Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 266: Chatting and Discovery at Sea

The poor first mate didn't survive in the end.

At Catalina's signal, the first mate who had taken the witch's potion was thrown into the black ocean, and then turned into gray dust in the radiation of the bright sea.

Wagner received the same treatment as him, but as a lucky control group, he was thrown directly into the sea of ​​light and successfully survived in the sunlight on the other side.

There were five masterminds of the rebellion, one of whom died in the artillery battle planned by the "Disaster Priest". Of the remaining four, only Wagner and another sailor survived. They were also thrown directly into the control group of the Sea of ​​Light as ordinary people.

After confirming that the sunlight was only aimed at polluters and would not target extraordinary people outside the Witch Path, the "Honeysuckle Queen" immediately sailed into the bright sea.

The sailors threw down a rope with a slipknot, letting the lucky survivors grab the loops on the rope and then pull them up.

Well, at least I didn't die in my bed...

Adele tapped four times on the chest of the two sailors who were bewitched by Catalina until their death. Although they were probably not believers of the goddess, Adele herself was not a complete believer of the goddess now, she just did it subconsciously in her heart.

The people who were just sailing in the dark suddenly came to the bright sea surface, and they were a little uncomfortable for a while. Fortunately, the creatures in this sea area are relatively gentle and did not show hostility to the huge monster that suddenly broke in.

"What we are looking for should be in this sea area."

Catalina said confidently, "I can feel that wonderful aggregation effect. The distance between us is definitely not more than two hundred nautical miles."

"That means at the speed of the Honeysuckle Queen, she can reach her destination in eight hours at most?"

Adele made a quick estimate and said, "It seems we are lucky."

"Keep going in that direction, and let me know if you find anything."

Catalina stretched and said, "It's really hard work to protect this ship all the time. I'm a little tired."

Adele certainly had no objection. If it weren't for Catalina's ability, the ship would have been destroyed when it fell into the ground.

"By the way, your first mate's room is now vacant, right?"

Katerina winked at Adele and said, "Let someone clean that place up."

……

"...Maybe you are a little surprised, but that's how mother is."

In the cockpit, Tracy was sitting on the sofa next to Adele, studying with her how to drive the ironclad ship.

Although Adele had been studying hard to learn how to operate an ironclad ship after buying it, it was not a horse-drawn carriage after all, and there was a huge gap between memorizing the operating instructions and being able to drive it.

If it weren't for the Beyonder's improvement in learning ability and Wendy's generous teaching, Adele would probably be left staring blankly. However, there was a lot of knowledge about sailing at sea that couldn't be studied in a short time, so she had to rely on Tracy's guidance in this regard.

"Yeah, I've only had this boat for less than a month, and she threw my first mate into the sea without even asking me if I could sail."

Adele walked around the cabin a few times in annoyance, trying to figure out the function of a bell rope in the cockpit.

"You can actually try to explain it to her," Tracy suggested half-seriously, "What if she agrees?"

"Do you think I dare or not?"

Adele said unhappily, and began to deal with the disobedient steering wheel.

"You don't have to hold that thing all the time..." Tracy walked to Adele's side and patted her shoulder soothingly. "Driving a boat is different from driving a carriage. There are not so many unexpected situations on the sea. You don't have to hold the steering wheel all the time."

"As long as the direction is not a big problem, you don't have to be so nervous. Even if there are reefs or something like that, the observers will tell you in advance. Other than that, I'm afraid it's too late to hide from the ironclad ships, so there's no need for you to hide yourself."

Tracy walked to the cockpit window, where the glass had been destroyed when going underground. The warm and humid sea breeze blew in, making people almost forget that it was still winter on the surface.

"To be honest, if you are sailing on the sea for the first time, you should be more curious. Otherwise, when your curiosity is gone, the boring voyage will torture you to death."

Tracy pointed to the sea outside and said, "Look at the scenery outside. You can only see such a sea in the southern continent. Neither the Raging Sea nor the Sonia Sea is as beautiful as this."

"Due to the properties of one of my magical items, I cannot swim, so any sea now only scares me."

Adele sighed, then suddenly remembered something and asked Tracy:
"Then when you sailed on the sea for the first time, were you very curious?"

"…If I have to say, there is definitely a little bit."

Tracy recalled, and her expression gradually softened. "The crew that followed me at that time is now only Anne and my captain. The others have either died, or are too old to wield weapons, or have retired..."

"Well, do you remember what your first voyage was for?"

Adele asked curiously, "I feel like you've been drifting on the sea for nearly seven or eight years."

"Of course I remember. At that time, I accepted the commission from the sect and used Feynaporte's local products to trade with the tribal chiefs in the southern continent. I bought slaves from the hostile tribes at a low price and then resold them to the northern continent."

Tracy said frankly, "I have been working for the sect since I started my pirate career, so even if I forget what I did on my first voyage, I can guess roughly - it was either robbery or selling slaves."

"…I thought you were going to be more cryptic."

Adele was stunned for a moment, a little uncomfortable with Tracy's bluntness.

"I'm a witch." Tracy smiled. "Even if I say I've never done anything bad before, you won't believe me. Have you forgotten the rules of acting as a witch? If you want to do it, just do it. There's nothing to hide."

"Yeah, we are all witches."

Adele opened her mouth, wanting to say something nice to get by, but in the end all she came out with was this.

"I have almost forgotten how many slaves I bought and how much money I made, unless I go back to the Black Death to check the account book."

Tracy continued, "The only thing I remember in the end was that the sea there was very blue, bluer than any other sea near the northern continent. I loved it there."

"At least it left some good memories."

Adele commented. Somehow, she didn't think there was anything unusual about what Tracy did.

Even the power of the Orthodox Church could not penetrate deep into the southern continent, so how could a pirate like Tracy be able to capture slaves inland? Therefore, Tracy mostly used some cheap hard currency to exchange slaves from the natives of the southern continent.

It would be better for those slaves to be slaves under the chieftains of the southern continent than to be sold to the northern continent? Just thinking about it, you know it's unrealistic.

If a person's situation is so bad that it can't get any worse, then no matter what you do to him, it doesn't really matter, right? Adele thought to herself.

Of course, slave trade is immoral in the orthodox sense. However, since she had a certain understanding of extraordinary people and extraordinary ways, Adele's moral concepts had changed to a certain extent.

For example, the Beyonders of the "Devil" and "Witch" paths...

Adele sighed. Starting from Sequence 2, the requirements of the witch path's rituals have always been linked to disasters; and starting from Sequence 7, the demon path has a high probability of losing control if you don't kill people.

The existence of these methods is not in line with moral values, but in order to integrate into society, we must strive to conform to moral standards. Even if we use tricks to escape similar role-playing processes in certain sequences, we cannot escape forever.

According to the Witch Cult, during wartime, there were especially many Beyonders on the Witch Path. This was probably because killing the enemy to perform a role-playing act was relatively easy for people to accept...

Adele was chatting with Tracy in a random manner while her mind was wandering.

It would be nice if I could contact Gagran... She became an "Undead" at Sequence 4, and did not collect Despair Promotion through conventional means, so she might have similar experience.

……

After a long voyage, Adele discovered that Tracy's prediction had come true.

Because of the side effects of the hidden blade, Adele, who had an instinctive fear of the ocean, soon began to feel bored.

Even though she hadn't used her hidden blade for a while, the fear didn't go away, even though she knew she hadn't lost the ability to swim.

The sunlight here is different from that outside. The sun seems to always hang in the same position in the sky, and there is no difference between day and night, which makes people feel tired easily.

After three hours of officially steering the ship, Adele finally couldn't hold it anymore. In front of Tracy's surprised eyes, she yanked the bell rope on the wall.

Soon, the sailor in the cabin next door knocked on the door.

Adele went over to open the door, enduring Tracy's playful gaze from behind, and instructed the sailor who came over:

"Please go to the engine room and replace Ms. Wendy... Yes, we don't need her to inspect the engine room, so someone else can do it."

Watching the sailor leave, Adele turned to Tracy, and the atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Fortunately, five minutes later Wendy ran up the stairs and pushed open the door of the cab.

"What do you want from me, Adele?"

There was still a little coal dust on Wendy's face, and her expression was full of confusion.

"Please come over and help me steer the ship first... I'm going to the restaurant to eat something."

Adele put on a pitiful expression expertly.

"Oh... then remember to come back early."

Wendy didn't suspect anything and washed the coal dust off her face in a basin of water beside her, then wiped it casually and took the steering wheel from Adele.

"When do you plan to go back?"

Tracy asked, trying not to laugh, after she and Adele walked out of the cabin.

"Who knows... maybe, when we get back to the surface?"

Adele replied seriously, "Now, we should go to the restaurant and have something to eat."

……

Putting aside the matter of the exploited Wendy, Adele soon arrived at the restaurant.

There were still some traces of the fire burning here, leaving a charred mark on the floor.

The sailors caught a lot of fish in the sea. They had slender bodies and sharp teeth. The witches performed divination and confirmed that their meat was edible. Now the kitchen was roasting them on the fire.

Most of the white porcelain tableware in the cupboards did not survive the fall, and only a few metal trays and skewers were left. The chefs had to adapt to the local conditions.

This chef was hired by Adele from the restaurant in Indor Port. The dishes he cooked were also quite Feysac-flavored, with a large amount of spices including pepper, cumin, and basil. The flavor was strong and suitable for sailors who drifted on the sea all year round, and could provide enough stimulation for their taste buds.

Smelling the aroma of grilled fish coming from the kitchen, Adele collapsed in the fenced-off compartment without any grace. The temporary glass made of ice had melted, so she deliberately found a place that was sheltered from the wind.

However, as soon as she got the grilled fish in her hands and before she had time to put it into her mouth, she heard the excited shouts of the sailors.

The shouting came from far away and soon, a sailor in charge of observation ran in from outside the restaurant and pulled open the curtain.

"Captain, there is an island ahead...Captain?"

The sailor looked at his captain in confusion, but the moment before he drew open the curtain, Adele had jumped up from her seat and remained sitting upright.

"Ahem, what did you say happened in front?"

Adele asked the sailor, trying not to sound lazy from before in her tone.

"There is a small island ahead with lush vegetation. We can see seabirds flying towards the island. It doesn't seem to be in any danger."

The sailor reported truthfully, "Captain, should we go over?"

It looks like that might be our destination this time... But maybe the island that preserves the Sequence 2 Beyonder characteristics isn't dangerous, so I can only think about it.

Adele's eyes flickered slightly. After thinking for a moment, she nodded to the sailor. "Go to the wheelhouse and find Miss Wendy and ask her to bring the boat over."

"Looks like she won't have to stay in the cab until we get back to the surface."

After the sailor left, Tracy teased Adele and smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes left by her slumping just now.

"That's perfect. I don't have to pay her double the salary, right?"

Adele winked playfully at Tracy, and they both laughed together, like a pair of foxes.

On the distant horizon, the outline of the island was clearly visible even with the naked eye. In the sky, flocks of birds flapped their wings and headed towards the island together with the Honeysuckle Queen.

(End of this chapter)