Chapter 116: A Windfall from the Heavens

Chapter 116: A Windfall from the Heavens

Fragrant Tree Leaf Bar, corner table.

Elland found a man in a coffee-colored jacket, clapped him on the shoulder, and laughed.

“Why aren’t you drinking Lilangqi?”

The man appeared to be in his thirties. His face was extremely ordinary, though one could clearly tell that he had Loen blood.

He had brown hair and brown eyes, and his nose bridge was relatively high. His originally drunken appearance abruptly vanished, his gaze instantly becoming sharp.

After sweeping his eyes over Elland and Klein, his gaze again grew cloudy, as though filled with alcohol.

“I already drank some. I ordered a glass of zarha to sober up.”

Zarha was a local malt beer—cheap and with a good flavor.

Hearing this, Elland laughed twice and pointed toward Klein.

“Gehrman Sparrow.”

Then he introduced the other man to Klein:

“Urs Kent. Just call him Kent.

“You two talk. I have to go back and make preparations. We sail tomorrow morning.”

He waved, turned around without hesitation, and left.

Klein pulled over a nearby chair and sat down. He did not order any alcohol. Expressionless, he simply looked at Urs Kent.

Kent was made extremely uncomfortable by that gaze. He took a gulp of zarha and said, “You can come to me for anything in the future, as long as you can provide valuable intelligence or help us do something.”

He was not worried about the drunkards nearby overhearing their conversation, because many gangs and pirate crews spoke this way as well. Their wording when recruiting informants was often about the same.

“Alright.” Klein very much wanted to ask whether the cost of the clothes used when he had disguised himself as Elaine to assassinate Vice Admiral Ailment could be reimbursed, even though Danitz had paid for them.

Of course, he merely thought about it.

Urs Kent, appearing very drunk, chuckled.

“I have heard some things about you from Elland, but I still have to remind you: out on the sea, you cannot act so madly. You especially must remember one point—do your best not to provoke pirates. What I mean is, do not confront them head-on. Privately providing intelligence to us is fine. We will keep it confidential.”

This time, he clearly lowered his voice.

Seeing that Gehrman Sparrow gave no response, Kent added, “Pirates will not speak to you about chivalry, nor will they follow the kingdom’s laws and rules. Hic. If you settle in any port city or island colony, they absolutely can attack your family.”

Family… Klein fell silent for one second, then said flatly, “I have no family.”

“…” Urs Kent almost did not know how to continue. He could only change direction and say, “They can also attack your friends.”

Then he heard Gehrman Sparrow answer in a tone without any fluctuation, “I have no friends.”

…Urs Kent suddenly felt choked. He instinctively drank a mouthful of zarha beer before recovering.

He coughed twice, then said in a low voice, “They can also ambush you. They can bribe people, figure out your itinerary, and intercept the ship you are taking. On the sea, the strength of an individual is often very small.”

Klein said with considerable calm, “I will not refuse someone giving me money.

“That is courtesy.”

Giving money? Urs Kent was visibly stunned, not understanding what Gehrman Sparrow meant.

Only after several seconds did realization strike him. The other party regarded pirates as mobile bounties.

He drank a mouthful of beer, then another, and for a moment could not speak at all.

…

Inside the underground area of the Fragrant Tree Leaf Bar.

“An unfamiliar adventurer?” Silver-Tongued Misor King’s spirits lifted, and he sat up straight.

Strongman Ozil nodded.

“According to Blue Eyes Meath, that adventurer’s face was completely unfamiliar. He should not have come to the archipelago waters very long ago, but he gave Meath an extremely dangerous feeling.”

Extremely dangerous? Could he be the person who teamed up with Blazing Danitz to kill Steel Maviti’s group? Could he be the one who disguised himself as Elaine and attacked the captain? Misor immediately formed certain associations in his mind and asked in a deep voice, “Do you have a photograph or portrait of him?”

Ozil waved to his attendant and received a piece of white paper from him.

“I used a ritual to let Blue Eyes Meath draw the unfamiliar adventurer’s appearance. As you know, to stand firm in Bayam’s underworld is different from becoming a successful pirate. One must have auxiliary personnel. Sigh, it cost me no small sum to hire them.”

Misor understood the hidden meaning in his words and chuckled.

“As long as we can investigate this matter clearly, the captain will not be stingy with rewards.”

He took the portrait and unfolded it. On it was a stern man with black hair, brown eyes, a thin face, and sharp contours. He wore a black double-breasted formal coat and a half top silk hat.

I have not seen him before. I cannot confirm whether he is the person who disguised himself as Elaine… Misor lifted his head and said, “Find out his identity and whereabouts.”

“I have already instructed people to do it,” Strongman Ozil said with a composed smile.

The two fell silent at the same time, each drinking Southville red wine.

After several minutes, one of the bar’s guards entered, breaking the speechless atmosphere.

He glanced at the Silver-Tongued Misor, approached his own boss, and whispered two sentences into his ear.

Ozil’s expression suddenly became quite strange, mixed with a hint of difficult-to-hide amusement.

He set down his stemmed glass, paused, then said, “We found that unfamiliar adventurer.”

“Where?” Misor blurted out.

Ozil pointed upward.

“Right inside the bar.”

Misor raised his head and looked at the ceiling. After several silent seconds, he said, “I will go up and take a look, make a confirmation.”

He believed that he had once come into contact with the person disguised as red-haired Elaine, and that he possessed a rough understanding of similar abilities. Even if the other party was excellent at disguise, he felt he should experience a certain sense of familiarity. Therefore, he decided to personally confirm it.

According to his usual habits, he would actually not show himself so openly. Instead, he would first investigate the surroundings, and only after gaining no small amount of confidence would he cut into the matter. But this time, he did not trust Ozil’s subordinates too much. If that truly was the person disguised as Elaine, the moment the other party sensed something was wrong, he would immediately change his appearance, change his identity, and vanish.

Moreover, Misor knew that he was currently under his captain’s punishment. He had to make merit quickly in order to return to the Black Death.

“Sigh. Whether it was insufficient ability or insufficient caution, the result cannot be changed. Just like that, I was deceived by the impostor, brought ‘her’ aboard the Black Death, and nearly got the captain killed…

“If it had been Qilangos from before, he definitely would not have spared me. He was always greedy and had long coveted my Beyonder ability…

“The captain did not, just because Qilangos could also change appearances through Creeping Hunger, decide that I had cooperated with the attacker and immediately gather others to kill me. She only sent me to Bayam to investigate the matter. That is already tolerant enough… Compared to Qilangos, she is truly a captain worth serving. I must make merit as quickly as possible, have an excuse to contact her, and not betray how she treated me.”

As Misor King stood and walked outside, his thoughts unexpectedly surged.

Although he was a pirate who had killed no small number of people and robbed many ships, there was still a soft place in his heart. Moreover, he had not realized that while spending a long time with Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy, he had been repeatedly charmed by her. His goodwill had already sunk deep into his bones. Even if the Maiden of Sickness had no helper and made him kneel on the ground to kiss the tip of her shoe, he would not resist and would obey.

Of course, this did not affect him fantasizing about doing inappropriate things with Tracy. If there were a chance, even without the captain’s permission, he believed he would take the initiative.

As a pirate, he had done quite a few similar things.

Arriving at the upper level, Misor King followed Ozil’s subordinate’s directions and circled half the bar along the wall. From a distance, he saw the unfamiliar adventurer sitting in the corner.

He matches the portrait… but there is no sense of familiarity… Is his disguise good enough, or is there someone else, such as Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina? She can simulate Beyonder powers she has seen. It would not be impossible for her to change her appearance like Qilangos… Misor’s gaze paused for two seconds, then cautiously withdrew.

At that moment, the spiritual intuition of a Seer had already told Klein that someone was observing him.

Klein did not hide his reaction. He immediately looked back and saw a man with very short eyebrows, sunken eye sockets, and brown eyes.

Silver-Tongued Misor King… Third mate of Vice Admiral Ailment’s flagship, the Black Death… Klein recognized the observer at once.

In an instant, two thoughts flashed through his mind at the same time.

One was: “Bounty of 5,400 pounds!”

The other was: “Why is he observing me? Did he start with Danitz and trace things to me?”

The military contact, Urs Kent, noticed Gehrman Sparrow’s abnormality and followed his line of sight. However, because of the angle, several drunkards blocked his view.

By then, Klein had instinctively devised a response. He would pretend not to recognize Misor King, withdraw his gaze, order a glass of alcohol, and secretly observe where the other party went. Then, using a Faceless’s abilities, he would blend into Misor’s hiding place and silently hunt him.

The idea flashed past. Then Klein suddenly noticed a problem.

“This would be acting as myself.

“But right now, I am Gehrman Sparrow, an adventurer who appears calm but is actually insane!”

As his thoughts raced, he suddenly turned, drew his revolver, and, amid the lively clamor of the bar, aimed at the Silver-Tongued Misor King.

Bang!

A gunshot shook the entire bar. Many customers reflexively crouched down with their hands over their heads, their experience extremely rich.

Quite a few drunkards collapsed to the ground, while a dozen or so people either leaped sideways or rolled away to dodge. Their movements were practiced to an extraordinary degree, and among them was Misor King.

However, Klein had not actually pulled the trigger, because he feared hitting innocent people. There had been many patrons between him and Misor.

That gunshot had come from his ability to create illusions!

At that moment, the space before him had become open. People had fallen like straw, clearing his line of sight. And so, with great composure, he aimed at Misor, who had just leaped aside and landed, and truly pulled the trigger.

Bang!