Chapter 54

Stepping off the ship, the ground felt strangely wobbly under Nona’s feet after a long time.

A tempting aroma wafted from somewhere, and Nona slightly lifted the corners of her lips, thinking, "The air in Shen smells so good!"

"Nona, let's go."

Called by her mother, Anna, Nona ran to her with a smile. Her doting father, Jeffrey, scooped up the running Nona and, as usual, lifted her up.

"Oh, you've gotten a bit heavier, haven't you?"

"The food on the ship was delicious. Dad, you say that every day."

"Is that so? The food on the ship was indeed delicious."

The first mate accompanied them to the customs checkpoint at the port. Thanks to the first mate, the three of them quickly passed through the checkpoint. The first mate led them to a place where vehicles were lined up outside the checkpoint.

The vehicles looked like sofas for two with two large wheels attached. It seemed they were pulled by people.

Nona and her mother, her father and the first mate, and a mountain of luggage were loaded onto two vehicles, making a total of four. They moved smoothly, pulled by young men.

"Mom, this is an interesting vehicle, isn't it?"

"Yes, and it's quite fast."

All the people walking on the streets had black hair and black eyes.

People looked at them in surprise, and many turned to look back. Nona was impressed, thinking, "The sailors all had black hair, but everyone in Shen really does have black hair."

"Please wait here."

A young woman in a stiff, embroidered dress led Nona and her family into a room, served them tea, and then left.

Nona immediately reached for the tea, gently lifted the handleless cup, and took a sip of the light yellow tea.

"Delicious. Mom, this tea is delicious."

Saying that, Nona reached for the tea snacks served with the tea.

The round, plump snacks were shaped like flowers, with a reddish-brown color and something green, like seeds, embedded in the center.

Nona took a big bite of the heavy snack and widened her eyes. The snack had a texture she had never tasted before, with a rich sweetness and a walnut flavor.

"Delicious..."

Alternating between the tea and the snack, Nona quickly finished the flower-shaped tea snack.

Soon, a well-built man appeared. He introduced himself as "Enrocam." Nona could also introduce herself. Enrocam spoke with her father for a long time through the first mate as an interpreter, while her mother nodded with a smile.

Unable to join the conversation, Nona was busy looking at the room's furnishings, tea sets, and paintings on the walls. Everything was new and interesting.

Eventually, her parents spread out documents and discussed more intensely, and Nona was led out of the room by the young woman who had guided them.

The woman spoke kindly, but Nona understood very little. Helplessly, Nona pointed to herself and said in Shen, "Nona. My name is Nona Asher." The young woman replied, "I am Mao."

"Mao! Nice to meet you!"

"Yes, nice to meet you."

Nona was delighted that she could actually converse with a foreigner and giggled. The garden Mao led her to had various types of neatly trimmed trees. Spotting a pond, she ran over and peered in.

"Wow, big fish. Do they eat these?"

While squatting and looking, she noticed soft-looking brown leather shoes on the other side of the pond.

"Hmm?"

Looking up, she saw a boy around ten years old standing there, looking down at her expressionlessly and speaking to her.

"Are you Pimalo?"

Mao immediately scolded the boy. Nona didn't understand what was said, but she knew the boy had said something bad and was being scolded.

"My name is Nona. I'm not Pimalo."

"You can speak Shen? I'm Ilkark."

After introducing himself, the boy looked at her closely.

"Interesting."

But Nona, more interested in the fish, turned back to the pond. The boy walked over and pulled Nona's arm, making her stand up.

"Stop it. I want to see the fish!"

She complained in Ashbury, but Ilkark continued to pull her, saying something. Mao said, "Stop it," but the boy didn't stop.

Nona could have shaken him off and run away, but she decided to follow him quietly, thinking, "Oh well, I can kick him and run if it comes to that."

They circled around the main house and were led to a large birdhouse. The fine mesh was made of smooth, cylindrical plant fences, and it was about the size of a tool shed on a sheep farm.

"Wow..."

Inside were birds about the size of ducks. Their bodies were a deep, glossy blue, and they walked dragging long, emerald-green tails. Their small heads had delicate, ornamental feathers.

When the birds saw Nona, they raised their long tails and slowly spread them.

"Wow! What is this!"

The luxurious tail feathers, spread in a semicircle, were covered with many egg-shaped patterns. The outlines of the egg patterns were emerald green, and the yolk parts were the same deep blue as their chests.

"Beautiful! So beautiful!"

"These are Konchelus."

"Konchelus!"

Ilkark nodded.

"Hey, Ilkark, what is Pimalo?"

When Nona asked with a straight look, Ilkark was a bit flustered.

"Pimalo is that."

He pointed to the next coop, where there were brown chickens and many yellow chicks. Was it because her hair was golden, or did he mean she was as small as a chick?

"I'm not Pimalo! I'm strong!"

Ilkark burst out laughing.

His laughter made her feel like he was treating her like a baby, and she was angry. She couldn't respond verbally, but her anger didn't subside.

"Ugh. Just watch. I'm not a chick!"

She looked around, chose the tallest pine tree, ran over, took off her shoes, and started climbing. She climbed up to the highest branch in no time, as if releasing the excess energy from the ship journey.

Mao ran off in a panic, shouting something, and Ilkark looked up with his mouth agape.

Standing on a high branch, she realized how vast the property was. There were ponds everywhere, and small bridges like toys were built over them. Small hills, seemingly man-made, were planted with wild grass.

Many flowers, apparently planted with care, and birdhouses for Konchelus and chickens, as well as others.

"Interesting."

As she muttered to herself, her mother and father ran over, and she waved to them.

"Mom!"

"Nona, you're scaring everyone. Please come down quietly."

"Okay."

Nona slid down halfway, checked the ground, and then jumped down softly.

Mao let out a scream.

She spun in the air and landed quietly on both feet, and her mother approached with a laugh. Her father was apologizing to Enrocam.

Nona walked up to Ilkark, still in her socks, and said,

"Hey, Ilkark, I'm not Pimalo. I'm Nona. Nona Asher. Remember that."

She put on her shoes and stood next to her mother.