Damir Port

Although he had been joking, Kronos took care afterward to disguise himself as a curious young man on his first voyage.

Benjamin was the only person in the entire fleet who knew Kronos and Gner. But precisely because Kronos did not trust Benjamin's acting skills, he had deliberately chosen not to travel on the same ship as him.

The merchant ship was not as interesting as a passenger ship. Everyone aboard was a worker, either working or resting, so naturally, no one had time to chat with the two of them.

At least they were not short of food or drink. Bread and vegetables made up only a small portion of each meal, with seafood taking center stage. It was all exceptionally fresh-hauled aboard one minute and thrown into the pot the next, before it had even finished dying.

Although only reasonably well-off families on the mainland could afford this seafood, Kronos could see disgust on the sailors' faces at every meal. They were thoroughly sick of eating it.

Cheap beer also served as the main source of drinking water aboard the ship. Ordinary water would go bad after a few days, while beer kept longer.

There were colonial islands along the entire route where they could replenish their supplies. Even the longest stretch, from Pritz Harbor to Damir Port-the leg they were currently sailing-only required about four days' worth.

But out at sea, who knew what might change? It paid to be prepared for all sorts of things.

Kronos had little interest in the cheap beer and only took a few sips when he was truly thirsty. Gner was different; he practically wanted to tie himself to the beer barrel.

Because of that, while Kronos had barely exchanged a few words with anyone aboard, Gner had already become one of the gang.

Kronos was not envious, though. These people were of little use to his acting plan.

Honestly, the main audience for acting as a Warlock ought to be the elderly and children. That sounded like he was planning to swindle people, but there was no helping it. Adults were more guarded.

The colonial islands along the route were indeed a good choice. These less affluent areas had more children left behind by their parents and elderly people living alone.

The towns had churches belonging to the Church of Storms, making them unsuitable, but the neighboring villages posed no such concerns.

The merchant ships would probably remain in port for three to five days, purchasing supplies while selling goods brought from Backlund.

Back in Backlund, Benjamin had purchased not only high-end goods but also plenty of everyday necessities, such as matches, cigarettes, and sugar.

The high-end goods were intended for colonial army officers and major landowners on the Southern Continent, while the everyday necessities were for these colonial islands.

The islands were too small for anyone to build factories there, so most everyday necessities had to be brought in by merchant ships.

That was why the ports had people specifically watching for ships. As soon as a merchant ship arrived, word would spread across the island. Over those three to five days, practically every household on the island would come to buy something.

Those few days would be Kronos's opportunity to act as a Warlock. By the time word reached the church in town, he would already have left aboard the merchant ship.

They were fairly lucky on this voyage, enjoying clear skies and good weather throughout. For the rest of the journey, they would have somewhere to stop every day or two, so storms would be less of a concern.

Thus, the voyage passed without incident, and the ships entered Damir Port one after another.

The arrival of all seven ships in the fleet caused quite a stir in the harbor.

This was a large merchant fleet, capable of bringing enough supplies to keep the whole island free of worries for a month.

As the workers unloaded the cargo, Kronos and Gner disembarked as well.

At the sight of them, Benjamin immediately moved to approach. After all, under their fabricated identities, Kronos was Benjamin's relative, so a conversation between them would not arouse suspicion.

"Klein, what are you two planning to do?" Benjamin had not forgotten Kronos's alias, but his tone still carried considerable respect.

That made Kronos very glad he had chosen not to share a ship with him. Otherwise, their cover would have been blown long ago.

"Which way are the bars on this island? We're going to ask around for information." Places with plenty of people naturally offered information to overhear, and in a busy transportation hub like this port, restaurants and bars drew the biggest crowds.

Benjamin naturally knew this, so he pointed them in a direction and gave them detailed instructions.

"All right, we'll be back in three days. Just focus on selling your goods. Don't worry about us." After memorizing the route, Kronos and Gner left the harbor.

The street of bars was indeed nearby, and they reached it after only a short walk. Looking at the several bars before him, Kronos chose the Bird and Fish, which had appeared in the original novel.

At least he knew what he was dealing with here. There were only two possibilities: the owner, White Shark, had yet to establish ties with pirates and was still an ordinary person, or he had already done so and was merely a low-sequence Beyonder. Either way, Kronos could handle him.

What if I picked some random bar and ran into a powerhouse? Better to play it safe.

Upon entering the bar, Kronos frowned at the usual clamor.

He turned to Gner and said, "Ask around about places nearby worth seeing, and whether there are any reasonably large villages outside town. You're better suited to this sort of place. I'm not."

Gner immediately assured him it would be no problem. In a bar, he was truly a fish in water.

With Gner helping, Kronos ordered a beer and tucked himself away in a corner, quietly listening to the information coming from all sides.

"Have you heard? Some woman's proclaimed herself a Pirate General. Calls herself Vice Admiral Iceberg. Don't know her actual name. Apparently, she only has one ship, the Golden Dream, and doesn't even have a pirate crew. Isn't she afraid the other Pirate Generals will tear her apart?"

"You don't know shit. It's a good thing if this Vice Admiral Iceberg becomes a Pirate General. They don't kill or plunder. I hear they just hunt for treasure. I actually hope she succeeds."

Judging by that conversation, the current timeline at sea was just when Vice Admiral Iceberg, Edwina Edwards, had become a Pirate General. The rule at sea was that if you thought you qualified, you flew your flag and accepted the other Pirate Generals' trials.

If you withstood their attacks, the pirates would recognize your title. If you failed, then sorry-being buried at sea was the best ending you could hope for.

Based on the timing, Admiral of Stars Cattleya should also have become a Pirate General by now, though he did not know whether she was an admiral or a vice admiral yet.

Only exceptionally powerful Pirate Generals were called admirals, such as Admiral of Hell Ludwell and Admiral of Blood Senior. They were already admirals now; Kronos had heard their names back in Backlund.

As for Vice Admiral Hurricane, he could forget about him. In the original novel, he was the only one to become a Pirate General by relying on a Beyonder item. At this point, he ought to be an even smaller fry.

"I feel like there's been a lot less news about pirates lately. Did something happen?"

"Huh? You don't know? Admiral Amyrius Rieveldt was transferred to become supreme commander of the navy in the Central Sonia Sea at the start of the year. Then he crushed one pirate crew after another. That's why things have been so quiet."

Kronos knew about this, since Philip had told him. Parliament was also planning to have Admiral Amyrius coordinate with the colonial army on the Southern Continent to attack the Feysac Empire's colonies from both sides, avenging the Konoto Sea Battle of 1338.

Although nothing more had come of it afterward, Amyrius at least commanded great prestige at sea now. It made sense. As a sequence 4 Imperative Mage, would Amyrius, the Weaver of Laws, really be afraid of these Pirate Generals?

Since Kronos had stayed tucked away in the corner the whole time, no swindlers or drunks came to bother him.

Before long, Gner finished gathering information and returned to Kronos's side.

Kronos did not want to discuss serious matters with Gner in such a noisy place, so he gave him a signal, and the two left the bar one after the other.

"How did it go? Find anything?" Kronos asked, standing by the roadside.

"Yes. The island's only sizable village is in the center. Head south from here, and there's an extinct volcano. That's also what people consider worth seeing."

"There are natural currents of warm air in the caves around the extinct volcano, which makes them suitable for drying cured meat and things like that. The distinctive flavor fetches a good price, and that's why the village exists."

The information sounded familiar. It seemed the original novel had described it: the cured meat dried here carried an aura of the Spirit World, so the extinct volcano might have an opening connected to the Spirit World.

The place was certainly worth seeing. Even without going to the village to act as a Warlock, the volcano alone warranted a visit.

Damir Island was small, so although it was already afternoon, if they set off now, they could reach the village that night.

Without further hesitation, Kronos rented a carriage, and they headed south with Gner driving.

The whole of Damir Island was smaller than Backlund, so they spotted the extinct volcano not long after heading south. From then on, as long as they kept heading toward it, they would not get lost.

The entire journey took less than four hours. It was only early evening when they spotted the village at the foot of the extinct volcano.

They could smell the aroma of cured meat from far away. Since the village made its living from cured meat, plenty hung outside every household.

Gner had intended to find a family to stay with, rest, and have a meal while they were at it.

But Kronos stopped him, then explained with an awkward expression, "Say a traveler who stayed here just the day before suddenly turned into a Warlock with special powers the next day. Wouldn't that be a little hard to believe?"