At that moment, the sea was already in utter chaos.
Shattered planks and masts drifted everywhere, tangled with ripped sails and ropes.
"Thump."
Ethan stepped onto the railing, gazing out at the vast, churning ocean.
A surge of ambition welled up inside him unbidden.
"This is the start of my grand adventure!"
Ethan threw his arms wide and shouted, his black hair whipping in the wind behind him.
His cobalt-blue eyes gleamed brightly.
Mr. Lovegood stared at the sea, which looked as if it had been torn apart by a tornado.
And at the Dark Wizards flailing desperately for help amid the waves.
He couldn't help but think that Ethan's grand adventure might be better off never beginning at all.
"Accio Galleon."
Luna waved her wand toward the sea.
Shiny Galleons flew up with a clatter, landing in a pile on the deck before her.
Ethan gave her a thumbs-up: "Genius!"
Luna: "Hehehe~"
"..." Mr. Lovegood choked for a second, then said diplomatically, "These Galleons aren't ours; we really shouldn't..."
Ethan: "If I pick it up, it's mine. It doesn't have a name on it."
Lovegood: "...Alright."
Was this Ethan's version of eating his own kind?
What in the world was Hogwarts teaching these days?
Ethan and Luna cheerfully gathered up the Galleons.
There were only six of them, but the silver Sickles and bronze Knuts formed two sizable heaps.
It had truly been a worthwhile outing. As the saying goes, when you hook a fish king, your feet just can't help but wander off course.
Ethan and Luna worked together to hoist the Lamora Fish King from the boom.
They had to ensure its massive weight wouldn't snap the mast in an instant.
It took a tremendous amount of effort.
To keep the fish king from dehydrating and dying, Ethan even conjured a bubble of water to envelop its entire head.
"Reparo."
The nearly splintered hull mended itself.
The bow rose high, and seawater cascaded down in a torrent!
Amid the billowing sails.
The Lamora Fish King hung like a silver-white banner thrust into the drab, gray earth.
As the prey.
It vividly showcased the hunter's power and grandeur!
The ship cut straight toward the port!
At the port.
Butcher Jack was puffing on his tobacco.
He crouched on the pier, his fierce eyes locked intently on the horizon.
"Still waiting?"
A wizard teased him.
"Don't bother; your rich buyer might've already drowned out there."
"Hmph, I doubt it."
Jack grumbled.
Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he was waiting either.
Whether that kid got swallowed by the waves or actually caught something, what did it matter to him?
But Jack had this gut feeling.
It kept him squatting in the biting wind for most of the day.
He waited until the sky blazed with fiery clouds and dusk settled in.
If he left now.
He might miss a sight he'd rarely encounter in his lifetime!
Suddenly.
Jack's eyes sharpened; he bolted upright, staring at the horizon, and growled:
"They're coming!"
At the edge of the sea, a black speck appeared.
It grew larger by the moment, racing toward the port!
With Jack's shout, the people around him clustered together.
Harboring an odd sense of anticipation.
They fixed their eyes on the approaching sailboat.
As the ship drew nearer.
A sharp-eyed sailor suddenly exclaimed:
"Look! What's that?! What've they got lashed to the mast?!"
Everyone immediately strained to see.
And then, their eyes bulged wide, and they sucked in sharp breaths!
"Hiss—!"
W-what in the world was that?!
The air seemed to freeze solid.
In the stunned silence.
Everyone's gaze lifted as the ship closed in.
The ship's shadow crept over them like a colossal jaw rising to engulf them.
What loomed before their eyes was an enormous creature, like some ancient beast washed ashore.
It towered dozens of meters high, suspended from the mast!
Its silver-white scales shimmered with the rise and fall of its belly, refracting sunlight into a kaleidoscope of stained-glass hues.
Its eyes, nearly the size of a human head and pitch-black.
Gazed down at them helplessly through the water bubble.
A glimmer of intelligence even flickered within them.
"Plop."
Jack gaped up at the thing, his mouth hanging open in awe.
The tobacco tumbled from his lips to the ground, but he didn't even register it.
Merlin's beard, what on earth was that...?
Did something like that even exist in the North Sea?
Then.
They spotted the boy standing at the bow.
His black hair streamed back, his handsome face silhouetted against the light.
Only his cobalt-blue eyes, piercing like the sun ripping through storm clouds, looked down on them—cold and radiant.
Ethan regarded the dumbfounded crowd, the corners of his mouth twisting up.
He slowly lifted his hand, hoisting the fishing rod—so slender it seemed it might snap at any moment.
He thrust it straight toward the sun!
A champion fish king, triumphant in return!!
As if a command had been issued.
The crowd erupted into ecstatic cheers!
"Oh oh oh oh oh!!!"
"You're incredible, kid! Unbelievably cool!!"
"I've lived in this Hull Port most of my life, and I've never seen a fish that massive... You've snagged the North Sea's veteran!"
"If only I'd hopped on that ship with the kid earlier... Ah, what a missed chance!"
Jack finally snapped out of it.
He smacked his lips in excitement, only then realizing his cigarette butt had dropped sometime ago.
He stared at the gigantic fish, like a small mountain, his eyes misting over as he murmured:
"Yes, yes... That's the prey worthy of that bait..."
At that moment.
A voice suddenly called out:
"Kid! I'll give you three hundred Galleons for that fish!"
Right away, another voice shot back: "Three hundred Galleons? In your dreams! I'll do five hundred!"
"Five hundred fifty!"
"Damn... Five hundred eighty!"
"Heh, kid. I'm the manager of this market. Twelve hundred—hand it over to me."
At that, everyone else went quiet.
They couldn't top it.
Twelve hundred Galleons!
What a lavish offer...
Ethan eyed the old man who'd spoken, then clenched his fist and declared: "Twelve hundred once... Twelve hundred twice..."
The crowd stayed silent.
The old man's lips curved into a smug smirk.
He gazed at the giant fish, his eyes brimming with desire and avarice.
Turn it into a specimen—it'd be stunning, a real status symbol...
Ethan: "Twelve hundred three times—sorry, not selling."
Old man: "???"
Not selling?
Then why'd you play along like that?!
Are you messing with me?!!!
In the old man's rigidly frozen smile.
Ethan waved his wand, flinging the fish king back into the sea!
"Bang!"
"Ahhh!"
A towering wall of water exploded from the sea, drenching the onlookers head to toe!
In the blink of an eye.
That unparalleled giant fish vanished from everyone's view.
"Whew~"
Ethan clapped his hands nonchalantly.
He was a pure soul at heart, only after the fish king's Guardian Spell.
How could he actually harm it?
Twelve hundred Galleons?
Pfft, chump change.
"You, you..."
The old man's face flushed crimson with rage; he glared at Ethan and rasped:
"Do you really think you can leave here unscathed after humiliating me—"
Before he could finish.
"Roar!!!"
An earth-shaking bellow erupted!
Out on the sea, the Hellhound—which had been held back—leaped into the air.
It crashed down onto the pier with a thud.
Its black mane flared like flames.
Its six orange vertical pupils fixed on the crowd with savage hunger, saliva dripping in strings from its fangs.
Old man:
Old man: "Cough, need an escort out?"
Amid the crowd's delighted laughter, Ethan made his smooth exit from Hull Port.
A land of remarkable people and scenic wonders, full of warm and straightforward folk.
He'd definitely be back sometime.
Ethan wiped the ketchup from the corner of his mouth, munching on a freshly fried crispy fish cake, contentedly pondering how to spend the rest of his Christmas break.
Ethan stayed at Luna's house.
Inspired by the white mist drifting up on winter mornings.
He wove in the Lamora Fish King's Guardian Spell, along with the shed scales he'd gathered from the deck.
And successfully crafted an extraordinary painting!
[Name: Ergani's Skirt]
[Type: Item]
[Grade: Second-tier · golden legend]
[Description: Light as gauze, hard as iron]
[Effect: Can resist all curses, reduce the effect of evil curses; but this item has a bearing limit, when the limit is exceeded, this item will break]
[Evaluation: Using a goddess's skirt as a shield? How playful]
Ethan: Heh, this is great art.
Whoosh—a streak of light flashed.
A swath of white gauze, thin as a cicada's wing, materialized in Ethan's hand.
It flowed gently, like morning mist.
Cool to the touch, with faint, beautiful scales shimmering through, and nearly weightless.
"Incendio."
Crimson flames licked across the white gauze, leaving not a mark.
—It was complete!
Ethan's eyes sparkled.
He hesitated.
Then, swallowing his pride, he slowly draped this "Goddess's Skirt" over his head.
It was all to withstand the Basilisk's petrifying gaze curse!!