The next day, after breakfast, Baiya felt a bit of a gnaw in her stomach. Following the notes on the portrait in her hand, she entered the second level area. Within the public zone filled with various small workshops, she found Jia Yi hammering at some ship planks and stayed to help him finish his work.
“Newbie, I heard you made quite a splash yesterday. A few of my friends are planning to teach you a lesson. They don’t want to see you acting so smug.”
“They’re already doing it.”
Baiya sighed as she handed Jia Yi a tool. “When I woke up, I found that aside from the deck, the other levels are covered in trash. The filth has at least doubled. The problem is, this isn’t just about increasing my workload.”
“I try to clean, but they intentionally drop trash on the clean planks. The canteen is even worse, covered in food scraps. Even the chefs were replaced with guys who are particularly good at fighting. Yesterday’s triumph bought me even harsher challenges. This is pure retaliation.”
“So what do you plan to do? Honestly, is it okay for you to be talking to me right now? If you do nothing and let the trash pile up, things won’t end well for you.”
“They’re planning to frame me for dereliction of duty or passive sabotage. I’ve already given up. Even if I stay busy all day, it won’t matter. The ship’s planks will be intentionally soiled regardless. Using those charges, they can cancel my three meals, and they’ll have a ‘justifiable’ reason to get physical. Their intentions are truly sinister.”
“Newbie, if you just report this to Leader Molly, they’ll back off.”
“That’s a last resort. At least until I’ve exhausted every feasible method, I won’t go crying to the leader.”
The sound of hammering stopped abruptly. Drenched in sweat, Jia Yi let out a sigh of relief, having nearly crushed his own finger. ‘This newbie, Baiya Ifiel Clorom, is truly an odd one.’
“You probably don’t have any other options left, right? Everyone is hostile toward you on Vice-Captain Raymond’s orders, and the only person who can command Vice-Captain Raymond is Leader Molly.” Jia Yi pulled off his gloves, tossed them aside, and walked with Baiya to a quiet area where he sat down naturally on the floor.
“What’s the deal with that guy, anyway? That Raymond!”
Baiya handed Jia Yi a water skin, and he gave her a grateful look. After taking a few swigs of alcohol, Jia Yi began to open up.
“The predecessor of this ship, the Sea Dragon, was a military naval warship. The former captain of the Sea Dragon—the old leader—was Molly’s father, Rajesh Shinjia. This is what Master Pengpeng told us while he was drunk. I’ll tell you the story today to pass the time; it might help you understand Master Raymond a bit better.”
‘Pengpeng?’ Baiya thought about the name. ‘Pengpeng Rachel, the Diamond Level powerhouse on the ship besides Raymond. He’s the first mate, a huge fat guy with a full beard.’
“The former captain, Master Rajesh, was a Navy Admiral in the Two-Wheel Magic Sea, a Diamond Level powerhouse. After he retired, he funded the purchase of the Sea Dragon and set out to sea for adventure with his former companions, Master Raymond and Master Pengpeng. The three of them eliminated many dangerous sea monsters and gained quite a reputation. Gradually, Master Rajesh gained many followers who volunteered to serve under him. With more people, they could achieve greater things. After killing a thousand-year-old Sea Witch who had plagued the area, Master Rajesh became a hero of the Two-Wheel Magic Sea. Every time the Sea Dragon docked, crowds of people would gather to welcome them. I can’t even imagine such a sight.”
‘Molly’s father, Rajesh, huh.’ Baiya muttered the name while looking at the gray status boxes appearing before her eyes. From the recorded information, she could see that Rajesh was human, which meant Molly’s mother had to be of the Sea Dragon Clan.
Baiya also noticed that the status column read: Deceased.
“Leader Molly was a Slave Girl; we all know that. Master Rajesh discovered the floating corpse of an unknown sea monster during one of his explorations. It seemed to barely qualify as a Sea King species. The corpse was unimaginably large. The materials harvested from it were bound to be worth a lot of gold coins. So, he led his men to salvage the body. After dissecting the carcass, Master Rajesh found a woman inside the stomach. That was Leader Molly’s mother, Momo.”
‘Momo.’ Baiya looked at the new gray box. Momo was indeed of the Sea Dragon Clan. Unfortunately, her status column also read: Deceased.
Both Molly’s father and mother were dead.
“I heard Lady Momo was a very beautiful woman. I never saw her myself, but you can imagine it just by looking at Leader Molly,” Jia Yi said with a smile.
“Pirate lolis are the best~” Baiya gave a thumbs up, a happy curve appearing on her face.
“Yeah, everyone loves Leader Molly. When we were all in despair, wanting to head toward death, she was the one who invited us onto the ship. She said something like, ‘Instead of wasting your lives here, why not let Molly take you to get revenge?’ We know that we are all people who share a blood feud with Amidal. Leader Molly is the same. She’s a child who’s afraid of being alone, so we decided to keep her company.” Jia Yi’s voice gradually deepened.
“The country I was born in is now Amidal’s territory. I lost my family in the war. Now, the Sea Dragon is my home.”
‘The composition of this crew is truly something. Everyone is an avenger. My, my.’ Baiya reached a conclusion. This realization was very important for her to understand the feelings of Molly and the other pirates.
“Avengers, yeah. How could we not seek revenge?” Jia Yi let out a long sigh, his tone becoming mournful. “The Sea Dragon doesn’t just carry cargo; it carries the will to take revenge on Amidal. Without that, it couldn’t sail the seas.”
“Master Rajesh saved Lady Momo. To repay his kindness, Lady Momo told Rajesh he could make one wish. Master Rajesh’s wish was for Lady Momo to stay and become his companion. After going through adventure after adventure, Master Rajesh and Lady Momo fell in love. They soon entered the halls of marriage, and a year later, Leader Molly was born.”
“After Leader Molly was born, Lady Momo confessed her identity to Master Rajesh. She was from the Sea Dragon Clan, a monster in human form. Molly’s birth had left her at a loss. She didn’t want to hide it anymore; she wanted to take Molly and flee back to the sea. She told Master Rajesh that everything was her fault.”
“The Sea Dragon setting sail again was Master Rajesh’s answer. On their wedding day, Master Rajesh had announced he would no longer explore and would find a stable job to stay by his wife’s side. Lady Momo’s tearful confession made him choose a life of risk once more. He took his wife and daughter away from the Two-Wheel Magic Sea and headed for uncharted waters. Their tracks vanished without a trace.”
“And then, what kind of tragedy did it end in?” Baiya pointed out the direction of the story without hesitation. No matter how dull she might be, she understood that what lay ahead wasn’t a happy ending.
“They were discovered! Discovered by Amidal’s dogs! Leader Molly was targeted by Amidal!” Jia Yi said fiercely.
“That was six years ago. Leader Molly was 6 years old. That was also the year she awakened her racial talent, triggering an abnormal tsunami. That was exactly what caught Amidal’s attention. With the help of a diviner, Amidal’s fleet surrounded the Sea Dragon! Leader Molly was abducted! Lady Momo was killed! Master Rajesh was split in two by a sword, and half of his body fell into the sea!”
‘Six years?’ Baiya analyzed the major events recorded in her mind. One of them was the Great Revolution that took place in the capital of Amidal five years ago. If Molly wanted to escape Amidal, that would have been the only time.
‘Captured six years ago, escaped Amidal five years ago. I see. Molly only spent one year in Amidal. No wonder she hasn’t broken yet and can still maintain a normal personality.’
“The leader escaped from Amidal five years ago, right?” Baiya asked Jia Yi to confirm her reasoning.
“Yes. During the Great Revolution five years ago, Leader Molly took advantage of the chaos to board the Sea Dragon, which had also been captured, triggered a tsunami, and escaped. Master Rajesh’s close friends, Master Raymond and Master Pengpeng, met her in a nearby sea. The two of them had been working hard to rescue Leader Molly because it was Master Rajesh’s final wish!”
While Jia Yi’s emotions were stirred up by the past, Baiya slowly widened her right eye and raised a doubt.
“I have a question. Your account is way too detailed. This is supposed to be a story you heard from others. Question: In this story, what role do you play, Jia Yi?”
“……”
“I could just go verify your version of the story with Pengpeng Rachel to see if it’s true. If his version isn’t as detailed as yours, it means you’re lying. Forgive me, I’m a person who likes to get to the bottom of things. I’ve never given up the habit of reading detective novels starting from the last page.”
The stiff expression on Jia Yi’s face began to thaw, gradually settling into calm. He let out a sigh, warning himself in his heart not to underestimate this girl again.
Jia Yi gave Baiya a bitter smile. “Newbie, let’s just keep this as a secret between us. My father was a physician. He once saved a man who had only half a body left. However, that man died a few days later. During those few days, I heard him talk about many things from the past.”
Feeling uncomfortable under Baiya’s gaze, Jia Yi raised his hands in surrender, claiming he had nothing more to hide.
“Sigh, you really are a troublesome person,” Jia Yi said, now desperately wanting to send Baiya away. “Six years ago, Master Raymond received a message left by Master Rajesh. The gist of it was that if anything happened to him, he should take care of Leader Molly. Master Rajesh and Master Raymond were very close; they were said to be childhood friends who shared everything. Master Raymond is also Leader Molly’s godfather.”
“We all know Master Raymond has never married. He views Leader Molly as his own daughter. He will agree to any request she makes. Leader Molly wanted revenge, so he led people with blood feuds against Amidal to follow her, forming a faction. Leader Molly wanted to be a pirate, so he set about forming the Sea Dragon Pirates, and the Sea Dragon became a pirate ship.”
“Master Raymond is willing to do anything for Leader Molly. It’s thanks to his efforts that she is the way she is today. I heard that when Leader Molly first escaped from Amidal, she was like a walking corpse who could do nothing but cry.”
Jia Yi reminded Baiya very seriously, “You’re someone of unknown origin and could be a threat to Leader Molly. Master Raymond can’t possibly trust you.”
“Hey, hey, look at this!” Baiya pointed to the collar on her neck. With the ‘False Loyalist’ active, how could she possibly act against Molly!
“You know it too, right? Currently, the only person who can meet Leader Molly ‘honestly’ is you. We all know, okay? Leader Molly personally bathed you, and maybe even bathed with you. To be honest, Newbie, you’re the same gender as Leader Molly. That’s a unique advantage. It’s very easy for you to get close to her.” Jia Yi shrugged helplessly.
“It’s jealousy!”