Chapter 121: Harbor Point

SIGH!

Nero let out a sharp sigh, then glanced at Emilia, who couldn't stop belaying at each and every stall she laid her eyes on.

"There is no need to buy all that," Nero groaned.

The sun had risen, and Nero, Emilia, Sophia, and Asteria were at the harbor point of the dock; they were about to depart from the capital.

Sophia was dragging Emilia with her, and Asteria was walking with Nero.

Sophia was wearing her regular angelic outfit, and she was in her angel form. And Asteria was wearing a royal outfit that easily defined her as a princess. 

Emilia tried to copy Asteria's outfit and conjured a new outfit that apparently turned out well, and everyone liked it. 

Nero was in his normal form with white hair, and he was also wearing a black outfit with golden ornates that were akin to Asteria's outfit.

He stopped caring about his appearance and decided not to change his form. He asked the same to Sophia, and she looked pretty happy to hear that since she has been forcing herself to change to a human form.

Nero originally changed his form to human because of Emilia, but he no longer had any need to do that.

He didn't want to catch unwanted attention, that would just delay his journey, but now he didn't care about that. He thought if he stayed in his real form, it might spread the news about him, and he might meet a few of his old companions.

"Are you okay?" Nero asked.

"Yeah." Asteria nodded and continued with a smile on her face, "I am looking forward to our journey."

Nero looked up at the sky and muttered, "It won't be a journey like fairy tales, but I promise it will be a more exciting journey than you can ever think of."

"Will Ma be okay there— alone?" Asteria asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Don't worry about her. She is under my protection, and my subordinates will protect her with their life."

"I want to come back here once the palace has been rebuilt. I want to see how it looks," Asteria requested.

"Sure. It will take a while, but we will come back here soon."

"Nero. Nero!" Emilia jumped on the dock and asked, "Which ship are we going to take?"

There were dozens of ships of various sizes parked at the docking area.

"Hmm~" Nero glanced around the ships, but none of them amazed him.

"Hello~" An elderly man who looked to be in his late forties approached Nero.

Nero raised his brows and waved his hand at the man, seemingly asking him to go away.

"Shoo! Go and beg somewhere else."

The elderly man stepped back in shock, and his face looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"Ahem!" He cleared his throat and stepped forward, saying, "I am the manager— a foreman of this dock."

Nero made an annoyed expression on his face and rolled his eyes as he asked, "What do you want?"

The man rubbed his hands together and said with a slight smirk on his face, "You seem to be trouble. How about I take you to the best ship? Come to my cabin; I will show you around. We can talk about the fees later."

'He must be thinking I am some rich young master after looking at our royal outfits.' Nero sighed and shook his head. 'Let's mess with him a little, shall we?'

"Oh!" Nero exclaimed and said, "My deepest apologies, Sir. It's just you looked like a beggar and a bandit, so I couldn't help but mistake you as some evil person who scams naive travelers and adventurers."

"Wha—!" The man was about to go mad in rage but controlled himself for the sake of money and forced a smile. "No worries, dear traveler."

He pointed his finger at the old cabin near the edge of the harbor point and said, "Shall we go to my cabin?" 

"I would love to, but I am afraid I can't." Nero turned to Emilia and said, "I am just an escort, and I am escorting these three beautiful ladies."

"I see." The man looked at them and nodded. "Where is your employer then? Let me talk to him."

Nero glanced around and said, "He was here just a while ago…— oh!" He pointed his finger at the sea and said, "There he is."

"I don't see anyone." The man tried to follow Nero's finger and looked at the sea. He placed his hand on his forehead and squinted his eyes to see far away.

"Come with me." Nero placed his hand around the man's shoulder and took him to the edge of the dock, then pointed his finger at the seawater below him and said, "There."

Confused, the man looked down at seawater and saw his and Nero's reflection.

"Uh… I don't understand. What does this mean?" the man glanced at Nero with a puzzled look on his face.

"What I mean is…" Nero kicked the man in the sea and uttered, "Go fuck yourself."

The man swam to the next dock and climbed up. He glared at Nero and said, "You will regret it!"

"Be glad that I didn't kill you. Now scoot, or I will make you one with the sea."

The man gulped down in fear and ran away from Nero's sight.

SIGH!

Nero sighed and washed his hand with the seawater, saying, "Let's wash before I get infected."

"That was so rude," Emilia said.

"He had it coming," Nero replied.

"But you didn't have to—"

"Excuse me." A man wearing a suit and a brimmed hat with some papers in his hands approached Nero and the others.

"I am the manager of this harbor point, and I saw that man talking with you a while ago. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. If he ever comes back, kill him with no mercy," Nero answered.

"Huh? What's going on? I thought that man was the manager?" Emilia questioned with a confused and puzzled look on her face.

"He was obviously a scammer," Sophia remarked.

"What?!" Emilia exclaimed.

"People like him are not uncommon. You will find them everywhere. They scam new travelers and adventurers and loot them. And in the worst case, they kill the males and abduct females to sell them as slaves," Sophia explained.