The sea breeze swept across the harbor. The sails billowed and flapped in the wind, stirring Arthur's heart.
At Stuart's upscale tavern, Arthur arrived once more, his heart brimming with excitement.
"Lord Arthur, the young lady is waiting for you upstairs."
"Mm."
He knocked on the door of the luxurious room on the second floor. Arena had already been waiting for some time.
Arena wore a low-cut, pale-yellow dress, paired with a cloud-white shawl. The rising morning sun streamed through the window, brightening the room and making her look even more radiant.
"Miss Arena, you're as beautiful as ever today."
Arena gave a soft snort and pointed at the Scholar Potion on the sofa, her tone tinged with pride.
"The Sequence 9 potion from the Scholar Path. I spent all my pocket money for this month just to win it for you."
"Thank you for your generosity, Miss Arena!"
She paced lightly around the sofa. "Taking a supernatural potion requires a stable environment. Otherwise, the person who takes it could degenerate into a mutated creature."
"After taking the Scholar Potion, how do you plan to leave behind your identity as a pirate? Go study at England University?"
Arthur didn't reveal his plan, answering vaguely instead. "A simple battle. The Great White Shark will sink, and Lord Arthur will be lost at sea."
Arena knew there were details behind that story, but she didn't press him. Instead, she asked Arthur a question.
"If I wanted to go to the Mist Sea and search for an unknown island, do you have any good advice?"
She wanted to travel to Moonlight Island, marked on the map, and enter the ranks of the Sequence 7 Moonlight Swordsman, gaining a clear understanding of the barriers between supernatural sequences.
Every step forward was incredibly difficult. Once she reached this sequence, her family wouldn't be able to help her casually.
She would either have to make an outstanding contribution to her family or find the main ingredients herself. Her family would then charge a processing fee to help prepare the potion.
Arthur fell silent for a moment. Arena had only just finished their deal, and already she wanted to go to Moonlight Island.
It was dangerous. She had no experience with long voyages and knew nothing of the perils of the Mist Sea.
"If you have enough time, you could wait and look for a ship sailing to the New Continent from the Old Continent.
"Take it to the Grand Route, then enter the Mist Sea and look for the island you need."
"Of course, my advice is to wait. After Arthur joins England University, he'll meet a scholar there. Many scholars need to travel to the New Continent, so going with them would be safer."
Arena nodded to herself. There was no need for her to take unnecessary risks; she should play it safe.
It would be best if she could buy the materials, but unfortunately, whenever such materials appeared on the market, supernatural beings quickly snatched them up.
She needed to return to Fog City and gather some special tarot cards, as well as supernatural materials.
"I'll give your advice careful thought."
Arena suddenly said, "Blue Bay Island hasn't been very safe lately. There may be some battles between supernatural beings, so you should leave as soon as possible."
Arthur rubbed his temple, keeping his worries to himself.
The best outcome would be that the Black Devil Order had come to cause trouble on Blue Bay Island and Rhine Island, and hadn't set its sights on him, a minor lord.
The worst outcome would be that the Black Devil Order had come specifically to take revenge on him, choosing Blue Bay Island or Rhine Island as the battleground.
If the latter was true, heading out to sea would actually be a mistake.
Arthur took the Scholar Potion from Arena and rose to leave. He still had plenty to do.
He needed to find those suspected of belonging to the Black Devil Order, find a replacement for his old body, and contact other pirates to stir up trouble and start a naval battle.
He was still some distance from the door when Arena suddenly called after him. Holding a glass of wine, she walked up behind him.
"Arthur, don't forget—you owe me twenty thousand gold coins!"
Arthur turned to Arena and smiled warmly. "Of course I won't forget, Miss. I'll repay you while I'm studying at university."
Arena held out the glass to him. "There's no need to rush. I just want you to know that if you follow me, Arena Stuart, your future will be bright."
Arthur took the glass and drained the wine, then returned it to Arena.
"Of course, Miss. I think so too."
"Good! Go take the potion!"
After Arthur left, Arena returned to the sofa and casually tossed the glass aside. "I finally have a supernatural follower!"
After a pause, Arena added, "And one I personally trained!"
Full of accomplishment, Arena had breakfast, then contacted the nearby Ghosts Under the Moonlit Night team to ambush any members of the Black Devil Order who might show up.
Aboard the Great White Shark, in the captain's cabin.
Arthur looked at the jelly-like potion but didn't take it right away. Instead, he tried to analyze it.
If he could figure out the potion's formula, it would be like having an endless supply of gold coins!
He placed the glass bottle into Research. A prompt told Arthur, "Countdown: 48 hours." The results would be ready in two days.
"Excellent!"
After that, Arthur looked at Parrot Gro on the desk. "Anything unusual lately?"
Parrot Gro's obsequious voice sounded again. "Respected Captain, your dedicated navigator, Parrot Gro, has discovered more evil dreams lately!"
"And there's more than one. That kind of unadulterated evil, corruption, and desire can only mean they're Black Devil Order members."
"How many, specifically?"
"Three."
"But there have been a lot fewer since then. Only one has appeared, lingering somewhere on the island."
Arthur tapped the desktop. Blue Bay Island and Rhine Island were dangerous. It seemed he needed to test whether the other side was after him.
He left the captain's cabin and went to the deck, then called Kaia over.
"Kaia, did you find out what I asked you to investigate?"
Kaia frowned. "There were only two ships that day. One belonged to Governor Drew, and I couldn't find any information on the other."
"Someone got off Governor Drew's ship and went to the Blue Bay Private Tavern the next day. You should have seen him, Captain."
"The other ship kept its affairs so tightly under wraps that not a single detail leaked."
Kaia glanced around and lowered his voice. "The very next day, I even got a threat telling us to mind our own business."
Strange!
Arthur had assumed the ship with no information available was the one carrying the Black Devil Order.
But from Kaia's account, someone from that ship had even issued a threat.
Even if it didn't belong to the Black Devil Order, it had helped smuggle them. Either way, it was highly suspicious.
Arthur also suspected Hisoka.
Parrot Gro had mentioned more than one person from the Black Devil Order. Hisoka might be one of them too, though he was relatively less suspicious.
Arthur suddenly said, "Everyone, get ready. Hoist the sails. We're going out to sea to see if any fat sheep pass by."
"Aye!"
"Boys, you've been having fun long enough. Time to go show them how terrifying the Great White Shark can be!"
The Great White Shark set sail.
Arthur returned to the captain's cabin and told Parrot Gro to watch the nearby waters and see if any ships came close.
If the Black Devil's target was him, they would soon send a ship after them.
At Scimitar Bar on Blue Bay Island, a flirtatious blonde swayed at center stage. Her grass skirt, with its exotic New Continent style, left much of her fair skin exposed.
Below the bar's stage, sailors and old drunks raised their glasses of wheat juice and howled excitedly.
In a secluded corner, two people sat whispering:
"The target is leaving Blue Bay Island. Should we change our plans and make our move at sea?"
"That would make it much harder to act, and setting up the Rite would be difficult too."
"You stay on Blue Bay Island and prepare the sacrificial Rite. I'll take some people to chase the target and force him to return to Blue Bay Island."
"Bring him back as soon as possible. If this takes too long, those dull-witted priests will catch on."
"No problem on my end. Get the other sacrifices ready as soon as you can."
The whispers in Scimitar Bar were drowned out by the sailors' cries and the dancers' movements, but a trace of bloodlust lingered in the air.
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