Chapter 266: Iceberg General

Noticing Yue Desen's vague glance at his right eye, Lei Kedun raised an eyebrow and let out a light laugh:

"It seems I guessed correctly, but I don't have a monocle, so you needn't worry."

"Which family are you from?"

Yue Desen narrowed his eyes slightly, speaking in an unfriendly tone.

He seemed frightened by Lei Kedun's earlier words and was straining to save face, after all every man on this ship was a rival for the captain he pursued.

A Meng left a deep impression on the descendants of Ya Ge and Suoluo Yaside's families; they all developed A Meng Fear Syndrome.

Amid the vigilant gazes of all crew on the Golden Dream's deck, Lei Kedun lifted his right hand and waved.

The next moment, his figure suddenly blurred and vanished from the deck.

The remaining Bu Lu Wo'ers, Yue Desen and the others on the deck exchanged glances.

"Captain!" they shouted almost in unison, then rushed toward Ai Dewenna's captain's cabin.

Inside the captain's cabin, the Iceberg General Ai Dewenna Aidehua Zi was leafing through an antiquated book, seemingly indifferent to the events on the deck.

She was a beautiful lady with a pair of light‑blue eyes like clear spring water, brown hair split down the middle and tied at the back in a simple yet delicate knot that fell smoothly.

She wore no hat, nor the glasses common among most members of the Knowledge Church; instead she wore a beige coat whose collar was adorned with white lace‑woven flowers, giving her a refined, capable appearance.

Immediately, she stopped turning the pages, her gaze fixed on the cabin doorway.

Lei Kedun's silhouette quickly materialized there; he carried a leather suitcase and a sleek, jet‑black raven perched on his shoulder.

She gave Lei Kedun a slightly surprised look, then a friendly smile spread across her face as she said:

"Al, the 'Arsonist' of the seas, I didn't expect that the one mentioned in the revelation, the person sent to resolve the Blood Upper General issue, would be you."

"Earlier at sea, speculation about you came from the Morse Ascetic Society or the Iron Blood Cross Society, since your conduct at sea closely resembled theirs. Now it seems you deliberately sought to decipher more extraordinary abilities?"

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ai Dewenna, you appear more learned than the rumors suggest."

Lei Kedun placed a hand on his chest and bowed, his eyes lingering briefly on the surrounding bookshelves.

The books here far outnumber those in Jia De Li Ya's captain's cabin, and the variety is far more comprehensive—truly befitting a Reader.

"If it were someone else praising my erudition upon first meeting, I'd take it as mere politeness, but coming from a fellow demigod, I accept it calmly."

Ai Dewenna smiled broadly, seeming to appreciate Lei Kedun's scholarly compliment.

The next moment, the cabin door was pushed open from outside, and First Officer Bu Lu Wo'ers, Third Officer Yue Desen, and Chief Sailor Dan Ni'ersi all rushed in.

Behind them, more crew gathered, those who couldn't squeeze in stayed outside the cabin or peered from the windows.

Ai Dewenna looked at the crew who had burst into the cabin and surrounded Lei Kedun, gave him an apologetic smile, and said:

"What are you doing?"

"Captain, this guy appeared out of nowhere; he could be dangerous!"

As Yue Desen shifted his footing, he positioned himself between Lei Kedun and Ai Dewenna, describing Lei Kedun in a stern tone as a suspicious dangerous individual.

He seemed to know the captain, so he tried to pin the whole incident on him; otherwise the captain would be angry with me.

Dan Ni'ersi and Bu Lu added from the side:

"Indeed, Captain, this guy is dangerous; don't be fooled by him."

Lei Kedun lifted the corner of his mouth, drawing a smile as he said:

"I have obtained Captain Ai Dewenna's permission; I will stay aboard the Golden Dream for a while, and I ask everyone for your kind regards!"

"No! We are not recruiting crew at the moment!"

Yue Desen rejected outright, feeling this guy wasn't a good person.

"Yue Desen, when did we stop recruiting crew?"

"Captain, this guy is a suspicious person"

Yue Desen wanted to say more, but after a glance with Ai Dewenna he fell silent, lowered his head, and his ears flushed suspiciously.

"Aren't you a playboy? Why are your ears red?" Lei Kedun glanced over, looking at the unperturbed Ai Dewenna, "Did you reverse the script?"

Ai Dewenna didn't notice, she stepped over Yue Desen who blocked her view and walked up to Lei Kedun, saying:

"Although you won't stay long on the Golden Dream, let me introduce you to our benefits and charter:"

We are adventurers who hunt for treasure at sea; only when we are extremely impoverished do we raid merchant and passenger ships, and we never harm the innocent.

Of course, if we encounter other pirate ships, we will strike them to obtain supplies.

We have no weekly wages, no pension, but once we find treasure and loot wealth, it is divided according to rank; normally even a low‑rank sailor can earn two or three hundred pounds a year.

There are daily general knowledge and reading classes aboard, though you may opt out.

"Why?"

"What gives this guy the right to skip the general knowledge and reading classes?"

The crew babbled over Ai Dewenna's last sentence; after all, they endured daily lessons from the Knowledge Church, and a newcomer who didn't have to attend classes left them feeling uneasy.

Lei Kedun suddenly found the noisy pirates endearing, thinking that later bundling these book‑averse fellows into the Knowledge Church would be a hilarious sight.

Imagining the scene, he couldn't suppress a laugh; seeing others look his way, he cleared his throat and said:

"After all, I've long passed the 'Reader' stage."

"Reader? That's the same path as the captain; you're a member of the Knowledge Church!"

After a brief hesitation, Yue Desen quickly recovered, his face showing surprise as he looked at Lei Kedun.

"You should have heard of him: six months ago the 'Arsonist' Al was active at sea; he was sent by the Knowledge Church to help us resolve the Blood Upper General issue."

To ensure her crew could get along amicably with Lei Kedun and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings that might offend this demigod, Ai Dewenna directly disclosed Lei Kedun's identity to them; her own status as a Knowledge Church member was no secret aboard.

With Captain Ai Dewenna's endorsement, the other crew accepted Lei Kedun's identity, though some doubted whether this 'Arsonist' could resolve the Blood Upper General.

Taking advantage that most of the crew had gathered around, Ai Dewenna proceeded to introduce Lei Kedun to each of them:

"This is the First Officer of the Golden Dream, the 'Gourmet' Bu Lu Wo'ers; his dream is to become a craftsman, and he is currently a Tier‑six mechanical specialist."

"Looks like you've already achieved your dream."

Lekton chuckled lightly and nodded in greeting to the other party.

After Edwina explained Lekton's identity, Bruce Wolse no longer felt hostile toward him, but as Edwina's secret admirer, he became more wary of Lekton, who had suddenly appeared and remained aboard the Golden Dream.

Bruce Wolse forced a polite smile and said:

"What you said is correct, and I owe thanks to the captain's help, but now I have a new dream!"

Edwina continued to introduce Lekton to the other crew members aboard the ship:

"This is the third mate, 'Flower Tie' Yodsen, a fire thief on the thief's path."

"This is the boatswain, 'Bucket' Daniels, an excellent navigator."

"This is"

"The second mate Olphus and the fourth boatswain Daniz, who are temporarily not on the ship and on leave respectively, I'll introduce them to you when they return to the Golden Dream."

Lekton nodded lightly, then turned to Yodsen, Daniels, and Bruce beside him and chuckled:

"I have potion recipes for wind-favored ones, astronomers, and dream thieves. Do you need them?"

Yodsen looked at Lekton suspiciously and said:

"You have so many potion recipes? And how do we know they're genuine? Olphus isn't on the ship, so there's no one to notarize for us."

"Isn't there still your captain? Besides, I can mimic a notary's ability—of course, if you don't need it, forget it."

Lekton glanced at Yodsen and the others, who were clearly stirred but unsure what they were hesitating about, and gave a brief explanation.

"They won't see me as a love rival, will they?" Lekton narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking of a possibility.

"All I can say is your judgment of people is truly poor—you missed all the rivals on board, yet you've singled me out, an outsider."

Seeing Yodsen and the others still hesitating, Edwina assumed they were worried about the authenticity of the recipes and spoke up:

"If you're worried about the authenticity of the recipes, I can appraise them for you and also act as the notary and guarantor for your transaction."

Bruce and Daniels exchanged a glance, quickly made a decision; unlike Yodsen, they had no family backing.

(End of chapter)