"By the way, do you need this?" the strange fish-man selling newspapers said, holding out a small badge, roughly the size of a thumb.
Jason, who was reading a newspaper, turned his head upon hearing this.
He looked at the badge in his hand—it was a flying fish badge identical to the one on the plaque above his head.
"What's this thing for? A gift?"
The fish-man stared at Jason with his dark blue eyes, seeing his clueless expression.
"Flying Fish Badge. If you're sailing on the Infinite Ocean and want to buy a newspaper, just bring this badge, and the surrounding flying fish will bring you the newspaper."
"Is it so magical?" Jason asked, somewhat amazed, as he took the badge.
"Yes, yes, it's that magical."
The fish-man said nothing more after Jason accepted it. He returned to his seat and flipped through the book in front of him.
Jason walked toward the harbor, badge and newspaper in hand.
Passing by an inn, he glanced up.
They lived on the ship while sailing. Even when they docked, they continued to live on it.
It wasn't that they were saving money.
It was that the rooms on the ship were far better than most of the rooms in these hotels, more comfortable, and more familiar.
After all, the Voice of Dawn was a ship they had paid a large sum of money to have built by the Holy Mother Church's private shipyard.
They had even built rooms tailored to each of their needs.
On the massive ship were just the few of them and the puppet girls.
The space was not at all cramped.
Compared to ordinary inns or other ships, their ship was the equivalent of a luxurious hotel.
Unless their location was far from the harbor, making it difficult to travel back and forth, they always stayed on the ship whenever possible.
With this thought in mind, it didn't take long to reach the port.
We passed the laborers moving cargo and boarded the Voice of the Dawn again.
"How come you two are even earlier than me?" Jason asked, somewhat surprised, looking at Alka and Sofia, who were already chatting on the deck.
At Jason's voice, Alka turned and glanced at him.
"You're the one who's slow. What are you holding?"
"It's a newspaper, and it's all about the big events of the Infinite Sea."
Hearing this,
Alka took the newspaper and examined it. There was a flying fish pattern on the front. It looked like this newspaper must be the so-called Flying Fish Newspaper.
Sofia and Lucilia also stood nearby, tilting their heads to peer in.
The newspaper itself wasn't very large, and there were no page numbers when it was unfolded.
It was printed on both the front and back, for a total of four pages.
"Don't just look at it yourself. Read it for a moment," said Pororo, approaching. He was so large that even with his head tilted, he couldn't see clearly.
"Okay."
"The headline says..."
"What's the headline?"
Hearing this, Alka was suddenly stumped.
"Um... this is the most important event information."
"Oh, go on."
"The pirate fleet, the Evil Spirit, raided the area around Sokklo Signpost Island and was annihilated. Twelve ships and tens of thousands of pirates were killed.
The whereabouts of the annihilators are unknown, and there are no witnesses."
"The Flower Goddess, Tertesi, has been missing for 150 days and nights. High Priest Politeria of the Laurel has issued another reward. Anyone who can provide accurate information will receive a treasure.
The previous informant has already received the reward."
As Alka read this message,
The people listening nearby immediately interrupted.
Alka, as if anticipating this, stopped talking.
"Wait, wait, wait, Flower Goddess? What is that?"
Simon asked in surprise.
The others were all a little shocked.
Jason leaned against the mast and said, "You might not believe this, but there seem to be many gods in the Vast Sea."
"Then the Four Gods..."
At this point, Alka waved his hand. "That's different. The Four Gods seem to be a level higher than these new gods. They're not even on the same level."
He hadn't gained nothing in the church today. Some of the information within was laid out directly, at least for him.
In places like the Vast Sea where information is readily available, this wasn't surprising.
"These new gods have all ascended to the top after the shattering, or perhaps they're gods who died before and are being resurrected.
In addition to these gods, there are also many evil gods disturbing this place."
"Is this place... so chaotic?"
"Think about it, we haven't actually been in the Infinite Sea that long, have we?"
At most, they've been in the Infinite Sea for three or four years, which seems like a long time, but in this chaotic sea, a third of that time has been spent aimlessly sailing.
They've only been to a handful of places, aside from the Twin Islands they just arrived at.
They've only wandered around the shattered sea.
"It seems we're really a bit out of touch."
Everyone listened for a while longer, and Alka finished reading some information from the newspaper.
Aside from the first two pieces of information, the rest consisted of people who didn't understand what they were doing somewhere else, doing something they didn't understand.
They still knew too little about some of the forces and prominent figures in the Boundless Sea.
It was dark before long.
Everyone arrived at the dining room and began to eat dinner.
"Have you found any books related to this world in the church's library?" Julia suddenly asked.
This was their main reason for coming here.
Alka and the others shook their heads.
Although the library contained many books, they had carefully searched within certain categories.
"There are almost no books about the period before the War of Gods. There are no historical records before that.
We can only find a lot of archaeological discoveries and some people's speculations."
After saying this, Alka looked at Simon.
Simon had also visited the Holy Machine Church on Zuo Island today. Given the Holy Machine Church's style, their library would surely be even larger.
They were also less concerned with knowledge that might be considered taboo.
"I haven't found any information either, but I did find some potentially relevant intelligence."
Hearing this, the few people who had been quietly eating looked up.
Simon said, "I noticed several rebellious sects in the internal archives. Of these, only one is a heretic; the others are all classified as cults."
"Their ideologies and deeds are more or less related to the destruction of the world. They claim to have received inspiration from the world."
Hearing this, everyone instantly understood what he meant.
It was obvious that, like them, they had connected to the core of the world through some special means and felt the torment.
They must also have understood the world's intense desire for self-destruction.
If any of these people had previously worked to protect the world's environment, they would have fallen into extremes, just like Julia.
Making such a choice was perfectly normal.
"Correspondingly, there are many religious groups whose mission is to save the world, most of which are pagan."
An equally reasonable choice.
The chosen path is also more difficult.
Perhaps only a church as open and inclusive as the Holy Machine Church would have such a situation.
"This proves that there are quite a few people in the Vast Sea who understand the true nature of the world," Julia said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Oh, this is so confusing," Jason sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"Have you heard any news of treasure, like any well-known treasure legends? After all, we're a treasure-hunting group," Alka asked, looking at the group as he ate.
They couldn't forget their duties, and their funds were indeed running low.
Especially for Jason.
Jason's interest piqued. He quickly finished his food and said, "I have information about a treasure. It's been circulating on this island for a long time, and it seems quite credible."
"Oh, tell me about it."
Jason told everyone what he had learned in the tavern today.
After listening, Alka thought for a moment and said, "You can ask around tomorrow. We'll check the church archives to see if there's any relevant information."
Jason and Simon both nodded.
The rest of the night passed in silence.
Before dawn the next day, everyone left the Voice of Dawn.
After all, nights in this world last for more than ten or twenty hours.
"Sofia, help me get a map of the Twin Islands. If possible, look for maps of the surrounding island chains as well to see if you can find any.
Anyway, buy any map available on this island. As long as it looks genuine and meets my standards, it's fine."
Sofia nodded and said goodbye to Alka.
Everyone on the ship knew Alka's desire for maps.
Everyone would help collect them whenever they had the time or opportunity, no matter where they were.
Alka went to the church alone and found an elderly priest at the counter in a room off the library.
"What can I do for you, son?"
"I'd like to ask if there's any information about the Nafas family here?"
Hearing this, the elderly priest looked up and glanced at Alka with his slightly hazy eyes.
Looking at Alka's youthful appearance, he shook his head helplessly.
"Another young man eager to get rich. It happens every year. Alas, treasure hunting is never that easy.
It's incredibly dangerous. It requires countless efforts, and there's no guarantee of reaping the same wealth.
And who knows, someone might have already gotten there first? It's wishful thinking."
He continued to ramble on, but he still emerged from his counter, leaning on his cane.
Alka quickly stepped forward to support him.
The priest was clearly pleased with Alka's behavior.
"Good manners, child. That's good."
With Alka's support, he reached a deep bookcase inside.
"On the third level, from the bottom, is file number 1616. The decoded code is 6161, in Common Tongue."
Hearing the elder priest's words, Alka nodded.
He reached out and opened the bookcase, then stood on tiptoe slightly before reaching the file near the top.
He channeled his magic power, muttering 6161.
A sense of resistance dissipated, and Alka lifted the document.
It was a document made of some strange construction.
It bore the symbol of the Virgin Mary and various records.
Looking at the spells on it, they were all used for protection and destruction.
If he used violence to destroy it, he might not be able to obtain anything.
"Yes, that's right, this is it. You can't take it out. Due to the confidentiality level, you can only copy 20% of the information. I have to check it after you've copied it."
The old man looked up at Alka and asked, "Do you want to copy it?"
"Yes."
"It's right next to my counter. You can copy it and read it. There's paper and pen nearby."
Alka nodded and helped the old man back to his counter. After he sat down, he brought a small stool and sat beside him, unpacking the file.
He looked through the information, selecting key points and copying them down.
Seeing Alka's seriousness,
The old priest said, "The Nafas family 50 years ago—I witnessed their splendor firsthand when I was young."
"Oh? What were they like?" Alka asked curiously.
The old priest leaned against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.
He seemed to be reminiscing, yet also sighing.
He said, "At that time, their family was arguably the most powerful on this island, and they were also believers in the Virgin Mary.
They helped the church with many things, and I even worked with some of their family members back then. I have to say, their upbringing was quite good.
What a pity..."
"What's wrong?" Alka responded at the right moment.
"I remember... it was one night. A fierce storm was brewing around the Twin Islands.
You know, storms are rare around the Twin Islands, and the storm back then was massive, the biggest I've ever seen in my life.
I was resting at the time, and then something happened. The wails and screams of souls echoed through our ears, inaudible to ordinary people.
But every Toucher on the island above Stage Two could hear it clearly. The screams pierced their souls."
The old priest still looked terrified as he spoke.
Alka listened attentively, quietly listening and occasionally responding. "Then I went with the knights of the church to investigate. The entire family... the entire family was wiped out. They didn't show any visible injuries, but they all died, as if their souls had been ripped out.
Later, I learned that even those family members who were away from home didn't survive."
Hearing this, Alka asked curiously, "I heard it wasn't their rivals who did this?"
"Haha, those people wouldn't dare do such a thing. We also investigated the family that was most in conflict with them at the time, and they simply didn't have the ability to do such a thing.
That was just the external explanation."
Hearing this, Alka nodded.
"Was their family very powerful back then?"
"Of course they were. Their family boasted three Crowned Ones and fourteen Staff Bearers, making them incredibly powerful in and around the Twin Islands."
Arka already knew that the so-called Crowned Ones were those at Stage Six and above, supposedly because only at this stage could one possess a Crown-level treasure.
This meant that this family had three Stage Six members and fourteen Stages Four or Five and above.
How terrifying.
In his current worldview, that truly could be considered powerful.
As they chatted, Arka selected the more important details from the file and began transcribing them.
After transcribing, checking, and packing, Arka said goodbye to the old man and returned to the ship.
The others quickly returned as well.
They stayed in the captain's cabin and began to absorb the information. "I've learned very little. The Nafas family primarily believes in the Virgin Mary, with only a few members straying from the norm."
Listen Alka nodded at Simon's words.
He relayed the information he had learned.
"According to the records of the Holy Mother Church, the cause of this family's demise was an unknown loss of soul. Overnight, this loss of souls resulted in the deaths of all family members."
"Family members? What constitutes a family member?" Jason asked sternly from the side.
"Yes, that's the interesting part. It's all nominal family members, regardless of blood relationship.
All hired servants and servants are merely unconscious.
Even those with blood ties to the main lineage, though already separated from the family, have not suffered any loss of soul."
Hearing this, Jason nodded.
This meant that all members nominally called the Nafas family were unable to escape.
Thinking about it more closely, there must have been some kind of initiation ceremony.
"From this point, the church infers that the curse in the family's name was the result."
"Furthermore, there's a questionable speculation in the archives, suggesting that the family's leader may have deliberately engaged in a soul-for-soul exchange with some entity.
Of course, this is just a guess, no concrete information."
But regardless, he finally had a comprehensive understanding of the family.
At least more than the average person would know.
After all, the family's ties to the Holy Mother Church were quite close.
"So, how do you infer from the archives whether the treasure exists?"
"It should exist, given the sudden death, and subsequent searches have proven inconclusive.
It's clearly not on the Twin Islands. Presumably, it's somewhere else in the Twin Islands chain."
After speaking, Alka looked at Jason. "What about you? Have you gathered any information?"
"I don't know much about this family, but I do have some idea of their reputation among the people."
"Maybe it's because of their faith in the Virgin Mary, but they have a good reputation among the island's civilians and haven't been involved in many scandals.
Even if there are, most of the scandals involve women, as you know. But I haven't heard of any rape."
Hearing this, Alka nodded.
Families that believe in the Virgin Mary tend to have a relatively high moral standard.
Otherwise, if the Virgin Mary doesn't answer their prayers, it would be embarrassing.
After everyone shared their information, Sofia finally brought up the map she had collected.
This was the key point.