Above the vast sea, the huge cruise ship was cutting through the waves, sailing forward. Dorothy sat on a seat on the stern deck, recalling various events from the Conquest Sea's pirate era while enjoying the sea breeze. Through the information obtained from Beverly, Dorothy learned about Moncarlo's origins, deepening her understanding of the city significantly.
'Moncarlo was once a pirate city established by the great pirate Edward. Gibbs during the pirate era. Later, Edward accepted the Church's amnesty and stopped being a pirate. He disbanded most of his fleet, severed ties with the Fetal Garment Cult, and stopped openly plundering. However, he did not join the Church or become a navy for any country; instead, he maintained a certain level of independent status. This seems to be due to the content of the contract he signed with the Church and various countries.
'To adapt to the new situation, Edward transformed his main business into smuggling. Moncarlo quickly became the largest smuggling hub in the Conquest Sea, becoming a city of smuggling, and simultaneously managing a large amount of illicit black and gray business. Later, as the situation became more stable, he was pressured by the Main Continent and became more restrained, reducing the scale of overt smuggling and making the smuggling business more covert. At the same time, he re-planned and developed Moncarlo into a gambling city, providing gambling services to countless wealthy people from the two continents, North and South. Moncarlo's reputation in the mundane world gradually rose, and it has become the largest casino in the Conquest Sea region today.
'Edward was the biggest among the pirate leaders publicly granted amnesty by the Church. It is said that hundreds of years ago, when he abandoned Ebergrass and reconverted, he greatly promoted the Church and the new lenient policies of the Redemption Faction, setting an example for countless pirates in the Conquest Sea. It was because of his influence that countless refugees who did not trust the Church started a wave of reconversion. For this contribution, he obtained the independent autonomy he desired, and it also allowed the Church to tolerate his not-so-compliant actions to some extent in the future. As far as the Church was concerned, as long as Edward did not cross the line, the Church would not interfere too much with him.
'According to Beverly, the current Moncarlo is a relatively independent free port city-state, engaged in a pile of black money businesses led by gambling and supplemented by smuggling and money laundering. It is also one of the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild's vacuum zones. Many trades there have the Shadow of the Dark Gold Society behind them. Edward still rules Moncarlo today. He has contact with many forces but does not obviously lean towards any one side. Even the Dark Gold Society, with whom he cooperates closely, and Edward have a relationship of mutual utilization. Although he often discusses cooperation with the Dark Gold Society, his communication with the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild has also never stopped.
'In short, Edward is a person who is good at pleasing all sides, maneuvering between various parties and earning profits. Skilled in balancing, he has long maintained Moncarlo's rule and development. However, it seems that Edward is now quite old and gradually appears somewhat powerless in various affairs. The situation in Moncarlo has the potential for change.'
After recalling the content Beverly had previously explained, Dorothy took another bite of the banana in her hand. She had to admit that when it came to providing public information, that Clockwork Person was really reliable. Regarding Moncarlo's public information, she almost got everything she needed just by asking Beverly, and it didn't cost anything. This was much more generous than her father.
'Moncarlo, the city of pirates... I wonder what that important figure from the Black Dream Hunter Group sees in this place? I also wonder if I can find that person there...'
Eating the banana, Dorothy thought this to herself. The fundamental reason she came to Moncarlo this time was the information she got from Little Fox, who said that an important figure from the Black Dream Hunter Group called "Ku Chi" would go to Moncarlo to participate in an auction, carrying a divine artifact that originally belonged to the Butterfly Faith.
Dorothy was very happy after getting this information from Little Fox, but after a more careful confirmation, she was temporarily stumped. The reason was simple: the information Little Fox provided this time was too basic. The information she could provide about the person Ku Chi was just a code name. Besides that, there was nothing. Not to mention the real name, she didn't even know Ku Chi's gender, age, or what they wanted to buy. Dorothy going there would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but unfortunately, she could only do this now.
'No choice... Who told me this unreliable piece of information is the only clue I currently have about the'Shadow' divine artifact? The auction is about to start soon, so I can only bite the bullet and go. Although a lot of things are unclear, I can only collect information and figure things out slowly after I get there...'
Finishing the banana in her hand, Dorothy thought with some helplessness. With the current amount of information, she didn't hold much hope for achieving anything on this trip to Moncarlo. She had already planned to go back after a fruitless trip. If all else failed, she could only treat it as a vacation.
After thinking, Dorothy prepared to find a place to throw away the leftover banana peel. Just as she scanned the deck, looking for a place to dispose of garbage, she suddenly heard a cheer from not far away. Dorothy turned her head towards the source of the cheer and saw a large group of passengers gathered by the ship's railing, all looking outwards at something, with occasional bursts of cheers during the viewing.
Looking at the crowd gathered in the distance, Dorothy couldn't help but frown, then said to herself in confusion.
"What are they doing over there?"
"Woo woo... they are fishing over there, Miss Dorothy. There are so many fish below, so many people have gone to fish..."
At this moment, beside Dorothy, a familiar female voice sounded. Dorothy turned her face after hearing it and saw Naifnis.
Neff was standing on the deck beside Dorothy, wearing sandals and light blue thin cloth trousers. She wore a white short-sleeved top, a sun hat, and sunglasses, and held a plate in her hand. On the plate was a grilled fish, roasted until tender and crispy. Naifnis was holding a fork in her other hand, continuously picking at the grilled fish to eat, and the rich aroma drifted into Dorothy's nose.
"Fishing? This... This is a cruise ship, how can you fish on this cruise ship?"
Listening to Neff's words, Dorothy continued to speak in confusion. The cruise ship's railing was too high, and the water flow beside the ship was too fast. Logically, it should not be suitable for fishing. Even if the fishing line was long enough, people fishing from a moving ship wouldn't be able to catch fish. With such a large ship moving forward, the water flow alone would scare the fish away. What fish would they catch?
"I'm not too sure about that, but anyway, a lot of fish have been gathering over there since just now, so many that they are even flipping out of the water. Several experienced anglers among these tourists couldn't sit still, so they dug out their fishing gear and went to fish by the railing. And they catch one every time. Now, because they have caught so many fish, some people have borrowed grills from the kitchen and are grilling fish on the spot."
Naifnis said this and then pointed her hand to the other side of the deck. In the direction Naifnis pointed, Dorothy saw another group of people gathered there, surrounding several set-up grills and barbecuing. Fish that had just been caught by the ship's railing were immediately killed and processed, then sent to the grilling area. With seasoning and high heat, the fish emitted wafts of enticing aroma.
Those anglers seemed to have caught too many fish, so they simply invited other tourists to eat the fish they caught. Just like that, the entire stern deck suddenly turned into a fishing and grilling party. Many tourists were enjoying themselves. Dorothy could see many people like Neff holding plates, wandering around the deck and eating grilled fish.
"Fishing and grilling? Ho, this is quite lively."
Seeing this scene, Dorothy immediately became interested. After standing up from her seat, she first found a trash can to throw away the banana peel in her hand, and then walked to the side of the ship's railing, next to the crowd of spectators watching the anglers. She leaned on the railing and looked down, and sure enough, she saw a large number of fish schools gathered below the ship, in the surging sea, swimming non-stop. Many fish even flipped out of the water and then fell back in.
On the other side of the railing, several fishing rods extended out, allowing the fishing lines to fall into the surging seawater. After that, the anglers didn't even need to watch the bobbers; they just had to wait for a while and reel in, and they could almost certainly catch a fish. Because the railing was high, it was a bit difficult to pull the fish up, so these people would switch with others to continue fishing when they got tired. Whenever a big fish was hooked, it always required several people to hold the fishing rod together to pull the fish up, and every time this happened, the surrounding onlookers would erupt in cheers.
'Goodness... So many fish gathered by the side of this ship, if I were an angler, I would definitely be tempted. You can't see this kind of scene in a river...'
Looking at the scene before her, Dorothy thought to herself like this. She didn't have much doubt about the phenomenon of fish schools gathering and flipping like this. She had seen this kind of imagination on TV in her previous life. Fish in the sea would gather in high density for various reasons such as defense against predators or abundant food in the area. Anglers who encounter this just call it good luck.
"Hey, Miss Dorothy, a new batch of fish is grilled over there, go and get a portion quickly, or there won't be any left if you're slow!"
At this moment, Naifnis walked to Dorothy's side again, holding a plate, and said to Dorothy. When Dorothy turned her head to say something, she keenly noticed that the fish on the plate in Neff's hand had changed into another one, a more complete grilled fish.
"Senior Nefelnis... Have you started eating your second one? Do you really like grilled fish that much?"
Looking at Naifnis in front of her, Dorothy asked curiously. She had been traveling with Neff for some time and had some understanding of her eating habits. In Dorothy's perception, although Neff would not refuse fish, she couldn't be said to like it. For fish dishes, she usually just tasted a little. Now suddenly having two plates made Dorothy a little surprised.
"Woo woo... I wasn't particularly fond of fish before, but this grilled fish is especially delicious. Let me tell you, Miss Dorothy, hurry up and try it. This grilled fish is really good, many people like me feel it's not enough after eating one plate."
While eating the grilled fish, Naifnis said to Dorothy. Listening to Neff's response, Dorothy looked again at the grilling spot nearby, only to see that more people were gathered there than before, a crowd of tourists squeezed together to receive the newly grilled fish.
Seeing this scene, Dorothy's expression became serious, and then she also walked over to get a plate. However, because she was slightly shorter and the tourists were too enthusiastic, Dorothy didn't get any grilled fish in the end and had to wait for the next round. Fortunately, because the fishing efficiency by the ship's railing was very high, the next batch of fish was ready for grilling soon.
While waiting, Dorothy began to carefully observe the tourists around her who were eating grilled fish, and found that they almost all praised the taste of these grilled fish. Both ordinary ship staff and well-dressed wealthy people unanimously agreed on the taste of these grilled fish, and many people wanted a second or even third plate after finishing one.
'This... Is it that delicious...'
Seeing all this, Dorothy thought to herself. And at this moment, the new round of grilled fish was finally ready. Because Dorothy had lined up in advance, she easily got a grilled fish.
After getting the grilled fish, Dorothy did not eat it immediately, but walked to the side and sniffed it carefully. When she inhaled the fragrant aroma of the grilled fish, Dorothy felt her appetite greatly increase, and she couldn't wait to start eating heartily immediately.
However, Dorothy immediately restrained her appetite. She was not in a hurry to eat this plate of grilled fish, but first examined it carefully. After confirming that there were no Spirituality traces on it, she used a fork to pick up a small strand of fish meat and tasted it carefully. Suddenly, from this aroma, she felt a hint of a familiar scent, a familiar feeling.
'Similar stuff... Have I eaten it before?'
After feeling that hint of familiarity, Dorothy's brows furrowed slightly, and then she closed her eyes, using the extraordinary information processing ability of an "enlightenment" Extraordinary to quickly search her memory, searching for records of similar tastes and sensations. After a rapid operation of her brain, Dorothy finally recalled where she had tasted a similar flavor before.
That was a year ago, not long after she first transmigrated to this world, when she was confronting the Red Communion Society in Igwinte. At that time, a Holy Communion Society member named Clifford, who was disguised as an old bookstore owner, in order to corrupt herself and then corrupt Grego, used the opportunity of her buying books to slip her a book that was a secret transmission of the "Cup". He also drugged her tea. That was a "cup" drug extracted and manufactured by the "Cup" Society, which could stimulate human instinctive desires and was highly addictive.
That's right, the grilled fish on the plate in Dorothy's hand now contained a similar "cup" drug. Although the content was very small, so small that even conventional Spirituality vision could not see any clues, so small that this dose was completely insufficient to cause pathological addiction, it did exist and could slightly stimulate one's appetite.
'"Cup" drug... Is this the secret to why these fish are so popular?'
After realizing that the food contained an extremely trace amount of the "cup" drug, Dorothy's brows slightly darkened. She looked at the cook who was still grilling fish on the side, and looked at the anglers who were happily fishing. For a moment, she felt that some kind of secret seemed to shroud this ordinary cruise ship.