Anderson, who was enjoying his cheese and tapioca bread, looked up at Danitz and nodded thoughtfully, saying:
"I don't know why, but I don't really want to leave West Balam. Haha, now that I've come all this way, how can a treasure Hunter go back empty-handed?"
"In that vast jungle, within various abandoned temples, lies gold, jewels, antiques, and perhaps even wondrous artifacts, awaiting our rescue!"
Danitz pursed his lips and gulped down the rest of the "Guadal" in his cup.
This is a beverage made from berries native to West Balam. It is orange-yellow in color, sweet and sour, refreshing and thirst-quenching, and contains a certain amount of caffeine, which can help combat fatigue and make you more alert.
After setting down the glass, picking up a napkin, wiping his mouth, Danitz finally let out a soft "ah" and said:
I have a feeling you're up to something.
"I hope so too," Anderson said with a smile, not minding at all.
He ate coffee with his breakfast.
In West Balam, there are several excellent coffee-producing areas, whose reputation is only slightly less than that of Feynapotter's highland coffee, the highland coffee of the Southern Continent, and the Fermer coffee of the Paz Valley near the Star Plateau.
Before Danitz could speak again, Anderson said with a smile:
"Isn't this a good thing? I provide protection for free, and you do my translation; we both benefit."
Considering that he was only a Sequence 7 and was wanted by one faction after another, Danitz inexplicably felt that Anderson's words made some sense.
He coughed lightly and said:
"But there are times when I will ask you to step aside."
"If you say 'please,' I have no problem," Anderson said casually.
Danitz immediately donned his cloak and headed towards the hotel entrance, ready to begin today's investigation.
During the journey, he suddenly blurted out:
Have you ever had this experience? You often dream of an Angel descending and wrapping you in layers of wings.
"No, it's not just in dreams; I sometimes have the same hallucinations when I'm awake."
Anderson glanced at the boxing gloves Danitz was wearing, pondered for a few seconds, and then smiled and said:
Do you believe in some Hidden Existence?
"Or have you come into contact with any ancient things?"
Danitz's expression froze, and he forced a smile, saying:
"If it were as simple as you say, I would have guessed the reason long ago!"
As he spoke, he brushed past the three men who had entered through the hotel entrance and walked out.
Anderson habitually glanced at passersby to assess the surroundings, so he casually glanced at the three men and found that they were a master and two servants. The master was tall, with a brownish complexion and soft features. He seemed to be of mixed race with the Balam and Loen people. His clothing was also more in the style of the Northern Continent, with a silk top hat, a black suit, and a gold-inlaid cane.
One of the servants was a typical local, seemingly from a plantation, carrying his master's spare cane and leather suitcase; the other was also of mixed race, with a fleshy face, loose clothing, and a rapier at his waist, as if he were acting as a bodyguard.
Anderson casually looked away and followed Danitz onto the street.
He pointed with great interest to the coffins, some pulled by horses and others carried by people, each with a different design, and said:
"Want to try this?"
"It's quite interesting. Once you get used to it, you'll find that death isn't such a scary thing. Maybe one day you'll be able to push open the lid and stand up again."
Danitz glanced sideways at the strange vehicles and shook his head without hesitation:
"As a pirate, one must more or less have faith in the ' Lord of Storms ' and avoid certain things, one of which is staying away from coffins."
"I'm different, I have no taboos." Anderson casually took out a few "Delixi" coins and bought a few newspapers from a newsboy selling them on the street.
It must be said that in terms of the newspaper boy system, the major cities in the Southern Continent are no worse than those in the Northern Continent. After all, labor is cheaper, and there are more children in families that need subsidies.
As Danitz walked toward the street corner, looking for carriages catering to foreigners, he took a newspaper from Anderson and quickly flipped through it.
Suddenly, he noticed a news article:
"... The infamous pirate, Ludwell, who called himself ' Admiral of Hell,' was killed by the mad adventurer Gehrman Sparrow, and his ' Black Tulip ' and entire fleet were taken over by Mirela, who called herself ' The Death Messenger '..."
"This..." Danitz's mouth opened slowly, and remained open for a long time.
He finally understood why Gehrman Sparrow wanted to bring his Little Spirituality Religion members here!
This Lunatic actually killed Ludwell, the leader of the Seven Pirate Generals!
After about ten seconds, Danitz, with a blank expression, handed the newspaper to Anderson next to him:
Look at this.
Anderson took the newspaper with a smile and quickly glanced through it.
After a brief silence, he whistled and chuckled:
That guy should get a new nickname.
" The Pirate Admiral Killer!"
Danitz dared not nod, and instead sighed:
"When I first met him, I already thought he was scary, but I never imagined he would be this scary."
At that moment, he recalled his attempt to recruit Gehrman Sparrow as Sailor on the Golden Dream ".
Meanwhile, in the hotel they had just left, Klein had checked into a deluxe room and stood by the window, looking down at the two " Hunter " who were walking carelessly.
He rubbed the nail on his cuff, unfolded the letter paper, and picked up his pen to write:
"... My initial suspicion is that the spirit possessing Ince Zangwill is a ' Hunter ' pathway Evil Spirit; you can investigate further in this direction."
"... Enclosed with the letter was a Beyonder Characteristic of a ' Spirit Warlock,' which originated from a poor, neglected person whom I Grazing and promised to return to the Church of Evernight."
East Balam, Leonard was just about to attend the morning meeting, suddenly saw Angel messenger carrying four blond, red-eyed heads appear before him.
Having become numb to such things, he took the letter, opened it, and glanced at it, somewhat astonished to find an item inside that resembled a dazzling night sky.
"This is..." Leonard vaguely understood what the item was, and quickly unfolded the letter to read it.
Twenty seconds later, he sighed slowly and muttered to himself:
"Indeed, it possesses Beyonder Characteristic."
" Klein is still quite friendly to the church and the ' Nighthawks '..."
He was quite pleased. He took out two small, segmented, dead, transparent insects, put them in the envelope, summoned Gehrman Sparrow's messenger again, handed them over, and included a gold coin.
After finishing this task, Leonard loosened the top button of his shirt, walked out of the room, and headed underground.
On the way, he met Daly Simone.
Still dressed as a " Spirit Medium," Daly looked ahead and asked quite naturally:
Any new leads?
"... Evil Spirit suspected to be a ' Hunter ' pathway." Leonard paused for two seconds, ultimately choosing not to conceal this matter.
Daly nodded almost imperceptibly, and said thoughtfully:
"That might very well be a provocative instinct, deliberately leaving us clues along the way; of course, this could contain some misleading elements."
Knock, knock, knock, the door to the captain's cabin of the Blue Avenger " was knocked on.
"Come in," Alger said in a deep voice, putting down the brass sextant in his hand.
A Sailor opened the door, glanced back, and, urged on by his companions, hesitantly entered the room, clenched his right fist against his left chest, and saluted.
" Storm above!"
When Alger responded, he forced a smile and said:
"Captain, recently many pirates and merchant Sailor have said that they have found some valuable items, even gold, in the ruins of Bansy Harbor."
"We don't seem to have any particularly important missions lately, so we were thinking, why don't we make another trip to Bansy? It's such a bustling port; even if it's been searched multiple times, there should still be a lot of things left behind..."
Alger listened without expression, then pondered for several seconds before saying:
"I understand how you feel. How about this: we'll sail towards Bansy Harbor, but without a predetermined destination. If nothing else happens along the way, we'll stay there for a day."
"Yes, Captain!" the Sailor exclaimed excitedly, clenching his right fist again in his left chest. " The Storm is with you!"
" The Storm is with you." Alger watched his men leave and closed the door.
He then poured himself a glass of Lerunqi as if nothing had happened, showing neither joy nor anger, and slowly sipped it.
Everything that just happened was actually within his expectations, because the news that someone had found valuable items in the ruins of Bansy Harbor was spread by him after he disguised himself.
As the "captain" of the Church of Storms, he was constantly under the supervision of his Sailor. Having already been to Bansy once, proposing to go again would easily arouse suspicion. Therefore, Alger decided to let the crew make the request themselves!
That way, even if something is discovered or something happens in Bansy Harbor, no one will suspect him as the captain.
For the Sailor, especially those Sailor had just squandered their money in Bayam, Alger knew very well what rumors were most tempting and what news would most excite them.
Furthermore, the " Blue Avenger " has stayed in Bayam long enough; its continued presence there is equally suspicious.
As for monitoring " Artisan " Sharif, that task was naturally left to " The Hermit " Cattleya. Influenced by the Aurora Order's "investigation," this pirate general and her " Future " would be lingering in the Rorsted Sea for some time, where an important stronghold of the Moss Ascetic Order is said to be located.
After finishing his strong liquor, Alger put down his glass, looked out at the undulating sea, and murmured a single word:
" Bansy..."
Considering it was already late June and Will Auceptin might be born at any time, Klein rested for a while before going above the Gray Fog to bring the radio receiver into the real world, reminding himself that he could only ask a maximum of two questions.
Suddenly, in the dark and cold room, the unmanned radio receiver began to make a clicking sound on its own.
P. S.: Bonus chapter for the first time this June! I originally planned to add it during the climax, but after checking, it seems I might not be able to make it in time, so I'll add it on the last weekend of July instead. Please vote!