The letter from the Gioa Kingdom was meant to invite Rhode and Mira over as guests.
To thank them for eliminating the remnants of the Petlyura Gang and capturing the mastermind Petlyura, the King hoped to meet and host them personally and give them a fitting reward.
It seems like Mermaid's Heel kept their promise, and indeed all the credit was given to Rhode and Mira.
Rhode knew that rebellion was a grave crime, but he didn't expect the Gioa Kingdom to place such high importance on Petlyura.
Cross-country invitations for Mages to visit the Royal Palace as a gesture of gratitude might come with some diplomatic challenges.
Rhode looked at Mira, "Gioa Kingdom, do you want to go?"
Mira thought for a moment and said, "It's not easy to refuse a King's invitation, right? Besides, we already had plans to go abroad, a little adjustment doesn't matter."
Mira's view of the King was different from Rhode's. She naturally believed that even a king of another country deserved enough respect.
Rhode didn't have any objections. Originally, their plan was to go to the Pegrandi Kingdom and the Belrum Kingdom, but adding one more wasn't an issue.
After all, they had unexpectedly received a hefty travel fund yesterday, there were no urgent matters at the Guild requiring their presence, so they could afford to play for a few more days.
The couple discussed and found no issues in any aspect, so they happily adjusted their itinerary.
Of course, the vacation at Mermaid's Heel would proceed as planned.
On the fifth day of their seaside vacation, they were suddenly inspired to take on a job for fun.
This city had many maritime tasks, some required help searching for fish schools, others demanded hunting sea Magical Beasts, as well as shipping escorts, smuggling investigations, etc.
Rhode and Mira chose a mission to rescue a distressed ship.
This task was quite special because there was no information about the client, no specified cause of distress, and no stated reward.
President Molumei explained that this kind of task is quite common by the sea; usually, someone sees or receives a signal, immediately submitting it to the Guild as an emergency task.
The distress signal usually comes from flares, special Magic Tools, etc.
Rhode himself carried such a tool, an emergency contact card made by Kana, which, when activated in an emergency, would signal the other party.
However, this card could only point to the direction of the other card, and couldn't be used for communication or precise positioning.
Because of this, these maritime rescue tasks often only allow for estimation of rough direction and distance, everything else is too late and impossible to discuss.
Thus, remuneration would have to wait until the rescue was completed.
"Well then, this is for you." Molumei handed Rhode a Crystal Ball as big as a fist, with a red dot twinkling at the edge representing the direction of the distressed ship.
Looking at the directional symbols on the Crystal Ball, it even indicated a three-dimensional direction.
"The Guild can provide ships and small Flying Ships, but if they get damaged, the repair costs are borne by the individual."
Rhode decisively declined, "No need. We have our own means of transport."
Both he and Mira didn't have a pilot's license, nor were they familiar with flying ship operations. Hiring a driver temporarily would just waste time, so it was better to fly there themselves.
...
Approximately fifty nautical miles away from Mermaid Bay, the sky was dim, and a thin layer of mist hovered over the sea surface.
A fully loaded cargo ship was fleeing in panic within the thin mist.
A large hole had been blown out on the side of the cargo ship, with scorched marks around the opening. Some goods lay scattered on the deck, and several large crates had fallen into the sea behind.
The propellers spun at maximum speed, while the helmsman focused on maneuvering the ship, the lookout shouted urgent commands, and the captain directed the sailors to retaliate with the ship's cannons.
Explosions rang out continuously on the nearby sea, with massive splashes battering the hull, causing the ship to sway violently.
And their opponent, this steel cargo ship—the adversary was merely an old wooden sailing ship.
However, that sailing ship was surrounded by a blue glow, its sails eerily billowed against the wind, moving even faster than a regular sailing ship with the wind at its back.
"Damn, the legend of the Ghost Ship is true!"
The captain cursed a few times, then remembered this wasn't the time for such talk, "Hold on! We just need to burst through the mist, and we'll be fine! I've already sent a distress signal, do your jobs, and don't panic!"
There's a rumor at sea that the Ghost Ship appears with the mist, and once you break through the mist's range, you can escape the Ghost Ship's pursuit.
However, until now, the most common tale was of this or that ship being sunk, with no news of anyone truly escaping, except for the braggarts.
The captain selectively withheld this fact, hoping to stir up everyone's fighting spirit, not aiming to really escape, but to hold out until the Mage arrived for rescue.
He secretly swore that if he survived this time, he would find a way to switch professions, abandon sea transportation for air transportation.
Boom!
An explosion sounded, the ship shook violently, and the first mate reported in a fluster, "The starboard was hit, the cabin is taking on water!"
"Find a way to drain the water, seal the breach!"
Amidst the chaos on the ship, its speed unwittingly slowed down, tightening the Ghost Ship's pursuit.
The captain gritted his teeth, seeing that the situation was dire, he had to make the decision he least wanted to make, "Prepare to abandon…"
"Report! Someone is flying towards the Ghost Ship!"
The lookout's voice echoed through the megaphones across the entire ship, lifting spirits.
They automatically interpreted the lookout's words as 'someone is piloting a Flying Ship towards the Ghost Ship,' which meant reinforcements had arrived.
The captain hurriedly asked, "Is it a large ship or a small one?"
The lookout: "..."
There's no ship, I didn't say there was a ship?
Before the lookout could answer, the captain was already anxiously running to the aft deck.
He saw a winged man throwing what looked like a very beautiful woman towards the Ghost Ship.
What's going on? Are they sacrificing to the Ghost Ship?
In his confusion, he saw that a cloak suddenly appeared behind the woman, and her feet ignited in Flame.
The Flame acted like thrusters, accelerating her descent, leaving a string of fire in midair, like the tail flame of a flying device.
The woman clenched her fist, plunging straight down, punching the mast top of the Ghost Ship.
The mast seemed molded from clay, offering no obstruction whatsoever, as if she sliced through it effortlessly, driving straight into the ship's hull.
Crack~Boom!
First was the sound of breaking wood, and then exploding noise, with Flame erupting from the Ghost Ship's mast, blossoming into a vibrant scarlet peony on the sea's surface.
The enormous Ghost Ship was cleaved open by a small human figure, with cracks spiderwebbing across the hull, like it might split in two at any moment.
Everyone present seemed to hear wailing, and shortly after the Ghost Ship burst into specks of dark purple light and vanished.