Chapter 554: Fake and Real (Requesting double monthly votes at the start of the month)

Facing the plea for help from the current "Governor of the Sea," Lumian was not surprised at all.

He raised his left hand, touched his ear, and said in Intis:

"What are you saying?

"I only understood the word 'help'."

The current "Governor of the Sea," disguised as a woman, was stunned, seemingly not expecting a language barrier between the two sides.

He had gone to great lengths, risking danger, to run to this street to wait for Louis Berry, yet he couldn't understand what the other party was saying, nor could he convey the content of his request!

Lumian maintained the persona of someone who didn't understand Highland, calmly took out an ink-red fountain pen and a stack of memo paper, and handed them over:

"Write down everything you want to say. I'll find someone to translate it."

He used Intis again this time, but used the gesture of holding a pen to write, thereby telling the other party what to do.

If this "Governor of the Sea" was still illiterate and couldn't write Highland at all, that would be troublesome... Could I only communicate by force using individual words and body language? I don't want to expose that I know Highland right now... Lumian thought with some worry.

Whether in Intis or Feynapot, the number of illiterate people was not small.

The "Governor of the Sea" was stunned for a moment, then understood the meaning of the great adventurer Louis Berry. He took the fountain pen and memo paper and began to write rapidly.

Lumian watched calmly. Although he was opposite, relying on his "Hunter" vision and spatial imagination, he still easily saw what the other party had written:

"Please help me, save me from Santa Harbor!

"I am not the real 'Governor of the Sea'!"

Not the real "Governor of the Sea"... Lumian controlled the urge to raise his eyebrows and didn't ask directly, maintaining a gaze as if he hadn't read the words at all.

He wanted to see what else the "Governor of the Sea" would write, and then consider how to ask.

The cross-dressing man paused for two seconds and continued to write:

"The real 'Governor of the Sea' died in last year's Sea-Praying Ritual."

Dead? The real "Governor of the Sea" died in the Sea-Praying Ritual? Seeing this, a huge joy suddenly surged in Lumian's heart.

Finally saw the tail of those core members of "April Fools' Day"!

One of the results of their prank last year was that the designated "Governor of the Sea" failed to hold the Sea-Praying Ritual, suffered the backlash of supernatural power, and lost his life!

This also matched the situation revealed by the son of Solo Hotel owner Ota Guillaume, who worked as a low-level clerk in a government department: increased shipwrecks, reduced fish catches, and poor trade.

The fake "Governor of the Sea" wrote quickly, as if someone could chase him at any time:

"I was chosen by Juan Oro and that bunch from the Fishermen's Guild to impersonate the 'Governor of the Sea' for a year because I looked relatively similar to the real one, so as not to let the fishermen and merchants know they had made a huge mistake, causing the Sea-Praying Ritual to fail. This is something that hasn't happened in the last few hundred years.

"I know this secret, so they definitely won't let me leave alive. Once the handover ceremony of the 'Governor of the Sea' is completed and I enter the vigil stage, I will definitely be killed.

"I didn't want to impersonate the 'Governor of the Sea' at all; this is a blasphemy against the ocean. But they pointed a gun at me and told me they had already killed one person who refused to cooperate.

"Neither the Church nor the government is willing to manage the affairs of the Fishermen's Guild, and you are the only one who dared to storm the mansion of the 'Governor of the Sea' and threaten Juan Oro with a gun. I can only ask you for help. In this year, I have also saved a lot of money, which I can give to you all—100,000 gold liso!

"In the past few days, I have heard of your deeds, and I believe you have this strength. I beg you to help me!"

Quite well-educated... Lumian looked at the three sheets of memo paper that had been written and felt that the fake "Governor of the Sea" didn't look like an ordinary fisherman, peddler, or worker, whether in grammar or word choice.

Hu... After writing his request and the reason, the fake "Governor of the Sea" put down the fountain pen and pushed the three sheets of memo paper covered in Highland words to Lumian.

Lumian only glanced at it and deliberated, using Highland words and body language:

"Help?

"You, family?"

The fake "Governor of the Sea" hurriedly wrote down the answer:

"My parents passed away a few years ago; I have no other relatives. I was originally an employee of a fishing company."

No wonder Juan Oro and the others dared to "kidnap" this person to be the "Governor of the Sea." The Church of Mother Earth just doesn't manage the internal affairs of the Fishermen's Guild; if it really affected other citizens, they would still handle it... Lumian put on a posture of asking first and finding someone to translate the answer later:

"Maids, pregnant?"

He was asking what was going on with those maids in the mansion of the "Governor of the Sea" and why some were pregnant.

The fake "Governor of the Sea" wore a blue veil, showing no change in expression. His right hand trembled slightly as he wrote:

"The 'Governor of the Sea' receives the same treatment as the ruler of Santa Harbor. He can designate anyone from Milo Village, the Fishermen's Guild, and those merchant families to be his maids and guards, do anything he wants, or go directly to their homes and enjoy the treatment of a master.

"I couldn't help myself."

Seeing this, Lumian almost laughed out loud.

In a state similar to a prisoner, still thinking about doing that kind of thing? Or, feeling that he couldn't escape and would definitely die, so he should enjoy it while he could?

The fake "Governor of the Sea" wrote again:

"I can also collect taxes from those people and forcibly distribute their market shares. They all listen to me, but I don't dare to go too far, otherwise Juan Oro will beat me with a cane in private and threaten to kill me."

The money you saved was skimmed from here? Hmm, no part about controlling the weather and tides, after all, he is a fake governor... Lumian took the new memo paper from the fake "Governor of the Sea," thought for a moment, and said in a clumsy, awkward way:

"Originally, governor, where?"

This was asking about the whereabouts of the previous "Governors of the Sea."

—Battle nun Noelia of the Church of Abundance hadn't mentioned the relevant situation before, not knowing if she thought it wasn't important, or if she didn't want to speak for certain reasons, or perhaps they didn't grasp the corresponding information either.

The fake "Governor of the Sea" wrote:

"I don't know.

"I just heard a maid from Milo Village mention a sentence. She is Juan Oro's granddaughter. She said that all 'Governors of the Sea' eventually return to the ocean."

Return to the ocean... This doesn't sound like a good thing... Hehe, you actually designated Juan Oro's granddaughter to be your maid. Is this trying to take revenge on the granddaughter for the intimidation and oppression received from the grandfather? And Juan Oro actually agreed? He didn't agree to his face, but wanted to take her back in private and beat you up by the way? If you knew you were sleeping with such a humanoid lizard, how would you feel? Lumian slandered the fake "Governor of the Sea" in his heart.

He deliberated for a moment, as if he didn't understand what the other party had written at all, and changed the question:

"Juan Oro, strong?"

The fake "Governor of the Sea" suddenly shivered.

He wrote rapidly:

"He is very strong, he is a monster! He can make people suffocate to death, die in pain!"

After writing this, the fake "Governor of the Sea" looked up at the sunlight outside the window, put down the fountain pen, stood up, and bowed to Lumian.

Then, he turned around, swaying his vibrant long dress, walked toward the back door of this cafe, and left.

He seemed to be worried that he would be suspected by his bodyguards if he "disappeared" for too long while shopping.

Lumian watched his back, crumpled the memo paper into a ball, and held it in his palm.

Crimson firelight seeped out from between his fingers and quickly disappeared.

After sprinkling the ashes into the vase containing the bouquet, Lumian picked up the unfinished Tolier coffee and took a light sip.

His thoughts turned rapidly, analyzing the information he cared about most:

"Is everything the fake said just now true? As an ordinary person, can he find an opportunity to get rid of the 'bodyguards' and slip to me? Could there be private instructions from Juan Oro and others, setting a trap for me to jump into?

"In the prank of 'April Fools' Day,' the custom-made gold ring without extraordinary abilities was hidden in the belly of a lamb, and the latter was brought to the ship of the 'Governor of the Sea' as a sacrifice...

"'April Fools' Day' should be trying to replace something with this ring. Is there a sacrificial ring the same as it?

"The reason the candidate for 'Governor of the Sea' failed last year was because the key sacrificial ring became a fake and couldn't exert its effect?

"This shows that there were core members of 'April Fools' Day or their subordinates on that special ship. Otherwise, it would be impossible to deceive the commissioners of the Fishermen's Guild and replace important items without anyone knowing...

"According to the intelligence gathered so far, there aren't many sailors on that ship, and the passengers are only the 'Governor of the Sea,' four 'Maidens of the Sea,' and a few people responsible for guiding them to hold the ritual. Among them, who could be related to 'April Fools' Day?

"The Fishermen's Guild must have done a screening afterward, and I don't know if there was a conclusion...

"It cannot be ruled out that the dead 'Governor of the Sea' was related to 'April Fools' Day, because he might have been thoroughly fooled, thinking that replacing the ring and making the ritual fail would mean he wouldn't have to return to the ocean like previous 'Governors of the Sea.' As a result, 'Bard,' 'Crazy Lady,' and 'Ultraman' didn't want to care about his life or death at all...

"What is the purpose of 'April Fools' Day' doing this? Just a prank to amuse themselves, or is there a deeper intent?

"Ordinary 'April Fools' Day' members might just be looking for things to amuse themselves. As for those core members, truth and falsehood are always mixed together..."

Lumian sat in the cafe until the sun was about to set below the horizon before putting on the straw hat and slowly returning to the Solo Hotel.

Late at night, Lu Lu Jianuo returned from the bar, smelling of alcohol, leaned toward Lumian, and said:

"I asked those adventurers and bounty hunters about Bartner and his lover. They all said they hadn't seen the two of them in the past few days.

"It's as if they disappeared as soon as they arrived in Santa Harbor."

Disappeared? Nolphi, as the child of a "Maiden of the Sea," wouldn't be so mysterious if she were just returning to Santa Harbor and the Fishermen's Guild... She wanted to do something about the Sea-Praying Ritual and persuaded Bartner? As a result, she was targeted as soon as she returned? She might know quite a bit... I can't come forward to find them myself; the great adventurer persona needs to show up more often recently... Lu Lu Jianuo isn't very reliable... What about Noelia, that nun? A series of speculations flashed through Lumian's mind.

Amidst his turning thoughts, he suddenly knew what help he should ask that "Knight of Swords" for.

PS: Requesting double monthly votes at the start of the month~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 555 =====