The one standing closest to him was Carlo, Danitz's little shadow. Compared to the half-hearted and impatient expressions on the others' faces, his eyes were sparkling with admiration.
"One day, I'll become a powerful pirate hunter too!"
"…Ahem, I'm a pirate, not a pirate hunter."
Carlo blinked in confusion. "But you took out so many pirates this time."
You must really hit it off with Gehrman…no, that Edward guy!
Danitz patted him on the head.
"Alright then, pirate hunter! Go for it—aim to be as great as I am, hahahaha!"
Carlo scratched his head. "Mmm, but I want to be as great as Gehrman!"
"Why?"
"I don't like hiding behind schemes and tricks. I want to kill pirates with my own hands."
Danitz immediately grabbed his ear and twisted it 360 degrees.
"Brat, open your eyes and look properly—everyone here is a pirate. Who are you going to kill?"
Carlo beamed brightly. "You're not pirates! The Golden Dream isn't a pirate ship. You're all a bunch of adventurers chasing your dreams!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The entire crew burst into laughter.
Danitz waved a hand. "Alright, next time I'll bring my…cough, underling, Gehrman Sparrow onboard so you can meet him!"
"Awesome! Boss!"
"Your underling?"
First Mate Jodeson snorted. "Then why's your bounty not even a tenth of Gehrman Sparrow's?"
Danitz raised a finger and wagged it. "That just proves you're not as smart as little Carlo. I'm the true mastermind behind the scenes!"
At that moment, Second Mate Orpheus let out a sinister chuckle. "You know, I nearly forgot—Danitz's bounty is up to twenty thousand pounds now, almost as high as the captain's. But he's so weak…why don't we just turn him in for the reward?"
Everyone immediately agreed. "Great idea!"
Danitz panicked and backed away. "You won't get gold pounds for turning me in! The bounty's for Fire Fist Ace! What does that have to do with me, Danitz?"
"Yeah, right. It was Fire Fist Ace who pulled off all those stunts. What's that got to do with Danitz, huh?"
"..."
Then First Mate Bru Walls suddenly asked, "Hey Danitz, you still haven't told us why the captain sent you to follow a stranger around. What's that guy's relationship to her? Don't tell me it's…"
"It's not!" Danitz cut him off decisively.
"Then what is it?"
Everyone stared at him, looking extremely curious.
Danitz grinned. "Hey, if you're all so curious, go ask Fire Fist Ace yourself."
"..."
There was a moment of silence, followed by an angry shout. "Throw this bastard overboard!"
"YEAHH!!!"
As the crowd closed in menacingly, Danitz scrambled toward the captain's cabin, yelling for help, "Captain! Captain, save me! Carlo, go get the captain to rescue me!"
But everyone on the Golden Dream knew that unless someone actually died, Edwina rarely intervened in these little squabbles.
Just then, a chill suddenly spread through the air. A few of the more spiritually sensitive crew members immediately activated their Spirit Vision—
—and saw a large black bird materialise from the air, dropping a letter in front of Danitz.
"Your letter, Blondie."
Danitz was momentarily stunned. When he got a clear look at the bird, his expression changed. "It's Gehrman Sparrow's messenger…though it looks even bigger now."
He scrambled to his feet and rushed to the captain's cabin, handing the letter to Edwina.
"Captain, a letter from Edward."
Edwina opened the envelope, scanned the contents, and her lips curled slightly. She handed the letter back to Danitz.
"It's for you."
"For me?"
Danitz looked down and read the letter. When he finished, his face had turned bitter. "Captain, can I not go?"
"Of course." Edwina nodded. "The last time I asked you to follow him, it was to atone for the two times you offended him. Now you're even. You don't owe him anything."
Danitz exhaled in relief.
"But I hope you'll think it through. You've been stuck at the Pyromaniac stage for quite some time, with no sign of progress. If he truly can help you digest your potion, that's not a bad deal for you."
"But…"
Danitz's face drooped. "That guy's a lunatic. Most people have some sort of reason behind what they do. If it's for money, I could understand—even if he were challenging the major churches, I'd just think he was insane and bold. But him? He does things just for the sake of doing them."
"He's just a madman!"
Edwina, however, understood perfectly.
If a Beyonder's actions were strange and you couldn't discern any logical pattern in their behaviour, they were most likely acting.
Danitz's stagnation came from not realising this key point.
"I'll…I'll think about it."
He trudged gloomily out of the captain's cabin. The messenger bird flew over. "Do you want to send a reply?"
"No reply."
"Alright then. Goodbye, Blondie."
It tore open the air once more and flew back into the spirit world.
"Wait, what do you mean 'Blondie'?!"
Danitz finally reacted and shouted angrily, "Did that guy teach you to call me that?! Huh?! I have golden hair because of my noble Intis bloodline!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The entire ship roared with laughter again, and the Golden Dream was filled with joyous energy.
———
That night, Danitz still returned to Backlund—where he had been captured twice.
It wasn't because he had come to any profound realisation—he had simply thought, Since the captain is going to the Pirate Conference anyway, whether I go find Edward or not makes no difference.
Upon arriving in Backlund, Danitz first paid a visit to the Harvest Church. He had originally planned to stand at a distance and admire Emlyn's "heartbroken" state…only to find the vampire brimming with delight, bustling busily around the church, occasionally flashing inexplicable smiles.
This surprised Danitz. From their time spent together those few days, the emotions Emlyn had shown when speaking about his precious collection hadn't seemed faked. It's only been a little over a week—how can he be perfectly fine already?
Danitz rubbed his chin, deep in thought: Either he was lying before, or…he's completely lost his mind.
The former wouldn't matter much, but if it were the latter…then his previous act of revenge felt a little sinful.
Thud!
A heavy footstep suddenly sounded behind him. Danitz's heart skipped a beat—he turned around while stumbling backwards into a defensive stance, only to see that it was the towering priest.
"Good evening, Father Utravsky."
Danitz quickly greeted him, then instinctively traced the sign of the Earth Mother across his chest.
The priest gave a slight nod and smiled. "It seems you are also one of the Earth Mother's chosen."
"Uh?"
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have come back to the Harvest Church first thing upon returning to Backlund."
Danitz hurried to explain, "No, no, I just came to—"
Father Utravsky simply nodded again. "Everything is the Mother's arrangement."
"…."
Forget it—no point arguing with a fanatic. Danitz still vividly remembered that time he'd lost patience with Emlyn and was about to attack, only to be lifted off the ground by this priest with one hand.
He squeezed out a strained smile. "Praise the Mother."
"You're not planning to see Emlyn?"
"Uh…he probably doesn't want to see me, right?"
A strange look passed across Father Utravsky's face. "While he hates you…it seems he also holds a certain gratitude toward you."
"???"
What kind of convoluted, twisted, ridiculous emotion is that?
Wait, this vampire can't possibly…
Danitz shuddered violently and began backing away, waving his hands. "I-I just remembered I have something else to do. I'll be going. Goodbye, Father Utravsky! And don't tell Emlyn I was here!"
Father Utravsky thought for a moment, then walked into the church.
"Emlyn, Danitz was just here."
"!!!" Emlyn flung his broom aside with a shout, eyes blazing with fury. "Where is he?! I'll make him pay!!"
The priest gave him a bland look.
Emlyn bent down, picked up the broom, and carefully returned it to its proper place before shouting again, "Where is that bastard?!"
"I don't know. He just looked at you from the window for a while, and before he left, he specifically told me not to tell you he'd been here."
"???"
Emlyn was dumbfounded.
———
At the same time, on the Sonia Sea.
The Blue Avenger was speeding along a safe route, expected to arrive by tomorrow morning at the Pirate Conference's location—an island crowned by a dormant volcano.
As night fell, the crimson moonlight spilt across the waves ahead, illuminating their path. Yet all around, the distant sea remained pitch-black, as if enormous beasts were lurking with gaping maws, ready to swallow everything whole.
The Hanged Man, Alger, had dismissed all the crew and now waited patiently inside the captain's cabin.
A few minutes later, a phantom door formed from wind and light opened. Accompanied by an unreal gust, three palm-sized pouches and a suitcase appeared before him—the pouches were for selling mystical items on behalf of Mr. Tower. The suitcase, on the other hand, was intended to help Mr. Tower arrive on the ship tomorrow.
"Praise The Fool."
Alger spoke with reverence and solemnity to the door of light.
Seconds later, the door vanished. Only then did Alger look at the items before him.
Though the suitcase piqued his curiosity most, years of discipline kept him from giving in—trust was mutual. Since Mr. Tower chose to trust him, he shouldn't break that trust over a moment of curiosity.
He picked up one of the pouches and opened it. Though he'd experienced it once before, the interior still felt wondrous to him.
I must save up to buy one of these!
Alger reaffirmed this thought with conviction.
———
At the same time, in a house in the Cherwood Borough…
Fors was sitting cross-legged on her living room sofa, hair a tangled mess, munching on a new-style sandwich stuffed with meat and vegetables, while mulling over the plot for her next novel.
Suddenly, the moonlight shining through her window grew thicker…redder…and her expression grew increasingly pained.
Again!
The whispers of madness that came with the full moon!
Thud!
She fell from the sofa, body writhing in agony. Her fingernails began to grow uncontrollably, her skin took on a strange, hardened texture, and her brain felt like it was splitting open with waves of searing pain.
"No…"
The surging spirituality within her told her clearly: This time is different from before. This time…she wouldn't just endure a brief pain and be free.
She knew—she was about to lose control.
At that moment, a memory flashed through her mind: the note Edward had once given her, bearing the prayer of an unknown deity.
The last full moon, she'd recited the first two lines in desperation—yet nothing had happened. But now, she could no longer hesitate.
Using all her remaining strength, she whispered:
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;
The Mysterious Ruler above the Grey Fog;
The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.
Save me, save me please…"
Moments later, Fors found herself standing in a grand palace wreathed in grey mist.
Upon a bronze throne sat a figure whose face could not be seen, gazing down from above.
In a calm, resonant voice, he said, "You may address me as Mr. Fool."
———
[Note]: We failed to meet our powerstone goal. Again. So, no Extra Chapter.
If you guys want one tomorrow, we'd need to hit 600 Powestones. Go, VOTE!
[Or 690 Powerstones for 2 Extra Chapters!]
And if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Thank me later~
Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]