Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Discord
When Turan encountered a storm aboard the Blue Marlin in the past, he had to exert himself to the point of exhaustion to save the endangered ship.
He had to tend to the sailors flung about by wind and waves, warm their bodies with heat, and maintain the balance of the massive sailing vessel.
Compared to that, the current conditions were far better.
Firstly, the size and weight of the boat he needed to protect were a fraction—mere tens or hundreds of times less—than before, and his own magical power had grown several times over since then.
Above all, instead of having to shield mere crew members, he now had two mages of equal or greater caliber by his side, meaning a storm like the one from before was no longer something to fear.
The problem was that this storm was far more ferocious than the one he’d faced back then.
“Wow, I thought we were going to die…”
“Stop exaggerating.”
After the storm passed, Turan and his group collapsed on the deck, groaning, each one as exhausted as the next.
Every time waves several meters high crashed in, they used telekinesis to hold the boat steady and prevent it from capsizing.
For giant waves over ten meters, they pointed the bow forward to slice through them.
When the wind grew too strong and tilted the boat, they countered it with wind magic, pushing back with opposing gusts.
After doing this relentlessly all day, not only was their magic drained, but the excessive concentration left their heads throbbing.
Turan could confidently say that if the Blue Marlin had faced a storm like this, it would have sunk long ago.
He would have been left floating on the sea, waiting for rescue or swimming to the nearest shore himself.
[Are you tired?]
“Quite a bit… How about you? You were flying all day.”
[Yes! I’m fine!]
Bije, who had stayed aloft to avoid the storm, looked as lively as the words it wrote.
Carrying multiple people and flying long distances without rest might tire it out, but gliding at a moderate altitude seemed to be nothing for this black eagle beast.
Bije pecked at the deck with its talons, writing more.
[This wood, should I carry it?]
“Even for you, that’d be tough. I appreciate the thought, though.”
No matter how powerful a beast Bije was, flying while carrying a boat thousands of times its weight would be nearly impossible.
After bantering with Bije and recovering some energy, Turan stood up, only to burst out laughing at the sight of the other two.
“What?”
“You both look awful… Probably me too.”
Having spent the entire storm on deck using magic to control the boat, they were all soaked to the bone, resembling drenched rats.
On top of that, Solif and Meisa were sprawled on the deck, utterly spent, making their appearance all the more comical.
While Solif just plopped his head back onto the deck as if to say “So what?”, Meisa hurriedly sat up at Turan’s words and tidied her hair.
A short while later, after regaining their strength, they took turns washing up in the cabin below deck, eating, and handling necessities before searching for nearby islands.
They couldn’t tell how far they’d strayed from their intended destination during the storm.
Bije, after circling the area, reported that a sizable island lay a little to the east, so they steered the boat that way. Soon after, as the island came into view, Turan let out a wry chuckle.
“Why?”
“It’s ridiculous how perfectly we ended up here.”
Of course, since they’d been heading in this direction before the storm hit, it wasn’t entirely a coincidence, but their luck was undeniable.
The place Turan’s group had arrived at was Miguel Island, their original first destination.
***
The scenery of Miguel Island, revisited after a few months, remained unchanged.
Trade ships filled the spacious harbor, drunken sailors brawled, and prostitutes threw flirtatious glances their way.
The main difference, perhaps, was that unlike the winter of their last visit, it was now peak summer, and people’s clothing had become much lighter.
As they docked the boat and spoke with the harbor official, he exclaimed in amazement at the fishing vessel they’d arrived on.
“You came all the way from the mainland on ‘this’? My goodness, ordinary folks like us wouldn’t dare try that even with ten lives… Truly impressive.”
Noting their refined appearances and the fact they’d crossed the North Sea to an island in such a small boat, the official pegged their status and adopted an excessively deferential attitude.
Turan nodded and asked something he’d been curious about.
“The storm this time was no joke. Isn’t it usually milder than this?”
“There’s been a lot of talk lately about the weather getting worse. Plus, the mermaids have been more aggressive than before, so fewer ships are taking routes around here.”
Looking at the harbor again after hearing this, Turan could indeed sense a slight dip in its usual bustle.
It was still lively, but there was a faint emptiness to it.
After completing the formalities, Turan’s group decided to rest at an inn deeper within the island.
While walking through the streets, a ruddy-faced sailor spotted Meisa and called out to her.
“Hey, pretty thing! How much for a night? I’ll go up to five silver—argh!”
His hand, reaching naturally toward her chest, snapped at a right angle with a sickening crack.
Meisa, who had reflexively swatted it away, looked startled for a moment before hardening her expression and snapping coldly, “Get lost!”
“This crazy bitch hit me—argh!”
Turan sighed lightly as the sailor’s angry comrades rushed over, then flicked his fingers to conjure a spark of flame, just as he’d done before.
Naturally, the sailors froze in their tracks as if turned to stone.
“S-Sorry, our mistake!”
Watching them flee in a panic, Turan snorted softly and glanced around, noticing more than a few eyes on them.
At least the rumor of mages arriving on the island would spread reliably now.
He spoke to Meisa, who was staring at the hand she’d used to strike.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Being looked at like that… It feels way worse than I imagined.”
It was hardly surprising she’d never experienced such crude advances before.
Not only was she the heir of Arabion, but her appearance wasn’t objectively all that alluring either.
The closest she’d come was marriage proposals from the Baltas family, but even those had been far more polite than this.
After gently reassuring her as she grappled with the unfamiliar mix of displeasure and confusion, Turan’s group secured a good inn and spent a day and a half lounging, recovering from the intense voyage.
The next day, Turan led his companions to the best tavern on Miguel Island, a place he’d visited before.
The inn’s dining room wasn’t bad, but from experience, the food and drink here felt tastier.
Especially for Meisa, who could still only manage a handful of food per meal, he wanted to give her something delicious whenever possible.
“Welcome, honored guests. Is there something you’re looking for?”
The bouncer from his last visit didn’t recognize him, so after a brief reminder, the staff member who approached them was exceedingly polite.
Turan ordered the same as before: ham, dates, and other snacks, along with a distilled spirit made from wheat.
As they unwound from the voyage with good food and drink, they casually discussed their next steps.
“By the way, beast hunting’s been kind of a letdown so far.”
“Honestly, I thought we’d find at least one pretty quick.”
Turan shook his head at their remarks.
“Well, we’ve got no choice but to keep looking with patience. I was thinking we might need to stay here a few years. Or explore another region.”
“Honestly, I thought that other place might’ve been good too. The Sky Mountains, was it? The western side,” Solif said.
When they left the Nagin family’s domain, one of Solif’s suggestions had been to venture beyond the Sky Mountains, considered the western boundary of the world.
With Bije, a high mountain range wouldn’t be an obstacle anyway.
Though it was a tempting idea, Turan had rejected it and flown east for two main reasons.
First, not even the librarian knew what lay beyond, as no one who’d explored it had ever returned.
They were an exceptionally powerful group of mages, but it wasn’t hard to imagine unexpected threats in such an unknown realm.
And second—
“You’re the one who said you wanted to see the god’s remains here in the first place.”
“Oh, right.”
“Half the reason we came here was that, and now the guy who suggested it forgets?”
Solif gave a sheepish grin and nodded at Turan’s chiding.
Just then, someone stood beside their table, bowing respectfully.
“Pardon me, esteemed guests. The lord of this island wishes to meet with you. Could you spare a moment?”
Surprisingly, it was a middle-aged man who appeared to be the tavern’s manager.
Meisa and Solif looked at Turan and asked,
“The lord of the island?”
“Do you know who it is?”
“No.”
From what Turan had heard from Pires, the captain of the Blue Marlin, the lord of Miguel Island was a moderately skilled mage.
He had heard the name once, but couldn’t recall it.
Yet even extending the holy relic’s senses, he couldn’t detect any powerful mage nearby.
Only the faint presence of a few knights, likely hired as ship guards, registered.
Of course, with the island spanning several kilometers, they could simply be outside his detection range.
“Tell them to come here instead.”
The manager’s eyebrow twitched briefly at Turan’s words, but he bowed slightly.
“Understood.”
As he left, Solif, who’d been waiting, immediately asked,
“Did something happen last time you were here?”
“Nothing comes to mind. Just sold a pirate ship here, I guess.”
“You sold a pirate ship?”
“Didn’t I mention that?”
While recounting how he had defeated pirates and seized their ship over drinks, Turan paused as he sensed an approaching presence.
He stood up abruptly.
“Let’s go.”
Instead of asking why, the other two rose immediately.
From experience, they knew Turan only acted like this for a reason.
They tossed payment for the food and drinks onto the table, left the tavern, and headed toward a quieter outskirts area.
When they reached a deserted alley, two hooded figures blocked their path.
“What’s this about?”
Solif said with a baffled expression.
It was understandable—wearing hoods like that in early summer was suspicious enough to stand out.
Especially when most sailors were going around shirtless.
Turan studied the pair before pointing at the smaller one.
“Armani?”
“…How did you know?”
The mermaid prince, Armani, threw off his hood in surprise and shouted.
Turan answered simply.
“A hunch.”
Of course, he had recognized him instantly thanks to the holy relic’s senses.
The webbed ears, gills on the neck, and the blue glow spreading from them were the distinct signs of a mermaid he’d seen before.
Feeling a mermaid’s presence in the middle of an island had startled him, but the height and build matched Armani’s so closely that he’d guessed it was him.
The only difference was that the flame within—likely their equivalent of magic—burned much stronger than before.
It seemed they grew more powerful with age too.
“Oh, it’s been a while, kind demon.”
“Enough with the ‘kind demon’ stuff… Good to see you.”
But the reason Turan had hurriedly dragged his companions out wasn’t just the mermaid boy—it was the other figure beside him.
More precisely, another mermaid.
“So, is that your brother next to you? Or sister?”
“So you’re the one who saved my little brother and took the treasure of the demons?”
Answering his question with a question, the figure removed her hood, revealing a mermaid woman who looked to be in her mid-to-late twenties.
A far more intense light blazed within her compared to Armani.
She was undoubtedly a high-ranking member of mermaid royalty.
Turan responded to her question with another of his own.
“Did you answer my question by taking off your hood?”
“Let’s say I did.”
“Then my answer’s already covered by what I just said to him.”
It was a sharp exchange for greeting a sibling’s savior, but such distance felt appropriate between humans and a different species.
Mermaids were, after all, notorious for centuries of preying on humans along coastlines.
Perhaps aware of this, the mermaid princess didn’t reproach him.
“I’m Rowina.”
“Turan. By the way, that manager mentioned the island’s lord earlier. Is the ruler here a pawn of the mermaids, perhaps?”
“Something like that. Did you think a place like this could exist without our permission? It’d become a feeding ground for the lower classes in no time.”
By “lower classes,” she clearly meant the common mermaids who attacked and ate humans.
Turan nodded and asked quietly,
“Thanks for the insight. So, why did you call us here?”
“The thing you took.”
Unexpectedly, Rowina pointed directly at the Mimic holy relic hanging around Turan’s neck.
Even though it was hidden beneath his clothes.
“I need to retrieve it.”
Her words brought a cold silence to the alley.
Naturally, the Mimic holy relic was Turan’s greatest asset, so her demand to return it was non-negotiable.
Especially when she spoke of “retrieval” so high-handedly without even mentioning compensation.
Perhaps sensing the hostility rising in their eyes, Rowina shifted into a combat-ready stance. Just then, Armani hurriedly threw out his arms, stepping between them.
“Wait, wait! Sister! You’re jumping straight to the point too much! Let me explain properly!”
“There’s no need for more words.”
“Turan’s a kind demon! That thing was payment for my life! If you’re going to take it back, you need to explain why!”
Rowina looked displeased but snorted and nodded.
Armani quickly bowed to Turan’s group.
“Sorry…”
“You don’t need to apologize. At least not yet. So, what’s this about?”
Rowina seemed to think she could take it by force, but in terms of raw power, Turan’s group held the overwhelming advantage.
The magic emanating from her was, at best, upper-tier among high nobles—still a step below Turan.
In that sense, giving her a chance to talk was more an act of mercy on their part.
The only variable might be if mermaids were inherently stronger than human mages of the same level.
Oblivious to this, Armani puffed up with pride, as if he’d defused a major conflict, before dropping a bombshell.
“Well, after you took that thing, the Great Sea Serpent came back to life.”
“What? You mean that thing that was there?”
“Yes.”
Turan still remembered the overwhelming presence of that mythically massive creature sleeping beneath the sea.
A serpent whose body alone might stretch a hundred meters.
If that monster, said to have rivaled the Freya gods in ancient times, had awakened, nothing in the modern era could stand against it.
Ymir had said even the gods of today would be no match for a fully restored ancient deity.
Glancing at Meisa and Solif, Turan saw they too wore shocked expressions, likely recalling the same thing.
Armani hastily added,
“No, not completely! I mean, it’s like the dead coming back… In your terms, it’s become something between an undead and a spirit.”
“Undead and spirit?”
“Yes.”
According to Armani’s explanation, not long after Turan took the holy relic, the Great Sea Serpent, previously just a corpse, began to move again.
It had entered a state akin to an undead and rampaged through the ocean depths. In the process, it merged with a storm spirit, gaining the ability to disrupt the North Sea’s weather.
“A storm spirit?”
“Yes. Anyway, we mermaids have a duty to defeat anything that disturbs the sea. Father says we need the thing you took to subdue it.”
Since Armani was the only one who knew Turan’s appearance and no one knew where he’d gone, mermaid royals had spent months infiltrating various North Sea islands, waiting for someone matching his description.
They’d come rushing over after hearing of the commotion Turan’s group caused.
“So that’s what this is.”
“Yes! So please, return that thing. It’s essential for the sea’s stability! I’ll ask Father to compensate you with something similar to cover your loss!”
After exchanging glances and a brief discussion with his companions, Turan declared at Armani’s plea,
“That’s not happening.”