CHAPTER 412: DOCKING AT AN ISLAND?

The world was mainly composed of four great seas and four large landmasses—being Nations—with each sea connecting at least two nations together.

The Neveron sea for the South and the East. The Tirean Sea for the East and the North. The Hilgrim Sea for the North and West. And lastly, the Carmel Sea for the West and South.

And at the halfway mark in each of these seas, there will always be...

"PREPARE for docking, mateys!"

... An island.

By now, everyone had woken up and already eaten breakfast, which the Captain was so kind to make.

Fortunately, Lillian hadn’t yet been caught for stealing the Captain’s gold, so she was quite upbeat about that. Currently, she was sitting on top of the mast of the ship and looked over the island they were about to dock on.

On each island at the halfway mark in each sea, there would always be a merchant town that sold various supplies for travellers making their way across the sea.

Lillian stiffened as she sat up.

Didn’t this place also have WiFi?

Scrambling up to her feet and climbing down the top of the mast, she approached the bow of the ship and waited patiently as the boat neared the wooden docks of the town.

And once they had finally docked, Lillian immediately pulled out her phone. She looked at the bars she had managed to receive and watched as they slowly grew from none to 2.

Seeing that she had now received some service, her face slowly darkened as she watched countless missed calls and texts from Marionette appear on her notifications...

"Ah... Crap."

She immediately turned and dashed towards the living quarters, while telling those that she informing those she passed that she was going to make a quick call to someone.

Viesta, who watched as Lillian hurriedly climbed down to the lower deck, smiled slightly before giggling.

"I guess Lillian really missed her girlfriend..."

After saying that, she turned on her heel and climbed off the boat.

Lillian, having entered the living quarters, climbed onto the top bunk and fixed her appearance using the reflection of her phone as a mirror.

Just in case Marionette would like to Facetime.

She then took in a deep breath and leaned her phone against her folded blanket.

She then muttered quietly:

"I hope she isn’t too upset..."

And after saying that in a hopeful tone, she shot Marionette a call.

What she had thought would take a few seconds for the Assassin to see was immediately answered just the moment she pressed the call button.

***

Sitting at her desk, Marionette focused on the countless study materials in front of her. Although she had time off, she felt this would be a perfect use of her time.

So, with her headphones over her ears, she started to work on improving her knowledge of the topics taught in the academy. However—in the middle of her session—her phone, which was on the far right side of her desk, vibrated and buzzed.

Her eyes, that was once focused on the textbooks, immediately darted towards her phone’s lit-up screen and found a call she had been expecting for hours.

Before the first vibration and buzz of her phone finished and went on to the next, she instantly snatched the phone into her hand and answered it in a split second.

She leaned the speaker of her phone into her ear and waited patiently for Lillian’s voice to appear.

"M-Mari? Are you there...?" Lillian asked as she wondered why it was quiet on the other side of the call.

Marionette fidgeted at the sound of Lillian’s voice as she nodded unconsciously, "Mhm... I’m here... Have you been well, Lillian?"

"Hehe, I’ve been alright, I think. Not too bad, you know~? I see, uh... You’ve been giving me a lot of calls and messages... Hehe..." Lillian giggled nervously on the other side.

Marionette nodded unconsciously again, despite the girl being unable to see it.

Her right leg began to slowly bump up and down uncontrollably as she asked in a strangely insecure manner:

"Mhm... Why haven’t you been answering them? I... Haven’t been annoying you, have I?"

"Huh? Where did you get that from? Why on earth would I be annoyed at you? And uh, I haven’t been answering due to some... Stuff..."

Marionette’s ears twitched happily as she heard that her insecurities were for nothing. The corners of her mouth curled up in a small yet blissful smile as her leg stopped bumping up and down.

"So, you’ve been busy, I see... May I ask if it was related to the fact you were in the Underworld?"

"Ehehe... Something like that. I just needed to buy an Item for something coming up soon. I might not be able to call for the next few days or week because of it."

Marionette, who was in a positive mood, began to deflate slightly. For a few days or even a week...? What was Lillian doing during that period that she couldn’t give her a single call or message over the phone?

She frowned and leaned back into her chair.

Was the task provided by the Student Council so difficult that Lillian wouldn’t be able to contact her?

"Lillian..."

"Hm?"

"... You’re mine... Right?"

"E-eh?"

Marionette slowly twirled a lock of her black hair with a shy expression as she awaited Lillian’s response.

She... She just wanted to hear Lillian say that she belonged to her...

***

Lillian blushed furiously as she stared at the screen of her phone.

Placing a hand on the side of her left cheek, she could already feel it heating up rapidly. Why had her girlfriend suddenly asked her such a question?!

Looking away slightly with trembling eyes, she held her phone to her mouth and murmured shyly, "O-of course, I am yours... Who else would I belong to...?"

"... Pfft."

Lillian widened her eyes. Was Marionette laughing at her?

"H-hey! You can’t laugh at me like that! Especially when I just said—"

"I love you, Lillian... I really miss you..."

Lillian pouted but then hid her face behind her hair and stated in an embarrassed tone, "I-I love you too..."