After watching the King of the Near Sea leave, Shano continued climbing up the rope ladder.
It didn't take long before he reached the top. He grabbed the railing but hadn't had the chance to climb over when suddenly a dozen arms reached out.
—Someone hooked under his armpits, someone else supported his knees, and the boy was rendered immobile, like a freshly caught fish in a bucket, being steadily carried through the crowd of cheering and whistling people.
"Hey? Wait, what's going on?" he cried out in a panic.
Unfortunately, no one answered him. Out of the corner of his eye, he just caught Gat smiling with narrowed eyes, taking out a pipe, tapping it, lighting it, and letting the tobacco scent waft over.
The next moment, Shano felt a lightness in his body and was suddenly tossed into the air.
"Hooray—Hey!"
"Don't do this, put me down!"
"Hooray—Hey!"
"I'm afraid of heights... um, no, I just ate, and if this continues I'll throw up!"
"Hooray—Hey!"
"That's enough already! Is this how you repay kindness with malice? If I had known, I should have let the Sea King Species eat all of you!"
"Hooray—Hey!"
"Just eat me too then!"
...
No one knew how long it was before Shano was finally put down. He only felt the world spinning, and nearly stumbled to the ground.
The old sailors had been doing heavy manual labor for years, and their arm strength was no joke. He had been tossed up and caught like he was on a roller coaster all day.
Even though he could quickly overcome seasickness, at this moment, he felt the urge to lean over the railing and retch.
"Impressive, little brother Shano!"
Gat gave a thumbs-up, exhaled a smoke ring, and his face was full of admiration.
"Truly a hidden gem. Earlier, I even doubted you, treating you like a child. It's my old eyes that were blind, and now I don't even know whether to apologize or thank you first."
In that desperate and oppressive situation earlier, even an old sea captain like him who had been roaming the seas for decades had already given up, ready to meet his end in vain.
Yet, the young man in front of him, despite his youth, remained calm, able to accurately assess the situation, and when it was time to act, he did so decisively and without hesitation.
He genuinely admired the young man before him, and unconsciously, his manner of address had changed from "kid" to "little brother."
"Apologize, perhaps. No need for thanks."
Shano rubbed his still-dizzy forehead. "It makes me feel like I'm an uninvolved bystander. I'm on this ship too, just doing it for self-preservation."
"How can you say that, little brother!"
"Yes, you saved everyone on this ship!"
"I will never forget you for the rest of my life!"
Everyone started chattering noisily again, and someone muttered something like "shouldn't we continue with a banquet," which then led to discussions like "idiot, weren't we just holding a banquet," "that scale was too small, it's not enough to celebrate narrowly escaping death," "indeed, we need a bigger and more magnificent one."
Then it all converged into one voice, resounding across the entire deck—
"A banquet! A banquet! A banquet!"
"Great!" Gat also got excited, immediately laughing heartily and making the decision, "Then everyone pitch in and get the banquet going again, no one leaves tonight until they're drunk!"
"No one leaves until they're drunk!"
The sailors scattered in all directions, each busy, cleaning up the banquet scene, moving alcohol, preparing and cutting meat, rearranging tables... seeing this situation, it seemed they were determined to get the banquet started again within half an hour,
leaving Shano in the wind, bewildered.
No, this isn't right, is it?
The King of the Near Sea just slammed into us like a cup several times, shouldn't the first priority be checking the hull for leaks and seeing if the keel has come apart?
...
The next day.
When Shano woke up, he felt a splitting headache. Was this a hangover? The glaring sunlight streamed in from the porthole, indicating it was already noon.
He patted his head and finally vaguely remembered being the main character at the banquet last night, being enthusiastically plied with drinks by the sailors.
At first, he drank with restraint, but later he went wild, his face bright red, shoulders linked with sailors, dancing madly around a bonfire, singing wild songs.
What the heck with these people?
He's still underage, how could they let him drink?
While hastily throwing on a crumpled coat, Shano suddenly froze—this cabin with velvet curtains was extravagantly large. It could fit his old bed as a footrest, and the ensuite bathroom even had a hint of lemon fragrance.
Wow, an upgrade! With these conditions, it's probably the best room on the ship, right?
Compared to the previous simple cabin, it's like upgrading from a budget single room to a presidential suite.
He opened the refrigerator, took out a cola, and the sound of the carbon dioxide hissing as he popped the can, together with the sweet, icy drink flowing down his throat, finally invigorated him a bit.
"Oh? Little brother Shano, you're awake?"
A passing sailor, overhearing the activity, enthusiastically called out from outside the door. "How are you, hungry? What would you like to eat? Want me to get something for you?"
"No need for the trouble. Thank you," Shano quickly replied. "You go about your business; if I get hungry, I'll head to the restaurant myself."
"Alright, as you wish! If you need anything, just let us know!"
After the other's footsteps faded, Shano sank back into the sofa, unable to wait any longer to open the system.
Eating? He had just hit a jackpot yesterday. The trading market was supposed to refresh around this time. Why bother eating when you could shop!
The bluish panel appeared before him, and Shano's gaze skipped over the front, landing directly on the last two lines.
[Remaining points: 10025]