Plan 153
"Instructor Nora, I've run into some trouble," Roy said tactfully.
If Instructor Nora frowned or didn't respond, Roy planned to politely say goodbye and then turn around and leave.
Instructor Nora, however, grinned, a knowing smile playing on her lips, and raised an eyebrow slightly as she asked Roy:
"Is it the remaining members of the Golden Tangerine who have come knocking on your door? Do you need me to help you deal with them?"
Most of the students on the Training Ground had already left, and another group of older students were gathering towards the Training Ground.
Instructor Nora looked at Roy with absolute confidence.
Roy touched his face and asked softly, "Was my expression that obvious?"
Instructor Nora pointed to the path leading to Building No. 3, gesturing for Roy to follow her, and said as they walked:
"Almost... Tell me where you met those Slave Traders."
Roy forced an awkward smile and whispered:
"Instructor, my current trouble... isn't actually with those Slave Traders, but I did see the magician who escaped from the Golden Tangerine in the Back Street of the academy. However, he disappeared when I chased after him. I've already reported this to the Guard Squad."
Instructor Nora stopped and glared at Roy, asking him with some displeasure:
"The escaped mage has appeared in Castleton City? You... why are you only telling me now? You should have told me this immediately, Roy!"
Instructor Nora paused for a moment before speaking again:
"Now... tell me about your troubles!"
"Instructor Nora, two friends and I have a ship that ran aground on the beach. That ship used to belong to a group of pirates. The captain and first mate escaped back then... Now they've secretly come back and have been living on that ship for the past few days." Roy briefly explained the situation on the Black Pearl.
Instructor Nora stared at Roy with a look of astonishment:
"You mean... a pirate captain and his crew live on your ship?"
Roy nodded quickly. "Yes, I confirmed it last night."
Instructor Nora re-examined Roy, ran a hand over the hilt of her sword, and said to Roy, "I understand! How strong are they?"
Roy thought for a moment and replied, "That Gray Dwarf captain is very powerful, probably... probably..."
Actually, he didn't really know how to describe it either.
However, when Instructor Nora heard the words "Gray Dwarf captain," Instructor Nora immediately asked with a serious expression:
"The two pirates you mentioned, are they the Gray Dwarf Relf and the Blood Elf mage Yudora?"
Roy was also taken aback by Instructor Nora's serious expression and cautiously asked, "Do you know them?"
"In Castleton, almost every Guard Squad has wanted posters of the two of them hanging on the wall. Since they've resurfaced, I'll help you with this." Instructor Nora frowned and said, "When are you planning to make your move?"
Roy, worried that Captain Relf might run away, quickly said, "If possible, then tonight..."
After meeting with Instructor Nora and finishing his second geography class at the academy, Roy ran to the academy gate and took a Long Carriage back to the Goddess of Freedom Temple.
As Roy passed through the Lower District, he saw many Half-Elf taking to the streets and participating in protests.
However, this time it was some street vendors who were unlucky. Some vendors packed up early and joined the protest march, while others were slow to react and hadn't even had time to pack up before the protest march swept their stalls to pieces.
The entire Lower District was in complete chaos, and the Long Carriage had to navigate through several impassable Lower District before finally reaching Brown Street.
Roy jumped off the train and found that Brown Street was quite quiet.
However, a large group of elves had gathered at Castleton Harbour in the distance. Roy walked along Brown Street toward Castleton Harbour and found that a group of protesting Half-Elf had also gathered at the port docks, which were now in chaos.
Even in the small square next to Castleton Harbour, some excited Half-Elf planned to rush to the Seaside Castle.
When Roy arrived at the port, he saw that all the Great Sea Ship docked at the Deep Water Dock had been ordered to prevent their crews from disembarking.
The fishing boats at the Shallow Water Pier were densely packed together, and no fishing boats could be seen going out to sea.
The Fish Market has also ceased operations...
It was unexpected that the murder of the Half-Elf girl by the Priest Sandike would cause such a huge conflict.
The Elf Ranger were maintaining order. Roy did not enter the port, but instead walked along the road at the edge of the port to the small square leading to the Seaside Castle. Some Half-Elf had also gathered there. They were stopped in the small square by a group of silver moon Elven Guard and simply sat down in the square.
A group of silver moon Elven Guard blocked the mountain path leading to the Seaside Castle, Roy found Captain Simpson maintaining order.
The Elven Guard and the protesting Half-Elf remained locked in a stalemate, with neither side taking any drastic action.
Roy squeezed along the edge of the protest crowd to Captain Simpson and called out Captain Simpson's name.
Captain Simpson walked up to Roy and led him to a slightly quieter place:
"It's you! What are you doing here?"
Upon seeing Roy, Captain Simpson riding his warhorse, frowned.
Roy seized the opportunity to sidle up to Captain Simpson and whispered to him:
"Captain Simpson, I'm here to tell you something. Last night, we spotted the Gray Dwarf captain and the Blood Elf mage on the Sea Wolf. It seems they sneaked back into Castleton Harbour and even stayed on that ship for the night..."
Captain Simpson felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead. Thinking back to the castle ball the night before, he was relieved that the castle's security had been strengthened. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, why didn't you say so sooner?" Captain Simpson asked Roy.
The night before, Roy only said that he had found some clues on the ship, and just guessed that Relf and Yudora had secretly sneaked back to Castleton Harbour.
"When we saw you the night before last, they weren't on the ship either, so we weren't sure at the time. Besides, you were on guard duty then. We only confirmed it was them last night." Roy quickly explained, "They probably don't stay on the ship during the day, but they might come at night, so I was thinking if it's convenient for you, we could act together tonight."
Captain Simpson looked up at the blazing sun overhead, patted Roy on the shoulder, and then said:
"Understood. This protest will end before dark. I happen to have time tonight, and I'm determined to catch them this time, no matter what..."
Roy was surprised that Captain Simpson agreed so readily and immediately thanked Captain Simpson, saying, "Thank you so much for your help!"
Captain Simpson gestured for Roy to walk to the edge of the small square and said to him:
"Actually, we can't rule out the possibility that they've returned this time to take some revenge on Princess Ophelia. Whatever their intentions, we'd better keep them here, otherwise they'll always be a threat that we can't ignore..."
Captain Simpson's agreement to help was a pleasant surprise for Roy.
Back at the temple, Roy went into the Main Hall and told High Priest Reed, who was praying in front of the Goddess of Freedom Statue, about the incident.
Jasper was also praying with High Priest Reed when he was startled to hear Roy mention that Captain Relf had actually stayed on the Black Pearl the previous night.
The warning system he set up could only notify him that something alive had boarded the ship, but it couldn't, like Roy, directly confirm the other party's identity.
"Roy, how did you do that? You said yesterday afternoon you were going to send someone a gift, was it for this?" Jasper asked.
"Yes, that's what it's about!" Roy answered frankly.
High Priest Reed stood before the Goddess of Freedom Statue, saying nothing, but silently uttering, "We are the spreaders of the Holy Light, so we must always remember: 'Have good intentions and uphold justice.'"
With that, he turned and walked out of the Main Hall without saying a word.
Roy was surprised that High Priest Reed would make such an ambiguous statement, and Jasper, who was standing next to him, was also confused and couldn't understand what High Priest Reed was thinking.
The two followed High Priest Reed out of the Main Hall.
High Priest Reed, standing on the steps in front of the Main Hall, suddenly turned around and said to Roy and Jasper:
"As the High Priest of the Goddess of Freedom Temple, I do not recommend your actions tonight."
"But as your teacher, especially since both of you were once held hostage by them, I naturally have to settle this score with them."
Roy finally breathed a sigh of relief...
"Roy, what are your plans?" Jasper asked Roy.
"Before this, I had already invited Instructor Nora from the Elf Academy, and I also met Captain Simpson at the Seaside Castle. They both agreed to come and help tonight," Roy said.
The three of them followed the path to the backyard of the temple and continued to discuss their plan to deal with Captain Relf.
At this moment, Captain Relf was hiding in a cave formed by sea rocks not far from the Black Pearl...
Captain Relf originally planned to seize a ship nearby after dawn and then quickly leave Castleton Harbour.
But when dawn finally broke, they were dismayed to find that not a single fishing boat had set sail from Castleton Harbour.
The two waited from morning until noon, but did not see even a single fishing boat.
Not only that, even the Great Sea Ship didn't make any move.
After the tide rose, the cave in the reef was mostly submerged. The two men could only huddle together, soaking wet. With no fishing boats passing by, they dared not venture out. Fortunately, there was no shortage of food in the reef area. For the Gray Dwarf, the shells on the rocks were also a delicacy.
"Wait a little longer, and we'll sneak back to Castleton Harbour tonight, steal a boat, and head out to sea under cover of darkness..."
Captain Relf pried an oyster off the reef and sucked it into his mouth.