Seeing that the red-haired Helene seemed to have become enthralled by iced cola, Angel narrowed her eyes as well, took a sip of the carbonated drink in her hand, and let out a satisfied burp.
Of course, this was hardly elegant behavior for a young woman, but everyone in the room knew her well, so she simply let herself go.
After briefly enjoying one of this world's first batches of nonalcoholic fizzy drinks that had not been produced through natural fermentation, Angel had her two Minor Arcana introduce themselves to each other.
Although Helene currently had only the Red Haired Woman and fewer than a hundred crew members, she had ordered three armed freighters of similar carrying capacity as quickly as possible after receiving Angel's instructions. One had even been fitted with a steam engine, giving it both sail and steam power so it could venture deep into the Windless Zone and take the shortest routes to various destinations at sea, cutting down on shipping time.
Thanks to her connections with Duchess Georgina, there was no need to wait for the three ships to leave the slipways; she could buy completed vessels directly. By October, "Red-haired Helene" would likely have a fleet of four ships.
As for Helene herself, if the subsequent plans went smoothly, she should have become a Sequence 5 "Reaper" by then. Although a Pirate King's subordinates were generally not called Pirate Admirals, Angel felt that even without the title, Helene needed strength comparable to the other admirals.
Meanwhile, Shermane, who was responsible for building up their influence in Backlund's East Borough, had successfully advanced to a Demoness of Pleasure the previous week. This was the last Sequence that required no Promotion Ritual, and as long as the previous Sequence's potion had been fully digested, the chance