Summoning the Directorium

Chapter 7: Contact

The Ocean, East of Qua-Toyne

A Couple Hundred Kilometers Away

A single ship, one that looked similar to the medieval-era cog, sailed through the calm open ocean. Near the front of the ship, a group of large fish swam near it to surf on the bow wakes created by the vessel. The skies above the ship looked clear as ever and the sun shined down onto the deck. There were many Qua-Toynian sailors walking and working around the damp wooden deck, which became wet due to the gushes of sea water that splashed onto it.

At the stern of the ship, Midori stood next to the helm alongside Fakhili and Anton. The helm itself was being steered by the ship's helmsman who looked to be a wolf-like beastman. Fakhili, who stood at Midori's right looked sad whenever he looked back at the direction they came from.

"What's wrong?" Midori asked the gloomy looking Fakhili.

"It's nothing.. I just don't feel well after leaving my boat behind like that."

Before they had left, it was decided that Fakhili's boat would be left behind in the port. The boat's propellers had been rendered broken after the fight with the juvenile White Eyes Shark and the ship could no longer move. No one in Kuina knew of such a technology, let alone have the means to actually repair it. Even Fakhili himself did not have the tools and materials to fix it at that time. Towing it back to Indonesia would be rather problematic as it would slow down and potentially damage Midori's ship.

In response to the problem, Midori offered a Qua-Toynian sailboat as a replacement. Fakhili unfortunately did not like the sound of that. He had no knowledge in operating a sail boat and it did not provide the advantages of a modern engine and its propeller. Instead, he said to Midori that he'd rather have the boat fixed instead. As a result, the boat was left in Kuina to be towed back some time in the future.

A similar problem was also present regarding the juvenile White Eyes they had caught. Fakhili simply could not bring the shark back to his island due to its sheer size and the broken boat propeller. They could probably transport it by using Midori's ship to drag it, but the corpse would no longer be in good condition once they reached Nias. Hence, it was decided that the shark was to be processed by the people of Kuina with its profits being split between Midori and Fakhili. Additionally, since Fakhili was a foreigner and Qua-Toyne's currency did not apply to him, he instead received items such as gems and other valuables.

It wasn't all bad news. At the very least, the two exotic fantasy fish that Fakhili caught could still be sent home. They were stored inside a barrel filled with sea water that was currently onboard Midori's ship. Fakhili knew that these fishes would fetch a much higher price when they're still alive. Hence he made every effort to ensure that was the case.

"Well there's nothing we can do about it at the moment. Perhaps we can make an arrangement with the authorities of your country to tow it back home."

Fakhili sighed, acknowledging the problem as it is. He had to focus on other problems that he currently faced. One of which that he was concerned about was his wife, who he had left behind for two days straight without news. His mind became worried on how his wife was handling life with his sudden disappearance. She must've told the authorities and now people are looking for him.

Fakhili looked at Midori, wanting to distract his mind for a moment. To do that, he asked the captain a little question.

"Captain, how long have you been in the navy?"

Midori looked at Fakhili and paused for a moment.

"It should be around 23 years now. I joined at the age of 24 after graduating from the Naval Academy."