Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 291 Stranger

Early in the morning, when Vinata woke up from bed, she found that it was snowing outside the window again.

Located in the subarctic zone, the average temperature in January in Indogang is between -1 and -4 degrees Celsius, and precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year. Although it is already late January, there is still light snow from time to time.

Vinata picked up Adele's nightcap from the ground. She had tried to wear it on her head when she slept in the past few days, but she couldn't get used to it and usually ended up tearing it off when she was half asleep.

"Tuk Tuk Tuk!"

There was a crisp sound of knocking on the glass. Vinata rubbed her sleepy eyes, patted the wrinkles on her cotton pajamas, and walked towards the direction where the sound came from.

Downstairs was a wake-up caller carrying a thin wooden pole with iron wire. He opened his mouth and greeted Vinata, with puffs of white steam coming out of his mouth.

"Good morning, Miss Sevens." The morning worker took back the pole and waved to Winata. "It looks like you're awake."

"Just got up a while ago," Venata replied. "How's business this morning?"

"Thanks to you." The gray-haired caller nodded gratefully to Vinata, "You are the last one, and you have received 18 kopecks so far."

Originally, there was no similar service in the guest rooms of the Esco family's tavern. After Vinata took over, similar practitioners were allowed to enter the courtyard from the back door to provide wake-up service for the tavern's guests, at one kopeck at a time.

"Here, I give it to you. This way you will have two silver coins."

Vinata casually took out two kopecks from the change thrown on the windowsill, flicked her wrist, and threw it directly onto the relatively clean ground in front of the other person's feet.

"Thank you for your generosity!" The waker thanked him hastily and picked up the two kopecks from the ground.

Vinata smiled, said nothing more, and closed the window again.

She changed her clothes, washed her face hastily, put her wavy wheat-colored hair behind her, walked out of the bedroom and came to the dining room.

Sophie hadn't woken up yet, and Vinata didn't call her. After arriving in Feysac, the little girl, who was used to the climate of Loen, gradually lost her will to get up early in the face of the subarctic climate, and she got up later and later.

Arriving alone, Winata grabbed a large order of salmon and sausage poutine, a tenderloin baked in pea flour, a portion of Saskatoon berry pie, and a bowl of cream of pea soup from the buffet counter.

According to the schedule, the three new ships assigned by Adele's boss should arrive at Indo today...

Vinata took a bite of the greasy pea bacon and flipped through her memo.

Although she was now the leader of the largest gang in eastern Feysac, she behaved more like an ordinary middle-class worker in Feysac in her daily life.

When Winata was halfway through her breakfast, Anne sat down opposite her with a tray.

Although she and Vinata were both believers of the earth, Anne, who grew up in Feynaporte, and Vinata, who grew up in Feysac, had very different eating habits. Anne's plate was filled with seafood and vegetables, which formed a sharp contrast with the high-sugar and high-fat combination of meat and starch on Vinata's plate, making people want to swap the two people's body shapes.

"What are your plans for today?"

Anne sat up straight, which made her already over 1.80 meters tall figure even more sturdy, and the maid outfit on her body seemed to be on the verge of being torn apart.

"Go to the port to pick up the boat, and then go see Sonya in the afternoon. She said she will gather the members of the Gnosis Society here."

Vinata started working on the berry pie in front of her. "Adele is out to sea now, so I have to get things done here. I can't let this kind of thing delay me."

"It's good that you know the situation." Annie nodded. "There's no news from the captain either."

This was the first time she hadn't received any contact from Tracy for such a long time since she was assigned here by Tracy. This made her a little worried, but she didn't want to appear weak in front of Vinata, as she would inevitably be ridiculed by her.

Vinata quickly finished the dessert in her hand and used her hands to drink soup and read the newspaper.

Reading the "Maritime News" every morning to learn about the shipping route information in the recent sea area is one of her pastimes during this period.

"Shock! Bloody infighting in the Far North Sea? A new pirate general is born!"

Venata raised her eyebrows slightly, which made her feel that something bad was about to happen.

She quickly put down the spoon in her other hand, picked up the newspaper and began to read it quickly.

"According to valid information, a bloody pirate infighting recently occurred on the flagship 'Black Death' of 'Vice Admiral Disease' Tracy in the inter-sea area in the north of the Kingdom of Loen."

"After a fierce fight, the pirates killed Vice Admiral Disease Tracy. Limanu King, the second mate of the Black Death, became the new captain. He named himself Vice Admiral Shadow and renamed his flagship the Truth. He became the new pirate general and plundered a fisherman's city in the north of the kingdom."

Below the report is a not-so-clear photo, which seems to have been taken secretly in a residential building.

In the photo, the city was burning, and the "Truth" above the port in the distance was clearly visible and could be recognized at a glance. It was seriously damaged, with a slightly deformed hull and one of its three masts broken. Indistinctly, pirates could be seen coming down from it, looting the port bloodily.

"Hold……"

Vinata shook her head, unable to accept this fact for a moment. Then she thought of something and looked at Anne across from her.

"What's wrong?" Noticing Venata's gaze, Annie looked up in confusion.

Vinata said nothing and pushed the newspaper toward Anne.

Anne glanced casually and saw the eye-catching headline. Her eyes suddenly became sharp. She snatched the newspaper and began to read quickly.

After a moment, she murmured in a low voice: "This is impossible, absolutely impossible."

"The captain is acting with her mother this time. Can that idiot Limanu kill the captain?"

"Yeah, I think so too."

Vinata leaned forward a little. She had originally thought that Anne would have a big reaction, so she had moved her chair back in advance. Now that she saw that Anne was still rational, she moved closer.

"But the ownership of the ship cannot be false." Anne frowned. "The captain wanted to use Miss Circe's ship. It is very likely that Limanu took advantage of the fact that the pirates mutinied and seized the Black Death when the captain and Ms. Pellet were not on board."

"You sound quite calm. That was the first boat you bought."

Venata tutted. "I'll try to contact the Honeysuckle Queen via telegram. I hope they haven't gone too far."

As the crystallization of the kingdom's most advanced technology, the "Honeysuckle Queen" certainly cannot be without a radio transmitter. If it works properly, the telegram can be transmitted from Cape Minsk to Indo Port on the east coast of Feysac.

"Of course, the captain can't be killed by that idiot. As for the ship... it's just a ship after all. I can give up my own property to buy this ship, and I can also give up this ship."

Anne said frankly, "When you send the telegram, please help me urge the captain and tell her that if she needs to retake the fleet, I will always be ready."

"Okay." Vinata didn't say anything else. She wiped her mouth with a napkin, got up swiftly, walked to the radio transmitter in the living room, and started operating it.

The provocateur's "good at provocation" does not mean provoking regardless of the occasion or time. Seeing that the other party is serious, Vinata will naturally not make herself unhappy.

After some operation, Vinata spread her hands to Annie.

"It has to go through several telegraph offices, so it will take a while."

"Tell me if you have any news." Anne nodded and cleared the dishes. "By the way, Sophie's potion is almost digested."

"When did it happen?" Vinata asked with some surprise. She had been busy managing the gang recently and had little time to spend with Sophie.

Fortunately, after getting to know Sonia initially and informing her of her relationship with the Gnosis Society, she could safely hand Sophie over to her. This way, even if Anne and she had things to do, Sophie would still have someone to take care of her.

"She told me that last night," Anne replied. "I checked with Sonya again, and her divination result was the same."

"Really? That's... great."

Vinata praised it with her mouth, but she felt vaguely uneasy in her heart.

Sophie's promotion was faster than she had expected. According to Adele, before Sophie was promoted to Sequence 8 "Cold-blooded", she had to ask the demigod lady to extract her emotions and then inject them back after she was promoted to Sequence 7. This would ensure that her humanity would not be damaged.

However, the way Adele was connected to that organization remained a mystery. Although Vinata had seen Adele pray to a certain great being, hold similar ceremonies, and indeed receive a response, she herself would never dare to imitate it.

The digestion of the magic potion did slow down the demonic symptoms in Sophie's body, but it was only a temporary solution. If Adele didn't come back, then Venata would have no choice but to let Sophie be promoted.

According to Adele's estimate, after Sophie completely digests the Sequence 9 potion, if she cannot advance to Sequence 8 within two months, Matafari's soul may wake up irreversibly.

Adele, Adele, even for Sophie, you have to come back soon... Vinata prayed silently in her heart.

……

Indo Port, Pier.

Due to the trade sanctions after the Feysac War, this place has long lost its former prosperity. After Captain Basque's whaling fleet was almost completely wiped out, the huge port even had only one ship, the Honeysuckle Queen, still frequently going out to sea. The rest of the ships either had no business and rotted in the port, or were dismantled and sold at the price of raw materials.

However, today, the first group of people who came to Feysac as official tourists after the war arrived here.

Eight brand new caravels were docked at the port of Indor. These large ships, named after the natural shipbuilders - the Caravels, had strong characteristics of this era, with chimneys and sails standing side by side, and ten cannons and corresponding gun positions on each side of the ship.

On the hull, the names of the ships were written in golden Chinese characters from the Three Kingdoms period. They were named after the spirit of chivalry, like the knights surrounding the queen.

"Humility", "Honour", "Sacrifice", "Valiance", "Mercy", "Integrity", "Justice", "Spirituality"...

They were pseudo-warships that were originally built as warships to make up for the shortage of ironclad ships. Under Audrey's operation, they were legally sold to the Queen Island Shipping Company and became passenger ships or cargo ships.

Passengers, some well-dressed and some shabby, got off the ship one by one. Some were surrounded by servants, some were surrounded by others; some were leisurely, some were pushed by the crowd; some were carrying heavy luggage, some had nothing in their hands.

Some of them were heading for the port of Indo, some were just transiting here and would take inland ships to Saint Miron, and some would continue sailing to Tilis in Intis.

The expressions on their faces varied, including excitement, confusion, bewilderment, and reluctance; however, they also had one thing in common, which was hope.

Their arrival meant that one year after the end of the war, the economic blockade and ban on going to sea in the Jianhai area were finally lifted, and it also symbolized the official launch of the Jianhai County economic recovery plan.

They are strangers, pioneers, a part of history, and poetry.

……

Among these people was a middle-aged gentleman with a gloomy look.

He has bronze skin, a medium build, black hair and brown eyes, soft facial features, and no beard. There is always an indescribable sense of vicissitudes in his eyes. There is a small black mole under his right ear that cannot be seen without careful observation.

He was wearing a black top hat that had been washed to a pale color, and a long dress of the same color. He walked down the gangway steadily, holding a cane in one hand and a brown leather suitcase in the other.

A small wave hit the gangway, causing it to sway slightly. The old woman in front of the middle-aged gentleman was caught off guard and was about to fall to the shore. Fortunately, the middle-aged gentleman was quick to grab her arm and gently lifted her up.

"Thank you, kind gentleman."

After the old woman got off the gangway, she thanked the middle-aged gentleman. Her Loenese had a southern continent accent that sounded a bit strange.

Hearing the other party's thanks, the middle-aged gentleman's expression was a little dazed, but he quickly reacted, nodded slightly to the old woman, indicating that she didn't need to worry about it, then took off his hat and nodded slightly, until the other party's thin figure disappeared in the crowd at the dock.

Then, the middle-aged gentleman declined the dock worker's request to help him with his luggage and walked steadily towards the hotel at the dock.

The hotel clerk saw someone coming in and agreed promptly. Then he came to the front desk, dipped his fountain pen in Feysac's unique emerald green ink, and said to the middle-aged gentleman without raising his head:
"Name? What room do you want?"

The middle-aged gentleman was stunned for a moment, and then said in a very recognizable vicissitudes voice:
"Azik... Azik Eggers, a single room, I want," he looked at the snow-capped mountains in the distance outside the window, "I want a room with a view of the snow-capped mountains."

(End of this chapter)