Pirate's Freedom

"Nami-"

In the thick fog, Nami tried her best to straighten her arms and groped with her right hand towards the top of a tall wooden pillar.

"How about it?"

Beneath her, Nuo Qi raised her head and asked expectantly.

"right?"

"Any higher and I can't reach it."

Nami frowned as she waved her arm.

"Not yet?"

Nokigao stood up on her tiptoes unsteadily.

"now what?"

"Well, I'll give it a try."

Nami replied.

"Oh!"

Nuo Qi stumbled and suddenly tilted sharply.

"Stand still, Nuoqigao! Hold still! Don't move! Hey, hey, hey—"

With quick eyes and quick hands, she hugged the wooden pillar tightly, and Nami shouted while hanging in the air.

"Karina—!"

"I held her! Nami, she was right where she was just now!"

Karina's voice rang out hastily.

"Nami, there is a pit here...!"

Nuo Qigao's voice was filled with shock. Although it was just a small pit, when he could not see anything, the feeling of stepping into the air at that moment was the same as falling into an abyss.

"Okay, it's okay, Nokigao, I touched it."

When her fingertips touched the uneven place, Nami perked up and began to stroke it carefully.

"wait a moment……"

"..."

Karina and Nocchi waited with bated breath.

"Yes, this is the sign for the pier, but...just wait a moment..."

Then she put her hands to her ears, closed her eyes, and listened carefully for a while.

"I can feel...the [sound] of the sea..."

Finally, Nami opened her eyes and made a careful judgment.

"This is the dock, of course."

"That's great~!"

"I'm back~!"

Nokigao and Karina high-fived each other.

"Hahaha~!"

"Uh hee hee~!"

The feeling of not knowing where you are at all and being empty is so terrible that you don’t want to experience it again.

"Finally... reluctantly came back..."

Nami took a deep breath, raised her right hand to wipe her sweat, and got off Nokigao's shoulder.

This time, they really experienced what it meant to be in the clouds.

"..."

The glass bead-sized commemorative compass of the island was brought up to her eyes, and until it almost touched her eyelashes, Karina could barely see the red and blue magnetic needle inside.

"The compass is still spinning around—"

She put the compass back into her shirt pocket, a look of admiration on her face.

"How on earth did you do that, Nami?"

"It's not difficult. The mist is actually flowing slowly."

Relax your mind.Nami replied nonchalantly.

"If you look carefully, you can quickly tell the direction."

"Um……"

Nokigao opened his eyes hard, but still couldn't see anything.

"Why can't I observe it?"

In her eyes, the mist was heavy and sluggish, like curdled milk, with no change at all.

"Uh……"

Nami was a little stuck. She thought hard and explained seriously.

"It's not about seeing with your eyes, I should say... it's about feeling with your body."

"Eh~ so amazing~"

Karina became interested and urged her.

"Say it quickly!"

"Okay, since you want to hear it..."

Nami shrugged helplessly.

"I'm just here to talk to you..."

next moment--

"First of all, let's be clear--!"

Looking at her raised index finger, Nokigao and Karina heard Nami speak in a confident tone.

"The human body is a natural measuring instrument. Most man-made meteorological instruments are completely incomparable to the human body!"

After a moment.

"...Even if we only rely on the tongue, nasal cavity and eardrums, we can easily learn the subtle changes in air pressure and humidity..."

"..."

Nami was still gushing, but Karina was already starting to regret it.

As for Nokigao, she had given up thinking much earlier.

"In this case, based on the environmental factors here and eliminating some interference, the direction of the sea breeze can be judged. Here..."

"what?!"

Nami's expression was suddenly startled.

"The flow of mist has begun to accelerate! Just like when it appeared...it feels...as if...it's going to dissipate?"

Her tone was very uncertain.

"Ah——! After all——"

The little genius navigator scratched his head in frustration and yelled frantically.

“This fog is so weird!!”

"...!"

They were shocked and their eyes were unfocused, and the two people came back to their senses.

"Yup!"

"That's right!"

"This fog sucks!"

The two guys started to change the topic while talking to each other.

"It's better to disperse quickly."

"Ah! Ila also wants to eat the special ice cream here."

Suddenly remembering something, Nuo Qigao said uncertainly.

"I wonder if the door can be opened now?"

"How could it be opened?!"

Karina finally couldn't help but spit out something.

"With such a heavy fog, do you think everyone is Nami?"

"It's not my problem!"

Nami immediately retorted.

"How can ordinary people judge the direction by relying on their noses!"

Making an invisible face, Nuo Qigao said with a smile.

"Ira, are you right?"

"..."

Ila didn't answer.

“What’s the special ice cream like?”

Karina suddenly asked.

"I heard - the ice cream here -"

Nokigao deliberately lengthened his voice to make him appetizing.

"You can stack nine balls on top of each other without falling out."

"Eh?!"

Nami's voice sounded surprised.

"Nine-ball ice cream? The cone must be huge!"

"That's what the owner of the weapons store said anyway."

Karina asked pretending to be casual.

"Ira heard it too, right?"

"..."

There was no response in the thick fog.

"I hate it~ stop making trouble~"

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and Nuoqi smiled Gaoqiang.

"Hahaha~ Don't be angry~ Ila~!"

"If you can't eat today, Ira——"

Karina smiled as her eyelids twitched slightly.

"It will be the same again tomorrow."

"You guys! Why don't you understand Ila's feelings at all? What does it matter if you go and take a look again!"

After the angry shouting.

"Na - Ila -"

Nami suggested thoughtfully.

"If the fog clears, should we go take a look?"

"..."

Silence, endless silence.

"Ira?"

Hold on to hope.

Hesitantly and tentatively, Nami stretched out her right arm and waved it several times.

Reluctantly and in vain, my fingers grasped a few times in the mist.

"I...la...?"

She slowly froze.

"..."

After a moment of silence.

"Ah ah ah ah ah--!!!"

The three of them held their heads and shouted.

"Ira is missing——!!!"

On the breakwater of the pier, a few seagulls flew up...

……

Alone, Smoker walked silently through the deserted streets.

The wind whistled, and endless white mist poured towards him from all directions.

"..."

Suddenly, the walking [Typhoon Eye] turned its head, paused slightly, and turned in one direction.

After a while, they turned a corner.

"Icarus of ancient Greece~"

The faint singing became clearly audible.

"The bird's feathers are fixed with wax~"

In childish singing.

"Hold it with both hands and spread your wings and fly~"

A little girl was sitting on the curb on the street, hugging her legs.

"Higher and farther than the clouds~"

In time with the beat, tap your feet against the ground.

"Only courage is his friend~"

Boom, boom, boom, boom...

The sound of hard boot soles hitting the ground blended into the little girl's beat.

"He flew away from the hill quickly~"

Even though my mood was extremely bad, but...

"Below is the vast blue ocean~"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Walking in front of her, Smoker slowly squatted down, with a gentle expression on his fierce face.

"Are you separated from your parents?"

"Flap the wings in your hands hard~"

The little girl was singing to herself.

"Fly towards the target sun~"

"Only courage is his friend~"

"We must live strong~"

"..."

There was no trace of impatience on his face. Smoker just squatted in front of her and listened quietly.

"Only courage is our friend~"

After singing the last line, the little girl with pink hair took a breath.

"I want to eat ice cream!"

Looking at him with big eyes without blinking, Ila spoke very seriously.

“But I don’t know where they sell it.”