Chapter 599: Spherical Map (1/2)
The trip on a dragon's back lasted for almost a week, and by the time they found land again, Pocky realised something.
Despite leaving this place for years, nothing about its landscape changed. A strong sense of nostalgia hit Pocky, and after getting off Bob's back, he walked as if he was possessed. He knew this sight. He knew this sea. He knew this view too well! It was as if he wasn't trapped in a mountain cave for decades.
Now that they were very close to Pocky's home, Zero decided to give Pocky the gift he prepared. They've been travelling in almost a straight line. The shipwright had also seen the end of the sea before they reached land again. The answer should be clear by now what shape the world was.
”Here,” Zero carefully handed Pocky the globe he commissioned. ”For you. I hope you can patch things with your brother.”
Pocky took the spherical map and spun it around a few times. The details weren't quite there, but he understood what Zero was doing. If he continued to be stubborn even after seeing it for himself that the world didn't fall off at the edge of the sea, he would only be a stubborn fool unworthy of his title as the Left Sea Hand.
”From here onwards, we will travel by foot,” Zero explained. ”The magic contract will be voided the moment you meet with your brother. However, I still hope that you can keep at least Bob's identity a secret to avoid unnecessary panic.”
From here, it only took Pocky two days to travel on foot before the familiar sight of a shipyard greeted him.
With his stubby legs, Pocky ran all the way back and recognised some of the villagers. They'd grown up in the time he was trapped in the swampland.
Zero, Bob and Truen took their time to stroll into the shipyard. There were broken ships everywhere and half-built ships. Zero had never seen a shipbuilding factory throughout their adventure and was fascinated by the technology these sea otters used. The gnomes and lab rats would be equally curious, and if the older brother permitted, Half Moon Village had a lot of learning to do from these werebeasts.
There were many shouts, tears and hugs when the sea otter folks realised that their Left Sea Hand was back. For years, the Right Sea Hand ruled the village and took the bare minimum orders for ships. For regular people, they would think that the Right Sea Hand was just a grumpy old man. However, only those in this village understood why.
Apart from the blueprints that the brothers already created before they separated, Docky could not successfully build any of his newer creations. Without Pocky's engineering expertise, nobody could bring Docky's inventions to live. Sea technology and marine trade didn't make any significant progress over the years, and there wasn't a single day that the sea otters did not pray for Pocky's safe return.
Pocky was busy catching up with the children who were now skilled shipwrights when the crowd parted for an old man with a face similar to his.
Docky was slightly out of breath, and his eyes were red at the sight of his younger brother. They walked slowly towards each other, and Zero smiled when they finally hugged each other with tears and snot running down their faces. It was ugly crying but a touching reunion worthy of a celebration. Thankfully, they didn't finish all the grilled Kraken on their way here.