Stopping the ship, registering, and clearing customs, a series of procedures that took up half the day.
Afterward, Ethan led everyone to find accommodation. As the number of people on the ship increased, he, like most adventuring parties, chose to rent an entire small building. It offered the best comfort and privacy.
After a good night's rest, Ethan originally planned to take the newcomers to the guild to register and become official adventurers.
However, putting aside Sherry, who was still too young, neither Annette nor Ada planned to register with the guild.
"I'm not used to anyone having my information."
That was one of Ada's quirks. After thinking about it, Ethan felt that maintaining Ada's flexibility in identity seemed more beneficial to him. Especially after learning more about the situation in this world, his doubts about the guild only grew. He couldn't guarantee what kind of relationship he would have with them in the future, so sending over everyone's information didn't seem like a good idea.
As for Annette, she simply felt she wasn't an adventurer at all. She was just a scientist. Right now, she was only doing auxiliary work on Ethan's ship and had no intention of setting out into the world on her own. Registering this identity was meaningless to her.
"That's fine. Then let's just go buy some things."
The clothes and supplies brought over from the Resident Evil world were more comfortable to use, but the quantity was too small. Most of the time, they had to rely on products from this world to get by.
Especially when exposed to wind and sun at sea, the lifespan of many items was significantly reduced. Everyone needed some relatively sturdy and durable clothes.
"Although these clothes are troublesome to wear and not very comfortable, they are indeed very durable."
That was Ada's evaluation. Compared to her and Annette, Logan and Selene, who had lived through similar eras, had worn much worse clothing.
Annette had clearly stated that unless absolutely necessary, she would never wear those clothes. She only planned to buy a few simple pieces for appearances.
"Actually, we don't spend much time on the island. Buying one or two pieces for appearances is enough."
Ethan had lived in this world for several years, but the time he actually spent staying on islands was only a small part. Most of it was wasted at sea. If he hadn't occasionally gone to other worlds for a break, he might not even be used to living on land anymore.
Even so, he didn't plan to stay here long. This time, he didn't even intend to send the Goddess of Dawn into the shipyard for maintenance. He planned to leave directly after replenishing sufficient supplies.
He had too much to do and didn't want to waste time here.
Although Brent had clearly said he would report Beckford's situation to the guild and that the guild would likely respond by summoning a large number of adventurers to the Southern Route to deal with Beckford,
Ethan still needed to leave the island instead of waiting around for the guild to react.
No matter how fast the guild moved, gathering powerful adventurers wasn't easy.
This sea area wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't small either. For the guild to send out the notice, for the summoned adventurers to return from various locations to the Central Island, and then for ship maintenance, weapon replenishment, and so on—it would take at least half a year to complete everything.
He couldn't wait on the island for that long. He could handle his own affairs first.
As Ethan had said before, he was carrying several promises. He hadn't fulfilled them before due to limitations in strength, but now he wanted to complete them.
The feeling of being in debt wasn't pleasant, especially when it came to favors.
He was worried that carrying such favor debts for too long might cause some negative psychological changes. To avoid that, it was better to take care of them early and put his mind at ease.
Professor Charles's mental power needed to be delivered to another Charles Xavier. Logan had also completed his training and was now ready for "missions."
This was the top-priority task and the next issue to resolve. After completing Charles's request, Logan would officially become one of them. As long as Ethan didn't go overboard and try to destroy all mutants or something similar, Logan would always stand firmly behind him.
After finishing Charles's request, Ethan planned to head to the Mummy world to find two scriptures and search for a way to resurrect the Starks. The best outcome would be finding something. If not, he'd have to look for alternative methods.
After handling those two things, he planned to return to the Caribbean world for a visit. He was still interested in Blackbeard's dark magic that could shrink ships. He figured that if he could understand the core principle, learning that magic wouldn't be too difficult.
Once he mastered that magic and had a guaranteed way to resurrect Tony's parents, Ethan would consider heading to the Marvel Universe to claim his warship.
"And then?"
"And then, we can turn our sights to the other side of the Sea of Storms."
"The Sea of Miracles?"
"Yes, the Sea of Miracles."
This was just a normal dinner, and Ethan simply introduced his upcoming goals to give everyone a general understanding.
Hearing that Ethan was considering returning to the Marvel Universe (of course, he wouldn't call it that openly), Loki suddenly became very excited. He really wanted to know who was stronger now, him or Thor?
Based on what Ethan had told him before, he was sure that Thor would have grown much stronger under Odin's careful guidance, but he absolutely couldn't imagine how powerful he himself had become.
"I really wish you'd move that plan up a bit."
"That won't work. After all, there are still a few things I need to resolve before taking you home."
The key was finding a way to resurrect Tony's parents. Loki had no particular opinion on this, while Logan was pleased with Ethan's determination to fulfill his promises, especially since he would soon be able to see those familiar faces again.
As for Annette and Ada, they were completely bewildered. Hearing it before already sounded fantastical enough, but now during dinner, they were hearing about resurrecting the dead? Was that even possible? Would it just be reviving a shell like the T-virus?
Just thinking for a moment made it clear that wasn't the case. If it were merely resurrecting a shell, Ethan probably wouldn't bother treating it as an important mission.
"The reason I'm bringing up these goals is to ask if any of you have additional ideas or personal thoughts."
Although they weren't as "familiar with multiple universes" as Ethan, they would still have personal needs. Like when they asked Ethan to help buy certain things before—that was one example.
At the same time, Ethan also needed to know if they were interested in his upcoming plans. This would determine who he would take with him.
"I'm interested in every world."
That was Ada's reason for joining, so of course she'd participate in everything.
Annette, however, shook her head. She was interested in some of the things Ethan described, but that didn't mean she wanted to personally go to unfamiliar worlds to retrieve those things.
For her, she preferred staying hidden in the lab, doing the work she was familiar with.
"So, Ada and Logan will travel with me... Selene, what about you?"
"This time you're going to a parallel timeline in Logan's world?"
"More or less."
"Then I won't go."
Selene felt that this trip didn't seem dangerous, and the world setting was also Earth, with nothing particularly worth "visiting." According to Ethan's description, they might even go to some relatively "backward" eras, which made her even less interested.
As for danger? Selene didn't think Ethan would face any real threats now. This guy was basically a walking nuclear weapon who could wipe out a city at any time. Who would be dumb enough to provoke him? And she didn't believe Ethan would purposely hide his power and let someone misjudge him.
"I had a little bit of interest."
Loki raised his thumb and index finger slightly, showing just how little.
"But now I'm more eager to return home sooner."
If he followed Ethan around, it would add several extra years. Although Loki didn't care much about that time, he still hoped to return sooner.
"Understood."
So in the end, only Logan and Ada would be traveling with him. Ethan finally asked Laura if she wanted to come along.
At the start, even though Logan and Ethan hadn't said it out loud, there was an unspoken understanding: at the right time, they would leave Laura in a world with many mutants that Ethan had selected.
In that world, there were plenty of her kind, and with the care of an enhanced Professor Charles who possessed "future memories," Laura could have a relatively stable life.
After all, at that time, both men felt that raising a child on a ship long-term would inevitably be inconvenient.
However, the situation gradually changed. The ship was no longer just the two of them. Laura had adapted to life on the ship and had even made friends her age. So staying on the ship was no longer a problem.
Ultimately, Ethan left the decision to Laura herself. After all, this concerned her future, and she had the right to choose the life she wanted.
Laura barely hesitated. She chose to stay on the ship and was unwilling to go to a "strange" world and start a "stable" life.
To show how firm her choice was, she even refused to go with Logan on this trip.
"Actually, there's no harm in taking a look."
Ethan shrugged. If Laura didn't want to go, he wouldn't force her. But clearly unhappy with the idea of being sent away, Laura shot Ethan a big scowl.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)