Lorne glanced into the shadows on either side out of the corner of his eye without breaking stride.
"Kuina, watch the left. A few little rats have started following us," Lorne instructed quietly.
Kuina held the hilt of Wado Ichimonji and answered softly, "Understood, boss."
She did not look back, merely scanning the surrounding alleys out of the corner of her eye.
"Do you need me to deal with them now?" Kuina asked in an extremely low voice.
Lorne shook his head slightly and picked up a large wooden barrel he had just bought.
"No. Let's go to the shops ahead first and finish buying our fresh water and food supplies," Lorne replied.
They entered a fairly large general store filled with all sorts of sailing supplies.
"Shopkeeper, pack up all these dehydrated vegetables and compressed biscuits and deliver them to the third berth at the harbor," Lorne told the shopkeeper behind the counter.
The shopkeeper looked at Lorne's tall, powerfully built frame, his face wreathed in an ingratiating smile.
"Of course, sir. That comes to fifty thousand Beli. We'll send someone to deliver it right away," the shopkeeper said obsequiously.
Lorne took a stack of Beli from inside his clothes and handed it over, his expression calm.
Watching from beside him, Kuina asked with some curiosity, "Boss, why are we buying so many dehydrated vegetables?"
"The New World has an extremely harsh environment. In some waters, you might not see an island for months," Lorne explained.
"If the crew don't get enough vitamins, they can easily develop scurvy," Lorne added.
Kuina nodded at the lesson and silently committed this knowledge to memory.
"Besides, Ryan and Bakel are both bottomless pits. If we don't prepare enough food, I'm afraid they'll start gnawing on the planks," Lorne joked.
Kuina could not