Seeing Alger leading the group aboard the ghost ship, Morien raised an eyebrow beneath his mask.
He remembered that Alger had killed the original captain of the ghost ship on the very day Klein's first Tarot Club gathering ended.
And this period happened to be around the time of the Clover.
In other words, Alger had only joined the Tarot Club not long ago.
Guh, why wasn't I there?
I was clearly here first.
I was about to become the resentment of a fate that had not been chosen.
Looking at Alger in the distance, Morien waved in greeting.
"Ah, senbei, Ciallo~(∠・ω<)⌒★."
Alger frowned, realizing that things were not simple.
This voice had appeared directly in his mind. He had never heard that pronunciation before, yet he could understand it.
Hmm... it even came with an incomprehensible emoticon.
For some reason, it felt a little disgusting.
Was this a mental attack?
How insidious.
After a brief consideration, Alger concluded that there was no need to start a conflict with the other party here.
He had only come because he saw a passenger ship in turmoil and wanted to see whether he could earn some extra money.
Since the other vessel had Beyonders aboard, he had to weigh the risks.
He immediately raised his left hand, intending to signal the other sailors behind him to "turn back." At the same time, he slipped his other hand into his coat pocket and gripped something.
The only thing troubling him now was whether making the sailors behind him return empty-handed would affect his position as "acting captain," which he had only just taken.
Thus, he hesitated to issue his next order.
At that moment, Morien's voice appeared in his mind once more.
"Your name is Alger?" Morien asked as he looked at the blue-haired captain of the ghost ship.
Alger's brows twitched slightly, but he neither denied it nor answered.
He had not expected anyone to recognize him.
"Heh." Seeing Alger remain silent, Morien chuckled. Standing along the side of the ship, he took two steps forward and rested a hand on the railing. "How about we have a private chat?"
He beckoned.
"Come on, come on."
Watching Morien's actions, Alger noticed some unrest among the crew behind him.
Because only Alger could hear Morien's voice, the other crew members behind Alger saw only a strange masked Monster standing at the bow, staring at their acting captain and occasionally making odd gestures.
And their captain seemed to have an unspoken understanding with the masked Monster, easily grasping what he meant.
The crew exchanged looks.
Wasn't this obviously an undercover agent?
Alger paused for two seconds before answering.
"You said you wanted me to come over for a private conversation, but your voice is already appearing directly in my mind. What difference is there from a private conversation?"
He directly exposed Morien's actions in front of everyone.
If he did not clarify things, Alger felt that the other crew members of the Blue Avenger might join forces and throw him into the sea when he turned around.
Morien spread his hands, shook his head, and made a sighing gesture.
"Honestly, I just wanted to make a deal with you."
"How could you blame a mute?"
Morien used the skill Moral Kidnapping.
It dealt 0 damage.
Alger remained unmoved.
His expression was easy to read.
Really?
I don't believe you.
Alger had already decided to leave.
He had been put on the spot the moment they met. There was no way he could play along.
Since the plan to take advantage of the chaos had not been carried out, there should not be any irreconcilable conflict between them...
"Are you interested in the Potion formula for Wind-blessed?" Morien's voice instantly stopped Alger in his tracks.
But Alger was not excited. He was tense.
Alger was not surprised that the other party knew he was a Beyonder of the Sailor Pathway, considering Morien could directly call him by name.
If Morien had proposed trading a Sequence 8 or Sequence 7 Potion formula, Alger would not have been surprised.
But he already possessed the Potion formula for Sequence 7, Seafarer.
He had obtained this Potion formula less than a day ago and had not even had time to memorize it.
Yet the other party already knew.
The person before him knew not only his Pathway and Sequence, but even that he possessed a Sequence 7 Potion formula.
Alger felt cold sweat forming in his palms, but his expression remained unchanged.
Though tense, he had to admit that Morien's proposal had genuinely piqued his interest.
He gave the crew behind him a "wait" gesture, then walked two steps forward to the side of the ship.
"What do you want?" he asked in a low voice.
"I need a Nightmare Demon Eye cornea, a piece of Cursed Crystal, seventy milliliters of Nightmare Demon Eye pus, and ten grams of a Cursed Crystal byproduct," Morien immediately replied.
For the rest, he still needed a sheet of paper recording someone else's secret and thirteen drops of rosemary essential oil.
He could handle those himself. It was easy; there was essential oil aboard the ship.
This was the Potion formula for Mystery Pryer.
Morien had once read Cuttlefish's public account and seen the Third Blasphemy Slate, so he knew the formulas and abilities of all twenty-two Pathways.
Originally, he did not have such a good memory.
But after merging with three versions of himself, even without counting any Beyonder powers, his memory had become three times that of an ordinary human.
With the mask's enhancement, digging out a little knowledge from his mind was not difficult.
Nightmare Demon Eye...
Alger repeated the name inwardly.
Which Pathway's Potion ingredient was that?
Alger silently pondered.
"No need to guess. This is the Potion formula for Mystery Pryer." Morien smiled. "There are two other ingredients: a sheet of paper recording someone else's secret and thirteen drops of rosemary essential oil."
"It's not particularly valuable information anyway, so I'll give it to you."
Having received a free Potion formula, Alger was not pleased. Instead, his expression became slightly uglier.
The free ones were the most expensive.
Alger had always believed this famous saying of Emperor Roselle's.
Setting aside whether the formula was real or fake, he did not need it at all.
But a formula was not a tangible object that could be returned.
Morien had directly stuffed the contents into his mind. He could not exactly ask the other party to brainwash him and make him forget the formula.
As his thoughts raced, Alger immediately made a decision.
"You mean you want to exchange a Sequence 7 Seafarer Potion formula for some materials?" Alger leaned forward, gripping the railing with both hands as the words came naturally.
Sequence 7?
Morien froze for less than a second before understanding.
Alger wanted to keep this Sequence 6 formula for himself.
If the deal truly went through, Alger would hand over the Sequence 7 formula he had acquired through a special channel to the other crew members.
That way, he could not only advance to Sequence 7 openly and legitimately without worrying about an investigation by the Church of Storms, but also prepare in advance for his next advancement.
Morien raised a hand to adjust his mask, then smiled and nodded.
"Yes, but I also want a little gold pound."
He made a "just a little" gesture.
He was driving up the price.
But Alger knew very well that Morien had understood his meaning.
Alger revealed a satisfied smile.
Talking to smart people was comfortable.
"I need to discuss it with my crew. After all, these are shared assets of the ship, not mine alone."
He even wanted to use the ship's collective property to buy this formula!
Holy hell, why was Mr. Hanged Man so bad?!