Chapter 192: Leaving the Ship

Chapter 192: Leaving the Ship

That was way too fast… I had only just formed an idea… Klein stared at the sea, where waves rose and fell, momentarily unable to recover.

As thoughts flashed, he vaguely formed a guess:

The Undying King Agalito’s second mate, Slaughterer Gilchies, was suspected to be of the Devil pathway—perhaps even an Apostle of Desire. He possessed a Beyonder ability that could sense danger in advance and lock onto its source. In that case, could the Undying King himself be a Sequence 4 demigod of the Devil pathway?

“So, after the people aboard the Future possessed the strength to truly threaten him and developed the intention to put it into practice, he immediately sensed the problem ahead of time, discovered the Queen of Mysteries’ presence, and decisively chose to retreat without hesitation?

“Mm, that means the Queen of Mysteries also had the urge to act just now. Otherwise, if it were only my thoughts, the Undying King would simply sneer twice and launch a frenzied counterattack…

“Sigh. This Beyonder ability of the Devil pathway really is too useful. If you want to dig a pit and bury the Undying King, or his first mate, second mate, and third mate, it would basically be impossible…” Klein sighed inwardly and turned his head toward Anderson Hood standing nearby.

The Strongest Hunter’s expression still held an obvious twist, as though he were both despairing that his bad luck had not weakened and astonished that the Death Knell had simply tucked its tail and fled. He gave the impression of someone who had been handed the wrong script.

His eyes shifted slightly, and he looked left and right, as if he had associated the matter with something.

What a pity. Anderson’s misfortune still isn’t powerful enough. Otherwise, sacrificing him alone might have successfully hooked the Undying King… Haha, isn’t that the correct way to use a Provoker? Klein turned into the corridor and returned to his room.

He had just opened the wooden door when he saw a familiar back standing before the window. The figure had excellent proportions, and her attire was faintly unusual. It was none other than the Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette.

Madam, did your father not teach you? Do not casually enter someone else’s room, especially the room of an unfamiliar man. As a noble-born lady with proper upbringing, you should wait outside and sincerely ask whether I can allow you to enter… Emperor, didn’t you remember any books on education? Klein silently mocked for a few lines and casually closed the door behind him.

Before he could speak, the Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette, spoke with her back to him.

“What happened earlier confirmed an idea of mine.”

“What idea?” Klein suppressed his curiosity and asked back with an indifferent expression.

Bernadette did not turn around. Looking at the horizon outside the window, she said, “Agalito’s legend of the Fountain of Youth is a fraud.

“If the Fountain of Youth truly exists, it would only be one of the main ingredients for the Unaging Witch, or something born from their corpses. Therefore, any male who claims to have drunk from the Fountain of Youth is lying.”

She did not explain what an Unaging Witch was, as though she was certain Gehrman Sparrow would know, or at least that even if he did not, he would have a place to ask afterward.

Fountain of Youth… Unaging Witch… They do correspond rather well… So the blood words on the sailing ship beside that ruin were meant to tell the world that the Fountain of Youth was a fraud? The Undying King, Agalito, repeatedly released information about the Fountain of Youth, luring adventurers and pirates into dangerous waters, where they either buried themselves or gave him the opportunity to massacre them? A strong Devil style… No wonder Slaughterer Gilchies warned me not to interfere… After thinking for a few seconds, Klein deliberately spoke in a thoughtful tone.

“A fraud…”

The Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette, nodded. In her gentle voice, she said, “Perhaps it is part of the ritual Agalito needs to advance to Sequence 4. Or perhaps it is behavior used to digest his Sequence 4 potion.”

She paused, seeming to sigh silently before continuing, “Because Sequence 4 of his pathway is called Devil.”

Devil? It sounds very cunning… A treasure fraud that harms people fits the style of a Devil perfectly… Klein suddenly understood.

At that moment, the Queen of Mysteries turned around. Through the fine black gauze, her gaze fell upon Gehrman Sparrow’s eyes.

Is it my turn to provide intelligence? Klein considered for two seconds.

“Based on limited diary analysis, Emperor Roselle encountered an extremely serious predicament in his later years. It forced him to form the idea of attempting some kind of mad action.”

In that regard, he was very candid. The diaries he had currently obtained had indeed not revealed what Emperor Roselle had ultimately wanted to do in his later years, what sort of predicament he had encountered, or what mad actions he had taken.

Therefore, by providing this intelligence, he was also hinting to Bernadette that if she wanted to clarify the truth, she should give the diaries from Emperor Roselle’s critical period to Admiral of Stars Cattleya.

The Queen of Mysteries Bernadette fell silent for several seconds, saying nothing.

Clouds moved high above. Sunlight shone in from outside, and this queen who dominated the five seas suddenly separated, shattered, and disappeared like a cluster of soap bubbles.

The light reflected from the bubbles split into different colors, creating a dreamlike, fairy-tale scene inside the room.

If not for the Hidden Sage, the Mystery Pryer pathway really would be rather interesting… Klein sighed inwardly as he pinched the first joint of his index finger twice with his left thumb.

He activated the hidden vision brought by Spirit Body Threads and did not discover any extra black threads inside the room.

That proved the Queen of Mysteries Bernadette had indeed left!

Phew… Klein silently exhaled, quickly deactivating that vision.

He was about to lie down on the bed and rest when he suddenly heard light footsteps approaching.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked on his room door.

“Who?” Klein flipped himself up and sat.

“Me.” Admiral of Stars Cattleya’s voice came from outside.

Somewhat puzzled, Klein moved closer and opened the door.

He did not ask what she wanted. He merely looked at her indifferently. His gaze conveyed everything.

Cattleya pushed the heavy glasses on the bridge of her nose and said, “Leaving that sea will not return us to the place where we entered. This location is less than one hundred nautical miles from Toscarter Island. Going to Nas would take roughly three days. Where do you wish to return?”

Entering and leaving aren’t at the same place? Klein was slightly stunned and asked for confirmation, “Can one enter that sea from here?”

“No. You would fall directly into the bottomless fissure that cuts the ocean apart. According to divination results, those who do so truly die.” Cattleya explained simply.

So that’s how it is… Klein thought for a moment, then said, “Toscarter Island.”

The reason he did not choose Nas was that the time for convening the next Tarot Gathering was already very close, and he did not want to do something that would consume a considerable amount of time aboard the Future.

Furthermore, Toscarter Island was the Loen Kingdom’s easternmost colony. The common currency there was pence, soli, and gold pounds, so Klein did not need to consider exchange problems.

“Very well.” Cattleya had no objections.

Watching her turn and head toward the captain’s cabin, Klein shook his head by an extremely small margin and sighed inwardly.

“If you had come a little earlier, you would have encountered the Queen of Mysteries.”

…

That evening, the Future arrived at Toscarter Island’s harbor and forcefully docked at the pier.

Dressed as a Loen gentleman and carrying a leather suitcase, Klein walked onto the deck. He took the remaining payment from the pockets on both sides of his clothing and handed it to Admiral of Stars Cattleya.

After deducting the seven hundred pounds for the Pugilist Beyonder characteristic, this totaled 1,300 pounds.

As a result, Klein’s cash wealth dropped to 8,436 pounds and 5 gold coins.

Cattleya silently accepted the money. Her mouth opened slightly, as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she did not speak.

“Are you getting off here, or going elsewhere?” she asked, turning to Anderson Hood.

Thinking that Gehrman Sparrow was about to leave, that this was a pirate ship, and that he himself had hunted quite a few pirates, Anderson immediately piled on a smile.

“Here is fine.”

“You may pay the fare.” Cattleya did not let Anderson go simply because even his spare clothes had been borrowed from pirates.

“All right.” Anderson made no attempt to hide his pained expression. He reached out and tore off an ordinary button from the middle of his shirt.

Reluctantly, he handed it over.

“This is the only harvest I have left from that sea. It came from the corpse of a Loen military explorer.

“I don’t know its original name, so I can only name it based on the abilities it has displayed and the corresponding Sequence 6: mm, Judge.

“Its negative effect is not especially strong. It merely makes the wearer more likely to offend people or monsters. Perhaps, with one careless mistake, they might end up being targeted by some demigod.”

You call that not especially strong? If I were Admiral of Stars, I would definitely choose that sword of yours… Klein lampooned a few words and watched as Cattleya accepted the fare Anderson Hood had paid.

He did not concern himself with other people’s business. Carrying his suitcase, he left the Future and stepped onto Toscarter Island’s pier.

Bang!

Anderson Hood jumped directly from the edge of the deck and landed beside him.

“Want to drink a glass? To celebrate that we finally left that damned sea!” the Hunter invited him, excited and relaxed.

Klein swept a glance over him, using his eyes to indicate refusal. He wanted only to stay as far as possible from this fellow who was burdened with bad luck and carried a natural provocation aura.

“All right.” Anderson looked left and right, cleared his throat, and said, “Can you lend me some money? You know, my harvest and cash all sank into that sea.”

At that point, he laughed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll return it tomorrow morning. There are plenty of pirates in Toscarter’s bars and brothels as well. I plan to ask them to sponsor me a little.”

If they don’t have bounties, he’ll extort money; if they do, he’ll directly cash them in? Klein clicked his tongue inwardly, took out a five-soli note, and handed it to Anderson.

“So little?” Anderson’s mouth fell half-open.

“It’s enough for you to drink, eat, and stay at an inn,” Klein replied flatly. “Besides, this is one pound in cash.”

“One pound?” Anderson rubbed his eyes and smiled helplessly. “All right, it is one pound. I’ll return one pound to you tomorrow morning.”