[Golden Tangerine]

When Dunn returned to the ship with Hans and the other five sailors, Annie was talking aboard with a potbellied middle-aged man.

"Our captain is back so soon!" Seeing Dunn return, Annie immediately greeted him with a bright smile.

"I'll be off, then, Miss Annie." After seeing Dunn return, the middle-aged man talking with Annie took his leave of her and departed.

"Yes, these six are the sailors I just recruited."

"This is Annie, our first mate and chief navigator. Beside her is Green, our helmsman."

While introducing the two sides, Dunn noticed two new additions hanging at Annie's waist—a beautifully crafted firearm and a Guard Sword.

The Guard Sword had a slender, lightweight blade and could be used one-handed. Its grip was long enough for two hands. Its moderate length made it easy to carry, and it was versatile.

But the Guard Sword's blade was too thin and could easily break with prolonged use. It also took a certain amount of training to wield it deftly.

So this kind of weapon was only used by many agility-based classes.

Even Green beside her now held a distinctively designed longsword.

One glance told him these three weapons were no ordinary pieces. They were most likely alchemical or Enchanting weapons.

This world's Transcendent Equipment had no bewildering assortment of grades. Everything at legendary rank or above was collectively called legendary equipment, while everything below was divided into alchemical and Enchanting equipment.

This distinction was not based on the equipment's rank. Alchemical equipment was Transcendent Equipment crafted by [Alchemists], while Enchanting equipment was existing equipment imbued with magical effects by [Wizards].

Neither type was inherently superior to the other. Both possessed power beyond mundane equipment.

Dunn merely glanced at them without paying much attention, then looked at the departing middle-aged man and asked, "Who was that?"

"He was a merchant who came to buy our cargo. We sold the lot for 880 gold coins," Annie boasted to Dunn with a bright smile.

"Mm, good."

"Oh, the ship's freshwater converter was damaged in the earlier battle, so I bought a new one. That cost 100 gold coins."

"Mm."

The importance of a freshwater converter to seafaring went without saying.

Ships that could not afford freshwater converters could only store fresh water in wooden barrels on long voyages, but that water would spoil and stink before long.

The crew could only mix alcohol into the water to drink it, or simply drink alcohol instead of water.

Never mind Annie, a pampered noble young lady-even Dunn could not stand that.

Freshwater converters had been developed by wizards after the start of the Age of Exploration. They worked by using magic to continuously turn seawater into fresh water.

With a freshwater converter, not only was drinking water no longer a problem, there was even enough for some people to bathe.

"I also bought all kinds of vegetables and fruit to fill the cold storage. That cost 10 gold coins in total."

"Mm."

"And the ship's cannons. Although the [Oathkeeper] didn't take them, eight were destroyed in the battle and needed replacing. I also replenished the ammunition we used up."

"Mm."

"I replenished our reserves of magic crystals, too. Most islands don't sell magic crystals to outsiders, after all..." Magic crystals were crystallized magical power that could supply energy to certain magical constructs. Their existence allowed those constructs to be used by people who were not wizards.

The freshwater converter and the ship's cold storage, for instance, both needed magic crystals to power them.

"Mm."

"And..."

"Stop. Just tell me how many gold coins are left." With a slight headache, Dunn interrupted Annie's accounting.

"After buying all those assorted supplies, you now owe me over two hundred gold coins." Annie was still smiling brightly.

"Mm, keep the remaining money with you."

"Didn't you hear me?! I said, you-still-owe-me-two-hundred-gold-coins." At Dunn's words, Annie immediately flared up. The balance is already negative. What are you leaving with me, thin air?

"Also, find us a decent cook."

"You'd dare use a cook I found? Aren't you afraid I'll poison you?"

"You can try."

Dunn gazed calmly at Annie. The two stared at each other for a long while before Annie finally gave in. "Fine, fine. If you don't care, what have I got to be afraid of?"

A mere two hundred gold coins. Since you dare let me control the finances, I'll get it back sooner or later.

"Oh, and look into the [Golden Tangerine] while you're at it." Annie clearly had some connections on the island. There was no reason not to use a ready-made intelligence network.

"..."

Annie moved quickly. Before evening, she brought back two cooks, one older and one younger. The older one was Martin, a smiling fat man with the first-tier class [Cook]. The younger one was his apprentice, Hall.

That night, the crew of the [Black Pearl] tasted food prepared by a professional [Cook].

Dunn took it well enough, but when had the other crew members ever eaten anything so good in their lives? Every last one immediately raised both hands in support of Martin becoming the ship's cook.

Not that their support was worth a damn.

On a ship making long voyages, the cook's position was not to be underestimated. They essentially counted among the officers.

"The [Golden Tangerine] is a merchant ship belonging to the Cloverleaf Chamber of Commerce. It carries sixteen cannons and around fifty sailors. Its captain is a second-tier [Navigator], and its first mate is a second-tier [Wavechaser]." Over dinner, Annie told Dunn the information she had gathered about the [Golden Tangerine].

Although Annie did not know why Dunn had set his sights on the [Golden Tangerine], she had still done her best to gather information about it.

They were pirates now, anyway. One target was as good as another.

Yes, they were going to rob the [Golden Tangerine]. The moment Dunn asked for information about the [Golden Tangerine], Annie understood that he intended to attack them.

The complement aboard the [Golden Tangerine] was essentially representative of the usual standard for merchant ships plying the seas. On an ordinary merchant ship, a second-tier [Navigator] was most likely the captain.

The captain handled navigation, while the first mate handled combat.

Old Quill of the [Giant Tooth] had been a [Navigator].

Although a [Navigator] was not much of a fighter compared with others of the same tier, the class was indispensable at sea.

Add one or two second-tier combat professionals, and that was the standard complement on the seas these days.

That was not to say only ships with this complement could go to sea. After all, without professionals of the third tier or above, cannons were more important in naval combat. Very few second-tier professionals could ignore the threat of cannon fire.

Aside from boarding actions, the main role of second-tier professionals was internal.

Out on the vast sea, the crew aboard a ship could sometimes be more frightening than pirates.

As for pirates, although [Navigators] were indispensable to them too, the rule of the strong mattered more among pirates. Only the strongest could become captain.

"When does the [Golden Tangerine] leave port?"

"First thing tomorrow morning."

"Everyone, get ready. We set sail tomorrow."