Chapter 161 Alger: My Luck Has Been Really Good Lately
Another two days passed.
In the evening, Danitz once again arrived at the small tavern where he had previously gathered information. He had agreed with Alger that if he wanted to find him, he could meet him at this tavern.
This time, Danitz's disguise was much more refined than last time, at least it wouldn't allow people to immediately recognize his identity as "Flaming."
He scanned the tavern, but didn't see Alger, feeling a hint of disappointment.
Is that guy not coming today?
He found an inconspicuous corner to sit in, ordered a mug of ale, and while absentmindedly drinking it, he pricked up his ears to listen to the noisy conversations around him.
He wanted to see if he could pick up any new gossip or intelligence.
Just as he was about to lose patience, the creaking wooden Door of the tavern was pushed open, and a man with messy hair and a steady demeanor walked in.
Danitz looked up and saw that it was Alger. He was only wearing an ordinary linen jacket today, looking like an experienced Sailor.
Danitz's heart skipped a beat. He forced himself to remain calm, took another sip of his drink, and waited for the right moment.
After Alger sat down at the bar, Danitz, holding his drink, casually walked over and sat down next to him.
"Hey, buddy, we meet again," he greeted in a familiar tone.
"Flaming"?
Alger turned his head and saw that it was Danitz. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes; he clearly hadn't expected Danitz to actively seek him out.
"It really is you," he nodded. "Your makeup is good, much better than last time."
"Of course, I'm a professional," Danitz laughed, and naturally sat down. "Want a drink?"
"Sure," Alger nodded.
Alger and Danitz then left the bar and found an inconspicuous corner in the tavern to sit down.
The two first chatted idly about recent pirate gossip, just like last time. Danitz complained that the recent scrutiny was too tight, reducing the fun considerably.
Then, he seemingly casually sighed, and then grumbled, "Speaking of which, I don't know what those guys from the Storm Church have been up to lately; they've made it impossible for us to go out to sea.
No going out to sea means no money."
Hearing this, Alger also nodded in agreement. Honestly, even though he himself was a member of the Storm Church, he wasn't clear about what the Church was doing recently, and this had caused him a certain degree of anxiety.
"By the way, that 10,000-pound bounty you mentioned last time, are there any new updates?" Danitz suddenly asked.
He tried to make his tone sound like a purely greedy pirate looking for an opportunity.
Alger raised his glass, took a sip, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He keenly noticed that Danitz's state today was a bit off. Although he tried hard to act natural—
As an overt pirate, Alger naturally knew what kind of people pirates were; most of them lived for the day, spending their earnings in casinos, taverns, and brothels as soon as they returned to shore, never saving any money.
Danitz was short on cash and wanted to pull off a big job; he could understand that, but the other party's reaction was a bit thought-provoking.
He didn't answer directly, but instead teased in a half-joking tone, "What? 'Flaming' Danitz, are you short on cash too? I thought you'd already made a fortune following 'Iceberg Admiral'."
He paused, then changed the subject, asking casually, "Or—have you already found that unlucky fellow named Monchi Brando and want to inquire about how to sell him?"
"!"
Danitz's hand, holding the wine glass, trembled almost imperceptibly.
Then he took a sip of wine and said, seemingly casually, "Haha! How could that be? You just told me about this two days ago, and I caught him? There's no such good thing. I'm just curious, just curious!"
Alger looked at Danitz's slightly exaggerated reaction and his clumsy, over-the-top cover-up, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
This guy—there's definitely something wrong.
Alger was quite confident in his observational skills; Danitz's slight unnatural reaction was enough for him to smell something amiss.
"Alas, I'm not very clear about the specific situation either, but you can wait a few days, and I'll help you inquire again."
"Wait a few days, wait a few days, and the whole of Bayam will know about this news," Danitz muttered softly.
Seeing this, Alger didn't say anything, picked up his glass, and took a gulp of wine.
A moment later, Danitz, seeing that he couldn't seem to ask for more useful information, pretended to be disappointed and stood up, preparing to leave.
"See you around," Alger waved his hand indifferently, and before leaving, he specifically added, "Don't forget, if there's really news about that person, our cooperation is always valid."
Danitz didn't look back, just waved his hand and quickly walked out of the tavern.
Watching his hurried departure, Alger's lips curled into a slight smile.
This guy's acting is too poor, he muttered inwardly.
He was sure that this "Flaming" definitely had something fishy going on, and his relationship with Monchi Brando was probably not as simple as he claimed.
Perhaps he already had information about him, or might even have captured him.
As a pirate, backstabbing a friend or something similar was perfectly normal.
It was probably because of the recent tight scrutiny in Bayam that, as a great pirate, he couldn't use his own channels and was afraid the bounty would be revoked, so he was anxious to sell him off...
So he wanted to come and inquire about the situation, but didn't plan to share the money with him, which is why he was so over-the-top in his cover-up.
"Hmph, greedy fellow."
In reality, although Alger was confident that his strength was above Danitz's, if Danitz really caught Monchi Brando, he wouldn't try to snatch him away.
On one hand, Danitz, as a great pirate, was likely not that easy to deal with, and a slight misstep could easily lead to a mutually destructive outcome.
On the other hand, Danitz had Iceberg Admiral Edwina Edwards backing him. If he really tried to snatch the 10,000 pounds, even with the Church's help, he probably wouldn't be able to survive at sea.
But—direct snatching wasn't an option, finding a way to get a share was still feasible, as the saying goes, 'finders keepers, sharers weepers.'
If Danitz was discovered by him while pursuing or transporting that unfortunate fellow worth 10,000 pounds...
It would be unreasonable if he didn't share some of the money.
Besides, he was the one who told him about the bounty—he also had channels to sell him, so being a middleman and earning a cut should be fine.
Thinking of this, Alger felt a strange sense of relief. He felt that his luck had been quite good lately. First, he had stumbled upon a few pages of rosell's diary, and now, another opportunity to make money was right before his eyes.
He drained the wine in his glass, threw a few copper pennies on the table, then silently stood up and followed behind Danitz.