Chapter 906: A World Full of Unknowns

“There really are so many mysteries and unknowns in this world…”

Byron sat in the office of the Harbor Military Administration, unable to suppress a sigh of wonder.

Outside the window, the distant roar of the sea waves rose and fell, while the occasional cry of seabirds swooping low over the harbor area drifted in. Slanting sunlight poured across the vast ocean surface, streaming into the sprawling buildings of North Harbor. Sharp shadows fell between the brand-new ramps, houses, towers, and walls. A squad of soldiers marched in perfect formation, heads held high, making their way toward the watchtower for the shift change. Farther off, supply-laden magi-carts rumbled over freshly laid concrete roads, merchants who had answered the recruitment call lined up at the checkpoint awaiting clearance, and the distant roar of construction machinery echoed from the direction of the Number Two Harbor Bridge.

Inside the office, a gentle warmth from the heater filled the air. Two visiting representatives sat in the cushioned chairs by the desk. One was a beautiful woman with flowing blue hair, dressed in a sea-blue gown of indeterminate fabric, a golden pendant resting on her forehead. She was intently studying several crystal vessels laid out on the table. The other was a striking figure—a female naga, her body almost entirely covered in scales and tough, leathery skin, as if a human had merged with some deep-sea creature. She sat awkwardly in the chair, her serpentine lower half twisted in an uncomfortable position, the extra length of her tail swaying uneasily as if unsure where to rest. Her upper body was unmistakably feminine, yet every feature bore the mark of a deep-sea being.

Byron’s gaze involuntarily returned to the naga. Clearing his throat, he said, “My apologies, Lady Helen, I mean no offense—but this is truly the first time I’ve seen a naga in person.”

“Everyone’s probably seeing a naga for the first time,” the naga woman sitting awkwardly smiled, clearly unbothered. “After all, we only recently… came back to life.”

“Your crystal processing techniques have changed since before,” the blue-haired woman chimed in, seemingly uninterested in Byron and Helen’s exchange. She picked up a cup from the table and gave it a gentle swirl. “I remember the last time I saw man-made white crystal on land, it was full of impurities and bubbles—only good enough to be shattered and used as raw material for runes…”

“Uh… decorative and vessel-grade white crystal has existed for many years now…” Byron didn’t mind the interruption from the sea witch lady but looked puzzled. “Lady Viola, may I ask when exactly was this ‘last time’ you mentioned?”

“…I can’t quite recall. I’m not very attentive to things outside the technical field, but I vaguely remember that back then, you humans were still trying to break through the near-sea blockade line…” Viola, the blue-haired sea witch, thought for a moment and nodded seriously. “Hmm, and now you’re still trying to break through the near-sea blockade line, so it can’t have been that long ago.”

Byron froze for a moment before realizing how their timelines were jumping. His eyes went wide. “You mean that was during the Age of Sail… seven centuries ago? That’s over seven hundred years ago, Lady Viola!”

Viola shrugged. “See? I told you it wasn’t that long ago.”

Even Byron, usually confident in his quick wit and responses, didn’t quite know how to respond to that. It was Helen, the naga, who broke the awkward silence. “Sea witches have a very different sense of time compared to humans. And Lady Viola’s sense of time is considered… exceptional even among sea witches. Please understand.”

“Oh, of course, of course. In fact, I know some immortal races, so I can understand the difference in your perception of time,” Byron said, blinking before nodding. Then, smiling, he stood and opened his arms in welcome toward the two visitors who had traveled so far. “In any case, I want to sincerely thank Eo for the technical assistance provided to Cecil. The team you brought is absolutely vital to North Harbor. We’re currently at a critical stage of the entire project—would you be interested in coming with me to the shipyard? The rest of the technical team should already be there.”

Helen the naga immediately sprang up from her chair, a faint smile lighting her alien features. “Of course. That’s exactly why we came.”

…

On the east side of North Harbor, near the sheltered bay, the newly built shipyard buzzed with the relentless roar of machinery. The tense and busy construction work was gradually nearing completion.

A new ship, primarily made of steel, lay quietly in the dry dock. Numerous support structures on both sides held it firmly in place. Along the scaffolding that traced the hull and frame, technicians inspected every critical component, confirming that the all-important power spine had been installed correctly. Sparks from welding flashed intermittently inside several open sections of the hull, where builders were sealing mechanical structures and key compartments.

At the far end of the dock, a platform several meters above the ground had gathered the shipbuilding technicians and some special “guests.”

Among them were humans dressed in Cecil Navy uniforms or technician overalls. The rest were beautiful women and naga with unmistakable deep-sea features. They all focused intently on the progress of the ship on the slipway. Some pointed at various parts of the vessel, others held blueprints, explaining details to those beside them.

Clearly, this collaboration was just beginning. There was still a palpable unfamiliarity between them. The human technicians couldn’t help but cast curious glances at the sea witches and naga, who in turn were equally fascinated by the magi-mechanical devices in the shipyard. They discussed and chatted intermittently, but overall, the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.

A magi-cart pulled up near the platform. Byron, Viola, and Helen stepped down. Helen was still curiously examining the “strange vehicle” she had just ridden in, while Viola’s gaze was fixed on the shipyard. Byron glanced toward the platform, his eyes sweeping over the sea witches and naga mingling with his own technical staff. He muttered to himself, “Looks like the atmosphere is pretty good…”

In truth, these technicians had only arrived in North Harbor yesterday—emerging suddenly from the nearby sea, startling the patrols on the beach. After a hurried welcome ceremony, the visiting “technical experts” immediately got to work.

They had arrived earlier than anyone expected. Fortunately, Byron had received word weeks ago. Intelligence about the naga and sea witches had been shared through audiovisual briefings to key personnel across the harbor’s facilities in recent weeks. Thanks to this, the sudden arrival of these “deep-sea visitors” caused no chaos in North Harbor.

This special “Deep Sea Expert Group” was led by the sea witch Viola, the beautiful blue-haired woman who claimed the title of “Deep Sea Sorceress”—a technical position, according to sea witch terminology. Besides Viola, there were two main naga assistants: Helen, and a male naga nicknamed “The Philosopher.” The latter had not appeared in the administration office but had come early to the shipyard with the others. He stood on the platform not far away, though Byron couldn’t distinguish which naga he was.

“So this is the ship you built…” Viola’s gaze slowly swept over the slipway. The metallic hull reflected in her beautiful eyes. She studied the streamlined bottom, the magi-energy wing plates on either side, and certain structures on the deck, nodding slightly. “Land-built ships are very different from our vehicles, but at least it looks reasonable.”

“The external structure looks fine,” Helen the naga agreed. “But… we didn’t expect you to have progressed this far already. I thought you’d wait for us to arrive before truly starting construction.”

“No one could say for sure when you’d come when North Harbor began construction. We couldn’t just halt everything and wait for another team’s technology,” Byron said with a smile. “Besides, we have experience with inland shipbuilding. While that might not fully apply to the sea, it’s more than enough to build an experimental near-sea prototype. For us, this not only helps get North Harbor’s facilities up and running quickly but also accumulates valuable experience.”

Byron spoke candidly but left some things unsaid. In fact, before the sea witches’ team set out, Gawain had discussed shipbuilding with him. They both agreed on one principle: regardless of whether or when third-party technical experts arrived, Cecil’s own R&D and construction projects should proceed as planned. Even if it meant some resource loss, from the perspective of laying a solid foundation and mastering technology, it was worth it.

After all, outsiders are still outsiders. No matter how skilled the experts, they’re not your own. Building strong alliances is good, but relying entirely on others’ help for major projects is unwise.

Byron didn’t know if the “Deep Sea Sorceress” or the former Storm Child naga beside him had considered this. He didn’t particularly care. Instead, he looked proudly at the sleek steel ship on the slipway and smiled. “It’s a beautiful ship, isn’t it?”

“Does it have a name yet?” Helen asked, her amber vertical pupils curious.

“…Actually, I wanted to name it the ‘Pea,’ but His Majesty didn’t agree, and my daughter nagged me for a full half hour,” Byron shrugged. “Now its official name is the ‘Curiosity.’ I think it suits its role well—it will symbolize humanity’s renewed exploration of the seas after the Age of Sail ended. We’ll use it to reopen the near-sea route along the continent’s northwest arc and attempt to explore the boundary between the open ocean and near seas.”

“Curiosity… that’s a good name,” Helen blinked. Her scaled tail swept the ground with a soft rustle. “Curiosity…”

There was a hint of complexity in her tone. Perhaps she thought of humanity’s original courage and spirit of exploration when first venturing into the sea. Maybe she recalled the brief glory of the Storm Church during the Age of Sail, or the tragic fall of the storm priests into darkness and humanity’s centuries-long estrangement from the ocean afterward. Yet, the scales on her cheeks and her still-unmastered body prevented her from expressing such emotions as richly as a human might. In the end, her sigh was all that remained.

…

On the platform at the end of the dry dock, a tall male naga with sunken eyes and pale blue scales withdrew his gaze from the sea beyond the dock.

A fellow naga nearby teased him, “Philosopher, you’re not about to start composing poetry again, are you? You’ve been wearing that wistful look all day.”

“I’m just thinking about what aspects of the Curiosity still need improvement and can be modified in time,” said the tall, deep-set-eyed male naga, glancing at his companion. “The technology used on this ship is unfamiliar to us. The Storm Church’s ships were all powered by a combination of magic, manpower, and sails, but the Curiosity mainly relies on magitech machinery for propulsion… With a different power system, the hull design and sailing characteristics will be completely different. These are all factors we have to consider.”

“Exactly,” nodded a sea witch deep-sea technician. “Even though we’re here to provide technical support, we need to study human magitech to understand how best to assist…”

“Human…” The naga technician nicknamed ‘The Philosopher’ muttered softly when he heard the word, then shook his head. “But no matter how things change, the laws of nature don’t. The basic principles of ship navigation won’t vary that much.”

His words quickly gained agreement from the gathered technicians. These experts came from different races and factions, with vastly different worldviews, yet here they were, huddled together again, poring over the Curiosity’s blueprints.

Not far from the platform, Byron watched the technicians’ activity. As a transcendent being, he could overhear their discussions—purely technical matters, which the “Navy Marshal” didn’t fully understand. But beyond the tech, he could see clearly.

When it came to exploring the seas, the Typhon people had indeed taken the lead. They started earlier, had deeper foundations, better coastlines, and natural harbors. Between the near and far seas lay a chain of natural islands perfect for building forward bases—advantages too great to ignore.

Yet the Cecilians would still catch up with confidence.

The Cecilians understood magitech, the naga—once children of the storm—knew shipbuilding, and the sea witches understood the ocean.

Now, these three forces had come together.

That was the Cecilians’ edge in this domain.

(End of chapter)