Black Sail
Chapter 243: CCXLIII. New Year’s Eve

Chapter 243: CCXLIII. New Year’s Eve

The countdown to the New Year had begun.

It was exactly eight o’clock in the evening, and the noise outside was getting louder. Fireworks were incessantly bursting, polluting the night sky with their light. The smell of gunpowder was strong in the air.

Everything has two sides, and Heaven Port had its bad side, and an even worse side.

The good side wasn’t an attribute of pirates but rather the deeply rooted influence of religion.

The Holy Spirit Church was founded on the doctrine of charity. Aside from the present Gion Kingdom, there weren’t any rotten activities like the selling of indulgences. To the people here, believing in God and praying were part of daily life. The common folk might not grasp the teachings deeply, but they never strayed from the universal values; do more good deeds and you’ll drink from the Immortal’s wine in the Holy Spirit Temple for eternity. Do bad deeds and you’ll suffer, banished to the Abyss.

Pirates, of course, also believed in Wave and the Storm Saint Spirit, who were widely praised in the East Sea Domain. Doing bad deeds was often a last resort—who wouldn’t want to be good? But damn it, you need money to be good. If you don’t have money and still try to force good deeds, you might just get a gun pointed at your head.

At this time, some followers of the Holy Spirit Church would crowdsource some money to organize a New Year’s celebration, choosing the central square in the Inner City as the venue. There would be song and dance performances and various small shows, all very lively. Some homeless, living in abandoned buildings or tents in the woods, and aging prostitutes who couldn’t make it on the island, would also come to scrounge a meal.

Caroso was deeply moved; he couldn’t imagine such things happening in this godforsaken place, and went out to host the festivities.

Liszt lit two candles for the statue of the Guan Emperor on the second floor of the inn, thanking the deity for the blessings that had allowed him to get by until today.

For ten years, he had never believed in deities.

But now, he was starting to waver.

Marcus...

had come back to life, through some mysterious Great Power, so if the so-called Ancient Dragon King existed, then maybe Haywood’s boasts were not just hot air, and Agares Dagon really did exist.

You say that these beings really exist, then why don’t they just show up themselves? It’s truly baffling. Is it because they lost their connection to the world 1800 years ago, or are they just too old to lift a sword anymore?

Down in the kitchen on the first floor.

"Dinner for Table 2 is certain to attract lots of sprightly women; some companies love to send female representatives. With Doringger’s of great influence, some nobles’ offspring might also attend the banquet. It’s going to be a big event."

Mika sighed—when would he be able to rise to the level of a Minstrel like Qili?

"Though it’s called a dinner party, it’s actually more of an informal mixer. Thirst status plus 10 points, SAN restored by 90 points, and the entry ticket costs ten black bread loaves."

Morison, staring at the violently bubbling bone broth in the pot, lost in thought, made his explosive comment.

"How on earth did they come up with ten black bread loaves?"

Weber was also helping out in the kitchen.

The New Year’s Eve dinner, meticulously prepared by Archer, was finally nearing completion with over twenty dishes. Due to the number of people involved—including hotel residents, key personnel from the ship, adventurers kidnapped from Aran, and everyone’s partners—there would have to be at least two tables, with a generous portion of each dish.

Fresh Cream Sauce Stewed Beef Leg, Red Wine Braised Chicken, Seven Treasure Duck Layered Pastry, Coral Flower Abalone...

"Damn it, Tyson wouldn’t even dare to prepare a New Year’s Eve meal, but you, Archer, dare to do so. You’re even more audacious than Tyson."

Rein, dribbling a basketball with one hand and drooling, said the abundance of food required everyone’s help to serve.

The scattered tables on the second floor had been cleared away, and two long tables were set up.

What rendered Liszt speechless was that Dreya had summoned her entire entourage back to her castle. She was not very fond of lively events and decided not to join the group for the New Year celebration, choosing instead to spend it in the castle with her three concubines. She did, however, instruct Liszt to come home quickly after he finished his duties, definitely before 11 o’clock, as she had meticulously prepared a New Year’s gift.

One must eat and drink well to have the strength to confront the great calamity!

Steaming dishes were served, and the second floor was bustling with excitement. Shadi even pulled out his special skill, playing a handheld string instrument to entertain—though his level was quite ordinary.

Old Wei, unimpressed, offered to perform instead a piece that was widely known in Gureg.

"The Knights of No Return"

It was a national-level piece preserved in the Gureg National Library, composed 900 years ago by a composer from Gureg. It was dedicated to the Knight Order that had ventured through the otherworldly gate to resist the onslaught of alien races during the alignment of the Heavenly Spheres.

"Only it’s become so distant that it’s turned into a legend, beyond verification—at least that’s what the background story of the song claims."

Immediately, he stunned everyone. Those who had muddled through the court were simply not on the same level as Shadi and his ragtag troupe.

Liszt was speechless. The tune was quite sorrowful. Was there nothing more exciting? Not having heard "Congratulations on Your Fortune" just didn’t feel right. Here’s wishing that all the kids around the world are smarter than scholars, their intellects brimming within their heads.

Then, as steamy dishes were brought out one after another, other guests began to chatter and laugh as they all took their seats.

Izumi cried.

"What the hell are you playing at?"

Liszt was speechless again. What was she pretending for? She had been quite fiery back at Water Pavilion Autumn Moon, but now she seemed all innocent.

"No crying allowed!"

Morison really didn’t want dinner to become terribly awkward.

"Okay..."

Izumi sniffled and choked back her tears in reply.

There were no other pretensions—it was all about showing off: drink if you should drink, eat if you should eat. A table full of appealing dishes, the sort only the Gion King would dine on. Although these types of dishes could be found at various restaurants, the chef behind them was not of the same caliber.

"The rich flavor of this seafood is incredible. Paired with the chewy abalone, it makes one want to keep eating, as though they were in the Inner Sea Golden Waters."

"The aroma that comes from the stock as it chars is truly enticing. No need for dipping sauces; once the stock permeates the skin and slightly caramelizes, it really enhances the flavor—it’s like strolling through Pedan’s pastures in the east!"

"Each bite brings a new sensation. The filling is so tender it’s as if it’s going to melt away, and each chew floods your mouth with juicy freshness!"

"Why have you all turned into damn food critics!"

Weber just can’t understand it; it’s as if they’ve eaten something mind-blowingly delicious.

Discussing serious matters now would be a big taboo; only amusing topics were suitable for the table.

"Black Sail... When exactly was it founded?"

"About seven years ago, I lost my official hat for some reason and fled to a small country by the Narrow Sea, opening up a black clinic. Liszt came to me for treatment; it was incredible that he survived, and that might just be why he dodged a bullet."

Mika replied, but kept some details to himself; the situation back then had been extremely terrifying.

That night was dark and stormy, with chilling winds whipping about. It was pretty fucking scary.

Someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night; he was on guard with a pair of scissors behind his back. When he opened the door, he saw that the bastard had brought a gun.

Fuck me, the guy was Superman. Took a shot to the head and was still on his feet, albeit walking like a ghoul. Blood was streaming down the center of his face, and as a forensic doctor, Mika could tell from the wound that it looked like it had been chopped by an axe, at least three centimeters deep.

Like some fucking ghost, Liszt couldn’t even speak; he could only point the gun at him, holding on until he disinfected the wound with iodine and stitched him up. That’s when he finally passed out, and the gun fell to the floor.

Mika figured the guy’s life was tough, so he didn’t kill him.

"Now, I’ve become Death God, the Destroyer of the world."

Mika spoke seriously, because he hadn’t expected Liszt to turn out this way. This butterfly effect was whipping up a real hurricane—it was almost overwhelming.

"God damn Destroyer."

Liszt could only eat until he was eighty percent full. Any more would hamper his movements.

"And then?"

Weber insisted on hearing the tale of his rise to success.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.