King Of Limbo

The day continued to move along but the light rain continued to pour down onto the Komi Islands showing no signs of ending soon.

This didn't deter Lady Rose from carrying out her research on the serpent as her and the serpent were completely protected from the down pour thanks to the barrier her scouter maintained several meters above them.

The airships had a similar mechanism active on their decks for such scenarios. The down pour aside the crew wasn't left with much to do as Lady Rose quietly carried out her procedures but at the same time no one wanted to be seen slacking.

So some chose to patrol the area while others just began to train in the open muddy area regardless of the rain.

"Everyone looks so motivated." Xavier stood beside Jin on the deck and shared this observation as the two looked at the members training. "They are, but it's not like they will see results in a day. I can tell you now of everyone present there, none of them are doing this seriously. They are just pretending for images sake, in truth none of them may grow to become anything special." Jin bluntly remarked before shrugging and taking a swig from his tankard.

"How about you? You don't look at all motivated." Xavier asked curiously with a smile as that question had been on his mind for sometime. Jin in many ways was an oddity, he looked lazy and completely unmotivated but the fact remained he was strong.

Most just attributed this to his age because unlike the others he was technically an adult. His time had passed so perhaps he was content with the strength he achieved so many assumed this but none ever asked, even Aron was unclear as to what really drove Jin nor did he care enough to inquire.

So long as he continued his role Aron need not pry, he knew better than anyone else that everyone had their secrets.

"I am. Being motivated doesn't mean giving up on the finer things in life or making sure everyone sees you work. So long as I'm content with my progress nothing else really matters." Jin replied in a rare tone of seriousness before taking another swig from his tankard and letting out a satisfied sigh.

Xavier didn't say another word and only quietly looked at him, as if noticing the change in atmosphere Jin showed a grin and pointed into the distance. "On another note I really can't stop thinking of how it feels to make love to a Komi woman."

The little respect towards Jin that Xavier had vanished and he could only sigh before laughing along.

...

Inside the Sovereign, Aron was seated by his desk roughly sketching what looked to be a very well drawn image of the serpent. Evanora was seated on the floor beside him sketching the same although lacking... finesse.

"Evanora, what was your purpose in joining the academy exactly? Any idea of where you see yourself in the future?" Aron suddenly asked without turning away from the work he was carrying out.

Evanora slowly raised her head back until she was looking up at Aron. She blinked a few times without answering as if processing the question before finally answering. "Evanora wanted to find people like her, if she found people like her she wouldn't have to be alone. Evanora still doesn't know where she'll be." She replied rather plainly and monotonously but received a nod from Aron.

"Right, you had mentioned something along those lines in the past." Aron added upon remembering a similar conversation they once had.

"But..." Evanora continued to speak causing Aron to glance at her in the corner of his eye. "Hm?"

"But Evanora is happy here, she isn't alone so she hopes she can stay like this even after a long time." Evanora muttered plainly once more before turning back to her paper and continuing her scribbles.

Aron paused drawing for a bit and glanced at her a moment longer with a straight face before turning back to his work without adding onto what she said.

After he was finished with this he quickly rose from his seat and left the room without a word. Evanora quickly picked up her own scribble and followed along without uttering a word either.

As Aron made his way through the hall he bumped into Claudia who seemed to have been on her way towards his room which caused him to raise a brow towards her. "Is something the matter?"

He asked casually, not even bringing up the conversation they last had because he had completely put it to the back of his mind. Seeing Aron be his usual self helped Claudia feel a bit more relaxed and less awkward. "Yes, two of the Crown Rigar came to inform me that their chief is formally inviting us to a feast they are holding tonight to celebrate that creature's defeat and honor their dead." Claudia cleared her throat and explained as normally as she could.

"What do you think about it?" Aron crossed his arms and asked plainly with his gaze fixated on Claudia. She was taken slightly aback by the question but it wasn't strange for Aron to ask for her opinion in certain matters especially those involving interactions with others, an area Aron lacked experience.

"Well its a good opportunity to better our relationship with the beast folk and learn what many don't know. We can also show them that not all outsiders are what they think and open doors to future cooperation perhaps even proper trade..." Claudia rested her chin on her hand in a pondering posture as she continued to list down numerous pros.

"True, should it get to that point we'll need an established business with enough resources and connections to help us carry out all this... like a high class family." Aron spoke vaguely before something clicked to Claudia and caused her eyes to widen.

"You mean..."

If she could really make her family the key trader between the Komi Islands and Ettenheim then not only would their prestige and importance grow but so would hers... she'd no longer be just a piece to use in political marriage but become a contender for leading the family.

After realizing this she looked at Aron unable to utter any words. She thought it would take much longer for her to establish herself but if all went well here then she could very well become one of the most important overseas traders in Ettenheim and it was all thanks to this man before her.

To her he was basically giving up a lot of prestige by letting her family and her handle this, if he handled it personally then he could very well become one of the most prominent traders himself.

Aron had of course considered this but he quickly abandoned such an idea. Not only did it require effort, resources and connections but also time. Something he couldn't waste anyhow until his path to Limbo was secure. The best he could do is let someone do it while he kept a good share as well.

Although his plan was to leave Pesia, who was to say he would never return or require a large amount of wealth at some point. This was simply planting a seed that could prove useful in the future and if it doesn't he loses nothing at all regardless.

"You best brief the others and have them ready." Seeing that Claudia was only standing there blankly contemplating numerous scenarios Aron decided to leave first.

Aron's words brought her back to reality and she realized she needed everyone to make good impressions at this feast if they were establish future cooperation. She hurriedly turned in his direction to thank him but he was already gone, she could only smile and rush to get started.

With that sorted Aron put it to the back of his head. He fully intended to reap any benefits he could from this so long as they didn't require him to waste his time.

...

Aron then left the airship and made his way towards Lady Rose with Evanora in toll. They both had their cloaks and hoods on to shield them from the rain as they trotted there.

"You finally remembered we have work to do." Lady Rose commented upon their arrival while showing an unamused expression.

Aron lowered his hood and took out the sketch he had drawn before tossing it over to her. She effortlessly caught it and proceeded to open and look at it, what she saw was an extremely detailed sketch showcasing both side, plan and front views of the serpent.

Behind the first sketch were several others detailing the cranial capacity, skeletal structure, endocrine system and the nervous system respectively.

Lady Rose couldn't help but look at Aron strangely upon seeing this, it basically saved her plenty of time and effort. What's more she had never seen such an incredibly detailed sketch of a creature's systems before. "You made this after observing the creature in our short time here?" She couldn't help but inquire.

"No, I based those sketches off what a regular sea mana serpent should have. We can use it as reference to find any oddities or mutations in this particular creature here." Aron explained and Lady Rose nodded in understanding.

"Well then shall we get started?" Lady showed a faint smile and seemed more excited to uncover just what made this specific creature special.

…

A/N: A plan view is basically looking at something from the top in case you were wondering.