Interpretation

It wasn't really a thought that had occurred to me.

Just what would happen to those that were under Crowell's control when we left the city?

I became worried but decided to keep that thought out of my mind for now.

Scarlett went into the medical supply room first, followed by Mun and me quickly after.

It was a room full of wooden shelves in every corner of the room with vials and small boxes stored on them. Each vial or box were clearly labeled and although there were many different sizes of everything close together, the room looked neatly sorted for some reason.

There was a single square table in the middle of the room with other vials and boxes on it.

Next to the table was a short lady with short black hair. She was wearing the same uniform as the rest of Scarlett's crewmates. She adjusted her glasses as we entered the room.

"Captain. What brings you here, ma'am?" She asked in a cool voice.

Unlike the others that were under Crowell's control, she seemed the most normal out of them all.

"Betty, you're going to be coming with us now," Scarlett spoke as she slowly stepped closer towards her.

Betty quickly jotted a note in the book she had been holding before explaining, "No need to be wary, Captain. I won't resist you."

Scarlett stopped moving.

"I have begun grasping the limitations of Crowell's ability."

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked.

Betty placed the book on the table and then held up one finger, "His one limitation is that no matter what order he gives, it is up to the person he commanded to act out the way they comprehended the order."

Noticing that we were all confused, she continued, "What I'm getting at is, if the order was to get the best food in the city, rather than choosing what Crowell believes the best food in the city is, it will be what the person commanded believes it to be."

"What can we use that information for?" I asked.

Why does it matter?

I felt ashamed when Betty let out a long sigh, "Why are you bringing kids around, Captain? Isn't it bad enough that we have men who act like children?"

Scarlett laughed, "Any pair of muscles can help when dealing with the unknown. Anyhow, from what they told me; this one might be immune to whatever mumbo-jumbo Crowell is working with."

With a blink of an eye, Betty was already right next to my face, examining me closely.

"Immune, you say?" She murmured to herself. "Very interesting…"

I let out a sigh of relief once she backed away and adjusted her glasses.

"Any idea what makes him special?" Scarlett asked.

"Not at the moment, no. He just seems like a regular kid, although well trained judging from his figure. From your armor, I assumed you were from the academy, am I correct in assuming that?"

I nodded. The academy uniform was rarely seen outside of Ravenwalt's training grounds, so I was surprised she knew.

"That matter aside, I have grave news to share with you, Captain," Betty began.

When Scarlett instructed her to go on, she continued, "Crowell appears to be planning on moving to other cities nearby and spreading his control. The next big city he wants to gain control of is Newron."

Scarlett held her chin as she whispered to herself, "With the power that he has, accomplishing something like that should be an easy feat. He will be unstoppable if he can get control over Newron's technology along with the mindless army he would be building on the way."

If he can make a person do anything he wants, then there's no way anyone can stand against him. First, he will take over Newron, and then Ravenwalt. Once he can get control over Ravenwalt, then it's all over for Grandel.

"We have to stop him here," I said.

It took a few seconds, but Scarlett shook her head, "Our only objective is to get my crew and get out of this city. We will head for Aegis like you asked, but then we'll be heading to a different country. Grandel won't be safe anymore."

"How could you say something like that?" I was shocked.

"Din, don't get the wrong idea here, we're no knights. We don't even associate with this country. We are pirates, we have no home and we have no responsibilities. We are free people that wander through the sea. We won't risk our lives for a country we have no affiliation with."

I had nothing I could say to her. I needed help, but there was no one else I could turn to.

There was nothing I could do alone. Would it be better if I just followed them? It's not like I have any place in this country now anyways.

"We've been dawdling for far too long, let's head back to camp," Scarlett instructed. "I trust you'll follow us with no trouble?"

Betty adjusted her glasses, "Of course. My order was to keep tabs on the medical supplies daily and since I've finished that task for the day, I have my free will back. Although I can't say for sure how I'll act when it comes the next day."

Although she explained herself in a calm way, I could tell that she was worried when she spoke her last part.

As we were making our way back to the camp, the mist seemed to have gotten lighter.

I could see the crowd in the city center, ever so slightly.

What worried me was that the opposite would be true as well. We had to be more careful as we moved through the city into the forest.

We managed to get out of the city center and were on the road surrounded by crops.

"We finally found you. Scarlett!"

It was a voice I wasn't familiar with.

I turned around and noticed a scrawny tall man wearing a black and white suit. He was wearing a hat similar to Scarlett. He must be a pirate captain as well.

Behind him were three men wearing a similar suit but with bandannas instead of the hat. They each held a dagger in one hand and had wide nasty smiles on their faces.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!"

There were some farmers nearby that were gathering around us, taking notice of all the noise.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"We're too close to the camp to run there now without revealing its location," Scarlett whispered. "We have to fight them here."

She turned around and then unveiled her face, "Took you long enough, you piece of shite, Frankie. Prepare yourselves because we're not holding back!"

"Captain, what do we do? We were supposed to take them peacefully."

I heard one of them ask the captain.

Frankie took out his own dagger before answering, "Peaceful means little resistance, yeah? Well how can they resist if they're dead, am I right, men?!"

His crewmates cheered from behind him.

"You guys can't be doing that here."

One of the farmers stepped outside of the fence that was around his crops. He walked up to Frankie to lecture him.

"We need to be peaceful for Crowell," the farmer said as he held Frankie's shoulder.

With no hesitation, Frankie sliced over the farmer's chest.

"Stay out of this, old man."

The farmer backed away while grabbing his chest. He began coughing up blood and then eventually, fell on the dirt road.

It was a horrendous sight, but I wasn't expecting any less from a pirate.

Frankie turned his attention back towards us.

"What was it you said? No holding back, right?"