It has been more than a month and a half since I planted the second Devil Fruit meant for me. During this time I have been to the Golden Bay and recruited more crew members. We have around 450 members now. I could have gotten more as Queen was big enough to fit and big enough to get major attention from anyone who could see her from the pier.
But I didn't want too many people as I was going to convert some space for specialized purposes. Like alchemy and magic research and whatnot when the time came but that would be a long time coming.
For now, I stayed in the Hearthfire Inn. This place was, according to Helga, the tavern with the best drinks in the whole archipelago. Not that I cared since I still wasn't much of a drinker. Though I did finally find some rum.
To be fair by itself it nearly knocked me the fuck out but once I mixed it with some orange juice it became quite pleasant to drink. I did try out grog which was just rum mixed with water so it wasn't too enticing but it would definitely become a staple on my voyages where fresh fruits aren't available from now on.
At this point, I was a known element in these seas. The tall tales of a Captain Newgate and his, apparently, legendary warship The Devil's Queen. I wasn't aware before that my ship was considered 'legendary' and I didn't even know why until recently.
I quietly inquired about it and it turns out that the tales of how I catch up to any ship, big or small, have drawn the most attention. People seem to think that my ship was enhanced through alchemy as it shouldn't be so fast for its size.
Everyone was wondering who I was, where and which nation's secret flagship I stole and more importantly whether I intended to join any nation as a Privateer. Because that would mean competition which they can't easily win against.
There were also talks about some people making a mysterious 'deal' with me that made me spare their lives. There were very wild speculations about their details but no one who took the 'deal' spoke about its details even under pain of torture.
As for what I was doing about these rumors? Nothing. These rumors were street cred that would see my legend grow. Reputation is important for a pirate.
During my stay here I used my plunder to buy some specialized books about Runes and Alchemy. Runes were a much more broad subject so I had to keep studying them.
The book about Alchemy however taught me the difference between an alchemist and a mage. A mage uses Runes by putting them side by side in a magic circle to create a magic formula and powers said formulas to cast spells with their own mana.
An Alchemist, however, is a sub-class of mages that draw out the power and essence of outside forces and combine, alter or fuse them to create magical effects. All Guns in this world were made by alchemy. From the smallest pistol to the biggest cannon, it was all alchemical.
Because apparently, a mage cannot enchant things like in many other fantasy settings in my past life.
I called the cannons on my ship alchemical but there were no non-alchemical, chemistry-based cannons here so the standard was the alchemical ones.
And the ammunition was too volatile to be shot with something like gunpowder so alchemists made these special cannons to fire them. Not that they knew what gunpowder was.
That was the interesting thing though, nothing technological in this world operated on physics save for things like ship or building designs. Catapults, trebuchets, winches, levers, and clockwork designs existed but some of them seemed to be just more efficient with magic so they went with it.
Understandably so. I mean, if it ain't broke, why fix it?
It was while I was reading more about Alchemy that some people in cloaks approached but were stopped by Helga and some crew members. I was the illustrious Captain Newgate of the newly established Devil Pirates. We even had a black flag now, not just anyone could walk up to me anymore.
I kept reading while Helga gave them the stink eye and asked.
"State your business."
There were three people. One of them was almost as big as me while the other was a bit shorter. One of them was short about Helga's size and remained silent while the biggest one spoke up.
"We wish to speak with the captain. We have a business proposal."
Helga was about to speak up but I stopped her. These guys seemed interesting from what I could see under the cloaks.
"Helga, let them through."
I put down my book and looked up.
"So, what can I do for you fine ladies this evening?"
"You are the captain of The Devil's Queen right? We have a proposal for you."
I looked at them expectantly but they seemed to be struggling to speak for whatever reason. I kept a small smile on my face.
"Well? Bird got your tongue?" Coco cawed next to me.
"We wish to transport some people-"
My smile vanished.
"Choose your next words carefully lass. I'm aware that you don't know me so let me make myself clear. People aren't cargo mate. I want nothing to do with slave trade."
The shorter one got nervous and stammered.
"NO, NO it's not like that I- uhmm we just want safe passage to somewhere. We don't want you to transport slaves we want transport for ourselves."
I relaxed after clarification. Not that I needed it but I just wanted to let my stance be known.
Well, my fruit would be ripe in a few days. Might as well take it out for a spin.
Dark days our ahead for my enemies