Free Web NovelChapter 99: Misunderstandings & Spring Rolls
After the conversation in the lab, Victor Shieldman and Mari Dundragon went upstairs to have breakfast with the others.
This time, Victor was less cold when interacting with Luísa Selvarum, which reassured her. After he left the table, he said that he would be gone most of the day and said goodbye to everyone.
As soon as Victor left, Gracela and Bel also left the table and went about their business, leaving only Luísa and Mari. Between them, the atmosphere at the breakfast table was pleasant, with the aroma of food filling the room.
Luísa, with her elegant posture and captivating smile, looked at Mari with genuine interest. After a brief moment of silence, Luísa turned to Mari with a clear curiosity in her smile.
"Mari, what did you say to calm Victor down earlier?" she asked.
Mari, with a spring roll in each corner of her mouth, looked up in surprise at the question. "I didn’t say anything," she replied, still chewing before swallowing.
Luísa arched her eyebrows slightly, pondering the situation. She was sure that Victor was more sociable at the table than when she had met him near the staircase. Could this just be her impression?
It suddenly occurred to Mari what Luísa Selvarum might be talking about. So she swallowed the spring roll and said:
"Hmm, I think I actually know what might have made Victor perk up, or rather return to normal after our conversation in my lab." She started a little afraid to tell.
Again, Luísa raised her head. "And what was that?"
"You know that Wiggen has its quirks..." Mari chose her words carefully. "Well, it seems that he made a ’mistake’ involving Victor last night and, in his own peculiar way, tried to solve it..." Mari continued, and her tone of voice denoted both concern and humor. "He put something in Victor’s dinner."
Luísa frowned and then raised her eyebrows in disbelief, understanding what Mari was almost getting at.
"And what Wiggen put in causes this negative reaction in Victor, right? Well, if it’s a change in his hormones, I think it could help him too, but if it’s a stomach ache..."
Mari shook her head negatively, a faint smile appearing. "No, it wasn’t something strange. In fact, Victor was almost, shall we say, killed by Wiggen."
"What?!"
"Let me explain, Wiggen thought Victor was a threat to me and did what he thought he had to, putting the Fairy Pollen he makes every morning in the garden into Victor’s food. However, when Wiggen told him, Victor didn’t seem angry or resentful, but relieved."
Luísa let out a sigh of relief, although a flash of worry also covered her face. "That creature..." she muttered, shaking her head slightly. "Victor is clever, he must have noticed the poison and theorized that someone from the mansion had tried to kill him, which explains his animosity when we met earlier."
"Yes, luckily Victor was skillful enough to notice something wrong before the situation turned into a tragedy."
"No doubt about it. Still, I promised that my house was a safe place for him to spend the nights and I need to apologize immediately. Do you know where he went?" Luísa asked, getting up from her chair at the end of the table.
Mari stretched to reach for a cupcake. "Oh, I don’t think you’ll find him easily. He’s going out of town for a few hours to hunt the Devourer of Ships."
Frugeon was returning to the dining room with a plate full of fresh spring rolls when he heard Mari talking about what Victor Shieldman would do.
"The Devourer of Ships?!" exclaimed Frugeon, dropping his plate with a deafening crash. The spring rolls scattered across the floor.
Mari was confused by the surprise. Then she remembered that the fact that Victor was a hero was a secret that only she and Luísa knew at Selvarum Manor. Then she smiled with a touch of amusement at Frugeon’s reaction.
"Yes, the Devourer of Ships." She said and popped the cupcake into her mouth.
"Will Victor kill this creature that has haunted the waters near Klento for years?" Luísa asked.
"He won’t be able to, it’s impossible, even for a Rank-B hunter," said Frugeon.
Despite her initial surprise, Luísa recovered quickly and addressed the guard calmly. "Frugeon, please tell our men at the port what Victor is going to do. They must support him and separate a boat for him to use."
"Actually, Luísa, when I offered my help, Victor told me he’d rather do it alone. I don’t know him as well as you do, but I don’t think he’ll appreciate you mobilizing your forces to help him."
Luísa thought for a moment. "You’re right, Mari."
Frugeon laughed low and weak. "Are you really considering that he can defeat the Devourer of Ships? An entire Rank-B group tried it once, all of whom fell into the sea and had to row back in boats, not to mention the countless men who have already died to that creature."
"Frugeon, it may not seem like it, but I personally believe that Victor is the living definition of a hunter. When a monster becomes his target, Victor always has a plan," said Luísa. "Now let’s get going, Frugeon. I have a meeting at the city council in ten minutes."
*
The port of Klento was magnificent and chaotic at the same time. It was one of the largest ports in the north of the Athina Kingdom, if not the largest, and this was clear from the incessant bustle of ships, sailors, adventurers and merchants moving frantically between the quays and the choppy waters.
Considering it was early winter, the port was a little busier than usual, with many ships and boats coming and going to deliver supplies to the nearby islands. It was a veritable melting pot of maritime activity, with large ships bearing the colors of important families and famous merchant companies, not to mention the small fishing boats returning with their nets full of corvina.
In the middle of all this mess, Victor Shieldman needed to find a boat that would take him to the waters near Naeross.
Crossing the busy quays, Victor watched each ship carefully in search of an opportunity. Some captains and sailors looked at him suspiciously, because of the clothes he now had on, and others simply ignored his presence, as if he were just a starched and curious old man.
After some time, Victor finally found a ship that looked promising. It was being loaded with many boxes of supplies by several sailors, while the captain just shouted:
"Go! Hurry up! We need to get to Naeross and back today!"
Victor looked at the captain and thought about how he should negotiate his way onto this ship. The man seemed the selfish and grumpy type, but Victor didn’t have much money to spare and not much charisma to convince him to let him board without promising anything. Besides, if he told the captain what he was actually going to do on the ship, the captain would probably reply something like: free𝑤ebnovel.com
"Do you really believe you can defeat the Devourer of Ships all by yourself? HAHAHAH! GET OUT OF HERE FOOL!"
For this reason, Victor needed to convince the captain with some story or lying promise.
