Chapter 455 - 192: Four, Four Heads?

Willow, believing he had uncovered the truth of the matter, ordered his men to record his words.

"Sir, th-then... should we keep getting closer?"

"Hm?"

"It’s too dangerous! That Mutated Mage is an evil figure who caused the deaths of tens of thousands! Now he’s even opposing the Dawn Church. If he discovers us, we..."

"You’re right! Turn back! Get away from here at once! We have to get this news back!"

Willow glanced at the distance between the two ships and frantically waved his arm, shouting, "Dammit, Cavella, did you hear me?! Turn the ship around immediately! Full retreat!!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Meanwhile, on the distant ship—once the *Kenzan Frollov*, now renamed the *Leonard*—just behind the figurehead of the Lord of Dawn...

The white-haired girl sat on Zero’s shoulder, watching the three-masted ship turn and sail away. Her hollow eyes were utterly devoid of color as she whispered a few words: "Tina. Calamity."

An ethereal force crossed the dozens of kilometers and descended upon the other ship, completely unnoticed by anyone.

Beside her, Zero looked at her in confusion. "Tina, were you saying something?"

"Tina. Sea."

Tina tugged at her clown doll, her gaze falling upon the nearby surface of the water, her expression unchanging.

"Mm, the Cordo Sea is truly vast. I’ve heard there are even larger seas beyond the Four Continents." Zero raised one of his mechanical arms to shield Tina, preventing her from falling. His gear-like eyes narrowed, staring intently at the rolling waves, his earlier confusion forgotten.

"Be careful."

Shawa stood beside the two, also gazing out at the sea. The skin around the mechanical eye on her pale face was wrinkled, and it glinted with a metallic sheen under the sunlight.

But compared to Zero, both her mechanical eye and arm seemed far cruder.

"Mm, I’ll protect Tina," Zero nodded. On his angular face, there was only the gleam of metal, yet the tone simulated by the grinding of gears was uncharacteristically gentle.

Just then, Wei’en emerged from the cabin. He saw the distant three-masted ship and frowned slightly.

However, after a few moments of thought, he decided not to intercept it. Someone had to spread the word about what happened here.

At the very least, it would put the matter of Marco killing Henrik behind them, allowing him to join the *Black Pearl* through normal means.

"Captain."

Ronan pointed to the slowly rising sail and asked uncertainly, "Do you think this design is acceptable?"

Wei’en looked up and saw that on the largest, central sail, the emblem of Dawn had been covered by the face of a clown.

However, he had to admit that letting these crude pirates handle such detailed work had been a mistake.

If not for the huge red nose in the center, he might have mistaken it for a drawing of a mutated creature...

"This will do for now."

The man with the triangular eyes breathed a sigh of relief. "Captain, the major repairs on the ship are finished. The full paint job will require a proper shipyard to complete. What are your orders?"

"Set sail."

"Yes, sir!"

Ronan took his leave and called to the remaining pirates to weigh anchor and prepare to set sail.

Wei’en glanced toward Tina and the other two at the ship’s bow, then at the Queen’s Guards training on deck, before his gaze finally settled on Clelia, who was standing nearby.

"Staring at me like that... have you forgotten who I am, or do you suspect I’m an imposter?"

Clelia put down her glass. Her bright eyes watched him, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile.

Wei’en shook his head, glanced at the guards who had slowed their training, and asked, "Are you sure you don’t want to stay in the theater with them?"

"What does it matter?" Clelia stretched languidly, her tone soft. "It’s just facing a bit of danger, that’s all."

"It’s much more than just a bit of danger!"

Wei’en walked over to her. "This time, by killing those Holy Professionals, we’ve guaranteed a major counterattack from the Dawn Church. On top of that, we ran into those bizarre Twilight Secret Cultivators... I’m afraid things won’t be calm for quite some time."

"So, you’re worried about me?"

Wei’en looked her straight in the eyes. "Setting aside Tina and the Eternal Life Association, the fact is, you have no reason to travel with me all the way to the Southern Continent."

"Since you’ve chosen to travel with me, I can’t let you get hurt again, and I especially can’t allow a repeat of what happened last night. The best solution is for you to take them and stay in the theater. Don’t leave any puppets behind!"

"Oh?" Clelia leaned sideways against the ship’s rail, resting her head on her pale arm. A smile played in her eyes as she said, "Are you scared?"

"I just think your strength is less than I imagined. If I leave you out here, who knows when you’ll get yourself killed."

Clelia was speechless.

’When did this man become so blunt?’

’No, not just blunt, he’s become even more sharp-tongued!’

"And if I don’t agree?"

"Then you’d better prepare more substitute necklaces," Wei’en said calmly. "And as for them, they could face death at any moment, just like the pirates who died on Ronan’s ship last night."

"I imagine you wouldn’t want the guards you’ve worked so hard to train to be killed off so casually, would you?"

"You win!"

Clelia gave him a deep look. ’Can’t this man just admit he’s worried about me?’

Wei’en felt a sense of relief. He had already broached the subject tentatively last night; today’s blunt demand was a decision he had made only after careful consideration.

He truly didn’t want to see Clelia die before his eyes again. And the reason was just as he’d said—Clelia had plenty of other ways to get to the Southern Continent.

Doing so would be far less dangerous than following him!