Chapter 186 Investigation
Li Wen walked out of the room, and the morning light sprinkled, casting a layer of light golden radiance on the crowd on the deck. Sailors busily shuttled between them, while travelers gathered together with their respective expressions, be it nervous, curious, or indifferent. Victoria was already standing in a prominent position, talking to Captain Remington. She was wearing an elegant long dress, and her golden hair shone brightly in the sunlight, like an elf princess. Of course, she was undoubtedly a princess.
Moria stood not far away, his expression calm, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding crowd, as if searching for something. Li Wen noticed that his gaze occasionally lingered on certain passengers for a moment before quickly moving away.
“Miss Mephistopheles, good morning.” Moria noticed Li Wen and gave a slight nod.
“Your gaze is too obvious. If I were that guy, I wouldn’t reveal any clues when you look over.”
The guy Li Wen was referring to was naturally the pirate Joseph, but Moria shouldn’t have that information yet. Li Wen hesitated whether to mention it to him, but upon reflection, she felt it was unnecessary.
“I’m not looking for him,” Moria said softly, without explaining his actions.
At this moment, Captain Remington clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Everyone, please be quiet.” His voice was loud, with an undeniable authority. “As you all know, we encountered some unpleasant incidents last night. To ensure everyone’s safety, the Kingdom Navy has intervened. Now, please cooperate with the Navy officers and undergo inspection one by one.”
A commotion arose from the crowd. After all, in their eyes, what happened yesterday was just a minor conflict, not a big deal at all. The presence of the Kingdom Navy was already quite inexplicable, and now they were being asked to stand in the scorching sun for an investigation, which no one would willingly accept.
But just then, the loud roar of a musket crushed all the passengers’ anger and dissatisfaction. A young officer in a magnificent uniform stepped forward. He stood tall and had sharp eyes that seemed to see through everything. He had an officer’s sword at his waist and held a short musket in his right hand. The smoke rising from the muzzle indicated that he was the one who had just fired.
The rioting crowd quickly quieted down. After all, at sea, no one dared to challenge the authority of the Kingdom Navy.
“Listen to me, everyone! I am Colonel Grant, the commander of the support ship ‘Owl Wolf Breaking Waves’ of the Fourth Fleet of the Kingdom Navy.” The officer introduced himself concisely and righteously. “According to intelligence, a dangerous fugitive has infiltrated this ship. To ensure your safety, we need to search everyone. Please cooperate and do not attempt to conceal anything.”
Perhaps out of trust in the Kingdom Navy, when they heard the words “dangerous fugitive,” the crew members were not surprised or panicked. They were even interested in discussing how quickly the unfortunate fugitive would be caught.
As soon as Colonel Grant finished speaking, several accompanying Navy officers began to search passengers one by one with the crew and passenger lists. Li Wen noticed that Grant’s gaze kept sweeping towards Victoria, with a hint of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes.
This did not seem strange. After all, Victoria had not made any disguise except for her eye color. If the officer had the chance to see the kingdom’s princess from afar when meeting the queen, he would surely not forget her exquisite and perfect doll-like appearance.
What truly made Li Wen feel strange was Victoria’s attitude. She seemed completely unaware of Grant’s gaze, standing obediently beside the captain, with a smile on her face that could be either relief or mockery.
The search went smoothly, and soon it was Li Wen’s turn. Although she and Moria were traveling for free thanks to Selwin’s introduction, it did not mean they were not on the passenger list, so they faced the Navy’s search with a nonchalant attitude.
However, when they wanted to check Li Wen’s belongings, the girl naturally could not agree to such a thing. Her magical pocket from the Ghost Fairy contained too many contraband items. So, she cast a Prayer at the Navy officers, directly making them abandon the idea. In countries with an order side, Glor is the best pass. Of course, Players are an exception.
After their search was completed, Moria walked towards the officer.
This move was naturally noticed by Colonel Grant, who tensed up and placed his left hand on his sword hilt.
“Hello, Colonel Grant. I am a Knight from The Holy See. You can call me Moria.”
Upon hearing this, the Colonel’s serious gaze softened.
“Captain Remington mentioned you to me. Do you have any information about the fugitive to report? Or do you have urgent and unmissable matters to attend to, and cannot stay here for long? ‘Adventurer’ will not set sail until the fugitive is found. If your business is indeed urgent, I can dispatch a small boat to send you to the nearest port.”
“Thank you very much for your suggestion, but that’s not what I wanted to say.” A hint of strangeness flashed in the young priest’s calm eyes. He handed the shell to the Colonel. “First, this was found in our room. Second, I would like to know about the fugitive. If possible, please allow me to participate in this operation. As a priest of Glor, I cannot stand idly by. After all, His envoy once taught us: whatever evil is seen, must be eradicated.”
Besides, as early as boarding, Moria had considered ensuring the ship’s safe arrival at its destination as his responsibility. After all, he just didn’t have money to pay for the ship fare, which didn’t mean he liked to freeload without paying the price.
“This feeling indeed seems like his work.” The Colonel’s expression immediately became serious upon taking the shell. “As for your request, please forgive me for refusing.”
He gave the Glor priest a considerable amount of respect, but it was precisely this respect that prevented him from agreeing. After all…
“Perhaps you don’t believe it, but Joseph Vilburad, that fugitive, is a formidable opponent. With your strength alone, it might be difficult to intervene in this battle. Of course, nor can I. However, please believe that there will be specialized personnel to deal with him. If you are worried, then please protect the passengers on the ship when the battle occurs.”
Grant did not know Moria’s strength, but judging by his race and age, even if he was a crew member of The Holy See, the Colonel felt he would not be much stronger than him.
Seeing that he could not convince the Colonel, Moria chose to remain silent. However, given his personality, Li Wen guessed that he would still not stand by and do nothing when the time came.
Just then, the accompanying Navy officers had finished searching the crew and passengers. They ran over with nervous expressions.
“Report, Officer, the number of passengers is correct, but the crew list doesn’t match… If this list is accurate, then at least six people have not appeared for the investigation!”
“Six people?”
As soon as these words were spoken, not only Colonel Grant but also Captain Remington’s expression changed.
