Ding!
The gold coin quietly flipped up, tumbled down, and firmly lay in the palm of Klein's hand.
Lowering his head to glance if it was heads or tails, Klein spun his heel and smoothly turned into a quiet, dark alley.
The wind by the sea was cold and strong, and it caused a convection in the area, propelling his coat up without him realizing it and causing his half top hat to almost fall off.
Suddenly, Klein stopped, turned around, and said in a deep voice, "Come out."
His eyes were sharp as he stared at the shadow around the corner.
After four or five seconds of silence, a figure emerged from the shadows. He chuckled and said, "Very sharp."
It was a man in a black cloak, approximately thirty years of age, and his eyebrows were charred yellow while his dark blue eyes were bright. His face wasn't too chiseled, as though he was from the area south of Intis, Lenburg, and Segar.
As soon as he saw him, a picture flashed in Klein's mind.
As he entered the Flying Fish & Wine, he had professionally looked around for anyone he needed to pay attention to.
The answer at the time was no. The man had been drinking like a sailor and watching curiously from the side. He was no different from the other guests, and his appearance wasn't distinctive, but his black cloak had left a certain impression on Klein, allowing him to recognize the person who tailed him in an instant.
"What do you want?" Klein, who was maintaining his persona, bent down slightly, like a huge feline ready to pounce.
The man in the black cloak laughed once again.
"The fighting technique and handling method that you displayed just now was very consistent with my taste. I chased after you to ask if you're interested in joining us
"Although that guy named Logan was indeed pretending to be an informant of Ludwell, White Shark Hamilton does have connections with many pirates. He's a character with a shady background, so he'll definitely take your act of beating up one of his men at the bar to heart. There will definitely be problems for you in the future, and I can help you resolve this problem.
"You're an adventurer, so it's necessary for you to have dreams of treasure. As for us, we're people who banded together in a bid to seek treasure such as the Specter Empire, Solomon's inheritance, the secret of the Fountain of Unaging, the Death's Key, the Sunken Laurel, and Roselle's Treasure while traveling the Five Seas. Today, although we haven't accomplished any of our main goals, we've found many missing pirate ships. Heh heh, what I said does sound like what that rat had said, right?"
He cleared his throat and said, "Frankly speaking, we're a band of pirates formed from a group of adventurers, but we only plunder merchant and passenger ships when we're especially poor, and we don't harm the innocent. Our main focus is on finding treasures, and we often reap harvests. And I kid you not, I once slept on a bed formed of gold coins. If we run into any other pirate ships, just showing them our prowess wins us some compensation.
"By the way, our Captain has decreed that before we recruit new people, we have to explain our creed and remuneration."
Creed? Your captain is a little interesting... Klein deliberately softened his tension to see if the enemy would take the opportunity to attack.
The black-cloaked man smiled in a relaxed manner.
"What I said previously was our creed, and now, let me talk about the remuneration."
This fellow is quite confident... Although he wasn't a Spectator, Klein could tell that he was very confident and that he was completely unfazed by the scene in front of him.
"We don't have any weekly salaries or annuity, but once we find treasure, or obtain riches from plundering, they'll be distributed according to our ranks. Under normal circumstances, when our luck is still pretty good, the lowest ranking sailor can earn about two to three hundred pounds a year. I heard that this would make one a member of the middle-class on land? Heh heh, if we find the Sunken Laurel, all of us will become tycoons!" the black-cloaked man casually introduced. "According to our ranks, we would get different days off every month, but they can only be accumulated together and done in a staggered fashion."
As he spoke, he suddenly cursed softly.
"Dogsh*t, just the year before, we missed a good chance of finding the Specter Empire because Captain was on holiday!"
Pirates have annual leave? Klein found it somewhat surprising.
He could only feel the pirate crew's comedic intensity from the man's description, reminding him of the humorous Somali pirate recruitment advertisements he had seen in his previous life.
Seeing that Klein appeared shocked by his words, the black cloaked man added with a smile, "As an adventurer, are you still chasing after the powers that transcend nature as told in legends?
"As long as you join us, you'll have a chance to possess them!"
Having said that, he coughed and said, "I forgot to introduce myself."
His expression turned solemn, no longer looking as jocular as he was before.
"Rear Admiral Iceberg Edwina Edwards's subordinate, fourth boatswain of the Golden Dream, Blazing Danitz."
After reporting his title, real name, and identity, Danitz waited patiently for the look of panic and fear to appear on Klein's face.
After a second, he heard the adventurer, who acted somewhat crazily despite looking refined and polite, say in a low voice, "Blazing Danitz with a bounty of 3,000 pounds?"
Danitz was about to reply when he had the illusion that the man standing in the dark alley had turned into an indescribable, hungry monster, salivating over his soul and flesh.
He suddenly clenched his fists; his body no longer as relaxed as it had been earlier. He was so tense that he was trembling slightly.
His intuition told him that he was facing an abyss filled with madness and bloodlust!
In this state, Danitz had no idea how much time had passed until the other party spoke again, "Why are you here?"
"I-I'm on vacation..." Blazing Danitz's dignity made him scorn to answer this question, but his instinct made him spit out the reason.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the man retract his gaze, the hunger to gnaw on his flesh and soul disappearing.
He stood where he was and watched as the young adventurer in a black coat and a silk half top hat turn around and walk to the other end of the alley. He stopped when he was about to turn the corner, and turning his head, he asking, "Where's White Shark?"
"H-he lives at 1 Sea Wall Avenue, but he spends most of his time on the second floor of the Flying Fish & Wine. It's no different today," Blazing Danitz answered truthfully.
Only when the figure disappeared into the distance did Danitz straighten his back and take off his cloak.
"What a terrifying fellow..." He sighed silently.
Following that, he found his thoughts and muttered to himself, I have to inform Captain that there's another terrifying person at sea.
This is a guy who looks like a gentleman on the outside, but he has a heart like a lunatic's. If one doesn't have the determination and confidence to kill him, it's best not to deal with him.
Danitz pulled up his black cloak's hood and decided to return to the hotel for some sleep. He planned to wait until the telegraph office opened the next morning before relaying the message to his middleman contact in the Rorsted Archipelago.
As for what would happen to White Shark, he didn't care at all.
...
In the corner of another quiet street, Klein stood in the shadows, looking down at the black glove on his left hand.
He found that, although Creeping Hunger had been sealed by Mr. Azik, its thirst for flesh and souls still intrinsically existed and was trying to manifest itself.
Under normal circumstances, Klein wasn't worried that the sealed item would produce any problems, but when he had the urge to kill someone, the corresponding influence he would receive was enough to let that hunger which could lash back at him emanate.
Earlier, when he heard that Danitz was a famous pirate on the bounty list, killing intent instantly rose inwardly out of his yearning desire, causing Creeping Hunger to become as active as a fish in water.
Fortunately, Klein always had good self-control in this aspect. From his words, he was able to judge that he wasn't a pirate who was riddled with sin, so he easily restrained his impulse.
With Creeping Hunger, Gehrman Sparrow's persona will be flawless... Klein paused for a few seconds, took out a gold coin and performed two divinations. First, he divined if Blazing Danitz was lying, and second, if White Shark Hamilton was able to cause harm to him.
The first revelation showed that there was no need for Blazing Danitz to lie, and the second one showed that White Shark Hamilton was unable to cause harm to him.
Klein put away the gold coin, pressed down his hat, and while doing so, he swept his palm down and touched his face.
He instantly changed his appearance—blond hair, blue eyes, and ordinary facial features!
Then, Klein unbuttoned his overcoat and pulled up the inner shirt so that it was no longer stuffed into his trousers.
After a simple change of his attire, Klein, who didn't carry a cane, began sweating. His lips were dry as he identified the direction and headed back to the Flying Fish & Wine bar!
On the way, he met Blazing Danitz again. The man only glanced at him once before withdrawing his gaze and headed for the hotel opposite the bar.
After inspecting the bounty wall, Klein calmly reached out with his hand, pushed open the door and walked in.
At this moment, it had been less than ten minutes since he escaped.
In the bar, most of the customers had dispersed, but there were still a lot of drunkards gathered here to watch the show.
Their eyes swept over the new guest, but they all withdrew it soon after, and Klein made his way unimpeded to the bar counter.
He saw the bartender standing with frightened eyes beside a fat man; his forehead heavily bandaged with white bandages, his nostrils stuffed with tissue paper, and his face was bruised.
The fatty was tall and big. His skin was fair and he looked like a big white shark that had swam itself ashore.
He touched his shiny bald head and said to Elland, who was wearing a dark red jacket and a straight sword, "Someone told me that you know that guy?
"There are only three passenger ships that docked today, so there won't be many unfamiliar outsiders. Don't try to lie!"
Elland patted the hilt of his sword and smiled casually.
"Yes, he is my passenger.
"But the problem today clearly stemmed from your people."
"So I just want him to come back here, apologize to me, and compensate me for the damage done to the bar," the tall, big-sized white fatty said with a frown.
Elland laughed and said, "White Shark, I have a proverb from my hometown: ‘don't hate wild dogs that pass by just because of the rats in the storehouse.'"
"... Just Elland, is this your answer?" White Shark Hamilton narrowed his eyes.
Elland gripped the wooden handle of the musket, took a step forward, and said with a deep voice, "Yes, this is my answer!"
Captain sure has his way of doing things... Klein was slightly surprised at Elland's response.
After staring at each other for a few seconds, White Shark Hamilton took in a deep breath.
"You've helped me before, so I don't need an apology. However, he must compensate half of my losses, and you will be the one to pass them on."
"Good suggestion." Elland smiled.
White Shark Hamilton's face darkened as he looked around.
He suddenly threw out his hand, slapping the bartender in the face.
The bartender flew out, all his teeth dropping to the floor.
Klein quietly watched from five meters away, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
