Chapter 14: The Red-Haired Witch

The beautiful seven-string harp produced melodious sounds under Komer’s fair and delicate fingers. Even the dwarves couldn’t figure out where this exquisite instrument had come from. Combined with Komer’s heartfelt singing, it vividly expressed the wanderer’s love for nature and life. Both the dwarves and Komer himself were somewhat intoxicated by this moving melody.

Silence settled in the lower deck. The dwarves seemed to be dreaming of a new life far from their hometown, while Komer was reminiscing about those he missed back home. Unfortunately, this serene atmosphere was soon disrupted by a banging sound at the hatch. A rough, harsh voice came through the partition: “What’s hidden in here? Open it right now!”

“Oh, it’s just some salted fish used for ballast. The smell was too strong, so we sealed it away,” replied a nervous and humble voice quickly.

“Hmph, stop wasting my time! Open it now! Hurry up!” The harsh voice grew louder. “Don’t make Mr. Karnos wait any longer!”

“Uh, this… this…”

“What are you standing around for? Could there be something hidden here that shouldn’t be seen?” The harsh voice grew alert. The sound of metal weapons rang out—likely the attendants accompanying the man were showing force.

The dwarves looked terrified. Though they didn’t know what was happening, being brought here in such a panic after always being treated well surely meant something serious had occurred. Though used to adapting to circumstances, such a situation made them realize things were bad.

The hatch was finally lifted, and several weapons were thrust in. Several figures rushed in along the ladder. “What’s going on? Why are these dwarves here? And who’s that sneaky guy? Is it the Barbarossa family from Sparta still at work?”

Sharp, blade-like gazes swept over the panicked dwarves and Komer, who remained calm. A thick scar ran from his left eyebrow to his nose, adding to the ferocity of his already fierce appearance. Behind him, several burly men pushed a middle-aged man who seemed to be an administrator, clearly forcing him to explain what was happening.

“Uh, please don’t misunderstand. They are blacksmiths hired by our Barbarossa family. Our family has built a new iron-smelting and forging workshop in Patras and needs skilled craftsmen in this field, so we recruited some dwarf craftsmen in Pyrgos.”
The middle-aged steward didn’t seem overly worried, which puzzled Komer as well. These men’s clothing was clearly not standard naval uniforms, and their rugged, barbaric appearance made them more like pirates or bandits. If they truly belonged to the navy of Piraeus, this man shouldn’t be so calm.
“Dwarf craftsmen?” The scarred man frowned and sniffed, seemingly trying to detect some scent. “If they’re dwarf craftsmen you recruited, why keep them here?”
“The people of Piraeus don’t want to see dwarfs in these waters, so we…” The middle-aged man shrugged. There weren’t many valuable items on this ship. Though salted fish and salt were valuable, they were too heavy and bulky to sell easily, and the pirates weren’t interested in them.
The scarred man quickly understood. It turned out that the flag of the Piraeus navy he had used earlier had scared these men. The collapse of the Gigantia Temple and the resulting tension between the Kingdom of Sevilo and the city-state of Piraeus were well-known in the Central Seas. Everyone who hunted in those waters knew the details of this incident.
“Hmm, then what’s this guy doing here?” The scarred man’s attention quickly shifted to Komer. The middle-aged man was also puzzled. He didn’t understand how such an ordinary person could appear among the dwarfs, dressed in such an odd manner and carrying a seven-string harp—resembling a wandering bard. But the family’s ship hadn’t stopped since setting sail from Pyrgos, so where did this guy come from?
Seeing the middle-aged man stammering for words, the scarred man’s murderous gaze intensified. A slight snort from him made the middle-aged man tremble. These pirates, while generally following rules in the Central Seas, hated deception the most. His earlier explanation for the dwarfs had barely dispelled their suspicions, but this unknown man posed a real challenge for the steward to explain. Could it be he didn’t know what this guy was doing or how he boarded the ship? That explanation would likely not satisfy them.

“Gentlemen, I’m just a bard without any travel funds; I boarded the ship without the owner’s permission.”
Komer’s calm and composed attitude left the scarred man and the middle-aged steward puzzled. Although bards were popular everywhere and generally not troubled or persecuted by various forces, that was under normal circumstances. Given that Komer’s background was difficult to explain at this moment, it was still surprising that he could maintain such an attitude.
“A bard? Where did you board the ship?” the scarred man asked in a deep voice. His intuition told him that this bard, with his suspicious demeanor, had something amiss about his identity.
“Hmm, I boarded it on Zogo Island,” Komer replied after a brief thought. Lying wouldn’t help now; it seemed they had encountered pirates. These naive dwarves would surely confirm that he hadn’t boarded on Pyrgos.
“Zogo Island?” The scarred man was even more surprised. Zogo Island was a sacred site for worship in Piraeus and even throughout the Corinthian League. It housed the largest group of dark temples. Aside from followers of the Dark Guardian—Hades—who could visit the island during specific worship times, only dark priests could enter freely at any time. However, there were multiple dark sects in the south, and it was hard to say which one held more authority. This guy didn’t seem like a dark priest in any way. If the dark believers found out about this, it would undoubtedly cause another major uproar—though it wouldn’t affect his own organization.
After staring at Komer’s natural expression for a long time, the scarred man still couldn’t decide what to do with them. Although the Barbarossa family had considerable influence in the Southern Seas, compared to the invincible Carthage fleet, it was nothing more than a business family with a wide network of connections. The Spartans’ navy was far less famous than their land warriors. In the Southern Seas, the Carthage fleet could do as it pleased without needing anyone’s permission.
When Komer had the black blindfold removed from his eyes, he immediately knew where he was.

Looking from the side of the colonnade, the warm sunlight shone beside the terrace. Below the undulating mountains lay a deep blue bay, lying quietly there. Rows of masts stood densely like a sugarcane field, with ships departing and arriving from time to time. Aside from the crossbows on the tall towers serving as a reminder, from any angle, it seemed one was atop a prosperous port city in the southern seas—likely the palace or private residence of some noble.

But the person sitting in front of him revealed where they truly were. Their fiery, fluffy hair hung loosely over their shoulders, a golden-orange hue full of passion and indulgence, like a flame burning with endless heat, or like the clouds scorched by the setting sun—vibrant and brimming with intense heat, capable of reducing anyone to ashes.

Their wild eyes sparkled fiercely. The ever-changing expressions in their gray-blue irises might conceal much, but to Komer, they conveyed only two words: coldness, a emotionless coldness. Their gaze was filled with indifference and ruthlessness, as if they were examining a mummy buried in sand.

Beneath a straight nose were overly small red lips. Slightly raised cheekbones somewhat ruined the delicate beauty of this face, adding a hint of menace. Dressed in sleek black riding attire, the bright red riding pants tightly fitted to their thighs accentuated every charming curve of their body. With their left leg raised on the seat and right elbow resting on the armrest, chin propped on their wrist, they exuded an unrefined, carefree attitude with a touch of laziness—a posture that could easily deceive many.

The blue dagger lying diagonally on the armrest of the owl-shaped seat seemed ordinary, but Komer knew it was a deadly weapon that had drunk countless lives. Even from ten meters away, Komer could sense its intense murderous aura.

With a slight lift of the head, an overwhelming mental pressure hit him, leaving the unprepared Komer momentarily overwhelmed. After a brief pause, he took a deep breath to break free from the other’s mental control. What a domineering mental control technique!

Seeing that her shock tactic had no effect, the red-haired girl’s curiosity grew even stronger. The bright light in her eyes flashed briefly before she nodded slightly, a graceful curve forming at the corners of her lips: “It seems you’ve come here specifically to meet me. How interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered something so amusing. May I ask who you are and what brings you here?”