Chapter 518 White City
"I always feel that someone on this ship is hostile to me."
As he walked down the gangway carrying his suitcase, Klein frowned and whispered to Angel beside him.
The latter turned around to look at the "red-haired girl", only to see sailors busy unloading cargo on the deck, their boatswain William, and Elaine, who looked a little tired and kept yawning.
"Could it be Elaine?" She looked away, trying to analyze. "Perhaps she thought it was an insult when you sneaked into the Black Death in her guise and tried to attack Tracy last time."
"It's not her." Klein shook his head and continued walking forward while thinking.
After a moment, he turned around and quickly scanned the deck.
"Who is this new boatswain?"
After finding his target, he asked.
"'Lucky William'? He's a Beyonder recommended by the Dominican Federation, a 'machine' of the Monster Path. He used to be a pirate and is familiar with shipboard affairs, so I asked Elaine to recruit him."
Angel explained.
"Pirates? Your ship even recruits pirates?" Klein was a little stunned. He couldn't help but look back. "Is he the Lucky William on the wanted poster with a £2,800 bounty? Just now, besides Elaine, he was the only one secretly watching me. Everyone else..."
"It's just a coincidence of names. That valuable William had already died in the 'City Breaker'. Even more coincidental, before that, the third Lucky William was mistaken for him and captured to claim the reward."
Lucky Nick, Lucky William, sailors, pirates and adventurers who travel on the sea all have more or less superstitions in this regard.
Although Angel most often sees this name on wanted and death lists.
"Besides, he retired from Vice Admiral Iceberg's Golden Dream. Apart from occasionally talking to himself, he doesn't have many bad habits. That's why I approved his joining."
After hearing Angel's explanation, Klein nodded in understanding. He no longer cared about William's former pirate identity, but he was still curious about the hidden hostility revealed by the boatswain.
He finally looked at the burly, bronze-skinned "Lucky William" and found that his blue eyes were looking in this direction, but the tricorn hat on his head was pressed down, blocking his vision, and it seemed that he was not looking at him at all.
They are afraid of me, but also have a hint of hostility. The former is because of my reputation as a "crazy adventurer", but hostility?
Klein dug through his memories and finally found this face, whom he had only met once, during his trip to the Golden Dream. He confirmed that the other person had indeed served under Edwina.
It can't be because I'm too close to Vice Admiral Iceberg, right? According to Flame Danitz, half of his ship belongs to Edwina, um, that bitch... Klein's mouth twitched as he thought of a possibility, but he didn't dare say it out loud, especially not to the woman next to him.
"Let's go, let's find a place to stay in Naas Harbor first."
Finally, he suggested.
————
Continuing eastward from Oravi Island and entering the "Sea of White Whales", we left the colony of the Kingdom of Loen and arrived at the Gargas Islands, a colonial island of the Feysac Empire.
Unlike most colonies that were famous for growing spices, specialty fruits, and minerals, this place mainly produced stones that were difficult to transport out of the area. Therefore, after colonizing Gargas, the Feysac people quickly found a new way to make money - whaling.
After whales in nearby waters were hunted and killed by whaling ships, they were bled and processed directly on board the ship, and then sent to the whaling house in Naas, the capital of the colony, to be dismembered into various parts with different functions, and either digested on the spot or sold as goods to various places.
Therefore, as soon as they got off the "Red-haired Girl", they saw the white houses on the dock. Most of them were built with large stones, with a rough and undecorated appearance, which was consistent with Angel's stereotype of the Feysac people.
"No wonder this place is called the 'White City'. It seems the nickname is correct."
Klein commented.
"But Bayam isn't 'generous'; on the contrary, he's quite stingy..."
Angel had just expressed her dissenting opinion when she was interrupted by continuous gunfire. She looked in the direction where the sound came from and found that two teams of suspected pirates were clashing on the street. They quickly went from insulting each other to pulling out knives and guns on the spot, trying to physically convince each other of their brutality.
The locals seemed unfazed by the sight. Those who were closer quickly moved away to avoid stray bullets, while those further away lacked the interest to even stop and watch. They were busy with their own work, either transporting stones in sturdy horse-drawn carts or sending the pre-processed whales to the numerous whaling houses to be turned into skins, meat, fat, and precious "gray amber."
These products all have their own uses. Whale skin can be made into clothes and sturdy leather shoes. Whale meat is the main source of food for the locals, and the fat can be refined into whale oil and shipped back to Feysac or exported to Loen.
The last "gray amber" is a top-grade spice. Whether it is incense or perfume made from it, it is a luxury circulated among nobles of various countries and can be exchanged for gold coins ten times its weight.
Just by relying on whale fishing, this city with no production has become the fulcrum of the Feysac Empire's foothold in the Sonia Sea.
"So, White City also means 'white whale'?"
Listening to the thuds of fighting and smelling the faint stench of boiling whale fat, Angel sighed.
"And the white of the sails. Whaling ships all have white sails, while the surrounding seas are filled with the black sails of pirates. This place is also known as the 'Pirate Paradise'. Even in street fights, no police dare intervene."
It was also Klein's first time "going abroad." His eyes kept wandering around various things as he commented sharply. He took Angel's arm and pulled her away, as she wanted to stop and watch. They left the bustling port and entered the city of Nas.
Compared to Bayam, where Loen colonists and Rorsted Archipelago natives coexisted, the population here was much more homogeneous. The streets were almost all filled with tall and strong Feysacs. Angel's height was almost at the top among Loen women, but there were few adult women shorter than her here, let alone male Feysacs, who were almost all over 1.9 meters tall.
This made the two of them, especially Klein, stand out on the street.
Fortunately, as a trading city and a colony far away from the mainland, it does not exclude guests from other countries. The two quickly found a hotel, booked a suite, and had their own temporary residence.
After all, they came to Naas only for a transfer. Angel and Klein's goal was to board the "Future" of "Admiral of the Stars" Cattleya tomorrow evening and head to the mysterious sea further east.
At the Tarot meeting yesterday, April 11, Angel apologized to Ms. Hermit and asked to add one more passenger to the 3,000-pound trip. Fortunately, the other party did not refuse and agreed after only asking for an extra 500 pounds.
This allowed Angel to fulfill Crane's birthday request: to travel with him to the east of the Sonia Sea and complete the journey.
"No, it's not satisfied."
After putting away his luggage, Klein's face once again showed a teasing expression, recovering from his disguised image of a "crazy adventurer."
Judging from his relaxed performance, the Faceless Man's potion should have been almost digested... Angel thought about it and smiled.
"So, Mr. Not-So-Crazy Adventurer, shall we go to lunch first, or shall we..."
This sentence seemed to bring Klein back to the day when they had just left the Northern Continent and embarked on the journey of the Five Seas. Although he knew that the other party was probably teasing, he couldn't help but ask back with some anticipation:
"Or first?"
…
"Grilled whale meat, fried whale steak, whale bone soup, raw whale fillet..."
Looking at the entire row of "special dishes" on the menu, Klein's expression was unclear whether it was anticipation or disappointment.
Of course, the disappointment was not because of the food here, but because of the feeling of being "tricked" by Angel just now.
Angel, who was sitting opposite him, was looking at the menu with great interest, and asked the waiter beside him for details from time to time.
Occasionally teasing Klein, causing him pain, had become her primary method for fulfilling her "acting" this month. At her current rate, she would be able to completely digest the "pain" potion in her body in at most another month and be ready for advancement.
This was due to the pain she inflicted on wanted criminals and evil adventurers in Bayam, but the most important point was the understanding of the potion rules after learning her "true identity":
Only the pain that settles deep in one's heart can help people recognize themselves and maintain themselves.
Of course, she had some suspicions that the pain she had caused Klein on his birthday had helped her digest the potion. This was not a deliberate act of alienation, but a genuine, heartfelt act.
In the end, he was the one who was happy, and he was the one who was in pain... Thinking with some guilt, Angel secretly shifted his gaze to Klein across from him, and found that he was checking the menu without looking up, so he felt relieved.
Seeing that she looked unhappy, the waiter approached her mysteriously and whispered:
"We also have some special dishes here that ordinary guests can't enjoy."
It's probably a sales tactic. They say it's limited, but they'll sell it to every customer... Although he was thinking this in his head, Angel still asked:
"What's the dish?"
“Braised fish offal!”
Um?
I had expected to hear about some strange cooking methods for strange parts of the body, but I didn't expect it to be such an ordinary dish. Klein, who listened carefully to the conversation, had a deep disappointment on his face.
As a resident of a foodie country in his previous life, what has he not seen?
But noticing that Angel's eyes seemed to be shining and he was very interested in this special dish, he ordered it anyway.
After adding a few whale dishes and two glasses of Sonia blood wine that the waiter highly recommended, Angel and Klein quietly waited for the food to be served and enjoyed their first meal in a "foreign country."
The fish fillet was fried a bit overcooked, but the aroma of the fat was prominent. I still can't get used to the sashimi, but the braised fish offal was indeed delicious. The braised innards were tender and refreshing, with a nice chewy texture. The seasoning was just right, covering up the fishy smell and making it very appetizing. It was worthy of being the waiter's special recommendation...
Squinting his eyes as he recalled the delicious taste of the food, Angel finished the blood wine in the cup and burped rather inelegantly. He quickly covered his mouth and looked at Klein in front of him, but was defeated by the other's implicit smile and looked away.
After eating and drinking, the two left the restaurant and walked towards the Gray Amber Street in the east of Nas City.
Although the lunch just now cost a full 2 pounds 6 soli - two-thirds of the price was the two glasses of blood wine - the satisfaction of the special food made the two misers who usually felt bad for spending a pound forget the power of money temporarily. They talked about the legends of this city with great interest and appreciated the scenery along the way.
It was not until they entered the depths of Gray Amber Street and went into a grocery store called "Fanatical Whale Dance" that the two men stopped smiling and greeted the owner who was drinking alone behind the counter.
After using the information provided by Ms. Hermit to exchange secret codes with the old man from Feysac, they followed the burly man, whose back resembled a white bear, to the warehouse behind the shop. They watched him take out a heavy crystal ball, place it on a dusty cloth mat, and stroke it, muttering to himself.
The room gradually grew dim, the light seemingly absorbed by the crystal ball.
If the boss hadn't been reeking of alcohol and burping from time to time, the dim warehouse would have looked like a scene where a cult was summoning demons.
Amid the scent of alcohol, the crystal ball that absorbed all light gradually lit up, revealing a female figure in a classical black robe.
After the grocery store owner staggered out of the warehouse and closed the door, the woman looked at the two people with a searching gaze and asked after a moment:
"Angelica Thatch, German Sparrow?"
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