Chapter 585: Ship That Sinks (2/2)

”I met beastfolks before Jermine came along. In a way, the beastfolk I met was rather similar to Jermine. He travelled a long distance from home because of an argument with his brother and was on a journey to find his answer when he stopped by our humble village. It should be about a decade ago when I met this sea otter beastman who went by the name of Pocky. He was a shipwright.”

Monoman recalled how shipwright Pocky lived with them for several months, studying the sea and drawing maps.

”Pocky was a very serious shipwright. Together with his brother, he claimed to be able to build ships that could sail anywhere in the ocean, including to Indra Seagloo. Beastfolks do not have much magic. Like gnomes, the sea otter shipwright brothers used more science than magic to design their ships. I remember asking him why he continued to travel and study the sea patterns. He replied that he was trying to find evidence to prove his brother wrong.”

”What kind of argument did they have that Pocky had to travel such a long distance just to study the sea?”

Monoman groaned. ”It was a stupid argument. Even I cannot understand why they were so obsessed with the shape of this planet. Pocky claimed that the world was flat while his brother swore that it was round. Hence, Pocky left on a journey to record the images of the sea he saw. He believes that the edge of the world is where the sea lies. I don't know the details, but Pocky was very heated up when he explained his theory.”

Amused, Zero asked what theory Pocky's brother had about the shape of the Earth. Truen recalled something similar to his previous life. Back in those days, it was challenging for people to prove that the world was spherical. Many people assumed that the world was as flat as the map they drew until sea exploration became famous.

”I don't recall the details, but I will agree with Pocky's brother about the world's shape. I believe it is round.”

”How come?” Zero asked, and Monoman grinned. He pointed to the sky.

”The sun and moon move throughout the day. If the world was flat, the position of the sun and moon would not change vertically. It would change horizontally.”

Zero deadpanned. Was this really the correct answer?

”I see. What was the theory Pocky's brother had?”

Monoman scratched his chin. ”He said something along the lines of walking in a straight line. Eventually, someone will arrive at the same spot if they continue to walk and sail in one straight line. This proves that the world is round and not flat. If it was flat, we would have fallen off the edges at the end.”

Impressed by the wisdom of Pocky's brother, Zero tried to find out if Monoman knew more. The semi-giant frowned. ”I don't know the details, but the shipwright brothers were supposed to create a ship capable of sailing in one straight line to prove that the world was round. It was a ship that should be able to sail on any terrain. They called it an airship, but the project failed. It was later known as the sinking ship. I believe this is the second part of where the legend came from.”

An airship, a sinking ship and a world shape theory by shipwrights... Suddenly, this matter has become more complicated than it should be. Zero wondered if they would ever come close to finding the true location of Indra Seagloo. As of now, they were clutching at straws, but Zero's best chance of success was to find either brother and ask for a special ship commissioned for a trip to Indra Seagloo.