Bai Chuan had originally wanted to test More on his navigation knowledge, but he suddenly came to a distressing realization not a single person on his pirate ship knew a thing about navigation.
That was a real headache. There was no way around it. Bai Chuan had to step up himself.
At first, Bai Chuan had planned to just grab some old man from the small sky island and make him the navigator. Every single person up there was a top-notch weather expert by Blue Sea standards, capable of handling all kinds of meteorological challenges.
But after thinking it over, he scrapped that unrealistic idea. Those old men might be greedy and easily fooled, but they were stubborn to the bone. Force them to give up their weather research, and they'd probably prefer death.
Left to fend for himself, Bai Chuan could only ask the most basic questions how to sail in rain, how to handle gale-force winds, what kind of clouds meant what kind of weather. All elementary navigation stuff.
And More did not disappoint. He answered smoothly, spouting all kinds of technical jargon. Bai Chuan didn't understand a single word, but he had to admit More sounded extremely impressive.
It took him right back to his past life, sitting in a classroom. When you have no clue what's going on, everything the teacher says sounds perfectly correct and deeply insightful.
When More showed signs of going on an extended lecture, Bai Chuan hastily cut him off. His head was already swelling. Another minute and it might actually pop.
"You're... very good." He paused before those last two words, praising him mainly because he had no idea if anything More said was actually right.
"So? Did I pass the interview?" More's eyes sparkled. After spending this much time together, he no longer found the Silver Pirates so terrifying, and he even thought Captain Bai Chuan was kind of cute.
While he'd been explaining things earlier, he had noticed the glazed look in Bai Chuan's eyes, so he'd made a point of using jargon no ordinary person could understand.
"I'll count it as a pass," Bai Chuan said at last, after a long and difficult pause. He figured technical terms like that couldn't be faked. In navigation, this kid was probably some kind of genius.
Still, Bai Chuan had a nagging feeling that taking him aboard would mean a lot of headaches down the line. One look at the clever, restless gleam in More's eye, and he knew this kid would not be a quiet addition.
But he really didn't want to let a talent like that slip away. The sea was full of skilled people, but not all of them fell into your lap. Plenty got missed.
So Bai Chuan made up his mind. He'd take the little genius. They had plenty of time to shape him slowly.
When he heard Bai Chuan was keeping him, More got so worked up he dashed over, bowed deeply, and bellowed, "Captain! Pleased to serve you!"
"Mm." Bai Chuan answered flatly. He had a feeling a real weirdo had just joined his ship. Otherwise, why would someone with money blow it all on navigation books instead of proper clothes and a decent meal?
Bai Chuan then led More up to the deck and introduced him to the rest of the crew. "Starting today, this little guy is our navigator. Let him introduce himself."
He gave More a pat on the back.
More bowed to everyone. "Hello, everyone! I'm More, fourteen years old. From today on, I'm the navigator of the White River Pirates. Please take good care of me!"
Straightening up, he beamed at them with a brilliant smile.
"Can't believe he really became the navigator," Riddle muttered in surprise. He'd been mocking the kid just moments before.
"Guess you really can't judge a book by its cover." Riddle once again carved that lesson deep into his heart. The last time he'd learned it was with Bai Chuan himself, when he'd assumed that massive bounty had to be fake and tried to attack.
"One more announcement," Bai Chuan continued. "Since More can't defend himself yet, I'm temporarily assigning Riddle as his bodyguard and guardian."
"What?!" Two shocked voices rang out at the exact same time.
One was More. The other was Riddle.
"Can't someone else do it?" More pleaded with Bai Chuan. He was still scared of Riddle. That first impression had been way too intense.
Riddle was equally unenthusiastic about babysitting a brat.
"Who would you rather have look after you?" Bai Chuan asked.
More swept his gaze around the crew and finally fixed his eyes in Salar's direction.
"I want that big brother to look after me," More said, pointing at Salar, who seemed like the kindest one among them.
"No. He doesn't have time. He's the ship's chef. He has to cook for everyone, and in his spare time, he trains."
"Then what about him?" Disappointed, More turned to Eurystin. The two of them had similar backgrounds, after all.
"He can't either. He needs to train. His strength still hasn't reached a passing grade in my eyes."
"Jora's out too." Before More could even open his mouth again, Bai Chuan had vetoed the next option.
"So it has to be him?" More said, sounding like a man accepting his fate.
"That's right. It has to be Riddle. He's not a main combatant, so he has plenty of time to watch over you. His strength is decent too, so I can rest easy leaving you in his hands."
"Captain, I..." Riddle tried to object, but one glare from Bai Chuan choked the words right back down.
"Fine. I'll do it. I'll look after him." Riddle resigned himself. He'd probably spend his whole life as someone else's helper. When would the captain ever give him a real subordinate? This time, instead of getting a minion, it felt more like he'd been handed a little master.
"And when you have free time, you're to train his body. His physical condition is terrible right now. Lay a solid foundation for his future training," Bai Chuan added.
"Got it, Captain."
With that, Bai Chuan nudged More toward Riddle. More stumbled a step and ended up standing right next to Riddle, forcing a smile that looked worse than a grimace. "Uncle Riddle... I mean, big brother Riddle. Please take good care of me."
He'd almost called him "uncle," but a powerful survival instinct made him choke it back at the last second.
"Yeah. I'll take real good care of you."
Seeing the malicious gleam in Riddle's eyes, More instantly regretted everything. That was it. He was trapped on a pirate ship.
As for why Riddle's eyes held such malice, Bai Chuan's words had reminded him of the days when Jora and Eurystin used to drill him relentlessly. That had been pure misery.
But now it was finally his turn to drill someone else. Just thinking about it made him giddy. He suddenly realized that looking after a kid had its perks after all.
With that happy thought, Riddle scooped More up under one arm and marched off toward the rear of the ship, utterly ignoring More's howling and flailing.
/-\
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