Super Righteous Player
Chapter 717 - 258: A Mature Main Quest Completes Itself_1

Chapter 717: Chapter 258: A Mature Main Quest Completes Itself_1

When a crew member truly hopes in their heart to encounter someone, "Silver" will ensure they never do; whenever a crew member wishes to see a certain place once more, "Silver" will never sail past that place.

As long as they remain on the ship... they are destined to brush past the people they want to see and the places they want to visit.

This is the Curse Binding known as "A Hair’s Breadth From the Ends of the Earth."

But if used in reverse, it can also serve as a sanctuary.

For instance, Arthur truly wishes to become a Gold-rank, to return to his family and take power—then the power of "Silver" will keep him forever away from his kin;

The centaur Lucia wishes to find her own kind, to return to the centaurs’ retreat, then as long as she is on "Silver," she will never encounter any centaur, nor will she ever enter the centaurs’ hidden abode.

When a person harbors some kind of "impulsive desire" within, Silver ensures they will never have the opportunity to fulfill it.

Such as confessing to a girl who clearly doesn’t like them, attempting to assassinate an enemy who is absolutely unbeatable, or a wanted person returning home to meet their family.

These are the kinds of "Self-destructive Wishes" that many people possess.

Thus, Selicia is selective in her recruiting.

All the crew members she chooses are "failures with a strong desire for self-destruction."

If they didn’t board Silver, the blazing fire in their hearts would eventually utterly destroy their lives.

And as long as they remain on "Silver," they will never take the next step.

It is a delay. It is a bondage.

And Selicia believes, it is also a salvation—

It enables them to stay away from those "dangerous wishes," to lie dormant in the darkness where no one can find them, quietly accumulating strength and tempering their will.

In fact, even Selicia herself is one of those saved by "Silver."

Surely, Selicia truly wishes to see her mentor again... that is her most genuine desire.

But her reason also clearly tells her—what if she does see him? So what?

What good is seeing him just once?

Does her mentor truly need her?

You see, the mentor was also a Gold-rank Transcendent, and a former leader of Winter’s Hand, proficient in intelligence gathering and analysis. If he truly wanted to find her, the intervals when she arrived at her destinations and left "Silver" would be enough to make contact.

If he doesn’t come looking for her, it means he doesn’t need her.

—This is the more optimistic assessment.

Another thought lurking in her heart is...

...Perhaps she has been abandoned.

In the Winter Reverser’s plans thus far, she seems to have reached the end. Selicia has played all the roles she could, and even she doesn’t know what more she can do for her mentor.

He hasn’t even given her another task.

Does this mean that she is no longer needed?

Even though she has now become a Gold-rank?

Even though she is no longer the weak and helpless Solomonik?

Even though she... has acquired such a beautiful body?

Then, is her existence utterly meaningless?

Once she starts to ponder this question, she can’t help but shiver—the thoughts, if pursued further, could even destroy her entire worldview up to this point.

The reason she was willing to accept the Curse Binding of "Silver"... was actually just to deceive herself.

If she attributed her inability to see her mentor entirely to Silver, it might seem as if the mentor wasn’t so heartless. She could temporarily forget her own wishes—wishes that can’t be fulfilled are meaningless.

They could only ever be considered fantasies.

...But now, things are different.

Perhaps it is precisely because she was drawn into an Otherworldly-level nightmare, causing her bond with "Silver" to sever, that she has been able to contact His Majesty Annan and have the opportunity to fulfill her wish...

—Without a doubt, all of this is the arrangement of fate.

But if she considers it this way, a nightmarish thought begins to climb in her heart, impossible to remove:

Could it be that the curse of this ship is so powerful that even her mentor couldn’t bypass it? Perhaps her mentor has tried to find her before, only to be stopped by the curse of this ship?

It’s the same fear one feels after suddenly realizing "when the hell did my phone’s battery die" and then the creeping fear of "did I miss any calls when my phone was dead?"—especially when that call is incredibly important, and her phone has been dead for years.

If that’s the case, then this opportunity must not be missed.

Even though she knew it was extremely irresponsible of her—almost akin to abandoning her crew on purpose.

But Selicia also didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

"Our Silver Brigade sails with ’dreams’ as our fuel, and ’dreams’ as our destination."

Selicia spoke earnestly, "And now, I think... I have touched the edge of my dream. I must make a trip to the WInter Duchy. If things go well this time, my wish will be fulfilled... If not, it’s unlikely I’ll live to return."

"If any of you wish to continue this ’journey in pursuit of dreams,’ I now pass the position of captain on to them."

Her words couldn’t have been clearer.

In any case, she was not coming back.

So the Silver Brigade, gathered solely by her personal charm... should be disbanded.

"—I’ll stay. Give ’Silver’ to me."

Unexpectedly.

In the midst of silence, the only one to speak was Ofelia, holding the Golden Harp.

At that moment, all the crew members—even Arthur looked over in surprise.

They all knew... among these crew members, only Ofelia truly loved Selicia.

Arthur’s feelings for Selicia bordered on mutually supportive comrades, Euphie’s feelings were those of a compatriot and friend with similar goals, while Lucia’s was a mix of trust and dependency on her captain.

But it was Ofelia who had truly abandoned his rights to the throne, secretly followed "Silver" and left—his heart was set on Selicia herself.

Yet now, it was he who chose to stay on "Silver"?

Ofelia silently plucked the harp strings a few times, and the man with amber eyes and black hair looked at Selicia with his gentle gaze.

"I’ll anchor Silver in the depths of Winter. If, in the end, you still... I’ll come to pick you up. By then, I will return the captaincy to you."

It sounded somewhat inauspicious, even a bit abject.

But Selicia merely looked at him and nodded slowly.

For the first time, a look of reluctance and conflict appeared in her eyes: "I’m sorry, Ofelia. I..."

"I understand."

Ofelia took a deep breath, interrupting her.

There was no sadness in his amber pupils, instead gentle and bright: "If I had such an opportunity, I would leave too.

"I don’t consider ’A Hair’s Breadth From the Ends of the Earth’ to be a curse; it’s more like a trial. A trial that gives one the courage to give up everything to chase after their dreams.

"I do not yet possess that sort of courage, but I hope I will in the future."

"... Then I will stay with Ofelia too."

The centaur girl hung her head, speaking in a very soft, very quiet voice: "I don’t want to meet strangers..."

"I think I’ll leave."

Arthur and Yufimia exchanged glances and said without hesitation: "I will accompany the Absolver on her journey, until she decides on her Pope, then I will begin to establish the Church of Reversion for her."

His intentions were clear.

Even if he couldn’t become the Pope, he’d at least strive for a Cardinal position.

Yufimia quickly caught on to his drift and hurriedly added: "So will I."

"However, I probably won’t be returning to Winter any time soon..."

The Absolver said, tilting her head with a touch of trouble.

Then, Longjing tea suddenly spoke up: "Miss Selicia, if you wish to go to the Winter Duchy... you might as well come with us.

"We few are Annan Winter’s most trusted confidants. We came to the Elegy Duchy precisely because the Duke wished to meet you."

Though he didn’t grasp all the complicated loves and hatreds, he understood Selicia’s hope to meet Annan.

—It was truly incredible; the main quest became sentient.

Left to its own, the ’arrest’ target willingly came forward asking to be apprehended?

Is this the kind of pie that falls from the sky?

What do you call this?

You are a mature main quest now, it’s about time you complete yourself...