XX. Boss Direct Hire

Fen finished his business and stepped out of the adventurer's guild's main entrance.

"What's wrong, is there some big issue?"

Seeing Liszt's anxious state, Fen couldn't help but wonder.

Liszt was the tough guy who didn't even frown when surrounded by a dozen pirates at Heaven Port. Now, sitting in a chair, shaking his leg while smoking, his gaze unfocused and daydreaming, was extremely rare for him. The last time this happened was when his secret meeting with the daughter of a big shot at Heaven Port was discovered.

At Fen's words, Liszt stubbed out his cigarette.

"Did you buy a newspaper?"

Liszt intended to seek Fen's counsel. Having mingled in the upper echelons of the Western Continent, he was more aware of the impacts brought about by the operation of steam trains.

"Are you talking about the steam train affair? I heard adventurers inside discussing it. A friend of mine also thought of this invention but didn't publish his thesis due to the circumstances. Besides, he had no good ideas for precision molds for iron ore processing. I didn't expect it to actually come to fruition now, with a 'Blessing from Eternal and Time Dragon.' That's a bit far-fetched."

Fen didn't take it seriously, although he was slightly regretful. That friend was actually himself; he simply enjoyed his obsession with Magic Techniques more than his inventions.

Liszt fell silent for a moment, then slapped his forehead. Indeed, it was just a steam train. Having mixed with pirates for too long, his brain had become rusty.

It didn't represent much, after all. Upon careful consideration, it was merely a slight advancement in transportation. And it was still a long way from widespread application—it had just started operating on a single route. The Western Continent was much larger than the combined size of the seven continents and was far from being flat and unobstructed, with dangerous chasms, high peaks, and no-go zones rife with creatures. It was hard to say how many years building the infrastructure would take.

He just wondered what else that traitor could come up with.

"Are you so troubled over this matter?"

Fen was perplexed, then added, "I actually have a good idea. Soon, ideally within half a year, we should also make a trip to the Aran Empire to try our luck. Since the freight train has just started, it's possible they will test passenger service on that track. The first batch to try it out will certainly be nobles eager for something new. We could rob them."

Fen stroked his chin, thinking it was a good idea; they had to act before anyone else thought of it.

Liszt pulled a face as if he had swallowed a fly. General Fen was such a clever man; how could he suddenly become so idiotic?

"How are we going to rob them? A bunch of us, over a dozen, are wanted criminals. How do we get on the train? Are we supposed to chase it? Outrun the train?"

Liszt suddenly became trapped by a modern way of thinking.

Fen looked as if he had swallowed a fly. Liszt was such a clever man; how could he suddenly become so idiotic?

"Perhaps we can have Ox, that monster power fish, carry some extra stones, the kind that weighs seven or eight hundred pounds. We could block the railroad, force the train to stop somewhere remote where the soldiers can't reach it quickly. We'll rob everyone on the train, kill those who need killing, and it would be perfect to kidnap a few Great Nobles for ransom. The money we would make from this... I can scarcely imagine."

Fen, too, fell into the fixed mindset of a pirate, hard to imagine he too was once a noble.

"You've awakened the dreamer with a single phrase. Listening to you is better than ten years of reading!"

Liszt saw the light all at once. He truly was not unworthy of being General Fen, his idea even cleverer than making a triple profit off a single bet at the casino.

Fen also bought a newspaper from a newsboy and studied it carefully, planning to take it back to the ship to give those illiterates a lesson.

Mixing with pirates had many disadvantages; being cut off from news was one of the biggest. Once, they had snatched a great haul, making a profit of more than nine hundred Golden Dragons. The crew spent almost half a year in Heaven Port, indulging in all vices and investing in some properties, foolishly spending all the money they would need for the rest of their lives. They had nearly worn themselves out and by the time they returned to the Western Continent, the climate and landscape had changed entirely.

As Fen read the newspaper, aside from the steam train matter, it was mostly about recent murders on the East Shore, where all the victims were tiger-people. The officials suspected a psychopath who hated the tiger-man race, when in reality, it was a major case pinned on Swan's back.

Another point of interest was a recent event in the northern part of Beima Duchy, where an Honor Level Adventure Group had killed a Necromancer. Fen had once had a brief acquaintance with this Necromancer during his time with the Tower Alliance; truly, life was unpredictable.

The rest of the news was just gossip among adventurers, like which Heroic Level had confirmed a relationship with which woman, sleeping together, all written by brainless editors with nothing better to report.

It was impossible to find any news about refugees or famine in the newspaper. These were printed by the adventurer's guild and wouldn't mention local politics. On someone else's turf, it was best to pay taxes and conduct business honestly.

At the moment Fen closed the newspaper.

"Captain, Captain, you're here too? I have something to tell you."

An informant with shifty eyes spotted the drunk, wailing like a crying bomb Archer and happened to recognize Liszt, approaching enthusiastically. About a dozen days earlier, when Liszt had come ashore, it was this guy he sought out to inquire about the recent situation on the East Shore and Londen City, and whether there were any pirates competing with Liszt for business.

Liszt also noticed the man, somewhat familiar, but it still took a while before he remembered.

"Oh, it's you, speak quickly."

Liszt had initially planned to inquire about the Thief Guild, but after giving it some thought, he decided against it. These informants played both sides, and if he went asking around, it might instead draw attention.

The Thief Guild probably hadn't traced things back to Black Sail yet; otherwise, they wouldn't be searching all over the East Shore. When their people arrived in Londen City and asked these informants if anyone had been inquiring about them, that would be damn disastrous.

It was enough to know from the newspapers that the Thief Guild was still murdering people.

Blue Bay Port had been involved in Swan's racket, but he hadn't shown his face. The biggest clue at the moment was whether they could find the connection between Swan and Fen. The Thief Guild's intelligence capabilities were much stronger than those of the adventurer's guild, so it was only a matter of time before they found out and tracked down Black Sail, as Fen was officially recognized as the First Officer of Black Sail.

"Do you still need people on your ship? I can introduce someone to you."

The informant squeezed out a smile, professional etiquette for someone who makes a living by their words. Despite being dressed in tatters, he paid great attention to oral hygiene.

"Oh?"

Liszt was intrigued. It was a big taboo for informants to make money from both parties at once; as long as one party paid, that should suffice. It seemed like someone desperate to set sail, trying to wrap things up quickly with the informant, perhaps a troublemaker with a lawsuit over their head.

"No need."

Liszt declined, figuring the person might just end up as another passenger on the ship, which was uninteresting. Besides, there were treasures on board, and those with major cases to answer for should stay as far away as possible.

"Captain, about that person..." The informant looked around, then lowered his voice to Liszt, "That person is offering five Golden Dragons, just to take him and his brothers on board, and he's even willing to pay you for it."

Liszt was taken aback at this. That was even more reason not to accept; bringing a whole group of brothers along raised suspicions of being sent by the Thief Guild to take out people like him.

Fen also became vigilant.

"Where are they? Take me to see them."

Better safe than sorry, Fen decided to take preemptive action. Common thieves were no match for someone like him.

Liszt caught on to Fen's thoughts, grabbed the informant by the collar, and smirked. The entire Black Sail crew was at the secret port, and Morison Ox was not one to be trifled with.

"Are you explicitly saying they're from Black Sail?"

Liszt prepared to strip this informant bare later on.

"Sir! I've been wronged!"

The informant knew that Liszt and his crew of desperados didn't hesitate to kill people in the streets; fearing he had touched a nerve, he had been cautious with his words. It was against his professional ethics to reveal his employer's information, but now he spilled everything, "Those people were formerly Military Masters. The leader is a Knight, tasked with protecting the son of a high official from the Aran Empire coming to Beima Duchy for business. But that young master had a heart condition and suddenly died of a serious illness on the way. They failed their mission and have fled here."

Liszt could tell from the informant's demeanor that he wasn't making it up.

"Shall we go take a look?"

Liszt asked Fen for advice.

Fen nodded and added to the informant, "You'd better think carefully. You've come clean halfway through, and if things are as you say when we get there, you might just walk away with your life. But if we reach the place and something's off, you know what will happen to you."