Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 230 First Visit to Bayam

"Naturalist?"

The innkeeper was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

He had previously seen botanists and geologists from the North Continent stop by his hotel while traveling in Bayam, but he had never met a naturalist.

"Yes."

Roger nodded and smiled, “I know this profession is very uncommon... You can think of it as a profession of adventurer who likes to find all sorts of rare things.”

Because naturalists often need to go to remote and uninhabited places to collect artifacts, calling them adventurers is a kind of analogy.

"I see, I've learned a lesson."

Upon hearing this, the boss looked enlightened. He didn't know anything about naturalists, but he knew all too well about adventurers.

Especially places like Bayam, which are basically a must-pass route for sea adventurers.

Of course, very few of them actually made a name for themselves; more than half eventually "saw the error of their ways" and returned home. As for those who chose to continue taking risks, most of them ended up dying from their own dangerous actions...

Especially common are young men like Roger who look clean and tidy, with delicate and fair skin and fingers, and who seem to have never suffered any hardship.

These people were basically living a good life in Rune, but they got into some trivial disputes with their families, and in the end, one of them went to sea to vent his anger.

However, this young man in front of him seemed to be a little different from those other rich kids. If I had to put it in words, Roger's eyes carried a kind of firmness that showed he "knew exactly what he was going to do."

Roger naturally noticed that his boss was subtly scrutinizing him. Because he had used the "Rose Bishop's" self-disintegration ability during his previous battle with Ludwig Sergei, most of Roger's flesh and blood had been reconstructed, which revealed his fair skin.

"If you're looking for unusual stones, I do have a place I recommend."

The boss quickly changed his expression and said with a smile.

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."

Roger took a sip of the complimentary lemonade offered in the store and asked.

"Not far from here is Sour Lemon Street. If you walk east, turn right at the second intersection, and you'll see a staircase leading down."

“Go down the stairs, there are many small vendors inside. Ignore them and walk straight to the back. At the very back, there will be an upward staircase leading out to one of the largest open-air markets in the dock area, the ‘Botelou Market’.”

"They open for business after 7 p.m....and especially after 10 p.m., there are many vendors selling rare items."

"There's a chance you might find what you're looking for there. If not, you can ask around to see if any vendors have suitable items at home that they didn't bring to their stalls."

Upon hearing his boss's words, Roger paused, hesitated for a moment, and then said:

"Botlu... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before?"

"Judging from your accent, you must be from Backlund."

The owner of the Santis Hotel laughed:

"You might be thinking of Portobello... because the owner of the Portobello market is from Backlund. He used to have a stall in the Portobello market in Backlund, and after making money, he came to Bayam, opened that market based on his experience, and made money by charging monthly rent or taking a cut of sales." (Note 1)

“Botlu is a transliteration of the local indigenous language of Bayam from Botbello.”

"I see."

Roger suddenly realized and nodded, because Portobello Market was not far from 15 Minsk Street, where he and Klein used to live.

They sell all sorts of things there, from food and drinks to herbs, antiques, handicrafts, and many rare minerals.

Roger once helped the "Rat of Dela Hoya" find some rare nuts from Rune there, and also bought wind crystal clusters and Sonia pittosporum essential oil used in the ritual magic to summon the attention of the "Lord of Storms".

If the Portobello Market was designed based on the Portobello Market, then Roger should have a chance of finding the meteorite there.

"Okay, thank you very much."

Roger sincerely thanked him, and then said:

"Where should I go if I want to buy some intelligence related to the Sunia Sea?"

"That would be Swordfish Bar, of course."

Without hesitation, the shopkeeper replied, "That's the largest gathering place for adventurers in Bayam. It's the best place to buy intelligence or post bounties."

"Of course, as long as you're not afraid of being scammed, there are definitely plenty of opportunities to make money there."

This last sentence is a well-intentioned reminder.

"Okay, I'll be careful."

Then he remembered something else:
"By the way, boss, your inn doesn't prohibit pets, right?"

After saying that, he vigorously rubbed Bandit's head, who had a disgruntled expression.

“In Bayam, it’s difficult to do business if you make too many demands on your customers.”

The boss replied with a smile.

These words reminded Roger of something Mr. Garrett Faye had once said: that he had seen a sailor bring an octopus that was over a meter tall to his shop.

If the dock area in Tingen is like this, then Bayam, located in the heart of the Sunya Sea, must be even more diverse in its mix of people.

Roger took a deep breath, thanked him again, then stood up with Bandit in his arms, took the room key from the boss, and went to his room on the third floor.

"This room's terrace is really nice, meow."

As soon as Bandit entered the house, his eyes lit up and he headed straight for the balcony.

Roger, on the other hand, was attracted by the island-style decor. He looked around and found that the Santis Hotel had almost everything a hotel in Rune should have, including a toilet that looked a bit old.

Because Roger had been at sea for several days, he didn't care about anything else at the moment. Instead, he took a hot shower, changed into new clothes, and then said to Bandit on the balcony:

"I'm leaving now, I have important business to attend to."

Bandit, who was rolling around on the balcony and sunbathing with his belly exposed, reluctantly said "Oh," and finally got up with a look of reluctance. Using the big bed as a springboard, he jumped onto Roger's shoulder.

Roger put on a wide-brimmed hat, opened the door to the first floor, greeted the restaurant owner, and then headed toward the "Swordfish Bar" that he had previously scouted out.

Although it is already November, the temperature in Bayam is still quite high. Even with Roger's control over his body and flesh as a "shepherd," he still feels a bit hot walking on the street.

And ordinary people are in no better shape.

People in ordinary clothes were fine, but those dressed in decent clothes were seen taking off their hats from time to time to wipe the sweat from their foreheads with handkerchiefs. A few people simply took off their clothes and rolled up their sleeves, but many others chose to endure the surrounding temperature.

"They really are forcing themselves to endure hardship..."

Roger shook his head.

Since the "Swordfish Bar" wasn't far from the Santis Hotel where he was staying, and there weren't many carriages in the area, Roger estimated that he would have to walk for at least another twenty minutes.

So, quite unladylike, he took off his hat and put it on Bandit to shield him from the sun, then unbuttoned his collar, rolled up his sleeves, and walked down the street like that.

"It's definitely much cooler now..."

As Roger enjoyed the sea breeze over the islands and looked around at the shops, he even saw two or three fellow passengers from the "Obsidian" ship. Roger consciously turned his head away so they wouldn't see him.

On the other hand, he was also very clear that these people had been secretly monitored and protected by Alger's connections.

"Speaking of which, I really should treat Alger to a meal later... This captain from the Church of Storms has been a great help to me ever since I came to the sea."

Just as he was thinking this, Roger arrived in front of a building with a sign that read "Swordfish Bar".

Just as he expected, there was a noisy conversation coming from inside, and it was clear from the sound that there were quite a few people inside.

Roger took a deep breath, pushed open the door of "Swordfish Bar" with both hands, letting the sunlight shine into the bar and allowing the conversations that had been blocked by the door to leak out onto the street.

However, perhaps because the opening of the door was too loud, many people in the "Swordfish Bar" subconsciously turned around to look at Roger, which made the surrounding environment less noisy for a moment.

Soon, after they saw Roger's ordinary appearance and slovenly clothes, they all turned away without a care and continued drinking and laughing loudly.

Since the bar was already full, Roger didn't join the crowd. He simply found a table to the side of the bar, sat down, and waved to the bartender to bring him a large glass of draft beer.

While waiting for the beer to be served, Roger also read the notices posted on the three blackboards supported by wooden frames near him.

Some of the notices were white, while others were clearly some time old and had a yellowish tinge, but the contents of them were varied and different.

Some people hire bodyguards or thugs, others offer high rewards for the head of a pirate, still others ask for help in finding people or belongings, or simply want to gather information about a particular island.

Some of the more outrageous ones claim to have obtained a treasure map but do not have a ship, so they want to recruit partners with ships to explore the island where the treasure is hidden.

Of course, this is an obvious scam. Roger had heard old Wiseman say that behind many of these so-called treasure hunt notices at sea, the publishers seem to be after treasure, but in reality, they are only after their "temporary partner's" ship and the valuables on board.

Those captains without the necessary skills are basically doomed, while those with the skills generally aren't interested in such things unless the information is extremely reliable.

To reiterate, while there are many opportunities at sea, the most important thing is still strength. Strength determines vision and behavior patterns, and those with less strength are more likely to perish in various speculative endeavors.

In general, the jobs that have been divided up by private detectives and security companies in the Kingdom of Rune still belong to adventurers here.

Soon, he saw a notice on the bulletin board that was related to something he cared about.

The notice must have been posted for some time, and its contents were quite simple: "A bounty of 2000 gold pounds is offered for the head of Belon Schultz, the second mate of the great pirate Mitrom Gadirs."

Apart from that, there was no other information, not even a portrait or a photograph.

"Peron Schultz..."

Roger hesitated for a moment, then called out to the bartender who was bringing him his beer.

"Sir, what can I do for you?"

The bartender quickly glanced at Roger and asked.

"Who posted that bounty? I'd like to take it."

Roger pointed to the bounty poster for Beron Schultz.

"We keep the information of the publisher confidential. If you are interested, I can help you contact the publisher."

"However, this will take some time. If you don't mind, please come back here again at 12 noon tomorrow."

"Of course, you won't meet him in person; we have a special place for you to talk."

The bartender's words had two meanings: first, the trading of bounty information was also one of the businesses of "Swordfish Bar"; second, the person who posted the bounty should still be in Bayam.

Roger wanted to find the person who issued the bounty for a very simple reason.

That is, even Mitrom Gadir's "clown" and "cousin" could not accurately describe Mitrom's affairs, but the bounty poster could accurately state the name and nickname of his second mate.

It's important to understand that being able to name the top leader of an organization is completely different from being able to name its third-in-command.

For example, many people know that the head of state of the Kingdom of Rune is George III and the prime minister is Agusid Nigan, but they don't know the names of the speakers of the lower and upper houses.

This is not only because the Speaker of Parliament rotates more frequently than the Prime Minister, but also because most ordinary people are too busy with their lives to care about the names of politicians.

For them, knowing the Prime Minister's surname is already quite remarkable.

Only those whose own interests are tied to politics, or even those who have participated in parliamentary activities, can accurately name the speaker.

Similarly, compared to those famous pirate generals, pirates like Mitroon Gadirs, though powerful, were far less famous. Yet the bounty hunter knew the name of Mitroon's second mate and offered a large reward for him, indicating that this person had contact with Mitroon's crew and knew a great deal.

There were many more, even more than the "cousin" who acted as a henchman for Mitrom Gadir on Oravi Island.

So Roger had to meet with him no matter what, hoping to get more information about Mitron from him.

"Okay, thank you. By the way, I'd also like to post a bounty notice."

Roger paused for a moment, then added.

"Okay, wait a minute."

After a while, the bartender brought over a pen and a piece of paper:

"Write down your request and the amount of the reward."

Afterwards, he explained the various rules of "Swordfish Bar" to Roger. Once he confirmed that everything was in order, Roger paid the fee for posting the information and began writing down his requirements on a piece of paper.

The notice was simple: 10000 gold pounds would buy the life of Julius Kluge, the first mate under "Twilight General" Ivan Bratov.

While this is not as much as the official government reward, 10000 gold pounds is enough to drive a large number of people crazy.

In fact, Roger did this not because he really hoped someone could help him kill Julius Kruger, but to send a message to Bratov.

That is, not only had someone just killed his second mate, Ludwig Sergei, but now someone was trying to kill his first mate.

Ultimately, although Ludwig died after the attack on the Obsidian, Blatov has yet to determine whether it was a coincidence that Ludwig just happened to run into a brick wall, or whether someone already knew about Lindsaya's ex-boyfriend and colluded with Ludwig Sergei, lying in wait to kill the "executioner."

The fact that "Admiral Twilight" left a contingency plan in Port Olavi, and that he led his fleet from the southern waters of the Rothschild Islands toward the western waters, all indicate that he was unsure of the other party's origins.

Roger stole Ludwig's ship, sailed it to Port Olavi, killed Mitrom's cousin, and then brazenly sailed the ship into Bayam. From Bratov's perspective, this seemed like a deliberate act.

Therefore, Blatov would never act rashly or deliberately fall into Roger's trap, and the fact that the passengers on the Obsidian have not been contacted or questioned by unknown people is evidence of this.

Roger was certain of this not only because Alger the Hanged Man did not send any unusual alarms, but also because the bits of flesh he buried on all the passengers and crew when he left the Obsidian were not unusual.

But now that Roger has issued a bounty notice for Julius Kruger, which has a "step-up" feel to it, the situation is different.

Because many people dare to talk big, but very few can actually get things done.

Roger has already successfully killed Ludwig, a Sequence 6, so killing Julius, who is also a Sequence 6, should not be difficult for him.

Most importantly, Roger's actions clearly demonstrated that he wanted to kill the "Twilight Admiral's" men, even if it cost him 10000 gold pounds.

If nothing unexpected happens, this bounty will surely reach Blatov's ears soon.

However, while Roger certainly had reasons to kill Bratov, it was largely a spur-of-the-moment decision, which would then present Bratov with a question:
"Who is my enemy who wants to kill me? Is it the Church of Storms, or the 'Undead King' Agaritu?"

According to Ludwig Sergei, Blatov has been very cautious since offending the "Undying King," so he must be eager to find out what really happened.

To confirm this, there is a high probability that the crew or passengers on the Obsidian will encounter some intentional and prepared contact.

At that time, Blatov will definitely slip up!

Soon, the bounty of 10000 gold pounds was displayed in the most prominent position on the blackboard in the center of the Swordfish Bar by the staff. This move immediately attracted the attention of many people, and whispers and conversations filled the Swordfish Bar.

"Wow, 10000 gold pounds for the life of a pirate? That's almost a national bounty, isn't it?"

"You know nothing! You obviously don't know Julius Kruger, the first mate of the 'Twilight General'! I'd like to see who's fearless enough to take this bounty!"

"Pah, what's so great about 'Twilight Admiral'? That 'Hurricane Admiral' was so arrogant before, but he still got killed in Backland..."

The man stopped halfway through his sentence and quickly covered his mouth, realizing that even though "Hurricane General" was dead, "Twilight General" was still alive.

Roger calmly drank his wine while listening to their conversation, which consisted mainly of shock, disdain, and the belief that someone was deliberately playing a prank.

But no matter what others say, it doesn't matter. What matters is that these rumors will soon spread from "Swordfish Bar" to Bulatov's informants and eventually to Bulatov himself.

This is exactly the effect he wanted.

Bandit, who was almost asleep, was also awakened by the noise. He squirmed impatiently inside Roger's hat and protested in a low voice.

"Okay, okay, let's go now."

Roger smiled, agreed in a low voice, then downed his drink in one gulp and turned to leave the bar.

As he left, he could clearly sense, through his spiritual intuition, that at least two malevolent gazes were staring at his back.

But he didn't take it seriously and went straight to the street.

It was almost dark by then, and the previously hot air had cooled down considerably.

Roger then put his hat back on, freeing Bendit from inside.

"Where to go now?"

The tabby cat yawned, shook its tail, and asked.

"Let's stroll around the streets for a while and then head to the Potrug Market. It should be open by now."

Just as Roger had expected, no one followed him along the way. He enjoyed the sea breeze, casually bought some snacks on the street, ate as he walked, and soon arrived at the underground passage mentioned by the owner of the "Santis Hotel".

Roger tossed aside the empty paper bag he had been carrying for food and walked briskly down the stairs.

Sure enough, it was an underground passage lit by gaslights, filled with vendors selling clothing, souvenirs, bags, and food and drinks. Some had their own storefronts, while others simply had a small stall.

Roger quickly looked around to make sure that the goods sold here were all ordinary, then quickened his pace, passed through the underground passage, and saw a set of stairs leading upwards again.

He walked up the steps and soon felt the sea breeze on his face again, and the stars above Bayam came into view.

This is an open area naturally divided by the coastline, and above the entrance is a gate made of steel frame with the words "Botlu Market" written in Rune.

"This is it."

Roger took a deep breath and began walking through the Potrug market with anticipation.

Note 1: The prototype is taken from Portbello Market in London.

(End of this chapter)