Edward raised his brows in surprise. "Really?"
"Really!" Lilith nodded fervently. "And did you notice? Miss Lilith didn't get seasick at all this time on the boat~!"
"Oh? That's impressive~!"
"Right?!"
Thinking back to how adorable and pitiful Lilith had looked the first time she was on a ship, Edward couldn't help but chuckle.
"Edward, what are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing because Lilith is just too cute~"
"Exactly!"
"The cutest in the whole wide world!"
"Exactly!"
After finishing their grilled rat skewers, the two—one tall, one small—walked hand in hand out of the inn, leaving the innkeeper blinking in stunned confusion. They had gone in as a man and a cat…How had they come out as a man and a little girl?
"What are we doing next?" Lilith asked.
Edward thought for a moment, then looked toward the bustling tavern not far away. "Let's check out the bar first."
On the sea, if you wanted to gather useful intel quickly, there was no better place than a tavern—where all sorts of riffraff gathered.
——
Outside the bar, a wall plastered with wanted posters caught the eye. The largest among them was the bounty for Gehrman Sparrow. Edward hadn't been to sea in a while, and to his surprise, the bounty had quietly climbed to 380,000 pounds. He strongly suspected this had something to do with the numerous people impersonating him.
As they stepped into the bar, they were immediately greeted by a thick cloud of cigarette smoke and the stench of sweat. A group of burly, rough-looking men—pirates or something close—were drinking and chatting loudly. In a corner, four or five well-dressed young men were laughing and joking, clearly out of place.
From their carefree chatter, it wasn't hard to deduce that they were noble scions on some kind of "adventure," drawn by romantic notions of the sea, treasure, and legends.
"Barkeep! Two more bottles of Sonia Bloodwine!"
The young man in the black windbreaker flicked a few gold coins onto the counter, which rang out with a crisp jingle. The surrounding pirates immediately turned to look, their eyes filled with undisguised greed and bloodlust.
The young nobles, however, seemed completely oblivious, still laughing and toasting away—unaware that, in the eyes of the pirates, they were little more than walking sacks of gold.
Edward's arrival went largely unnoticed—except by the bored bartender polishing glasses behind the counter. When he saw Edward, he visibly froze for a second, as if wanting to speak but hesitating.
"Edward," Lilith said directly, pointing at the man, "that guy is sneaking glances at us."
The atmosphere in the tavern turned slightly awkward.
"N-No, I wasn't sneaking glances," the bartender stammered.
Edward walked over. "One juice. One beer."
"You know me?" he asked casually.
He was using his real face—not Gehrman Sparrow's—so by all rights, no random pirate on some remote island should have recognised him.
"I… I'm an informant for The Dawn," the bartender whispered while pouring the drinks. "Sir Edward's name and appearance have already been circulated throughout most of the Dawn's network across the sea."
Edward took a sip of his beer and fell silent for a few seconds. "And?"
The bartender blinked. "And…what?"
"I mean, Queen Mystic—she told all of you to recognise me. And then what?"
He smiled faintly. "She told us you're one of us. That if you ever need anything, we're to help you however we can."
"All right then." Edward set down his glass. "I need you to help me round up and trap every heinous pirate on this island and the surrounding waters—all at once."
"Th-that's…going to be difficult…"
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say I can come to you if I need anything? And now I am—and you're saying it's difficult? Then what the hell's the point of having you around?"
Lilith nodded while sipping her juice. "Exactly!"
The bartender was speechless. Isn't this the same as asking me to take on Queen Mystic herself? Either way, it's impossible…
At that moment, a loud slam of a table echoed behind them.
"You little punk! Say that again if you dare!"
Edward turned to see a man wearing a pirate's tricorn hat gripping a boy by the collar and shouting in his face, spitting with fury. "You believe I won't kill you right here?!"
The boy was wearing a servant's uniform and held a serving tray. He glared back defiantly. "What did I say that was wrong? All pirates deserve to die!"
The pirate let out a furious laugh. "Hah! Good, good, good! Then why don't you ask around—how many people in this bar aren't pirates?!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Most of the crowd around them burst out laughing.
The bartender finally stepped in. "Apologies, everyone. Your drinks tonight are on the house. The kid's young and doesn't know any better—don't lower yourselves to his level."
"For your sake, fine."
The tricorn-hatted pirate let go of the boy's collar and patted his cheek lightly with his other hand. "But how about you say that again for me, huh? What did you just say about pirates?"
The boy's face turned pale, but he still grit his teeth and said, "They all deserve to die!"
"Then go ahead and die right now, you little shit!"
The pirate raised a hand the size of a dinner plate and swung it straight toward the boy's temple.
But just before the slap landed—mere inches away—a long, calloused hand caught his wrist mid-air.
It was the young man in the black windbreaker, one of the four nobles from earlier. He looked to be in his early twenties, with dazzling blond hair and clear lake-blue eyes. Handsome, even by aristocratic standards.
"You nosy little—"
Smack!
"Arghhh!!"
The pirate screamed in pain as his wrist was fractured on the spot. The black-coated youth shoved him aside with casual ease. "Get lost."
"You—!"
Several other pirates jumped to their feet, eyes full of murderous intent as they glared at the young man.
A cold light flashed in his eyes.
Immediately, several of the pirates clutched their heads and dropped to the ground, howling in agony. Then, with a series of sharp cracks, deep, bleeding welts split open across the backs of a few more.
"A Beyonder?!"
The pirates' expressions changed drastically, and they retreated at once.
Seeing that the young man didn't follow up with another attack, they hurriedly helped their injured comrades up, shooting venomous glares at him as they scrambled out the door.
"Tch. Still too young," the bartender shook his head and sighed. "When dealing with pirates, if you're going to make a move, you either crush them completely or you kill them outright. Letting them crawl away like this? They're absolutely going to come back for revenge. That bunch are some of the most vicious scum out there—vindictive to the bone. Tsk tsk…those young nobles are in for it now."
Edward rolled his eyes. "...Aren't you a pirate? How come you talk like you're not part of the same lot?"
"No, no, no. I'm an informant for the Dawn. And the Dawn's owner is none other than Her Majesty, the great Queen Mystic."
"...Isn't the Queen Mystic also a Pirate King?"
"..."
The bartender was momentarily choked speechless. If anyone else had said that, he'd have taught them what it meant to insult one of the Four Kings. But this guy…
Forget it. You're the boss. Whatever you say goes.
"So, based on what you said—those pirates who just ran off will definitely be back, with reinforcements?"
Edward asked suddenly.
"Most likely, yes. They might not be from the same ship, but since they were all humiliated by the same person, it's only natural they'd band together." He paused, lowering his voice. "Not to mention, they've already had their eyes on those four young nobles for a while now. Honestly, those brats are complete greenhorns. Flashy clothes, loud voices, flaunting their wealth like they're begging to be robbed. Sure, they're Beyonders—but sheer numbers still count for something. Wouldn't be surprised if they ended up leaving their lives on this island."
"So that means multiple pirate crews might gather in one place?"
Edward chuckled. "And look at you—calling yourself an informant for the Dawn. What you claimed you couldn't do, they just managed effortlessly. So tell me—what use are you to Queen Mystic?"
Bartender: "???"
What the hell is this logic?!
Elsewhere, the boy who'd been saved by the black-cloaked youth rushed to thank him profusely.
The young man, however, frowned. "What were you thinking? Saying something like 'all pirates deserve to die' in a place full of pirates—are you trying to get yourself killed?"
The boy clenched his fists. "My family…they were all killed by pirates."
The black-cloaked youth fell silent for a beat, clearly thrown off.
"Then all the more reason to keep yourself alive," he said at last. "Wait until you have the power to avenge them. Don't throw your life away for a few words."
"But I…I couldn't take it," the boy said, voice trembling. "They were bragging just now—about how many people they've killed, how many women they've raped…like it was some kind of glorious achievement."
"People like that…don't deserve to live!"
The young man gave a cold snort. "You'd better focus on figuring out how to stay alive first."
With that, he returned to his companions, said something in low tones, and the four of them burst out laughing. A few moments later, they grabbed their bottles and left the bar together.
The bartender couldn't hold back any longer. "You idiot. What are you still standing around here for? Go follow them! You want to die in here? I sure as hell can't protect you."
The boy snapped out of it, shot the bartender a grateful look, and hurried out the door.
Edward looked at the bartender with a flicker of surprise. "You really don't seem like a pirate."
The bartender smiled. "Told you. I'm an informant for the Dawn, not a pirate."
"Fine then. Thanks, 'informant pirate.'"
Edward tossed a few coins onto the counter and strolled out.
Lilith mimicked him, saying sweetly, "Thanks, Mister Informant Pirate~!"
Bartender: "…"
Are you freaking kidding me?!
———
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