After a tense round of negotiations, Ren finally managed to force the shipwrights to agree on a specific timeframe. Even so, the feeling in his chest wasn't any lighter.
'Everything… is completely different from what Kirito and Asuna told me', Ren frowned slightly as he stepped out of the old wooden door of the shipyard, the metal soles of his boots crunching softly against the cold, damp stone pavement.
According to them, this place allowed players to freely choose their boat designs, even add decorative details if they wanted.
But the reality? From the moment he stepped inside, no one mentioned any of that. They kept pressing about time, giving excuses about overwhelming work, and dodged every question about customization.
Ren clenched his hand slightly, feeling as if he had just walked into a place that was far from an ordinary shipyard.
By now, the sky was leaning toward dusk. The system clock on his interface showed 18:00, December 23rd.
A faint crimson sunset bled through layers of thick gray clouds heavy with impending rain, reflecting on the water like strips of somber light.
Ren exhaled slowly, walking along the slick cobblestone street toward the canal-side district.
The trip to the Bear Forest had taken far longer than expected. He needed materials to complete his quest and wanted to gain a few extra levels while at it.
At least defeating the Magnatherium King Bear a few hours ago wasn't for nothing, just a few hundred more experience points and he'd level up.
Lost in thought, Ren suddenly stopped in his tracks. From afar came the clamor of voices. A large group of workers was hauling hefty wooden crates, moving from a newly docked ship on the western pier straight toward the very shipyard Ren had just left.
Instinct made him step aside to give them room. In that brief moment, he caught fragments of their conversation, half-swallowed by the crash of waves and the thud of boots on stone. But even fragments were enough to make Ren freeze.
"You're sure… no one knows about that place, right?" A man's voice, husky and low, as if afraid of being overheard.
"I'm sure. We hid it well." Another voice replied, hurried, accompanied by the clatter of wood.
"By the way…" A pause, thick with hesitation. "Maybe after this job, I'll retire."
"Huh? You're still young."
"The client pays a lot… but…" The voice trailed off, fading into the rhythm of footsteps and waves.
Ren tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as he watched the group disappear down a road lined with tarps fluttering in the wind.
A cold gust swept past, making him shiver.
'That place…? What are they hiding…?'
An unnamed chill slid into his chest, sharp as wind off the open sea.
But Ren quickly pushed the thought aside. Whatever "that place" was, it had nothing to do with him.
He didn't have time to dwell on stray mysteries. His only goal now was to finish the quest and prepare for the next journey.
Darkness slowly devoured the horizon as Ren strode along the damp cobblestones, the chill seeping through every seam of his clothes.
Lamps along the canal banks flickered to life one by one, their pale yellow glow rippling on the water like drifting ribbons of starlight.
From the distance came the rhythmic splash of oars cutting through water, blending with the hiss of cold wind sweeping across wooden eaves, forming a hazy nocturnal melody.
Thin mist began curling over the canals, cloaking the city in an ethereal veil as if the whole place were floating inside a dream.
Ren followed the cross-shaped waterway and stopped at a small dock where several boats were moored.
After a quick glance around, he boarded a mid-sized boat converted into a floating eatery, the kind of spot only locals knew, famed for good food at cheap prices.
Inside, the space was warm, lit by oil lamps casting golden hues across dark wooden walls. The clink of spoons against porcelain mingled with murmurs of conversation, weaving a rare sense of tranquility.
Ren chose a seat by the window to watch the water under the night sky. He ordered a simple meal: fish soup, dark rye bread, and a pot of hot tea.
When the dishes arrived, Ren propped his chin on one hand and gazed outside. Beyond the glass, Rovia at night shimmered in a way entirely different from the day.
Passenger boats drifted by, their lantern trails stretching long across the canal; in the distance, laughter from players echoed from other restaurants, mingling with the music of wandering minstrels gliding across the water.
Gone was the daytime chaos of hawkers' cries and the clatter of cargo being unloaded. In its place was another kind of bustle, the kind born of leisure and indulgence.
Groups of players, after a long day of grinding, now gathered on rented boats, slowly heading back to the main settlement, leaving ripples that fanned out across the water.
Ren took a sip of tea, letting the heat slide down his throat, the faint bitterness blending with an herbal fragrance.
Tonight, he was alone, like always. And strangely, he didn't mind it.
.....
After resting and filling his empty stomach, Ren returned to the shipyard.
The cobblestone road still glistened faintly with the damp of late afternoon, the glow from lanterns hanging off eaves stretching across the still water in pale golden streaks.
At the waterway beside it, his small gondola was already moored, swaying gently with the ripple of waves.
He handed over the remaining payment to the craftsman, bowing his head in a voice as soft as drifting wind.
With everything settled, Ren couldn't hold back his impatience any longer and strode toward his boat.
The gondola before him was truly small, just enough for one person to sit comfortably, two at most, if they balanced well.
Its design was pared down to near minimalism, yet that simplicity lent it a kind of pure beauty.
The boat was unpainted, its grain of pale wood gleaming under the lantern light like a block of white jade adrift on the water.
Ren bent down, his fingertips brushing lightly over the smooth surface, feeling the carefully applied waterproof coating.
They had used the very bear fat he had brought back to create this protective layer. At first, Ren intended to use the fat from the Bear King, a far superior material, but unfortunately, that beast hadn't dropped a single drop when defeated.
"Not bad at all," he murmured with a faint smile, an indescribable sense of pride swelling inside him.
This was his own effort, from the raw materials to the crafting assistance: bear fat, tree resin as an adhesive, and that beautiful wood used for the boat's frame.
He even pictured adding a few small lanterns along the sides… not a bad idea at all.
Yeah, this boat… it's made of birch wood.
Ren froze.
Wait… birch wood?
The lantern light reflecting from the canal danced across the boat's pale surface, highlighting the ivory-white grain of the wood as if mocking his memory.
"What the hell…?" Ren tightened his grip on the edge of the boat.
He frowned, eyes narrowing as he studied the glossy grain beneath his fingertips. The wood he had brought back from the Bear Forest was definitely not birch.
It was dark oak, still charred in some places from the flaming arrows. How could that rough, dark wood have turned into this smooth, white plank?
In the Bear Forest, he remembered clearly, there were only two main types of wood: birch, bright as moonlight, and oak, dark and somber like damp soil.
Both were valuable, but rarely confused. He might not be a carpenter, but Ren wasn't stupid enough to mistake one for the other.
And yet… the reality before him defied that certainty.
Ren placed his hand on the boat's side once more, his mind clouded by vague suspicions, as if something beyond ordinary logic was at play here…
Just as he was about to step off the boat and confront the shipwright about this strange wood, his gaze halted.
In the dim twilight, through the drifting mist over the water, a few silhouettes were moving silently at the far end of the dock.
Not fishermen, nor ordinary traders. They moved in groups of three or four, their steps swift yet cautious, making no sound beyond the faint ripple of water as cargo was loaded onto a boat.
Ren squinted. These weren't standard item crates like regular loot chests. They were long, curved pieces, like fragments of something much larger, something they clearly didn't want anyone to see.
A mix of unease and curiosity stirred within him. Without another thought, he reached out and snuffed the small lantern on his gondola, letting darkness swallow the boat.
He crouched low, carefully dipping the paddle into the water, pushing silently toward the canal's edge, making sure the ripples stayed quiet.
The shadowy figures continued their work, murmuring in hushed tones he couldn't make out, until one of them gestured. Moments later, the cargo boat began to move, gliding westward.
Ren watched in silence. For an instant, reason told him to turn back, but another part of him urged forward. Something was wrong here.
Gritting his teeth, he set the paddle into the water and began pushing his gondola forward, trailing the shadowed vessel.
Fortunately, the cargo boat wasn't fast. It drifted through dense layers of mist, leaving behind faint, fading ripples, while Ren followed like a second shadow, soundless and unseen.
In the frigid night fog, Rovia's harbor sank into silence. Only the soft dip of oars, the slow, heavy thump of his heartbeat, and a vague premonition grew clearer in Ren's mind: 'I'm about to see something I was never meant to see.'