After determining the cause, the two brought to the deck.
Due to the expansion of space, on the third floor of the poop, where Sofia, Lucilia, and Matresa lived, there was a specially expanded room next to it, specifically for the puppet girls.
Due to their size, the expanded room was more than enough for the entire puppet army.
It took Alka and Simon a great deal of effort to create the furniture that suited their body shapes.
Making these things always gave Alka a feeling of playing house.
Especially the over 70 sets of beds and bedding.
When the two came up, they were immediately surrounded by a large group of puppet girls.
They all looked curiously at Lily on Alka's shoulder. As puppet girls, they could easily sense their new sister.
"Is this a new sister?"
"So beautiful, but she looks different from us."
"She's a captain."
"Silly! The team members have all been created, so of course there's only one captain left."
Watching the chattering puppet girls, Alka remained silent, observing them closely.
It was certain that Lily's arrival and the changes it had brought had elevated the puppet girls' minds.
They were more agile than before.
"Lily, go say hello to everyone," Alka said, lifting the puppet girl from her shoulder.
"Yes," Lily nodded, and without hesitation, jumped down.
He embraced and exchanged familiar words with the puppet girls, quickly becoming friends.
"So now only the last captain remains, right?" Sofia asked from behind.
The others on the boat had already been drawn in by the commotion and were watching from the sidelines.
Simply put, the puppet girls on the ship can be roughly divided into six groups.
A squad consists of ten members, plus a captain.
Belonging to One, all members use materials that allow them to disappear, as well as various spells that conceal their forms and block perception.
Used for reconnaissance, patrolling, and sentry duty, the first team is based on One.
Their names are named One-One and One-Two.
Two, Three, and Four are made from the hair of three women on the ship.
Therefore, these three puppet girls are not based on their prototypes; they generally follow their respective crew members.
Because these puppet girls with hair may have different talents, following the hair provider is like learning by example.
When necessary, they can be combined into a squad, and Lily, made from Alka's hair, will also be part of this squad.
Alka hoped that the team would eventually consist of six captains, who would assist Lucilia in combat or aid Alka and the others.
The other six captains among the twelve captains would lead the 60 members.
One would lead the assassin team.
Doll Girl Five, Simon had painstakingly crafted them. While they were called doll girls, Alka felt they were more like mechanical girls.
The team she led was the ship's logistics unit. After all, with so many doll girls, it wasn't possible for two people to perform repairs and maintenance every time they went into battle.
That left them with very little time.
This team was specifically designed for this purpose, utilizing the most custom-built structural components.
They all studied casting and mechanical construction, though they clearly hadn't yet mastered their skills and were still learning under Alka and Simon.
However, they already possess the ability to care for and maintain their sisters, and are currently attempting to do the same with the Voice of Dawn.
Any girl with various constructs on her body is part of this team.
Puppet Girl Lu is the largest of the Puppet Girls. Normal Puppet Girls are around 30 cm tall.
She stands a full 40 cm tall, wielding two rapiers and wearing fitted soft armor.
The Puppet Girls she leads are identical, but 35 cm tall. They also wield dual blades and wear soft armor.
Their soft armor isn't just ordinary soft armor; it's powered soft armor made from constructs.
They are part of the assault team, specializing in frontal group attacks.
Puppet Girl Qi is a magic character who uses spells for ranged attacks and is also a sculptor.
The Doll Girl Squad she leads, like herself, provides various spell support.
However, they can't yet fully utilize their potential because, like Five and the support team, they are also undergoing spell engraving and learning related knowledge under Alka.
Doll Girl Eight is a ranged physical attack character, wielding a sniper rifle larger than herself.
Created by Simon, she uses extremely small armor-piercing rounds and, due to her size, can only deliver penetrating attacks.
The Doll Girls she leads are the same.
Doll Girl Nine is a more special type. She and her team have wings, similar to the team that helped out in the restaurant earlier.
With wings, they are extremely maneuverable and can fly freely in the air.
They are classified as aerial support units.
As for Doll Girl Ten, she doesn't have a team leader, but like Two and the others, she belongs to a special team.
However, it wasn't made from anyone's hair.
It was the culmination of Alka's masterwork. She could simultaneously receive information from everyone in the team and relay it back to the others.
This included Alka and his group.
She also possessed a powerful sense of perception, utilizing Shadaiti's silver ripples combined with Julia's perception.
However, it couldn't be used for extended periods, so it was only used during intense combat.
She could also fly and become invisible in dreams.
Her only weakness was her complete inability to fight.
In short, she was the center of the battlefield. During combat, she was an outsider, providing information and intelligence support to everyone involved.
She was the eyes of the battle.
However, since her creation, she had never truly demonstrated her abilities, and so her abilities remained unverified.
During the previous battle with the pirates, she was still debugging, learning, and familiarizing herself with her abilities, so she didn't participate.
I wonder if her role is as crucial as it was when Alka created her.
In other words, the only one yet to be created is the 12th captain.
Aside from her, the entire puppet girl army is complete.
The happiest person, of course, is Lucelia.
Because her character knights have reached perfection, this has given her a significant boost in strength.
So, Lucelia has inexplicably become the second-strongest person on the ship.
With her small body and immense strength, once she's hidden, her deadly attacks are terrifying.
...
They've been sailing for nearly ten days and nights, but they still haven't seen the so-called Southern Cross Island.
They might not be as close to the Southern Cross Island as they thought.
During this time, they also passed an island, but they simply went around it without making any landfall.
"Turn around! Don't get carried away by the current," Alka warned from the observation room.
As he spoke, the Voice of Dawn slowly adjusted its course, aligning it with the direction the flag was pointing.
There was no other way. The more they sailed, the more they realized the ocean truly moved on its own.
They kept moving, yet they kept turning inexplicably, without even noticing.
It wasn't until they saw the flag, which had been pointing straight ahead, completely tilted that they realized their ship had gone astray.
If they hadn't used the guiding flag to reach the signpost island, they would have definitely gotten lost.
"Wouldn't that have negated the special significance of the signpost island?" Lucelia, who was writing in the monster manual nearby, asked curiously.
After all, if you look at it this way, sailing on the sea isn't always possible, and with no reference points in the vast ocean, how can anyone guarantee they're always heading in the same direction?
Then wouldn't the landmark island, which never drifts with the current, be meaningless?
The island wouldn't move, but the ship would get lost, losing even its direction.
And they'd tried it before: the compass and guidance systems that had worked in their home sea wouldn't work here.
Because in this hellish place, the sun never moves, and the nights are even more bizarre, changing from night to night.
The moon would sometimes appear and sometimes disappear, and sometimes even a star that looked like the moon would appear.
Daytime was dead silent.
Night was chaos.
Arka shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
"However, one thing is certain: the Signpost Island always stays in one direction, doesn't it? It's just that we're sailing in the wrong direction."
"Given the special significance of the Signpost Island, there must be something that can guide us correctly in these chaotic ocean currents. We just don't have it right now," Alka said thoughtfully.
He remembered hearing about such a thing while chatting with Balazs earlier.
It was similar to the compass and guidance tool used in the Home Sea.
But Balazs had said that it could only be obtained by obtaining the Southern Cross Island, and even they didn't have many.
So Alka didn't ask any further questions at the time.
Now it seems that it must be something that allows them to maintain their correct direction while navigating the ocean.
Lucelia, who was writing in the Monster Manual, suddenly stood up.
"What's wrong?"
"The eggs... the eggs are hatching."
"What eggs are hatching?" Alka asked, confused.
Then his eyes lit up. Wasn't there only one egg on the ship?
"Jason's going to be a father. No, I mean Jason's egg is about to hatch. No... never mind."
"I'll leave this to you," Alka said, turning to Yi.
Yi nodded.
The two of them quickly pushed open the door and jumped down, grabbing the flying rope and swinging to the poop.
They rushed in quickly.
The fireplace in the corner was already crowded with people. Besides Jason and the others, the puppet girls were also watching curiously.
It's no wonder they were so concerned. It was mainly because the egg had been on the ship for so long.
The egg had been on the ship for as long as the ship had been there.
And because the egg exuded some magical power...
It would occasionally sting those around it.
It was unforgettable.
Now the egg was about to hatch, who wouldn't be curious?
Arka and the other girl squeezed in, shoulders slumped, and Lily sat down. "Dad."
Forget it, Arka had given up on correcting her address.
At this moment, on a soft nest by the fireplace, the gradient-colored, crystal-like egg teetered.
Jason watched nervously from the side.
"Honestly, he really is like a father waiting for his child to be born," Sofia whispered in Arka's ear.
Arka nodded in agreement.
Jason was sweating from nervousness.
"It's coming out!" Matlisa, observing the egg, said hurriedly.
She felt like she was delivering a baby.
As the words fell, cracks appeared on the eggshell, and a cracking sound was heard.
A rainbow-colored, crystal-like claw emerged. Its crystal-like structure gave off a soft, rather than hard, feeling.
The palm had five claws, each small claw waving in various directions.
Then, the cracks widened.
A head slammed violently out from within.
"Hmm!"
A strange, childish cry.
A head, like her arm, crystal-like yet soft as fur, emerged.
Its large, watery eyes sparkled like countless-faceted diamonds, and a pair of small, protruding horns adorned its round head.
Two slightly raised feet, like crystal pillars, could be seen.
A nose, buried beneath its crystal fur, revealed two long whiskers.
Then, the entire body emerged.
Upon seeing the creature's full form, everyone's eyes widened.
"Dragon?"
Lucille couldn't help but exclaim in wonder.
Because the creature truly looked like a giant dragon, with a lizard-like body but covered in crystal-like fur.
It had four limbs and short wings on its back, and its slender tail, wrapped in crystal fur, swung back and forth.
It seemed she hadn't yet learned to run. She collapsed to the ground and struggled to stand, still adjusting to her limbs.
Seeing her like this, Jason couldn't help but help her.
But Julia stopped him.
"Calm down, she's growing."
After a few unsteady steps, it became clear she had learned the ropes. She ran to her eggs and began to devour them with big mouthfuls.
The solid eggshell crackled like a biscuit.
Everyone watched without interrupting.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, she didn't seem frightened or afraid, but simply began to eat.
Soon, she had devoured the eggshell completely.
"Burp." She burped.
She looked at Jason beside her and staggered over, eyes narrowed, seemingly dazed.
Jason quickly reached out, and the crystal dragon slid directly into his arms.
"Swoosh!"
It adjusted its position left and right, making a comfortable sound.
Jason stood up, holding the crystal dragon in his arms.
"Boogie!" The crystal dragon let out an unintelligible cry as it looked at Jason.
"She's...calling my name," Jason muttered to himself, reaching out to touch her head and smooth down her crystal hair.
Several people stood by and watched.
Listening to the crystal dragon's cries and Jason's mumbling,
"It seems Jason is the only one who can understand what she's saying," Alka said.
At this moment, Juanlu looked around for a moment and suddenly asked, "So what does she eat?"
At this question, Jason was stunned for a moment.
Then his expression suddenly grew serious, and he spoke with a trembling voice, "She eats meat, but mainly... crystal gems."
"..."
At this, everyone fell silent.
Everyone looked at Jason with a hint of sympathy. It seemed that Jason's small stash of money might have to go towards feeding this crystal dragon.
No After a while, Jason's complexion suddenly brightened. He stared at the crystal dragon, now asleep in his arms, his eyes gleaming as he spoke to the crowd.
"You might not believe this, but this child is a treasure."
"Huh?" Sofia asked, puzzled.
What does 'a treasure' mean?
Facing the puzzled looks of the crowd, Jason raised his hand and began to demonstrate.
As his magical energy gathered, a bullet-like crystal crystal formed.
"I've formed a contract with her, and this contract has given me feedback. It's like possessing a treasure, allowing me to master her special abilities."
Jason had controlled a treasure before, so he had a very clear understanding of this.
"And if I want to obtain a treasure in the future, I'll have to see if I can adapt to her. The same treasure can be given back to both of us."
Jason said, sensing the difference.
"Is the treasure inside truly a treasure?" Alka thought for a moment.
After nearly four years, the dragon finally hatched, but it was all worth it.
Thinking about it this way...
Could this thing be some growth-oriented treasure, the kind the protagonist gets?
Thinking of this, Alka couldn't help but glance at Jason with a curious look.
"By the way, how many gems, crystals, and other items do we have left on board?" Jason suddenly asked.
After all, they'd already sold some, and there was no telling how much was left in the treasury, whether it would be enough for this little creature.
Sofia, standing nearby, said bluntly, "Don't worry, there's still plenty left. We're mainly selling precious metals like gold."
As the ship's financial manager, she knew everything.
"That's good."
Everyone stared at the crystal dragon for a moment longer. She slept soundly in Jason's arms, seemingly showing no sign of waking.
At this moment, Jason suddenly thought of something and said to Alka and Simon, "If you don't mind, please help me make a bed that fits her body."
"No problem."
The two nodded and led Jason into the manufacturing hall.
A new member had arrived on board.
"To celebrate the hatching of the egg, we'll have a party tonight!"
"Oh, oh, oh!"
"Keep your voice down! Do you want to wake her?"
"Feast! Feast!"
"No problem! I'll go get the ingredients."
A variety of cheers echoed from the ship, along with the joyful sounds of the puppet girls running around.
It was getting lively.
It seemed like this wasn't so bad.
...
After another ten days and nights of sailing, they finally saw the island in the distance.
Arka stood at the bow, gazing out into the distance. The black speck in the distance grew larger and larger.
A variety of ships appeared around them.
These ships were generally over 40 meters long. They even spotted a massive ship, over a hundred meters long, slowly sailing past.
"Isn't that ship enormous? How was such a large ship built?" Simon observed through his telescope.
He couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"I don't know. Won't we find out once we get to the island? Why worry so much?"
"That's right."
They could now see the island, which was also quite large.
The coastline stretched to the end of their sight.
It was indeed a large island.
They were now heading towards a port, a vast one. It stretched almost along one corner of the island, completely encompassing it.
Various ships were docked nearby.
Among them were massive vessels hundreds of meters in length.
The raised masts of the ships lined up, creating a forest-like scene.
It truly lived up to its name: Signpost Island.
The island's appearance alone was enough to meet their expectations.
Everyone felt a certain excitement.