Three hours later, Cletos was aboard the Interceptor. As he had been part of the navy, although he wasn't the bravest, he still managed to move without assistance.
The last few hours were a world-changing experience, especially because of Rigel. Cletos looked at Rigel with fear. The first thing the boy did when they entered an alley was wave his wooden stick, and soon they were all clean!
Cletos doesn't need to be a genius to know that it was a Witch, he thought it was just fairy tales, until now.
He didn't know how he was convinced to follow this group in the first place, perhaps a mixture of desperation and hope, but after seeing the crew, he was sure they were pirates.
Cletos knew he had made a high bet and had a terrible hand, but at that point he could only keep advancing.
Rigel called Elizabeth over and spoke something in a low voice, then said aloud. "Elizabeth, go and show our guest the items for sale."
Elizabeth smiled as she nodded to Ragetti and Pintel, who grabbed Cletos by both arms and dragged him downstairs. Cletos was even more frightened, thinking he would die, but when he saw the warehouse filled with various treasures, each more precious than the last, he was shocked.
Had these pirates robbed the royal treasure?!
Cletos swallowed hard, he couldn't say for sure if these treasures were 100% real, but after so many forgeries, he was now 90% certain they were! Paintings, pottery, sculptures... there was everything in various types of materials.
Cletos swallowed hard, turning to Elizabeth who had a smile on her face, he spoke. "May I bring an evaluator? Besides, it would be better to take this to my employer, he is... too busy to make a trip alone."
Elizabeth laughed. "Of course we can! But I should warn you that home delivery is more expensive!"
Cletos smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, for some reason, he felt even more nervous.
Up there, Rigel was lost in thought, gazing out to sea in a cove not far from London.
He knew this deal would probably fall through, but... he was counting on it!
In fact, during the return journey he had already inquired about Cletos, at first he thought he was some kind of black market merchant, but instead he is the steward of a nobleman, a newly ascended nobleman who was previously a commodore in the royal navy.
What does this mean?
This means that Rigel is almost certain that a man accustomed to dealing with pirates with a sword, even though he has left the royal navy, must still think the same way.
Pay? Isn't it better to keep the money and possessions and pay with the gallows?
Rigel realized another limitation of the compass with this, it led him to someone who could buy his things, while also having the money for it, but it didn't take into account Rigel's perspective, that is, he's a pirate trying to negotiate with someone who made a living killing pirates.
It's ridiculous, but it became increasingly clear that the compass wasn't omnipotent, it had its own interpretation of inner desires, and whether those desires were useful to its master or not was another matter.
He always wondered how Jack remained poor even with the compass, but it was only while using it that he realized the truth. If Jack, for example, wanted money, it could point directly to someone's wallet, if he wanted treasure, the compass wouldn't take into account the dangers of the journey.
Besides, Jack's desires are extremely fickle.
Even so, Rigel not only didn't give up on Cletos, but even brought him aboard and showed him his treasure. Why?
That's because Rigel never forgot his goal in this world, to become a legend at sea. If the nobleman known as Vincent Winters agrees to negotiate calmly, all is well, if not, a battle where a nobleman dies is enough to make Rigel famous in London overnight, perhaps even beyond.
So now Rigel is not only not nervous about it, but is very excited about the "deal".
Sure, Rigel wasn't crazy enough to attract thousands of soldiers at once, but he wasn't stupid either, the man probably wouldn't believe in things about 'witchcraft'. At most, even if he did believe, it would be that Rigel could only perform some party tricks.
Besides, if he warned the king about Rigel, Rigel's possessions would never be his, so if he were to act, it would be with a small group where he could keep the majority and pay a smaller share for their silence.
Rigel's smile slowly widened as Salazar's head emerged from his clothes, curiously gazing at his surroundings.
Rigel saw the snake and ran his hand over it. "Salazar, let's hope everything goes well."
Half an hour later, Cletos received a boat to return alone, they agreed to meet on land at a location not far from the city two days later.
Rigel readily agreed, already suspecting that Cletos was likely planning something even before speaking to his employer, if the matter were serious, he probably would have chosen to meet at his master's mansion.
Rigel, on the other hand, was thinking about how to make it all bigger. He couldn't kill everyone, he would leave some to return and spread the word, thus increasing his fame.
Although he did quite a lot last week, the fact is there was very little audience and, on top of that, it was all very difficult for ordinary commoners to believe, but if he lowers the level, like a pirate massacring a nobleman, it's clearly much more plausible.
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A/N: First free chapter of the week, same rules as last week: 160 Power Stones for each bonus chapter, maximum of 6 chapters. Thank you for reading.