Anchor, Stop Pretending, You're in Chaldea - Chapter 151

The sound of soldiers’ armor clashing and horses’ hooves echoed in Bai Qiu’s ears. Looking around, he found himself in a vast wilderness. The first light of dawn was gradually brightening the horizon.

Nearby, a blonde girl in luxurious clothing lay by a rock. Her face was drained of color, and she was holding a dagger in a reverse grip, aiming it at her own throat with the last of her strength.

“First sunset. An impossible illusion assaults the nostrils.”
“Second sunset. Silent breaths tear at the lips.”
“And at the third sunset——————”

She gazed at the rising sun and, with her remaining strength, plunged the dagger into her heart. A small sting spread through her body, but it was insignificant compared to the suffering she had endured in recent days.

In her final moments, the girl raised her head towards the rising sun, a regretful smile on her face.

“Ah, I so wish… in this final moment, that someone…”

Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of loneliness flooded Bai Qiu’s heart, completely engulfing him

…

“Hey there! How much longer do you intend to slumber?”

A sudden sharp jolt pierced Bai Qiu’s calf!

Startled, Bai Qiu’s eyes snapped open to meet Draco’s steely gaze as she stood by, arms folded in exasperation.

It dawned on Bai Qiu that the stinging sensation had been Draco’s doing.

“What’s the matter?!”

Bai Qiu sprang upright, scanning the room in haste.

Thankfully, it was the familiar confines of her modest dwelling, no anomalies in sight.

“Hmph, it’s astonishing that you continue to slumber so peacefully, even after the encounter with the enigmatic Caster yesterday.”

Draco, brewing with irritation, made a motion as if to kick Bai Qiu, who swiftly drew back his leg, avoiding the blow.

This subtle maneuver only served to deepen Draco’s displeasure towards Bai Qiu.

In the village, Draco carefully maintained the facade of a fragile blonde maiden, concealing any traces of the once ravenous Beast of Sodom yearning to disrupt the Human Order.

“I’m simply maintaining a positive outlook. Dr. Romani advises us to manage our mental well-being.”

For a restful night leads to a rejuvenated body.

Bai Qiu stood up and stretched, then looked over at the somewhat displeased Draco. The dream he had just had should have been about the memories of Nero Claudius herself. As Draco’s origin, she could never completely separate from Nero’s essence. Being both the Emperor of Roses and a Beast, could it be that her deepest wish was the same in both forms?

“Hey, why are you staring at me?!” Draco’s gaze became very sharp.

“By the way, I didn’t thank you yesterday.”

“Foolish, everything I do is out of interest. I simply don’t want you to die so quickly.”

Draco suddenly crossed her arms and walked out.

“Hmph, that boring woman is coming again. I’m leaving!”

Soon after, Himiko entered with a bamboo basket in her hand.

“Hey, Bai Qiu, Draco-chan, did you sleep well? Hmm, where’s Draco-chan?”

Himiko looked around the room, even checking under the bed.

“Ah, sorry, she went out early.”

Bai Qiu explained immediately.

“She went out, huh? Well, can’t be helped.”

Himiko looked a bit disappointed. Being an outgoing and cheerful person, she always tried to get along with everyone, treating everyone in the village like family.

“Look, I just picked these clams from the beach. They’re huge, a rare find~~~”

She placed the bamboo basket on the table.

“This basket I got from the ship is not only exquisite but also very useful. I never thought a country called ‘Qin’ would have such handy tools that can easily separate clams from sand. They must really like eating clams, right?”

“No, this tool wasn’t originally designed for that purpose…”

“Really? I’ve only dealt with the country ‘Wei’ and got mirrors and other things from them, like some sort of seal. Wait, where did I put that?”

Himiko crossed her arms and tilted her head, thinking.

“Oh well, it’s not important now. Let’s just eat the clams!!!”

She then opened a large clam with her bare hands and reached for something on the table to use as a dip.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

Bai Qiu quickly stopped her.

“Huh? I’m going to dip it in sauce, of course!”

Himiko looked at Bai Qiu, puzzled.

What?! You can eat it like that?!

“It’s really delicious, don’t you want to try?”

“No… I’ll pass…”

“That’s too bad. I think this way of eating will definitely catch on with everyone!”

It’s possible that some people might like it that way, but Bai Qiu wasn’t so sure himself…

Watching the twin-tailed girl enjoying her meal, Bai Qiu realized how important cooking skills really were. At least the rice here was quite tasty.

“By the way, if we take the merchant’s ship later, we’ll find the one responsible for putting the village in danger, right?”

“In theory, yes.”

According to Xu Fu, the sea monster seemed to follow her, as if there was some kind of causal connection.

“Great! When that thing shows up, I’ll punch it away with one blow!!!”

With sauce on her face, Himiko struck a punching pose, holding a clam shell in her left hand.

Seeing Himiko like this, Bai Qiu suddenly thought that if Martha were here, the two of them would definitely become good friends.

—-

“Thank you for boarding, Your Majesty. I am Xu Fu, an alchemist in service of the Qin Empire.”

Xu Fu, accompanied by all the ship’s attendants and craftsmen, awaited on the deck.

“Don’t make it such a big deal. I’m really not that impressive,” Himiko said as she boarded the ship with Bai Qiu.

“Wow, this is my first time on this ship. It’s so big,” Himiko remarked as she walked around the deck, taking everything in.

“Hehe, this is a valuable ship gifted to me by the Emperor of Qin for my sea voyage to find medicine. It is indeed extraordinary,” Xu Fu said with a proud expression, obviously pleased by Himiko’s praise. After all, it was moments like these that reminded Xu Fu of the Emperor’s high regard for him.

“I heard from the envoy that Your Majesty is willing to assist me in defeating the Monster Snake in the sea. I am deeply grateful,” Xu Fu said, expressing his thanks.

Himiko waved her hand dismissively. “Haha, it’s nothing. The people in the village have been severely threatened by this beast, especially with the evil spirits that occasionally come ashore.”

“In that case, let’s not delay any further. Let’s set off now!” Xu Fu commanded. His guards immediately understood and began organizing the deckhands to pull up the gangplank and retrieve the anchors from the water. The rowers below took their positions, chanting in unison as they started to row, and the massive ship slowly departed from the shore, heading towards the open sea.

“Wow, such a huge ship can move so quickly. It’s really impressive,” Himiko exclaimed.

“Hehe, Your Majesty, this is just the beginning. We will accelerate shortly to reach the open sea,” Xu Fu explained, glancing at Bai Qiu.

After all, Bai Qiu was the real intermediary here, and if a fight broke out, he would be crucial in communicating with the queen. More importantly, the blond girl beside him didn’t seem simple at all.

“How is it? Sailing on the sea feels refreshing, doesn’t it?” Bai Qiu asked Draco, who was standing at the bow of the ship.

“Hmph, this is merely a toy humans made to cross the ocean. But it’s also because of this that cities have flourished, and it’s made humans who conquer the seas even more filled with desire. I suppose it’s a good thing in that sense.”

Draco’s words, as usual, were filled with references to “desire” and “depravity.”

“If I regain the Beast’s Saint Graph, I could easily trigger tsunamis on such an ocean, bringing human extinction.”

Her eyes gleamed with dangerous intent.

“I’m not joking. My apocalyptic deluge, the End Wave, is something you’ve witnessed firsthand. It’s a catastrophe capable of resetting the world.”

“…”

Seeing Bai Qiu’s serious expression, Draco smiled again.

“Don’t worry. My powers have been destroyed by the Divine Ancestor, and this Saint Graph doesn’t possess the powers that the Beast once had. Rejoice, humans have escaped disaster once more.”

Meanwhile, the live stream showed Bai Qiu and Draco standing at the bow of the ship, with the vast ocean stretching out before them.

“Streamer, did you start the stream early just to show us this?”

“Damn, why am I working while the streamer is enjoying life!”

“Ah, I also want to take a boat ride with a blonde little girl!”

“Streamer, please don’t stream this. It makes us working people cry…”

“I’m reporting you for taking a vacation with public funds!!!”

“Streamer, isn’t your vacation a bit too long? I want to see Mashu-san!!!”

Bai Qiu glanced at the comments flooding the live stream. Ever since being forced to separate from the others, his streaming style had noticeably shifted. To many viewers, he had become an outdoor leisure streamer. The number of viewers online was visibly dropping. After all, people didn’t tune into his channel to watch him living a relaxed, farming life. Consequently, the accumulation of live stream points had slowed down significantly.

He checked yesterday and found that his total accumulated points had just surpassed 950,000. To unlock the ability to summon a Divine Spirit, he needed 1,000,000 points. Despite streaming whenever he had free time, the points were accruing at a sluggish pace. It was nothing like the rapid increase during the final stages of the Rome Singularity.

But now, with Himiko and Draco, along with the unreliable Xu Fu, three Servants against a Hydra shouldn’t be too difficult, right? It should be like farming materials in a game, or so he thought.

While Bai Qiu was lost in these thoughts, he suddenly heard the voice of a lookout soldier from the mast above.

“Report!!! A gigantic sea monster has been spotted ahead!!!”

Upon hearing the warning, the message was relayed layer by layer by the communication soldiers.

“Report! All non-combatants, craftsmen, and maids should take shelter in the cabin immediately!”

“Report! Archers, prepare!!!”

“Report! Oarsmen, ready, prepare to accelerate!!!”

The entire crew of the ship sprang into action. Xu Fu, looking panicked, called out to Bai Qiu.

“Envoy! Envoy, come quickly!!! The monster has appeared!!!”

Bai Qiu looked out from the bow of the ship. What had been a clear day suddenly turned windy, with dark clouds gathering, and the sky devoid of seabirds. The blue sea, now shrouded in darkness, turned black in an instant. A massive dark figure swam beneath the surface, heading toward the ship.

“So it’s finally here! The beast that prevents the villagers from foraging for clams and wild vegetables!!!” Himiko, sensing the unusual atmosphere, clenched her fists.

“Draco!!!” Bai Qiu shouted to the blonde girl beside him.

“Hmph, it’s just a beast. Why are you so panicked?”

Seeing Bai Qiu’s tense expression, Draco finally smiled.

“Relax, I promised I would help.”

“Boom, boom————————!!!”

The massive ship had somehow been caught in an undercurrent, with the churning water making unsettling noises.

“All oarsmen, accelerate to full speed!!!”

As the ship struggled, several enormous snake heads suddenly emerged from the dark whirlpool below!

“Whoa————————!!!”

A torrent of seawater surged up, drenching the deck and sweeping away some unsecured cargo and a few archers, who vanished into the whirlpool.

Then, the nine heads of the Monster Snake rose from beneath the surface, surrounding the ship trapped in the central vortex. They stared down with eerie red eyes, hissing menacingly!

“Aaaahhhh…”

Xu Fu clung tightly to the mast, terrified by the sight of the Monster Snake’s heads.

“How can we possibly fight such a beast? What was I even thinking? Great Sage Equal of Heaven, save me~~~”

Bai Qiu sighed, seeing Xu Fu being utterly useless.

“Yaaahhhhh!!!”

Himiko was the first to strike! She sprinted forward, then leapt high, gathering all her strength into her right fist and aiming for one of the Monster Snake’s heads on the right side of the deck.

“Take this!!!”

The moment Himiko’s right fist made contact with the Monster Snake’s head, there was a loud crash.

“Bang——————————!!!”