The night wind was a bit cold, and Shade looked at Miss Princess, whose skirt was obviously not warm enough. But she was a fifth-ring warlock, so she would not get sick easily.
A small boat was found moored in the northeast of the pier. After the two people boarded the boat, the boatman wearing a straw hat rowed the boat and carried them away from the pier. This was just a small wooden boat, and of course it was not used to carry them to the deep sea.
In the harbor of Coldwater Harbor, there was a rather impressive double-decker steam cruise ship with brightly lit decks. The chimney stood on the deck of the cruise ship, and the flag of Carsenrick fluttered in the wind.
From the outside, this was a private cruise ship of a wealthy businessman from Carsonrick, who had invited some thrill-seeking guests to hold a banquet on the cruise ship tonight. But in fact, a powerful local ring wizard in Coldwater Port had bribed the port manager to hold an auction of the wizard's items on the ship tonight.
The reason for boarding the ship with a small boat, rather than waiting for guests after the cruise ship docked, was also because of the special nature of this banquet. The invitation in Miss Princess's hand allowed a maximum of three people to travel together. If Shade did not show up tonight, she originally planned to attend the auction alone.
The boat cut through the waves silently, carrying three people to the steam cruise ship anchored in the middle of the harbor. They came in the dark, and after the boatman gave a signal, the small steam engine on the deck started to work, lowering the cargo platform connected to the cable. After Shad and Miss Princess stood on it, with the noise of the steam engine, the metal plate platform slowly rose until it was flush with the deck. Shad was very gentlemanly when he crossed the gap between the two and helped the girl whose golden hair seemed to have faded a little.
Behind them was the port with flickering gas lamps, and in front of them was the calm sea with three moons hanging in the sky. The deck was lit everywhere, and guests wearing masks like Shad and Miss Princess stood in groups of two or three to watch the night view of the sea, or gathered at the table to play cards. As for the guests who came alone, most of them stood at the long table to choose food.
The sounds of violins and deep horns rang out, and masked men and women danced together to the music of the band in the corner of the deck.
A quick glance showed that there were nearly 50 people on the deck.
"It seems that the organizer of the auction is really amazing. Is he a high-level sorcerer from the New World, or a local snake from Coldwater Port? Oh, Miss Princess, how many high-level sorcerers are there here?"
The masked girl adjusted her skirt:
"Not counting us, there are about ten of them. The invitations are not sent out casually. Not only do you have to be rich, but you also have to be reliable. Do you know that the church likes to disguise themselves as illegal ring sorcerers, issue various missions on the black market, and catch those illegal guys one by one?"
This kind of thing is called fishing-style law enforcement in the hometown of outsiders.
Miss Princess finished adjusting her skirt, looked at Shad again, and helped him adjust his tie:
"Let's go eat something first. The admission time is almost over and the cruise ship will depart soon. Once we leave the coast, the auction will officially begin. We can't get the inventory list in advance, and we will only know about all the auction items when the auction begins."
"It doesn't matter. The chances of having what I want here are slim."
Xia De said indifferently that he came here just to try his luck and broaden his horizons. Whether he wanted to buy anything was not important to him.
Shad and Miss Princess arrived here at a critical time. Not long after they boarded the ship, the cruise ship officially set sail and headed for the ocean. It was expected to return to Coldwater Port at midnight four hours later.
The moving ship made the fire representing civilization weaker and weaker, and the dark and deep ocean seemed to swallow up the people. The dull whistle sounded around, and thick black smoke from the chimney was dragged to the stern by the night wind.
Far away from the civilized gathering area, the deep and ancient darkness made Shade feel inexplicably uncomfortable. Although the ship would not really go deep into the ocean, but just slightly away from the cold water port, for a foreigner, being far away from the light of civilization in such a world still made him very worried.
"Miss Princess, can you swim?"
In order to avoid being approached by bored people, the two of them now stood by the railing of the deck and looked at the night view. The masked blonde girl was shaking the goblet in her hand, while Shad held nothing.
"Of course, what's the matter?"
Xia De didn't say that he was a little worried about the ocean at night:
"Do you think... this ship will suddenly hit an iceberg?"
"iceberg?"
Even though there were only holes in the mask showing the eyes, Shade could still guess the surprise on the other person's face:
"Do I need to remind you that we are now in the cold water port on the west coast of the north-central part of the Old World, not the extreme north of the continent. Besides, it's summer now... Iceberg? Why do you ask that?"
She chuckled, and Xia De shook his head embarrassedly:
"I'm just a little worried, that's all. But speaking of icebergs, do you want to hear a story?"
Turning his head to look at the deck illuminated by candles and gas lamps, it was just an ordinary cruise ship masked banquet. Men and women with different thoughts were chatting with each other, playing cards, looking at the scenery, or dancing in a corner of the deck. The melodious violin sound made Xia De feel much more relaxed. The auction would be held in forty minutes:
“To pass the time, I came up with a love story about cruise ships, the ocean, icebergs and jewels.”
"OK."
Miss Princess nodded, swung the slender goblet of wine between two fingers, then lifted her mask and drank the wine.
The young girl suddenly gave Xia De a playful smile, then threw the wine glass into the sea with a light throw. She generously lifted her hair:
"I love listening to stories, but if the story isn't interesting, you have to have a drink with me."
Looking at Xia De with a smile in his eyes:
"Even though you claim you don't drink, one drink should be fine."
"Of course, I'll start my story. Isn't it unlucky to tell a story about a shipwreck on a boat?"
Shade asked with some concern, but Miss Princess didn't care. Her voice blew into Shade's ears with the wind:
"If you don't tell a story, then I'll just go get the wine glasses. What would you like to drink? Sparkling wine? Oh, that's something for kids."
"Of course I have to tell it, but I want to give it a nice name... Crashing into an iceberg? No, that's not elegant at all... A poor boy and a rich girl? No, no, that won't work either... A shipwreck caused by an affair? No, that won't work, the two things are not related."
Shad was talking to himself. He didn't want to say the name of the ship on the boat. This would be really unlucky. Miss Princess looked at her with a smile. She was enjoying this moment very much:
"Does the jewelry you're talking about have a name?"
The sorceress asked softly, and Shade nodded:
"Heart of the Ocean."