The Sea of Fog.
Silas continued flying onward toward Aroca Island. Along the way, he ran into a series of Intis warships, one after another. Like the very first one he had seen, these vessels were wrapped in a transparent membrane, and clergy members were stationed aboard, apparently observing something.
These clergy wore white priestly robes, and judging by their cut, they belonged to the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
Faith in the Seven Gods across the Northern Continent was not evenly distributed; each of the major nations had its own representative churches. In Loen, faith centered mainly on the Evernight Goddess Church, the Storm Church, and the Steam Church; up north, Feysac worshipped only the God of War.
Beyond these, there was Feynapoter, which followed the Earth Mother Goddess, and Rönburg, Marsach, and Segal, which followed the God of Wisdom, among other nations.
As for the Intis Republic, its faith centered on two figures: one, likewise, was the God of Steam, and the other was the Eternal Blazing Sun.
The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun was an extremely extreme and exclusionary organization. For a long stretch of time, they had dominated the religious world of Intis, maintaining an Inquisition beneath them that ruthlessly stamped out whatever they deemed heretical, all in the name of proclaiming the absolute orthodoxy of the "Eternal Blazing Sun."
Perhaps owing to the particular nature of the Sun Pathway, most members of the church came across as fanatical and single-minded, unwavering in faith and extreme in their methods. The enemies in their eyes included heretics, pagans, cultists, wild Beyonders, country witch doctors, and the like. This even extended to hostility toward the Steam Church, and it was only after the industrial revolution led by Roselle had flourished that they finally showed some restraint, easing their restrictions on the Steam Church.
From this angle, Roselle Gustav was an enemy of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. That was likely also why, in the Great Emperor's later years, they had thrown their support behind other factions to rise up against him, determined to purge his lingering influence from every corner of the nation.
So, the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun is working together with the Intis authorities...
Silas guessed to himself.
Flying onward for a while longer, he gradually drew closer to Aroca Island. It was then that he spotted a fleet of ships. At the center of the fleet were vessels of every size, passenger ships, cargo ships, fishing boats, some steam-powered, some under sail. These ships were being escorted, or perhaps more accurately, held hostage, by surrounding Intis warships, forced along toward Aroca Island.
These ships had presumably been sailing this stretch of sea as usual, only to be forcibly intercepted by the Intis military and ultimately herded together.
Silas cautiously used Psychological Concealment to erase his presence, gradually catching up with the fleet.
He landed alongside the fleet at the docks of Aroca Island, watching as the passengers were forced off their ships and made to gather under military guard.
An officer stepped out in front of them and said, "Everyone, we are with the Intis Navy, Sea of Fog Fleet. Due to a special military operation, the waters you were currently sailing through have become a restricted military zone, and passage is temporarily suspended."
"Please remain on Aroca Island for the time being. Once the military operation concludes, you will be free to leave. As for exactly when that will be, please await further notice. In the meantime, please do not attempt to communicate with the outside world by any means, or we will be forced to take coercive measures against you."
What he said was less an explanation than a notice, one that coldly delivered this unfortunate news to the assembled passengers.
Naturally, the people couldn't accept it.
"I lodge a strong protest!"
A man who looked like a ship's captain shouted loudly, shaking his fist, his expression fierce. "Our ship is officially registered in your country, we hold the legal right to sail these waters!"
"If you're carrying out a military operation, you ought to give advance notice..."
"That's right, I was supposed to reach Bulman Island today!"
"I need to get back to Feilin, you can't stop me..."
"Please, I beg you, my ship is full of fresh goods, every extra day it's delayed cuts their value by a fifth..."
The others voiced their displeasure just as strongly, some joining in the protest, some angrily complaining, some pleading desperately. But the officer paid them no mind at all. He simply waved his hand, and the soldiers standing by with rifles rushed forward, forcibly hauling the crowd away and off the docks.
Silas stood off to the side, quietly observing it all.
He saw numerous warships anchored in the harbor, some undergoing repairs, some having just returned. Every one of these warships was a steam-powered ironclad, their guns of a startling caliber.
A great number of warships encircled one especially strange-looking vessel. It too was clad in iron plating, but unlike the ordinary warships, its hull had a fluid, flowing shape, its surface carved with countless patterns, and two thick smokestacks rose high above it, looking as though they could generate tremendous power.
Silas narrowed his eyes, studying it.
That ship was more than a little strange. It looked as though it had undergone some special modification, capable of carrying out some kind of ritual.
Could it be for the sake of the Black King...
At this point, Silas had entirely abandoned any illusions and concluded that the Intis Navy's goal was the same as his own: to find that flagship Roselle had left behind. It wasn't just because of this strange warship, either. It was also because, from deep within Aroca Island, he could feel an aura, pure and powerful, radiating outward.
His spiritual instincts reacted fiercely, warning him that a dangerous Beyonder existed there, one whose Sequence rank was higher than his own!
The Intis authorities, the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and now even a Sequence 3 demigod at the very least... A mobilization on this scale surely wasn't the so-called "military operation" that officer had spoken of. Something far more important was going on.
The logic was simple enough. Who was the one figure capable of uniting every faction in Intis, bringing them all together against a common front?
Roselle, of course, the man who had once ruled over them all!
Once he'd worked this through, Silas's expression gradually turned cold.
After sweeping his gaze over the warships once more, he turned and made his way toward the streets of Aroca Island. To lessen the chance of being discovered, he deliberately chose a direction leading away from that powerful presence.
After walking for a while, he stepped into a local inn.
A crowd of travelers were gathered around the front desk, arguing noisily over rooms.
"A standard room is 150 Feuerking. A double room is 200 Feuerking."
the desk clerk said.
The Feuerking was Intis's currency, with an exchange rate of 24 to 1 against the Aurelius.
"150 Feuerking... that's about 6 pounds and 5 solles..."
A passenger dressed in Loenese style, a lady, cried out furiously upon hearing the quoted price. "Even the finest inn in Backlund doesn't charge this much, and a shabby little place like yours dares to ask for such a sum!"
"My apologies, ma'am, but that's the price right now."
The clerk, however, had the upper hand and knew it, answering with a smile. So many people were stranded on the island now, and it wasn't just these travelers, the Intis Navy as well, every inn was packed to capacity.
Silas walked over with an air of perfect composure and said, "I'll take a room on the second floor."
Everyone present simply took his presence for granted. The clerk pulled out a key as a matter of course, without even bothering to register him.
Silas took the key and headed upstairs. The moment he stepped into the room, a sudden, chilling gust of wind struck him.