The Miraculous Treasure Hunting System-Chapter 149. Returning to the Ship

After taking the potion, Jason closed his eyes and stood stunned. After a minute, he opened his eyes, slowly exhaled, and relaxed, sitting back down on the rock.

"Is this what it feels like to hear whispers? It's quite peculiar. A bit like the song of a siren, but it gets worse and worse towards the end."

Hearing this, Ed couldn't help but turn to look at him. "You've heard the song of a siren?"

Jason shook his head. "Of course not. If I had, would I still be alive? But you might not believe it, I've heard the song of a mermaid."

"Pfft!" Hearing this, Gami couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing Gami's expression, Jason shrugged helplessly. "See? You didn't believe me before I even started."

Ed had initially thought mermaids existed in this world, especially after seeing the fish-men race—and quite a few of their women. Knowing this was an ocean world with other races, he figured mermaids wouldn't be unusual and could be found anywhere.

But judging from their reactions and the information from books, that obviously wasn't the case. His dream of getting intimate with a mermaid wasn't going to be fulfilled anytime soon.

Gami laughed. "You heard a mermaid's song? I have to ask you, where do mermaids come from?"

"That's why I said you might not believe me. Although I don't know where the song came from, I just felt it was a mermaid's song. It's a very strange feeling," Jason chuckled, shaking his head helplessly.

"It was indeed strange, haha, but the song was really beautiful. I still remember it vividly." He then waved his hand, changing the subject. Turning to Gami, Jason asked, "What position did you hold in the church before?"

"A prospective saint."

"A prospective saint? That's not bad. Before I boarded the ship, I also wanted to become a saint."

Saint. Ed knew about this. Since learning the Stone Mother was the Holy Mother, he had intentionally studied the Church of the Holy Mother. Saints were roughly technical personnel within the church, holding a position equivalent to a regional bishop.

These were individuals with special skills, such as strong magical abilities. Even the church's armed personnel, the Templar Knights, could be called saints. Andre was a saint. Nowadays, anyone can become a saint, had been Ed's true thought when he first learned this information.

"I heard that Elena was a prospective saintess before," Jason suddenly said, remembering something.

Elena was a prospective saintess? Ed was somewhat puzzled; this was the first time he'd heard of it, and Elena had never mentioned it.

Gami nodded calmly. "That's right, she was. Otherwise, she wouldn't have become a Toucher so early."

A saintess's position in the church was comparable to an archbishop, possessing a special, transcendent status.

"Isn't she anymore?" Ed asked curiously.

Gami shook his head. "No. That's why I came to Captain Andre's ship."

Jason asked curiously, wondering what Elena could have done to get kicked out of her post. "Why? What happened?"

"I heard she knocked out the archbishop's teeth when he wasn't looking."

"..." The two fell silent.

Gami continued, still shaken. "She came back in a huff, wanting to take it out on us, saying she wouldn't be a saintess anymore, she was going to go to sea, chase her dreams, stuff like that... Then she really left in a super high-profile manner.

By the way, we were so happy when we heard about it, I can't describe the feeling. She was a true bully at the church back then."

Was Elena really that violent back then? Ed wondered. It makes my early decision not to get romantically involved with her seem more and more correct.

To be honest, Ed couldn't quite imagine the Elena of that time, despite having seen her less-friendly side during training. The contrast was too exaggerated.

In his memory, Elena was always cheerful, gentle... well, not gentle, brutal. Very considerate, a workaholic, a bit annoying, humorless, nerdy, took good care of others, had high EQ, and even knew how to cook...

The only thing associated with violence was her fighting style. So, while he could imagine how she might have beaten others, it was hard for him to picture her as a bully who fought random guys for fun. Maybe he still didn't know her very well.

"The ship is here!"

Hearing Jason's words, the two instantly turned to look at the dark world in the distance.

On the sea, they saw specks of white light carried by the sea breeze. Judging by their location and distribution, it had to be the Blue Fist.

The three stood up, dusted themselves off, and headed toward the shore.

A short while later, as Ed controlled the searchlights created by angled mirrors, they illuminated the approaching ship. It was indeed the Blue Fist.

The vessel slowly drew near and soon stopped before them. The three jumped onto the deck, where Andre had been waiting.

"Thank you for your hard work. Let's go to the captain's cabin first."

The group nodded and followed Andre inside.

The others were already in the cabin, each leaning back in their chairs, occupied with their own tasks. Seeing them enter, Elena turned and smiled.

"You're back. Did you run into anything?"

But then she noticed the slightly strange expressions on Ed and Jason's faces, hints of fear, and she frowned deeply. She had beaten them both in the name of training before, but this was the first time they had shown outright fear.

Her gaze swept over to Gami, the only anomaly in the trio. Gami looked away guiltily.

As if remembering something, Elena turned her head back, a slight blush spreading to her ears. She knew her dark history had been leaked.

Andre patted their shoulders. "Sit down. What are you standing for? Tell me what clues you've gathered. You haven't been on the island long."

The group nodded and took their seats.

As the temporary captain, Ed began to recount their journey, including their encounter with the spirit named Jasmine beneath the manor. He described their conversation in detail.

After listening, Andre frowned in thought. A light tapping sound echoed in the room as his fingers drummed the wooden table.

At that moment, Ed felt his sleeve being tugged. Turning, he saw Elena, her face slightly flushed, quietly leaning closer to whisper in his ear, "Did that bastard Gami say something to you?"

Hearing this, Ed's mouth twisted, and a smile appeared at the corner of his lips. But as a veteran, there was no way he would sell out his bro just because she asked. "No..."

"Hmph! You think you can fool me? He definitely said something. Otherwise, why did you two look at me so strangely when you came in?"

With that, she reached out and gave Ed's shoulder a sharp pinch. This black-hearted girl didn't hold back, even using a bit of magic to increase the strength.

"Ouch!"

Finally, seeing that Ed understood who the real boss was among the younger people on the ship, her face still slightly red, she explained casually, still holding his shoulder, "I was young then, you know? I didn't know any better back then... We were just playing..."

Ed, who felt as if a nail had been hammered into his shoulder, quickly nodded in agreement, while slamming his feet on the deck to endure the pain. "I understand, I understand... But please, can you be a bit gentler? It hurts..."

To tell the truth, he couldn't relate. If asked to recall being thirteen or fourteen in his previous life, he'd say he was a good kid who went to school, came home to watch cartoons, and maybe went out to play. He was lucky to have lived where bullying was rare, something he only knew from movies. So no, he didn't understand these world's kids at all. They weren't in the same league.

As for Jason and Gami, they tried their best to look away, hoping Elena wouldn't notice them and that her mood would improve after taking it out on Ed.

At this moment, Andre spoke up. "Alright, then let's head to Parvati Island immediately, retrieve the Sword of Mercy quickly, and perform the soul transfer for that ghost. The faster, the better. The less time we need to stay here, the better."

Hearing this, everyone nodded.

Andre then got up and walked out; he needed to take the helm himself. Watching him leave, Gami silently followed.

"Gami!"

Hearing Elena's voice from behind, Gami pretended not to hear and didn't stop, even speeding up to follow Andre out of the captain's cabin. It seemed Elena was about to make him relive some wonderful childhood memories, something he was clearly not ready to experience again.

taken from his ring.

Elena looked them over, her expression shifting to slight surprise. The events of the past few minutes were completely set aside when it came to business; her attention was now entirely focused on the maps.

"This map... you guys are really lucky!" She exclaimed.

Hearing the surprise in her voice, Ed and Jason turned to look.

"With this nautical chart, we can find a safe passage through the Dark Region, even in total darkness."