North x Northwest
Chapter 177.5

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Hi guys!

As usual, we wrote a recap for volume 5. We hope it helps to refresh your memories before we dive into volume 6.

Happy reading and see you on Wednesday!

Love,

Pru and Formidable

Vol. 5

We begin this volume onboard the Visha. Accompanied by several Legardon sloops, Sagastar and consorts are making their way towards the coordinates where their admiral was either thrown into the sea or jumped in himself. Not long after, they receive word of a person spotted on a deserted island and Ed is found.

Even though he was just rescued and only given his body a few days of rest, Ed was already out and about. After waking up, Ed immediately made plans to follow the Bell Rock towards Serlio, knowing that if Lil and Cesar reached it, they would probably disappear for good. During this time Ed was still struggling with the betrayal he faced and hoped that Lil was somehow not involved in it.

After Ed made his plans, we replace ourselves back on the Bell Rock. Lil is searching through Ed’s possessions when Courant is brought to her. It pained Lil that Courant showed no remorse whatsoever and that he thought that his actions were justified. Trying to put her complicated mind to ease, Lil immersed herself back in Ed’s journeys and comes to a shocking discovery. On one of the last pages Ed had drawn on was a picture of a sleeping woman and that woman was clearly Liloa. It was at that moment that Lil realised that Ed had seen her as a woman and all his suspicious or downright odd behaviour started to make sense…

Alain pays her a visit, his conscience had been weighing on him and he felt the need to relay his last encounter with Ed to his captain. He then told Lil that Ed always claimed to be innocent. This late confession makes Lil question everything that had happened.

In a dazed state of mind, Lil made her way to Cesar’s cabin, suddenly suspicious about the note he had read with so much confidence. Lil demands to see it, but Cesar only claims to have lost it. Cesar then tries to bury the fact he lost the note by putting the blame on Lil. Saying that she made him do that, that he felt desperate enough to stub so low and ask her if she trusts a navy spy more than him. Normally when a confrontation like this happens, Lil would eventually back out to keep the peace, but something snaps and she stands her ground for a chance, making the fight escalate. It slowly becomes clear to Lil what the problem is; jealousy. Cesar was jealous of Ed, thinking he would lose her. Unfortunately for Cesar, Lil isn’t giving the answers he wants to hear. He only wanted to hear that she loved him, that she chose him and never saw Ed as a man. Cesar realised that even after all those years, Lil hasn’t changed. She still didn’t love him the way he loved her and the fact that Lil thinks that love can be taught makes it clear that she probably never will. Eventually, Cesar collapses emotionally.

Mortu enters the cabin and Lil concludes that she was never alone in his castle, Cesar had always been there with her. Suffering in the same way. Their conversation gets cut off by the news of a Legardon ship, the Ashtoro, being spotted.

The Bell Rock is asked to drop anchor for inspection and complies with that request. This vessel of the Legardon fleet belongs to the scouting squadron Sagastar had set up to replace the ship that had held their Admiral. Their mission changed to identifying the owner and captain of the ship, due to Ed’s request. During this, Cesar manages to bribe one of the officers and learns that Ed survived.

In the meantime Ed is really struggling with his health, pushing himself too hard. It will eventually lead him to collapse.

After being left alone, Cesar loses himself in his thoughts. Even though he was being stubborn, he knew things couldn’t go on like this anymore as he and Lil both were suffering. But Cesar loved her so much that he couldn’t possibly be the one that let go first.

The visit of the navy left the crew of the Bell Rock in a tense atmosphere and Courant made a crucial choice. He thought that his captain didn’t take his concerns to heart and was of the opinion they would all die at the hands of the navy if he didn’t do anything about it. So eventually, Courant found himself in the presence of Julio.

Days went by. The tense atmosphere remained, Cesar locked himself in his cabin and to add to all of it, the Bell Rock found itself first in rain and thunder, before sailing into thick mist. In search of Courant, Lil wandered into Ed’s cabin. Even though days had gone by, the cabin was the same as on the day he was thrown overboard, covered in bloodstains. When she sat at his desk, immersed in her thoughts, the cabin door opened and Courant was thrown in. We then learn that Courant has indeed betrayed Lil and confided everything to Julio. Julio took advantage of Courant’s naive mind and used the information to set up a mutiny. A change of captain was only possible if half the crew and half the officers voted positively. Julio may have won the sentiment of the crew, he couldn’t win that of the officers. So to give himself some more time to change their minds and for Lil not to mingle with his plans, he locks her up and takes the helm.

It was then that we went back to the Visha. Ed, Sagastar and the captain are staring at the sky. In the middle of Sagastar’s attempt to get Ed back to his room, Ed starts to speak about a story about the Alvenis triangle and where that name comes from. Sagastar got more and more the feeling that the story Ed was telling had similarities to what Ed had gone through, as in his story a man was betrayed by his lover and sought revenge. However, after hearing Ed’s explanation, Sagastar’s opinion differed from Ed, who only thought that the man wanted revenge. Sagastar concluded that the man only wanted to live a happy life with his love instead of hurting her.

Being tied in Ed’s room gave Lil the time to think about everything that had happened and everything that was yet to come. In the middle of that misery, she made the decision to escape Mortu’s castle and set Cesar free, meaning they needed to break up. It was then that Cesar was brought to the room as well. Instead of defending the Bell Rock, Cesar chooses to be locked up with Lil. That was the last straw and a long conversation between them unfolds. It all started with Lil not feeling respected and Cesar thinking that he was doing enough. Then the topic shifts to their differences in worldly perspectives. Lil wants to change the world, whereas Cesar thinks it’s impossible. He also questions the fact that Lil is getting angrier and angrier. Their shout fest will be concluded with their break up.

In the meantime, the watchman spots a vessel of the Mondovi navy in the fog and chaos on board will unfold. Their anchor is raised in a hurry and the Bell Rock starts to set sail. However, due to the mist and Julio’s inexperience, the ship wanders in shallow waters and constantly scratches the floor of the sea. Then with a list, Julio managed to make himself the new captain in exchange for bringing in the navigator (Cesar). Alain is the one that frees Cesar but leaves Lil behind. Not long after Jericho will come for Lil and she’s freed too. After Cesar manages to get them to deeper waters, he’s threatened with death, leaving Lil with no choice but to speak up and give up her cover. But before any of that had major consequences everyone’s attention was focused on the appearance of an enormous battleship. To Lil horror, she notices the name of the ship and instantly knows that this is the one and only ship of the admiral himself.

Instead of surrendering, Julio commands to open fire and fight back. With the help of Marenzio, who is in charge of the gun deck, Lil managed to refrain them from firing. But to everyone’s surprise, a cannon is being fired anyway. It’s Courant, firing the only canon beyond their reach. Lil makes her way towards the boy in the hope to stop him, but she and Alain are too late and a second shell, aimed at Ed, is fired. It misses, but it’s the start of the retaliation from the navy, who takes down the Bell Rock’s main mast.

With the attack on the Visha, Ed suspects the Bell Rock to be overthrown and there is a different captain. As he had only ordered to capture the captain alive, Ed panics and makes his way to the crossing.

Close combat fights occur and the deck of Lil’s ship turns into a battlefield. Lil reasoned that the only way to stop it and save the many lives of her crew is to speak with the Admiral himself. To do so, Lil needs to replace an officer that recognised Liloa or get on the Visha herself. While searching the deck of Visha, she comes across a familiar face, Ed. Following him because he can’t hear her, makes her look suspicious in the eyes of Sagastar, who entered the ship to capture the captain. Sagastar attacks Lil as she refuses to identify herself. During this fight, she learns that Ed is actually the Admiral. As a last resort Lil removes her necklace, but doing so leaves herself defenceless and in the end, she will be stabbed by Sagastar.

This volume ends with Ed and the navy doctor Guiadé trying to save Lil’s life, when she slips into a cardiac arrest…

Some quick and important trivia:

– Years ago, Sagastar was tricked into becoming Ed’s subordinate. The Naive Commodore believed Ed’s exaggerated sob story about possible kidney failure and basically sold his soul to the devil.

– Sagastar and Cesar never met in the academy.

– Alvenis is the youngest child and daughter of thunder God Gromer. After Gromer took pity on his daughter, he put her into a star. Before she left the earth, she left different keepsakes to her lovers. Monferrand received a shining compass.

– Monferrand strait is named after the fisherman Monferrand. In his desperate conquest for the love of Alvenis, Monferrand sailed his ship towards the Alvenis triangle multiple times. One time was his last and Monferrand died at sea. When his ship strands on the Northern Continent, a local buries him. After Ed’s ancestors travel to the central continent, they learn about the name of the ‘Fisherman of the south’, the sea is then named after him. After Monferand dies, Gromer also pities the Fisherman and also puts him in a star, one that could always look at the Alvenis triangle, the Mariner’s star.

– After Lil escapes Mortu’s castle, the hallucination of Mortu himself disappears with it.

– Lil and Cesar broke up.

– As a reward for Ed’s rescue, Sagastar is granted the island of Maynier. Which was once bestowed upon Ed’s grandfather by the (former) Emperor.

– Ed had tried to shake off Sagastar, who insisted on remaining by Ed’s side. In the end this failed and Sagastar and Captain Long accompanied Ed on his chase.

– After the checkpoint, the opinion of the crew was divided. One group wanted to carry on with their mission, one group wanted to go back to Panichi and one group didn’t care.

– Even if Lil wanted to turn the ship around and get back to Panichi, it wasn’t possible. Due to a shortage in supplies, they would never have made it and they had no choice but to go to Serlio.

– After Lil and Cesar were captured, Julio had no choice but to drop anchor. Biggest part of the crew refused to set sail after several of their colleagues died that night.

– In a way to stay out of sight, Ed came up with a camouflage strategy. He had the carpenter use white cloths wrap the frame of the mast, making them blend in with the mist. In their battles with the Western Pirates, Ed had come up with similar strategies.

– Years prior, there was a sailor who caused a mutiny and killed his former captain and part of the crew who didn’t want to follow him. When landing on Panichi, he was beheaded by Anuchio. His nickname was Despicable Dato.

– According to the League’s rules, replacing a captain is possible with a vote. When more than half the crew and half the officers vote against the current captain, he will be replaced.

– Cesar actually agrees that Lil’s morals and dreams will create a better world. A world where everyone is equal. But where Lil wants to fight for that, does Cesar not. Cesar believes that they don’t have the power to archive that and it will only remain a dream.

– Before the Visha attacked, Lil’s plan was to go back to the Duke and live her life as Liloa again.

New characters in this volume:

The Mondovi Navy:

Guiadé;

– Navy doctor/surgeon.

Guillaume;

– Another commodore in the fleet.

The Legardon Navy:

Guerin;

– Lieutenant that led the first inspection.

Other:

Viscount Noirmont;

– The Bell Rock’s alibi for being a merchant ship.

Captain Duphy;

– Lil’s alias for a merchant captain

Places:

Maynier;

– Resort island near Mondovi.

Ships:

The Legardon Navy:

Ashtoro;

– Part of the scouting squadron.

Others:

Philly;

– Lil’s doll when she was younger.

Monferrand;

– Fisherman from the legend.

Alvenis;

– Goddess of defence.

Pru’s mini-thoughts on everything that happened in the story so far:

What a ride! A tough ride, a fun ride, a giggly one, a sad one. In some parts, even a terrifying one. And to think it’s our first time being a translator. But at the same time, it’s been so, so fulfilling. I’m glad that despite having read the MTL, I didn’t stop there and instead followed my heart into pursuing this passion project. But more than that, I’m grateful that I found a translation partner and dear friend who’s equally, I think even more than me, enthusiastic about translating this gem so that we could share it with all of you. I sincerely hope we’re giving justice to the author’s genius by being able to properly describe the beautiful and vivid scenes, the complexity of the characters’ thoughts, and the depth of their dialogues.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but one of the many things that deeply haunts me about the author’s style is how she seems to describe inanimate objects right after the saddest scenes. It’s like there’s a camera panning away from the characters after a tragedy. I noticed this in ch134 when Ed was thrown out to the sea;

“The ray of light rolled over the floor and fell into the sea below. It disappeared without a single trace in the waves that were as calm as ever.

The moon was bright, and the stars were shining.

The waves that reflected the night flowed dazzlingly.

They flowed dazzlingly even after swallowing a person…”

And then just recently in ch177;

“At some point, the numbers had lost their meaning. Nobody knew how long it had been… while the unconscious body shook under constant and intense pressure.

As the table rattled with force, its wooden legs creaked and scraped…”

The rest of my self-digest thoughts, I already shared in the comments before. Like about the Ruwa Tribe and Lil’s and Cesar’s relationship. Haha. They’re so realistic that it painfully stings! Anyway, I don’t want to spoil anything, apart from saying that… at this point, it’s only just the beginning. So, thank you so much for sticking around, and we hope you’d enjoy the rest of the novel!