"Come in."
I heard from inside. Seeing me standing outside Captain's door, Helene had turned to give me a glance. Her expression was complicated for moment, but it soon became neutral. She turned around to gaze at the setting sun again.
Not minding her, I opened the door, and entered into my dear captain's cabin. Any misunderstandings she may have, they will have to be dealt between her and captain.
As I closed the door behind me, the room that seemed well lit at first suddenly seemed too dark to be suitable for studying. I had not taken the time to look around after opening the door, and had instead turned around and closed it. Now, my eyes that were accustomed to evening's light had trouble seeing clearly. If I had taken a perfunctory glance even, I might've been having an easier time now.
A lesson for future.
Still, I tried to look around, and adjust my eyes quickly. Fortunately, I wasn't an average human, and with an Assassin's eyesight now improved further by becoming an Instigator, I quickly adjusted to the low luminance of the room.
"So, how do you feel now? Almost a day since you advanced." the voice of Tracy reached my ears, and my probing eyes quickly located where she was.
I, who was having trouble finding captain for a few seconds due to lack of light, could finally see her.
Tracy had divided her cabin—well, it was more a suite, than anything—into two parts. Two bookshelves from opposite walls extended towards each other at almost halfway length of the room, offset from each other by about 4 feet, to allow enough room to walk through.
The parallel walls, formed by bookshelves extending from opposite faces, did an excellent job of creating a private space in one part of the room, while leaving the other simple and open to the entrance. The outer part worked as her study, and the inner part was for sleeping. That was also why, the last night, when I'd come to captain to report, I'd initially not been able to spot Eleanor, who'd hidden herself behind the smaller shelf.
From my position at the door, I could barely see between two shelves. On the almost queen sized bed covered in white beddings, was the source my captain's voice—she herself.
She laid along the bed's width, legs dangling and oscillating. At the head of the bed were three pillows, and at the foot was a neatly folded blanket.
Tracy lay casually in a white linen shirt, and back trousers tucked into shin high boots. With her hands inside her pants' pockets, and her torso resting peacefully, she stared up at the ceiling in thought.
There was a picturesque elegance to her simple act of just laying on a bed. Maybe it was a demoness' charm, maybe it was just something about her, or maybe it was both. Whichever it may have been, I almost didn't wish to disturb the tranquil sight, that was getting clearer to my eyes as they adapted more to the darkness.
Unfortunately, as it is, all noises cease and all silences end, and the cycles of causes and effects happen, this moment too, had to end. Unless I figured out a way to record a scene forever, only way I could preserve this sight was by never forgetting it. Maybe becoming a Witch might make it easier, if I could divine the sights I'd seen in the future's past.
Alas, it was imperative that I answer.
"Yes. I cogitated after going back in the morning. Once my spirituality felt stable, I fell asleep. Waking up, I found myself feeling refreshed and stable, no longer queery from the potion."
"Good. Then, how much did Eleanor teach you of Hermes? I instructed her to begin with Hermes so you would have an easier time getting onto Ancient Hermes. As for Ancient Feysac, it is something you can take your time with, but Hermes and Ancient Hermes are a necessity if you wish to survive as a Beyonder, and be a good Witch."
Tracy's voice increased and decreased in volume, as she moved around the room, having risen from the bed. Once she'd settled whatever she was doing, she walked out to me, in the outer section of the small suite.
Ah. In her hand was a wooden chair, and in the other a lantern. She placed the chair beside another chair that already sitting in front of her desk. Sitting down on the chair she'd bought out, she put the lantern on the desk, and beckoned me to sit on the other chair.
"I shall do as my teachers sees right." I said as I sat down on the chair.
Once I'd sat down, with a flick of her fingers, Tracy lit the glass lantern up, and suddenly the area around the desk was bright enough to be used for studying.
Tracy's lips curved up slightly, almost drawing me into a trance. My intuition told me that since we were to study, she'd completely turned off her charm, but somehow, her beauty still left me dumbfounded once in a while.
Flustered, I realised I was gawking and quickly blinked away the awe... hopefully she hadn't caught on to it.
Tracy worked through a tome she had in her hands, and pulled out a piece of parchment from it.
"Here, I have alphabet letters and number system digits of Ancient Hermes written, corresponding to their Hermes and Loenese equivalents. Copy these, and then we can begin learning the common Ancient Hermes words one would need to do ritualistic magic."
"Yes, ma'am." I said with some expectation. Tracy smiled a little, and watched me copy down the strangely linear and arrow-like symbols.
"For now, you don't have to worry much about the pace. As long as you are here, you can keep learning. When the time comes for you to leave for a task, you can copy my intermediate and advanced notes to study en-route if you'd like. I would recommend you do so, but it would be acceptable if you do not. I've never met a pirate who was voluntarily studious."
While I wrote down the characters of this magical language, I was yet again enlightened about this world. Indeed, unlike Klein who was a history graduate, very few people actually learnt languages like Hermes and Ancient Feysac.
"Also, if there is something you'd like to do, you can choose to."
Suddenly an idea has appeared in my head. I was reminded of the first two people I had killed in order to digest my potion.
I'd forgotten about this case till now due to how quick everything had happened, but Tracy's words suddenly reminded me of what I'd wanted to do when I first heard the two pirates talking in the bar that night.
I stopped writing and looked up at my beautiful captain who was watching me with ease.
"Actually, cap'n, I do have an idea about that."
Tracy nodded, encouraging me to continue.
"A few days ago, back in Bayam, the first two guys I'd assassinated... They were a part of this crew called Red Skull pirates. While I've never heard of them before, I'd learnt that they'd recently pillaged a civilian cruise, killing and raping many. At the time I thought I'd like to hunt their captain and serve them justice if I could. Now that I'm at Sequence 8, I wonder if I can go on a similar mission as the previous one? I'd like to infiltrate their ranks, and try to act the Instigator."
There seemed to be a glint of surprise in Tracy's eyes.
"You sure are a noble one, for a newbie pirate. It's usually rare to find one who's unhappy with atrocities, if not completely against them. Rest assured though, I do support your process of thought," she spoke with a small smile.
"As for the Red Skulls, yes, I've heard the name in passing during fleet meetings. You can go ahead and erase them, if you'd like. Surely the world will be better without them."
Just as I'd thought, this demoness was one with a somewhat gallant spirit, even if she may have been one to be doing dirty deeds for the Demoness sect.
It was truly a dichotomy, one which I did not wish to think about at present. Burying the particular thought below many others, I gave her a two finger salute.
"Thanks captain. When do you think I should leave?"
Tracy pondered my question for several second. "Take a week to stabilise, and study, then you can leave on 20th."
"Alright, I shall do so, then."
"Good, back to studying now," with her hand on my head, Tracy turned it towards the desk, prompting me to continue writing.
...
In due time, a week had passed, and the night of 19th January had come.
Black Death was bustling as a smaller sister ship of the fleet had arrived close by enough for a sailor to float across on the wind.
The sailor soon walked to Tracy, Eleanor, James, and me, sitting on the deck and watching the crimson moon. Bending to Salute Tracy, Eleanor, and James, the sailor straightened his back.
"Captain, there has been an upset. A new Pirate Hunter by the name Gehrman Sparrow has appeared. He killed Blood Admiral's second mate, Steel Maveti, in a 7 minute fight on the open streets of Bayam, and then disappeared without a trace. He seemed to have been teaming with Blazing Danitz."
At the words of the messenger, all four of us' mouths seemed to have opened simultaneously. Though I was sure the reason behind the other three's was way different than mine.
So it truly has begun, huh? The saga of the Crazy Hunter.
Tonight, Gehrman has joined the hunt, it seems.