novelraw Chapter 273: Captain Jesse
Chapter 273: Captain Jesse
Fisher leaned by the windowsill, watching the sky outside gradually become dark and dim. In the hazy moonlight, Mya's warships gradually sailed out of the port, riding the thick veil of night to quickly leave Patlusion Island.
It seemed they had already obtained what they wanted.
"Fisher, eat something."
Just as Fisher was pondering the relationship between that piece of True Ice and the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, Alajina's voice rang out in the room again. When Fisher turned back to look, he saw Alajina, who had changed into a convenient white ship uniform and tied her long hair back into a ponytail.
At this time, she was holding two plates of Patlusion Island's native dishes. After setting the dishes down, she went to the doorway to bring over the prepared tableware and neatly arranged them for Fisher.
"The temperature here is very low at night, be careful not to catch a cold, I have a coat here... Oh right, this is dinner... This morning I saw you continuously... looking at the restaurants on Patlusion Island, so I went and bought some for you to try..."
As she spoke, the white ponytail on her head also lifted a bit. Although there was no obvious change in expression on her face, Fisher just felt her mood seemed quite good.
Perhaps this scene could be considered one of the benefits of dating a lady from the Matriarchy. Unclear why, ladies from the Matriarchy seemingly always treat you as an object needing care. Ever since Fisher finished the second round of battle with her and got out of bed just now, she had to care about everything regarding Fisher, whether it was a change of clothes, food, or anything else, as if deeply afraid Fisher would shatter.
Fisher couldn't remember clearly how many times this was her asking him whether he was cold or hungry. But every time after answering Alajina, she would merely nod earnestly, and then after a period of time, she would look over again, wondering if Fisher was cold or what.
"So, after this you and the Iceberg Queen will still move towards the Pirate Harbor, right?"Hearing Fisher's words, Alajina fell silent for a second or two, then nodded and said,
"Mm... Actually, the actual person in charge of the Pirate Harbor, the [Black Chieftain] Ariddo, has always been inviting me to join them in the past, to become an official member of the Pirate Harbor. In actuality, the Pirate Harbor is not merely a center for issuing bounty tasks to pirates. Its true purpose for existence is to search for the legendary [Stormsea]..."
Fisher heard this familiar term. That was a place both Blake and Muxi had once reached. But unknown why, he didn't publicize the feat of arriving at that legendary land like in the past, instead burying it in his heart as a secret. Could it be that place hid some ulterior secret?
He chewed the food on his plate, opening his mouth to say,
"The Stormsea exists."
"I know... it's somewhere in the depths of the Eastern Ocean, but the deeper one sails into the Eastern Ocean, the more dangerous it is. Even an experienced captain like the Black Chieftain frequently suffers losses. Therefore he needs more experienced captains to join him and help him find the Stormsea. For this, he has promised me quite a few lavish rewards... including returning to the Sardin Matriarchy innocent."
"Returning innocent? Can a pirate like him have such great energy to achieve this?"
Alajina shook her head, explaining to the quite astonished Fisher,
"He doesn't have this capability, but the person behind him does. Although the Pirate Harbor was built by him, there is someone else funding him from behind... The one funding him is someone from the Turan Family. The Black Chieftain Ariddo's goal of searching for the Stormsea includes a share for the Turan Family."
The Turan Family again?
Their business hadn't spread to the West Continent because that place had already been occupied by Naris's Pioneering Company. But in the Northern Border outside the West Continent, their power appeared extremely terrifying. This made Fisher, who had previously only heard a little about them in books, truly and practically comprehend this point for the first time.
"Fisher... I will take good care of Mr. Jack and Isabel. After arriving at the Pirate Harbor, I might join Ariddo. I think... one day I will return to the Northern Border, to completely finish all the things I didn't do well previously and want to do later. Fisher... you will support me, right?"
Fisher looked at the Alajina before his eyes, then took a napkin to wipe his lips, and stood up.
"Every person can see their own future path, so generally, I would not suggest others to listen to suggestions... Do what you want to do, whether as the Iceberg Queen or as Alajina."
After speaking, Fisher draped a coat brought by Alajina over his body. She was right, the temperature of Patlusion Island's night was indeed somewhat low. If he didn't wear a piece of clothing, he might very well catch a cold.
Seeing Fisher about to leave the room, Alajina also subconsciously stood up wishing to go out together with him, but was stopped by Fisher who had dressed and turned his head back.
"I'm just going out to get some fresh air, don't follow me... Besides, there's still someone lining up wanting to chat with you."
"Still... someone?"
Fisher smiled gently and opened the door of the room, revealing Ocie, who had been squatting in the corridor constantly acting as a loyal guard. After seeing Fisher come out, she and the Steel Knife on her shoulder were both startled, looking as if they were about to run away shyly. As a result, when Alajina walked out from the room and locked eyes with her, she blankly stayed in place unmoving again.
"Ocie..."
"Alajina... um, can we talk?"
Under the assist of Fisher's gaze, the Ocie hiding within her wings finally mustered her courage, stood up, and spoke thus to Alajina.
Alajina opened her mouth, then opened the room door, equally saying to Ocie,
"Mm."
Fisher walked into the corridor, watching as Ocie and the Steel Knife walked into Alajina's room. He waved his hand at these two good friends who had always gotten along but produced a bit of estrangement, then went down the stairs alone, left the hotel, and stepped into the hazy moonlight.
Facing the night wind, Fisher suddenly felt an absolutely unprecedented refreshment. Having done that kind of thing, it was as if the restraints on his body were untied, becoming light.
The reproduction bonus was truly too high... this seemingly wasn't a good thing either...
Moreover, at this moment Fisher suddenly realized a problem, which was whether the points the Completion Handbook added to him were manifested in the breeding rank or the reproduction ability?
Don't let the similarity of these two terms fool you; in actuality, according to the concept, breeding rank should be considered a subset of reproduction ability.
A species with a high breeding rank has no way to impregnate a species with a low breeding rank, whereas according to the concept, reproduction ability should cover everything from top to bottom...
Fisher, who suddenly thought of this matter, felt something wasn't quite right. This kind of matter wasn't easy to experiment with either; what if he hit the mark, that would be no joking matter.
Fisher's footsteps paused slightly. After pondering for a long time, he still didn't dare to confirm, only able to pray that what the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook enhanced was the breeding rank.
However, after this episode, Fisher's mood, which had just lightened up considerably, sank slightly again. He walked quite far out from the hotel. When he had walked for about ten minutes, he suddenly felt as if he had forgotten something a bit, but he completely couldn't remember at that time. Only after walking for another five minutes, when he saw quite a few gang members by the roadside walking with guns and buckets carried on their shoulders, did he suddenly remember what he had forgotten.
This afternoon, he seemingly tossed that guy Eimhart out of the room. Now that it was over, he also forgot to go find him and bring him back.
Hmm? This afternoon Fisher seemingly still remembered he even helped defend himself and Alajina. It was just that at that time, in a state verging on losing control, he completely paid no mind to the words he said back then, and even tossed him out of the room...
Fisher's footsteps paused slightly, immediately turning his head to change direction back to the hotel, preparing to find Sir Book Artifact Eimhart back.
No matter what, his handling of this matter today was somewhat inappropriate. If he encountered him, he might as well apologize to him again.
When Fisher ran all the way back to the hotel, he didn't see traces of that book asking for a beating in the hotel corridor. Previously Ocie seemed to be in the corridor, perhaps when throwing him out Ocie might have seen it. But Alajina and Ocie hadn't finished chatting and didn't leave the room.
Fisher rubbed his chin, pondering something while walking out of the hotel. Just as he suspected whether Eimhart had run away in a fit of pique, he suddenly heard a somewhat indistinct familiar drake-voice sound at the doorway,
"Oh oh... my heavens... you said there are a lot, a lot of books on your ship... no problem, I have a little bro... heh, don't just look at me being a book, that stinky brat obeys my every word... that bastard owes me..."
Fisher turned his ear and listened for quite a while, then raised his eyebrows and walked towards the side direction of the hotel. The rear side of the hotel was the ocean. By the coast, there was also a patch of crude houses made of wooden boards, unknown who they were for, possibly for captives or slaves brought by the gangs on the island to reside. In short, the environment was extremely terrible.
And right before an alleyway facing the sea interweaving these wooden houses, a square book was standing on a wooden box looking at the distant sea surface, seemingly conversing with someone.
That square book body, that drake-voice asking for a beating, who else could it be but Sir Book Artifact Eimhart?
Before him, seemingly someone heard his words, and an aged male voice transmitted as a response,
"For real? There are definitely a lot of guards there, can your little bro do it?"
"Are you joking? Although my little bro is a bastard with absolutely no bottom line, who likes demi-humans and ladies, who only knows how to breed and mate, and has an extremely stinky temper, this brat still has a bit of strength... You wait, wait until I go back and call my little bro over, taking the ship back will just be a matter of minutes!"
After a round of heroic rhetoric, Sir Book Artifact shook his body, puffing out his chest and holding his head high, turning around from the wooden box seemingly preparing to leave. As a result, just upon turning his head, he saw that expressionless, tall man Fisher before his eyes.
"Oh! Little bro... no, Fisher! Cough cough... that, I... that, hahaha, you're done? I've been waiting for you for so long..."
Sir Book Artifact's expression, which was extremely boastful just a moment ago, violently changed upon seeing the Naris gentleman before his eyes. After laughing weakly once or twice, he just wanted to fly onto his shoulder but was directly grabbed by Fisher's merciless iron hand, unable to break free no matter how much he struggled.
Originally he wanted to teach this annoying Sir Book Artifact a lesson, but upon thinking of the matter of throwing him out of the room this afternoon, Fisher pondered for a second or two before still placing him back onto his shoulder.
"Oh? So it's you, the guest from Naris encountered this morning... What a coincidence, we meet again."
Before Fisher could open his mouth to ask what Sir Book Artifact was doing here, he suddenly smelled a strong scent of alcohol transmitting from the alley before his eyes. Following the hazy moonlight to evaluate forward, he saw an old man with a beggar-like appearance, still pinching an iron wine flask in his hand.
He leaned drunkenly against the side of the alley, occasionally raising the wine flask in his hand to pour a mouthful of strong liquor into his mouth. Drops of transparent liquor slid down the corners of his mouth, exactly falling onto a Naris-made compass in his embrace.
It was that old captain encountered in the magic market this morning, Jesse, Fisher still remembered his name.
"Jesse... Captain, right?"
"That's right, that's right. Rare that there's still someone who can remember my name. Many thanks for the things you bought this morning, which allowed my wine flask to not be an empty bottle... I even forgot to ask your name, are you this book's... uh, little bro?"
Fisher glanced at the Sir Book Artifact hiding on his shoulder, his eyes darting around, not saying a single word and even wanting to blow a whistle to play dead. Enduring the urge to hammer him, he was silent for a second or two before shaking his head and saying,
"No... What did he just say to you here?"
"Ah, I guessed it wasn't. This book friend of yours brags even more unreliably than this old man who's drank wine. Even saying he fought three hundred rounds against demons in the Abyss and ultimately achieved victory or something... I thought since he was so formidable, I'd prepare to ask him to help snatch my ship back. Ultimately he then said he'd ask his little bro, which is you, to handle this matter..."
"Your ship?"
"Over there, it's parked there... beautiful, isn't it?"
Following his gaze, Fisher looked towards the direction of this alley. At the end of the alley, on the sea surface bathed in moonlight, a wooden ship stood by the coast. Although it was a wooden ship, Fisher saw obvious steam structures, seemingly a ship manufactured in the early stages of the technological revolution.
"Pioneer I-class, Flying Fish, the fastest ship back then. Looking at it now, it's still completely capable... but now she has been snatched away by the damned pirates on the island, just because I owed their boss money. I only owed them tens of thousands of Nario, who knew it would increase tenfold over a few years! This bunch of damned leeches..."
"Anyway, there's no treasure on it, just a little bit of books I've collected traveling the world for so many years, and an engine heart constantly waiting for me to activate. I was just joking with that book friend of yours. Even if you guys helped me get that ship back, I couldn't give you any reward..."
As he spoke, Jesse poured himself another mouthful of wine, simultaneously casually waving his hand at Fisher and the others.
"Fisher! I can sense it, there's a very enticing scent on there, it's a book I haven't recorded before... I beg you, let me see what is recorded on that book. You help me this time, and I won't hold the matter of you throwing me out of the room this afternoon against you... Oh, incidentally won't tell other ladies about your scandalous affairs afterwards either."
Fisher couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to him. But then again, looking at that wooden ship constantly swaying with the waves on the sea, Fisher's eyes moved slightly, and he suddenly opened his mouth to inquire,
"This ship of yours, can she sail to the Northern Border?"