The following afternoon, the sun was just right. The sea breeze blew gently, bringing a refreshing aura.
Rover arrived at the Mortari family's private pier once again at the agreed-upon time.
Zanni was already waiting there. She still wore her signature white suit, black pants, and high heels, but her jacket was draped casually over her shoulders, and her red tie fluttered slightly in the sea breeze.
The trademark dark circles under her eyes didn't seem to have improved at all; it appeared a wonderful vacation was still nowhere in sight. However, her gaze remained sharp and professional.
Seeing Rover, she nodded as a greeting.
"The ship and crew are ready," she said concisely, pointing to a medium-sized cargo ship nearby. "This is the ship that most recently reported being harassed. As per the Second Young Miss's instructions, it is temporarily at our disposal today. It's loaded with a similar batch of cargo."
Abby popped out of Rover's Tacet Mark, spinning in the air excitedly: "Setting sail! I love the sea! I hope there aren't any scary big whales this time!"
Zanni shot Abby a glance, her expression blank. She simply added to Rover, "According to the crew's descriptions, the harassment mostly occurs between sunset and late night. The target seems to be a certain type of cargo on board, but we've never figured out which one exactly. Those Echoes are like mischievous little imps, top-tier at causing trouble, and completely impossible to catch."
"It doesn't sound like a malicious attack," Rover leaped onto the deck, feeling the slight sway of the ship beneath his feet with the waves.
"True, but it's very annoying. It affects efficiency and morale." Zanni followed him up and signaled the captain to weigh anchor and set sail.
The ship slowly departed the port, heading toward the vast azure sea.
The setting sun gave the clouds a golden fringe, and the sea surface shimmered brightly. The scenery was expansive and pleasant.
Abby flew around the deck happily, chasing the spray kicked up by the bow of the ship.
Zanni stood at the bow with her arms crossed. The sea breeze blew through her short white hair. She narrowed her eyes slightly, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility from a trip that wasn't purely business.
Night quietly descended. The deep blue sky was studded with stars, and the sea became pitch-black and profound. Only the lights from the ship pierced a small area of the darkness.
Amidst the tranquility, Abby suddenly twitched its nose. Its little paw pointed toward the sea beyond the port side: "Rover! Something's coming! A lot of somethings! The smell... hm... is very strange. Doesn't smell like tasty fish..."
Almost as soon as Abby's words fell, a patch of colorful, ghostly light suddenly flared up on the sea surface off the port side.
A swarm of bizarrely shaped Echoes surged toward them like a tide!
Most of them were small. Some looked like glowing jellyfish, dragging long, slimy tentacles;
Others looked like flying fish with wings, moving incredibly fast;
Still others resembled round sea urchins, their bodies covered in fine fuzz that could stick to things.
They emitted strange, chirping sounds like playing children, crashing directly into the hull without any aggressive intent.
Splat! A jellyfish-type Echo crashed into the side of the ship, leaving a small puddle of glowing, slippery slime.
Another flying fish-type Echo zipped across the deck, snatching a hat a crew member had set aside, causing the man to give chase, caught between laughing and crying.
Several sea urchin-type Echoes rolled over to a pile of ores packed in burlap sacks, attempting to use their fuzz to stick themselves to the bags.
"It's them!" Zanni instantly entered work mode, drawing her massive, door-sized greatsword.
But looking at these non-aggressive little guys, she was momentarily at a loss for what to do—
Smashing them into a pulp with her sword seemed a bit too excessive.
"Don't hurt them yet!" Rover called out to stop her, carefully observing the Echoes' behavior. "They really aren't attacking."
He sidestepped a harmless water arrow that seemed more like playful splashing, his gaze locking onto the pile of ores currently being "besieged" by the sea urchin Echoes.
He walked over briskly and casually picked up an ore fragment that gleamed with a peculiar blue-purple luster.
The instant he picked up the fragment, the surrounding small Echoes seemed to grow even more excited, swarming toward the fragment in his hand.
"I see..." Rover realized. He handed the fragment to Zanni. "This is an 'Amethyst Cluster' produced in Jinzhou. It seems the special energy fluctuation it emits is highly attractive to this type of small Echo, making them exceptionally excited."
"Just like... well, cats finding catnip."
Zanni took the ore and felt it. As a Resonator, she could naturally faintly sense the weak, anomalous fluctuation emitting from it.
She looked at the Echoes, which were still tirelessly smearing slime on the ship and rolling everywhere, and sighed helplessly. "So, this is just a wild... party? And we're an uninvited ship?"
"You could interpret it that way," Rover smiled. He casually used Aero force to gently push away a few small Echoes attempting to climb up his pant leg. "They bear no ill will; they were just drawn here."
"And the solution?" Zanni cared more about that. Finding the cause was naturally a good thing, but the Family still needed to do business.
"Two options." Rover pondered for a moment, then held up two fingers. "First, transport this type of ore in specialized metal containers capable of isolating energy fluctuations. Second, temporarily adjust the shipping routes to bypass the sea areas where these Echoes are known to gather. Once there are no ore energy fluctuations for a period of time, these Echoes will likely leave on their own, and things should be fine after that."
Zanni immediately pulled out her portable terminal and recorded Rover's suggestions: "Understood. I will report this to the Second Young Miss and the Shipping Director immediately. I'll suggest procuring a batch of isolation containers and temporarily adjusting the routes of some ships until then." She shook her head, looking at the rather comical scene before her. "Although it's troublesome, it's still better than dealing with genuine attacks."
With the root of the problem found and the solution clear, all that remained was figuring out how to get these "little guests" to leave.
Rover and Zanni didn't use violence. Instead, Rover released gentle Aero force to form a soft barrier, slowly pushing the Echoes away from the ship. Simultaneously, Zanni directed the crew to temporarily move the Amethyst Clusters acting as bait back into the cargo hold, cutting off the source of attraction.
Having lost their primary target and being pushed away by a gentle force, the Echoes chirped and fussed for a little while before seemingly getting bored. They gradually dispersed, blending into the dark seawater, their lights extinguishing one by one.
The sea surface returned to peace, leaving only the sound of the ship breaking the waves.
On the voyage back, Zanni leaned against the ship's railing, watching Rover tease Abby. She took the rare initiative to speak up, her tone carrying an almost imperceptible trace of admiration: "Your efficiency is truly high. The guard teams came out several times before and were completely clueless, yet you found the key the moment you arrived."
"It really is a relief working with you on these kinds of matters."
Rover turned his head and smiled. "I just happened to know a bit more about Echoes and this kind of ore. If you run into this kind of minor trouble next time, you can reach out to me anytime."
The corners of Zanni's mouth seemed to curve upward for a fleeting moment. "Mm, I'll pass that on to the Second Young Miss."
The ship docked back at the pier, and this simple maritime relaxation mission officially concluded perfectly.
Zanni needed to go write her report immediately and hand over follow-up tasks. After a brief farewell with Rover, she hurried off.
Rover took the sleepy Abby, who had worn itself out playing and was yawning again, and walked leisurely back to the hotel he was staying at.
As soon as he stepped into the lobby, the front desk attendant respectfully called out to him: "Mr. Rover, two items have arrived for you."
What the attendant handed over were two letters of completely contrasting styles.
One was made of ordinary, even slightly coarse material, with edges that seemed to carry a few ink smudges. Under the recipient field, his name and address were written in elegant, flowing handwriting, exuding a faint aura of poetry and freedom.
The other was incredibly exquisite, using expensive scented stationery with dark patterns. The seal was stamped with an intricate wax crest—the coat of arms of the Fesale family.
Although there was no writing on the envelope, the implication it carried was self-evident.
Rover raised an eyebrow, taking the two letters.
It seemed his holiday in Laguna wouldn't be as simple as just some minor maritime trouble.
Abby leaned in curiously. It first glanced at the ordinary envelope, then sniffed the scented stationery, tilting its little head: "This smell... is very nice, but very strange! Rover, are you going to be a guest at Castello Portovino again?"
Rover let out a light chuckle, patting Abby's head. "It seems so. But let's head back first and see what news our poet friend has brought."
Holding the two letters representing entirely different invitations, he walked toward the elevator.
Life on holiday in Laguna had only just begun.
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