Klein first made his way to the ship's dining hall. The women from earlier were indeed gathered there, enjoying their meal together—but there was no sign of Edward or Lilith.
So he took a detour up to the deck.
From a distance, he could already hear hearty, boisterous laughter.
When he stepped onto the deck, he saw Edward standing by the railing with six or seven other men. Each of them held a bottle of beer, chatting and drinking with great enthusiasm.
Lilith, holding a glass of fruit juice, stood off to the side watching them with wide, curious eyes—obviously interested in the beer.
Even though she had already tasted it and found it unpalatable, her childlike curiosity refused to fade.
"Yo, you're up," Edward greeted, waving as he passed a beer bottle over. "Fancy a drink to shake off the grogginess?"
Klein accepted the bottle but sighed.
"We Tingen folk…don't usually drink right after waking up."
That said, he still took a small sip to moisten his dry throat.
He sat down beside Edward, eyes drawn to the sizzling meat cooking on a grill nearby. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he asked, "What are you grilling? Smells amazing."
The pudgy chef laughed heartily and sliced off a piece.
"Wanna try it?"
"Thanks."
Klein carefully pinched the steaming hot meat between his fingers, blew on it to cool it slightly, then popped it into his mouth.
The moment he bit down, an indescribable richness flooded his senses.
He swore—this was the most delicious roasted meat he had ever tasted across two lifetimes.
Just then, Lilith said sweetly, "This is mermaid meat~"
"...Huh?" Klein froze mid-chew. "Mermaid?"
Wait a minute. Aside from maintaining my persona, why else did I agree to go out to sea this time...?
Oh, right. To find mermaids. And now…I've just eaten one?
Hold on—aren't mermaids technically closer to humans than beasts? Which means…did I just—
His stomach gave an uncomfortable churn.
Edward noticed and chuckled.
"She's pulling your leg. It's just a mutated type of fish—famous for how good it tastes. You're fine."
This particular sea monster had received glowing praise in the original novel. Edward had long wanted to try it, but hadn't been lucky enough to encounter one during his previous voyage—a lingering regret.
This time, maybe it was Klein's luck, or maybe the White Agate's captain was simply fond of such delicacies. In any case, just as twilight fell, Edward stumbled upon the crew hunting a sea monster. Naturally, he joined in and soon found himself enjoying its meat.
He had to admit—it really was delicious.
Reminded him of those deadly mushrooms from his previous life: toxic, but exquisite.
Edward promptly asked the fat chef for another slice and ate it in front of Klein with obvious satisfaction.
Only then did Klein relax and continue eating.
In a low voice, he asked, "Why didn't you join those noble ladies for dinner? Didn't they invite you?"
"Eating with a bunch of women is boring. Hanging out with the guys is way more fun—drinking, grilling, and bragging all at once."
The men around them roared with laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Oh, let me introduce you," Edward said.
"This is Mr. Doren, the head chef aboard the White Agate. That gentleman there is Captain Elland Kag—everyone calls him 'Just Elland'."
A middle-aged man wearing a deep red coat, loose white trousers, and a standard tricorn captain's hat gave Klein a warm smile and a nod.
"And that's First Mate Benjamin…"
Edward quickly introduced everyone present.
"We were just listening to Captain Ireland tell stories about the pirate generals and lost treasures of the sea."
Lilith raised her hand brightly, "Miss Lilith wants to be Pirate King someday!"
"Hahahaha!"
Cute kids always struck a chord with seasoned sailors—reminding them of their own families.
Captain Elland grinned, "You may have a hard time becoming the Pirate King, little one—but if you act fast, you might just become one of the Pirate Admirals."
Lilith's eyes widened.
First Mate Benjamin added, "That's right. Not long ago, Admiral of Blood Senor was killed, opening up a vacancy among the seven generals. A few big-shot pirates have been trying to take over his fleet and position—but so far, no one's succeeded."
Edward leaned in.
"Mr. Benjamin, do you happen to know where Senor's fleet is now?"
"Eh, no clue..." Benjamin took a deep swig of beer. "But…I've got an old buddy who claims to have witnessed Senor's downfall firsthand. Maybe he knows. I'll ask if I get the chance."
"Thanks."
Edward gave him a polite nod.
Even though he could tell Benjamin was likely bluffing, some courtesies had to be extended. After all, this was how men bonded.
"All right, it's ready!" the plump chef declared.
"Every piece is seared crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside!"
He expertly sliced the grilled sea monster meat and distributed it to everyone present.
"Thanks to Mr. Doren, we get to enjoy this feast," someone said.
The chef laughed. "Give the credit to Captain Elland, First Mate Benjamin, and Edward—they're the ones who helped catch the 'mermaid'."
He lifted a glass of beer from beside the grill.
"A toast to these gentlemen."
"To the gentlemen!"
"And next…a toast to our lovely Miss Lilith!"
Lilith happily raised her glass of fruit juice.
Then the chef turned to Klein, raising his glass again.
"And finally, a toast to Mr. Edward's friend—sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
Klein picked up his beer and responded flatly, "Gehrman Sparrow."
"To Gehrman Spar—wait, what?!"
The chef's body jolted in surprise, staring at Klein in disbelief. The others around him had also turned to stare, expressions equally stunned.
Klein was puzzled, but maintained a calm demeanour.
"Something wrong?" he asked coolly.
"N-No...nothing at all."
Captain Elland was the first to regain his composure.
Feigning ignorance, he clinked glasses with Klein.
"To the great Mr. Gehrman Sparrow!"
The others quickly followed suit, raising their glasses to Klein before downing their beer in near-synchronised silence.
Then they all began eating the grilled meat without a word.
Klein clearly felt that the atmosphere had shifted.
It had suddenly turned...weird.
He had no idea what had just happened and could only cast a confused glance at Edward.
Edward gave a dry cough and leaned in to whisper, "Cough. I heard them talking earlier—apparently the name 'Gehrman Sparrow' is really famous on the seas…you've got a reputation as a mad pirate hunter."
"???"
Klein froze.
That was the identity I designed for myself—a fanatical pirate hunter persona…but…I haven't even started hunting pirates yet!
So, I just happened to share a name with some big shot out at sea?
Klein suddenly recalled how Miss Bodyguard had looked puzzled when processing his identification documents, as if she had something to say but ultimately held her tongue. The next day, she handed him the paperwork without comment.
Damn.
Now it all made sense.
He'd thought himself clever for combining two "famous" names from his previous lives. Could it be that the Emperor had already transplanted their stories into this world long ago?
"Though sharing a name isn't that rare, having the same name as a notorious figure can be troublesome. What if I'm deep into playing my role, and someone just shows up looking for trouble?"
Should I go get a new ID made?
Just then, Klein sensed someone covertly watching him. He raised his head and narrowed his eyes. "Can I help you two?"
"N-No," the two men stammered as they jumped to their feet. "We—we've finished eating. Gonna go rest."
With that, they all but fled the scene in panic.
"…"
Klein was speechless.
Huh?
In that moment, he suddenly felt a subtle shift in his digestion of the Faceless potion—some loosening, a sign of progress.
A thought struck him: Could playing the role of a "famous person" actually help with the digestion of the Faceless potion?
That must be it!
The more famous someone is, the more people know them and scrutinise them. That makes portraying them far more difficult—especially those who frequently appear in the public eye.
Klein quickly made up his mind. I'll first try to learn more about this "Gehrman Sparrow" before deciding whether to stick with this identity or abandon it.
Across from him, Edward was silently warming his hands by the fire, his own thoughts swirling. As for the "Gehrman Sparrow" identity, he already had a plan. He intended to model it after how Klein had described the "Dwayne Dantès" persona in the original timeline—make it a shared alias. If Klein wanted to keep using it, fine. If not, he could always get a new identity later.
——
By around nine o'clock, the group had eaten and drunk their fill, and they each returned to their cabins for rest.
Captain Elland watched Klein disappear down the hallway. His smiling expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a deep seriousness.
First Mate Benjamin leaned closer. "Captain Elland, that guy just now…was that really the infamous Gehrman Sparrow?"
Elland shook his head. "I'm not sure. But he doesn't quite match the portrait I saw on the bounty notice."
Benjamin let out a sigh of relief. "Good."
"What are you afraid of?"
Elland snorted. "According to the rumours at sea, this Gehrman Sparrow only targets pirates. Having him aboard might actually make us safer."
Benjamin blinked. "You're right…"
"Either way, we'll pretend we don't know a thing. Just carry on as usual. If he is the real Gehrman Sparrow, we just make sure to get him safely to Bayam. If he's not…then it doesn't matter."
"But… should we really not report this to Admiral Amyrius?"
Officially, Elland was the captain of the White Agate, but in truth, he was a military man—and he knew full well how much Admiral Amyrius loathed Gehrman Sparrow.
"Then why don't you go arrest him now?"
"I'm not that capable."
"Exactly. Neither am I. Enough—go to sleep. Come morning, I want you to forget everything about tonight."
——
Meanwhile, Edward and Klein returned to their cabins and quickly washed up, ready to sleep.
Before bed, Edward prayed to Mr. Fool and retrieved two more cards of blasphemy. He used them to refresh all his Beyonder abilities. Afterwards, he spent another hour teaching Bernadette Chinese.
Once she left, he finally lay down and drifted off to sleep to the sound of the waves.
———
[City of Silver, the Berg household]
For several days now, Derrick had been walking around in front of Duck and the others, trying to draw their attention. Whether he had succeeded, he had no idea—but right now, all he could do was wait.
After a full day of training, he returned home exhausted. He took a bite of the bland and unappetizing black-faced grass, grimaced, and hesitated for a long while before finally reaching under his bed. From beneath it, he retrieved the suitcase Mr. Tower had once lent him for offering sacrifices to Mr. Fool.
Inside was the food that had been brought over during a previous sacrifice.
Derrick would occasionally eat small amounts of it to help neutralise the taste of the black-faced grass, but he was careful not to grow dependent on it. If he got too used to food from the outside world, he might no longer be able to stomach the City of Silver's rations.
He hadn't returned the suitcase yet—not because he wanted to keep such a precious item, but because it represented hope. He still hadn't given up on the idea of escaping the Forsaken Land through sacrifice.
"Wonder if Mr. Tower managed to get out safely…"
Derrick sighed. Of course, he was incredibly anxious about the outcome. But he'd restrained himself from asking Mr. Fool or Mr. Tower about it. Even when he discussed things with The Hanged Man last time, he'd held back from asking.
Because he understood—things had to be done one step at a time. The most urgent issue now was dealing with the corrupted members of the exploration team…and how to clear himself of suspicion afterwards.
The Hanged Man had tried to dissuade him last night, telling him to keep his head down and not worry about the corrupted teammates. Eventually, they'd slip up, and when that happened, the city elders would handle it.
But Derrick had refused.
He loved the City of Silver. He loved everything about it.
That's why he couldn't pretend nothing was wrong. What if the True Creator used those corrupted members to influence the City of Silver and bring disaster?
Knock, knock, knock.
Just then, a knock came at the door.
"Derrick, we're planning to gather later to talk about the next expedition. You coming?"
The voice was bright and friendly. It was Duck.
"And we've got some delicious mushrooms to try~"
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.