Klein left the space above the grey fog and returned to his cabin. After tidying up his clothes, he stepped out and walked onto the deck, where Aldrich was pacing nervously.
The moment he saw Klein, he rushed forward. "Mr. Sparrow, have you made a decision?"
"How much?" Klein asked curtly.
"Wh—what?" Aldrich was caught off guard.
"I said, how much are you willing to pay me?" Klein's expression remained impassive.
A flash of hope lit up Aldrich's eyes. "I—I've saved nearly 4,000 pounds over the past few years. I can give it all to you."
Tsk. Being a bodyguard is this lucrative? Klein mused.
This Aldrich really is infatuated with that Olivia girl. The only question is—is he just a simp, a backup plan, or the typical "nice guy"?
Though none of those terms were exactly complimentary, the "nice guy" was usually the winner in the end—after all, he was the one who got the girl.
"Give me half," Klein said casually. "I just contacted a friend of mine. He's acquainted with the pirate who kidnapped those women. He might be able to get her to release them—assuming they're still alive."
Aldrich's body trembled. That was the very thing he had been avoiding: the possibility that too much time had passed…and Olivia might no longer be alive.
"Oh, and just so you know this payment is well worth it," Klein continued with a half-smile, "the pirate who took them is none other than Tracy, the 'Ailment Maiden'—one of the seven Pirate Admirals. And she is a subordinate of a Sequence 3 demigod."
"I doubt anyone else on this sea would help you for so little money."
"Pirate Admiral? Sequence 3?" Aldrich felt dizzy. He couldn't understand how a simple security commission could escalate to such an outrageous level.
"Alright, just wait patiently now," Klein said as he walked over to the rail.
At that moment, a sailing ship was entering the Bansy Harbour. On the bow stood a young man in a black windbreaker. As Klein glanced toward the vessel, the man in the coat also looked his way—for a brief moment, their gazes met before quickly turning away.
Before the ship had even fully docked, the man leapt several meters, landing nimbly on the pier and striding away.
———
Meanwhile, in an inn on Symeem Island.
Edward opened his eyes and saw Lilith standing right in front of him, staring intently.
He reached out to pinch her soft cheek with a smile. "What are you looking at?"
"Why didn't Edward come back with Miss Lilith?" she asked.
"Did you forget? Mr. Hanged Man wanted to talk to me alone."
Lilith tilted her head. "Mr. Hanged Man? Who's that?"
"…The one with blue hair who was sitting next to me during the Tarot meeting."
"Don't remember."
"What about Miss Magician?"
"Don't remember."
"Miss Justice? Miss Death? And…"
She cut in quickly, "Miss Death is that little girl, right? She talked to me at the end. I remember her!"
"And the others?"
"I wasn't paying attention."
Edward was both amused and exasperated. "So, were you even the one attending the Tarot Club meeting just now?"
Lilith said confidently, "That's because Edward told me not to talk. I didn't understand what you were all discussing, so I just…fell asleep. So it's your fault for not letting me speak!"
"…"
Alright, alright.
"Next time at the Tarot Club, you can speak freely."
She blinked in surprise. "Speak what?"
"Whatever you want."
The little girl immediately fell into a thoughtful silence. After a while, she looked up in confusion. "Miss Lilith doesn't know what to say."
"Then think about it slowly. I'm going to find Tracy."
"Oh!"
Edward immediately changed his appearance, opened the Traveler's Door, and stepped into the mystical and wondrous Spirit World.
For Travelers—or anyone capable of navigating the Spirit World—there were two ways to go to a place they hadn't been before: either by knowing the corresponding coordinates in the Spirit World, or by locating it through the aura of someone familiar.
This was undeniably a more advanced method than ordinary 'Traveling.'
"This is it."
Edward quickly located Tracy. But before stepping out of the Spirit World, he flicked a coin for divination: Will going to find Tracy now put me in danger?
The coin landed with the number side up—negative.
So that demoness has already left?
With one step forward, the saturated colours around him faded, and he appeared on the deck of the Black Death.
The moment he materialised, the pirates aboard were instantly alerted. Weapons were drawn in unison, and several Beyonders prepared to unleash their abilities.
"Who are you?!"
Edward ignored the double ring of pirates surrounding him and simply shouted toward the captain's cabin, "Tracy, are you there?"
Click.
A few seconds later, the door opened, and Tracy stepped out. Her shoulder was wrapped in gauze, faint spots of red bleeding through. Her face looked pale.
Must've been Klein who injured her…damn, he's good.
"Disperse," Tracy said, waving her hand to dismiss the pirates. She looked at Edward with a trace of caution in her expression.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm here for someone."
Edward didn't bother being polite. "Last night—did you kidnap a group of women?"
"…"
Tracy's expression changed. "The one who attacked me last night…was it someone connected to you?"
"It's not like we're close—just acquaintances," Edward replied casually.
Then, with a short chant, he flicked his wand.
A beam of light shot toward Tracy. She instinctively wanted to dodge, but forced herself to stay still.
As the light entered her shoulder, a tingling sensation spread across the wound. She tore off the bandage and saw that the once-deep, bone-exposing injury had completely healed. Her fair and smooth shoulder was as good as new.
"He didn't know I knew you when he attacked. His goal was simply to rescue the women you'd kidnapped," Edward said, then changed the subject. "Where are they? Still alive?"
"…"
Tracy pulled her clothes back on, covering her shoulder. "They're locked in the hold. One died."
"You killed her?"
"No. My mother did."
She tossed the blame to Katerina without hesitation. "An angel from the Demoness Sect had hidden something inside that woman using special methods. It was meant to evade certain trackers and get the item back to the sect's headquarters."
Edward's interest was piqued. "What item?"
"…The Beyonder characteristic of the Conqueror."
"The one in the hands of the Loen royal family?"
Tracy shook her head. "I don't know about that. I was just following my mother's orders—to capture the women under the guise of a raid and bring them back to the Demoness Sect." She paused. "But…this operation failed."
"The Conqueror's characteristic is gone?"
"Yeah. Not long after that fake version of you attacked me, a high-sequence witch arrived and forced my mother to hand it over." Her lips curled with a mocking smile. "Heh. You should've seen my ever-so-arrogant mother cowering before that lady. The boldest thing she managed to say was, 'If I tried to flee, could you really stop me?'"
"Pfft—hahaha!"
Tracy burst into laughter.
Edward's expression turned strange. These two…what a mother-daughter dynamic. It's more like the child laughing at the parent.
"And that high-sequence witch—why did she want to take the characteristic from your mother? Was it just to claim credit?"
"No. She seems to have betrayed the Demoness Sect a long time ago. For years, she's been working against the church, sabotaging various operations. Taking the Conqueror's characteristic was probably just to ensure it didn't fall into the sect's hands."
Huh? There's someone like that in the Witch Sect?
Wait a minute…The last time I sailed to Bansy Harbour, I did run into an internal conflict among witches. Could one of them have been this woman Tracy's talking about?
"Do you know who she is?"
Tracy nodded. "I asked my mother afterwards. Her name is Krismona. She's the daughter of the god worshipped by the Demoness Sect."
"???"
The daughter of Cheek?
Wait, why would Cheek's daughter betray the Demoness Sect?
This was starting to sound like a messy, melodramatic family soap opera.
Hold on…what if Krismona was originally a man too? Maybe she wants the Conqueror's characteristic to jump to the Hunter pathway and return to being male?
Edward couldn't help but feel a strong surge of curiosity and gossip-fueled excitement.
"Well, thanks for the intel. Could I trouble you to return the women to Bansy Harbour?"
Tracy narrowed her eyes. Then she suddenly said, "Mr. Sparrow, I've figured out how to become a man again."
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Your mother told you?"
"Yes. The Witch pathway allows for switching to the Hunter pathway at Sequence 4, at which point I can become male."
"…Ah, now that's a little awkward."
He scratched his head. So now what? Can I still order Tracy around? Do I start threatening her instead?
"I need to know the formula for Iron-blooded Knight. Do you…know it?"
As she spoke, her body tensed, and she stared intently at Edward.
Edward blinked. Wait—why is she just handing me leverage like that?
He nodded. "I do."
Tracy's body relaxed. "What do I need to give in exchange?"
"Let's start with getting those women safely back to port. As for the price…I'll need to think it over. After all, it concerns a demigod's formula—you know its value."
He paused. "Or…you could offer something you believe is of equal worth."
"…Alright."
Edward opened another Traveler's Door. "Then, until next time."
Just as he was stepping into the door, he turned back and said, "Oh, by the way—from now on, the one who attacked you last night…that was Gehrman Sparrow."
He tossed her a note. "That's the contact info for my messenger. Use it to reach me next time."
With that, Edward vanished.
Tracy opened the note, glanced at it once, then burned it to ashes with black flames.
Ever since meeting the captain of the Blue Avenger, Tracy had known Gehrman already had a messenger. But back then, he never gave her his contact info—which likely meant he'd been worried she'd ask her mother to help track him down through the messenger.
But now…he gave it to her so easily.
Does this mean…Gehrman no longer sees my mother as a threat?
Even though her mother had been thoroughly humiliated by Krismona, she was still a bona fide veteran Sequence 3.
Tracy suddenly felt drained.
Gehrman's growth…is far too fast.
Can I really ever repay the humiliation I once suffered?
——
Back at the inn on Symeem Island, Lilith charged up to him the moment Edward returned.
"Edward, I figured out what I'll say next time!"
"What will you say?"
She beamed proudly. "I'm going to ask for Sequence 6 formulas! And I'm going to ask how to act like a good Witch!"
"Oho, not bad at all, Lilith. You've figured out the Tarot Club's unspoken rules all by yourself. You really are the smartest kitty in the world."
"Yup!"
Edward chuckled. "But…do you have money?"
———
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