While blowing a steam whistle, the ship slowly left the Shallow Beach.
Joan was standing at the stern, reluctantly bidding farewell to the Exploration Group—after a whole winter, her relationship with the witches had improved a lot. This rare friendship was particularly strong probably because it had been such a long time since someone had cared for her or had missed her.
Though it sounded dry and hard, she just kept repeating the phrase "Goodbye," which she had just learned before leaving.
Lightning's expression looked quite lonely. She looked in the direction of the stern, her eyes wide open. Many times Roland came close to telling her that Thunder was on the boat. However, he thought of the latter's entrustment and eventually pushed the urge back into the bottom of his heart.
Maggie had covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking and with her eyes filled with tears. She was unable to make any sound for quite some time, probably because she was afraid of crying.
