章節 203: A Journey to the West
Meliodas took a deep breath in of the calming ocean breeze as he arrived in Hargeon Port. He made his way to the docks where a few sailors and fishermen recognized him.
"Hey it's Meliodas!"
"Long time no see Meliodas!"
Meliodas greeted the sailors and continued down the dock to a large tavern shaped like a boat. He entered and was tempted to get a seat at the bar and drink all day, but shook the thought as he knew he had something more important to do at this time.
"Meliodas!"
Meliodas heard a familiar old voice call out his name from across the bar. There he saw the familiar figure of Captain Seadog.
"Yo!" Meliodas waved.
"Haven't seen you in ages! How ya been!" Captain Seadog greeted.
"Doing alright. Have you seen the Blue Guardians?" Meliodas asked. Captain Seadog scratched his beard.
"Hmm…I think they're upstairs. It's karaoke night and they've become really popular lately with how frequently they join in."
Meliodas nodded and headed towards the stairs. As he approached the stairs, he could hear Hardner's voice, getting louder and louder as he got to the top.
"I still have too long a life ahead! Just to give up and drop off all these dreams. I just want to try and fix all the things I've left undone!~"
Meliodas remained silent at the foot of the stairs for a moment as he listened to Hardner's voice. He wasn't the greatest of singers, but he put his heart into the song.
Meliodas looked around the room briefly. He noticed the lacrima vision screen with the lyrics of the song at the front of the room. A few meters behind were a few couches with a couple of sailors and members of Blue Guardians. He took a seat next to Belnika and grabbed an unopened bottle of ale on the table in front of the couch. Belnika immediately looked towards Meliodas with a surprised look on her face.
"Meliodas?!" She whispered in shock, trying not to be too loud to disturb Hardner's performance. Meliodas flicked the cap off the bottle and smiled at her before taking a drink. The other two members of the Blue Guardians next to Belnika noticed Meliodas.
"This is certainly a surprise." Renard commented. Requin shushed them and pointed back to Hardner finishing his song.
"The hope for tomorrow will help me ease all my pain today!" Hardner finished. The Blue Guardians and the other few sailors in the room clapped. Meliodas joined in on the applause.
"Well, well, well. That was quite the performance." Meliodas said. Hardner's eyes opened wide as he saw Meliodas sitting with the rest of the Blue Guardians.
"Meliodas! It's been ages! What brings you here?" Hardner asked.
"I need a favor. Think you guys can take me to Alakitasia?" Meliodas bluntly responded.
"Uhh…yeah…" Hardner shuddered.
"What's wrong?" Meliodas asked.
"You remember what I told you about Alakitasia and why we came all the way to Ishgar? There's a bunch of freakin monsters that appeared out of nowhere on the coastal waters. And even the Alvarez Empire can't be bothered to contain them!" Renard interjected.
"Oh that? I can deal with them. Just sail me over to the continent. I mean I could probably fly there, but the ocean is so massive and it seems kind of tiring." Meliodas responded.
"Well…we still owe you. And I don't doubt your strength. We haven't fought in seven years but after seeing you in the Grand Magic Games, you're probably up there with the Gods of Ishgar." Belnika added.
"Can't say. I've still never met them." Meliodas responded. "So you'll take me?"
"Yeah. We will." Hardner said.
"It's gonna cost you." Requin added. Hardner turned to Requin and glared at him.
"WE still owe Meliodas!" Hardner shouted.
"Tch. Not worth dying to those beasts or our ship getting completely wrecked." Requin scoffed.
"Hmm…I guess it's only fair I pay you guys." Meliodas said. He raised his hand out in front of him and a sack appeared in his hand. He emptied the contents of the sack onto the table. The Blue Guardians' eyes lit up at what they saw on the table.
"How much money is this?!" Belnika exclaimed.
"15 million jewels." Meliodas said calmly as he tossed the sack to the corner. Hardner caught the bag with surprise.
"Heh. We don't even make half of this in a year nowadays. Alright I'm in." Requin said smiling.
"Quite fast to change your mind, aren't you? Can't blame you, I'm in as well." Renard said.
"You didn't have to pay this much…but I'm in as well." Belnika added. The group looked at Hardner and nodded.
"You heard my team. We'll escort you across the ocean to Alakitasia. We still have a few contacts who are friendly with us there so you should get onto the continent without a problem despite the trade and travel ban." Hardner said. "Give us a bit to get ready and prepare the ship."
—
A few hours later
Meliodas stood at the Bow of the Blue Guardians' ship as the boat rocked on the ocean. He held a bottle of ale. He felt the sea breeze on his face. He looked back at their vessel. It had been completely rebuilt since his fight with them destroyed the ship. Hardner approached Meliodas and stood next to him.
"Couldn't this thing fly?" Meliodas asked.
"The lacrima required for this thing to fly stopped working about a month ago and is expensive as hell. Thankfully the 15 million you paid us is enough to get one. But it will take another month to order and I'm sure you don't wanna wait that long." Hardner responded.
"Yeah, it will only take about ten days by boat to reach there right?" Meliodas questioned.
"Well we have to stop at Caracole Island to refuel. It's at the halfway point." Hardner said.
"Caracole Island?" Meliodas looked at Hardner with a puzzled expression. Belnika suddenly popped up next to Hardner with a large grin on her face.
"An independent tourist destination! We'll have to dock there for a few hours. I've only been there a couple of times myself since it's really out of the way, but their Star Gelato is certainly something to die for!"
"Huh…guess I'll have to try some." Meliodas commented. 'I wonder if they have any exclusive booze there as well.'
"Well we have a long journey ahead of us. How about some karaoke to pass the time?" Hardner asked as they started walking back towards one of the ship hatches.
"Do you sing Meliodas?" Belnika asked.
"Not really. I don't know a lot of songs to begin with. Although if you guys want to pass the time…" Meliodas raised his hand out in front of him and a glowing bottle shape appeared in his hand.
"Have you ever had ale from Edolas?" Meliodas asked. Hardner and Belnika looked at each other, confused.
"Edolas?"
—
Five Days Later
"Ahhh! Back on land!" Meliodas jumped off the boat and landed on the docks of Caracole Island. He stretched his arms up in the air as the cool ocean breeze blew through his hair. He looked ahead at the island. By the docks was a beach with a small village at the foot of a huge mountain.
"It's Star Gelato time!" Belnika ran past Meliodas straight towards the village. Meliodas looked behind him as he saw Hardner and Renard walking towards him.
"Requin said he'll handle the resupply. Come on, let's go into town." Hardner said.
Meliodas and the group strolled through the village made of wooden huts with many palm trees between the buildings. Down the main path of the village was a wooden deck with various shop stands at the sides selling various goods to tourists.
"T-there it is!" Belnika pointed towards one of the stands. On top was a huge sign in bold letters that read "Mango Gelato." Behind the counter was a bald man with glasses and a beard. "It's even the same guy as last time!"
The group walked over to the bald man who greeted them all.
"Welcome to my humble shop. I know it looks like a run down shack, but I'm working towards my dream!"
"Your dream?" Meliodas asked.
"Yes. I wish to move to Ishgar and sell my Mango Gelato there! I'll have the top selling sweets shop in the continent!" The bald man said enthusiastically.
The group ordered their cups of Mango Gelato and sat at the counter. Meliodas took a scoop of his gelato and ate it. His eyes widened as the immensely sweet and cold taste hit him.
"Well, well, well. That's really good!" Meliodas commented, taking another bite.
"Right! Please move to Ishgar as soon as you can!" Belnika exclaimed. "In fact, you should set up shop in Hargeon!"
"Nah, he should set up in Magnolia Town. I know someone who would spend a lot at your shop." Meliodas said, thinking about Erza and her love of sweets.
"Hmmm…Magnolia or Hargeon. I was originally going to Clover Town since I have a cousin there, but I'll consider your offers!"
"Say, does this place have any exclusive booze?" Meliodas asked as he finished his gelato.
"Oh! There's a stand right across from me. They sell Caracole's exclusive Star Mango wine, made from the star mangos that are only found on this island!" The bald man said.
"Mango wine? I definitely have to check that out." Meliodas jumped up from his seat and left 100,000 jewels on the table.
"S-sir! You forgot your change!" The bald man shouted.
"Oh! Keep it. It'll help you get to your dream just a bit faster right?" Meliodas said with a grin. The bald man bowed his head as Meliodas walked across to the other stand. Standing behind the stand was another bald older man with a white bushy mustache and a tropical palm tree shirt.
"Welcome young sir! What can I get for you today!" The man greeted.
"Can I sample your Star Mango Wine?" Meliodas asked. The man nodded and poured Meliodas a glass. Meliodas took a sip and put the glass down. He remained silent for a few moments as he looked at the glass. The old man began to grow a bit nervous.
"S-sir are you o-"
"I want to buy all of your wine." Meliodas said abruptly.
"S-s-sure!" The old man said, completely shocked by Meliodas' offer. He immediately ran to the back and came back out moments later, pushing out huge crates filled with wine bottles. Hardner sighed as he watched Meliodas pay the man millions of jewels.
"How much money does that dude have…"
"Enough to fund his booze collecting hobby apparently." Renard commented.
As the Blue Guardians watched from afar as Meliodas put each crate into his requip inventory, they felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand as goosebumps covered their bodies. They felt two huge magical presences walking in their direction from the deck, followed by a lesser but still significant magical presence behind them.
"W-what the hell…" Hardner gasped. The group stared at the two women walking towards the stand.
One was a young woman with green hair styled into a bob cut with her bangs just above her green eyes and two purple cross shaped objects on her hair like horns. She wore a gold colored bikini revealing her huge bust and a fancy gold coat with purple flower design patterns and a purple fur lining.
The other was a buxom young woman with a slender figure. She had wavy golden hair cropped short down to the base of her neck and golden eyes. She wore a red bandeau, red and black capri pants with a black coat tied around her waist, and tight dark bracers with golden ornamental wings. Strapped behind her back was a massive backsword that was nearly her height.
Walking behind the two of them was a thin young man with spiky black hair and tan skin. He wore a pair of purple trousers and a purple blazer with a white collared shirt underneath. On his head he wore a striped purple headband and over the headband was a pair of yellow rimmed shades with dark red lenses.
The green haired woman took a seat on the empty stool Meliodas had previously been sitting on. The purple suited man approached the Blue Guardians and smiled at them.
"If you lot are done, how about clear some space for Lady Dimaria as well."
Hardner immediately jumped off of his seat and gestured for the other members of his team to do the same.
"Hardner? What's wrong?" Belnika whispered.
"Dimaria…now it makes sense…I don't know the green haired woman but Dimaria is one of the commanders of the Alvarez army…I've only heard her name mentioned a few times while we were still on Alakitasia, but she's renown as the Warrior Queen." Hardner muttered. The Blue Guardians watched from the side silently as the green haired woman ate a gelato.
"What a bunch of weirdos watching Randi eat." Dimaria scoffed as she looked at the Blue Guardians. "I've lost my appetite. I think I'll just get some mango wine instead right across. Marin do something about those weirdos."
Dimaria began walking across the boardwalk to the Mango Wine shop. Hardner stared at Meliodas who was nonchalantly speaking to the shop keep without a care in the world that two massive magical powers had just come in the vicinity.
"Brandish, those two women over there are like B's. Should I even bother adding them to the collection?" Marin asked.
"I don't care. Just let me eat in peace." Brandish said. Marin shrugged his shoulders and faced the members of Blue Guardians.
"So you guys-"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE OUT OF WINE?!" Dimaria's loud scream echoed throughout the village. Brandish maintained her aloof expression and she looked at Dimaria.
"Oh! This is going to be interesting!" Marin said with a smile as he focused his attention away from the Blue Guardians.
"Shit…" Hardner said quietly. "This is the worst possible situation that could have ever happened."
"I-I'm sorry!" The old shopkeeper said, pointing to Meliodas. "That young man there bought my entire supply!"
"Is that so?" Dimaria looked at Meliodas who simply waved at her and smiled. She immediately took notice of the sword that was on Meliodas' back.
"Alright kid. I could just take the damn wine from you, but how about a test of might between two swordsmen."
Meliodas put his hand on the handle of Neo Mel Force.
"Sure. I could use a good stretch after being on a boat for five days."
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