Naturally, the crew members all huddled around their captain, who was sat by Dawn as she steered the wheel.

The only one who didn’t join them was Lavender, who sat by the helm of the ship alone.

No time to focus on her now...

"What you thinking, Captain?" Kruger asked.

The ex-navy member had more experience at sea than everyone else, yet still he turned to Roseus to get his opinion first. It was as though he believed his father’s skills had been passed down to him.

Roseus remained silent at first, going over his thought process in his head.

Afterward, he spoke.

"Silius’s skill specifically mentions that the Needle Of Ruin points toward the nearest significant danger. As we know, the Sailor System is very specific when it comes to wording."

"’Significant’ is most likely the third progression after ’slight’. My guess would be that it goes something like this: Slightly, Moderately, Significantly, Greatly... From there onward, I’m not too sure."

"This means that anything that would only be a slight or moderate danger to us cannot be pinpointed by his needle. We also have to wonder whether it is able to recognise dangers greater than significant."

"The reason that the needle is not pointing behind us could be for a few reasons. It might not recognise the navy ship owned by Lieutenant Bushwight as a significant danger. Or, it could be greater than significant, therefore not being picked up by the needle."

"The other reason I can think of is that the danger ahead of us is closer than the navy ship, which we’ve started to pull away from."

As he spoke, Roseus rose to his feet and took out his spyglass. He looked out into the distance and saw nothing. Yet when he looked behind him, he could see the navy ship gradually getting further away from them as their lack of coal slowed them down.

Dawn, First Mate of the Redflower Pirates, kept her hands on the wheel, but at that point, she didn’t know what to do.

Usually, she would keep it straight, but was that wise at that moment?

She continued to watch as Rose spoke. As he did, she realised just how important it was for Rose to be captain rather than her.

Back when they were younger and played toy pirates in the pond, she knew just how special he was when it came to decision-making. Despite being young, he was always able to solve problems much more efficiently than she was.

When he had told her that she couldn’t set out to sea with him, her dreams of following in the footsteps of their parents had been crushed.

Even now, in the face of danger, she felt grateful that this had all changed.

"Dawn," Rose’s voice snapped her from her thoughts. "Steer left."

These words caught everyone off guard, especially Silius. The navigator rose to his feet, still staring at the compass.

"Captain, that isn’t wise. Our plan was to travel in an arch shape, taking a roundabout route to travel deeper into the ocean. If she steers any further left, we will be heading in a straight line toward the centre of the ocean."

Captain Roseus nodded his head, keeping his face firm.

"I know," he said.

Silius’s dark eyes went wide behind his glasses.

"If we travel straight, we will enter the path of a navy patrol route. I’m certain of this."

That’s right. Roseus knew this.

However, he did not intend to stay on this path.

Where he wished to head was even further left.

He turned to Dawn again.

"Sail left, and continue sailing left. Our goal isn’t to head straight toward the centre of the ocean. It’s to head toward the island that my father first visited in his travels."

The faces of the crew filled with surprise.

Silius froze. It wasn’t the words he had expected.

"But we don’t know what danger lies there..." the navigator’s words trailed off.

Roseus looked north and responded.

"Every time I’ve put on this hat, I’ve felt that we are getting closer to the island. I can see the path that my father travelled clearly... I believe that if he sent me back a hat that could allow me to follow a path, there was a reason for this. I trust my father. The island could be safe..."

Silius, who looked like he had something to say, was cut off before he could speak.

Kruger joined the conversation.

"Captain is right. If there’s any man I trust, it’s Redeye, one of the greatest pirates known to the land. Besides, we gotta acknowledge that not all islands are dangerous in the Eight Oceans."

This was knowledge well known to most people who set out to sea.

The Halo Continent was the large ring surrounding the Eight Oceans. Outside of the ring was what people called the Absent Sea, as nothing existed beyond it. No land, creatures, or anything else.

However, within the Eight Oceans, there were plenty of islands, some of which were owned by the Halo Empire, and others that weren’t.

Some of the islands owned by the Empire still managed to become stopping points for pirates for numerous reasons. Sometimes, whoever was in charge accepted bribes. Other times, the pirates might simply be too strong for the Empire forces stationed there to do anything, thus making any attempt at capturing or killing them not worth the risk.

If a powerhouse pirate were to stumble upon a small island with only a few forces stationed there, that would make the island safe for all pirates, at least from Empire forces. Of course, pirates could still attack one another themselves.

There were also some islands not yet owned by the Empire. Although the Emperor of the Oceans was an authoritarian man, there were some places he simply did not have the right to claim. Some islands might be under the protection of a certain sea god, whilst others might already be ruled by pirates too strong to fight against half-heartedly.

There were also very small islands that went unnoticed by the navy. The Empire’s naval forces were incredibly large, but even they couldn’t be everywhere at once.

It was for these reasons that Roseus trusted in his father.

"The island must be safe, and it must be our next destination. This wound on my back will become infected if we don’t find a healer. We won’t stop long, just long enough to hopefully get our injuries treated." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Secretly, in his head, he added that he believed there might be a deeper reason why his father was leading him there.

Perhaps there was something there that might aid his journey.

So, with that, they headed toward their first island, steering their ship away from danger.