What mattered most to a person?
Some believed it was eating and drinking.
Some believed it was love and romance.
Others believed it was giving everything they had to make life better for everyone.
Of course, some also believed they lived solely to make everyone else miserable.
Those who lived for food and drink were ordinary folk.
Those who lived for love were lovesick fools.
Those who gave everything were saints.
Those who made others miserable were villains.
And when ordinary folk, lovesick fools, saints, and villains all came together in one person, the result was an everyday person like us.
So, what mattered most to an everyday person?
Staying alive!
Staying alive mattered most!
Old John understood this well, so he dropped to his knees without hesitation.
For this old pirate, who had first gone to sea toward the end of the Silver Age, countless brushes with danger and countless narrow escapes had taught him that dignity, honor, and everything else were unimportant.
Only life mattered.
Only by staying alive could he eat and drink, love and romance, give to others, or torment them.
Arthur was not surprised.
When he had arranged for the man to learn his "identity," Arthur had already guessed how he might react.
Of course, he had also prepared a response-
"Captain John, you have more than thirty years of experience at sea. Would you consider serving as boatswain aboard my master's Eastern?
After all, my master's hidden enemies may target this ship.
We need a loyal, reliable helper to see her safely through twenty voyages."
Grindelwald smiled at Old John, who was kneeling before him.
It was a warm, infectious smile.
Old John breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the request.
The old pirate had originally thought the Medium of South Los would