Chapter 70

Leoza walked over with the cheerful stride of a chuunibyou teenager, stepping on the creaky wooden floor as if he hadn’t just seen the complete chaos and destruction of the Dite Bar behind Caesar. He pouted, his rosy cheeks both adorable and infuriating, and his golden eyes glared at his brother as if he’d just had his favorite toy snatched away. He complained with dissatisfaction, “You’re so annoying. I knew you’d come here too.”

“I should be the one saying that, you trash.” Caesar, his half-brother, gave him a look of utter disgust and snorted. “Copycat.”

“What?! You’re the copycat!” Leoza exploded, instantly drawing his gleaming knife. “The one who stole my compass has no right to say that! Let’s have a fair duel—the winner gets Miguel, and the loser gets the hell out of here!”

Wait, what’s this about the winner getting Miguel? Who gave you the right to say that so casually, huh? Miguel was speechless. “Huh? Wait, what does this have to do with me?”

“Ah…” Caesar lazily drawled, glancing sideways at the bewildered navigator. Before anyone could react, he reached out and slapped Miguel’s butt with a loud smack. Then, with a wicked smirk, he said in a domineering tone, “Too bad, this guy’s already mine.”

Miguel: “Huh?… What…” Since when?

Caesar turned his head and shot Miguel a “shut up” look—so Miguel shut up. Actually… the father and son weren’t exactly on the same wavelength. It was just that this was an expression Miguel was most familiar with.

“What! How shameless! Caesar, you’re so despicable—you sneak!”

Amid Leoza’s ear-splitting screams that seemed about to blow the roof off the Dite Bar, Miguel, for the first time ever, cooperated perfectly. He immediately wrapped his arms around his dog captain with a sweet, affectionate expression, nodded, and ignoring the silent stares from the first mate, charge captain, and the rest of the crew, he said with a smile, “Oh, you said it…”

Caesar replied expressionlessly, “I accidentally let it slip.”

Everyone: “…”

Miguel: “It’s a bit shocking, but that’s the truth.”

Everyone: “…”

Miguel: “Thanks for everyone’s blessings.”

Everyone: …Go to hell. No one’s blessing you.

Caesar silently tried to pull his arm away, only to find it tightly gripped by someone who was shamelessly clinging to him, showing no intention of letting go—as if he’d decided to hang onto Caesar for the rest of the night.

Failing to detach himself, the captain clicked his tongue in annoyance, raised his long leg, and mercilessly kicked the noisy red-haired midget nearby. He ordered in a tone that brooked no argument, “Shut up. Lead the way. I want to see that woman named Zhizhi.”

“Who do you think you are?” Leoza shot back with a huge eye roll. “Why should I listen to you?”

“Otherwise, you won’t walk out of this bar tonight,” the man narrowed his eyes, lit a cigarette, and bit the filter, his expression growing increasingly impatient. “And put that knife away. Kids shouldn’t play with such things…”

He paused, then added with a smirk, “Besides, ten of you combined couldn’t beat me, you brat.”

And so, Leoza exploded again.

Miguel glanced at Caesar, realizing the man had a real talent for pissing people off. But the scene of the older brother smoking and lecturing his younger brother like an old man, while the younger brother fumed but still obediently put his knife away, was surprisingly… brotherly.

As Leoza stomped ahead like a giant to lead the way, Miguel patted his master. “Actually, you two have a pretty good relationship.”

“You’re blind,” the captain exhaled a puff of smoke and replied dismissively. “And let go of me. Can’t you walk on your own? What kind of nonsense is this?”

…

They followed Leoza to an underground wine cellar. As the best bar in Menorca, Dite Bar still had some decent stock. The barrel of wine closest to Miguel was no ordinary thing—a glass of this on the bar would sell for at least three gold coins. The rich aroma of wine filled the air, and though the bluestone floor was marked with footprints, it was surprisingly clean. A few stray straws lay scattered about. Miguel heard the red-haired boy mutter a curse under his breath, then kick the straws aside, revealing a black ring-shaped object beneath.

Leoza effortlessly lifted the heavy stone slab that weighed at least a hundred pounds, revealing a stone staircase leading further down—

A kerosene lamp hung at the end of the stairs, casting a dim light that was just enough to see the steps and prevent anyone from tripping. Caesar’s expression remained impassive, indicating that the man was still skeptical. But Miguel had no doubt this was the place they were looking for… not because he trusted Leoza, but because one look at the bar owner’s expression—as if someone had just stolen his underwear—said it all.

Caesar took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was cold. “You go first.”

He ordered Leoza—the so-called second-in-command of the Mediterranean pirates—as naturally as if he were commanding the lowest-ranking crew member to polish the deck brighter every morning at dawn.

Leoza hesitated, then continued to grumble as he walked down—Miguel listened carefully. In the basement, aside from the occasional sound of water, there was no other noise. It was surprising that the captain of the Hornet had come here alone tonight.

“What are you looking at? It’s really just me!—If I wanted to kill you, I’d do it openly. Who needs to ambush you!” The red-haired boy complained irritably to his obnoxious brother. “Because that woman only agreed to take me down.”

“Since when does your dictionary include the words ‘open and honest’?”

Caesar sneered, bent down, and followed, then the bar owner, then Miguel—after them came the crowd of Wind Fury crew members who had come along for the show.

Going down into the basement, at Caesar’s signal, the bar owner reluctantly lit the lamp. A cold wind blew in from somewhere, causing the kerosene lamp to flicker. The yellow light grew brighter as the wick caught, eventually illuminating the entire basement—

The sight before them left everyone stunned into silence.

Even the cigarette that had been dangling from the captain’s lips fell to the ground unnoticed. He frowned, his gaze fixed intently on the pool of seawater before them.

Before them was a massive wall made of giant rocks. The sound of water came from behind the wall, which connected to the basement’s walls. A large cave seemed to have been carved into the weathered wall, allowing seawater to flow in continuously, creating a live water circulation system in the basement.

The water in the pool was deep and dark, making it impossible to see what lay beneath. Whether due to the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, a thick white fog hung above the wall, obscuring whatever was behind it. The only sound was the splashing of water, as if something was swimming quickly through the pool.

“Bunch of country bumpkins,” Leoza muttered. “Zhizhi’s already in there. She went to get the wooden box.”

That woman had already gone down? Miguel and Caesar exchanged a glance, and after a brief silent battle, no one knew what happened, but Miguel was suddenly scurrying toward the only ladder by the wall.

“Why the rush, little Miguel?” Leoza said leisurely from behind. “Even if you grab that box, you won’t be able to open it. What’s the hurry—”

Before the red-haired boy could finish, a loud splash came from behind the wall.

Then, a pale, jade-like arm, glistening with water, reached up and gripped the moss-covered edge of the wall. The woman’s arm was covered in droplets—Miguel, who was climbing the ladder, was drenched from head to toe. He looked up, stunned, and was about to say something when he met a pair of beautiful eyes.

“It’s you!” Those eyes immediately lit up with joy. “I knew you’d come back!”

Zhizhi pushed herself up with her arms, and in one fluid motion, her entire body emerged from the water, sending up a spray of fine foam. She was naked, her long hair covering her chest, and she gracefully placed the wooden box on the edge of the wall. Her long legs swung over the edge, the stark contrast between her pale skin and the dark, mossy wall striking.

Behind her, the rippling water showed a faint, rhythmic pattern—evidence of some large creature swimming beneath the surface.

Thinking of the century-old shark mentioned earlier, Miguel casually glanced at the pool, then silently reached out his hand. Zhizhi was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting the black-haired young man’s gesture, but soon a bright smile spread across her beautiful face. She brushed aside the wet hair clinging to her face, took Miguel’s hand, and with a light pull, landed silently and gracefully on the ground.

The wooden box, covered in seaweed and shellfish, sat at her feet.

“This box has been here for a long time,” Zhizhi said with a smile after glancing at it. “No one can open it. Only the person who can open it can take it away.”

Caesar: “I’ll find a way to open it. Give it to me.”

“No,” Zhizhi pouted. “If you can’t open it, I’ll have to put it back—the box must be given to the ‘person who doesn’t exist in this world.'”

The man clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed by such a nonsensical legend.

But at this moment, the navigator, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. He took off his shirt and, under the captain’s disapproving gaze, draped it over the girl’s shoulders, then asked surprisingly, “Zhizhi, do you want to join the Wind Fury?”

“What?” The captain was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. “Are you out of your mind?”

Miguel just glanced at him, and for the first time in millions of years, Caesar was left speechless, staring at his navigator flirting with a woman right in front of him.

Miguel: “Do you want to?”

Zhizhi initially looked surprised, but after a moment’s thought, a smile returned to her face. The girl tightened the shirt around her and snuggled closer to Miguel. “What, are you buying me?”

“Yeah,” the navigator nodded, unusually serious.

The captain, not far away, was nearly driven to anger by this shameless “yeah”—what the hell? Who approved this? What are you “yeah”-ing about?

“I’m the most popular dancer in the bar, so my ransom is expensive,” Zhizhi leaned closer to Miguel, smiling. “It’ll cost five thousand gold coins.”

“That’s fine,” Miguel said lightly. “I’ll borrow it from the captain.”

“Bullshit!” Under Leoza’s gleeful gaze, Caesar struggled to suppress the urge to drag the black-haired young man over and beat him senseless. “I’m not fucking lending you anything!”

Miguel: “Hurry up, stop talking, give me the money!”

Leoza: “Aww, that’s not fair o(≧口≦)o, I want to join the Wind Fury too!”

The extremely annoyed captain: “Sure, come on, there are hundreds of decks waiting for you to scrub.”

Leoza: “Then I want to live with little Miguel! o(≧口≦)o”

The extremely annoyed captain: “Sorry, he lives with me.”

When it rains, it pours; when a son’s wings harden, he wants to marry.

In the end, Caesar, with a dark expression, wrote an IOU for five thousand gold coins to the bloodied bar owner.

…

Before dawn, holding the wooden box and leading an extra red-haired midget and a young girl, the now larger group walked silently back under the moonlight, the sound of the bar’s chaos fading behind them.

Miguel and Caesar still led the way—

Leoza, who wanted to follow, was forcibly held back by Rick.

The captain was in a foul mood, and unwanted company was not welcome.

The navigator, who had cost the captain a fortune, was unusually quiet, hardly uttering a word along the way. At first, the captain thought he’d spent five thousand gold coins for some peace and quiet, but halfway through the journey, the more he thought about it, the more something felt off—he suddenly turned, narrowed his eyes dangerously, grabbed Miguel’s collar, and pulled him close, his voice low and menacing. “What would you have done if I hadn’t agreed to give you the money to buy that woman?”

Miguel looked back at him, his dark eyes unusually bright in the night, his dog-like gaze sincere and determined. “Nothing. I’d have bought her no matter what, even if it meant dancing naked in the bar for a year.”

Everyone: …Who’d want to watch that!

Caesar: “Hmph.”

Miguel: “What are you hmph-ing about?”

Caesar let go of the navigator’s collar, his expression disdainful. “Dancing naked? Who’d want to watch that.”

Miguel: “…You think I care? The lights are so dim, who’d even see what I look like.”

Everyone: …You’ve really thought this through.

This response suddenly reminded Caesar of something. He stopped abruptly and turned around. “What, are you trying to give me a green hat?”

Everyone: What!—Captain, you!!

Miguel: “…?”

Caesar: “You’ve got some nerve.”

Miguel: “…”

Caesar: “Tomorrow, you’re scrubbing the deck. At night, go to Rick’s ship. Stay out of my sight.”

Miguel: “Why? What gives you the right?”

Caesar: “Because I’m the captain.”

Miguel: “So the captain can just get jealous whenever he wants?”

Caesar: “I’m not jealous. Get lost.”

Everyone: …You two, stop it.

Miguel: “What about Zhizhi?”

Caesar: “You bought her, and now you want me to take care of her? I bought her for you. Do whatever you want with her.”

Miguel: “Not in a way that gives you a green hat?”

Caesar: “…”

“Huh?” The navigator leaned in with a cheeky grin. “What did you say? Speak up.”

Caesar hmphed again, his voice carried by the sea breeze, yet firm and unwavering in the night.

“No.”