Mercenaries

Upon receiving the alarming news from his son, Raul's carefree attitude turned serious. He needed to act as fast as possible.

Without dilly-dallying any further, he asked his accountant about how much of their fund was left after resupplying. He wanted to hire mercenaries, especially captains with experience.

Freelance mercenaries gathered at the Crested Triceratops upon hearing the news that Captain Raul was hiring. Each captain who gathered represented their crew.

The interviews were conducted at the dock where the Crested Triceratops rest. The imposing presence of the ship would hopefully deter those whose wills were weak.

Captain Raul was accompanied by his wife, Amina, along with the kids. Just in case the robed individuals decided to disguise themselves.

The first to apply was a captain named Silas. Everyone on the canal knew of him and his achievements. He was a weathered seafarer who could navigate the seven seas with ease.

His rugged look, along with his burly muscles, helped deter small-time pirates.

If anyone decided to pursue him, he would chase them back to the ends of the earth.

His shaggy beard and eye patch added to his fearsome image. Silas was recognized as the bandit of the sea. 'An eye for an eye' is his motto.

He had a personal vendetta against the Malao pirates, especially their captain's right-hand man.

To get on their nerves, he started collecting pirate relics in the hope he would encounter them.

"Guess you want revenge, huh?" commented Raul as he gandered at Silas.

"Exactly," said Silas with a gruff tone.

After Captain Silas, Captain Isabella was next. She had a striking appearance and appeared in an audacious manner. She was also charismatic.

"Have you even fought anyone?" questioned Raul as he tapped his pen on his head.

Captain Isabella smirked at Captain Raul. After being belittled by Captain Raul, she begins narrating her previous encounters with pirates.

If one were to assume the stories she told were true, she would be a great asset.

In her stories, she exaggerated some parts that made her seem like a genius tactician.

'You can't brute force your way out of everything' was her motto. She left a favorable impression on everyone, especially the men.

Her deep blue hair matched the wittiness she was assumed to have. Her striking emerald eyes sparkled with determination.

After screening a few more incompetents, a man known as Xavier arrived sometime later. He was known by others for his impressive ability to predict the weather.

Captain Xavier was a quiet and contemplative sailor, known for his impressive ability to predict the weather.

"For real?" inquired Captain Raul with an eyebrow raised.

"Of course," responded Xavier.

"How would that help us when fighting the Malao pirates?" inquired Raul while spinning his pen.

"Trust me, it will," said Xavier with confidence.

Raul thought about it and got a brilliant idea. If Xavier and Isabella worked together, outmaneuvering the pirates wouldn't be a far-fetched idea.

Somehow, the two of them had a familiar aura. Xavier's light blue hair and scholarly look matched the sheltered girl look of Isabella. Especially when they're both young.

"Alright, I'll contact you later," said Raul, as he noted down his idea in his journal.

Several more incompetents went up for the interview. Although they had interesting personalities, what Raul needed was capability.

"I've only gotten three so far…" sighed Raul as he looked down at his notes.

As he said that, the ground began shaking. When Raul looked up from his seat, he noticed another stern and muscular man.

He introduced himself as Captain Tiberius. He mentioned that their crew consisted of different countries' navies who deserted their posts out of greed.

However, greedy as they were, when they encountered Tiberius, they turned meek. Their arrogance was trampled by the giant in front of them.

After encountering him, his crew changed for the better. Tiberius didn't allow any messy appearances. As such, everyone on his crew was well-groomed and wore uniforms.

Meanwhile, Tiberius himself was an upstanding man. His chiseled jaw and relentless gaze exuded an authoritative presence.

"Haha, I'd like it if you could train my men, too," said Raul as he looked Tiberius in the eyes.

"If that is no problem," said Tiberius with a serious tone.

"I'm joking~" chuckled Raul.

After Tiberius came a flamboyant flamingo. She introduced herself as Captain Seraphina. She was clad in the color of Sakura leaves.

"Do I even bother? Ne-" Raul's shouting was halted.

"Wait! Please!" Seraphina pleaded with Raul.

"Fine, go on," said Raul as he stared into the descending moon.

Seraphina began explaining her beliefs. She believed that the essence of non-engagement is intimidation. That is where she and her crew come in.

"I reckon they'd get weirded out and not intimidated," Raul commented as she talked.

"This is a ruse!" Seraphina smashed her hands on the table and pointed at Raul.

Unlike our flashy appearance, we prepare numerous things. Such as sneak attacks.

Whether they were on water or land, their tactics have never been deciphered.

"Another one whose tactic is maneuvering?" Raul thought to himself as he turned the pages of Isabella and Xavier. "I guess one more wouldn't hurt," he added.

Time passed, and it was nearly time to depart. Every other applicant was downright absurd.

There was an eccentric alchemist, a wishy-washy poet, an inept inventor, an animal whisperer, a ghostbuster, and somehow a food critic who decided to apply.

The alchemist was a man named Ignatius. He threw a bottle down, creating mist all over. From the mist, he emerged.

He professed that he could concoct potions to turn the sea itself against the pirates.

He struggled to show evidence, such as the enormous volume needed to even affect the sea.

The poet, a man named Lysander, wore a dark blue cape and began reciting his poems to Raul. However, Raul was tired and dismissed him.

Morken, the inept inventor, arrived with an odd contraception on his hand. He mentioned that the contraception was to thwart the pirate's movement.

"Try it on that boat," Raul instructed the inventor to shoot for the wooden dinghy.

As he expected, the device was a failure. Frustrated, Raul berated him about it. He said that if the gadget didn't work on a measly dinghy, how would it work on an experienced boat.

Morken, with his oversized steampunk goggles, tucked his lab coat away and walked away in shame.

Before he walked off, Ahmed handed him a piece of paper and asked, "Can I have a way to contact you?"

"S-Sure," the inventor stuttered before writing his number down on the paper.

Then there was the so-called animal whisperer, Thalassa. She claimed to be able to control every sea creature, including dolphins.

"Try calling for them," said Raul as he shooed her away to the edge of the dock.

She stood on the dock while attempting her mercurial calls. As expected, nothing answered her call, and she was swiftly escorted away.

Next was Ephraim, the ghostbuster. He somehow convinced himself that pirates were nothing in front of ghosts.

He prepared jars that were filled with ghosts. Reluctant, Raul asked him to open one of the jars and point it at him.

As expected, nothing but a gust of wind and a putrid smell came from the jar. Disgusted, Raul sent him back.

Finally, there was the food critic turned mercenary, Gourmand. However, he wasn't interested in pirates and was busy describing his culinary skills.

Oblivious to him, as he continued blabbering about food and was eating away at the snack he prepared, Raul and the children left the dock and went back to rest on the Crested Triceratops.

Amina replaced him as the interviewer, as he trusted her the most. Accompanied by guards, Amina continued the interviews.

Nevertheless, the number of unique personalities that applied never dwindled. It kept on increasing.

As the sun started to rise, the interviews came to an end. While Amina instructed the selected captains to prepare their ships, Raul was napping away. Within four hours, they would continue their journey to the island near Batavia.