Chapter 616: Landing on the Island

‘She actually likes those “princess gets kidnapped by the evil dragon, and the knight endures countless hardships to rescue her” kinds of novels?’

“S-Something like that…” Pavla’s confidence wavered, and she hung her head so low it nearly touched her collar. “I-I can’t do anything here…”

“Alright, I promise.”

Although Wei’en didn’t understand the thoughts of this kind Candidacy Saintess, it didn’t stop him from agreeing to her request.

‘Should I buy her some more? Maybe some novels about an Evil Mage imprisoning a Saintess, and then… that kind of thing?’

‘Tsk tsk, I hope she likes this type of legendary tale!’

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you so much!” Pavla stood up happily and went back to the kitchen utensils, cheerfully preparing lunch for the Guards.

‘As long as I have those novels to read, I don’t care how long I have to stay here.’

‘Hmph, once Lady Celestia rescues me from this place, I’ll finally be free from the Evil Mage’s control.’

Seeing her act like this, Wei’en couldn’t help but shake his head. He just hoped this wasn’t some side effect of being held captive for too long.

‘Otherwise, if that Judgement Saintess ever saw her like this, she’d probably swear to hunt me to the ends of the earth.’

Not long after, Wei’en finished his lunch. After telling Shawa and Zero to watch over the theater, he took Little White Fur, left the theater space, and returned to the Leonard.

“Captain, we’re about to dock.”

Ronan steered the ship while having Helvin and the others lower the sails and drop anchor, bringing them to a steady stop at the port of Aleksey Island.

“Mm.”

Wei’en held Tina’s hand and walked to the bow, sizing up the city-state in the distance.

With his Spiritual Sense spread out, he could detect that the towering city walls were protected by a Rune Array, preventing him from perceiving what was inside.

But he got a general idea of the island’s basic situation.

It was about twice the size of the Caster City State. Two-thirds of the area was occupied by the city-state at the island’s center, while the rest consisted of the port and coastal shops. He didn’t see any of the blood-soaked little chapels he had seen on Dakman Island.

‘Or perhaps there are some secrets hidden within that city-state… I’ll need to investigate further.’

“Captain, let’s dock the Leonard here for now. Once we’ve spoken with the repair yard, they’ll arrange for people to move the ship into a dry dock,” Ronan came over after the ship had steadied and said.

“Mm.” Wei’en nodded. “Are you familiar with this place?”

“I’ve been here a few times before, so I know my way around,”

Ronan signaled for the others to hurry up and clean the cabins and deck, then explained, “Aleksey Island is a trade island under the protection of the Black Pearl. Most of the ships that come and go are merchant vessels from various Extraordinary Clans, or Pirate Ships.”

“A few captains from the Black Pearl take turns overseeing the island, and the rules in the Aleksey City State change whenever they rotate.”

“Oh?” Wei’en raised an eyebrow. “You mean when the captains acting as City-State Governor change, the city-state’s laws change with them?”

“Yes, exactly,” Ronan nodded. “To use the terminology from the mainland city-states, that’s precisely it.”

“Now that’s interesting… Tell me, how are they different?”

After the pirates finished tidying up the ship, Wei’en jumped off the Leonard while carrying Tina. Ronan also waved for the men behind them to follow.

“‘One-Eye’ Adolard Walls was originally a cannoneer on the Black Pearl. He’s got a rough personality. When it’s his turn to rule, he’ll randomly pick people from different Pirate Gangs to enter the Gladiatorial Arena for a fight to the death.”

As they walked out of the port, Ronan continued, “But he’s dead drunk most of the time, so it doesn’t happen often.”

“‘Pretty Hands’ Franda Carneiro was originally the Black Pearl’s ship doctor. She was sent here as punishment by Jack First Officer after making a mistake. If she’s the City-State Governor, things can get tricky.”

“Oh?”

‘One-Eye was already interesting enough. I wonder what “Pretty Hands” is like?’ a hint of interest appeared on Wei’en’s face.

“Rumor has it she’s very fond of handsome men, so…” Ronan glanced at Wei’en and chuckled quietly. “Men like you, Captain. If she finds out about you, she’ll invite you to dinner.”

“And then?”

“And then, those who have dinner with her ‘voluntarily’ stay on the island to become one of the companions in the Imperial Palace she built.”

Wei’en: “…”

‘Companions? Aren’t those just lovers?’

“Are there any others?”

“Last is ‘The Slaughterer,’ Horant Kirkland. Compared to the other two, Horant loves dealing with people who cause trouble on the island. Anyone he catches gets tortured to death.”

“Sounds like they’re all ‘upstanding citizens’,” Wei’en commented sarcastically.

“…” Ronan had no idea how he came to the conclusion that these people were law-abiding, but he added a reminder anyway. “Aside from those points of interest, private fighting is forbidden on this island, as is proselytizing by the church and anything that harms others.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it!”

“I understand. Let’s go.” Wei’en glanced at the pirates following behind them and gestured. “Let them go have their fun. They don’t need to follow us around. Just have them notify me if anything comes up.”

“Understood.”

Ronan waved for Helvin and the others to go off on their own, while he continued to lead Wei’en into the city-state to find a shipyard that could repair large vessels.

“Awesome, we can finally go have some fun! See you all in three days!”

“Only three days? Make it five. Come find me at this tavern in five days.”

“Don’t get into trouble, you bastards!”

“We know, Boatswain!”

Boatswain Helvin cursed at them good-naturedly, then found a tavern himself. Waving a fistful of gold he had prepared earlier, he wrapped an arm around a fiery, welcoming girl at the door and disappeared into a room…

Perceiving all this, Wei’en secretly curled his lip. ‘These bastards don’t waste any time. So direct!’

‘And here I am, their captain, still without a place to stay!’

“Another big Pirate Ship has landed! Hurry over, or the other taverns will get them first!”

“Hurry, hurry…”

“Hey? Did you guys see that one guy?”

“Who?”

“That guy! The one next to the man with the narrow eyes! I think he’s the Mutated Mage who robbed the Cowardly Purple Flower Clan! I heard he even refused an invitation from the Black Pearl!”

“Oh, it’s him! I think I heard Lord ‘One-Eye’ on the island mention him before. Didn’t expect him to actually show up here. Now this is going to be fun to watch.”

“Haha…”

‘Oh?’

Wei’en’s expression shifted slightly as his Spiritual Sense picked up the discussions of the passing sailors and pirates.

‘Looks like the days ahead on this island are going to be interesting, aren’t they?’