Chapter 375 - 169: Don’t Hit the Face
After instructing Shawa and Type-Zero, Wei’en slowly walked out of their workshop with a smile.
CLICK.
The moment the door closed, the smile on his face froze. "Aren’t Mechanical Life forms supposed to be capable of learning?" he said stiffly.
’With a talent like that—so hopelessly dense—you call that being able to learn?’
’If Type-Zero didn’t look so dead serious, I would have already given him a taste of the ruler and the rod.’
’And Shawa... she’s a problem zombie in her own right. When she was making those parts, her movements were so rigid that almost none of them met the required parameters.’
"Sigh..."
Wei’en looked at the empty theater and sighed deeply.
’It felt like his plan to get free labor from the Mechanical Puppets and the undead was about to go belly-up.’
At this thought, Wei’en decided to go out for some fresh air and check on the *Ronan*. Since Clelia hadn’t come looking for him, he figured nothing major could have happened on the ship.
"Red Heart."
Red Heart happily flew in front of Wei’en and chanted the incantation for the Illusion Technique: "Emi, de, nihamao!"
’Ever since he was given the great responsibility of enhancing the Blood Spirit Magic system, almost every battle had passed him by.’
’Up front, you had Ghost Shadow weaving with Necromancer’s Claw and Corpse Explosion. Behind, you had the Secret Master blinking around with Fireball Technique and Lightning Arrow. The Master would even pop out a Mechanical Gate now and then. Only he, Red Heart, never got to participate.’
’But that was all in the past. Now, five Magic Runes were branded on his own forehead.’
As the incantation for the Illusion Technique was chanted, Wei’en felt he could control every inch of his skin and muscle. ’I thought it would be like a Magic Potion, instantly changing me into someone else.’
In reality, he had to manually alter his own muscles, skeleton, and even the color of his skin and hair to match Marco’s appearance.
Although the process was more complex than using an Illusion Potion, it wasn’t slow. The sensation of controlling his body with perfect ease, as if it were an extension of his will, allowed him to quickly complete his transformation into Marco.
Moreover, compared to the illusory feeling of an Illusion Potion—like wearing a shell over his own body—Wei’en felt completely natural and unhindered.
After confirming his disguise was perfect, he returned from the theater to the Steamship and faintly overheard some pirates whispering nearby.
"...That green-haired woman has an amazing body. And that pitiful, vulnerable look on her face... I’d love to get her alone in a room."
"You? Get real. A woman like that is way out of your league. You’d have better luck with that big-boned girl from Sack Tavern."
"Hahaha..."
"But her body really is something else. Almost as good as the First Officer’s..."
"Shut up! If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you."
"Exactly! Compare her to anyone else, but the First Officer? Are you even allowed to talk about her like that?"
’A woman?’
’Did something happen on the ship?’
Wei’en raised an eyebrow and extended his spiritual perception down toward the ship’s hold. He knew Clelia and the members of her Queen’s Guard were down there.
’This woman actually set up a Rune Array?’
After realizing his Spiritual Power couldn’t penetrate the ship’s hold, Wei’en was puzzled. ’Is she trying to maintain an air of mystery?’
’That can’t be right.’
’Damn it. Don’t tell me she’s guarding against... certain things?’
Wei’en rolled his eyes, muttering about her being so petty, and went to the wheelhouse to find Ronan.
"Captain, sir!"
"Mm, is everything on the ship in order?"
Ronan paused for a moment before replying seriously, "Everything is proceeding smoothly. We expect to be near Dakman Island by tomorrow."
"Oh? Proceeding smoothly?"
"Well, there was a small incident," Ronan said. Seeing the captain’s expression, he knew the Red-haired Captain was already aware of the situation. "A little while ago, three ships..."
"You mean, Clelia found—no, abducted two women and brought them aboard, one of whom is an Extraordinary? And she wants them to serve as her guards?"
"Yes, Captain."
"And she also turned everyone on two of the ships into her puppets and wouldn’t let you go aboard to plunder their treasure?"
"Well," Ronan hesitated, "the First Officer’s exact words were to ’not worry about it.’ She didn’t mention anything about seizing the spoils."
"Which means we still didn’t get the gold..."
Wei’en had no problem with Clelia killing those nobles who clearly weren’t good people.
Moreover, he’d noticed that Clelia’s temper had improved considerably lately. She hadn’t even been going after ordinary people much anymore.
Plus, in the last two days, Clelia had become engrossed in training her guards and had settled down even more.
But the fact that they couldn’t plunder the noble’s ship felt like a bit of a waste to him.
A day ago, he had over seven thousand gold pounds, and now he was completely broke...
Type-Zero and Shawa blowing up the tools in the workshop was the final straw for his wallet.
"If you give the word, Captain, I can keep an eye out for a passing merchant ship tomorrow," Ronan suggested carefully. "To be honest, this sort of thing happens all the time at sea. If we don’t hit them, some other pirates will. We might as well..."
’It would be amazing if the Red-haired Captain would let the *Ronan* go after nearby ships!’
"Forget it," Wei’en said after a moment’s thought, shaking his head. "Don’t bother robbing them for that little bit of hard-earned cash."
’Hard-earned cash?’
Ronan blinked as it dawned on him. ’So he’s not interested in that small amount of gold? He wants a bigger fish?’
’W-well, well, well... that simplifies things, doesn’t it?’
’That’s my specialty!’
"Don’t you worry, Captain. I know what to do now."
’He knows?’
Wei’en glanced at him, getting the distinct feeling that Ronan had misunderstood something.
"All right, it’ll be dark soon. Go and get ready."