"..."
After hearing Silas's reply, the helmsman Ruber's eyes seemed somewhat complicated.
"Gulp!"
He fell silent for a moment, then as if in retaliation, poured a large mouthful of liquor down his throat.
This former Loen Navy man had never explained why he joined the pirate crew, why he opposed the military and empire he'd once sworn loyalty to, or what had caused him to sink to this state.
He didn't want to talk about it, and Silas didn't want to ask. The two men simply stood at the bow, the cold night wind blowing against them.
"Creak..."
Before long, the dining hall door was pushed open. Orange light spilled onto the deck like flowing water, casting a gracefully curved shadow.
Sophia Einhorn.
The Third Princess of the Feysac Empire turned her head, seeming to search for something on the deck.
Under the lamplight, the curve of her profile was perfect, her long red hair swinging with her head, smooth and magnificent.
Finally, Sophia spotted Silas at the bow and immediately broke into a captivating smile, running toward him.
But as she drew closer, she noticed the middle-aged helmsman present. Her smile immediately faded, replaced by awkwardness.
"We're approaching a reef field. I need to focus on steering."
Ruber said tactfully, looking into the distance. "Captain, please don't disturb me."
I didn't know there were any reefs around here...
Silas couldn't help feeling speechless, but he was too lazy to explain.
He simply vaulted down from the bow and landed in front of Sophia.
"What is it?"
He led Sophia away a short distance and asked.
"Esteemed Blood Reverend, thank you so much for rescuing me."
Sophia adjusted her mindset and properly lifted the hem of her dress, curtsying to him. "I am..."
"The Third Princess of the Feysac Empire, Sophia Einhorn."
Silas cut her off directly.
"You recognize me."
Sophia wasn't particularly surprised by this.
After all, she was a member of the royal family and had appeared in public. It was natural for people to recognize her.
"More than recognize. Our connection goes deeper than that."
Silas said calmly, running a hand across his face.
"Swoosh!"
He revealed his original appearance, the face Sophia had seen when he was in Backlund.
Under the dim light of the deck, she studied his face carefully for a moment before finally remembering.
"...It's you!"
She said in surprise.
"It's me."
Silas touched his face again, restoring his current appearance. "It's been a while."
The last time he'd seen her was when he'd served as Miss Justice's bodyguard at that ball.
That ball had ultimately led to both of them being transported to the Blood Emperor's deification ruins, where under the principle of Beyonder characteristic convergence, they'd encountered the Red Angel's wraith.
Now, Medici's three-in-one wraith was living inside his body, and the two of them had met again.
Talk about a damned twisted fate.
"So you're the Blood Reverend..."
Sophia looked at him in surprise, as if unable to believe what she was seeing.
But gradually, her expression grew more complex, showing emotions that were hard to identify as envy, jealousy, or self-loathing.
"You've become an impressive figure in the Beyonder world. And I... have become like this."
Her voice was hoarse, her gaze forlorn.
You think I wanted this kind of life?
Silas thought to himself.
The banquet in the dining hall continued, but gradually, sounds of weeping began to emerge.
With his keen hearing, Silas clearly heard the drunken confessions of several local natives.
One man was reminiscing about his daughter, saying that because he hadn't picked enough rubber at the plantation, the estate owner had punished him by cutting off his little daughter's arm.
A young man was calling for his mother, saying if only the money in his pocket could be taken back in time, perhaps his mother's illness could have been cured...
Compared to them, this princess's misfortunes were hard to call particularly heavy.
Silas looked at her flatly and asked, "So how did you end up like this? According to the news from Loen, you went missing."
Missing, yet appearing in the Governor's mansion within Loen territory, with a Warrior pathway demigod as her guard. This was clearly wrong.
"I'm not sure how to explain it."
Sophia hesitated, then shook her head. "In any case, it's a complicated story."
"Then take your time."
Silas didn't mind.
He hadn't planned on joining the banquet inside anyway. The night was still long.
Listening to this princess's experiences as a post-battle diversion wouldn't be bad.
Backlund, North Borough, 7 Pinstre Street, Leonard's residence.
"Impossible, impossible!"
Leonard Mitchell stared obsessively at the whiteboard before him.
Hanging on it was a sketch portrait: a young gentleman with gold-rimmed glasses, a full beard, and gentle eyes.
This was precisely the figure who had appeared during the Great Smog of Backlund incident, the great detective Sherlock Moriarty.
Leonard stared intently at that portrait.
To investigate related cases, he'd infiltrated the dreams of multiple witnesses.
They all knew Sherlock and had witnessed his actions in Backlund.
During his investigation, Leonard gradually discovered that this Detective Sherlock's appearance seemed remarkably similar to a certain colleague of his who had died in battle!
After standing dazed for a moment, he picked up an eraser and pressed it against the drawing.
This sketch portrait had been drawn by Leonard using a ritual with a pencil, so naturally it could be erased.
He carefully moved the eraser, rubbing the paper, gradually removing the full beard and gold-rimmed glasses from the portrait's figure.
This way, what appeared on the page would be the person's true, undisguised face.
"I must have made a mistake. Once I erase the beard and glasses, it won't look like him..."
Leonard muttered as if trying to convince himself.
Finally, after finishing the erasing, he tossed the eraser aside, stepped back a few paces, and focused on the portrait.
"..."
On the paper, a scholarly young man was smiling at him.
"Damn it!"
Finally, Leonard lost his composure, crying out in his apartment.
By his appearance, it seemed he wanted nothing more than to punch the whiteboard.
But he managed to restrain this impulse.
Instead, he clutched his head and began pacing back and forth on the floor, occasionally muttering phrases like "completely unreasonable" and "why."
His movements were rather vigorous, stirring up wind that ruffled the papers on the whiteboard.
Among them, the Blood Reverend's wanted poster fluttered down, landing at his feet.
Leonard looked at the man on the wanted poster, at the hint of madness concealed deep in his eyes.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, as if he'd thought of something.
"How is it possible... there's more than one?"