At Castel's northern port, several newly formed merchant caravans were setting sail today. Many islanders had taken the day off to see them off.
The soldiers lazily maintained order, keeping the watching islanders from getting too close.
Dockworkers were carrying crate after crate of goods aboard the ship.
It was a sailing vessel. Though somewhat old, it showed no damage and appeared to have been well maintained.
Theus and Jeremiah were standing at the boarding point.
Theus had come specifically to see these fleets off. This ship carried far too many of Castel's hopes, and as the lord of this place, he had to come take a look.
"Mr. Jeremiah, this voyage is in your hands. I've already told Ken about what you mentioned before." Theus smiled and leaned close to Jeremiah, lowering his voice. "Ken will teach you to read. If you're interested in further lessons, you can ask him about them too."
Jeremiah nodded expressionlessly. Theus's contract clearly stipulated that he had to teach Ken a captain's ship-handling skills. In return, it was only reasonable for him to learn some basic knowledge from Ken.
He was a pirate. How could he possibly make a losing deal? Jeremiah secretly felt rather pleased with himself.
He had heard that Ken was some kind of mechanical engineer. What even was machinery? Could it compare to a captain? He, Jeremiah, would learn it in no time just by dabbling a little.
Jeremiah said nothing more. He turned to glance at the somewhat slight Ken, then walked aboard the ship on his own.
Naturally, this ship was his Black Pearl. But it had now been leased by Theus. Though he was still its captain, he had already become Theus's employee.
Theus did not mind. Turning to look aboard the sailing vessel, he saw