Esther didn't snort long before stopping, and then Crane heard the slight thud of the door next door, guessed that she couldn't stay, and ran off to the deck to see the view.

His guess was accurate, and Esther left her cloak and suitcase in the cabin, carrying her satchel, and boarded the deck where there were still many people lounging and admiring the scenery.

At this time, the boat had just been sailing for more than ten minutes, and the passengers' interest was still very high, and they would chat with strangers next to them from time to time. Esther found a corner where no one was around, leaned against the bulwark, and looked down at the waves that had been pushed away by the hull and then returned to beat it.

Her heart quickly calmed down, as if she could stay like this forever, staring at this scene.

"Hello!"

A crisp voice interrupted Esther's wandering, the boy in a children's tuxedo dress who looked to be less than ten years old, his eyes staring at Esther with curiosity.

Esther crouched down and kept her eyes parallel to the boy's, "Hello?" What's the matter? ”

"Your hair color is beautiful!" The boy said this, gesturing twice with his hand over his head.

"Ah, thank you! Did you come to tell me about this? Esther was stunned for a moment, a little surprised.

"Denton! Why are you running around again! ”

A girl of fourteen or fifteen years of age came anxiously, her fluffy skirt swaying back and forth from her trot, her face with a faint freckle, but with eyes as large and agile as a boy's, like a murmuring stream, which made Esther feel kind.

The two children could clearly see that they were related by blood, and Esther smiled at the older girl, "Be careful, it's easy to fall down when running on the deck." ”

The girl took the boy's hand: "I'm sorry, my brother is more lively, I didn't take a good look at him, I hope he didn't offend you." ”

"Of course not." Esther winked her eyes at the boy.

The boy laughed knowingly and shook his sister's hand: "I told her!" You can also tell her that you think her hair looks good! ”

The girl was even more embarrassed, squeezed her brother's palm twice, and bowed to Esther, "I must take him back to our parents, goodbye lady." ”

Esther waved at the two of them, looked at the sea again, and continued to daze in the warm sunlight.

As the people on deck dispersed, Crane stepped out of the cabin, and he saw Esther standing on the side of the ship smiling and empty.

The warm sea breeze ruffled her hair, and Esther looked like a seagull ready to take off and soar, full of longing for the vast world.

Crane pressed the wind-lifted top hat on his head, heard the faint sound of music coming from the cabin, and knew that most of the passengers should have gone to the cabin party, a dedicated hall for passengers to gather and chat.

Instead of disturbing Esther's alone, Crane walked to a secluded spot in the shadows, and it wasn't long before he noticed that the "former adventurer" Cleves was busy in the corner, tending to a triangular thorn, a dagger, and a dagger.

Cleves was very alert, and immediately raised his head when he heard footsteps approaching, and after greeting Crane, Crane simply chatted with him.

Cleves also admonished: "The bounty hunter who walks the earth often cannot be an adventurer at sea. ”

It is clear that he had his own guesses about the identity of "Gelman".

Klein smiled and nodded, not caring about the other party's suspicion: "Thank you." ”

"Also, the lady you're traveling with isn't your employer, right? At least not exactly. ”

Klein also sighed in his heart that this former adventurer was indeed experienced, and even if it was just instinct, he had doubts about Esther.

He also shook his head and replied, "It's a friend." ”

"Is that so? Then you'd better be careful, because her appearance is too unique and too eye-catching. The farther you go to the sea, the less binding the law becomes, and the more likely you are to get into trouble with her. ”

Klein instantly realized, this time his thanks should be more sincere: "Thanks for the reminder, I will let her pay attention." ”

Cleves didn't say anything more, neatly packing up his weapons and returning to the cabin.

Klein then walked to the sun-drenched side of the deck and walked over to Esther:

"The weather was nice."

"That's right, the weather at sea and Beckland are two worlds." Esther took a deep breath and enjoyed the sea breeze slapping indiscriminately on her face.

"I'll have to go east after that."

"To find the mermaid you mentioned to Miss Sharon earlier?"

Klein nodded: "It could be dangerous." ”

"It doesn't matter, this world is dangerous anywhere, and I won't be afraid anymore." Esther replied with a grin, but her expression wasn't as cheerful as before, and Crane could catch a glimpse of the coldness hidden behind Esther's smile.

Crane pressed his almost blown top hat to his head, "Help each other." ”

Esther stared at him sideways for a few seconds, then moved her gaze back to the surface of the sea where the flying fish had leaped:

"Come on, it's real to try to get stronger, maybe you can ...... then"

Found a way home?

——

Midnight.

Esther suddenly opened her eyes from the bed, and the sound of white noise waves came and went, and the crimson moonlight poured in through the window, and it was still early in the morning.

She didn't wake up automatically because she was there.

This made Esther smooth her hair in confusion, and she walked out of the room and onto the deck, dodging the two crew members who were chatting while patrolling, and Esther saw at a glance Crane and the two children she had seen during the day. They were clinging to the shadows of the cabin, looking cautious.

However, the two children were still robes under their coats, and it was obvious that they had sneaked out.

On the other side, there was Cleves and his female companion, who didn't know what they were arranging, and there were many pieces of meat scattered on the floor.

Esther's eyes narrowed, barely making out that it was an animal heart or something.

Esther approached Klein lightly, Crane glanced back, and also made a "silence" gesture at her, Esther nodded immediately, and quietly crouched down beside him.

Cleves threw something into the water, the end of the boom tied to the side of the ship, and he and the female escort dispersed with their weapons, and Esther and the two children held their breath and stared in that direction.

Soon, however, the two children were crouching to the limit, sitting on the ground with their backs to the cabin, just staring curiously at the side of the boat, not wanting to look away for a moment.

The boom was suddenly tightened, and the next moment, a strange friction sound sounded, and some kind of creature quickly climbed up along the outer side of the hull, and soon revealed the whole picture:

Its fish-like head was swollen and bulging, its eyes bulged out to the sides, its cheeks opened and closed, its dark green scales covered its body, and its powerful hind legs were shorter than those of humans.

The creature crawled to the deck on all fours, its hands and feet webbed for paddling, and its body secreted translucent mucus that left a blue-blue trail on the surface it touched.

It was more like a deep-sea fish with frog-like limbs stitched together than humans, and it was so ugly that it almost made two nervous children make a sound, but fortunately the clever girl covered her mouth in time, and her brother's mouth as well.

Esther's right hand was swept around her waist, and Logan's claws were placed on her thumb, and the five fingers of her left hand were spread out.

But Klein turned his head sideways and gave Esther a "don't be impatient" look, although Esther was puzzled, but she had to re-buckle the claw knife into the sleeve on her lower waist and quietly wait for the next development.

The fish monster picked up the internal organs on the ground and stuffed them into its mouth, and the sound of chewing was especially clear on the silent deck.

Immediately afterwards, Cleves pulled the trigger in his hand, the bullet sank into the scales on the fish monster's waist, and blood quickly flowed out of the breach, and the fish monster who had just eaten screamed and wanted to pounce on Cleves.

Cleves' accomplice, who was hiding elsewhere, fired a shot that pierced the flanks of the fish monster, interrupting its forward momentum.

The two gunshots rang out again, and the pain brought the fish monster back to its senses from its strange stupor, and it lunged down on Cliffes, meeting the three-edged spike that had been prepared.

Because the fish monster was too close to Cleves, Esther's angle was obscured, so she didn't use the stealing ability. If the target of the theft is deviated, the "former adventurer" will be out of mind in battle.

Thrown off the deck, the fish monster seemed to finally react to the ambush, and it strode to the side of the ship, trying to leap into the sea, and the gunfire behind it did not completely limit its mobility.

While everyone's attention was on the fish monster, Esther saw it crouching, reached out and clenched, stealing the idea of it jumping, and leaped forward herself, instead slapping the deck and retracting next to Crane.

The blank-minded fish monster could only be turned into a fixed target, and the bullet of Cleves's companion drilled into the back of its head with precision, stirring up a puddle of blood.

Cleves seized the opportunity to rush forward again, sending the three-edged thorn into the back of the fish monster's head.

The fish monster's body collapsed limply to the ground, and after a while of convulsions, it stopped moving.

Klein, of course, knew what Esther had just done, and it was clear that something was wrong with the fish-man's final sluggishness. He couldn't help but glance sternly at Esther, just as he saw her quietly move to the side, trying to blend herself into the shadows.

It's obvious that you secretly made it yourself, but you are still weak-hearted? Crane shook his head in amusement, retracted his gaze expressionlessly, and watched as Cleves made a "all right" gesture at him, knowing that the fish-man's danger was completely removed.

But no sooner had Crane and Esther gotten up, and from the shadows that led to the cabin on the other side, a seventh man came out:

The captain of the White Onyx, Erlan Kag, wore a classic boat-shaped hat and a dark red jacket, and he was sling his handcuff back to his waist, apparently watching it all in the dark.

A smile appeared on Ellan's wrinkled square face, "As the captain of the ship, I must ensure that there are no accidents, please forgive me for staying by the side." ”

There was no expression on Cleves' face: "This is your ship." As is customary, you have the right to share the spoils. ”

However, Ellan did not come to snatch the spoils, and he bought the corpse of the "fish-man" for a fair price of one hundred and fifty pounds.

Although Esther didn't think the monster had any human form, no matter how much she looked at it.

When the two children saw that the danger was lifted, they became even more excited, and rushed to the side of the group to observe the fish monster, and Esther hurried after them, for fear that the two children would cause some trouble.

The girl was so bold that she even reached out on tiptoe and kicked the fish monster's body, and then jumped up behind her brother and Esther for fear that it would trick her corpse.

Her brother's eyes widened, and he looked at it carefully, and gasped: "It's really a monster!" ”

Erlan scraped off a piece of the fish monster's cheek with his knife, and he held the slice to the girl among the siblings, but the girl shook her head again and again, full of fear at the thin slice of flesh that was still stained with blood.

So when Ellan asked who wanted to try it, Esther raised her hand excitedly, "Can I try it?" ”

Erlan didn't seem to expect that this lady who didn't look strong would be willing to try, but he didn't refuse.

Klein's spiritual instincts didn't prompt him, and he watched as Esther twisted the corner of the sashimi and put it in her mouth.

Klein swore he saw Esther's eyes instantly light up like Morning Star.

"Delicious! It's delicious, it's very tasty! ”

Perhaps Esther's expression of joy at enjoying the food was so contagious that both children couldn't help but laugh and were curious to follow along.

Crane pressed down his top hat to hide the smile in his eyes, and tasted the fish monster meat that Ellan had recommended with the others.

Late at night and as peaceful as the Scarlet Moon, the White Onyx swayed gently and sailed into the depths of the sea.

(End of chapter)