Chapter 617 - 238: Black Fire Mark

"Black hair, red eyes, dressed like a Wizard, and next to him is ’Devil’ Ronan, formerly of the Golden Dis... It’s him, alright. The Mutated Mage, Wei’en Loft, who caused that huge stir a while back."

"So it really is him. I can’t believe he actually came here..."

"I heard the Dawn Church sent a Saintess with a legion to hunt him down?"

"What? How long is he staying on the island? I really don’t want him here. What if that damned Saintess tracks him down..."

"What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just a Saintess from the Dawn Church."

"You idiot! Do you even know who’s after him? It’s the Judgement Saintess! That woman reached the legendary level thirty years ago. If she came here, she could obliterate you with a single glance!"

"What? She’s that terrifying?"

"She probably won’t... right? Shit, I’m suddenly tempted to run him off the island myself!"

"No way. I need to talk to my captain right now. If he’s really planning to stay on the island for any length of time, then I’m leaving immediately."

The people from the passing Extraordinary Clans weren’t worried about the Dawn Church’s Saintess. On the Eastern Continent, believing in the Dawn was not a bad thing.

Instead, they were more concerned about the Mutated Mage standing before them, who had previously made a move against the Purple Flower Clan.

"Did you hear? The one from the Purple Flower Clan was severely punished after returning to the city-state. She was even stripped of her status as heir."

"Yeah. She had just come into power and hoped to use this trip to solidify her position in the clan. She never expected to run into *him*... Worst of all, he stole away the people they had worked so hard to cultivate."

"No wonder I just saw Helvin getting off that ship. Has he become a pirate?"

"And speaking of the ship... you all saw it, right? It’s a Dawn Church ship?"

"It’s just like the rumors say. This Mutated Mage really hates the Dawn..."

"Stop talking! Shut up! He’s looking this way!"

[You have been scanned by Tishel Pacheco’s Spiritual Perception. Evaluation: A piece of trash weaker than a chicken. Reward: Survival Points +1.]

[...]

[You have been targeted by Jemani Street’s killing intent. Evaluation: A scumbag adept at disguise. Reward: Survival Points +1.]

Tsk.

Wei’en’s Spiritual Power blanketed the entire port and its adjacent streets. He could clearly hear the crowd’s gossip about him, along with their probing senses and malice. It was a familiar feeling, one he hadn’t experienced since his days in the Caster City State.

It had been the same back then. Just walking to and from work, he would be scrutinized by all sorts of people, and there were always those who would, for no reason at all, direct baseless malice toward him.

’Thinking back on it now, I guess that’s just how people survive in this world, isn’t it?’

At the end of the harbor district, two buildings stood on either side, larger and more exquisite than the shops before them. One bore a sign that read Aleksey’s Golden Tavern. The other simply flew the flag of the Black Pearl; having no name, it seemed all the more imposing.

The one thing they had in common was the lightly dressed women at each entrance. Unlike the women at other taverns, they didn’t call out with fiery passion. Instead, they stood quietly by the door. Only when a potential customer showed any intention of entering would they step forward with a practiced smile, leading them inside with a demeanor that was neither servile nor overbearing.

Several burly pirates stood guard at the entrance to each tavern, holding either cutlasses or flintlocks and staring coldly at the passersby.

Through the swinging doors, drunken pirates were occasionally dragged out and draped over a nearby post to sober up.

"There are always taverns under the Black Pearl’s banner, and business is especially good on an island like this."

Ronan’s triangular eyes lingered on the women at the entrance for a few seconds, and he swallowed hard. If Wei’en hadn’t been with him, he would have wanted to be just like the other pirates and hole up in a tavern for a few days.

"What about the tavern across from it?"

Wei’en glanced from side to side. Both taverns were protected by Rune Arrays, and their clientele consisted mostly of well-dressed members of Extraordinary Clans or some clearly more powerful Great Pirates.

They didn’t seem any different.

"The Golden Tavern? It’s also under the Black Pearl’s banner. But..." Ronan leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "One of them has to turn its profits over to the Black Pearl. The other doesn’t. It’s the private property of the few who are on rotation in the city-state."

"Oh."

’So the Golden Tavern is the private property of those three pirates from the Black Pearl.’ No wonder it could occupy such a prime location and dared to open right next to the other one.

"Let’s go. First, we’ll find the shipyard. You can rest afterward."

"Captain, I’m in no hurry, no hurry at all." Ronan chuckled sheepishly and quickly took a few steps forward, leading Wei’en toward the high wall at the end of the street.

Wei’en watched his back and smiled to himself.

’Ronan, my Second Officer, has changed quite a bit.’

"Tina... familiar." The white-haired girl tugged on his hand, her vacant eyes fixed on the nearby Aleksey’s Golden Tavern. Her indifferent voice held a hint of confusion.

"Hm?"

Wei’en, who had been about to follow Ronan, stopped when he heard her. He followed her gaze. "Is there something familiar to you in there?"

Tina nodded. "Tina... familiar."

"Is that so?"

Wei’en thoughtfully studied the red-brick, spire-roofed tavern. Peering in from the entrance, he could only see a few well-dressed Extraordinaries laughing and chatting in the front courtyard, each accompanied by a lightly dressed woman.

"Captain, is something wrong?" Ronan noticed the two of them hadn’t followed and hurried back to ask.

"No."

Wei’en thought for a moment, but decided to deal with the ship’s repairs first and come back to investigate later. "Let’s go. We’ll enter the city-state first."