Well, how do we avoid this?
We don't.
That was Sinus' answer. Not even a pause.
"The ship is likely leading us somewhere else," he added with a shrug, as if that explained anything. "Why not see where it goes?"
Right. That was the kind of logic people used right before they died in myths.
The ship had changed direction. We hadn't noticed at first, since the ocean looked the same in every direction. But when we finally checked the compass—and then the wheel—we realized something was off. Correction: everything was off. The ship was moving on its own. Even Sinus couldn't control it.
"A fault, maybe?" I muttered.
"How did this even happen?" Shalap asked.
Well, it started on the second day. We woke up to find the ship had veered completely off course. Nuraf? Not even in sight. Not even in the vicinity of sight. The wheel didn't work. The sails didn't help. We even tried yelling at it for five minutes. Nothing.
Sinus eventually rubbed his temples. "Something must be attracting it," he said. "Some kind of force."
That was how we reached our final decision:
We would just… let it take us.
"Hopefully we don't die," Shalap said with a half-laugh, half-plea.
"Hopefully, huh?" I replied, stretching my arms behind my head. "I'm betting one of us dies today."
Sinus hit me on the head with a thud. "No one will die."
"Okay, okay," I muttered, rubbing the spot.
"Except maybe you," Shalap said. "You've had death flags raised since yesterday."
"Excuse you. I'm clearly the main character," I said. I mean I wasn't? Clearly I was, I got transmigated and am doing adventures. Isn't that what a protagonist does anyways?.
Shalap squinted. "More like comic relief immunity."
Before I could defend my honor, something came into view.
"Ships," I muttered, squinting into the distance.
A lot of them. All sizes, all kinds. They dotted the sea like floating debris, except too symmetrical to be random.
Sinus leaned over the railing and nodded. "Just like I thought. It's attracting ships. All kinds of them. Could be an artifact."
I wasn't listening to him anymore.
My eyes were on something else.
Beyond the cluster of ships—half-lost in the fog—stood a castle. Not just any castle. One that looked like it had no business being in the middle of the ocean.
"…You seeing that too?" I asked.
Shalap whistled. "Yeah. And I don't like it. Castles are never a good sign."
"Maybe it's a floating gift shop," I said.
"Yeah, why don't you buy us gifts then by going first?."
"Unbelievable. No respect."
I sighed. This day was going to be long.