780 Primary Job

Lumian listened to the bartender recount the rivalries and grudges of the Pirate Admirals while the pirates behind him grew increasingly restless.

They were all hoping someone would make the first move, either by shooting or stabbing the arrogant adventurer, so they could all rush him at once.

But the threat of those crimson-white fireballs deterred them. They looked at each other, but no one dared cross the chair Lumian had designated.

They figured anyone this brazen had to be pretty strong, and the Carnival Bar was low-tier, with no high-profile pirates around. They could only hope those who had left would return with someone more formidable.

After about ten minutes, one of the pirates who had left pushed open the heavy wooden door.

Behind him was a middle-aged man wearing a tricorne hat and dressed in dark blue.

The pirates in the bar immediately straightened up, holding their breath. The noisy, lively atmosphere quickly returned to silence.

Some of them recognized the man, knowing him as Captain Flying Hadmagk of the Rosemary, a well-known pirate just below the Pirate Admirals, active on the Five Seas for over a decade.

The pirate who opened the door flashed a flattering smile and pointed at Lumian's back. "Captain, that's the adventurer I mentioned! He dared to provoke all the pirates in Banamo Port!"

Hadmagk, with his thick, dark hair and imposing presence, stared at Lumian's back for a few seconds. He paused before asking, "How long has he been maintaining those fireballs?"

"I don't know. They were there when I left the bar, but he might not have kept them up the whole time," the pirate replied. He grabbed a young pirate sitting by the door, pointing at Lumian and growling, "How long has he been keeping those fireballs up?"

The young pirate, a bit flustered, glanced at the old clock on the wall and stammered, "Almost... almost fifteen minutes."

Fifteen minutes? Flying Hadmagk's eyelid twitched, and he suddenly looked like he remembered something important.

He immediately cursed at his sailor, "Did you forget about our important deal at the docks? Bastard, is your brain filled with nothing but booze, women, and pride?"

Cursing, Flying Haddock turned and walked out of the Carnival Bar.

His sailor, though dumbfounded, instinctively followed him.

The captain is always right!

The Carnival Bar remained quiet as Lumian finished his Lanti Proof and stood up.

With those crimson-white fireballs still floating around him, he swept his gaze over the pirates once more.

Then he smiled, raised his right hand, brought his index and middle fingers to his lips, and blew softly.

It was like he was blowing away the smoke from a gun after shooting everyone in the bar.

As the pirates' eyes and expressions shifted, Lumian leisurely walked towards the door with his hands in his pockets.

One by one, the pirates instinctively moved out of his way.

Some felt aggrieved, some ground their teeth, and others consoled themselves with thoughts like, It's not fear; those fireballs are just too blinding!

Lumian seemed utterly unafraid of being ambushed as he walked out of the Carnival Bar, almost like he was receiving their admiration and welcome.

...

Late at night, in an inconspicuous hotel room in Banamo Port.

Leaning back in his chair, Lumian said to Franca, "Disguise yourself and spread the word that an unknown adventurer has been provoking all the pirates, claiming they're cowards with no real strength, and that he could crush any pirate's head under his boot."

Franca's mouth twitched slightly. "Fishing again? You're quite the expert at this..."

Lumian chuckled in response. "According to the information we've gathered, Admiral Deep Sea prefers to stay out of the public eye because of his sea monster bloodline. Even if he comes to Banamo Port, he'll likely stay on his flagship, the Newins. If he wants women or food, someone will bring it to him.

"In this situation, we'll have to risk sneaking onto the Newins. It's an alchemical ship from some ancient ruins, and we have no idea what traps or mechanisms it might have. Plus, there are bound to be many Beyonder pirates on board. As a Hunter, we should avoid fighting on someone else's turf.

"I deliberately provoked the pirates in Banamo Port because I know no Pirate Admirals are here right now. I have enough confidence to handle the other notable pirates. They should soon figure this out too. Expecting pirate crews to work together against me overestimates their trust in each other. Who would they rather rob?

"I don't expect the pirates to have collective pride, but they definitely want to show off their abilities and earn more fear and respect. The pirates in Banamo Port are waiting for a pirate strong enough to deal with me. At that point, when the Newins arrives and Admiral Deep Sea is here, what do you think will happen?"

Jenna suddenly understood.

"If Admiral Deep Sea leaves the Newins and takes action himself, that would be the best outcome. We would be fighting on our terms. Even if he isn't interested, his top men won't miss the chance. With Admiral Deep Sea as their backup, they won't fear failure and will be more willing to challenge you. This will reduce the number of Beyonders on the Newins, giving us our chance."

"Good psychological analysis," Lumian teased.

Jenna shot him a look.

"A good actor needs to understand people's minds."

"And then perform for the 'spectators'?" Lumian joked.

Anthony didn't react.

Franca scoffed. "What if a Pirate King's fleet arrives before the Newins?"

Lumian spread his hands and said, "That's why the adventurer is 'unknown. ' The benefit is that he can disappear without a trace. Change his face and appearance, and we can execute another plan."

"A Conspirer is really an outright schemer..." Franca muttered. "Alright, let's do it."

Lumian then discussed the possibility of using a large-scale plague in Banamo Port, emphasizing the need to secretly distribute preventive medicine to the locals beforehand.

Franca was stunned.

After a few seconds, she said, "You even thought of that... How about we start a plague company? Just kidding, there's some plausibility in this, but in this day and age, there are no vaccines-uh, preventive medicine?"

"Normally, we wouldn't have it, but we can turn to mysticism," Lumian replied. "The Apothecary path specializes in this. We just need to provide them with a number of infected individuals for observation, research, and experimentation. They should be able to create effective preventive or curative medicine. We won't have trouble finding an Apothecary. The Fool Pharmaceutical Company has plenty of them."

Lumian knew from Miss Magician that The Fool Pharmaceutical Company had many ties to the Tarot Club.

Jenna began to calculate.

"A medicine with mystical effects would cost at least 100 verl d'or per bottle. There are probably over ten thousand non-pirate residents in Banamo Port. We'd need to prepare at least a million verl d'or. We can't expect the Apothecaries from The Fool Pharmaceutical Company to work for free or cover the material costs."

One million verl d'or wasn't a small sum. Even a Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristic only cost around 200,000 verl d'or.

"A million verl d'or to become a demigod is a good deal," Lumian suddenly laughed. "A million verl d'or is just an Admiral Deep Sea. Even if we can't kill him, his top men are valuable too."

Franca sighed and replied, "You're starting to sound a bit like Gehrman Sparrow. But while Gehrman Sparrow treated pirates as his piggy bank, only targeting high-bounty ones, you're aiming to eradicate them completely!"

A plague like that would likely affect thousands, if not tens of thousands, of pirates.

Before Lumian could respond, Franca self-mockingly laughed.

"Poor Admiral Deep Sea. Just sitting on his flagship, doing nothing, and suddenly he's our target."

Lumian chuckled, and said with some realization, "Nothing to pity. A Hunter's job is to create chaos and strife. And your primary job as a Demoness is to bring catastrophe and affliction. It's better to inflict these on pirates than innocent people."

Franca and Jenna fell silent for a moment.

...

Achoo!

Banamo Port, Mason, sitting at the docks with a bottle of rye beer, suddenly sneezed.

He immediately thought of the messenger summoning ritual he had completed that afternoon and the unsettling messenger it had summoned, muttering to himself, "Could that sneeze be some kind of spirituality warning?

"Am I really going to be the protagonist of some occult event, the fool who makes a mistake and attracts an evil god or devil?

"Did the ritual I performed bring some kind of catastrophe to Banamo Port?

"Have hidden dangers and problems started quietly spreading in the shadows?"

Gulping down a large swig of beer, Mason tried to reassure himself that he was just scaring himself.

From afternoon until now, there had been no signs of calamity or reports of strange phenomena!

It was just a messenger summoning. It should be fine!