Enlightened Empire

Chapter 279

Beneath the shade of palm trees, near a cliff overlooking the sea around one of the nameless bat islands, two people were living together in harmony. As Corco marched up the cliff, he saw Sumaci's shadow kneeled on the ground and bent over as she was working on something. Although she was in the shadow, the sun's bright rays bounced off the the endless, green sea behind her and illuminated her silhouette. Light surrounded her in a halo, like the sun during a solar eclipse.

For a second, Corco stood and admired the image, before he continued towards her.

“Here's some more trunks for the raft,” he said to announce his arrival. This way he didn't startle her when he dropped three trunks of palm trees from his shoulder onto the ground. In response, Sumaci looked over to count the trees with her eyes, before she looked up and showed Corco a sweet smile.

“Thank you,” she said, before she bent back down and continued to bind the trees together with leftover rope from the shipwreck. Lost, Corco watched her for a few moments longer, before he brushed off his hands and found something new to do again. Although he wouldn't mind standing and watching for a while, he couldn't very well just relax while she did all the work.

“Right,” he said. “while you finish this up, I'll go back and get us some food and water ready for lunch.”

As he turned to leave, Sumaci's voice held him back.

“One second, can you help me with this?” she asked Corco before he could disappear again.

“Sure thing, what do I need to do?”

“Come here and hold this.”

With her head, she pointed to the complicated knot she had held between both of her hands. At this point, it looked like the entire knot would open again if she let go. Confused, Corco looked at her and wondered how she had gotten herself into this dilemma.

“I tried something ambitious and made a mistake,” she clarified.

While he held back his grin, Corco kneeled opposite of her and held his hands over hers, until she slipped out from underneath and continued to bind together the pieces of wood.

After they had managed to secure their most basic living standards, Corco and Sumaci had begun to think about the more distant future. As nice as their time together was, they needed to get off the island at one point or another. Both of them had many responsibilities back home, and neither could afford to stay away for long.

Since they were far off from any of the regular trade routes between Medala and Chutwa – or even any routes the Verdant Folk would usually take – they had no guarantee that anyone would ever come by to rescue them. Thus, they had decided to take matters into their own hands and had begun to build a raft that could transport them past the breaker waves and riptide and across the open sea, at least for a short distance.

This way, they could hop from island to island, until they left the bat islands and once again reached a place the Yaku weren't too superstitious to inhabit. Once they were back to civilization, Sumaci's status as daughter of the green king would guarantee them a safe ride back to Saniya.

For now however, there were still problems to be solved before they could begin their journey.

“This should be enough wood,” Sumaci said and once again looked over to the trees Corco had brought her. Even then, her hands never stopped moving. “But I don't think we will have enough rope to put all of it together properly.”

“So what do we do then?” Corco asked in a calm tone. “This is the last of the ship's rope we have left.”

Although it was an issue, there was no reason to panic. Over the previous days, they had come across all kinds of problems and had worked together to overcome each and every one of them. A small issue like a lack of rope would be no obstacle for them.

“We should be able to make something from fresh tree bark.” Sumaci predictably had an answer. “But we will need a lot of it and it will take some time.”

“Show me how to get the tree bark later, I can do that part,” Corco said. Even when he ran out of smart ideas for their survival, he could still use his cultivator's strength and endurance to do the heavy lifting.

“Who's the teacher now?” Sumaci asked with a sly smile on her face.

“Right,” Corco replied in played annoyance. “Sounds like someone wants to get detention once we get back to Saniya.”

“I didn't say anything.”

After his little joke, the girl lowered her head and continued to work away. However, Corco realized that she suddenly was unusually quiet. Although he didn't think that his joke had actually intimidated her, he still thought it would be better to ask and make sure. However, before he could do so, Sumaci opened her mouth first.

“We should hurry to get away from here.”

This time, she sounded much different compared to her usual tone. Most days on the island, she either sounded calm and professional, or joking and frivolous. This time however, her voice was as desolate as her facial expression. Corco's mention of the southern capital should have made her remember the place they came from, and the obstructions that had caused their accident.

“You're worried about your father,” Corco determined.

“These enemy ships didn't come out of nowhere,” Sumaci confirmed, “and they didn't hide all the way out here for no reason either. My father has had some tensions with the blue king for a while now. And we've already suspected that he has support from somewhere outside of the Isles. This seems like it confirms our suspicions, and it seems like he's planning something big. So I hope we can get to my father soon and warn him, before those ships just show up out of nowhere and start a surprise war.”

Of course the appearance of enemy ships in the Verduic Sea was strange, yet this was the first time they talked about it. While this wasn't a topic they had avoided on purpose, somehow, neither of them had ever started this conversation until now. Maybe both of them had subconsciously avoided their troubles away from the island to remain unburdened, but they needed to consider the bigger picture at some point. Now was as good a point as any.

“That's right. We really need to get back,” Corco agreed with Sumaci's opinion.

After all, he himself had plenty of reason to return to Saniya as soon as possible. Not only did he have work piling up on his desk, he also had to guarantee the stability of his kingdom.

He had left the capital of the southern kingdom under the cover of night, and almost no one knew about his disappearance. However, the longer he was absent, the more chance he gave others to make trouble, even to take back some of the power he had spent years to accumulate. From the commoners to the priests and nobles, everyone was eager to either gain or regain power, not to mention the outside forces which had their eyes set on Saniya and all of its secrets. Thus, both he and Sumaci had reason enough to get back to civilization quickly.

“Still, we can't fuss. Nothing we can do to get back home any faster anyways. At least not until we have this thing here done,” Corco concluded, before he added another line. “Though I guess all of that is out the window if we get crazy lucky and are saved by a passing-”

“Ship!” Sumaci interrupted him.

“Well, yeah. But that wasn't impressive. How else would I have finished that sentence? Wasn't that too obvious-” While Corco was still talking, Sumaci took his shoulder and pulled him back, further into the shadows of the trees above them.

“What got you all excited?” he asked, confused at her sudden eagerness. However, from Sumaci's face it was clear that she wasn't in the mood for some fun. Rather, she looked as tensed as she did when they had cleared out the bat cave.

“They're still looking for us. Enemy ships are still patrolling,” she said and pointed into the distance.

They had chosen this specific spot for building their raft for a reason. Not only was it situated between their cave and the open sea, the elevated space was also perfect for observation. From here, they could oversee much of the waters around their island, at least the areas where ships were most likely to pass by. They were also covered by the shadows of the trees and half hidden behind the high cliffs and surrounding shrubbery, which made them hard to spot from a ship, even for a specialized cultivator.

Their carefully chosen position allowed them to scout the surroundings without being seen in turn. Originally, it was meant as little more than peace of mind, just so they wouldn't miss any passing ships, as unlikely as they were. Now however, their choice had come in handy. After all, in the distance, along Sumaci's finger, Corco could spot the familiar silhouettes of galleons. However, unlike Sumaci, he wasn't tense, or panicked. Instead, he stood up with excitement.

“What are you doing?” the girl asked in confusion, as a grin spread over Corco's face.

“They're not enemies. And those aren't bornish ships!” he said. The slim hull, the elegant way they moved through the waters... not least, the fancy, purple flag that hung atop the mainsail. As one of their designers and a man who had spent much of his time on their decks, he wouldn't mistake these ships for any others. Thus, he rose with confidence and announced the return of his friend with a full voice.

“That's the Homeward at the front of the formation,” he declared. “They're my own ships. Atau did it. He's finally back!”

The moment Corco and Sumaci spotted Atau's returning fleet on the horizon, they knew that their days of leisure were over. However, they didn't have time to contemplate about the end of their quiet time alone. Instead, they sprung into action

While Sumaci waited at the cliff to keep an eye on the ships, Corco ran back to their cave and brought out a burning stick from their camp fire. As Corco walked through the thicket, he was reminded of his first walk on the island, of the first time he had set foot onto this place.

When Corco left the beach behind – and with it the shipwreck and the stranded Sumaci – he knew that he was running away. Even so, he needed time to collect his thoughts, and enough distance from the source of his disturbance. Thus, he walked through the island at a leisurely pace, looked at the many caves, and absentmindedly began to collect dry pieces of wood so they could make a fire later. While he did so, he thought about his own situation, as well as Sumaci's. Although he had left his armor behind on the beach, he still felt its burden on his back. His steps were as heavy as they had always been.

Over the past few years, he had gotten to know Sumaci extremely well. He liked her frank manner of talking, her dry sense of humor that would make him laugh or set up his own jokes, her inquisitive mind that always posed difficult questions to him even when other students would just accept his words like gospel, her quick-witted responses that made him laugh.

And over the years, as she had turned from a girl into a woman, he had caught himself look at her appearance more and more. However, he knew that he couldn't indulge in his own weaknesses, that his own desires weren't worth the temporary joy a fling with the princess would bring him. No, he had responsibilities, and he had the political landscape to consider.

Even more, he had given Mayu his word. No matter how much of a scumbag his cousin was sometimes, Corco had still promised to support him in his courtship of Sumaci. To Corco, his word was just as important as his political calculations. Together, they bound his mind and continued to rule his actions. And so, he continued to carry his burdens with him even here, on this uninhabited island with no supervision.

Rather than be tortured by his thoughts of love, Corco tried to occupy his mind with different ideas. A while after he began his exploration, he found himself on a beautiful beach, even more lonely than the one they had landed on. As he sat down on the hot sand to take a break from his scouting mission, Corco looked around the little island in the ocean, the rushing waves in his ears, and thought back to the image of a cartoony island in his head. Maybe one day, he could be free like he was in his mind, maybe one day, he wouldn't have to wear his armor. Although at that point he didn't know it yet, the day would come sooner than he thought.