Chapter 10: Adventurer

Chapter 10: Adventurer

Klein had only just stepped onto the deck and had not yet entered the cabin when, from the corner of his eye, he saw a figure pass through the crowd and walk toward him.

Outwardly, he appeared casual, but inwardly, he was alert as he turned his head to look. He discovered that it was a man in his thirties wearing a black half top hat and a long coat of the same color.

The man had a face weathered by wind and frost, rugged yet distinctly masculine. His pale-blue eyes held no smile, as though many past events had settled within them.

He looks a little familiar… Right, he is the fellow I met yesterday at the ticketing company. He also seemed to be an adventurer… To be wearing a long coat at sea in January—he must be quite sturdy… Klein casually lifted his cane and pointed it diagonally downward in an empty gesture, smiling as he spoke.

“Good morning. We meet again.”

He sounded as though he were greeting an old friend.

The rugged man did not seem surprised. He stopped, nodded in a somewhat reserved manner, and said, “Cleeves. Former adventurer.

“Mate, are you in the same line of work?”

“I thought you knew that yesterday. Gehrman Sparrow,” Klein replied with a smile.

He did not pass his cane to his left hand, because he had no intention of shaking hands with the other party.

“I could tell.” Cleeves was silent for two seconds. “Adventurer is not a pleasant profession. I have changed trades and become a bodyguard. This time, I am following my employer’s family to the capital of the Rorsted Archipelago.”

He turned half around and pointed toward another spot on the deck.

Klein followed the direction and saw nearly ten people gathered together. Leading them was a plump middle-aged gentleman with rosy cheeks and bright eyes. On his double-breasted long frock coat, the gold chain of a pocket watch and a gemstone-inlaid collar pin could be seen.

Beside him was a lady wearing a broad-brimmed round hat. Her face was entirely covered by a hanging veil of dark-blue gauze, but her figure was still maintained rather well.

In front of them stood two children, one older and one younger. The younger was a boy under ten, dressed in a child-sized formal tailcoat. The older was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, lively and full of vigor. Her appearance was not especially outstanding, but her brown eyes were quite animated, and her faint freckles and fluffy, pleated skirt added a few touches of playfulness.

Around them were three people carrying suitcases and various items—one man and two women—all dressed like servants. One of the maids had reddish-brown skin and was clearly of Southern Continent descent.

Protecting these seven people were one man and one woman, both dressed simply and efficiently in white shirts, pale sweaters, black coats, dark trousers, and sturdy leather boots.

These two bodyguards had made no deliberate attempt to conceal the traces left by the gun pouches at their waists. They vigilantly scanned everyone approaching or passing by, their gazes sharp and their bearing steady.

“Three servants, three bodyguards?” Klein asked casually.

This arrangement is rather extravagant. It means the employer is rich… he judged instinctively.

“Yes.” Cleeves nodded.

He said no more and quickly turned back toward his employer’s family.

…Klein stood there in a daze, not knowing what the other man had meant by specifically coming over to greet him.

After recalling the novels, movies, and television shows he had seen in his previous life, he gradually understood Cleeves’s hidden meaning.

He is somewhat wary of me—or rather, of someone who calls himself an adventurer and looks not easy to provoke—so he came over in advance to introduce himself, state his identity and what he is doing, and tell me not to target his employer’s family. In simple terms: you do your thing, I do mine, and we do not infringe upon each other… Is this some tacit understanding between experienced adventurers or veteran bounty hunters? Interesting… Klein chuckled softly. Carrying his suitcase and black cane, he entered the cabin and found his room according to his ticket.

With a creak, he pushed open the wooden door and walked in.

The room was not spacious. It could just barely fit a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. There was not even a chair.

Its greatest advantage was that it had a window. Sunlight from the harbor streamed in, scattering pure golden patches over the desk and beside the bed.

“The crew member just now said that the washrooms and bathing rooms are shared, roughly one for every eight rooms. If the need is urgent, a wooden chamber pot can be provided, but a cleaning fee must be paid—three pence each time… What I must be grateful for is that the White Agate has undergone modifications. Many metal pipes have been laid, and with boilers burning, hot water is provided, creating a relatively convenient way of life. Otherwise, this journey would hardly be a pleasant one…” Klein silently sighed a few times.

He quickly took out the necessary items and placed them on the desk for daily use.

After tidying up, he sat down on the low edge of the bed, listening to the long whistle sounding in drawn-out bursts and sensing the power of steam and machinery contained within it.

The ship began to sail. Klein watched the sea scenery outside the window for a while, then gradually gathered his thoughts and began considering the most important issue before him: how exactly he should act as a Faceless.

When facing the True Creator’s descent ritual and the powerful Mr. A, his decision to give up fleeing and instead try to sabotage it had caused his potion to digest a little. Based on this feedback, he gained some new understanding of acting as a Faceless.

“‘You may disguise yourself as anyone, but you can only be yourself.’ That is the principle Marionettist Rosago was required to remember… At first, I thought ‘yourself’ referred to one’s original identity, but now it seems that is not complete enough. What is oneself? I must truly understand it…” Klein leaned forward, bathed in sunlight, like a statue lost in thought.

After some time, he gradually found a line of thinking.

“Does this correspond to one’s own spirit—to the truest self deep within?

“Even when I was on Earth, Zhou Mingrui had many disguises, forming a persona mask in the social sense. From a certain perspective, there was a significant element of falsehood in it.

“Mm… When I change into someone else’s appearance and replace their identity, in order not to be discovered, I must also disguise myself in interpersonal relationships. That is equivalent to wearing different persona masks.

“When all persona masks are removed and no residue remains, what kind of ‘self’ will the Faceless ultimately see?

“Is that the deeper meaning of ‘yourself’ in that principle?

“When I face my inner thoughts, overcome fear, and challenge the impossible without being held back by social reasons, am I truly being myself?

“This still needs exploration and verification…”

Thinking to this point, Klein shifted his posture to sit more comfortably.

As he savored his previous experiences, he discovered another issue regarding acting.

“When I was in the underground ruin, I once disguised myself as Ince Zangwill and successfully escaped that predicament. But why did I feel no sign of the potion digesting at all?

“Does this mean that, in order to digest the Faceless potion, such a superficial disguise is not enough?

“Mm. That was closer to the application of a Beyonder power, not acting!

“The kind of acting that can promote potion digestion must be a deep-level disguise—truly and genuinely replacing someone, becoming them in the social sense. Only when their relatives and friends fail to discover anything for a long time can the disguise be considered successful?

“In that case, was the reason I felt compatible with the Faceless potion because I had previously succeeded in pretending to be Klein Moretti?

“The first Faceless principle: You may disguise yourself as anyone, but you can only be yourself… The second: carry out a deep-level disguise that deceives everyone?

“But replacing a person and becoming them in the social sense feels evil even just to imagine…

“Should I look for someone who died in a foreign land but still had an unfulfilled wish?”

Klein let the inexplicable fear within him settle, then preliminarily drafted a direction to attempt.

“The higher the Sequence, the harder it becomes to act…” He sighed, took out his pocket watch, and clicked it open to check the time.

Seeing that it was still early before lunch, and that the room was too small and rather confining, he decided to go for a walk on deck, enjoy the sea breeze, and admire the scenery.

After the bustle of the first hour following departure, there were no longer many people on deck. Klein walked along the ship’s side and, before he knew it, reached a quiet area cast in a large patch of shadow.

The sunlight is very good today. Warm too… Aside from the strong wind, which means I have to be careful with my hat, there is nothing to complain about… He pressed down the half top hat on his head, leisurely looked over the cabin, and listened to the faint music drifting out from within.

Suddenly, he saw the former adventurer Cleeves busily working in a corner. Before him seemed to be a triangular spike, a dagger, and a short blade.

Cleeves sensed something, raised his head to look at him, and said with a weathered air and a serious expression, “They are all old partners. I have to maintain them often.”

At this point, he added, “There are children in the cabin.”

“I understand,” Klein replied with a smile.

Cleeves lowered his head and continued working. As though casually, he asked, “You do not seem to carry such things?”

“I am used to using weapons that keep up with the trend of the times,” Klein said indirectly. “And I maintain them often as well.”

Cleeves silently lifted the dagger and examined it against the sunlight. Speaking as if to himself, he said, “At sea, relying only on guns is not enough.

“Pirates board ships. There are many of them. Once you run out of bullets, you will not have the chance to reload. Although these old fellows are no longer the trend of the times, they are useful enough.”

Very professional… As expected of a former adventurer… Klein leaned against the ship’s side and said half jokingly, “If pirates really board the ship, there is a high chance I will choose not to resist.”

Cleeves turned his head and stared at him for a full three seconds before withdrawing his gaze. Then, while putting away his belongings, he said in a low voice, “It seems you do not need the reminder. You already understand the rules of the sea.

“Bounty hunters who walk the land often cannot become adventurers of the sea.”

With practiced movements, he hid the dagger, short blade, triangular spike, and other weapons beneath his clothes, leaving Klein almost dazzled.

“Thank you.” Klein smiled and nodded.

Cleeves said no more. He turned and returned to the cabin, leaving behind only a broad, solemn back.

Klein curled the corners of his mouth and shook his head, then turned his gaze beyond the ship’s side.

Blue waves gently rose and fell. One silver-white flying fish after another would occasionally leap out of the water and glide through the air.

This kind of fish can both “fly” and swim. Fishermen and sailors regard them as Blessed of the Lord of Storms. Even if they catch them, they release them back into the sea… Klein leisurely admired the sunlit horizon and the flying fish skimming over it. In his mind, a thought flashed uncontrollably:

Mm. I wonder what their meat tastes like…