a thud. Slightly bending his waist and pointing to the distant sea, he shouted:

“Let’s go, navigator! Row! The sea awaits us!”

He looked impossibly cheerful.

Watching Anton shout energetically like a captain from a play, Najin couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s not the right direction.”

2.

As waves crashed against the bow, Najin rowed vigorously. With each stroke of the mana-infused oar, the boat cut through the water and moved forward.

‘Krinbel would be horrified if he saw this.’

Looking at the Cross Star Spear being used as an oar, Najin thought to himself. If Krinbel, the original owner of this spear, saw this, he’d probably grab the back of his neck in shock. But well, it’s all about perspective, isn’t it?

Isn’t the Cross Star Spear meant to forge a path?

In the end, it was being used to move forward, so it wasn’t being completely misused. With that thought, Najin continued rowing. Looking to the side, he saw Anton also rowing with his weapon, which resembled a spear.

The vast sea. A small sailboat.

And two oarsmen.

The voyage was truly a mess, with those two oarsmen doubling as navigators, guides, captain, and first mate. Nevertheless, the boat moved forward powerfully, cutting through the treacherous waters of the Outer Continent sea.

Splash!

They say entrusting oneself to a small boat on a voyage is a lonely and tedious affair, but Najin had no time to feel either loneliness or boredom.

“She had large breasts.”

This was because the captain on the same boat wouldn’t stop talking. As if believing that for every stroke of the oar through water, his tongue should also cut through the air, Anton chatted enthusiastically.

“She had large breasts.”

Was this important enough to say twice?

Anton spoke with a very serious voice.

“I love everything about Lapis, but what I love a bit more is her appearance. Honestly, I think there’s no one prettier than Lapis in this world.”

“Did you like her because of her looks?”

“Not just her looks, right? Her fiery, almost explosive personality combined with that appearance—it created an indescribable charm. Imagine it. Looking like a delicate noble lady, but once she opens her mouth, she spouts curses that would make even mercenaries in a tavern flinch.”

“It was the best,” Anton murmured.

“Hair with a light purple tint. White, slender fingers. But perhaps from gripping her staff so tightly, her finger joints were calloused. As if embarrassed by this, she always wore gloves… but when she held my hand, she always took them off.”

To you alone, I’ll show everything of myself.

That was the meaning.

Anton’s expression as he spoke was vivid. There was no trace of the tragedy or weariness one might expect from someone who had been searching for his lover for 400 years.

“One thing I’m curious about,” Najin said as he rowed vigorously.

“You said you’ve been separated from this witch Lapis for over 400 years, right? And you’ve been searching for her all this time.”

“That’s right.”

“But you don’t seem sad or tired at all. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Ah. I understand what you’re asking. You’re wondering why I’m not walking around with a dying expression like in some famous tragedy or drama?”

Najin nodded, and Anton burst into laughter.

“Well, they say a tragic, devastated man is attractive… but Lapis once told me, ‘You’re fucking charming when you smile.’ Since my lady said so, what can I do?”

“So that’s why you’re smiling.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m faking my smile. I’m simply enjoying this whole process. Whether it takes 100 years, 400 years, or a thousand years, I will definitely reunite with her. If that’s the case, does the process have to be tragic?”

Anton exclaimed theatrically. Momentarily letting go of the oar he had been rowing vigorously, he spread his arms wide and smiled.

“Comedy or tragedy? What separates them is a very trivial element. Even the most tragic situation can be perceived differently depending on how you take it. If I laugh at it, it’s not a tragedy but a comedy. And I prefer comedy over tragedy.”

So, laugh. Don’t cry, laugh. Laugh heartily. Sing of 400 years of comedy rather than 400 years of tragedy. Saying this, Anton picked up the oar he had put down.

“Though I dislike my uncle, the one thing I agree with him on is this: Laugh. What reason is there not to laugh? Life is a comedy!”

Najin’s body jerked briefly.

Life is a comedy.

Najin’s expression crumpled as he mulled over that sentence.

“…I don’t like that saying very much.”

“Why not? Do you dislike comedy?”

“More precisely, it’s because of the demon who utters those words.”

Najin spoke with a grimace.

“Do you know the Empress of Bliss? She says such things. That life is a comedy. That everything is just a comedy. She mocks life while saying so.”

Grinding his teeth, Najin rowed.

Naturally, his hands gripped the oar more tightly.

“I hate it. It’s repulsive. I can’t bear the thought that the lives of humans who have lived with all their might are reduced to mere clownery.”

“Well, that’s not wrong either. But do you know? That’s also the Empress of Bliss’s intention.”

“What?”

“Comedy wasn’t originally a concept held by the Empress of Bliss. It’s a concept corrupted by that damned demon.”

Anton said.

“Comedy isn’t mockery. Just as a spoonful of sugar makes bitter coffee somewhat palatable, comedy is created to make a hard life bearable by adding a drop of laughter.”

How can one live every moment heavily and solemnly? Sometimes, laugh it off lightly and cheerfully. Like opening a window to ventilate a room filled with gloomy air. That’s the role of comedy, Anton explained.

“So I laugh. I try to live cheerfully. That way, when I meet Lapis, I can give her the best smile, right? A smile that makes the past 400 years of waiting seem laughable.”

As he said this, Anton smiled, and even to Najin, that smile looked quite handsome.

“That’s enough serious talk. Where was I? Was I talking about Lapis’s large breasts? Yes, let me tell you more about that. You see, breasts, boy? Are you listening, boy?”

Najin let Anton’s philosophical discourse on the appropriate size and shape of breasts go in one ear and out the other. In any case, there seemed to be no room for boredom during this voyage.

Splash!

The waves surging from afar wouldn’t allow it anyway. Najin swiftly lifted the oar from the water’s surface.

“Save that story for later.”

Najin raised the Cross Star Spear, which had returned from being an oar to its original purpose as a spear. Pointing the spear tip at the monsters, he said:

“We need to deal with those first.”

3.

Anton frowned as he looked at the star-devouring beasts approaching with the waves from afar.

“Tsk, I was in the middle of an important story, and these beasts, true to their nature, rudely interrupt the flow.”

He lifted his weapon, which he had been using as an oar. It was more like a staff than a spear.

Twirl.

After spinning the staff once to shake off the water, Anton took his stance. With his foot on the bow, he aimed the tip of his staff at the beast’s heart, like one would aim a spear. With narrowed eyes, Anton extended his arm forward.

That was it.

All he did was extend his staff forward, but the result looked more like he had struck with a hammer than stabbed with a staff. The center of the beast’s body caved in with a loud “crack.”

“Phew, I am a transcendent after all. Even if a horde of such beasts came, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Having defeated the beast so easily, Anton casually shook his staff and boasted.

“But for you, still a Sword Seeker, they might be difficult opponents. I can’t burden you, the guide, navigator, and oarsman, with combat duties as well, so as the captain, I…”

While he was muttering like that,

Najin, letting Anton’s words go in one ear and out the other, thrust his spear.

Penetration.

The wave was pierced. The smaller beasts riding the wave were swept away and shredded by the storm, while the larger ones that couldn’t be swept away had large holes punched through the center of their bodies.

“…”

Anton blinked.

Looking alternately at the cleared sea path and Najin, Anton said incredulously:

“Didn’t you say you were a Sword Seeker?”

“Yes, I’m a Sword Seeker.”

“Don’t lie. What Sword Seeker in the world can pierce a wave with a single strike?”