In the blink of an eye, Friday arrived. Odys had an appointment with Abel, a naval officer of Feynapotter, to trade the Ghost this very morning.
Tim, the officer sent by the Loen Navy to handle this matter, expressed grave concern over this. To avoid giving the game away, however, Odys did not let Tim participate in the conversation and even had Rupert keep an eye on the officer.
The location for the transaction remained the tavern in town, and Odys warmly spread his arms. "Welcome, my friend."
Abel smiled with a hint of reserve. "Hello."
Then he added, "I saw the Argo in the port."
"Indeed." Odys smiled. "This is also to show respect for this transaction. Didn't the Feynapotter Navy also send a fleet?"
Accompanying Abel this time was a fleet composed of five Feynapotter warships. Among them were a ship-of-the-line with sails, a large cruiser, and three small cruisers.
Warships were generally taller and larger than merchant and cargo ships. The ship-of-the-line, in particular, had masts about a third taller than normal ocean-going vessels and featured three gun decks capable of carrying one hundred and six cannons, resembling a mobile fortress on the sea.
Although cruisers were somewhat smaller than ships-of-the-line, they were faster. A large cruiser could also be equipped with sixty-eight cannons, while small cruisers carried thirty-six.
This was the reason pirates fled the moment they saw the navy. Even a large pirate ship encountering a small navy cruiser held no advantage whatsoever in terms of either cannon count or crew size.
Odys saying this was tantamount to a direct sarcasm aimed at Abel: weren't you also not trusting of me?
Abel, however, acted as if he had not heard, instead bringing up another issue. "Before the transaction proceeds, I hope we can discuss the