That was what trust entailed. It wasn’t something incredibly deep or difficult to parse. That was the very definition of trust itself.
So I opened my eyes. I looked away from the Dwarf, and out the porthole to the side. The waves were rather calm— not what I was hoping for. But the weather out in the rough ocean was unpredictable, and if there was one thing you could predict, it was a storm.
And I simply waited there, trusting that things would work out. That the tides turned in my favor, and this plan would work out. That my friends would not betray me.
Ginah rested one hand on the helm, turning it as she felt the light breeze of the morning blow against her hair. She didn’t really have to do much— navigating was not an issue since she just had to follow the three ships Lilith had brought with her.
The weather was nice, gentle, and ideal for any ordinary voyage across the sea. But currently? It was not what Ginah wanted.
Melas had outlined a plan to separate Lilith from whatever resources and men she had to corner her. And since they would be out at sea, in this ship that wasn’t built to take a lot of hits, the Saintess wouldn’t be able to use her miracles lest she strand herself in the middle of the ocean faced with terrible an unending stream of sea Monsters— something that even a Saint or Saintess couldn’t possibly survive.
The ocean was dangerous even on a boat, and especially when in the water. Everything had been arranged over the course of the last week, from the fake trap they had set up for Melas, to getting Lilith to be on this ship. Now the rest of the plan hinged on a storm ‘splitting’ them up from Lilith’s escorts.
Well, that would simply make it easier. If by the third day of sailing, the weather didn’t turn for the worse in their favor, Ginah would have to stray away from these three ships in the middle of the night. And unless being a Saintess meant Lilith didn’t have to sleep and was up to stop them, there was no way Ginah wouldn’t be able to do that successfully. A storm only made things more convenient.
Whatever the case was, it would work. The plan had to work. The only possible thing that could ruin this plan was Lilith somehow finding out about it.
Ginah cast a glance at the Saintess who was happily chatting with Lisa. The pirate Captain grimaced at the sight. She did not understand how easily Lisa was able to put up a farce to goad someone into a fake sense of security.
It had always been something that Ginah found unsettling about the young woman. In fact, it took years of working with Lisa before she finally stopped being so skeptical of her. That was how she knew Lisa wasn’t planning some sort of betrayal with the Saintess— Lisa was not evil, even if she valued money.
To be honest, even if Ginah was simply following directions and tailing the ships ahead of them, she knew that they were probably headed to port Xenon. It was the closest port in the Holy Xan Empire to Laxis. A small island in between Vitae and Soli that thrived solely on maritime trade and commerce. And that was where the Saintess would leverage her status to get the gold needed to pay them.
The price she offered them was a steep one. When Ginah heard the sum, she thought Lilith had to be joking. But she wasn’t. 10,000 gold. And that was just how much she was offering Ginah and her crew.
As a pirate, Ginah had obviously seen a lot of money in her time. She had probably made more than double that amount ever since she became the Captain of her crew. Yet earning so much for a single job? That was almost unheard of.
It was the kind of gold small countries or large companies tossed around at each other, not individuals. Perhaps if Ginah wasn’t… well, Ginah, she would’ve taken the gold and betrayed Melas. But leaving Melas to die had been an option, but full on betraying her? That was never an option in her mind.
So when the sails picked up and the waves began to get choppy— when Ginah saw the dark clouds gather and the thunder roar in the distance— Ginah did what she had to do. The wind blew harder and harder as the downpour began. The sky darkened and the ship rocked with the rough sea.
The other ships slowly got smaller and smaller in the distance, almost disappearing behind the thick veil of rain poured down from the sky. It was difficult to navigate through the ocean, after all. And it was really easy to lose your bearings. But it was even easier to lose your bearings when you were actively trying to lose it.
Lisa had Lilith distracted. And when the Saintess came to realize they had lost sight of her ships, it was already too late. She demanded they go to Xenon— that Ginah took her there. But the trap had already been sprung, and it was now time to act.
***
"What’s going on?"
I could hear Lilith’s annoyed voice even before I left the deck below and entered up above into the bright afternoon sun— the dark clouds now gone and the sea was now calm again. Gennady had used one of his mana tools to break the antimagic manacles binding me, and was now escorting
