"Fifteen Sailors have already been recruited. As you requested, they all have clean backgrounds, with retired navy personnel given priority. But people like that are too hard to find, and they ask for higher pay instead."
One hand resting on the saber at her waist and the other stroking her long hair, whose color had been altered by the Madness Ring, Helene leaned against the gangway by the bow and briefed Angel beside her.
"There's still over half a month left. Don't rush it. You can take your time finding crew members, but the standards can't be lowered," Angel emphasized, sweeping her gaze over the burly, steady-footed Sailors on deck. "It's easy for good people to turn bad, but very difficult for bad people to become good. If you recruit former pirates, they might bring their old friends over on the second day at sea and rob your ship from the inside."
Angel taught Helene all sorts of knowledge she had learned from Aierlan, captain of the White Agate, and Danitz, Fourth Mate of the Golden Dream. Before being captured by Tracy, Helene had also spent several years doing business at sea, and she wholeheartedly agreed.
"Also, several Beyonders came to apply. Their Sequences aren't high, but they're fairly experienced. However, one of them costs as much as seven or eight ordinary Sailors. Should we keep them?"
"Of course. If you plan to pay back my investment within a year, smuggling goods with only a few dozen Sailors and a small ship definitely won't be enough. You might need to expand into new business, such as... robbing pirates. In that case, having only you as a Beyonder probably won't be enough."
Angel had never intended for Helene to make money through smuggling. That line of work required bribing Bayam's local