Captain – Chapter 300 – Eternal Night and Song

The Boen Grand Canyon was quite narrow but still could not compare to the mainland.

Therefore, even though the Mermaid slowed its speed to avoid hitting reefs, it took less than a day to see the light of day through the cracks in the mountain walls. The view opened up dramatically after passing through the canyon.

The sea still appeared the same—boundlessly azure, with indistinct waves—but it looked somewhat different to those aboard the Mermaid.

Compared to the waters between the Southern Islands and the Empire and Federation, this sea was too solitary and vast. This feeling intensified considerably, especially as the snow-covered mountain walls on either side of the Mermaid, like silver-clad land, receded.

Under the slightly dim daylight, at the limit of vision, against that dark cloud sea resembling night, the far northern waters did not match people’s stereotypical impression of the sea—a blend of peaceful inclusiveness and terrifying ferocity—but gave only one feeling.

That of lifelessness, devoid of vitality.

In the captain’s cabin, candles flickered, their warm light dispelling some of the chill.

The raven stood on its perch, body tightly contracted, silent, appearing somewhat afraid of the cold.

Even the normally playful young dragon was now curled up, nestled in the thick blankets on the large bed to resist the cold, as if entering a hibernation-like state.

Roy sat upright behind the wooden table, carefully measuring the sea chart by candlelight, occasionally dipping a quill pen in black or red ink to mark notes and routes.

Without the raven’s calls or the dragon’s noise, the captain’s cabin was very quiet, with only the slight sounds of the ruler sliding across the chart and the pen tip lightly tracing the paper—perfect for focused work.

After some time, Roy finally put down the ruler and silently sighed in relief.

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After this period of busy work, she had determined the exact location of the Annalian Ice Plains and set a temporary, relatively safe route.

As for the final determination of the course, she would of course need to wait for one person to come.

That person was the scholar, Bivis Green, who hadn’t left his room or seen anyone for quite some time. In some sense, he was the source of this journey.

Of course, the scholar had already provided a route, and the end of that route was naturally that ice-built lighthouse, but…

Thinking of the thick black line crossing land and glaciers on the sea chart Bivis had given her, Roy’s face darkened.

On a map covering continents and oceans, even a single dot could represent a giant city, let alone a thick line. The area smudged at the end of that thick line probably spanned hundreds, even thousands of nautical miles. How could one determine a position from that?

Just as the maiden was thinking about these issues, the door to the captain’s cabin opened gently.

The cold sea wind, carrying chill, crept into the relatively warm room, making Roy, dressed only in thin clothes, shiver. Then her eyes brightened slightly as she looked toward the source of the cold wind.

But in just a moment, the light in the maiden’s eyes completely turned to disappointment and dissatisfaction.

This was because the only person entering the room was Caine, whom she had sent to notify Bivis. There was no sign of that weak figure in the snow-white robe.

“What, he refuses to come?”

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Though Roy had previously asked Caine to notify Bivis, frankly speaking, she had sent her first mate to fetch the scholar.

Now, not seeing him, she naturally assumed the scholar had refused her order, immediately feeling that her authority as captain had been undermined, and her tone was not at all polite.

Approaching the wooden table, Caine frowned slightly, still seeming confused by some of the scholar’s words: “It’s not that he refuses. According to him, it’s still too early, and he can’t be of any help. Coming over naturally wouldn’t have any meaning, so he might as well use this time to read more books.”

Hearing her first mate’s report, even without having gone herself, Roy could already imagine the scholar’s absent-minded tone. When that fellow was engrossed in reading or conducting research, he wouldn’t pay attention even if a knife were placed at his throat.

Perhaps this was loving knowledge more than life itself?

After her random thoughts, the captain also frowned slightly and asked: “What does he mean by this? It was bad enough that he gave me a perfunctory sea chart, but now he won’t even come to identify the specific location of the lighthouse. Could it be that he doesn’t know the exact position at all and has been stringing me along for half a year?”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Caine shook his head, denying the captain’s guess, and added: “He said he knows where the Acherousian Lighthouse is, but cannot mark it on the sea chart, nor can he point out the direction for the Mermaid. Only when we approach those ice plains will he be able to truly determine it.”

Roy had sent her first mate to bring the person, along with questions. Now, although he hadn’t brought the person back, at least he seemed to have brought back answers.

Thinking of this, the maiden’s expression softened somewhat. She picked up the sea chart in front of her and handed it to her first mate, saying: “If that’s the case, then let’s proceed according to the route I’ve drawn. It will take about half a month of sailing, which is about what I initially estimated.”

Taking the sea chart, Caine looked it over briefly, found no issues, then rolled it up and turned to leave.

However, as if suddenly remembering something, the young man paused his steps, turned slightly, and said: “By the way, Bivis also asked me to relay a message to you.”

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“What is it?”

“Please listen to the song beneath the eternal night, for that is the guiding beacon.”

Hearing this, Roy blinked, asking in confusion: “What does that mean?”

Although the Annalian Ice Plains were located in the far northern waters with extremely low temperatures and covered in ice and snow year-round, they were still far from the true North Pole. Relatively speaking, they were closer to the northern borders of the Empire and certainly did not have anything like eternal day or eternal night.

Moreover, if the Acherousian Lighthouse were truly located in a region of eternal night, the Mermaid would not be making this voyage at all, as Roy had no desire to be frozen solid.

As for the song, that was even more impossible.

Because nearly a hundred years ago, explorers from Auran and the Federation had confirmed that the ice plain tribes that once lived on the Annalian Ice Plains had perished, and the place had become truly desolate. How, then, could there be any song?

Unless it was a ghost.

This was also a point Caine couldn’t understand. The frown on his face earlier and the faint doubt in his eyes had stemmed from this.

Now, seeing that the captain also couldn’t understand, he smiled bitterly and shook his head: “I’m not very clear on it either. Bivis didn’t give an explanation, only saying that before long, you would understand its meaning.”

“Always being so mysterious, who knows what he’s thinking.”

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Roy clicked her tongue, clearly uninterested in the scholar’s ambiguous words or those concealing natural philosophy, and waved her hand for her first mate to arrange the route.

After the wooden door of the captain’s cabin closed once more, Roy stood up, stretched slightly, and then began to change clothes.

She put on a warm inner lining, then donned her captain’s coat, wore her tricorn hat, and after blowing out the candles, left the room and came to the frost-covered deck.

She didn’t go to the bow as usual, but instead circled to the stern, holding the rail and looking back.

After a period of sailing, those white mountains and lands were already extremely distant, becoming that streak of white at the horizon, increasingly making one feel lonely and empty. After all, the Mermaid was now moving away from the world full of vitality and entering that realm of stillness.

However, Roy didn’t feel this way.

She gazed deeply at that white line, as if looking at the misty, strange white fog from when she had encountered the ghost ship, as if seeing once more the candlelight and silhouette reflected from that black cat’s eye stone before it shattered.

She knew that even if she had destroyed that pearl, the Lady would certainly have other ways to see her whereabouts and know the Mermaid’s movements.

Moreover, she also understood that the Mermaid would certainly not be alone on this journey.

Because in this vast icy sea, there was another warship closely following, and compared to the stillness brought by the far northern waters…

That was the true dead silence.