"Wahh~ Help!"
"Heath, quickly help me, I can't control myself!"
Hearing Pace's cry for help, Heath, who was beside it, finally noticed the sudden situation on its body. He wanted to reach out and pull down Pace, who was floating in the air, but he and Pace were like two mutually repelling magnets. As soon as he got close, Pace's body, floating in the air, was strangely pushed away.
Seeing that Heath couldn't save it, Pace began to loudly call out to Cattleya, who was standing in front of the Captain's Cabin:
"Wahh, Captain, help! This cat is going to die!"
Cattleya, dressed in a black classical Warlock robe, was like a powerful Warlock from ancient legends. Under the crimson moonlight, brilliant stars flashed in her eyes.
She glanced indifferently in Pace's direction and said with some helplessness:
"Stop teasing the two of them, Pace is about to be scared silly by you."
"It almost drowned the day before yesterday from secretly going into the sea to catch fish. Now it's a bit afraid of environments where it can't control itself."
"Catch fish in the sea? Is that something a cat can do?"
Leyton revealed himself from the shadows nearby, sighing with a hint of speechlessness.
He looked at the black cat, still floating in mid-air, with a complex expression. A sapphire blue flash appeared in the translucent crystal ball in his left hand, then quickly became hazy and blurred.
The distorted gravity on Pace's body quickly returned to normal, and it stiffly dropped onto the deck.
Cattleya withdrew her gaze. The area in front of her suddenly lit up, and points of brilliant starlight rapidly emerged, scattering down into the air, condensing into a transparent, dazzling bridge of starlight that extended all the way to the dock where Klein was.
How impressive! As expected of the Admiral of Stars, who ranks among the top of the Seven Pirate admirals. In the crowd on the dock, Klein silently sighed in his heart. At this moment, he had an urge to cover his face with his hand.
If it weren't for The World identity being tied to Gehrman Sparrow, I would definitely change my identity to board the ship. Although I'm not socially anxious, being watched by so many people is still a bit uncomfortable.
Klein let out an imperceptible sigh. He pressed the half-top silk hat on his head and then stepped out of the shadows, walking steadily onto the bridge formed by starlight.
The sensation of stepping on the starlight bridge was unexpectedly solid, as stable as iron. Aside from being too transparent, allowing a clear view of the deep blue, almost black, seawater below, it constantly gave one the feeling of stepping on air.
As Klein walked with a straight back on the starlight bridge, gazes of awe and curiosity from all around the dock fell upon him, making him feel as though he was currently the center of attention and perfectly suited for a magnificent performance.
Amidst gazes of unclear meaning, Klein finished the last section of the starlight bridge and stepped onto the deck of the Future.
His gaze, filled with curiosity and scrutiny, looked forward to the front of the deck. The Admiral of Stars, Cattleya, dressed in a classical Warlock robe, with her black hair simply draped over her shoulders and deep black-purple eyes, stood quietly ahead, observing him with a deep and somewhat curious gaze.
Behind Cattleya stood a man dressed as a simple Sailor, tall and thin, with a sickly aura about him.
Further back, Leyton, wearing a dark brown trench coat, with his light golden hair parted diagonally, and holding a fist-sized crystal ball in his right hand, was half-crouching on the deck, conversing with a listless black cat. However, the black cat clearly didn't want to bother with him and even looked like it wanted to scratch his face a couple of times.
After briefly surveying the situation on the Future, Klein withdrew his gaze, took off the half-top silk hat he was wearing, and bowed slightly to Cattleya, saying:
"Good evening, Madam."
As Klein bowed and greeted her, a deep blue, almost purple, glow flickered in Cattleya's eyes, making her already mysterious deep black-purple eyes even more profound and enigmatic.
She saw the brilliant and dazzling azure, blood-red, silver-white, cyan-green, grayish-white, and golden light on Gehrman Sparrow's body, which made her a bit dizzy. She slightly tilted her head and withdrew her gaze without observing the state of his Spirit Body too closely.
Five Mystical Items, more than ten spirit-imbued artifacts or charms… After briefly summarizing Klein's situation, Cattleya didn't know whether to marvel at his timid caution or his bold recklessness.
As a Pirate Admiral famous in the Five Seas, she had not seen people with even more exaggerated Mystical Items, but any Mystical Item has negative effects. Even if they were all of the lowest side-effect type, the accumulation of quantity would make them terrifying. In such a situation, the existence of Mystical Items would instead be a burden.
If he wasn't too foolish, it meant he had a way to deal with this situation, just like Beyonders of the Savant Pathway, who can intuitively grasp the abilities and problems of most mystical items and use them while avoiding danger as much as possible.
His Spirit Body was covered by a layer of pure, lightless Darkness, as if his entire being was hidden within a thick curtain of shadows… Is this why he gave me the feeling of not being alive at the Tarot Club?
Cattleya quickly reined in her thoughts and greeted him with a smile:
"Good evening, Mr. Sparrow."
Then she turned to Heath, who was behind her, and introduced him:
"This is the First Mate of the Future, Heath Doyle."
"Bloodless" Heath Doyle, a Pirate with a bounty of 7600 pounds… Klein recalled the information about this Pirate, then nodded slightly towards him and said, "Gehrman Sparrow."
After introducing Heath, Cattleya led Klein to Leyton, who was comforting Pace, and continued to introduce:
"This cat is called Pace, and it's a crew member of the Future."
A cat can also be a crew member? Klein silently activated his Spirit Vision and observed the cat named Pace. He saw a more intense spiritual colour on it than on ordinary people.
This cat is also a Beyonder. It faintly possesses a peculiar sense of inherent authority, which is very similar to the characteristics of the Arbiter Pathway.
Cattleya didn't pay attention to Klein's subtle actions. She continued to introduce Leyton to him:
"He is Al Tines, and like you, he is traveling to that sea area on the Future."
Klein maintained Gehrman Sparrow's usual cold demeanor, simply nodding and greeting him:
"Mm, Tower, good evening."
Cattleya's expression didn't change much. Some of their interactions at the Tarot Club had already led her to conclude that Leyton and Klein knew each other, and quite well.
Leyton nodded lightly in response to Klein:
"Good evening. I still need to comfort this frightened cat. You can follow the Captain and get familiar with the Future first."
Was he a pet shop owner before? Why does he like small animals so much, and also like feeding them potions? You should be a Beast Tamer, not a Mystery Pryer. That "Captain" was called a bit too familiarly. Did he return to the Future to be a Pirate again?
Klein muttered a few sentences inwardly, nodded lightly, hummed in acknowledgment, and then followed Cattleya towards the cabin.
The Future, which had been docked near the pier, also set sail again at this time. The huge sailboat drew a large arc on the sea and sailed eastward along the whaling route.
As the Future departed, the tense atmosphere in Nas Port gradually dissipated. The Pirates, Sailors, and Feysac military personnel who had been curiously observing and on guard also began to disperse.
Following behind Cattleya, Klein silently observed his surroundings. He noticed that the deck, mast, and other parts of the Future were covered with mysterious and peculiar symbols, interwoven and subtly overlapping into a huge whole, like a strange ritual magic.
A mystical sailboat, but not yet at the level of a ghost ship. However, the layout on the Future seems more mysterious and complex than on the Golden Dream.
As Klein curiously looked around, Cattleya spoke up to give him a brief introduction:
"The magical markings and symbolic signs on the ship together form a huge and complex ritual magic. It is integrated with the Future, transforming this ship into a massive Mystical Item, possessing a mystery no less than that of a ghost ship."
"When necessary, it can also borrow the power of a great existence."
"This is a ritual magic designed by Al, and I only recently completed the transformation of the Future."
A great existence? Klein withdrew his gaze from his surroundings and mused with a hint of admiration:
"This intricate and unique ritual magic was specifically designed for the Future? That requires extremely rich knowledge of mysticism."
Cattleya nodded in agreement and said with some emotion:
"Beyonders of the Reader Pathway are experts in ritual magic, and they themselves enjoy learning and mastering different mystical knowledge. Once they reach a certain Sequence, they can even develop various strange and effective spells."
"On the sea, the most representative is the Vice Admiral Iceberg. There are many rumors about the magical spells she has mastered, and while there might be some exaggeration, the fact that these rumors exist at all speaks for itself."
As they conversed, Klein followed Cattleya into the cabin. A man in overalls and a white shirt was walking out from below the cabin, carrying a wooden barrel full of strange mushrooms.
He was robust, with thick body hair, and his exposed forearms looked like they were covered in a layer of dark brown fur.
He looked at Klein, who was following behind Cattleya, and showed a hearty smile. Then he bent his right leg, propping up the barrel he was carrying, and held the barrel with his right hand, extending his free left hand forward and saying:
"Good evening, Mr. Sparrow."
"I am the First Mate of the Future, Frank Lee."
Frank Lee, the "Poison Expert" with a bounty of 7000 pounds. His bounty is actually lower than that of the Second Mate, Heath Doyle. Is it because his danger level is lower, or because he rarely directly participates in combat?
A thought flickered in Klein's mind, and he slightly bent his back, saying:
"Good evening!"
Frank withdrew his left hand indifferently, his smile still on his face as he said:
"You seem to know me? Well, my photo is already on the Navy's wanted list."
"'Poison Expert' is just a nickname those people gave me. Actually, I am a very friendly person with noble pursuits and ideals of my own."
"Al has already boarded the ship. Didn't you need to find him for some experimental matters before?"
Cattleya timely interrupted Frank's narration. The latter's eyes lit up, and he said somewhat impatiently:
"He's finally back! I have so many experimental ideas that I need his help to review and give opinions on."
"Haha~ Captain, I'll go deal with these failed experiments first. I already have new ideas in my head. I have a premonition that this time, it will definitely succeed."
Frank hadn't even finished speaking when he quickly walked towards the deck, carrying the full barrel.
"Experiments?" Klein maintained Gehrman's usual cold expression and calmly inquired.
Cattleya nodded with a somewhat helpless expression:
"He is researching a type of mushroom that doesn't require sunlight, can automatically reproduce solely by relying on Monster flesh and blood, can purify pollution, and can produce milk, beef, and fish meat."
"…" Klein was at a loss for words to express his astonishment and could only remain silent.
Something with so many buffs has nothing to do with mushrooms anymore, right? However, these conditions seem to perfectly fit the environment of the city of Silver. Is this food prepared for Little Sun and the others?
Cattleya didn't explain much about Frank. She led Klein to a room diagonally opposite the Captain's Cabin and said:
"This is your room. Al's room is next door. If you have any questions, you can ask him, or come directly to the Captain's Cabin to find me."
"The ship's restaurant will always have someone, so you can go there for meals at any time, or have Frank send food to your room."