Captain – Chapter 131 – Return to Port

Cassius wasn’t distracted by the secret message for too long. He glanced toward the deck of the Black Prince, and after ensuring everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, he turned and walked toward the captain’s cabin.

Unlike typical large warships, the Mermaid’s captain’s cabin was located on the deck, directly facing the mast and the mermaid figurehead. Just by pushing open the wooden door, one could see the sailors working enthusiastically and the white waves breaking against the bow.

Meeting the sailors’ reverent gazes, the First Mate walked across the deck, stopped in front of the captain’s cabin, and gently knocked on the wooden door.

“Who is it?”

A hoarse voice came from behind the door, flat and indifferent, without a trace of emotion. It seemed like a whisper from the abyss, capable of freezing all the blood in a visitor’s veins.

Even though he had heard this voice countless times, Cassius couldn’t help but soften his breathing, afraid that the slightest sound might startle the other person and bring fatal trouble.

This was, of course, just an illusion. The captain, despite being nicknamed “the Butcher,” never raised a blade against those loyal to him.

Taking a deep breath, the First Mate reported softly, “It’s me, Captain.”

After quite a while, the hoarse voice sounded again.

“Come in.”

The wooden door was pushed open, and the gradually brightening morning light spilled into the captain’s cabin, illuminating the scene within.

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The captain’s cabin was spacious, yet exceptionally simple. Besides a wide wooden table with maps and various positioning tools, there was only a large bed covered with silk bedding and neatly arranged goose-feather pillows, as well as a coat rack with clothing hanging from it.

On the coat rack hung a magnificent white and gold coat with jet-black sleeves, and a three-cornered hat with a black base, gold trim, and light blue feathers adorning the rear.

The bed, coat rack, and everything on the wide wooden table were the possessions of the former captain. Even though the Mermaid now had a new master, the arrangement of the captain’s cabin remained unchanged.

At this moment, behind the wide wooden table sat a thin young man.

He wore an oversized crimson coat, with a pale yellow linen short shirt beneath, similar to ordinary sailors. On his head was a three-cornered hat similar in style to the one on the coat rack behind him, but without the feather decoration and with deep red as the main color.

The brim of the three-cornered hat hung down, concealing the young man’s face.

Cassius walked up closely, approaching the wide wooden table, and looked at what was on the tabletop.

Every porthole in the captain’s cabin was covered with dark curtains, making it quite dim. The First Mate, using the faint light spilling in from outside the door, had a hard time making out what was placed in front of the captain.

A pure silver tray with several slices of white bread embedded with raisins and hazelnuts, along with a small piece of butter. The captain was holding a silver knife, spreading butter on the bread.

Beside the tray was a small basin of hot water, in which sat a large wooden wine cup. However, what was in the cup wasn’t any kind of alcohol, but… cow’s milk that they had plundered from a merchant ship a few days ago!

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It must be said, this was a very nutritious breakfast, but it shouldn’t appear on a pirate ship, much less in front of a pirate captain!

Good grief, isn’t this the kind of breakfast a child should be having?

Cassius’s eye twitched, feeling that the scene before him was incredibly jarring, though his face still maintained its customary calm, not daring to show the slightest hint of mockery.

Seemingly sensing the First Mate’s gaze, the young man continued methodically buttering his bread and said without looking up, “He said drinking milk helps you grow taller.”

The First Mate certainly knew who the “he” in the captain’s words was, because they had all once been that person’s subordinates, but…

“What’s happened?”

Cassius’s thoughts were interrupted by the inquiry that reached his ears. He lowered his head slightly: “There’s a secret message, Captain.”

The captain showed no sign of stopping his actions. He set the silver knife on a nearby napkin and picked up the buttered white bread to bring it to his mouth.

“Captain?”

The young man’s hand holding the bread paused: “It’s just a secret message. Open it yourself.”

After saying this, he took a small bite of the bread, and at the same time waved his hand at the First Mate, indicating that he should quickly get lost.

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“Captain, it’s a message from Yadris,” Cassius didn’t leave, his voice carrying several notes of helplessness.

The captain, having been interrupted repeatedly, was obviously irritated. He gently put down the bread in his hand and slowly raised his head: “Cassius, I’ve said many times, unless the Mermaid is about to sink, don’t disturb me during meals.”

The young man’s face was finally exposed to the weak sunlight. It was a somewhat pale face, with traces of childishness still visible in his features—marks that were difficult to erase at his young age.

Just looking at this face, this captain wasn’t only underage but appeared to be at most sixteen years old. The only difference was his eyes.

They were a pair of incredibly clear blood-red eyes, containing not a wealth of emotions, but a bone-chilling indifference. That indifference was pure and singular, as if nothing could cause them to waver.

This was the origin of the “Blood-Eyed Butcher”—Richi Quake’s most terrifying eyes.

Gazing at those emotionless blood-red eyes, although it felt as absurd as ever, Cassius understood that the young man was indeed angry.

The captain was just such a contradictory character. Despite possessing excellent patience, able to lie in wait like a lone wolf in cold rain for a day and a night to bite through a prey’s throat, he would harbor resentment and display malice because his breakfast was interrupted.

“You did indeed say that, but the problem is, this time the message Jay brought, I don’t have the authority to open it, Captain.”

Seeing the First Mate cross his arm in front of him, the falcon perched on his shoulder obediently leaped up, displaying its ankle tied with the message to the young man.

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“The highest level of classified intelligence… it seems Old John has discovered something extraordinary.”

Looking at the decorations on the message, Richi was silent for a moment, then wiped his hands with a napkin, reached out to take the secret message, untied the ribbon pinned with the ivory button, and spread the message out on the table.

The First Mate had already lit a white candle nearby and pushed the candlestick close to the captain.

By the flickering candlelight, Richi’s gaze moved across the rows of ink characters. During this process, his expression remained as calm as before, with no surprise or astonishment in his blood-colored pupils. However, when his fingers traced over the surface of the paper, they paused slightly at a certain point.

From the young man’s expression, Cassius couldn’t observe any clues, but he still noticed something unusual in certain subtle details, such as the momentary pause in the captain’s gaze and fingers, or his blinking frequency, which was slightly faster than usual.

Like a recurring nightmare, an inexplicable unease spread through the First Mate’s heart.

Until the captain finished reading the message and slowly stood up, supporting himself on the table, that unease reached its extreme. But before he could open his mouth to ask, Richi’s hoarse and deep voice exploded in his ears with a command.

“Cassius, notify everyone to return to the ship immediately. Have the sailors take their positions. We’re turning around…”

Richi walked past the wide wooden table, paused for a moment beside the First Mate, and left him with two words that shocked him deeply.

“Return to port.”