Chapter 392: Approaching Queen
“Hello there, little one. Your name is Emhart, right? Fisher just introduced you to me. I’m Renee, a friend of Fisher’s. Nice to meet you.”
On a swaying little wooden boat, Renee sat at the bow, Fisher was in the middle, wielding a huge wooden paddle, while Emhart had just woken up. Fisher briefly told him that they had dealt with the pursuers from the Sorceress Research Society, left the Northern Region, and established a course to look for a way to escape the death that was chasing Fisher in the Eastern Ocean.
However, it seemed this was still Renee and Emhart’s first formal meeting.
Emhart floated in mid-air, glanced at Renee in front of him, then turned to look at Fisher who was behind him, now robust and rowing the boat. He then cleared his throat, raised his head and said to Renee,
“Um, I am the great Sir Book Emhart. You can call me the great Sir Book or the great Emhart, but you must not call me little one!”
“Then I’ll just call you Emhart. Did you meet Fisher in Nali? Thinking about it, you went from Nali to the Northern Region with him. Thank you for looking after him during the time he was pursued by the Sorceress Research Society. After all, I know he is quite a difficult man to deal with.”
Emhart, puffing out his chest upon hearing Renee’s words, could not help but circle around and glance back at Fisher, who was rowing behind them. He muttered to Renee,
“Of course! This bad guy bullies me every day, doing a lot of bad things. It’s simply unforgivable. Fortunately, I am the great Emhart! If it were someone else…”
“Ah, that’s really too much, Emhart. Tell me what bad things he has done along the way. How about I serve you justice?”
“Well, he…”
Emhart was about to angrily say something, but upon seeing Fisher’s indifferent expression, his words turned around in his throat, and he stammered,
“He just tends to say some insensitive things, but other than that, he’s actually quite nice. A pretty good human.”
“I see, it seems you have a high opinion of him. That’s good. If he dares to bully you again, just let me know. I’ll help you teach him a lesson.”
“Um, but the great Emhart will not be bullied!”
Renee stretched out her delicate hand, wrapped in a white light dress, showing off to Fisher. Emhart nodded and flew back to Fisher’s shoulder. He looked at the now robust Fisher, realizing that it was thanks to this mysterious sorceress before him.
Her powerful ability to help Fisher overcome death and reset his rank indicated she was quite extraordinary. He had never known such a person before, and the aura she exuded was not comparable to any lady he had encountered previously.
As Emhart assessed the tacit atmosphere on the boat—one person sitting with a smile at the bow, and the other sitting calmly in the middle of the boat—he inexplicably felt a sense of peace from Fisher, an unusual feeling for him. He rarely interrupted Renee and instead continued to quietly row the boat, occasionally glancing up to meet her gaze.
Thus, for the above reasons, Emhart temporarily forgot to include Renee in the so-called “ex-girlfriend list.”
Before long, a vague shadow of an island appeared on the sea surface before Renee and Fisher. With Fisher’s excellent eyesight, he spotted many ships of different sizes on the sea, and without needing to guess, he knew they all belonged to the pirates of the Pirate Haven.
“We’re almost there, hold on tight!”
At this moment, Renee gently extended her right hand into the water beneath the surface. Fisher pulled the rowing paddle out of the water, and the little wooden boat, carried by the waves and inertia, moved forward. As Renee’s hand cut through the sea surface, an illusory, deep tunnel leading to an unknown direction suddenly emerged.
Fisher grabbed the boat with one hand and pulled the floating Emhart back with the other. As the boat gradually sank into that illusory tunnel, they sped through the crevice until after a few seconds, the wooden boat suddenly floated up, appearing in a shadowy corner of a port.
“Everyone, get ready, unload the goods!”
“Someone help!”
“Coin exchange! Nali, Northern Region Silver Dollar, Saint Coins, fair trade!”
The bustling sounds of the surrounding port became overwhelming. Renee and Fisher’s little wooden boat quietly appeared at the edge of the port, unnoticed by anyone. Fisher glanced around and realized they were at the edge of a hollow island, with greenery cascading down the towering cliffs and waterfalls, forming rings of iridescent rainbows under the sunlight.
This was the entrance to the depths of the Eastern Ocean and the largest gathering place for pirates in the world. Many criminals, madmen, and opportunists from their own countries came here for various reasons, hoping to participate in what could be the greatest task of the century—a dream sought by every adventurer and pioneer—searching for the Stormy Sea.
The story began like this: a pioneer from the Western Continent bought a strong slave on the Southern Continent and had him help out on the ship. After enduring humiliation for a long time, the slave finally found an opportunity to kill the pioneer and take his ship. But the indigenous man did not return to his homeland on the Southern Continent; he was inspired by the great vision of adventurers and wanted to see the broader scenery of the world.
Thus, he recruited men and ran amok, seizing ships from the Western Continent, Southern Continent, or even the Northern Region, and naturally visiting many unknown and wondrous worlds, forging his name in the vast ocean. Huge bounties and renowned fame could no longer satisfy him until he began to challenge the legendary Stormy Sea.
Yes, this is the story of the founder of the Pirate Haven, the Black Chieftain. He is still deep in the Eastern Ocean, searching for the legendary Stormy Sea. He has allied with Alagina, one of the “Four Great Pirates”, promising her that one day she would return to the Sardinia Kingdom.
But that wasn’t the most crucial part. Fisher had been observing the surroundings not to learn about the local customs but to see if the extremely conspicuous Iceberg Queen was docked here. After a detailed examination and finding no sign of the Iceberg Queen, he let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief.
In the port, countless larks stood on the ship masts and stacked goods, and Renee, wearing a white long dress, slowly transformed into an elegant black dress of the Cardu style. She also sported a sun hat on her head and gracefully carried a small bag in her hand.
Fisher turned to look at her. She playfully stood up and twirled in front of Fisher, smiling as she asked,
“Does this look good?”
“So, since you could directly pull us into the crevice, why did I have to row for so long?”
“Because a man sweating in front of a woman is handsome! But you didn’t row for nothing; look, don’t I look good in this new outfit? Come on, say it looks good!”
“It looks good.”
“Good taste! I wonder if there are new clothing styles in Nali and Cardu while I’ve been away for half a year. We can go check it out later. Your clothes also need to be changed; wearing this white shirt and black pants every day is getting boring. Emhart, do you want anything? During the time you spent with Fisher, he definitely hasn’t given you any gifts. I can make it up for him, how about that?”
As Renee spoke, she jumped off the boat. Fisher and Emhart exchanged glances, feeling as if everything was being arranged for them without a doubt. After a moment of silence, Emhart suddenly said to Fisher,
“You better think twice. You’d better give me something as compensation; otherwise, who knows when I might not be able to hold on to my principles and switch sides to Renee and tell her all the bad things you’ve done during this time.”
“…”
Fisher raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the beautiful lady waving at him at the edge of the port, maintaining silence without any other expression, except for a slight involuntary smile creeping up his lips.
The Pirate Haven was the Black Chieftain’s base for searching for the Stormy Sea, and it also had various trade venues. Similar to Pat Sulshen Island, the most popular transactions here were those that strayed outside the law.
Fisher and Renee walked side by side within the original island-style port, while Emhart shrunk back into Fisher’s pocket. They were not just looking at the things the nearby pirates were selling, but were also looking for Old Jack. Before leaving, Old Jack had told Fisher that Paz had given him a shop in one of the pirate ports. He should be managing this shop with Isabel and the three Mouse Daughters, and it was highly likely a tavern, continuing his old tradition from Snakehead Street in Nali.
“A little bit of Purple Lightning Water Grass will be enough, thank you. By the way, if you have any candy, just get me two bags.”
It turned out that what Renee wanted to buy was a type of not-so-rare magic material. Taking this opportunity, Fisher also bought some magic materials because he needed to find a way to resolve the issue with Elizabeth. Although making a phone call was the most direct way to notify her that he was not dead, he still had to deal with his own death and couldn’t return to Nali for now. A single phone call was simply not enough.
He already had a better solution.
After purchasing some spare magic materials with Renee, she also bought Fisher a suitable suit, finally putting an end to his embarrassing appearance of only wearing a white shirt since the Northern Region.
“Well, since this is the place where pirates live, even if there’s a store selling such clothes, it’s just for the pirates to dress decently to negotiate with the fanatics from the Eastern Coast of the Western Continent. But it’s acceptable; Fisher has a good foundation. He looks good in anything.”
“Is it really necessary? From my past experience, it doesn’t matter how well you dress; once you leave Saint Nali, your clothes will soon get ruined, and it will just cost your little treasury’s money, but I don’t mind.”
“Hmm, my money is your money, and your money is still my money. You won’t feel bad spending mine. Besides, clothes are only for temporary looks. Even if they can be worn many times, people will eventually get bored. Alright, this one it is, and then we’ll go see the elder you mentioned.”
Renee looked at Fisher, who was once again handsome and charming, and nodded in satisfaction. Generously, she took out some Cardu Saint Coins from the small bag she was carrying and placed them in front of the shop owner. After hearing this, Fisher nodded and walked out of the store. At the end of his line of sight, there was a luxurious tavern flashing a gentle white light at its entrance, with a sign that read,
“Old Jack and Paz’s Tavern, welcoming humans and all subhumans.”
Below that line of text was another line in the Northern Region Language, meaning “Ice Mountain Queen.”
Fisher led Renee into the warmly lit tavern. It was still afternoon, and there were hardly any customers inside. At the far end of the neatly arranged tables and chairs was an indoor swing, behind which was a bookshelf. At that moment, three familiar small figures were gathered around reading a storybook in front of the bookshelf.
“Ding ding ding~”
As Fisher and Renee entered, the wind chimes at the door rang with a crisp sound, immediately catching the attention of the three lively little ones.
“Grandpa, we have guests! It’s Fisher! And a beautiful big sister!”
“Fisher! Fisher is back!”
Fisher smiled and greeted Kalma, Dismissed and the others, while Renee also smiled and patted the heads of the three mouse girls.
“Hello, little ones. I’m Fisher’s friend. I have a little candy here. Would you like some?”
“Yay! There’s candy! Fisher, Grandpa is behind the counter!”
Fisher looked at the two bags of candy Renee had handed out, slightly stunned. Then he raised his head and saw Old Jack, dressed in a dark-colored bartender’s outfit, leaning in the center of the tavern behind the counter, looking at Fisher and the lady who had greeted him with some surprise.
“Hello, I am Fisher’s friend, Renee. Fisher said you haven’t seen each other for a long time. We came here to see you.”
“Ah, I see.”
Old Jack looked at Fisher as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. However, soon, the candy-holding Renee was surrounded by the three bouncy little girls who eagerly started to share the candy.
Fisher approached Old Jack’s counter and said,
“It looks like you’ve been doing well here at ‘Old Jack and Paz’s Tavern.’ Have you and that vice director Paz become…?”
Facing Fisher’s teasing smile, Old Jack couldn’t help but feel a bit angry. He first cast a discreet glance at the beautiful lady who was still playing with Kalma and the others not far away, then leaned a little closer to Fisher, whispering,
“Fisher, why did you have to come today of all days and bring a lady with you? Alagina and Paz are out at sea with the Black Chieftain, working on a detailed map of the Eastern Ocean to determine the exact location of the Stormy Sea. You know the Eastern Ocean is the largest ocean out there; they may not come back for a long time, so occasionally Alagina returns with a supply ship, and because of my relationship with Paz, she would also come to check on me and bring some gifts from Paz.”
Excluding the hints of Old Jack’s private life concerning Paz that hadn’t gone unnoticed, the most critical part seemed to be that Old Jack had alluded to something else.
His expression changed slightly as he glanced back at Renee, who was still unaware and playing with the little girls.
Fisher moved a little closer to Old Jack’s counter and said with a slight headache,
“You mean Alagina will be back today, coming here?”
“Not today, but right now!”
Upon hearing this, Fisher turned to look. Old Jack’s tavern had an excellent location, providing a perfect view of the entire port of Pirate Haven. Thus, with his keen eyesight, he immediately spotted a ship flying the flag of the Iceberg Queen docked at some point.
And coming down from that ship was a tall woman with long white hair and an expressionless face—the Sardinian Queen, whom Fisher knew all too well, after all, they had been very close one night.
That was the Iceberg Queen, Alagina.
Please support with votes, tips, and encouragement. It means a lot to me!
Thank you so much for your support!
(End of Chapter)
