Chapter 166 : The Sky and Your Smile
The magic ship floated slowly through the sky.
The feeling of traveling through the clouds was quite magical—you could see the ship swaying gently like sitting in a cradle, and the distant sea of clouds looked like mystical kingdoms that filled one with longing.
"Elucia, what is... that thing?"
"A floating island."
"Eh?! Are we back at Academy Island?"
"I told you, floating islands aren't just one... it's just that fully developed floating islands are very rare."
"Oh?"
"Sigh, what an idiot!"
Although she didn't understand at first, Lonis soon grasped the situation thanks to Elucia's explanation.
Just as ordinary people couldn't simply find some wilderness and settle there at will, living on floating islands also required extensive equipment.
Things like island stabilizers, water filtration devices, Magic Crystal generators, and ports where magic ships could dock.
All these things were extremely expensive and beyond what ordinary people could afford, so many small floating islands had no development value and just continued floating above the clouds.
As for Academy Island, it had taken nearly a thousand years of development to reach its current state.
...
Looking at the scenery outside the window, Zhou Suling couldn't help but exclaim:
"Lonis, look! That floating island still has waterfalls!"
"Oh, it really does. Though they're not big, they're definitely there..."
Some floating islands were even more special.
Despite being only about 1 square kilometer in area, waterfalls flowed downward from the island's edge... Looking closely, they were like ribbons, with water columns spraying in the low air and forming rainbows under the sunlight.
"Elucia, this is..."
"Crystal Stones. No, more precisely, Rain Crystals."
"Oh?"
"Some islands are themselves giant Magic Crystals, part of the natural world's composition. Those waterfalls you just saw form rivers on the ground, irrigating the vegetation in those areas."
"Oh?!"
"Moreover, there are many flying fish-birds in this world... Their wings aren't sufficient for flapping flight and can only glide like pterodactyls, so these fish-birds use the power of waterfalls to swim upstream."
"It can actually... work like that..."
...
During the magic ship's voyage, Lonis indeed saw many birds.
However, these birds had very peculiar forms, like swordfish... Lonis had thought today's birds had evolved, but it turned out certain fish had undergone transformation instead.
"So, if you have nothing better to do, stupid maid, go fish by the deck."
"Eh?"
"Don't keep walking back and forth in front of me. It's very distracting."
"Wuu..."
...
In fact, Lonis knew nothing about piloting ships. The only work she could normally do was cleaning the ship and cooking.
But now that Zhou Suling had come aboard, Lonis didn't even need to do this work... This pink-haired young lady was simply too energetic. Even washing clothes didn't displease her in the slightest—instead, she seemed to gain honors like receiving a reward.
"Then Little Lo can go fishing while I wash clothes."
"Mm... is that alright?"
"It's fine. This is also independence for me! Sister always says I never grow up, so now I'll prove it to her and my family."
"Wuu..."
...
Since she was idle anyway, why not try fishing? Maybe she could catch lunch for everyone and make Elucia look at her with new eyes.
So Lonis quickly prepared her fishing gear... This wasn't complicated at all. The only thing that surprised Lonis was the bait used for fishing.
It wasn't worms or dried fish or anything like that, but a plastic bottle cap!
This made Lonis initially think Elucia was bullying her again.
"Wah, Elucia! How do you fish with bottle caps?! That's too much!"
"Hah, are you an idiot?"
"No."
"Hmph, I forgot you really are an idiot. Don't you know these swordfish were originally released into nature by humans long ago to purify the environment?"
"Eh?!"
"They can digest plastic and excrete the harmful substances. So floating plastic bags and bottle caps are simply their ideal food."
"!"
"Little dummy, now you know how ignorant you are, right? This young lady doesn't have that much energy to bully you all day. I still have to pilot the ship, so don't disturb me!"
...
In fact, when working, Elucia was a very serious girl.
And this airspace was completely unfamiliar territory for Elucia... Although she prided herself on being a genius, having a driver who'd never been on highways suddenly drive on them would naturally make the black-haired girl somewhat nervous.
So Lonis had to go fishing alone.
...
"Phew, so that's how it is. Looks like I still have a lot to learn..."
Casting her fishing rod, Lonis sat by the window and began fishing.
This kind of life was indeed quite leisurely... at least much more so than sitting in a classroom copying notes until her hand was about to break.
Warm sunlight shone on her body, gentle evening breezes ruffled Lonis's bangs, and since no movement was required, she didn't need to worry about wardrobe malfunctions or other strange problems.
She just had to sit here and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere~
But Lonis never expected...
...
Before long, a fish actually bit!
The force transmitted to her arms directly knocked Lonis down.
"Wuah!!"
The silver-haired girl cried out in surprise. She struggled desperately, and because her wrist was tied to the fishing rod, the rod didn't fly away... But even so, her body was stuck on the windowsill, and her arm felt dislocated, completely unable to exert force.
In moments of crisis, people always think of the safest thing, and Lonis was no exception.
"Wuu wuu, wuu wuu wuu!!!! Elucia, help me!!"
The girl's cries naturally caught Elucia's attention... but this black-haired girl frowned, seeming very dissatisfied with Lonis's reaction:
"What's wrong, Lonis? You can even cause trouble just fishing!"
"Help me, I'm about to be dragged away by a fish!"
"Hmph, so little strength you can't even handle one fish. Let me do it."
Seeing the silver-haired girl about to be pulled out the window, Elucia stepped forward and grasped the fishing rod.
But even this black-haired girl didn't expect...
"How is this possible?"
Tremendous force came through the fishing rod, and even with Elucia's brute strength, she couldn't completely control it.
"Lonis, did you use a plastic bottle cap as bait?"
"Y-yes!"
"Strange... how could it be... so heavy..."
"What's happening? Suling, come help too!"
Seeing the commotion up front, Suling quickly put down the clothes in her hands and ran over... The three of them worked together to hold the fishing rod and pull with all their might, finally managing to reel it in.
But none of them expected that what they caught was actually...