Chapter 1

I was always good at finding things.

Mostly trouble, though.

“Look, Uncle! You can see it!”

One such source of trouble, albeit a small one, was definitely the excitable young lady standing next to me on the ship’s deck and pointing to the distance.

“So we’re finally there,” I mumbled gruffly, staring beyond the misty waters where, indeed, a menacing shape was revealed to us.

A certain island, and our destination.

“This is so exciting!”

I glanced at my companion, Affivida Spanteroll.

Wearing the kind of fluffy, bulky dress a young lady might show up to a social gathering in, including even a hat with a little bow, she definitely seemed awfully dressed for this sort of trip.

There wasn’t a single moment where I didn’t wonder whether bringing her here like this was wise, but there were certain circumstances.

She could take care of herself, after a fashion, but I was obviously still going to do my best to keep her safe.

Since it was early the sky was still cloudy, but from time to time either of the two suns would send some surveying rays and illuminate more and more of the jagged, haphazard shape of the land ahead.

“Sure, exciting, yeah,” I said casually.

“Uncle…”

I gave a short sigh. “Look, Effy, we’re not here for a picnic. This will be serious work, and… possibly dangerous. Really, I don’t know what your father was thinking, approving this.”

The man was way too lenient with his daughter, I often thought.

Before I could receive an answer, however, some steps from behind caused me to straighten my back; years of training made me alert despite immediately realizing the identity of this newcomer.

He was a very tall, thin man with a pair of round glasses, a goatee, and a perpetual smile.

“Lady Affivida,” he greeted with a small bow. “Inspector Rocan.”

“I told you, Professor, please just call me Effy, at least while I’m part of this expedition. My full name is so stiff and unwieldy,” said the girl, smiling at him.

“Ah, that won’t do at all. Proper decorum is the key to culture. Regardless, I can see you are just as excited as I am for our arrival at this magnificent place!”

More like deeply unsettling, in my opinion.

“Yes I am, Professor! It’s my first time outside Apperton, too!”

The man beamed at her. Professor Nasir Follington was pretty much the stereotypical representation of his kind. He was also the person behind this expedition—without his scholarly ambition (and funds), it would have never set sail.

Some would call him eccentric. Others would call him crazy.

But everyone knew that he was the one to bet on as a man with a great future in the Apperton National University.

Professor Follington gave an amused laugh. “Then you’ve chosen quite the first trip, Lady Affivida! Not a lot of people can say that they’re about to set foot on the Island of Woe!”

***

For hundreds of years, the Island of Woe was regarded as unlucky and inauspicious.

Many came, but barely anyone returned.

Naturally, all sorts of legends and superstitions sprang up about this place for it to acquire such a bombastic name.

But as culture and technology progressed, travelling by ship became much safer, and people started braving the seas again for new attempts.

And when they did, they discovered a rather dreary island, but not one as dangerous as all the rumors stated. There had apparently been some ancient human culture somewhere in the past, but no trace remained of them other than buildings and artifacts, eerily enough.

Needless to say, this was regarded as a huge find. In recent years, many expeditions had set sail to investigate the place and retrieve mysterious treasures.

Naturally, that was the purpose behind Professor Follington’s expedition.

And as for me…

Well, I had my own reasons.

After all, I was always good at finding things, and I had the feeling that the Island of Woe promised to provide me with trouble of the highest degree.