19 Auxiliary Street, Teyana Street, "Teyana Cafe".

Mary "Bright Pearl" uneasily curled her fingers at the brass-colored ends of her sideburns, which she had pulled into a small bun without a headscarf today.

The man sitting next to Mary had a gray-black beard on his face, and most of his forehead was shiny, except for a ring of gray hair that survived from behind his ears to the back of his head. The man's eyes were depressed and vicissitudes, and he looked to be in his sixties on the bridge of his nose with wide glasses as thick as the bottom of a bottle cap, which was an advanced age for the second mate of a pirate ship.

Most pirates who survive to this age will "retire" after accumulating enough savings and return to their homeland to become a wealthy man, or simply find a small island to settle down and no longer live a life of being washed away by the waves of the sea.

He was dressed in an iron-colored classical robe, and he didn't look like he had endured much wind and rain at sea all the year round, but more like an old scholar who should sit in a university.

The elderly gentleman did indeed hold a book in his hand, and was reading intently, his lips occasionally squirming twice, and he read very quickly, only occasionally stopping his fingers to turn the book and click on the passages that needed to be understood repeatedly.

Although there was a "Closed" sign hanging at the door, Esther pushed open the front door of the café and nodded to the gentle lady behind the counter before walking to the two at the corner table.

The older gentleman didn't look up from the book until Esther walked across from the two, and Ashster glanced at the title: "The History and Rebirth of Industrial Materials" - Portland Mormont.

Esther had a little impression of the name, and when she was in the library in Beckland, she had seen the corresponding report of Professor Mormont - a professor of engineering at the University of Beckland and a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of the Kingdom of Rune, who had won the prestigious "Light of Machinery" award from the scientific community for his discoveries in alloying materials.

The Book ...... by Portland Mormont Judging by the name, this is quite a specialized manufacturing book, is this gentleman really the second mate of the "Clover", and not some professor who came to Bayam for a holiday trip?

"Mr. Alexander...... Our guests arrived. ”

The old gentleman raised his head at Mary's call, and the blackness in his eyes became more intense, only hidden behind the lenses, and the change was rather inconspicuous.

The old gentleman's scrutinizing eyes swept over Esther, lingering on her hair for a few seconds before he came back to his senses and nodded:

"Are you really a 'thief'? Very rarely, after the Quaternary they disappeared. Alexander, what do you call you? ”

He speaks Rune with a distinctly Intian accent.

"Hamel Brooke, it's an honor to meet you." Faced with this seemingly erudite gentleman, Esther couldn't help but use a more respectful title.

After shaking hands with the old gentleman, Esther sat down in her seat opposite Mary.

Mary cleared her throat and sat beside the old gentleman, making her feel particularly cramped: "Mr. Alexander and I have been in contact with the captain last night. The captain agrees to let you board the ship, but you have to sign a deed. ”

"Reasonable. After all, as an outsider, I boarded the 'Clover', and it's normal for you to be worried. ”

There is no shortage of sarcasm in Esther's words, using "one person" to express that she is not a threat, showing that the other party has nothing to fear, so as to dispel Mary's wariness in this matter.

Esther winked innocently at Mary, which made Mary's hand curl the ends of her hair harder, and Mary spoke much faster when she spoke again: "I see you brought a suitcase, but it's not necessary, because our plan is to make it tomorrow—"

"We'll leave in the afternoon." Alexander abruptly interrupted Mary.

Mary looked at him dumbfounded, but didn't say anything, but got up in a little panic: "Then I'll go upstairs and pack my things first!" ”

Esther looked away from Mary's hurried back and met Alexander's strange scrutiny.

He tucked a dead leaf between the pages he browsed, closed the book in his hand, and looked at Esther again:

"Are you...... Are there anything extraordinary to bring? ”

Esther didn't shy away from the fact that she was carrying a weapon, and was willing to show her honesty appropriately, she pulled out the "Logan Claw" from the compartment around her waist and made it spin twice between her fingers:

"Do you mean that?"

Alexander stared at the Claw Knife for a few seconds and asked, "Not really, but can I take a closer look at it?" ”

"Of course, but be careful not to get scratched." Esther laid Logan's Claw flat on the table, not feeling the need for the other party to grab such an item.

Of course, this is also because Esther has the confidence to grab it back easily.

Alexander pulled out a pair of black gloves from his pockets and put them on his calloused and scarred hands, and he looked intently at the claw knife for a moment, the glasses on the bridge of his nose sliding as he shook his head:

"I've never seen a novel shape, but the style is a little rough, blindly pursuing power and saving materials. The extraordinary properties used to build are not stable...... Why don't I see the negative effects? There was a force I couldn't detect suppressing it. ”

"It has a very strong toxin effect that can easily hurt anyone who comes into contact with it, so I took a bit of occult action to suppress it."

Alexander pushed his glasses and tapped his fingers over the bare handle of Logan's Claws: "There should be something else, right?" ”

"It will grow hairy, and the full moon will crave to kill."

Alexander didn't speak, slowly took off his gloves, and looked at Esther's hair several times again: "Your hair seems to be a little, strange. ”

Esther was a little surprised, this was the first time she had seen someone pay special attention to her hair, and the old gentleman's ability to observe was probably the result of his extraordinary approach.

Esther put the claw knife back on the table: "Is it obvious?" ”

Alexander sighed: "No, if it weren't for this close-up identification, I wouldn't have been able to detect it. Either way, it's rude to stare at a lady like that, and I should apologize. ”

"May I ask what you saw when you identified it?"

Alexander pondered his words for a moment: "It's hard to say, and it's hard for me to describe. Have you ever stared at the sun? ”

"No...... That can hurt your eyes. ”

"Yes, but after a brief look at the sun, a dark shadow will be left in your eye," Alexander pushed his glasses down, "and even if you look at something else, you will see traces of the same shape." ”

Esther was silent for two seconds, and stroked her bangs weakly: "Maybe this is something that can't be identified?" ”

"That's what I thought, and if I looked deeper, I might get out of control, so I stopped just in time. Please also forgive a former researcher for his curiosity. Alexander said with a smile.

Esther smiled gently, "Anyway, thank you for your answer." ”

Alexander propped his hands on the table and stared at Esther with burning eyes: "You don't sound like a pirate or an adventurer. At least until now, no young man in that boatload has ever used honorifics, not even Mary and Thomas. ”

"I'm not an adventurer, my dream is to be a musician at sea."

"Musicians? Your ambitions are strange. Alexander smiled and shook his head, "Then I'll go pack up a little bit, and we'll leave later." Need Ms. Schwartz bring you something to eat? ”

Esther's smile was quite sincere: "Is that okay?" ”

"Of course, please."

Alexander spoke to the gentle lady at the counter, left a few silver coins, and walked up the stairs.

Soon, the lady brought a fruit salad with hot Earl Grey tea, accompanied by two crispy croissants, a very light pairing.

When Esther had finished her breakfast, Mary ran downstairs with her suitcase, followed by the older gentleman, who clutched a roll of parchment in addition to a white suitcase.

Alexander spread the parchment on Esther's table: "This is the contract we are going to sign, you see." If it's okay, put your hand on it and swear by it. ”

Esther put down the warm teacup, grabbed the parchment and quickly skimmed through it, then trustingly pressed her palm to it:

"I will not intentionally pose any danger to the Clover, I will not harm any of the crew of the Clover, and during the landing of the Clover, I will fulfill the commission to help Captain Aaron clean up the contamination of the items, and help the Clover survive any major crisis that may sink."

After Esther's words fell, a dazzling and fiery light appeared on the paper, and the occult symbols disappeared one after another, and the paper returned to blankness.

Esther glanced at her palm, and the sun-like symbol on it vanished in an instant.

Then, out of nowhere, Alexander took out his pen and quickly rewrote the writing on the parchment, and then he also put it in his palm and read the new vow:

"I will not maliciously harm any guest who is about to board the 'Clover', I will not deliberately frame, frame or blackmail the guest of the 'Clover', and when I am on board, I will respect the wishes of this guest and take responsibility for the 'Clover'."

After the parchment regained its calm, Alexander's palm was stamped with the same symbol, but it took much longer to dissipate than Esther, and when he rolled the parchment, Esther could see that the traces of the symbol remained.

"Is that okay?" Esther moved her right hand and picked up her suitcase as well.

Mary wrapped her black headscarf and put the wig cover over it: "Or else? This notarized oath has a occult peculiarity, and you can't keep it even if you don't want to. ”

Alexander was ahead of the curve and pushed open the door of the café first: "If it is violated, it will often lead to unbearable consequences for the individual. Trust me, you won't wonder what that is. ”

(End of chapter)