The Way of Acting
At nine o'clock in the morning, the two arrived at the dock and saw the giant passenger ship that would accompany them on a nine-day journey, the White Agate.
It was indeed as the ticket agent had claimed, featuring both old-era sails and newly installed steam engines, with smoke stacks and unfurled sails standing in layers—a style unique to this era.
To Angel's surprise, the side of the White Agate close to the dock actually had twelve wide gun ports, and they were not merely decorative; each port held a cast-iron cannon with its barrel pointing skyward, as if proclaiming its right to sail freely above the Five Seas.
No wonder that guard said they had never been robbed by pirates. Coupled with the cannons on the other side, these twenty-four large-caliber guns probably exceeded the setup of many pirate ships, and the latter would not take the risk of a one-for-one trade to rob such vessels—they were only after wealth, not starting a war.
Conversely, even passenger ships traveling back and forth along main trade routes needed to be equipped with this many cannons, which showed that even in coastal areas near the North Continent, quite a few pirates wandered about, waiting for an opportunity to plunder passing ships.
Angel withdrew her gaze and, alongside Klein, carried her luggage to the boarding ramp—she still couldn't bring herself to let him carry her bags, even though the "servant" Klein mentioned earlier was very likely for the sake of the "Faceless" acting.
Quite a few passengers were already queuing near the ramp. Seven or eight tall crew members and sailors stood in a row like an honor guard, welcoming the passengers. In the cold wind, they wore their coats open to reveal single-layer shirts, displaying their weather-beaten,