Chapter 953 (1/2)

Chapter 953: The Invited Explorer

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Two three-masted ships with black and white flags were unloading their cargo when Roland walked into the harbor surrounded by his personal guards. The City Hall officials were circling around the stacked wooden boxes while occasionally making sounds of excitement.

“Long time no see, Your Majesty!” Margaret quickly came forward and bowed with a smile. “Please forgive my appearance… It’s not suitable to wear long skirts while sailing at sea, so I hope you don’t mind.”

The man next to her also bowed. “Your Majesty, Sander Flyingbird of Twin Dragon Island pays his respects to you—are you satisfied with what I’m wearing?” He then winked at him as he asked, “Don’t you think this quite matches the words ‘High-flying seabirds’?”

In fact, even before he spoke, Roland had already noticed his distinguishing dress. To be honest, it would have been impossible to remain unnoticed when there were so many feathers on one’s body. His clothes were those of an ordinary sea merchant from the Fjords, but they were covered with bird-feathered tassels everywhere, from the bandana on his head to the soft leather shoes on his feet. However, after the long sea journey, most of the feathers had become stiff and, though still attached to his clothes, they had now lost most of their luster. Looking at such a scene, one could only be reminded of a bird that had been shot out of the sky.

“No… you’ve misunderstood,” Roland said. As far as he was concerned, “Sander Flyingbird” was just a well-known blue icon, and every male of his age, as well as every female, would experience the same impatience before opening a package with this mark. “Though you want to avoid being recognized by Lightning, I can promise you that if you were to enter the castle looking like this, you would definitely attract her close friend Maggie’s attention, Mr. Thunder. In that case, you wouldn’t be able to disguise yourself even if you had a fake beard on your face.”

“Hahaha… Is that so?” Thunder laughed with his clear voice. “That’s a pity. I was quite proud of this disguise. Did you know that ever since I found a tailor to make this dress, it has become the new trend in many islands?”

“Is this the power of a model?” Roland thought and rolled his eyes silently. On the other hand, it was no wonder he was the most prominent explorer of the Fjords if he could maintain such a young mentality despite being at least forty years old. Nobody else would bother to put in so much effort for just a temporary made up name.

Everything began with that letter before the expedition.

Now that the steel ship was completed, it was time to finally test it. Roland’s feelings towards the unpredictable sea were full of awe. He was clearly aware of the actual level of his first steel ship—there was no doubt that even with all the equipment and other gimmicks installed on it, it was still far from sea-worthy.

It required more than a pile of iron pieces which could float and move back and forth to make a qualified sea ship. Due to the violent waves, the ship’s mechanisms would have to be completely different from the versions on the inland riverboats. In addition, considering that it was the first time they were using the steam turbine, the reliability of its power system was also still questionable.

However, the most troubling aspect for him was that he was not familiar with the operational procedures of a ship or the human-engine interaction aspects. Whenever he had trouble with the principles of machinery, he could just go to the Dream World to find a solution, but this could not work for the sailing of a ship. Before the development of electronic control systems, each ship would have to be calibrated and handled separately. Hence, there was no other solution left other than to keep researching by himself.

Thus, inviting Thunder to test it out was the best option he could think of.

Not only he was an experienced navigator but also the leader of an Exploration Group, with hundreds of excellent sailors at his command. His feedback would be invaluable.