Bonus Chapter [1] - 160 Power Stones
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[Congratulations writer, exorcising the legendary pirate John Flint (undead), and receiving the reward: Magic Passport - x3]
Rigel looked at the adventure book, pausing for a moment. Was this the reward?
Sure, knowing that this was John Flint was interesting, but not unexpected, as how he ended up being cursed over his treasure was truly an unanswered question, even more so looking at the fine marks in the earth, it was probably Flint's skeleton that unearthed the treasure.
However, shouldn't Easter Eggs give pretty good rewards? Last time he won a platinum item!
[Writer, you're underestimating the role of magic passports, many items in this world are comparable to Gold or Platinum rewards. Being able to carry three of them is already very good, isn't it? Besides, compared to killing an ancient vampire, fighting a skeleton is much easier.]
Rigel thought for a moment and shrugged, he was expecting too much. That was his problem, after receiving so many good things, his mindset was already a little broken. It took him a moment to adjust.
Ignoring the treasure and his frightened subordinates, he picked up Galileo's diary, ran his finger over the ruby, and then placed the diary inside his bag.
Soon after, he picked up the compass and began to think about what he wanted: the island where he could use the ruby.
The compass seemed to spin for a moment before locking onto the correct direction.
Rigel smiled, for although the island held the trident, the island itself could not hide from the compass.
He finally looked away from the compass and glanced at the crew, who were staring at him, especially Ragetti and Pintel, with wide eyes, glancing occasionally at the treasure.
Rigel rolled his eyes. "Put the treasure in the chests, the crew can each earn a silver bar."
It wasn't that Rigel didn't want to give more, but knowing pirates, giving them money was like throwing it away, a silver bar was already enough for them to have fun for quite some time.
"Aye, Aye, Captain!" Pintel shouted excitedly, running off to work. Pintel laughed, running right after him.
Elizabeth also bent down, looking at the jewels and pulling Anna closer. She picked up a necklace and placed it around Anna's neck, commenting on something. Anna, who had never worn jewels and had little interest in them, had a resigned expression as Elizabeth used her as a model.
Clemens and Will helped Ragetti and Pintel, and Jack also jumped off his shoulder, ready to help, throwing coins he found in the chests.
In the end, it took half an hour of hard work to gather so much stuff, in the meantime, Elizabeth approached with a smile, several jewels in her hands, and Anna, exasperated, followed in tow.
"Captain, can you give me these? They're not worth much." Elizabeth blinked exaggeratedly, acting like a spoiled brat.
Rigel looked at her for a moment, as he did at Anna, in the end, neither of them was like the other pirates, and he wouldn't give them obvious preferential treatment because of that, but he could use Elizabeth's actions as a reason to do so.
"All right, but you don't get silver." Rigel shrugged.
Elizabeth smiled, jumping away with Anna, putting down the things she had picked up.
Rigel shook his head and ignored them, they soon joined in the task of filling the chests. In the end, Rigel used levitation to put the chests in his bag. Fortunately, Flint's treasure was much more compact than Barbossa's, and this, along with the lack of a boat, gave him enough space. But on the way back, he would need to levitate the boat to take it back.
Sure, he could have left the boat, but every boat is a life preserver at sea.
Tired but in high spirits, Ragetti and Pintel rowed with even more enthusiasm on the return trip.
//-//
That night, Ragnarok was in high spirits. Rigel even let them drink until they dropped tonight. Normally, they were only allowed to drink between shifts and only a limited amount, but today Rigel let them let loose, after all, he knew that sailing with him wasn't easy.
Happy crew, happy life, everyone, even George, received a silver bar weighing about half a kilo each, which was already very good for them.
One pirate even made George drink until he passed out, the boy barely drank half a glass of rum before getting as drunk as a skunk.
Rigel considered stopping them for a moment, but he gave up, this wasn't his era. Ethics, morals, and even the laws were different. He wouldn't impose his mindset on others. He might reject things as they were in that time, but precisely for that reason, he wouldn't prevent others from acting as they pleased.
They were pirates, and as long as they didn't force the child to do something he didn't want to do, Rigel wouldn't mind.
Elizabeth had already found a musician among the crew, he played his viola while Elizabeth excitedly pulled Will to dance. Eventually, she pulled other crew members along, and everyone started dancing, even Cotton's parrot, which was flapping its feathers and wings, shouting "finger in the hole" all around.
Shaking his head, Rigel didn't join the animation, instead, he gazed at the sea beside Jormungandr. The snake turned its head slightly toward him. Rigel smiled and gently stroked its wooden head.
"Jormun," Rigel said in Parseltongue, thinking the nickname sounded good. "Don't worry, when I leave, I'll take you with me."
The snake hissed softly, meaning: "Yes, master."
Even though it was simple, Rigel still noticed the animation in that sentence.
"And where would you be going?" A subtle voice pulled Rigel from his thoughts. He wasn't as surprised as before, Jormun had already warned him about the woman approaching.
"You're back." Rigel turned his head slightly, looking at Dalma, who still had that annoying smile on her face.
"Of course I came back, but you didn't answer my question." She crouched down to his level, bringing her face close to his.
Rigel frowned, turning his face away from the woman. He wondered why women of that era didn't understand personal space, first Elizabeth, now Dalma.
Dalma didn't mind, laughing lightly at his action, but she stared at him intently, of course she wanted an answer.
Rigel glanced briefly at her before turning his gaze back to the sea, Jormun now looking like just another wooden sculpture, clearly ignoring the woman.
"Far away." Was Rigel's reply, but he felt playful for a moment, then added. "Where the sea cannot reach."
Dalma's smile slowly faded as she gazed at Rigel's profile, her curiosity growing within her.
"Running from something?" She didn't let herself be shaken, but leaned against the guardrail, now also looking at the sea.
She hated looking at the sea as much as she loved it, it was a constant reminder of what had once been everything to her, but was now just a painful memory of the past.
Her gaze turned somewhat melancholic, but she didn't leave, curious about Rigel.
Rigel chuckled lightly. "No, I'll just be going back home."
"Is your house far from the sea?" She asked curiously.
"Yes, very far away, maybe I'll never see the sea again in this life after I leave." Rigel shrugged, speaking in half-truths.
Dalma blinked slightly, her melancholy growing. "I understand."
She wasn't joking, she wasn't using charm, just one word, it didn't have the carefree air she seemed to constantly carry, but a deep weight.
Rigel looked at her for a moment, before looking away and back at the sea, the two remained there for a long time.