Captain – Chapter 456 – The Girl at the Cliff’s Edge

The man’s lazy question fell, but even after a long while, no second voice rose in the room.

Those occupying the Legendary positions, usually not very harmonious, now showed remarkable tacit understanding, maintaining silence in unison, as if they hadn’t heard anything. Clearly, in their eyes, bringing back—or rather, capturing—the Golden-Eyed Devil was definitely a thankless and difficult task.

Unless absolutely necessary, no one would want to provoke that little madwoman.

The man in the throne had obviously anticipated this result. He took a deep drag on his cigar and unhurriedly said: “Since no one volunteers, then as per the old rules, give your reasons and nominate each other.”

Though it sounded nice to call it mutual nomination, to be more blunt, it was about pushing this arduous task onto someone else. And if there was still no result in the end, it would be even simpler—a direct vote to select someone.

Each Legendary had one vote, while the man in the throne had seven.

This meant that even if six Legends of this generation made the same choice, he could still overrule them with a “slight” margin of one vote. That’s how shameless it was.

But there was no help for it, who told him he was…

The Great Captain.

Roy and Richi might not be familiar with this entire process, as they had only symbolically participated in a meeting once when they were enfeoffed as Legends, but these others were different.

Whenever that man needed someone to do the heavy lifting, these illustrious Legends had to outwit each other.

All to avoid taking on the thankless task.

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“If you ask me, Great Captain, whoever caused this trouble should be the one to resolve it.”

A rather eerie voice came from the shadow of the second chair on the left side of the long table. That person laughed with schadenfreude, adding: “Suffering the consequences of one’s actions—hasn’t that always been the principle?”

As soon as that person finished speaking, a mature female voice emanated from one of the positions on the right side of the table: “Yes, Great Captain, just like most curse-breaking methods, the one who tied the bell should be the one to untie it.”

“Don’t you agree, Mad One?”

Hearing that voice full of charm direct its spearhead at him, the person leaning uninterestedly in the high-backed chair opposite her slowly sat up straight, his voice as deep and pleasant as always: “You two have it all planned out, just waiting to push me into the fire pit?”

Hearing this, the two who had spoken earlier both laughed lightly, one like an alluring rose, one like a heroic overlord. Yet how much of their laughter was sincere remained unknown.

Spreading his hands, the “poor soul” who had been pushed forward pleaded to the man in the throne: “Great Captain, please be discerning, don’t be misled by them. What does this have to do with me?”

“Even if I racked my brains, I couldn’t have imagined that little one would ignore searching for her father and instead covet something like… the Pirate King’s treasure, thereby causing so much trouble.”

After a pause, feeling that he might be walking into a trap, that person gave a bitter laugh and changed his tack: “But when all is said and done, this was her own choice. Why should you…”

“Why what? Why meddle in others’ affairs?”

The man in the throne spoke flatly, interrupting that person’s persuasion: “If it weren’t for the fact that the trouble that little brat stirred up is so massive, I wouldn’t care about anyone’s life or death. You should understand this well.”

Unless it was serious enough to potentially shake the islands’ foundation and affect the world’s pattern, the Great Captain generally couldn’t be bothered to interfere—this was a common understanding among the Legends, and indeed among all pirates.

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Once he made up his mind, it basically equated to…

A storm was coming.

Seeing that the man, contrary to his usual manner, wasn’t joking, the Legendary Pirate sitting in the first position on his left also abandoned the idea of persuasion. After a moment of silence, he responded with a deep “Yes.”

Without saying anything more about it, the man in the throne straightened up, supporting himself on the armrests. Although his sitting posture remained casual, it was more serious compared to before. He extinguished his unfinished cigar on the wooden table and said casually: “I think they’re right. You should be the one to go.”

Once the Great Captain spoke, it was basically decided.

Knowing that the “poor soul” would definitely be dissatisfied, the man unusually offered him an explanation: “Setting aside the cause, your identity makes you more suitable. She should at least consider your face.”

“Then you’re overestimating this face of mine.”

Ignoring that person’s somewhat resentful response, the man in the throne said flatly: “Anyway, don’t think about quibbling. This matter is inseparably related to you no matter how you look at it. I have both witnesses and physical evidence.”

“Physical evidence?”

That “poor soul” raised an eyebrow, repeating these two words in confusion.

He knew about witnesses—they were undoubtedly the people who had witnessed his interaction with that child during the pursuit of the Eternal Ship. Although many of those people were no longer alive, they could still be found if necessary.

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But physical evidence…

Where did that come from? The only object involved in this secret, he had already given to that child.

The man reached into the dark pocket of his cloak, rummaged around casually, and then, before the puzzled gaze of that Legend, took out a pendant and tossed it in front of him.

The pendant was carved from moonstone, resembling a skull, with disordered blue-green light flowing from its eye sockets.

“Take this with you when you go. When that child sees this object, she will naturally understand my thoughts.”

Seeing that person still silent, seemingly unable to sort out the details, the man slowly leaned back, resting against the cold throne, closing his eyes, and speaking almost in a whisper: “You need not worry too much. You only need to know that that child now stands on… uh, what is it she’s standing on?”

“A cliff, master.”

The raven Carlos, who had been quiet all along, spoke up timely, accurately expressing his inner thoughts.

“Yes, a cliff.”

Lowering his head slightly, the man’s face was completely obscured by the worn tricorn hat on his head. He gently caressed the square stone ring with his rough fingers: “If she takes one more step forward, she’ll truly be beyond saving. I don’t think you want to see that outcome either, do you?”

“After all, she is the only bloodline Gerard left behind.”

Among all the people in the room, the one who cared most about that vanished person and his child was this so-called “bell-tier.” That’s why the man thought he was the most suitable one to go.

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“Alright, alright, it seems I can’t escape this thankless task no matter what. Let’s settle it then.”

The chosen person shrugged his shoulders. Although his tone sounded reluctant, there was more of an inevitability to it.

Because as the Great Captain said, who else would be willing to go, if not the one who cared most about her?

Putting the pendant in front of him into his bosom, that Legend didn’t care why this item was in the Great Captain’s possession, but only asked: “So, Great Captain, how shall I find her?”

The sea was vast, and finding another ship was no easy task, especially when that ship was the Mermaid.

As if facing a difficult problem, the man didn’t speak this time, but the fingers caressing the ring stopped.

The raven in front of him flapped its wings and flew to his shoulder. Looking down from above, its eyes like black pearls reflected the square stone ring and the scene gradually solidifying within it.

It was the lightless sea, with a warship drifting upon it.

It was the Mermaid.

After observing for a while, Carlos raised its head, looked at the person sitting in the first position on the left, and called out eerily.

“Nine hundred and fifty-four nautical miles north of Elsino, sir.”