CHAPTER 68: LXVIII. CHARISMA TIME

Three days later.

East Sea Domain.

The boundless ocean stretched endlessly.

The sea was a deep blue, the sky clear for miles, a picturesque clear sky.

The SS Fuma Keqing Revenge sailed on the sea, a massive vessel of forty-six meters powered by its sails cutting through the waves, a truly magnificent sight.

The journey from the East Shore to Heaven Port required a lengthy sailing time, and all sailors worked in shifts, never stopping for a moment.

The process of sailing was far less interesting than one might imagine; instead, it was incredibly tedious.

Ship’s doctor’s cabin.

Mika picked up gauze and scissors, opening the bottle of wound cleaning solution.

Goria gazed out of the porthole at the rolling waves, her beauty matching exactly the prints on the newspapers, but her pale blue hair was somewhat disheveled, untended. Showering on board involved tethering a bucket with ropes to collect seawater, as the allocation of fresh water for drinking was carefully planned and couldn’t be wasted like this.

She was not at all accustomed to such conditions, and being an adventurer was by no means a clean profession. There would be places to stay on the way to Heaven Port, where she could find an inn to bathe on shore.

"Is this your first time at sea?"

Mika was changing Goria’s dressing. She truly was a Heroic Level adventurer, perhaps practicing some sort of magic for enhancing one’s constitution—her body was in good shape, and her wound was healing rapidly. Caroso was a fucking Holy Spirit Sect Superman, already bouncing around energetically.

As for Ox, he was an athlete among athletes, back to intensive work the day after a fight.

Liszt, as per the agreement, had provided the three of them with a private room and prohibited others from disturbing them.

"Yes, it seems endless, and it makes me uneasy."

Goria was ordered by Fen to refrain from wandering and to stay properly in her room, but she understood that the First Officer was concerned about the unrest among the crew.

What she hadn’t anticipated was that the core crew members were fucking restless too.

By now, the wound cleaning and dressing change were complete.

"What are you doing?"

Goria grabbed Mika’s wrist; his hand was getting too close for comfort, slowly creeping upwards though the wound was on her waist.

Mika grimaced.

"That’s because I have a family tradition of chest massage that can improve circulation and help with recovery," he said righteously.

"Thank you, but no, thank you."

Goria felt somewhat embarrassed, put on her clothes, and prepared to leave.

At that moment, Rein entered, a chunk of wood the size of a palm lodged into his leg but without damaging the muscles—a simple disinfection and bandage would suffice, and he was fully capable of walking. However, he feigned a limp as he came in to seek medical attention.

Although Rein had a thing for Furry women, he was a tough character, unfussy and pragmatic. He was intrigued by Goria’s fame as an adventurer, attracted to such renowned and spirited personalities.

Goria tried to bypass Rein to leave, but he was not about to give her that chance, blocking her path immediately.

"Sister, Brother... isn’t cultured, and doesn’t like to talk, but... Brother loves you," Rein said, no longer pretending, suddenly able to stand on his leg without issue.

Mika felt like he might cough up blood. It had been two months since Rein last took a bath; his greasy, tangled hair wasn’t greasy anymore, after what must have been a thorough cleanup. The grotesquely scented oil he’d been slathered with was now shine-bright, and he appeared somewhat presentable with his silver-grey hair showing traces of his former role as the deputy head of the Starving Wolf Adventure Group.

"I... I don’t understand what you’re saying."

Goria was a bit slow to react, wondering if she had misheard.

Rein grimaced.

"Sister, I used to mix with adventurers too, let’s chat..."

Before Rein could finish.

"Sorry... I’ve got something to do."

Feeling the atmosphere turning odd, Goria quickly left the ship’s doctor’s cabin.

In the corridor outside the cabins, numerous pirates taking their turn at rest were sheltering from the sun. Despite the winter season, the sunlight at sea was scorching.

Tense and uneasy gazes flooded toward her, and Goria felt extremely uncomfortable.

She had received many such looks at the adventurer’s guild, but the thoughts of these pirates were blatantly obvious in their eyes, as if they were ready to devour her whole.

"Stop right there!"

A loud shout suddenly echoed through the corridor.

Morison was also loitering in the passageway; as the ship gunner, he had a post of leisure and was currently gnawing on an orange, eating it peel and all.

Goria looked toward the source of the voice, her impression of this man was profound, rivaling that of the ship’s First Officer and Captain. In the fight with Marcus, this man’s performance had surpassed that of a Heroic Level adventurer.

"What’s going on?"

Goria asked cautiously.

Morison fell silent for a moment before starting to spout explosive words.

"How about you sleep with me? I know a good spot on the ship where the view is excellent."

Morison spoke calmly, getting straight to the point.

"What?"

Goria was utterly dazed by the trifecta of advances, this one being particularly blunt.

Without turning her head, she left, hurrying back to her room.

Morison continued to shout after Goria’s retreating figure.

"I’ll pay you, thirty silver coins, sixty." Seeing Goria walking faster, Morison realized he needed to up the ante, "I’ll give you one Golden Dragon."

Goria had already retreated to her room.

The other pirates in the corridor worshipped Morison, truly Brother Sha, easily accomplishing what we couldn’t.

"Shit."

Morison felt somewhat deflated.

At that moment, Swan came running down in a flurry.

"We’ve got trouble, Caroso is causing a scene in the navigation room above."

Swan stated coldly.

Rein also showed up and rushed to the navigation room with Morison.

They quickly arrived at the navigation room.

Rein figured out the reason.

It turned out that Caroso, never having been on a ship yet extremely cautious, had been observing the heading for the past three days; the ship wasn’t sailing in a straight line but instead was curving around, insisting they go directly to Heaven Port, worried that the pirates would navigate elsewhere to their detriment.

"Good heavens, have you never been on a ship?"

Rein was at a loss for words.

"And you want to sail straight? You’ll be responsible if anything goes wrong!"

Wolman roared.

"So do you need to change ships? You can switch at the next stop, take a passenger boat to Tuga Island, near Heaven Port, and then find a private transfer to Heaven Port. The cost would be about one hundred and twenty-nine silver coins."

Shadi spoke calmly.

"Switch it is. I’ll cover the fare for the boat ride. This is a high-interest loan from big brother. The rule of the streets is to borrow nine and pay back thirteen. With a principal of ten Golden Dragons, a ten percent interest is taken off the top, so you pay back thirteen Golden Dragons. Considering the special circumstances in the East Sea Domain and the risk taken, we’ll need to increase that by one and a half times, so it’s nineteen Golden Dragons plus one hundred silver coins, due in three months. Normally, we would require a mortgage of a family member’s address, but since the person you’re delivering is also on the ship, it’s as if you’ve already mortgaged them."

Morison mocked, lining up nine Golden Dragons.

Caroso didn’t know what to say; these people must be laundering him. Also, was the high-interest lending here this terrifying? Compared to inland banks, it was practically a charitable foundation.

Fen, who had rushed over, couldn’t stand it. Damn, even triggering a combo, he started to explain to Caroso.

"Going straight would definitely be faster, but there are many unstable factors. Eighty percent of the East Sea Domain hasn’t been explored by anyone, and the developed navigation routes are few. The one we’re taking is already the fastest. It’s more convenient and safer to follow the coast for supplies."

Fen pulled out a map and explained carefully to Caroso, dispelling his concerns.

Liszt sat in a corner quietly; he had to think of a way to unveil the mystique of the mysterious individual without being discovered by the two bodyguards or even the mysterious person themselves.

His gaze turned to Swan, and he had an idea.