Captain – Chapter 334 – The Final Negotiation

The ghostly fire mysteriously extinguished. Roy exchanged a puzzled glance with Caine and the pirate who had exclaimed in surprise, their eyes equally bewildered. Even the ship doctor’s face was full of confusion, wondering why such a minor matter had caused such tension.

Everyone on the ship was baffled, but regardless… the fire was out, which was good news.

After thinking for some time and finding no explanation, the girl gave up and stopped worrying, simply attributing it to her ancestor’s methods.

Who could blame him for being an all-powerful devil?

Roy led Caine through the dimly lit ship’s cabin, going up level by level, finally stopping purposefully before a tightly closed door.

Naturally, it was the scholar’s room.

Just like Vivian’s thoughts when heading to the lighthouse, the captain felt that since the lighthouse was lit and Satin Island had already risen from the seabed, appearing in this icy sea, with that intense golden light showing the way, Bivis no longer had any value to exploit.

After all, the blood flowing through him wasn’t devil’s blood; he wasn’t unique.

So now what she needed to do was find a way to kick him out of this journey, or like squeezing toothpaste, extract some more value from him.

Though Roy often appeared shameless, she actually remembered both grudges and favors, and rarely did ungrateful things like abandoning helpers after crossing a river.

If Bivis’s background was truly as he said, she would fulfill her promise, removing the curse on him after obtaining the magic box, then parting ways—transaction complete, friendship intact, or at least no hard feelings.

But the problem was… he was clearly lying.

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His identity, his purpose, and his current seemingly frail and helpless appearance on the Mermaid might all be false.

Of course, this didn’t mean all his words were lies.

Tricks and performances differ but ultimately belong to the same lineage. Both Roy and Old John, who had already left the Mermaid, were people extremely skilled in these arts, so they naturally knew that adding just a bit of falsehood to nearly complete truth could make the situation entirely different.

Bivis used this method too.

So until now, despite Roy’s thousand suspicions and ten thousand doubts about him, his true intentions remained as if in a fog, hidden from the world.

She could hardly discern how many false statements he had made throughout this journey, or which few sentences within those segments of true stories were lies.

But she knew this was dangerous.

More dangerous than the Death Silence following behind, more dangerous than the pirate who suddenly acted on the Death Silence, even more dangerous than the Lady’s divine blessing and will.

The captain had been patient all along, discussing various topics with Bivis, probing here and there, seemingly having the upper hand and putting pressure on him, but in reality she was helpless, showing restraint because of his utility value.

Now, this game of chess had entered its final stage, all hidden pieces had been revealed, and the confrontation between the Lady and the devil had entered its most intense and perilous phase. Roy could no longer tolerate such a massive hidden danger on the Mermaid.

Strike while the iron is hot.

The girl thought silently as she pushed open the door.

Rеαd oո КаtRеαⅾinɡСαfе

Now, because of the devil’s display of power, the Death Silence had been forced to retreat ignominiously, and no one could threaten the Mermaid or intervene in the tragic scene about to unfold.

Since that was the case, what means of resistance could he still have?

Even if he was the undying, immortal Death-Fearer, even if his so-called curse and contract were all talk, and he could maintain his life even after leaving the Mermaid, if he fell into that whirlpool which could extinguish even the Lady’s divine blessing, how could he survive?

The scholar’s defeat seemed predetermined.

“Creeak…”

The wooden door made a faint sharp sound, due to the girl’s extremely slow and steady hand when pushing it, further demonstrating her firm determination.

The door finally opened, and the small room came into view.

Then, Roy was slightly taken aback, somewhat surprised.

That room which had always been so messy that others had nowhere to step was clean and tidy today. All books and documents were squeezed into bookshelves on both sides, and the wooden floor was slightly damp, without a speck of dust.

Clearly it had been cleaned in advance, indicating its owner’s seriousness about this anticipated, inevitable negotiation. The only flaw was that the scholar hadn’t done it himself, thus showing less sincerity.

“Captain, First Mate.”

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Roy nodded to the priest who was holding cleaning tools, sweat dripping from his face, then gestured with her eyes for him to leave first.

Seeing this, the priest’s face couldn’t help but show concern, but after hearing the scholar’s gentle admonition from behind, he finally left the room.

“Go on, the captain’s will is more important than mine.”

Though saying this, Bivis kept his head lowered, looking at the profound biological book in his hands, not once raising his head to look.

Yet his tone was so matter-of-fact, as if he could guess all the thoughts of the visitors.

With a slight sound, the door closed again.

“Please sit, both of you.”

Two wooden chairs had already been prepared at the room’s only wooden table, as if he had already guessed that two people would come to negotiate, not just Roy alone.

After Roy and Caine sat down, Bivis slowly closed his book, the reluctant yet exceptionally calm expression when he shifted his gaze suggesting he had mentally prepared for this to be his “last meal.”

“For the captain to come here means the ghostly fire has been extinguished. Truly remarkable skill, you know, even I had no way to deal with that fire born from burning vengeful souls.”

Hearing the scholar’s bland and obviously inadequate flattery, Roy noncommittally responded with a “mmm,” then, neither showing curiosity about the ghostly fire as she had in the past, nor giving him a chance to change the subject or lighten the atmosphere, she directly stated her position.

“You know why I’ve come.”

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Not because of your absence, not because of groundless suspicion, but only for a very simple reason…

You’re no longer useful.

Of course, there was another implicit message: you’re troublesome.

With such a short sentence, Roy put all the scheming and overt and covert struggles of the journey on the table. As for the questioning, mockery, and impatience hidden within, she had thrown it all into this sentence.

If it were an ordinary person, they might not understand.

But the scholar wasn’t ordinary. He was the most informed person in this matter, and a clever one at that, so he just smiled gently and asked knowingly: “Is the captain planning to… eliminate me now?”

“What else?”

Having her intentions exposed so directly, the girl wasn’t embarrassed at all. She glanced at her first mate and said with some surprise and amusement: “If it weren’t for my intention, you would already be dead when the lighthouse lit up… or at least kicked off the Mermaid.”

Caine’s expression remained unchanged, as if this wasn’t his plan.

Hearing this, Bivis was silent for a long time, then sighed and shook his head, looking into the girl’s dark golden eyes and sincerely thanked her.

“Thank you for your tolerance.”