"That jerk!"

A punch slammed into the sand, creating a shallow pit. Tiran's eyes stared intently as the airship rose higher and further away, his silver teeth biting down hard. In his mind, there was an instant urge to uproot all the numbers nearby and throw them over, but in the end, all he could do was vent his anger on the beach.

Whether he could hit the airship was one thing, but the key point was he couldn't win in a fight. Without regaining control over the laws, relying solely on Chi and breathing techniques, there was no way he could face Yuan head-on. Not to mention that guy probably had Little Angel on board, with a holy spirit controlled by the Divine Sanctions Bible.

"Aya... damn it, I had already found you..."

Muttering softly, Tiran felt a slight sting in his eyes.

Tiran was now very angry, even more so than when he watched Aya being taken away in Milt. Besides the anger towards Yuan, there was also a sense of being teased.

The best way to make a child cry is not by denying them what they want, but by first letting them have it and then snatching it away.

Now Tiran felt like that teased child. As a traveler who came to this world with the "Traveler's awesomeness - no explanation needed" hack, she had suffered grievances only a few times, two of which were due to Yuan.

Tiran even suspected that this guy appeared just to mess with her mind.

Spit! No crying allowed! Crying out of anger would make her look like a spoiled brat!

The princess told herself firmly in her heart.

Stay calm. Stay calm.

Taking deep breaths to calm the intense emotions surging inside, Tiran glanced one last time at the airship, now just a speck in the sky, before focusing on the present situation.

Setting aside Yuan's origins and motives, the most important thing to consider now was the task at hand.

Before being subdued by Yuan, Myu mentioned that this was the ruins of Morninglight. Since she had never heard of this country's name and there was no historical record, it was likely an uninhabited island.

So, after circling around, is the priority still survival in the wilderness? Thinking back to the scene when she first entered this small world, Tiran felt helpless.

Speaking of which, had her Chi recovered?

Remembering the speed and power of the punch she threw at Yuan earlier, Tiran focused and ignited her Chi in the most familiar way, and she indeed saw a flickering deep blue flame on her fingertips.

Unable to use it in the small world, probably suppressed by Myu, but after practicing the breathing techniques, the strength of her Chi seemed to have fully recovered.

"At least there's some good news."

Tiran breathed a sigh of relief. With her Chi restored, she could at least use Chi Wings for flight. The blue buff given by the so-called Divine Lord when she traveled was still active, so there was no need to worry about range. She could simply use the sun to determine east and fly in that direction.

But there was still a crucial issue.

The fate of the East Star, or rather, Mimi, Chirp, and the rest, remained unknown. Myu probably didn't bring them into the small world, but the massive waves attacking the East Star were still vivid in her memory. Even for the high-tech cruise ship of the magitech capital, whether they could withstand it was a big question.

Sighing, just as Tiran was pondering over this matter, as if miraculously, she seemed to hear a sound of a steam whistle?

It wasn't a hallucination; it was indeed a steam whistle!

The voice that was just heard rang out again. Tiran quickly followed the sound and looked towards the sea, easily spotting the familiar behemoth-class ship heading in their direction.

What was this? Was his luck so abysmal that after one setback after another, he was now experiencing a turn of fortune?

Watching the Eastern Star gradually approaching, a sense of absurdity rose in Tiran's heart. Silently lifting his hand, he shot a frosty chi towards the sky, exploding into a huge ice flower in midair.

…

The dinghy was slowly being pulled up by the ropes. Amidst the mechanical friction sounds of the winch turning, Tiran leaped off the dinghy before it reached the top, leaving behind two crew members who intended to assist him, and landed onto the deck of the Eastern Star, where several people were already waiting.

“Your Highness!”

Mimi, with her shoulder-length pink flames of hair dancing, eagerly rushed forward and hugged Tiran tightly, tearfully expressing, her voice slightly distorted, “Your Highness... Your Highness, it's great... You're safe, Your Highness... I was really worried about you. Whether with the incident at Milt Academy last time, or this time, if anything were to happen to Your Highness, what would I do…”

“…Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?”

Seeing the rarely vulnerable side of the head maid who had always been by his side, Tiran couldn't help but think of himself when he had seen Aya not long ago, feeling similarly vulnerable.

“If you were found any later, the captain might have been killed by Mimi.” Though standing among those welcoming Tiran back, the red-robed girl, Silver War Maiden, never looked up from the book in her hands as she spoke.

“Wait, killed the captain? What's going on? That's a bit too dramatic, isn't it?”

“It's not dramatic at all, Miss Silver War Maiden.” Even though they were also there to greet Tiran's return, Captain and the girl assistant Fatina, dressed in a cool sailor uniform, both looked uncomfortable.

—A few days ago as they searched for Tiran in the sea, this fearsome maid had been staring at the captain in the cabin, making the captain shudder with fear, not daring to have any slacking off.

“Speaking of which, I really appreciate your efforts in finding me here for so many days. Thank you.”

Embracing the emotionally stirred Mimi, Tiran looked up and nodded in thanks to the captain.

“There's no need to thank me, Miss Silver War Maiden. It's my duty. With the title of King of the Seven Seas at stake, not a single guest on my ship can be missing.”

The captain let out a hearty laugh, while Fatina mercilessly exposed, “Captain, wasn't it a request from a certain major shareholder of the Eastern Star project?”

“Uh! Haha, what lovely weather we're having today…”

“Captain, your way of changing the subject is terrible. Also, I've never heard of any title as King of the Seven Seas. And it's not very appropriate for a retired navy officer like you to have a pirate-like moniker, is it?”

A series of blows, and the captain was successfully silenced.

“Hold on a second, what's this about a shareholder?” Tiran blinked, catching the important information in Fatina's words.

“Didn't Mr. Muyi mention that? He's a member of the Eastern Star project's board of directors and also a major shareholder with over twenty percent of the shares.”

Not just Tiran, even Shuma and the mercenary leader beside him couldn't hide their surprise, while only Liecho remained engrossed in her book—along with little Chirp perched on her shoulder, who showed zero interest in the adults' conversation, finding the contents of the book far more interesting.

Hey, hey, are you serious that one of the wealthiest countries in the Western Continent has been investing several years of national treasury revenue in this project?

"Don't be so surprised, everyone," Mo Yi, the center of attention, seemed rather indifferent, "I'm just a representative after all. It's actually Prince Xiang Ling who invested in the East Star project."

"... Excuse me?"

Tiran almost popped his eyes out, feeling bitter. Why, oh why, as princesses, is there such an economic gap? Although she was comfortable, the pension allocated by the palace was limited, just at the average level of the noble families in the capital city. That's why she had to save every penny to buy all those novels, comics, and merchandise she loved.

And while she was working hard to save and earn money, another princess had already invested in a luxury project like the East Star?

This gap truly shocked her father. Dad, take a look at this!

...

After a brief welcome on the deck, the captain quickly took Fatina back to the captain's cabin to work, while Tiran returned to the eighth-floor cabin that had been reserved for her.

“By the way, Mimi, did anything happen on this ship while I was away?”

In the bathroom, the princess, who had removed her damp clothes, turned on the faucet, gently washing her once seawater-stiffened silver hair while asking.

Mimi's mood had also returned to normal, as Tiran's return seemed to uplift her spirits. Holding clean clothes for Tiran, she pondered for a moment before answering his question.

According to Mimi, when the towering waves swallowed Tiran and the East Star, it was as if the ship had been sucked into a place by the wave rather than being crushed by millions of tons of seawater, as one would expect.

“It's probably a kind of secret realm; the East Star's positioning instruments and communication devices are all malfunctioning, so we've been aimlessly wandering at sea.”

“None of the people on the ship seem affected by the disaster at all... 눈_눈”

Thinking back to what she saw when she came up, Tiran was a bit speechless.

As she passed the indoor restaurant, theater, library, and indoor gardens on her way upstairs, she could see casually dressed passengers, appearing totally at ease, not at all like drifters at sea with an uncertain future.

“After all, they are all influential figures, nobles, or merchants. Besides, the ship's supplies are quite abundant,” Mimi said, “The former captain reported that the instruments had returned to normal, and we can now accurately position the ship. We can increase speed towards the East Land, possibly arriving on time as planned. It doesn't make a difference to them.”

“It's just a vacation on the ship after all...” Tiran yawned.

“By the way, Your Highness, your clothes are not the same as before the incident... is this...”

“Oh, that,” Tiran glanced at the light green kimono she had brought out from the mini-world and smiled faintly, “Wash it clean and put it away as a memento.”

...

After taking a shower, Tiran went to the back deck of the first floor to enjoy the sea breeze. There weren't many people here; it was quite quiet. Having taken a bath, the last trace of land left behind by Morninglight in the distance was no longer visible.

"So we owe our rescue to that person in the end?"

Recalling how the ship had sailed over due to spotting the airship, Tiran couldn't help but feel a little helpless. Yuan, just who exactly was that guy?

He said he would meet in the East and it seemed like he was deliberately leading himself to the East.

Regardless of what this guy wants to do, even if I meet him again, if my strength remains the same, I won't be able to save Aya.

"Such a nuisance…" Tiran, troubled, sighed as he ran his hand through his still slightly damp hair.

"Oh, Silver War Maiden, it's quite a coincidence, isn't it?" The captain behind him, carrying a metallic flask, looked surprised to see Tiran.

"Captain?" Tiran raised his hand in greeting. "I thought you were off working."

"Just out for a bit of fishing, finally managed to find you. The maid won't be watching me all day long anymore." The captain shrugged, grinning.

"No pretense at all, huh…"

"Well, I'm the captain. What's wrong with taking a break in between work?" the captain retorted.

"…Great minds think alike." Tiran suddenly felt that he might get along well with this captain.

"Oh, by the way, Silver War Maiden… Miss Tiran, I'm curious about what you've been through these days. I've passed by that island before, it's just a small deserted island, barely a few square meters exposed during high tide. Spending three days there, with nothing on you, isn't easy."

"Really? It was fine, actually…"

Just a few square meters? I wonder how many years ago it was at least a country.

Tiran felt a bit melancholic for a moment.

"Let's not dwell on that for now. Our unexpected detour this time wasn't mentioned in our route logs, so I plan to write a report and submit it. We'll update the route to bypass this area and suggest the Council send a team to investigate this mysterious place. Miss Tiran, is there anything you'd like to add to the report?"

"A report, hmm…" Tiran hesitated for a moment.

"In fact, there's no need to change this route. It's nice to pass by here every time. Such accidents won't happen again in the future."

"Huh? Are you sure?"

Yes, Minglin is no longer here, so the world of that immortal's memories won't exist anymore.

Moreover, Morninglight, the country that left no mark on history, at least now I know it once existed here.