Why didn't the expected accident happen?

— Although there is a definition issue in this sentence, can something that has already been experienced and remains in memory still be considered an accident?

But that's not important, is it? That was the only possible breakthrough now, and then it disappeared? The princess’s current mood is terrible, to the point where she was daydreaming even while walking with Shoya to the God's Ritual Dance Festival venue, and even accidentally stumbled on the steps.

"To be honest, you've been absent-minded all day today, Tiran." Shoya helped her up, looking somewhat worried.

"Haha... don't worry, my mind is still clear."

Tiran quickly coughed a few times, tidied up the messy thoughts in her mind and threw them into a corner, then looked around, "... Uh, where are we now?"

"Being clear-headed, although I don't know what you were thinking, at least pull yourself together now, okay? Missing the ritual dance is like missing half of the festival."

Shoya opened her arms, speaking in an exaggerated tone and a high pitch.

"Is it that important?" Tiran wiped the nonexistent sweat off her forehead and couldn't quite understand Shoya's enthusiasm for the God's Ritual Dance Festival. "By the way, the God's Ritual Dance Festival is actually like a coming-of-age ceremony for girls, you must have experienced it too, right?"

Shoya paused for a moment, slowly lowering her hands, her tone returning to normal. She awkwardly rubbed her head and said, "Actually, while theoretically every girl is supposed to prepare for it when they come of age, there are always exceptions."

"Like me, wandering around with my master practicing swordsmanship since I was young, I don't know how to do the floral arrangements, performing arts, or tea ceremonies that girls are supposed to learn... After all, my master only knows how to wield a sword. If I hadn't taught myself how to cook, I would have had to eat burnt or undercooked food for years."

Shoya pointed at herself, sighing as she spoke.

"Wow, that's quite something..." Tiran found an empty space and quickly pulled Shoya over to squeeze in.

The festival started right on time, without the flashy and colorful stage effects found in other worlds, but the warm firelight and the excellent performance of the musicians perfectly made up for the lack of it - it could even be said that the essence of the God’s Ritual Dance would be lost with the addition of stage lights and the like.

Enjoying the snacks bought from the street while admiring the girls’ dancing is quite a delightful experience, even if you've seen it once before. Many people watch dance videos repeatedly, let alone this wonderful experience of witnessing it live again.

Each girl's God’s Ritual Dance typically lasts about three to four minutes, with longer ones around five minutes, much like the dance videos Tiran had seen before, giving the illusion of browsing dance video channels.

It was soon time for Ayako to take the stage, just as captivating as before. Dressed in splendid attire, the graceful girl took light steps onto the stage and danced elegantly amidst the ethereal strings.

"Even though it's the second time, she's still stunning," Tiran murmured, glancing at Shoya, who was already mesmerized by Ayako and almost had a silly smile on her face. She shook her head in disbelief, patting her on the shoulder. "Mind your manners, you're drooling."

"Oh!" The female swordsman, who had a completely different personality compared to Ayako, quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve, feeling a bit embarrassed and irritated after realizing she had been tricked. "I wasn't!"

“But your subconscious action just now shows that you also understand that you were a bit out of line earlier, right,” Tiran said with great emphasis.

“Uh…” Shoya was momentarily speechless, as if… perhaps there was some truth to what was being said?

“It's mainly because you always used to mock my openness, so isn't it fair for me to get back at you a little?” Unable to hold back anymore, Tiran burst out laughing, “That nonsense you believed, seriously?”

“Hey!”

Tiran quickly changed the subject, “By the way, have you ever thought about why Ayako suddenly improved her dancing skills so much? Sure, her singing is great, but when I snuck a peek at her practice before, her dancing was absolutely dreadful.”

“Miss Ayako is such a perfect girl, so of course her dancing must be good too,” Ayako said matter-of-factly, “Wait, did you say you peeked?”

“Uh!” That's right, forgot that this time he actually went there himself, not sneaking to Tairaeda's house to watch Ayako practice.

Hold on.

Apart from the daily patrols and duties in the last seven days, there seemed to be nothing special except for this and the "intermittent time" incident.

Using the excuse of "just happening to see Ayako practicing in the woods after being washed ashore" to brush it off, Tiran began to seriously consider the connection between the two incidents.

Could it be that the event that didn't trigger the "intermittent time" this time was because he didn't sneak into Ayako's house to watch her practice the dance of the divine spirit? If this were a script for a plot-driven game, the designer must be out of their mind. Sneaking into someone's house as an event trigger, not bad.

However, there was no other way now, and to get in touch with that "intermittent time" again, he would probably have to wait for the next round. Before that, the sea trip tomorrow…

Thinking back to that thundercloud, Tiran still shuddered.

It was definitely not a normal weather phenomenon. If he didn’t know that Morninglight didn’t involve Magic or Chi, Tiran would have directly attributed that thundercloud to Magic.

Even if they put aside for now what the thundercloud was, if it released lightning to strike the ship in the sky, there was absolutely no way to dodge it. The ship couldn’t escape that thing, as proven in the last round.

As for the attack… leaving aside whether physical attacks would be effective, the ship’s crossbows and cannons wouldn't reach that altitude.

Changes had to be made.

Instead of changing the ship, Tiran's approach was more straightforward.

Don’t board the ship, stay on land instead.

Recalling the massive scale of the thundercloud from the last round, it seemed that the entire sky was filled with the thundercloud, to exaggerate a little, it was probably difficult for any ship in that whole stretch of ocean to escape.

…

“What? You're not leaving?”

The next morning, before the sun had risen, at berth number seven of Seabreath Dock, Captain Plunk and Shoya asked in unison.

“I'm thinking of staying a few more days,” Tiran touched his ear, “Although I came here by accident, it's also fate to arrive at a new place, and I've been quite happy these days, so I've changed my mind and plan to travel around a bit.”

“Really?!” Shoya’s expression was more excited, “Great, I was also planning to continue traveling, so we can travel together!”

“Hey… I was hoping that if we found a new continent, Miss Tiran could be our guide.” The captain was truly disappointed, “But as an explorer, I can understand this drive for exploration. Miss Tiran, let us part ways here!”

When saying goodbye to the captain, Tiran hesitated for a moment before turning back and asking, "Captain Plank, do you plan to set sail immediately?"

"Of course, I've been waiting for this day for so long," the captain replied.

"How about waiting a bit? I heard there might be a storm today," Tiran said calmly.

"A storm?" The captain paused, then turned back to carefully examine the distant sea and sky. With clear skies, sunshine, and a calm sea, he couldn't help but burst into laughter,

"Haha, little girl, are you questioning the captain's experience at sea? Recognizing signs of weather changes is a basic skill for sailors! And besides, even an ordinary person could tell that the weather is fine now, right?"

"Are you ready, lads?"

"Ready, captain!"

"Sail away!!!" With a vigorous and resolute shout, Plank's ship set sail.

Tiran could do nothing about it except wish them good luck. She couldn't just say, "I'll stay on land and pray lightning doesn't strike your ship if you don't want to die," could she? That would only make her seem crazy.

Though understanding this, Tiran still felt a twinge of guilt for not being able to save them. She didn't dislike the group of adventurers who valued risk over life.

"But what can I do?" she thought.

An hour later, sitting atop one of the peaks surrounding Seabreath, Tiran sat on a bare rock, hugging her knees, gazing at the distant sea through the mountain winds.

She had agreed with Saoya to set out for Morninglight the next day, but before that, she wanted to observe the thundercloud one more time.

The mountain was quite high in the surroundings, offering a good view. Though a bit rugged, it wasn't a big issue for Princess Aya, whose physical strength surpassed many.

On second thought...

The thundercloud hadn't appeared yet. Lowering her gaze, Tiran looked at the nearer surroundings: the buildings, streets, and central square of Seabreath looked like models on a sandbox, with people bustling like ants.

From this angle and height, it was quite similar to the fleeting image of Aya that she had seen sporadically.

Such thoughts flashed through Tiran's mind.

Snap!

The crack of thunder interrupted Tiran's thoughts.

Looking up, the sight before her made her instinctively swallow hard.

There it was.

Starting from the distant horizon, black clouds surged, initially as a thin line, then thicker and more tumultuous, accompanied by thunder and lightning, reminding her of the description of tidal waves in a text she once read about the Qiantang River in ancient times.

But this time, it wasn't a tidal wave, but a destructive thunderstorm.

Though she had a premonition of the devastating thundercloud, the complete sight of it still shocked every person watching in Morninglight.

Clouds from all directions.

At least in Tiran's line of sight, the horizon was enveloped by those dark and ominous clouds, relentlessly advancing towards Morninglight's land. Where the thundercloud loomed, countless white thunderbolts struck the sea directly, reminiscent of iron bars on a jail cell, layer upon layer forming an insurmountable wall of destruction.

Tiran saw with her own eyes many ships still trying to evade the thundercloud on the unscathed sea disappearing into ashes in the lightning's wake, and the cloud showed no signs of relenting.

It...will directly attack the land of Morninglight.