"Understood!"
Toward evening, Danitz returned with One-Eyed Kedge.
"Captain, we've... we've recruited everyone."
One-Eyed Kedge panted. "Fifty-eight in total. That's pretty much the maximum the Iron Hook can hold."
Danitz stood beside him with his arms folded. "Heh, fifty pounds just for coming aboard. The moment those paupers heard that, they swarmed over like sharks scenting blood."
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Were there no better-quality recruits?"
"That's not it."
Danitz grinned. "With such a commotion, some pirate ships were bound to send people to see what was going on. I suspect there must be people from the Pirate Admirals, or even the Four Kings, mixed in among them."
"It doesn't matter. Since we have enough people, we're setting sail tonight!"
Night quietly fell. Nothing could be seen across the vast, empty sea in the darkness, giving people a sense of dread, as though it would swallow everything.
Bayam, however, grew livelier still. Within half a day, everyone had heard about One-Eyed Kedge's "recruitment." Most adopted a wait-and-see attitude, wanting to find out just what the Iron Hook was playing at-
As for their claim that they had discovered the sunken Laurel, few believed it. After all, these days, anyone assembling a fleet to set sail had to mention a few of the sea's treasures.
Who couldn't talk big?
As the Iron Hook quietly docked, the fifty-odd pirates who had successfully "applied" boarded one after another. A head count then revealed over a dozen extra people.
Ketch wasn't surprised in the slightest. Acting as though he knew nothing, he ordered the crew to set sail, then quickly assigned duties to the new crew members according to the list from that day's recruitment.
Edward sat in the captain's cabin with Lilith in his arms, quite satisfied.
Soon, the Iron Hook left