Mast boats are an ancient mode of water transportation that rely on wind power to sail. Compared with modern ships that are fully equipped with electronic equipment, and considering the purpose of this trip, it all felt like a farce.
Ging busied himself with preparations for departure, giving Law no chance to suggest changing ships.
His attitude practically screamed: Don't say anything, get on board now, or we'll be late.
Law had no choice but to board the small mast ship with his fishing rod in hand. He had no intention of helping, but just wandered around the small ship.
While the ship was a little small, at least it had a cabin with everything it needed, including a pile of compressed rations and purified water.
"...Can this thing actually make it to Demon Island?"
Leaning against the railing, Law watched Ging bustling about and voiced his doubts.
After hearing what Law said, Ging responded irresponsibly, "I don't know either."
"Is it too late for me to get off now?" Law stared with dead fish eyes.
"That won't work. We're setting sail now."
Ging grinned shamelessly as he unfurled the sails, gradually steering the ship away from the harbor.
Law adjusted the ridiculously rustic straw hat on his head and sighed, praying they wouldn't encounter any storms along the way. Otherwise, he had no idea if this ship could handle it.
The sky was clear and cloudless, with white seagulls circling above the harbor, and burly men with tanned skin were walking back and forth along the piers, painting a lively, prosperous scene.
Many people noticed a mast ship preparing to depart, but none could have guessed the destination of its two passengers, as it's a place completely mismatched with such a modest vessel.
Among the people who were lucky enough to notice it was a girl with pink hair, Menchi, who was preparing to board a ship and leave the city. Just as she was stepping onto her ship, she suddenly spotted Law sitting on the small mast ship that had just left port.
From her angle, she could clearly see his profile, so she dashed out of the boarding gate, sprinting toward the nearest vantage point.
"Law!"
She shouted at the mast ship as she ran.
The call instantly drew the attention of both Law and Ging. Looking in the direction where the voice came from, they saw Menchi running towards the edge of the harbor.
Ging glanced at Menchi, then looked at Law and said, "So you're into lolis, huh?"
"Shut it!"
Law waved at Ging irritably, then looked at Menchi, who was running along the harbor. Rubbing his temple, he wasn't sure how to respond.
Menchi reached the edge of the dock, cupped her hands to her mouth like a megaphone, and shouted loudly: "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, future greatest Gourmet Hunter."
Law lay on the edge of the boat, looking at Menchi who was a hundred meters away, and made a lazy teasing remark.
Hearing Law's words, Menchi's face immediately turned red. Although that was her goal, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed when someone say it out loud like that.
'At least I'd managed to say thanks in time.'
Watching the mast ship grow smaller in the distance, Menchi pressed her lips together.
'But a simple thank you wasn't enough. Next time we meet, I will treat you to the most delicious meal imaginable!'
Watching the mast ship faded to a speck on the horizon, Menchi turned and headed toward her own ship. Her journey was just about to begin.
…
The ships leaving the harbor headed towards the vast ocean.
The wind billowed the white sails, propelling the wooden ship forward.
On the deck, Law and Ging lounged lazily against the railing, the scorching sun falling on them, like the perfect tanning session.
"So, who's the loli to you?" Ging asked, breaking the monotony of the voyage with some gossip.
'Does this world even have the term 'loli'?'
Unbeknownst to Law, not only did otaku subculture exist here, but terms like 'loli' were also commonplace.
The real question was, how did Ging know about it? That was the real mystery.
Law glanced at Ging and said casually, "She is the future Triple-Star Gourmet Hunter."
Ging raised an eyebrow when he heard this, and didn't think it was a joke, but asked, "Is she a potential stock do you have your eyes on?"
Among the many Hunter professions, Gourmet Hunter is a relatively unpopular one. There are not many professional Gourmet Hunters, and there are not many amateur Gourmet Hunters either. As for Triple-Star Gourmet Hunters, they could be counted on one hand.
It has to be mentioned that even Linne is only a Double-Star Gourmet Hunter, which is partly due to the rating system's structure.
Generally, becoming Single-Star Hunter required major accomplishments in one's field, becoming Double-Star Hunter needs to train a Single-Star disciple, while becoming Triple-Star Hunter required significant achievements across multiple disciplines.
Generally speaking, most Hunters only specialized in a single area. The reason why Linne did not obtain the Triple-Star title is probably because she is only interested in cuisine. Otherwise, given her skills and experience, it wouldn't have been difficult to become Triple-Star Hunter.
The reason why Ging asked this was because if they wanted to become a Double-Star Hunter, they had to train an outstanding disciple. If Law held such high regard for that girl, she might be a candidate for training.
What Ging didn't realize was that Law currently had zero interest in obtaining a Hunter License, let alone pursuing star ratings.
While Menchi could indeed become a Triple-Star Gourmet Hunter in the future, Law had mostly said it offhandedly. He didn't catch the underlying implication of Ging's question and simply shook his head in denial.
Ging didn't continue to dwell on this topic. He looked up at the sky and changed the subject, saying, "Something has been going viral on the Internet these past two days."
"Judging by your tone, it seems like you go online quite often." Law remarked.
Ging did not deny it and said with a grin: "When I first became a Hunter, I came into contact with the Internet. How should I put it? It's a hub of endless information. If you check it out often, you will always get interesting finds."
"Plenty of times, I would spend a lot of time online looking for information, browsing forums and blogs."
After a pause, Ging continued, "Aren't you curious about what's been trending on the Internet?"
Law said without giving any face, "Not interested."
Ging said seriously, "This matter actually has something to do with you."
"Oh?" That caught Law off guard.
"Want to know?" Ging wagged his finger teasingly.
"Tell me about it."
"Spiny Sea Pork, Starfish Grass, Sucker Bugs." Ging listed the three names.
When Law heard this, he immediately realized it was about what had happened at the fish market. He'd expected the method to spread, but he didn't expect it to spread so quickly, and through the Internet nonetheless.
"You don't go online much, do you?" Ging asked.
"Nope."
Law nodded. He had hardly come into contact with the Internet since coming to this world.
"Spider Land Crab, Doom Toads, Bliss Mushrooms." Ging was not surprised at all and listed three more names that Law was very familiar with.
Law frowned, not knowing what Ging was getting at.
"You probably don't know this, but on a certain authoritative forum, you've already become a minor celebrity." Ging glanced at him and said, "In other words, the confidentiality of the information about you is almost zero. People can dig up details about you without needing to go through intelligence channels."
"But you don't seem to care much about that, and you don't often use the Internet."
"Generally speaking, depending on personal needs, some people want their information to continue to ferment and spread on the Internet to enhance their own reputation, while others will increase the confidentiality of their intelligence, like me."
"Are you reminding me?" Law asked.
"I guess so." Ging grinned and said seriously, "Why don't you get a license this year, use the Association's resources to set up barriers to prevent your information from being freely circulated, and then put the important information on the intelligence-only channel network."
"In this way, as long as you are important enough, someone will be willing to pay for the information about you, and you can just sit back and collect the money."
When Law heard this, he thought of the fact that the information about Ging in the original work was always fragmented and most of it was classified as top-secret.
"How much have you made from this method?" He asked curiously.
"A lot, the exact amount is confidential." Ging smirked slyly.
Law had to admit it was a solid money-making strategy and said, "I'll think about it."
"One more thing."
Ging stood up and put his hands in his pockets. The sea breeze blew towards him, blowing his messy hair.
"The Demon Island's incident has not been completely resolved. Based on certain signs, it's not hard to conclude that remnants of the old Seirin Group still exist, and they are very likely in high positions. Netero probably didn't mention this to you."
Ging turned to look at Law and said, "Of course, what happened on Demon Island won't stay hidden either."