Chapter 1054: Traveling by Sea, Purchasing a Boat

Hearing Niya's reply, Xia Duo could not help but fall silent.

It was true; Niya had been raised in a Mage Tower by Lord Aipusi since she was a child. Even if she could see distant scenes through magic, or even endless, peculiar illusions, if one were to say Niya did not yearn for the real world outside, Xia Duo would be the first not to believe it.

Had he not just been out to sea himself!

And there was that time he encountered the merman incident at Maihete Lake; he could clearly have teleported directly back to the Tower of Time from Seventon, yet he still chose to return by boat.

This might have been due to the factor of scouting the map along the way, but more likely, he wanted to see the scenery outside of Nan Jing.

In fact, in a sense, Niya, as a local, might not understand the current world as well as Xia Duo, an outsider.

This could not help but make him feel a trace of sympathy for Niya and even countless other Netherese.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo once again gave birth to the idea of piloting a Floating City to travel the world, but for now, let him accompany Niya to wander around the Narrow Sea first!

With a plan in mind, the look in Xia Duo's eyes when he looked at Niya again no longer held any doubt, but instead carried a bit of encouragement. However, regarding renting a boat right now, he still had a few questions:

"Do you know where to rent a boat? How to rent one? What kind of boat to rent? And how much does it cost?"

"Ah—"

Struck by a series of practical questions, Niya was momentarily dumbfounded. She had only thought about taking a boat to Shouwang Dao, but she hadn't thought much about the specific details of renting a boat.

"Then what should we do? Aren't we already at the port now? Finding a few boats to ask shouldn't be a problem, right!"

As she spoke, Niya quickly cleared her thoughts. "Right, we'll find a few boats and ask if they can reach Shouwang Dao. Shouwang Dao is near Harbor Port; I think there should be many boats that can go there!"

Niya's method, in Xia Duo's view, was a novice's standard approach. Although he was also a novice when it came to renting boats to go to sea, he had a better way.

The reason he asked Niya just now was only to finally confirm Niya's intentions.

Now that he knew Niya's intentions were very firm, he stopped beating around the bush and said to Niya: "If we go directly from boat to boat to ask like this, it might cause unnecessary trouble. I know a port veteran; if you agree, I will call him over."

Although the vast majority of boats here in Seventon were operated by ordinary people, it was almost impossible for there not to be Spellcasters behind these vessels.

If they just went knocking on doors like this, it would be inevitable that they would be taken for troublemakers. It would be better to find a middleman; this would not only reduce unnecessary misunderstandings but should also be more efficient.

Regarding this, Niya did not insist on renting the boat herself, though she was quite surprised that Xia Duo still had an acquaintance at Seventon Port:

"Who is the person you know? Are they reliable?"

"They should be reliable. I'll call them over first!"

The person Xia Duo wanted to find was the bartender of the small tavern he had visited in the afternoon. Of course, that bartender had another identity—the owner of "Drunkard's Home".

Otherwise, how could a mere small tavern afford a bartender who looked quite skilled? They could just sell some bulk wine!

Besides the bartender, Xia Duo could actually ask the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce or even people from the Seven Towers for help, but the people he knew held high status. If the goal was to exchange Magic, that might be a good choice.

But for such a small matter, there was no need to trouble those people.

The bartender at Drunkard's Home might have some powerful Spellcaster background, but the other party had recognized him at the time, was very respectful in their etiquette, and had accepted his task.

Then Xia Duo naturally didn't mind using them a bit more!

Because he had left a Magic Mark on that bartender beforehand, and Drunkard's Home was also located in the Port District, the bartender appeared in Xia Duo's field of vision less than two minutes after Xia Duo sent the summons.

Then, jogging all the way, the bartender came before Xia Duo and bowed respectfully to Xia Duo and Niya, "Evans greets Lord Xia Duo, Lord Saville."

Heh, he even knew Niya's identity. Xia Duo gave a meaningful look at Evans, who was bowing respectfully with his head lowered, and guessed in his heart who was behind Evans.

However, his understanding of Seventon was mostly limited to the macro and broad situation; he was not very clear about the specific distribution of forces, or even the details within them.

But Xia Duo didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, neither his nor Niya's identity was a secret, especially his own; he didn't know how many people had seen him at the Princess Ascension Ceremony.

It wasn't as if he had to go to each of them one by one and use a "Forgetfulness Spell" on them!

Xia Duo did not reject becoming a public figure. On the contrary, after becoming a Senior Arcanist, he was happy to see it. After all, what was there to reject if it could provide him with more Cloud Qi to continue awakening his bloodline!

As for this Evans before him, Xia Duo didn't have many thoughts, just saying:

"No need for formalities. I ask you, do you know which boat will be departing from Seventon recently, passing through Harbor Port or Shouwang Dao?"

"My Lord, boats that pass through Harbor Port and Shouwang Dao generally head to Zhenisi or Asikeer. Such vessels capable of ocean voyages need to consider monsoons, undercurrents, and other conditions, and usually have fixed route dates. After the last batch of ocean-going ships leaves today, there will be at least ten more days until the next batch."

Evans's words reminded Xia Duo of the ships he saw while flying over the sea in the afternoon. He had originally thought they were daily, but he didn't expect them to be in batches.

Evans was indeed an old bird at the port, but this result could not satisfy him. He glanced at Niya, who was also frowning, and continued to ask:

"What about ordinary boats? Are there none that only go to Harbor Port or Shouwang Dao?"

"There are, but very few. Usually, it's only when the fishery workers on Shouwang Dao are on vacation that they return from Harbor Port, and then pick up another batch of shift workers to go there."

Evans gave another unfavorable result. It seemed unlikely they could take a boat to sea tomorrow. Xia Duo glanced at Niya; Niya was frowning, but her eyes still revealed persistence.

Xia Duo could not bear to see Niya disappointed, so he asked again: "Is there currently any idle boat for sale at Seventon Port that is capable of reaching Harbor Port?"

Niya heard the meaning in Xia Duo's words and hurried to speak, but Xia Duo held her back. It was just a boat, after all; he would earn it back by selling a few more Communication Magic Tools.

In fact, even without today's matter, Xia Duo had been planning to purchase a few boats, mainly to introduce population to the Savile Territory.

The voyage from the Nether Core Region to the Savile Territory was too long; preparing a few more boats could better share the risks and also maximize the number of people transported back.

And this time, Evans did not give another bad answer:

"My Lord, there is just such a boat for sale recently!"