Chương 294: Chapter 294: Daily Life: Arrival at the North Sea
The next day.
When Takumi got up, the ship was still anchored near the deserted island that Kaku found the previous night.
During breakfast, Enel remained uncharacteristically quiet and didn't say much.
Takumi finished his breakfast and left the cabin. Enel took one last look at him before quietly asking, "He probably won't notice that we drifted off course, right?"
Kaku shook his head, replying, "If it were anyone else, without a Log Pose, they wouldn't notice. But our captain is different. Even without a Log Pose, he always knows exactly where our destination is and how long it will take. I don't know how the captain does it, but he will definitely figure out that we drifted off course."
Once Takumi reached the deck, he casually opened the system's navigation.
Upon seeing that the distance to the Germa Kingdom had not decreased but rather increased, his first thought wasn't that Enel had steered off course, but rather that Germa was on the move.
After all, unlike other kingdoms that have fixed territories, the Germa Kingdom moves its entire territory whenever they go to war.
If this distance keeps getting longer, how long would it take to find Germa?
After a moment's pause, Takumi called towards the cabin, "Enel, we'll set sail after dinner."
"Got it," Enel quickly replied. He then glanced at Kaku and whispered, "Seems like he hasn't noticed yet..."
"Lucky you," Kaku chuckled. "Hurry up and go steer the ship after eating."
"Okay," Enel nodded, quickly finishing his bowl of porridge, wiping his mouth casually, and in a flash, in the blink of an eye, he appeared in the helm.
Takumi pointed in the direction of Germa's current location, and Enel nodded, getting ready to set sail.
The ship sailed throughout the morning, facing two brief instances of sudden downpour. By noon, the weather had cleared up again.
Takumi set up his fishing gear on one side of the deck, preparing to fish.
As usual, Kaku brought him some snacks and tea, and also mixed a drink for Takumi using the available liquor.
Takumi took a sip and found the taste acceptable. "Not bad, but the alcohol content is too low. Next time, make something stronger."
Kaku gave a thumbs-up. "Got it, Captain."
Suddenly thinking of something, Kaku continued, "Captain, I don't know how you manage to navigate without a Log Pose, but sailing in the Grand Line is different from flying in the sky. Just a slight mistake, and we drift off course. You know how Enel is—he only sticks with something for a short time unless he's being watched constantly. So, Captain, I think you need to keep a closer eye on our heading."
Takumi nodded slightly and glanced again at the system's navigation.
It was even worse than he expected. The ship had indeed drifted—not a full one-eighty degrees, but at least forty-five degrees off course...
"Enel, we're off course," Takumi called out to Enel, who was at the helm. "Turn a bit to the left."
"Got it," Enel responded immediately, adjusting the direction.
Until the evening, Takumi kept checking the system's navigation every hour. Each time, he noticed the ship had veered off slightly, which frustrated him.
If things continued like this, just getting to the North Sea would take a very long time.
Similarly, Enel was having a rough time. Initially, it was fine, but being in the cabin for hours made him feel claustrophobic. Even when the wheel was set to maintain a direction, the currents kept pushing the ship off course, so he had to keep adjusting—and even then, they were still veering off course.
Kaku wasn't having it easy either. He already had plenty of tasks, and whenever strong winds or sudden storms appeared, he had to help drop or raise the anchor, furl sails, and keep the ship steady. Plus, there were plenty of chores on board, leaving him no time to rest.
At least, when they had the flying ship, they weren't this busy.
After two days of sailing, all three were fed up. Upon finding an inhabited island, Takumi made a decision—they needed a different ship!
Both Enel and Kaku raised their hands in agreement.
They sold the old ship, and with Kaku's intense haggling and Enel's intimidation, they managed to get 12 million Berries for it. Then they bought a bunch of parts and high-quality timber, as well as ordered a set of gears. Kaku spent three full months, with help from Enel, to finally build a new flying ship. It was about the same size as the previous one, but a bit bigger and definitely better.
The three set sail again, and it took them nearly three more months—during which they evaded the Marines twice—to cross Reverse Mountain and finally arrive at the North Sea, where the Germa Kingdom was currently located.
On the day they arrived at the North Sea, during lunch.
Kaku had made a feast.
"What's going on?" Enel asked curiously. "Why such a spread today?"
Kaku, in good spirits, replied, "Today is my nineteenth birthday."
"Huh? Today?" Enel was taken aback.
Kaku nodded. "Yeah, today. I've never really celebrated my birthday before, and I don't expect much, but if you could be nice to me today, that would be enough."
"Tch." Enel scoffed. "It's just a birthday. I've never celebrated something so boring."
"When's your birthday again?" Kaku asked.
"I think it's May sixth," Enel said indifferently.
"Huh? It was three months ago?" Kaku scratched his chin, then looked at Takumi. "Captain, what about you? When's your birthday?"
Takumi replied casually, "July seventh."
"That was last month!" Kaku exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything? I would've helped you celebrate."
"Doesn't matter. Celebrate or not, it's all the same," Takumi said, picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat.
Kaku quietly looked at Takumi and then smiled. "Haha, I guess none of us really cared about birthdays before. Well, it doesn't matter. I've remembered it now, and from here on out, none of us will spend our birthdays alone."
"How boring," Enel muttered, but he picked up his bowl and started eating.
After finishing his meal, as Takumi was about to leave the cabin, he suddenly stopped, saying calmly, "Happy birthday," before walking out without looking back.
"Well, that's unexpected," Enel said, looking as if he had discovered something incredible. "He can say something like that?"
"What kind of talk is that?" Kaku smiled. "You've known the Captain long enough. People change. Whether it's you, me, or anyone else, you can't say you haven't changed since meeting the Captain."
"True," Enel admitted around his chopsticks. "That guy's definitely more human now compared to when I first met him."
____________________________
Support me
on Ko-fi
at ko-fi. com/gered
to read up to chapter 340+!
___________________________
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực