Free Web NovelChapter 310: Sapphire Star: Me?!
The hood? The hood! Sapphire Star was one hundred percent certain — the gaze directed at him was fixed squarely on his Sway Eel hood.
As they say, Stand users are drawn to one another.
Though this was their first meeting, the fact that she had been drawn to his hood could only mean one thing — could it be that she, too, had an interest in Sway Eel hoods?
If so, then it was only right to test the waters.
By the time Andrew, drawing on his intimate knowledge of his master, had registered that something was very, very wrong — it was already far too late.
Sapphire Star’s expression shifted into one of absolute gravity. He asked, with utmost sincerity:
"Interested?"
The sudden question caught Miyabi off guard for a brief moment. Then, as if she had grasped what Sapphire Star was asking about, she gave a decisive nod.
"Yes."
"Want one? You can pick the color yourself!"
The question hadn’t specified a single thing — no subject, no object — yet Sapphire Star spoke as though the person in front of him would understand him perfectly. And the Miyabi he had placed such high hopes in did not disappoint him in the slightest.
Faced with his words, her eyes lit up immediately. Under Sapphire Star’s expectant gaze, she didn’t hesitate for even a heartbeat before giving a firm, emphatic nod.
"Sure!"
"...Damn it."
Without a shadow of a doubt — the "sure" was Miyabi’s, and the "damn it" was Andrew’s.
Realizing that events had now taken on a life of their own, Andrew stared at the outcome of all his patient, earnest persuasion crumbling to nothing in an instant. In the end, all he could do was instinctively cover his eyes with one hand, unable to bear the sight.
Did he not know exactly what his master’s personality was like?
As a fanatical devotee of the Sway Eel hood, even if someone showed the faintest, most passing flicker of interest, he would force one into their hands on the spot.
Andrew still had three Sway Eel hoods in his warehouse right now — all of them rammed into his hands by his master’s relentless evangelism.
And that was for people who had shown only a vague interest. Someone like Miyabi, who had expressed clear, explicit enthusiasm? There was no saving this.
"Great, great, great."
Having secured her agreement, Sapphire Star was absolutely overjoyed. Seeing this person — someone who, after so long, had recognized the sublime beauty of the Sway Eel hood — the more he looked at Miyabi, the more he liked what he saw.
"Ahem, ahem—"
Before Sapphire Star could continue, Andrew immediately let out a deliberate cough and cut in, launching one final, desperate, last-ditch struggle: frёewebηovel.cѳm
"The details can wait until after we get back to Astera, old man. Don’t you need to report the mission’s completion status to the receptionist anyway?"
If he couldn’t stop it from happening, at least he could delay the moment it arrived.
"Fine."
After a brief pause, Sapphire Star gave a decisive nod. He then immediately beckoned for both of them to follow and set off toward the distant outpost.
They had plenty of time afterward, one way or another — there would definitely be time to pick a color for a Sway Eel hood.
As for why it wasn’t the crafting time that was the concern? Simple — Sapphire Star’s warehouse held a complete collection of Sway Eel hoods in every single color. Whatever color anyone could possibly want, he could produce a brand-new one on the spot.
To keep pace with the group, Sapphire Star also called out his own animal companion — the one he’d raised in the Ancient Forest.
However, that Jagras of his, fed three meals of prime meat a day, was visibly larger than the one Andrew had just recruited on the spot — taller at the shoulder and longer in the body by a clear margin.
Its neck had even begun to sprout the slender, wispy barbels characteristic of a Great Jagras.
Everything about it screamed that it was ready to grow into a Great Jagras at any moment — yet for some inexplicable reason, it seemed to be holding itself back, refusing to take that final step in that direction.
Even so, it was more than enough to make Andrew’s freshly recruited Jagras stare up at it with eyes full of undisguised envy.
As they walked, Sapphire Star turned his head toward Miyabi, who was walking just ahead of Andrew, and asked:
"Miss Miyabi, shall I give you a rundown of how things work around here?"
Miyabi shook her head at that.
"Thank you, but that’s alright. Andrew explained everything in great detail during our journey here today. If there’s anything I don’t understand, he’ll explain it to me."
The brief travel time passed in the blink of an eye.
It didn’t take long before the three of them arrived before the wooden gate of Astera via a hidden side path.
The hunter standing guard at the gate spotted Sapphire Star and gave an enthusiastic wave — then froze the moment he caught a clearer look at the figures following behind him.
On reflex, he waved all three of them through.
Two guards simultaneously turned to look back at the three entering figures — at the one familiar silhouette among them that wasn’t Sapphire Star. Though the full-coverage helmet obscured any view of his face, and the heavy armor did its part to conceal his build, both guards exchanged a single uncertain glance before speaking in unison:
"Little Mo? He’s back?!"
Then, turning to look at each other again, they cried out in the same breath:
"You too?!"
After all, if only one person thought a stranger looked like Andrew, that could be written off as wishful thinking after missing him too long. But two people recognizing him simultaneously? That was no trick of the eyes.
Ordinary hunters already had extraordinarily sharp eyesight — and these two were elite hunters at that, one of whom was a bowman by trade.
Under those circumstances, the odds of them both being wrong were practically zero.
Faced with the situation, one of them stroked his chin, barely able to contain his disbelief, and muttered:
"Andrew’s back?! And he’s... brought a girl with him?!"
During the time Andrew had been in the New World, he’d spent day after day focused entirely on training to sharpen his skills. On the rare occasion he had any free time, he’d throw himself into developing new food and drink recipes.
It wasn’t just that he had no one he was romantically interested in — he hadn’t even exchanged words with a single girl his own age.
And yet now he had brought back an unfamiliar girl out of nowhere!
At that, the two guards looked at each other. One of them gave voice to the shared suspicion that had formed in both their minds at the exact same moment:
"Could it be... Little Mo is bringing a girl home to meet the family?"
Upon hearing that theory, the other immediately nodded in vigorous agreement.
"Exactly, exactly — that’s what I was thinking too!"
The anxiety that had quietly gnawed at them ever since the news of Andrew’s disappearance had finally, completely lifted. The bowman hunter was already swinging his great bow onto his back and saying to his partner:
"My legs are faster — I’ll run ahead and report to the Commander!"
"You hold down the gate. News this big has to reach the Grammeowster Chef in the Icefields and the Guildmaster as fast as possible!"
"We need to get the word out to everyone!"
"Oh yeah! Count on me, partner!"
Meanwhile.
As the three of them crossed through that not-particularly-large wooden gate and walked a little further in, they finally arrived before the true main entrance of Astera.
Beneath their feet, the wooden walkway hung suspended in the air — massive logs bound together with iron hoops, with gaps between the planks through which one could see the mist of seawater churning dozens of feet below.
The air itself was tinged with the faint, pervasive briny smell of the ocean.
But threading through it came the scent of oil burning in torches — shredded by air currents into pale grey wisps of gauze that drifted and spread across the entire area above.
What puzzled Miyabi, however, was this:
That scent was unlike any burning oil she had ever encountered before.
If Andrew had known what was puzzling her, he could have given her a definitive answer right away.
The oil burning in those torches was beast oil.
Not ordinary fat — it carried a wild, intense quality, something almost savory in the way it smelled of charring muscle fibers, mingled with the resinous fragrance of burning wood and a faint, singular note of iron: the smell of coastal metal that had been dampened by sea breezes, then seared dry by high heat.
They passed beneath three pairs of enormous dragon bones strung with countless hanging streamers that transformed the passage into a corridor, and the three of them officially stepped onto the first planks of Astera.
What surprised Miyabi most of all was this:
The outpost Andrew had spoken of was actually a semi-permanent structure — built from four ships of varying sizes, moored against a cliff-side harbor and then adapted and expanded into what it was today.
Several vessels of different sizes sat side by side, linked together by platforms and staircases constructed after the fact. The result looked chaotic at a glance, but was in truth a seamlessly integrated whole — born of the combined effort and countless hours of coordination poured in by everyone here.
The canopy overhead that covered the central activity area, she realized, had been formed by inverting the skeleton of an enormous ship and propping it up on support pillars.
Sunlight poured in through holes in the vaulted ceiling and gaps in the cliff walls to either side — in long, slanting beams, like ribbons of silk dropped into the bustling, orderly crowds moving through the space below.
In the distance, a massive waterwheel rumbled steadily, its rotation driven by the flow of water, turning a system of interlocking gears.
All manner of people moved through the space, engaged in their respective tasks across different areas — sorting ore, processing pelts and hides, hauling cargo and supplies.
A few hunters moved with hurried purpose, arriving at the outpost entrance and letting out a sharp whistle. A Wyvern came swooping in, and they fired their grappling hooks to latch onto it before soaring off into the distance without a single word.
The supervisor standing atop a stack of crates was parceling out a fresh delivery of supplies. Not far away, a small, elderly woman dressed in white robes stood on the rim of an enormous iron cauldron, stirring its contents without pause.
Her diminutive stature.
Made Miyabi feel, for the very first time, what it was like to perceive someone as a great master without relying on her ears at all.
And the Felynes — the human outpost’s number one mascot — worked throughout the space, each contributing in their own way, applying their unique skills to assist with all manner of tasks.
The sight of it all — orderly yet brimming with vibrant energy — left Miyabi momentarily transfixed.
But before she had even a few seconds to take it in, the newcomers were greeted — without exception — by Astera’s other mascot.
The Puizhu Pigs.
Every single person returning to Astera, without fail, received a boisterous welcome from the Puizhu Pigs that always waited by the entrance.
Andrew most of all.
The Puizhu Pig that Andrew had often given affectionate pats caught the long-missed familiar scent and immediately surrounded him, swarming around him like a dog that had just seen a beloved owner return home after years away.
And beyond the mascots, there was one more figure who had already been waiting at the outpost entrance ahead of them.
The moment she spotted Sapphire Star’s silhouette, she came charging toward them, words already tumbling out of her mouth:
"Aibo! What took you so long?! The three little ones you brought out left ages ago and came back already!!"
The voice arrived before she did.
The girl who came rushing up to the three of them grabbed Sapphire Star’s arm and started shaking it, her pouting complaint carrying just a trace of genuine reproach beneath the playfulness:
"I actually started worrying you’d run into some kind of danger out there!"
The girl, who radiated an almost infectious energy, wore the standard-issue receptionist uniform of the Guild. A large pair of goggles perched on her forehead, ready to be pulled down at a moment’s notice in an emergency.
Her hair — already cut short — was gathered into a ponytail at the back of her head, lending her a certain capable, efficient air.
Provided, of course, that you didn’t look at her face — currently fixed in an utterly goofy grin that dismantled any and all impressions of competence, leaving nothing behind but pure, uncut derpiness.
At her waist, she carried neither a weapon like Sapphire Star nor one like Andrew. Instead, hanging from the bag at her side was an enormous, thick compendium of compiled adventure requests, bobbing up and down with her every running step.
Watching her come barreling up to them, Andrew stepped forward and greeted her first:
"Hey, long time no see, Deviljho. I’m back!"
The familiar voice and the familiar nickname made the girl stop her rushing feet in their tracks. She had assumed the newcomers accompanying Sapphire Star were simply other hunters happening to return at the same time.
But that voice. That build. And that nickname.
Her eyes lit up in an instant. Looking at Andrew standing before her, she called out with barely-contained excitement:
"Little Mo! You’re back!"
But very quickly, she registered exactly what Andrew had just called her, and her lips puffed out in immediate dissatisfaction.
All the joy of the reunion was shoved completely to the back of her mind. She folded her arms, decidedly put out:
"Mmgh... Little Mo, you called me that again! You used to always be such a good boy and call me ’Big Sis Receptionist’!"
"Even I have feelings, you know! Being called that does make me a little unhappy!"
Faced with her disgruntled protest, Andrew simply shrugged and replied with good-natured exasperation:
"Then, my dear Big Sis Receptionist — exactly who is it that, every single time I’m in the middle of preparing a banquet spread, causes the dishes I’ve already finished to mysteriously disappear halfway through, forcing me to start all over from scratch?"
"Mmgh..."
"And exactly who is responsible for the jerky I stored in the supply box — enough to last half a month — vanishing in a single night like it was never there?"
"Mmgh mmgh..."
As her illustrious list of accomplishments was laid out one by one, Aibo — knowing full well she had no leg to stand on — ultimately threw up her hands and gave in with absolute shamelessness:
"Well, that’s only because Little Mo, everything you make is just so delicious, I can’t help myself... I couldn’t resist..."
Afterward.
Thoroughly outargued but still deeply unwilling to admit full defeat, she turned instead toward Sapphire Star, who had been standing to the side with the happily detached expression of a man enjoying a particularly good show. She addressed him with something that was equal parts complaint and wheedling:
"Aibo! Can you please do something about your disciple?!"
Sapphire Star — who had been called "old man" by Andrew for as long as anyone could remember — instinctively pointed at himself, genuine puzzlement mixing with mild surprise as he said:
"Me?"
"Mmgh..."
Only then did Aibo fully register exactly who she had just chosen to complain to. She ground to a complete halt.
Watching the familiar spectacle unfold, Andrew couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.
He waved a hand with a smile and said:
"Alright, alright, my dear Big Sis Receptionist. I can’t exactly go around calling you Deviljho forever, now can I."
Seeing she was still puffed up with residual indignation, Andrew reached for his tried-and-true trump card:
"I’ve got something good from another world set aside in my materials box as a gift for you. Once I’m done with the important stuff, I’ll let you have a taste."
The moment those words landed, the pout that had been firmly fixed on Aibo’s face dissolved without a trace. She looked at Andrew with wide, delighted eyes to confirm:
"Really?!"
And the moment Andrew gave a confirming nod, Aibo swept every last trace of her earlier grievances clean out of her mind. She waved cheerfully and said:
"Hehe, I knew you were the best, Little Mo! In that case, go ahead and get your important stuff done — I’ll be waiting for you at the Meowscular Chef’s station, just like always!"
____
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