Over the vast ocean, a large cruise ship cut through the waves. As it sailed forward, Dorothy strolled along the seats at the rear deck, enjoying the sea breeze while reflecting on all she had learned about the pirate era of the Conquest Sea. Thanks to the information she had received from Beverly, she now had a much deeper understanding of Moncarlo and its origins. “Moncarlo was once a pirate city founded during the pirate era by the great pirate Edward Gibbs. Afterward, Edward accepted the Church’s offer of amnesty and left piracy behind. He disbanded most of his fleet, cut ties with the Afterbirth Cult, and ceased all overt plundering. However, he didn’t join the Church or any nation’s navy—instead, he maintained a degree of independence. This seemed to be due to the terms of the contract he signed with the Church and various nations. “To adapt to the new era, Edward shifted his business to smuggling. For a time, Moncarlo became the largest smuggling hub in the Conquest Sea—a ‘city of smuggling’ involved in all sorts of shady dealings. Later, as the situation stabilized, he came under pressure from the mainland and reduced the visibility of his smuggling operations, making them more covert. At the same time, he redeveloped Moncarlo into a gambling city, providing betting services to countless wealthy clients from both the North and South Continents. From that point on, Moncarlo’s reputation in the mundane world began to rise, and today, it has become the largest casino hub in the Conquest Sea region. “Edward is said to be the highest-profile pirate captain publicly granted amnesty by the Church. When he renounced the Abyssal Church and returned to the fold centuries ago, he helped promote the Redemption Faction’s policies of clemency. His actions set an example for many pirates across the sea and inspired waves of rededication from refugees who previously distrusted the Church. For this service, he gained his desired autonomy, and the Church has since tolerated much of his less-than-lawful conduct—as long as he doesn’t cross the line, they largely leave him be. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶 “According to Beverly, Moncarlo is now a semi-independent free port city-state, with gambling at its core, supported by a host of black-market operations like smuggling and money laundering. It’s also a power vacuum for the White Craftsmen’s Guild, with the Dark Gold Society casting long shadows behind much of the city’s trade. Edward still rules Moncarlo today. Though he works with many factions, he doesn’t openly align with any of them. Even his relatively close partnership with the Dark Gold Society is a relationship of mutual exploitation. Despite frequent negotiations with them, Edward has never cut off communication with the White Craftsmen’s Guild either. “In short, Edward is a shrewd operator who plays all sides for profit. Skilled in maintaining balance, he’s upheld Moncarlo’s stability and prosperity for years. However, it seems age is catching up with him, and lately, he’s shown signs of faltering in managing affairs. The situation in Moncarlo may be approaching a turning point…” Having recalled all of Beverly’s explanations, Dorothy took another bite of her banana. She had to admit, when it came to providing publicly available intelligence, that profiteer woman was surprisingly reliable. Beverly had answered nearly all her questions about Moncarlo without even charging for it—far more generous than her father, Dorothy mused. “The pirate city Moncarlo… I wonder what that big shot from the Blackdream Hunting Pack is after here? And whether I’ll actually be able to find him…” Munching on her banana, Dorothy considered her real reason for coming to Moncarlo: information from the little fox in her dreams. According to it, someone known as “Withered Wing,” a major figure in the Blackdream Hunting Pack, would be attending an upcoming auction in Moncarlo—carrying a divine artifact that once belonged to the faith of the Butterfly Deity. Dorothy had been thrilled when she first received the lead. But after trying to verify it, she quickly ran into a wall. The intel from the little fox was too vague. All she had was a codename—Withered Wing. Nothing else. No real name, no gender, no age—not even what they were looking to buy. Finding them would be like fishing a needle from the sea. Still, she had no better lead. “No helping it… This half-useless intel is the only clue I have about the Shadow divine artifact. The auction’s about to begin. I’ll just have to go in blind. Even if I don’t understand anything now, I’ll collect info on the ground and figure things out as I go…” Finishing the banana, Dorothy sighed internally. Given the scant information, she wasn’t expecting much from this trip. She had already mentally prepared herself to leave empty-handed. Worst case, she could just treat it as a vacation. With that thought, Dorothy stood up to throw away her banana peel. As she scanned the deck for a trash bin, a sudden cheer rose nearby. Dorothy turned toward the noise and saw a large crowd of tourists gathered at the ship’s rail, watching something with eager excitement. Every so often, a round of cheers erupted from them. Frowning slightly, Dorothy murmured in confusion. “What’s going on over there?” “Wuu… They’re fishing, Miss Dorothy. There are tons of fish down there, so a bunch of people ran over to try their luck.” A familiar female voice answered from beside her. Turning her head, Dorothy saw Nephthys standing there. Nephthys was dressed casually in sandals and light blue linen pants. She wore a white short-sleeved top, a sunhat, and sunglasses. In her hands was a plate bearing a freshly grilled, golden-brown fish. With a fork in the other hand, she steadily picked away at the flaky meat, its savory aroma drifting toward Dorothy’s nose. “Fishing? But… this is a cruise ship. How are they fishing off it?” Dorothy remained puzzled. The ship’s railing was high, the water below swift. It shouldn’t be suitable for fishing at all. Even with a long line, how could anyone catch fish from a moving vessel? The water’s turbulence alone would scare them all off. “I’m not sure either. But for some reason, a ton of fish gathered just below us earlier. So many that they were literally jumping out of the water. A few seasoned anglers among the passengers couldn’t resist and took out their gear to fish. And they’re catching fish with every cast. There’s even someone who borrowed a grill from the kitchen and started barbecuing on the spot.” As Nephthys spoke, she pointed to the other side of the deck. Dorothy followed her gesture and saw another group of people clustered around several makeshift grills, busily cooking fresh catches. Fish hauled up from the water were gutted, cleaned, and tossed onto the fire, releasing a mouthwatering scent as seasonings sizzled in the heat. The anglers, overwhelmed by the volume of their catch, had started sharing the grilled fish with other passengers. Before long, the entire rear deck had turned into an impromptu grill-and-chill fish party. Dorothy spotted several people—just like Nephthys—wandering about the deck with plates in hand, savoring grilled fish while chatting and enjoying the sea breeze. “Fishing and grilling? Whoa, this is pretty lively.” Seeing the scene, Dorothy perked up with interest. She stood, threw her banana peel into a nearby bin, and walked toward the railing. She leaned over beside the group of passengers watching the fishing frenzy and looked down—sure enough, there was a massive school of fish swarming below the ship, churning through the water. Many of them leapt clean from the sea before splashing back down again. On the other side of the ship’s railing, several fishing rods jutted outward, their lines cast into the churning sea. The fishers didn’t even need to watch their floats—after just a short wait, reeling in the line almost always yielded a catch. Because the ship’s railing was so high, pulling the fish up required effort; once a fisher grew tired, someone else would take over. Whenever a big fish was hooked, it often took several people working together to haul it in, and every time that happened, a round of cheers would erupt from the watching crowd. “Wow… So many fish gathering around the ship like this—if I were into fishing, I’d be tempted too. You don’t see this kind of thing in rivers…” Watching the scene before her, Dorothy thought to herself. She wasn’t particularly surprised by the fish swarming like this. In her previous life, she’d seen similar scenes on television—fish in the sea sometimes gathered in large numbers due to predators, abundant food, or other reasons. To anglers, it was simply a stroke of luck. “Hey, Miss Dorothy! They just finished another batch of grilled fish—hurry and grab one before they’re gone!” Just then, Nephthys walked over, plate in hand, and called out. When Dorothy turned to respond, she noticed something: the fish on Nephthys’s plate had changed—it was now a whole, fresh new grilled fish. “Senior Neph… is that your second one? I didn’t know you liked grilled fish this much.” Dorothy asked curiously. She’d traveled with Nephthys long enough to have a decent understanding of her dietary preferences. As far as she knew, Nephthys didn’t dislike fish, but she certainly wasn’t fond of it either. Usually, she’d just pick at fish dishes. But now she had two plates? “Wuu… I wasn’t really that into fish before, either. But this grilled fish is so good! I’m telling you, Miss Dorothy, you’ve got to try it. It’s seriously delicious. A lot of people said the same—they just couldn’t get enough.” Nephthys said while chewing on the grilled meat. Dorothy turned her gaze back toward the grilling station. Sure enough, even more people had gathered than before, queuing eagerly for the freshly cooked fish. Seeing the scene, Dorothy’s expression grew focused. She stood and headed over, intending to get a portion herself. Unfortunately, due to her relatively petite stature and the overwhelming crowd, she failed to get any during that round and had to wait for the next batch. Fortunately, the fishing on the other side was going quickly, and it wasn’t long before the next batch hit the grill. While waiting, Dorothy took a moment to observe the other passengers eating grilled fish. She found that nearly everyone was singing its praises. From regular ship staff to sharply dressed wealthy tourists, everyone seemed to agree: the grilled fish was delicious. Many were already on their second or third helping. “Is it really that good…?” She wondered, watching in surprise. Just then, the next batch of grilled fish was finally ready. Since Dorothy had queued early, she easily got a portion this time. But rather than eat it right away, she stepped aside and gave it a good sniff. The savory aroma of the grilled fish wafted up, instantly stirring her appetite. Her stomach nearly growled with desire. Even so, she restrained herself. Dorothy didn’t immediately dig in. Instead, she carefully examined the fish. After confirming there were no overt spiritual traces on it, she used her fork to lift a small flake of meat and gave it a close sniff. And suddenly, she detected a familiar scent. A faintly familiar sensation. “This scent… Have I tasted something like this before?” Dorothy frowned slightly, then closed her eyes. She activated her Revelation Beyonder ability to process information at high speed, scanning her memory for any records of a similar flavor or feeling. After a rapid internal search, she finally remembered where she’d encountered something like it before. It was a year ago, not long after she had first arrived in this world, during her confrontation with the Crimson Eucharist in Igwynt. Back then, a member of the Eucharist named Clifford had disguised himself as a secondhand bookshop owner. In order to corrupt her—and then corrupt Gregor through her—he had used her book-buying visit to slip her a mystical text from the Chalice society, and drugged her tea. That drug had been a Chalice compound, derived from the Chalice Faction’s methods. It was designed to stimulate human instinctual desire and was highly addictive. And now, Dorothy was certain: the grilled fish she held contained a minute amount of Chalice compound. It was faint—so faint that ordinary spiritual vision couldn’t detect it. The dose was so low that it wouldn’t cause actual addiction, but it was present, and it was enough to subtly stimulate a person’s appetite. “A Chalice drug… So that’s the secret behind why this fish is so popular?” Realizing the grilled fish contained trace amounts of this compound, Dorothy’s expression darkened slightly. She looked toward the chefs manning the grills and the cheerful anglers at the ship’s edge. All of a sudden, she felt as if a hidden secret was quietly shrouding this seemingly ordinary cruise ship.