Roselle thought he could still talk his way out of this and hurriedly said, "The time travel thing wasn't intentional. I was at home just fine, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here. I'm a victim too!"
"Then how about you return me to where I came from?"
"I'm afraid that's not possible. I'm merely the officer responsible for arresting you. All orders I execute come from the Temporal Judges. What you're asking exceeds my authority," the time police said in a cold tone. "However, you can try appealing later—time criminals get one appeal every 1,000 years."
One…thousand years?!
"Destroy immediately!"
Roselle rolled and scrambled forward, yelling, "Why the hell destroy the whole world all of a sudden?! I didn't resist! I don't even know those people! Are you time police insane or what?!"
The next second, an intense white light burst forth in the pitch-black night sky. In just a few heartbeats, it seemed to engulf the entire world, devouring everything.
Watching the light approach, Roselle's last thought was: Fuck all of you time police bastards!
BOOOM!!!
Everything vanished into the white light.
Slap!
Roselle trembled as he suddenly sat up at his desk, his face filled with a mixture of anger and fear, breathing heavily as he cursed, "Fuck all of you time police bastards!"
Having vented, he fell into a daze.
Wait…wasn't I just arrested?
Then the time police got attacked and killed…and before dying, triggered some annihilation protocol?
What in the world is going on?
His eyes glanced at the water stain on his desk, and then he touched his mouth, face falling into a long, dark line.
"So I was just dreaming this whole time?"
No wonder the whole thing was bizarre, inexplicable, and made no sense whatsoever.
Roselle clasped his head tightly and scratched furiously. "Ah, it must be the recent stress getting to me."
Between potential time travellers, evil gods, murder cases, and a mysterious figure who scared away Zaratul, one strange event after another shattered the peace and ease of Roselle's life. His carefree, protagonist mindset was starting to crumble.
Sigh, maybe I should just go…set sail far away as soon as possible.
In fact, according to his original plan, he should already be out at sea by now. But recent incidents had delayed his journey—mainly because he couldn't bear to leave his family behind.
However, the desire to go on a grand voyage was something Roselle had harboured ever since arriving in this world, for more than a decade now. If he didn't set sail this time, and instead joined the kingdom army as an officer, the next opportunity might be never.
No way!
I, Roselle, am the protagonist!
My world doesn't just consist of my daughter and family, but of great ideals and freedom. Hesitation isn't part of my character!
I'm going to be the greatest navigator this world has ever seen—
Roselle Columbus Magellan Gustav!
———
On the other side.
In the Sefirah Castle, Edward leaned back against the bronze seat, rubbing his throbbing temples.
Praying to himself and then responding to himself might be the safest method, but the consumption of spirituality was indeed much higher. Just now, the drain from using [False Reality] was enough to make even a Sequence 4 feel his head ache.
That whole absurd "performance" just now wasn't some random dream Roselle conjured—it had been a carefully constructed illusion Edward imposed on him.
It wasn't that Edward was idle and trying to tease Roselle for fun; rather, he was verifying the principles of the Spiritcaster's acting method that he had deduced earlier in the day.
By using words and actions to leave deep impressions in the target's memory, thereby making oneself "immortal" in their memory.
Edward was certain that after such a farce, even if Roselle dismissed it as a dream, it was something he would never forget for the rest of his life.
Yet, disappointingly, the Spiritcaster potion's digestion was not as smooth as expected.
Was it because Roselle's Sequence was too low?
Or because he simply brushed it off as a dream and didn't truly internalise it?
Or…was there another reason altogether?
Just then, a star flared in the depths of the grey fog—it was the little girl, Bernadette, once again.
As Edward infused spirituality into it, an image formed of her curled up under her quilt in pyjamas. She timidly peeked with one eye half-open and whispered:
"Mr. Sparrow, are you done with your work?"
"Can you take me to see the mermaids yet?"
"…Mr. Sparrow, are you asleep?"
When no response came, she finally murmured, "Alright then, good night. May you have sweet dreams," before pulling the quilt over her head.
———
Splash…Splash…
Bernadette had just dozed off under her quilt when the sound of crashing waves suddenly filled her ears.
"Am I dreaming?"
She poked her head out of the blanket, rubbed her eyes, and looked around in confusion—huh? This…doesn't seem like my bedroom at all.
Bang!
The door burst open, and a figure strode in quickly.
"Vice-Captain Bernadette, we're about to reach the Sea of Ruins!"
"???"
Still dazed, she stared blankly at the pirate-garbed Edward. Then, all at once, realisation struck, and she scrambled up from the bed, exclaiming in excitement:
"Mr. Sparrow!"
"Call me Captain Sparrow!"
"Captain Sparrow!" she repeated earnestly.
Without even bothering to put on her shoes, Bernadette bolted from the captain's cabin. The sight before her was breathtaking—an endless expanse of blue sky and sea, with a ship bustling full of fairy-tale characters rushing about.
"Wow! Amazing!"
Just then, Prince Charming rode up on his horse, dismounted with a graceful flourish, and offered his hand like a gentleman. He lifted Bernadette onto the white steed, then led it forward.
She looked all around, wide-eyed in wonder. Suddenly, her gaze froze straight ahead, and she gasped, "Wow! What's that?!"
Not far away, the endless blue sea was abruptly severed by a vast chasm. Water cascaded like a boundless waterfall into the abyss below, plunging into unfathomable darkness!
Edward walked alongside and said, "I already told you—it's the Sea of Ruins."
"The Sea of Ruins? What's that?"
"It's a remnant left behind from a battle between gods."
"Gods…fight?"
"Of course."
"That's…that's such a pity," Bernadette sighed.
Edward was startled. "Why a pity?"
Bernadette spread her hands. "I thought gods were all noble, selfless, and great. I didn't expect them to quarrel and fight like ordinary people."
Uh…how did the topic suddenly rise to this level?
"You'll understand when you're older."
Before she could reply, the ship—formerly Black Tulip, now the Fairy Tale—ship approached the edge of the chasm at full speed. With a loud splash, it surged beyond the edge and began to plummet.
The sensory impact at this moment was far more intense than merely watching from afar!
In an instant, every crew member on the ship was lifted into the air. Various ropes, barrels, and other objects floated upward, as if they were about to drift away from the ship entirely.
Yet, the ropes seemed to have come alive, shooting out in precise trajectories to bind every person and object, preventing them from drifting away under the weightlessness.
Bernadette clung desperately to the white horse's neck, refusing to let go. She was terrified, yet this time she did not scream. She forced her eyes wide open, determined to witness the miraculous scene with her own eyes.
Just as the Fairy Tale seemed about to vanish into the abyss, a mighty surge of water erupted from below, geyser-like, lifting the ship high into the air and hurling it across the rift.
After a brief weightless sensation, the ship landed smoothly on the other side.
The crew, along with all the floating objects, came crashing back down in a comical heap, dripping wet from the spray. They looked utterly bedraggled—yet somehow, the sight was also hilarious.
Bernadette burst into giggles, and soon the fairy-tale crew were all laughing together.
For a moment, the entire ship was filled with joyful laughter.
———
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