Captain – Chapter 64 – The Youth

The recruitment went very smoothly.

In just a short hour, before the sunlight had a chance to display the scorching heat of midsummer, all thirty positions had been filled. Currently, they were being led by Caine to the dock to familiarize themselves with the ship.

Those who hadn’t been selected had already left in disappointment. Only Roy and the drowsy raven remained under the temporary shed.

After arranging the messy contracts, the captain whistled lightly: “Let’s go, Alfie.”

The somewhat sleepy raven was awakened by its owner’s call and immediately looked around vigilantly. After confirming there was no enemy attack, it flapped its wings and landed on Roy’s shoulder, continuing to pretend to be in deep sleep.

It seems it went too wild last night.

Roy looked at the raven’s closed eyes and thought silently.

These brief three days had been exhausting and dangerous even for her, let alone Alfie who needed to gather intelligence everywhere. After all, it was now the only skilled infiltrator by her side.

I’ll treat you well once we’re on the ship.

Roy smiled and stood up, walking toward the port. But before she could take a few steps, someone blocked her way.

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It was a dirty youth wearing tattered, full of holes coarse cloth clothing. He was skinny like a monkey, and with that rough withered yellow short hair, he looked every bit like a beggar.

Only those eyes, like black pearls, were different. That deep and profound color made the captain instinctively recall that young Elder who was skilled at disguise and was elegant and refined.

But obviously, apart from the eyes, the youth before her had absolutely no similarity with that Elder, and the worlds they lived in had no intersection at all.

Roy wasn’t a person whose compassion overflowed to the point of being useless. As a pirate who lived by killing and plundering, she never respected those who had hands and feet yet still begged for a living. Therefore, under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t be willing to deal with them at all.

But fortunately, the youth before her evoked some childhood memories of the captain. At that time, before boarding a ship, she too was dressed in rags like this youth, thinking about survival day and night.

So she asked softly: “How much do you want?”

“No, I’m not here to beg, Captain,” the youth shook his head firmly, with some hope in his eyes.

“Oh? Then what are you here for?”

After a brief trance, Roy quickly guessed what the youth wanted and asked with interest.

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At this moment, the raven that had been resting with its eyes closed was awakened by their conversation. It blinked its somewhat hazy eyes, looking at the youth blocking the captain’s path, and suddenly became alert, assuming a pouncing posture. Its sharp cries spread throughout the entire marketplace.

“Traitor! Traitor! Traitor…”

The youth was frightened and stepped back, looking at the suddenly screaming raven with complete bewilderment, not knowing at all that it had mistaken him for another familiar figure.

“Calm down, calm down, good girl. He’s not Richi, he’s just a… nobody.”

Roy gently stroked the raven, with a kind of inexplicable emotion diffusing in her dark golden pupils. She didn’t explain anything to the panicked youth, just smiled and said: “Sorry, little one, if you wanted to apply for a sailor position, you’ve missed your chance.”

The youth was clearly not a naive child who would lose all courage at the first sign of fright. He had rolled countless times in the file of survival, covered in scars but incredibly strong.

He said urgently: “No, Captain, I’m not here to apply for a sailor position. I want… I want to follow you.”

“That’s even more impossible. Do you know what I do for a living?” Roy gently waved her finger and asked kindly.

Hearing the captain’s question, the youth hesitated for a moment, then gathered courage to voice his guess: “You’re a pirate, aren’t you?”

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Roy’s fine eyebrows raised slightly, interested in how the youth could guess her identity: “How do you know?”

“I’m guessing. Ships coming to Frans Island are already few, and those daring to sail to the Southern Islands are even fewer. At least among the ships I’ve seen, those heading south are only those pirate ships flying black flags, passing through the waters outside the island.”

The youth spoke very quickly, like a string of firecrackers going off, as if afraid the captain before him would lose patience: “And what made me more confident was Ben’s attitude toward you. You don’t know, that bandit chief never shows a pleasant face to anyone, let alone being so obedient? So I think you must be a stronger and more ruthless pirate captain than him.”

The hand stroking the raven gradually stopped, and the smile on Roy’s face gradually disappeared. She pretended to be fierce and said: “Since you know that, how do you still have the guts to block me? Get out of the way quickly!”

The youth was intimidated and shrank his neck, but still stubbornly stood in the middle of the road: “I want to go to sea with you.”

This stubborn expression was exactly the same as Richi’s back then.

Roy shook her head, reached out to push the youth aside, and continued walking forward: “Pirate ships don’t take minors.”

The youth jogged alongside the captain, saying in an almost pleading tone: “But usually there can be exceptions, right? Captain, please…”

“Exceptions? Do you know who dies the most on ships? Not the fighting squad members, but young boys like you.”

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Roy described the miserable scene without looking back: “Sailors are already the lowest on a pirate ship, and among sailors, underage stowaways are the easiest to bully. They will force their work onto you, making you do five or ten times the work, and even…”

The captain paused, but still said in an almost eerie tone: “They will also use you as tools for venting desires. Countless children have died on pirate ships because of this. If you want to become one of them, you can follow me onto the ship.”

“On this island, you might find it hard to survive, but on a pirate ship, you might die most miserably.”

Reaching the entrance of the marketplace, seeing Caine and Ben walking quickly towards them, Roy stopped and turned to look at the youth beside her: “So, go back to your little nest and don’t follow me anymore.”

The youth gritted his teeth and refused to leave. He knew that if he missed this chance, there might not be another opportunity to leave Frans Island. He said with determination: “Captain, I have no home and no family, and I’m not afraid of the things you mentioned. If anyone dares to force me, I’ll slit their throat.”

Roy silently gazed at the youth. After a moment, she slowly asked: “Have you killed before?”

The youth seemed somewhat intimidated by the captain’s almost indifferent gaze. He lowered his small head slightly: “They stole my food, stole my money, and even stripped my clothes, so I… I…”

“Very good.”

Contrary to the youth’s expectations, Roy didn’t continue to intimidate or scold him, but said without emotion: “Since you want to board the ship, let’s talk about conditions, and what talents you have that can move me.”