Pirate: It’s not a phantom beast, it’s a phantom god!

Chapter 332 A strange combination of circumstances
"Doctor! Doctor!"

"Dr. Clover!"

"Ok?"

Dr. Clover was slightly taken aback when he heard someone seemingly calling his name.

He was standing on the deck of the research vessel, directing the crew to conduct a comprehensive overhaul of the ship.

After all, the ship was quite battered last night. For everyone's safety, whether we continue into the calm zone or turn back, a thorough and comprehensive inspection is necessary.

Patapapap~
Stepping lightly on the swaying planks, Dr. Clover took a few steps to the ship's side. Following the sound, he looked up and found that the person calling his name was a team sent to the island to replenish fresh water and other supplies.

However, they were empty-handed, and even their water buckets were nowhere to be found. They were covered in leaves and mud, and the whole group looked as if they had been chased by geese, appearing quite disheveled.

"What are you..."

"Doctor, guess what we've discovered?!"

Just as Dr. Clover was about to ask a question, the leading scholar beat him to it.

Only then did he realize that these people did not show any panic or fear of encountering danger on their faces. Instead, they looked excited as if they had discovered a gold mine.

The leader continued shouting:
"It's an ancient ruin!"

"We've discovered an ancient ruin, Doctor!"

"what?!"

Upon hearing the word 'ancient ruins', Dr. Clover immediately perked up.

Not only him, but the other scholars on the ship who heard the commotion also perked up, and everyone put down their work and crowded to the railing.

Ancient ruins! That's much more important than any gold mine...

"Where? Where?"

"What era is it from? How is it preserved?"

"What is the scale?"

"Have you found any stone inscriptions or anything like that?"

"Did you see any fossilized feces?"

……

"That group of ruins is on the south side of the island, and it's quite large! And from what we've seen, it's at least several hundred years old!"

The leader of the outbound group replied.

"What are we waiting for?! Everyone, let's grab our gear and get ready to go!"

Haha~ I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise~

Upon learning that there were actually ruins on this desolate island, the group of archaeologists were like they'd been injected with adrenaline. They didn't care about the ship anymore; they grabbed their tools and were ready to have a good chat with these ancient artifacts from thousands of years ago.

……

"Huh? What's the noise?"

Inside the base, Quinn, who was helping to pick vegetables at a makeshift stove, suddenly heard a commotion outside, as if many people had come to the vicinity.

"It was that group of archaeologists from Ohara."

La answered casually.

Her attention was entirely focused on the soup simmering in front of her—a creature resembling a chicken, bled, plucked, and gutted, its belly stuffed with various seasonings, now lay quietly at the bottom of the pot.

I don't know what cooking method was used, but the color of this chicken soup is an extremely light golden color.

It is transparent with a warm luster, but without a trace of oil, like a pale golden lake.

"Goooo~"

"The scholars of Ohara...you mean those freeloaders from this morning?"

Smelling the rich, warm aroma in the air, Quinn swallowed hard without any attempt to hide it.

However, upon hearing the approaching footsteps and voices outside, he became somewhat nervous.

[Are these guys thinking of mooching lunch again around noon?!]
Quinn never hesitated to assume the worst of the scholars who had stolen his breakfast.

[Damn it, that must be it! Those shameful bastards who're always thinking about getting something for nothing!]
"No, we have to go and drive them away."

Thinking of this, Quinn couldn't wait to chase away all those freeloaders outside!
Lunchtime is different from breakfast. It seems La only prepared one pot of chicken soup, not enough for himself, so how could he possibly share it with those stinking beggars outside? Compared to Quinn, who had already rolled up his sleeves and was ready to kick them out, La still looked indifferent.

She scooped some soup into a small dish, tasted it first, and after confirming there was nothing wrong with it, she slowly and deliberately spoke:
"There's no need for that; this isn't their destination."

"Huh? They're not here to freeload? Then who are they...?"

"There is a cluster of ancient building ruins around here, and they probably want to conduct archaeological research on those ruins."

……

As Ra said, the group of Ohara scholars, led by Dr. Clover, completely forgot about eating after seeing the relatively well-preserved ancient ruins before them.

Boom!
slap~
The four scholars first dropped their backpacks and eagerly crowded around a wall, beginning to grope it.

One of the leaders had even pressed his face against the stone wall.

They are the Ancient Architecture Group within the Historical Research Association, specializing in the study of ancient architecture of various styles.

"Oh, look! This wall is made entirely of solid square stones from top to bottom!"

"And these alluring signs of weathering~"

"Wow, this structural strength is truly impressive, incredibly strong!"

"The smell of the moss on the wall... mmm, it smells so good! So good!"

A scholar wearing a headscarf said, sniffing the bluestone that made up the wall, his eyes filled with fascination.

He was the group leader and Wright's former neighbor and close friend.

"Hey! That's enough! Move away! How many times have I told you to protect the historical traces here!"

Dr. Clover couldn't help but cover his head as he watched the members of the Ancient Architecture Group, who seemed to go completely mad the moment they saw ancient ruins.

Meanwhile, Marcus, covering Connor's eyes, complained:
"Seniors, could you please tone it down a bit? Connor is only fourteen years old; he's not an adult yet."

"Ah, ah! I'm sorry~ I couldn't help myself..."

The team leader, somewhat embarrassed, reluctantly climbed down from the wall and reported his conclusions:
"cough!"

"Well, after our close, cough... careful inspection, this building should be made of limestone blocks cut from limestone and stacked together. Moreover, the stone carving technique is very sophisticated, and each stone is basically the same size."

"The gaps between the stones are very small, and they use plaster, which is similar to modern methods, as a bonding agent."

"Judging from the signs of weathering, this building must have been here for at least one thousand to one thousand one hundred years."

"Based on the shape of the corner and the tangent, this building should adopt the same 'I'-shaped structure as the houses on the island of Kru.

The four members of the construction team, now back to normal, talked amongst themselves, and without even using professional equipment, they managed to uncover the secrets of the unassuming little house covered in moss in just a few words.

These scholars from Ohara may have their quirks, but in terms of professional expertise, they are undoubtedly among the best in the world.

"Kru Island..."

Marcus heard a familiar name.

"Teacher, Krueger Island isn't the one where we found the Poneglyphs last time..."

"Ah."

Dr. Clover nodded, recalling the memorable island where they had stumbled upon a historical text revered by the locals.

After a battle of wits and courage with the local natives, and at the cost of Kara almost marrying into the chief's family with his towering daughter, they obtained a rubbing of the historical text.

It was through deciphering that historical text that they learned of an island in the Calm Belt... an island intricately connected to the kingdom they had imagined that didn't exist in history.

"Marcus, where's the compass we made?"

"Huh? What do you need that for?"

Kara, who looked rather unwell, answered him. The name "Kru Island" reminded him of a painful memory.

"The compass that my senior brother made seems to have broken last night. Not only did it give us wrong directions and led us astray from our way back, but it also kept going around in circles after we arrived on this island."

As she spoke, Kara took out a simple compass from her pocket. The outer casing was somewhat cracked, and the pointer inside spun like a top.

"Um……"

After taking the compass, Dr. Clover and Marcus exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

(End of this chapter)