After changing his appearance, Raphael arrived at a small island in the eastern Fog Sea.
The Fog Sea was very different from the Berserk Sea. The islands of the Rorsted Islands in the Berserk Sea were clustered relatively close together, and several were large islands.
In the Fog Sea, however, only the Oradek Islands were relatively concentrated. Elsewhere, there might be hundreds of nautical miles between one island or cluster of islands and the next. Thus, the Republic of Intis, which effectively controlled the Fog Sea, had developed it far less than the Rorsted Islands. Development under such conditions simply was not cost-effective.
As a result, many islands in the Fog Sea were actually controlled by pirates. To save on administrative costs, Intis gave their captains positions such as mayor and left them to fend for themselves.
The island Raphael had come to was controlled by pirates. It was relatively large compared with others in the surrounding waters, with a reasonably prosperous port and many natives living on it.
Here, the captain of the Pirate Crew might wield even more power than a king.
Still, to maintain their rule, they did uphold a basic level of order.
Raphael observed the streets of the island's port for a while, then entered a bar and pointed to order a glass of the local specialty beer.
As he drank, he looked toward a table near the counter. Three patrons were resting there. One lay back in his chair with a hat covering his face, seemingly asleep.
Of the other two, one stared blankly at the glass in front of him, while the other inspected his revolver.
Naturally, an island like this had no gun-control laws.
Raphael took a sip of beer and looked toward the window, where a bearded middle-aged man who looked