Above the deck, there was an extra layer of asbestos beneath the grill to prevent the coal sparks from being blown out by the wind and scorching the surface of the ship.
The fat cook, wearing an apron and a tall white hat invented by Roselle, used a fine brush to constantly apply a seasoning created from a secret recipe—basil, fennel, sea salt, pepper, and lemon juice—to the long, white strips of fish, and frequently flipped them over to ensure that both sides were evenly heated.
The flesh of the murloc's belly was fatty, dripping with drops of oil and causing the coal beneath the iron mesh to sizzle and flare up.
An enticing aroma began to fill the air, and Klein inhaled again and again.
In front of him was a round table and a chair. On top of the table was a unique looking bottle of wine. The wine was golden red in color and seemed slightly sticky as it swirled about.
"Sonia blood wine is brewed from the sugar-wood juice found in the surrounding areas of Golden Spring. It tastes like thin honey mixed with blood. It's sweet and smooth, but it's very easy to get drunk on. If you fancy any lady and want to treat her to a drink, you can consider this. It will make her drink more without realizing it. Haha, that's under the premise that you're able to handle the amount of alcohol she's drinking." Noticing Klein's scrutiny, Captain Elland Kag introduced in a half-joking manner.
As expected of a former boatswain, he's accomplished when it comes to self-deprecation... Klein sat down and maintained a cold attitude as he asked, "A qualified adventurer wouldn't indulge in alcohol."
Cleves, who was beside him, nodded.
"Only when they return home will adventurers allow themselves to drink."
"What a pity." Elland turned to look at Donna and Denton who were staring curiously at the blood wine. He laughed and said, "This isn't something that underaged children should experience."
"I've had it before, it tastes really good!" Donna retorted immediately. "It's just... It's just that I fell asleep without realizing it and slept an entire afternoon..."
"I remember that you drank two cups that time!" the little gentlemen, Denton, said enviously.
Elland didn't satisfy their cravings and instead ordered a cup of sweet iced tea for each of the siblings and casually explained, "There are a lot of Southerners on this ship."
Denton retracted his disappointed gaze and looked at the murloc which had its valuable materials taken away. He said rather innocently, "Actually... Actually, it's not that scary. It's just a bigger, uglier fish with four limbs!"
Donna shot a glance at her younger brother.
"Congratulations, you've finally recognized the essence of it."
She then looked eagerly at Cleves and Elland.
"Uncle, Uncle, are there many of these monsters in the sea?"
Murlocs didn't possess Beyonder powers which were beyond one's imagination. In the eyes of ordinary people, they were akin to ferocious beasts at sea or a living example of legendary monsters.
Elland chuckled and said, "No, in the main sea route and the surrounding seas, there are very few monsters like this. They've been cleared out a long time ago. You must be lucky enough to meet a murloc.
"Think about it, if I can often kill monsters worth 200 pounds or more, then I certainly wouldn't be the captain of a passenger ship. I'd organize my own hunting boat to chase down these gold pounds!"
That makes a lot of sense! Klein secretly cheered him on.
According to his observation, the Beyonder ingredient from a murloc was its bladder. That azure aqueous light made one feel like they were looking at a gem.
Cleves raised the black tea which a sailor had just delivered. He first smelled it before taking a sip.
"Only by leaving the main sea route and going deep into the ocean, which is often shrouded in fog or storms, will there be a good chance of encountering such monsters, but that would be very dangerous.
"Apart from scaly murlocs who can climb, there are also legends at sea of Nagas that have the upper body of a human while their bottom half is that of a snake. They have six arms and are very agile."
Elland continued on the topic.
"There are also giant octopuses which can spit out juices that can corrode a lot of people, terrifying sea monsters that can flip a boat with a gentle blow, mermaids with intoxicating songs that make one unwilling to leave, blue giant dragons that can produce lightning, giant birds with wings that can cause hurricanes. Heh heh, I've never seen any of these before. They're all legends of the sea, and no one knows whether they're real or fake."
Mermaids... Klein's expression didn't change.
"Very interesting," Donna exclaimed, fascinated with a look of longing.
Denton looked around, and seeing that Klein hadn't spoken, he curiously asked, "Uncle, you're an adventurer too. Have you seen such monsters before?"
Klein was stunned for a moment and then gave a faint smile.
"Once. Back then, there were five of us, and we chanced upon one, a single murloc. After an intense fight, we finally finished it."
This was a real experience of his in Tingen City; it was also his first encounter with an official Beyonder who had lost control.
At that time, he and Old Neil had helped to eliminate a mutated Sailor at the request of Swain, the old owner of the Evil Dragon Bar.
Thinking of this, Klein felt nostalgic and wistful. The cold and sharp expression on his face couldn't help but soften significantly.
"Five people?" While asking, Donna secretly counted the number of people who had been involved in the battle.
1, 2, 3... She discovered that only three people had taken action to kill the murloc.
Without waiting for Klein's response, Elland said with a hint of surprise, "A chance encounter?"
"Yes," Klein answered frankly.
"Were there any casualties?" Elland pressed.
Klein shook his head.
"A few minor injuries"
"A chance encounter and you only took five people to finish a murloc... All of you are very powerful." Cleves gave his own evaluation.
His companion, Cecile, nodded to express her astonishment.
The battle that had happened just now was brief and quick, and the murloc seemed easy and vulnerable, but she and Cleves both knew very well that without the pre-prepared bait, the hallucinatory effects of the pepper granules and the subsequent fatigue, the murloc's fatal weakness of mint cream, and the two borrowed rifles, it was impossible to imagine how many people would die in order to kill a murloc.
"Indeed, very powerful." Elland looked thoughtfully at Klein.
It was a team formed of four Sequence 9s and a Sequence 8... Klein said with a half-smile and a half-sigh, "At that time, I was still very young, and I didn't even have any experience in combat. I was purely support."
"Uncle, you're still very young!" Donna nodded her head vigorously.
I like what you said... Klein keenly noticed that Captain Elland had relaxed a lot from what he had just said.
At this moment, several crew members had brought over a large ceramic plate. On top of it were pieces of meat that had been fried to a golden hue. The basil leaves were sprinkled with color, and a captivating fragrance assaulted their noses.
Elland raised his glass of Sonia blood wine and offered a toast.
"To a beautiful night. May the Storm be with us!"
"To a beautiful night!" Donna and Denton cheered and sipped their sweet iced tea.
Klein chose to clink glasses with a cup of black tea.
He forked a piece of meat from the murloc's ribs, finding it firm and without fat. However, after absorbing the vegetable oil, its flaw of being too dry was remedied. As he chewed, it emanated an limitlessly chewy consistency and fragrance.
It's really inferior to the cheek meat, but it's already good enough. It's better than all the fish I've eaten while in Backlund and Pritz Harbor... Klein praised in satisfaction.
Elland put down the knife and fork in his hands, took a sip of Sonia blood wine, and sighed at the topic.
"At sea, the greatest danger doesn't stem from the monsters but those pirates.
"They helm their ships, going wherever they please. No one can defend against them in advance."
"Uncle Captain, will we encounter pirates?" Denton asked with concern as he swallowed the fried fish.
Elland laughed.
"The route to the Rorsted Archipelago is the safest in the world, with colonial islands en route every two to three days, allowing us to dock. The route is also patrolled by ships from the Imperial Navy and the Church of Storms.
"Even if pirates come wandering here, they wouldn't do anything too excessive. After seeing our cannons, they would at most extort some compensation."
Seeing that the two underaged children had calmed down, Elland added, "But from the south of the Rorsted Archipelago, or as we continue east, we'll have to rely on the Lord's blessing.
"Many pirates are active in these areas, playing hide and seek with the ships of the navy and Church. If we're lucky, we'll be able to reach the Southern Continent and every destination very smoothly. But if we aren't lucky, we'll encounter some relatively powerful pirates, including the fleet of the Seven Pirate Admirals and even the Four Kings.
"However, you don't have to be too worried. Ever since Nast became the King of the Five Seas and enacted the rules of sea passage, most pirates will only rob you clean of your wealth, without doing anything too overboard.
"Around this area, we're most afraid of encountering the captain of the Black Tulip, Admiral Hell Ludwell. He'll get his subordinates to kill everyone on board, throwing the innocents into hell. Next would be Admiral of Blood Senor. He loves blood, and he allows his subordinates to partake in heinous acts. Many girls have suffered under them before being sold to different islands..."
Donna trembled as she subconsciously changed the topic.
"I heard that there are a lot of treasures at sea!"
"There are legends of treasures, but most of them are fake." Elland glanced at Cleves and said, "There are six stories which are the most famous. Ranked first is the Death's Key. Rumor has it that at the end of the Fourth Epoch, Death, who had caused the Pale Disaster, was attacked by the seven gods and ended up perishing. ‘He' attempted to return to the Southern Continent and created a raging stormy wave, an impassable barrier. It completely obstructed the sea route between the Northern and Southern Continents. This is the origin legend of the Berserk Sea. However, ‘He' eventually failed to return to the Southern Continent and ended up vanishing in the sea."
When he said this, Elland sighed with pangs of yearning.
"It's said that in some secret place in the Berserk Sea, the treasure left behind by Death is waiting for the person holding the specific key to find it and open it, but no one knows what the key looks like, or where it will appear.
"Ranked second is the Fountain of Unaging. It's deep in the Sonia Sea. Rumor has it that one of the four kings, King of Immortality, Agalito, had drunk the waters of the Fountain of Unaging."
