"May the Chief Divine protect us! Master Chimere, if the journey goes smoothly, I will be able to return to the Divine Initiation Archipelago and even to the Divine Great Whale Port by late autumn in four months. But if there are delays, it will be next spring or summer before I can return!"

"Loshanda, sail steadily, don't rush. There are supply points at every port along the archipelago, and the fog isn't too thick right now, so I'm not very worried... However, when the waves rise, the fleet must dock promptly!"

"Yes! Master Chimere! Rest assured! These two Wind God Sea Ships are both excellent against the waves! Especially the newly built one, which is made from large red cedar, extremely sturdy! ... I will try to avoid the foggy summer, transport two thousand jin of gold to the Western Sea port, and bring back the craftsmen gathered by the Zuwaro High Priest in perfect condition!"

"Good! May the Chief Divine bless the kingdom, bless you and the fleet!"

"Yes! Praise the Chief Divine!"

At the port of Divine Grand Whale Island, Chimere, dressed in the ceremonial dress of the Chief Priest, with a feather crown and a deerskin cloak, waved goodbye to the two Ocean Shielding Ships. Loshanda, the High Priest, stood at the bow of the Ocean Shielding Ship, clenched his fist to his chest, bowed deeply to Chimere on the shore. Then, he turned and looked towards the endless Western Sea, shouting boldly.

"The Chief Divine is watching us! Westward, ever westward! To the Divine Initiation Archipelago, to the Ice and Snow Peninsula!"

"May the Chief Divine protect us!"

The Kingdom's Warriors and the Tribal Sailors on the ship prayed aloud with devotion. Subsequently, the two Ocean-Blocking Sea Ships, carrying sixty or seventy of the Kingdom's Main Force, with food sufficient for three months, and various miscellaneous goods, sliced through the waves heading west. And the white vertical sails on the three masts were constantly adjusted, causing the ships to become faster and smaller...

Until the last trace of the sail disappeared beyond the horizon, Chimere finally looked away, exhaling a long breath.

"Sukeichiro!"

"Huh? Lord Priest, do you want to ride a horse?"

"No! Bring me a wooden board and set it up by the sea. Also, bring all the paints! I want to paint a 'Wind Boat Journey Picture' to document this devout crossing of the sea westward, and then offer it in the Temple for posterity to see!"

"...Yes! My lord."

Soon, the wooden painting board was set up by the sea. Chimere, in full ceremonial dress, used a brush dipped in mineral pigment to outline the blue sea, green islands, white sails, and the golden sunlight outlined with gold powder! 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Under this "gold" that signifies the Chief Divine, there was a feather-crowned priest riding a white horse, larger than anyone else. Yes, undoubtedly, it was Chimere himself. And on the opposite ship, there was also a feather-crowned priest, holding a golden scepter, fearlessly pointing westward. Yes, it was Loshanda the High Priest!

After finishing the two "main characters", next came the important Warrior Captains and leaders. With a few strokes, Chimere sketched a small figure. His painting skills were noticeably better than last year, vaguely carrying a "Buddhist mural" style.

Only as dusk fell did Chimere, fully satisfied, appreciate the "masterpiece destined for the Temple". After that, as if having realized something, he paused and added a few more strokes among the group of Windship Warriors. When these few strokes were completed, it turned out to be a short-haired Priest Apprentice, with a hummingbird emblem on his forehead and a bit of beard on his chin. And his left hand had, prominently, only four fingers...

"Haha! Wonderful! Wonderful! What kind of rewards will this ambitious horse bring back to the Western Sea Continent, and back to the Japanese Island, for the Supreme Chief Divine? I'm eagerly anticipating!"

Chimere, smiling, gazed at the "Four-fingered Priest" on the painting for a while. Then, he turned swiftly onto a white Yakut pony, lightly squeezed the horse's sides, and laughed.

"Sukeichiro! Let's go check the horse-breeding grounds!"

"In June, the pregnant mares should be giving birth to beautiful foals again!"

"Yes! My lord!"

Chimere galloped away, with the lush mountain forests from the painting extending into the distance. As the painted mountain forests emerged beyond the south-facing painting board, they transformed into the continuous mountains of the South, and the expansive fields beneath the mountains.

An old farmer, wearing a headscarf, looked at the vast fields of corn, soybeans, and rice with satisfaction and expressions of admiration.

"Tsk tsk! That blind belief... really didn't deceive! This kind of soybeans truly enriches the soil even more than green beans! Look, the corn planted after two seasons of soybeans grows faster than anything! It just shoots up!"

"And this what rice... it can be grown in paddy fields! The seedlings in these paddy fields indeed grow better than in dry fields, though it's still uncertain how much more it can increase yield in the end..."

"Beautiful! Truly beautiful!…"

Old Militia Chiwaco walked barefoot in the fields. Sometimes he glanced at the crop rotation fields of soybeans and corn, and other times he looked at the comparison of paddy and dry rice fields. Meanwhile, a Kingdom's Divine Revelation Priest was observing the growth alongside several apprentices, occasionally jotting down notes and sketches with charcoal on sturdy bark paper.

Seeing the old militia Chiwaco, both priests and apprentices respectfully bowed to this "old farmer master." Chiwaco would then rub his hands together, and with a smile on his face, he would return the salute. Until a cheerful and resonant voice echoed from outside the fields.

"Old Corn! Old Corn! I'm back from the Southern Shipbuilding Department!…"

"…!"

Upon hearing the shout from the Cedar Shaman, Chiwaco's elderly face immediately dropped, showing no sign of happiness. With a sour expression, he looked at the striding Cedar Shaman and said irritably.

"Old Woody, my ears aren't deaf! Why do you shout so loudly? Every time I see you, there's no good news…"

"Ah? Haha! Then you guessed wrong. This time I bring one good news, one bad news, and one news that's neither good nor bad…Which do you want to hear first?…"

"What? You really brought back bad news?!…"

Chiwaco's finger trembled as his brows knitted together; he looked miserably at Cedar for a while and sighed.

"Old Woody, tell me the good news first!"

"Good! With the Chief Divine's blessing! The good news is that in the Southern Shipbuilding Department, Old Jin tirelessly guided the shipwrights and built a new batch of large ships…Four sailing Wind God Sea Ships have successfully launched! I even sat on those ships with Old Jin and took a spin in Atoyac Lake…"

"Tsk, tsk! Those ships are really sturdy! The sails are so big, and the cabins are large, capable of holding many things! The ship's bottom is quite deep, one ship got stuck on a shoal during the voyage, and it took quite an effort to pull it out…The sails are also more complex than those of sand ships, with three sails working in combination. I even personally operated one for an entire day!"

Cedar Shaman gestured joyfully, narrating his experiences piloting the "Wind God Sea Ship," his happiness akin to a child of five or sixty. Hearing about the launch of four ocean-blocking ships, Chiwaco's face grew longer with each word, until he couldn't help but interrupt.

"Alright, Old Woody! Now tell me what the neither-good-nor-bad news is?…"

"Oh! The neither-good-nor-bad news is…the Kingdom's Purple Grass Navy is battling against the Zapotecs Navy at Tututepec City on the Mixteco Coast. I heard these Zapotecs fleet blocked our southward exploration route…With just a few more months, once we defeat them and clear the last stretch of coastline…we can sail on the large ships to the South to search for the origin of potatoes and Priest Bean, over there in 'Lima'!"

"Ah? Only the last stretch of coastline remains? Just a few months more before setting sail?…"

Chiwaco trembled all over, quickly pulled out a cloth bag from his chest, and shook out two dried thick tobacco strands to chew. Cedar Shaman's eyes lit up, as he reached out to ask for some too.

"Old Woody, you indeed have something good like this?! Quickly, give me some to chew as well!…"

"Huh!…You said, what's the last bit of bad news? Can it really be worse than setting sail in a few months?…"

"Oh! It's the bad news Old Jin told me…He said the exploration in the Western Sea seems more important, this batch of four Wind God Sea Ships still needs to be handed over to the northern exploration fleet…While our southern exploration fleet has to wait for the next batch. It's estimated that it'll be nine months later, next March before we get the ships, train for a month or two, and maybe set sail southward by next May or June!…"

Saying this, Cedar Shaman, full of anticipation, swung the cedar scepter in his hand, excitedly shouting.

"Southward! Southward! To see the Sun's bowl!…"

"Ah! Nearly a year more for the southward journey? What bad news…this is clearly huge good news! A year! I can enjoy another year!…"

Chiwaco's tightly furrowed old face suddenly relaxed, smiling brightly like a sunflower. He tossed the tobacco strand bag into Cedar Shaman's hand and generously laughed.

"Old Woody! While we still have a year, I can properly ask Priest Mickey before heading back to see my daughter and grandson!…This bag of tobacco, I'll give it to you!…"

"Haha! Silly Woody, you copied me in putting tobacco into your mouth to chew, and even poured so much! How is it? Couldn't handle the strength, brought tears to your eyes, right?…Forgot to tell you, this stuff is actually meant to be smoked, not chewed. Most people don't have the ability to chew it!…Haha!…"