Island Natives

After they had discussed and settled the details, Governor Drew hurried off to make preparations.

A contraband item had gone missing from Rhine Island, and Governor Drew was worried about how to explain it. This was the perfect chance to use it as bait.

That was right: there really was a contraband item in the treasury, stored on Rhine Island by the powerful figure behind him.

If they spread the news now and lured nearby pirates into a trap, it might put the powerful figure behind him a little more at ease and make him less disappointed in Drew.

Arthur and Mickey hurried back to Blue Bay Island. He had Mickey and Kaia secretly contact the pirates' informants on the island and spread word that they would hold a secret meeting at sea.

He specifically named Captain Rosen of the Giant Catfish Pirate Crew, as well as the captain of the Tuna Pirate Crew, as people to inform.

When they returned to the Great White Shark, Arthur left two sailors on the island to stay in touch and gave them a carrier pigeon they could use to make contact if necessary.

Back in the captain's cabin, Parrot Gro immediately spoke:

"Honored captain, your loyal navigator welcomes you back."

"Did you find anything?"

"I didn't have any dreams that evil, but I did have a few strange ones. There may have been supernatural beings around."

"Keep watch."

Arthur lay down on the bed, and his consciousness entered White Sand Island to begin another round of exploration.

[It descended upon White Sand Island.]

Arthur opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings, then swung his two enormous scythes to make sure there was no danger nearby.

The wings on his back beat furiously, propelling him toward a distant leaf.

When it came to traveling, a mantis was much better than a caterpillar.

After a few leaps, he landed on a low shrub. The grass not far away rustled, and a frog strode out with an air of swagger.

"There are frogs here, too?"

Arthur carefully crouched down to avoid being seen by the frog. He recognized the species.

A pond frog, a special kind of frog that was good at hiding itself and could secrete a peculiar toxin.

In a direct fight with a pond frog, the mantis would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Was he really so unlucky? He'd just changed bodies, and already he'd run into an insect's natural enemy?

He waited and waited, until he was nearly asleep.

Suddenly, he heard voices. They were babbling unintelligibly, and the language wasn't from the Old Continent.

Then two enormous "people" passed through the woods, carrying wooden clubs fitted with stone fragments.

There were living people here?!

Arthur's eyes widened. How could people survive in such a strange place?

"Ribbit! Ribbit!"

Startled, the swaggering pond frog let out a deafening croak, attracting the natives' attention.

"Babble babble&#!"

"Babble babble#&%!"

The two natives spotted the pond frog on the ground, looked disgusted, and took a detour around it without paying it any attention.

The pond frog croaked twice as it watched them leave, then sat motionless on the ground.

His consciousness returned from White Sand Island, and Arthur sat up in bed. How was he supposed to deal with the pond frog?

Crossing White Sand Island was going to be a long and difficult journey~

Arthur made a round of inspections aboard the ship. The Great White Shark had already moved far from shore, and the news had spread.

The honorable captain of the Great White Shark, Arthur, a lord of the Tudor Dynasty, had left Rhine Island and returned to the open sea.

News from Rhine Island had also spread out from Blue Bay Island.

Anyone with good connections could easily hear that the treasury on Rhine Island had been robbed and that a rare piece of contraband was missing.

Governor Drew was furious. The Rhine Island fleet was patrolling the nearby waters and thoroughly inspecting passing merchant ships.

"By coincidence," Captain Arthur had sent word that he wanted to hold a pirate gathering, meet at sea, and discuss a "big score."

Back in the captain's cabin, Arthur tapped his fingers on the table and asked Parrot Gro, "Do you know about pond frogs?"

"Oh! Honored captain, Parrot Gro knows of those vile creatures."

Parrot Gro launched into a long-winded speech. "Pond frogs are the devil's agents. They possess wicked toxins and bizarre abilities to change their appearance."

"The wickedness of the Frog Demons is beyond anyone's imagination. Their slimy, slippery skin, their long tongues..."

Arthur tapped the table, cutting Parrot Gro off. "Are pond frogs supernatural creatures?"

"Not all of them. Ordinary frogs aren't, but some frogs are demons!"

"Tell me how to deal with pond frogs."

"Ordinary pond frogs have excellent camouflage, but their protective layer is very thin. It's easy to pierce.

"If the temperature is especially low, the water inside their bodies freezes, which will pierce their organs as well.

"These ugly creatures also fear salt. They can't survive in seawater for long."

Parrot Gro sounded quite upset, as if he had a strong aversion to frogs.

Arthur picked up on Parrot Gro's feelings and asked, "Do you have something against frogs?"

"Honored captain, you can't imagine what disgusting Frog Demons are capable of!"

"Your loyal navigator, Parrot Gro, once sailed aboard a ghost ship, and those wretched Frog Demons betrayed us!"

"They brought the most wicked plague, one that could invade the soul, and countless frogs covered the ghost ship."

"Then how did you escape?"

Parrot Gro seemed to shudder. He answered very reluctantly, "I hid inside a frog's mouth...the lowliest, most witless kind."

"After the Frog Demons left, I fell into the sea and drifted there until sailors hauled me aboard again."

Arthur rubbed his chin. Parrot Gro had quite a rich sailing history—a "salty old sea dog" with plenty of real-world experience.

Tapping on the table, he suddenly said:

"From now on, write down your experiences in a logbook. I'll get you a book and some ink."

"Honored captain, your loyal navigator will obey your command...hmm?"

Parrot Gro was at a loss. How could a statue without hands or feet write a logbook?

"Right, you don't need to worry. Just dictate it."

This statue, which could navigate at sea, still had untapped potential.

After dealing with Parrot Gro, Arthur first used Dream Entry to acquire a new state, preparing to pit his wits against the pond frog on White Sand Island.

Blue Bay Island, Scimitar Bar.

The enthusiastic barmaid danced on the stage. The bloody rituals of the Black Devil had little effect on Blue Bay Island.

A man and a woman sat hidden in a corner, savoring high-proof rum.

"You've gotten more than I expected."

The woman blinked at the man. She hadn't expected the treasury on Rhine Island to be hiding a piece of contraband, too.

The man's expression darkened. He stifled his anger and growled, his voice barely audible:

"Why did you kill James?"

"We had almost the whole night to get out of these waters. Why kill James and expose our actions?"

The woman licked her lips with her delicate tongue and gave a strange smile. "What can I say? Will is a coward."

"James was the fiercest of all the captains! His blood was more potent than an ordinary man's, like fresh rum!"

Sky Thief Massar pulled his hat down to hide his face, his tone impatient. "If anything like that happens again, our partnership is over."

"If you'd accepted my invitation, wouldn't all this have been easier?"

Massar gazed at her exquisite face, and a stirring rose within him. But when he thought of her Sequence, he held back all his desire.

"Rhine Island has gone mad. They're inspecting every merchant ship. We'll have to stay on Blue Bay Island for a while."

"Will you keep me company?"

"That's enough! The Black Devil only just stirred things up. Do you know how many priests and supernatural beings are hiding here?"

Massar shot the woman a cold glance, then gradually disappeared into the shadows.

Before long, a drunken sailor put his arm around the woman and took her to a secluded inn.