Chapter 81: The Fool’s “Blessing”

Chapter 81: The Fool’s “Blessing”

“As long as we confirm her whereabouts, we can obtain one thousand pounds! This is the first time I have encountered a commission like this!” Outside the Fragrant Tree Leaf Bar, Danitz rubbed his hands together with visible excitement. Then he clenched a fist and struck the man-height iron-black gas lamp pole beside him, as though he wished he could immediately roam the entire city and find that red-haired woman named Elaine.

To him, one thousand pounds was no small sum. It was enough to add another property to his holdings in Bayam, though not one in the busiest and most expensive districts.

The flying carpet he had previously obtained from the elves was valued at only two or three thousand pounds, and that had been a spoil of fighting dangerous fellows like Steel Maviti and Bloodthorn Huntley. It could not be compared with such an easy, simple task of finding someone.

Walking slightly ahead of him, Klein carried the charm-making materials wrapped in newspaper—materials that had cost him a full fifteen pounds. He slowed his steps a little, swept a glance at Danitz, and said without much expression, “Five thousand five hundred pounds.”

…Danitz’s excitement instantly froze on his face.

Only then did he remember an important problem. In the eyes of other pirates and adventurers, he himself was just as “tempting” as the red-haired Elaine.

They did not need to fight him. As long as they recognized his identity and reported him directly to the military, the Church, or the police department, they might obtain a bounty exceeding one thousand pounds. After all, he was already a great pirate worth 5,500 pounds.

For him to go searching for the red-haired Elaine was no different from a graceful, beautiful lady going to the Red Theater for amusement.

“Dog… shit…” Danitz snarled the word with a face twisted in frustration, drawing the middle sound out for an especially long time.

At the same time, he automatically and consciously raised a hand to pull down his flat cap, lowering the brim even further.

After pouring a bucket of cold water over Danitz, Klein resumed his normal walking pace and began thinking about how to find the red-haired Elaine.

Lacking a medium and necessary information made it difficult for him to use divination. He could only consider other methods.

“Mobilize subordinates and conduct a full-city search? That is something only the Churches, military, and police can accomplish. Even the local gangs would find it difficult… Wait. It seems I can do something like that as well…

“I am now Sea God Kalvetua. My believers are spread throughout Bayam and all of Blue Mountain Island. If I make a broadcast—no, issue an oracle to all believers—I can have them help me search for the red-haired Elaine… But would that appear too beneath my status? Doing such a thing for a thousand pounds… Even a god needs face.

“If I were the true Sea God, I would not care about such things, but I am acting as Kalvetua. I must do my best to maintain a deity’s dignity.

“When Kalvetua was on the verge of collapse and urgently needed to find Leticia and her subordinates, he did not broadcast an oracle either. He only gave commands to some middle- and high-level believers… I can alter his commandments as part of reshaping his image, but I must not appear too low-level… Mm. This should also be a requirement of true acting.

“If I only give oracles to Kalat, Edmonton, and the others, it will still be difficult to organize a search quickly. Besides, they will inevitably magnify the seriousness of the matter and make a huge fuss, which will be troublesome to handle afterward.

“There is one more method. I can throw the wireless telegraph receiver above the gray fog again, wait a few days, and try to contact the magic mirror Arrodes to ask about red-haired Elaine’s whereabouts. I have to be careful with this. Preparations must be made beforehand, and I need divination to confirm it. I cannot receive some…