Black Sail
Chapter 33: XXXIII. Family Feast

Chapter 33: XXXIII. Family Feast

Tightly plucked, smooth fingertips, soft and tender palms, and warm breath lingering by his ear.

Liszt was incredibly content, for the technique was quite sophisticated.

Morison was someone who couldn’t stay still. After finishing his tea, he paced back and forth in the room, transforming into a creature of stress.

Liszt’s good mood was completely ruined as there was indeed a significant matter to attend to later.

"Oh, right, I brought a bottle of wine."

Liszt almost forgot about the gift and handed over the rum, purchased for two copper coins, to the Earl’s son.

The Earl’s son examined it and, having never encountered this type of wine, saw it as a rare novelty, possibly an expensive specialty from Heaven Port.

"You’re here already, why bring a gift?"

The Earl’s son politely instructed the servant to bring it to the table later during the evening meal.

"What exactly is the task? Your estate ought to have many guests suited for this, precisely the kind to be used at such a time, so why must you seek us out?"

Liszt probed.

"There are indeed many guests on the estate, most of whom are martial artists, but we need professionals familiar with the East Sea Domain to do a good job,"

the Earl’s son said, glancing at the clock as time was nearly up.

Liszt raised his eyebrows, his guess almost spot on.

At that moment, the door to the tea room was tapped gently and crisply twice. With the Earl’s son’s permission, a middle-aged butler in tailcoat entered the room with his hands behind his back.

He bowed to the Earl’s son,

"Young master, the banquet is ready. The lord, lady, and the young miss have taken their seats. If convenient, I can lead our distinguished guests to the main hall now."

The butler spoke with utmost respect.

The Earl’s son couldn’t have asked for more.

"This pretty much turns up our guts again, doesn’t it? Today we’ll feast splendidly."

Morison uttered this explosive statement, completely ruining the mood.

Turning up guts means that after a long time without good food, suddenly indulging in a large, greasy, rich meal can cause stomach upset and illness.

"Please."

The middle-aged butler forced a smile, not expecting much etiquette from this bunch of pirates.

The teahouse was in an annex building. To get to the dining hall, one had to go to the main building, accessible via a high arching bridge linking the buildings.

Leaving the teahouse through the bright corridor and walking along the connecting bridge between buildings, the cold sea breeze felt refreshing. Standing on this bridge, dozens of meters above the ground, one could view the entirety of Londen City—a different perspective almost capturing all one could see.

The three of them paused on the bridge.

The butler and the Earl’s son, quite tactfully, waited as well, knowing that this estate was one of the top sites in Londen City and such a view was rare for them.

"I never knew Londen City had this side to it."

Liszt, leaning on the railing, marveled. Over the years, he had come to Londen City numerous times, but always to places like the secret port, slums, or marketplaces—chaotic and muddy areas. Only from the highest point could one appreciate the beauty and grandeur of the densely packed buildings of the East Coast Port.

If one were not to consider taking sides, it was a pity for today’s brainless king of Beima to have these unfreezing ports in the East Coast. If the Emperor himself were to undertake their development directly, turning it into a picturesque wonder wouldn’t be an issue at all, and the land price in this city could increase by tenfold, even twentyfold.

"If I wasn’t wanted, I could set up an office here, help adventurers with their proxy leveling, and also become a bounty hunter myself, hunting pirates."

Before boarding, Morison’s bounty order was the most common type of murder case in the Judicial Hall. He hadn’t provoked the government or any major forces, so Ox said his background was clean. Being killed by bounty hunters wasn’t a big deal since now in Beima Duchy, bandits were rampant, the Judicial Hall’s system had crashed, and much of the official force assigned to catch fugitives consisted of ghost soldiers who only existed on paper and were loafing on the job. Now, the Judicial Hall was just a platform that factions cobbled together money to hire bounty hunters for local security, as the court’s influence slowly dwindled under Beima’s brainless king.

"Back when I was at Pedan National Arcane Academy..."

Fen hadn’t finished speaking.

"Stop, we can go now."

Liszt didn’t want to listen to Fen showing off, rattling on about Oxford in the Western Continent every single day. So you’ve played, seen, and eaten everything, huh? We’re all just country bumpkins in your eyes, aren’t we?

Besides, Liszt almost lost his composure, the only one leaning on the railing beside him who could see underneath the bridge.

Who knew where Swan had acquired such skills?

If it weren’t for Liszt’s mental fortitude, he would have been startled. Swan was hanging upside down beneath the bridge with astonishing finger strength, showing only his head and even freeing one hand to give Liszt an ’all clear’ gesture, not fearing the fall of several tens of meters that could kill him.

Liszt was reassured, letting Swan handle the reconnaissance to check for ambushes. Better safe than sorry, it seemed like a legitimately big job was indeed looking for him.

After the group crossed the bridge, Swan agilely flipped up onto the bridge, following behind with no sound as he walked.

Five minutes later.

Main hall.

An exceptionally spacious room, illuminated by the diffuse light of three crystal chandeliers, faced a long table of simulated wood grain and wabi-sabi style made from prestigious stone materials. Panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows nearly hollowed out the entire external wall, the sea breeze fluttering the curtains.

The top interior designers must understand the application of light and shadow, with only three chandeliers focusing light on the dining table, harmonizing with the natural light from the night skies at the windows.

The exquisite carving of top-quality golden silk nanmu horseshoe-legged chairs and the fashionable snow fox fur seat cushions among nobles.

"Welcome everyone to my humble abode. I apologize for any shortcomings in hospitality,"

said the Earl as the three of them entered, making polite conversation.

The Earl was sitting at the head of the table, dressed casually at home and not specially dressed up. His wife was seated next to him, looking unreasonably young, with the Earl’s eldest daughter next to her, and the Earl’s son seated as well, followed by a resolute-faced confidant.

"This humble abode? My ship is like the Ninety-Nine Abyss."

The term ’Ninety-Nine Abyss’ in the Western Continent was equivalent to the ’Eighteen Layers of Hell’ back where Liszt was from.

Liszt and his group sat across on the left side, not particular about the sequence, staying close to the Earl for convenience.

Dining positions among nobles are quite significant, and they could indicate one’s status. Morison twitched his eyelid; the old Earl looked about fifty years old with greying temples. His wife was younger than his daughter and extraordinarily beautiful. Her exposed snow-white neck and the low-cut evening gown with a crystal necklace at her chest—no one could stand that, genuinely straight out of youthful romance literature.

"Captain is a name known to all. These two must be the famed...," the Earl paused, choosing his words carefully. Pirate nicknames were often unpleasant, deriving from the crudest terms and widely known for easy dissemination. It was still better to stick with their titles, "First Officer and Ship Gunner."

Because Black Sail’s crew was notoriously extreme and listed on the East Coast Governor’s blacklist, their positions and weapon specialties were clearly listed on the bounty orders, providing bounty hunters with free strategies for their weaknesses. Just speed up the killing.

"Overpraised, just a bunch of refugees out at sea trying to scrape by, all with bad reputations."

Liszt started to banter with the Earl, pulling the conversation from East to West but never touching on the main topic.

After the pleasantries,

the Earl began introducing his family and a confidant.

Just as he introduced the confidant,

"I really wonder what capabilities you pirates have to be esteemed by the Earl."

the confidant suddenly started causing trouble.

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