The Shadow Thieves' Shadow Council was highly secretive. Other than the council members themselves, no one knew the identities of all the Shadow Councilors. Naturally, no one knew about personnel changes within the Shadow Council either. After all, the Shadow Council would never issue a public notice announcing staff transfers.
Scarlett had indeed once been a Shadow Councilor. Back when Harkes was still a first mate, he had been fortunate enough to meet Scarlett once alongside his boss. Even now, Harkes still had countless ties to the Shadow Thieves.
Therefore, Harkes had no doubts whatsoever about Scarlett's visit. On the contrary, he felt deeply honored. He saw it as a symbol of his status. Although the Shadow Thieves had always operated in the underworld, they also had a considerable presence at sea. They did not form pirate crews themselves, but they cooperated with certain major pirate groups, which brought enormous benefits to both the Shadow Thieves and their pirate partners.
Harkes had ambitions. He wanted to become the Pirate King of a new era! With so many rising powers now, everyone had a chance. Why couldn't he, Harkes, do it?
To fulfill that ambition, Harkes naturally wanted to work with an underworld giant like the Shadow Thieves, because that meant tremendous opportunities for growth. Leaning on the Shadow Thieves' mighty backing, a pirate crew could receive intelligence support, gain channels for fencing stolen goods, and even conduct arms and ship transactions through them. The benefits were endless.
Now that Scarlett had come to visit him, Harkes believed she was very likely there to discuss cooperation!
The enormous surprise made Harkes overlook one fact: why would the Shadow Thieves dispatch a Shadow Councilor for a pirate crew with only ten ships? Harkes thought far too highly of himself.
But since it