Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 131: The Zeppelin Air Ship : Black Wind
Two days later, Ard, Eva, and the others returned to Grumir’s tavern to be introduced to a zeppelin captain who usually transported merchants through the territory of Le Rien Infernal—a world of its own within the world, or rather, the underworld. They sat in Grumir’s private office to talk. When they walked in, they saw a male dwarf wearing a sailor-like cap and an eyepatch, with thick hair decorating his face. He immediately looked at Ard and the others, appearing completely mesmerized because it seemed he was seeing humans for the very first time. After everyone was seated, Grumir opened the introductions. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Ard, Eva, let me introduce you. This is Captain Thindor. He’s the owner of the airship that serves as transport for our people leaving this kingdom. He can take you to the border—for a fee, of course," Grumir said.
"Howdy, lads and lassies, I’m Thindor. Pleased to meet ya," Thindor added in a rough, gravelly voice.
"Okay... Captain Thindor, my name is Ard, this is Eva, and then the others: Alicia, Mirea, Milia, Claudia, Adeline, Beatrice, Rosalind, Patricia, Geoffrey, Ainsley, Irwin, and Irina. Nice to meet you, Captain," Ard said, introducing himself and everyone else one by one.
"By the way, where is Hardim?" Eva asked.
"He’s at the palace helping Princess Thorena get ready. The Princess spoke with Captain Thindor earlier," Grumir answered.
"That’s right. The matter of the fee has been handled by the kingdom, so you lot can relax and just focus on leaving," Thindor added.
"Oh, really? But how did that happen?" Ard asked, surprised.
"The Princess mentioned that she’s been satisfied these past two days and wants to stay with you all even when you return to the surface later," Grumir answered, glancing at Geoffrey.
Following the direction of Grumir’s eyes, everyone except Ard and Eva immediately turned to look at Geoffrey. He sat there in silence, looking bashful and not daring to meet his friends’ gazes.
"Um... what exactly happened these past two days, bro?" Ainsley asked.
"It’s a long story," Geoffrey answered briefly. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it, as his face was bright red.
Irina immediately pulled Ainsley aside and whispered to him. Ainsley’s face turned red instantly; he faked a cough and adjusted his glasses, then turned to look the other way. It turned out that for the last two days, Geoffrey had been with Thorena at the palace—or more specifically, in her bedroom. What they had been doing didn’t need to be asked. Irina, who had been asked by Ard and Eva to keep watch, had seen everything and reported it back to them. So, the two of them already knew, but they hadn’t told the others to protect Geoffrey’s honor.
"Forget it, let’s not discuss that anymore. So, when can we leave, Captain?" Ard asked.
"My crew is preparing the ship right now. We can head out tonight or tomorrow morning if nothing gets in the way," Thindor replied.
"Hmm... alright, but... the trip isn’t like being on a sea ship, right?" asked Beatrice, who was terrified of getting seasick again.
"Of course not, don’t you worry, lassie," Thindor replied.
"Wait, is there actually a sea underground?" asked Milia, noticing that Thindor and Grumir didn’t look surprised by the word ’sea.’
"Of course there is. To reach the lands on the far side, we have to cross the ocean. We can’t use a zeppelin because the distance is too great. It’s like being on the other side of the world; no one ever comes back from sailing those seas unless the dragon guarding the ocean allows them to return," Grumir explained.
"Huh... a dragon guarding the ocean?" Mirea asked.
"Yes, a primordial dragon who is the god of the seas, Lucathan. Rumor has it he can travel back and forth between the surface ocean and the sea beneath the earth, but that’s just a legend," Grumir answered.
"Aye... that’s the truth. Neither dwarf nor giant dares to cross the ocean because they don’t want to offend the Sea God," Thindor added.
"Forget it, let’s not discuss that anymore. So, when can we leave, Captain?" Ard asked.
"My crew is preparing the ship right now. We can head out tonight or tomorrow morning if nothing gets in the way," Thindor replied.
"Hmm... alright, but... the trip isn’t like being on a sea ship, right?" Beatrice asked, terrified of getting seasick again.
"Of course not, don’t you worry, lassie," Thindor replied.
"Wait, is there actually a sea underground?" Milia asked, noticing that Thindor and Grumir didn’t look surprised by the word ’sea.’
"Of course there is. To reach the lands on the far side, we have to cross the ocean. We can’t use a zeppelin because the distance is too great. It’s like being on the other side of the world; no one ever comes back from sailing those seas unless the dragon guarding the ocean allows them to return," Grumir explained.
"Huh... a dragon guarding the ocean?" Mirea asked.
"Yes, a primordial dragon who is the god of the seas, Lucathan. Rumor has it he can travel back and forth between the surface ocean and the sea beneath the earth, but that’s just a legend," Grumir answered.
"Aye... that’s the truth. Neither dwarf nor giant dares to cross the ocean because they don’t want to offend the Sea God," Thindor added.
Ard and Eva immediately fell silent. They knew all too well about a giant dragon—one that was like a kaiju on the surface—named Lucathan. He had been around since 3,000 years ago and was the offspring of the previous Lucathan who was killed during the war between the primordial dragons and the goddess Ordione.
"Ard... Eva... Lucathan is that same dragon from back then, right?" Claudia asked.
"Yap, that’s the one. The dragon whose head barely peaked out of the water while his whiskers greeted us," Ard answered.
"You guys remember that dragon too, right?" Eva asked the others.
Naturally, Alicia, Milia, Mirea, Beatrice, Rosalind, Patricia, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin—who had witnessed their encounter with Lucathan while crossing from the central continent to the northern continent—instantly knew which dragon Grumir and Thindor were talking about.
"Lucathan isn’t a legend. We’ve actually met him. Eva and I didn’t seal him away 3,000 years ago because he was still just a hatchling back then," Ard said.
"That’s right. So if we really have to cross the ocean to get to the other side, I don’t think it’ll be a problem," Eva replied.
"Please stop talking about crossing the ocean on a ship. I hate it," Beatrice muttered.
"Haaah... usually if you’ve been seasick once, the second time around isn’t so bad, Princess," Rosalind said with a sigh.
"I’ve never even been on a sea ship," Adeline noted.
"Hey... we’re heading out to the border, right? There’s no ocean there, so let’s stop talking about the sea for now," Mirea countered.
"Yeah, she’s right. Let’s just focus on what matters," Patricia added.
"Aye... alright then. Everyone follow me; let’s head to the hangar to see my airship," Thindor said, standing up.
Finally, they all left the tavern and followed Thindor. Grumir didn’t join them, as he had to look after his shop. They walked through the city, and Thindor seemed to be quite well-respected; so many dwarves greeted him along the way that they didn’t even pay attention to Ard, Eva, and the others following behind. After crossing the city toward the exit gates, they reached a field filled with long, iron-constructed buildings that looked like hangars with open roofs.
Thindor led them inside, walking toward a specific hangar building marked with dwarven writing and guarded by two dwarves carrying rifles. When they arrived, they saw Thorena and Hardim already waiting in front of the hangar. As soon as they spotted Thindor, the two of them approached him.
"Captain," Hardim greeted.
"Hello there, surface Guild Master. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?" Thindor replied.
The two of them shook hands, then Thindor turned to Thorena and bowed his head in respect. Thorena gave a nod, signaling for Thindor to lift his head. After that, Thindor invited them all inside. Once they stepped through the doors, Ard, Eva, and the others’ eyes widened and their jaws dropped.
They saw a sea-vessel made of iron and zinc attached to a massive, long, cigar-shaped zeppelin balloon that was a glossy black, featuring a large propeller at the back of the ship. There was a pair of wings on the left and right sides of the vessel, like crossbars, which also had propellers at the ends facing backward. The size of the ship was enormous and grand, leaving anyone who saw it in total awe.
"This is my airship, the Black Wings," Thindor said proudly, showing off his vessel.
"Wow," Adeline muttered, seeing something so strange and floating in the air before her eyes for the very first time.
Ard and Eva shifted toward each other, leaning in to whisper into one another’s ears.
"It’s nothing like the ones back on Earth," Ard whispered.
"Yeah, it’s completely different. Incredible," Eva whispered back.
They were all filled with awe and wonder, captivated by their first look at the Black Wings—sturdy and powerful, yet hovering in the air, held down only by the ropes waiting to be cast off at departure.
