After the owner agreed, Kai didn't hesitate and headed straight to where Jett was. Seeing the young man working inefficiently, he smiled and said:
"Do you want to go to sea with me?"
At first, Jett was stunned, but then his face couldn't hide his joy. He thought to himself:
"Haha, I knew it. There's no way someone would travel across worlds just to become a slave."
"Sure." he nodded and replied.
"Good! Hey, help him get those shackles off." Kai said, glancing at the overseer.
The overseer nodded and immediately went over to unlock Jett's ankle shackles.
Feeling the newfound freedom in his legs, Jett was so happy he nearly cried. For the first time, he felt the joy of being able to run and move freely.
Looking down at his own tattered clothing, he asked:
"Could you help me get some new clothes? And shoes too—I can't just go barefoot."
"What's the problem with going barefoot? Aren't you barefoot now?" Kai asked.
Of course, he understood the purpose of shoes, but he didn't feel they were that necessary.
In this world, many people had bodies as tough as steel, so going barefoot wasn't an issue—nothing could pierce their skin.
Hearing this, Jett froze. He thought for a moment about his current position, then replied:
"What I mean is, if I'm going with you, I can't be looking too shabby. Wouldn't that be embarrassing for you?"
"Oh, I see. Well then, all I need is an outfit similar to yours, and there won't be much of a difference between us. Freedom means comfort—daring to do anything, fearing nothing, and disregarding everything." Kai said with a nod.
The overseer beside him also nodded in agreement, but Jett felt utterly bewildered. He screamed internally:
"What the hell is this? Is that what true freedom really is? Is it really about needing nothing? Seems like the people who talked about freedom back in my old world didn't understand it at all. I remember this guy was a slave just yesterday, and now he's free."
"My dear brother, you may not need it, but I do! Going to sea without proper clothing will just make me sick." Jett said.
Though he didn't entirely understand Kai, he sensed that the man before him had a very easygoing personality. That gave him the courage to make his request.
Kai rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded. Seeing this, Jett felt a surge of excitement—he sensed he was on the verge of success.
But reality hit him square in the face…
"It's true it increases the risk of disease and death, but so what? Since when does a free person fear death? What nonsense are you talking about?" Kai said.
Jett felt as if the sky was falling. He realized that if he followed Kai, he might not know when his end would come.
Although Kai might not care, he certainly did. He didn't want to die—his beautiful life still stretched out before him, and he really wanted to stay alive.
Seeing Jett look so defeated, as if life held nothing left for him, Kai chuckled and thought:
"Haha, this transmigrator from another world is really weak. If he doesn't even have the spirit of freedom, what can he do? But fine, bringing him along could be fun—he's something unusual in this world, after all."
"Alright then, I'll get you a set of clothes. Really though, don't act so weak like that in the future, or I'll throw you overboard." Kai said.
Jett nodded repeatedly. The future could wait—he'd worry about the present first.
A while later, Jett was dressed in a more decent outfit, complete with shoes.
Now, he and Kai stood in front of a prepared sloop. Kai, pleased, looked over at the owner, laughed, and said:
"Haha, thanks a lot! This sloop doesn't look bad at all."
"No problem, it wasn't too expensive either." the owner replied.
His words weren't just polite but sincere. The sloop was an old boat. While still usable, it had a few broken spots.
Of course, Kai understood, but did he care? He'd originally intended to set sail on a log with a paddle if he had to.
After saying goodbye, the two of them boarded the boat. Kai then asked:
"What's your name? I'm Kai."
"I'm Jett."
"From now on, I'm your Captain."
"Captain... wait, what exactly are you planning?" Jett asked, a bit surprised.
Since he knew this was a pirate world, it didn't surprise him that someone would suddenly want to set sail as a pirate.
Kai grinned widely and said:
"Haha, of course, to become a pirate! If I wanted to join the navy, I'd be signing up, not taking a boat out to sea like this."
Kai then looked back at Jett and said:
"Go steer the boat."
Jett looked at Kai, bewildered, and stammered:
"I… I don't know how to steer."
"Then go catch some fish."
"I… I don't know how to swim and cat fish."
"So what exactly do you know how to do?" Kai asked.
Though he didn't sound angry, if Jett truly didn't know anything, Kai wouldn't hesitate to toss him overboard.
After all, he was here to be a pirate, not a babysitter. Anything outside his plan was simply disposable.
Jett, meanwhile, was desperately thinking to himself:
"What… what do I even know? Math problems? Some memorized poetry? Guitar? But there's no guitar here, and I only know the basics anyway. Damn it, I feel like I'm about to get thrown into the ocean."
After a while, his face looked utterly disheartened as he turned to Kai and said:'
"C… Captain, I can't think of anything I actually know how to do."
Kai glanced at him, ready to toss him overboard immediately, but then he had a thought:
"So that's it. I get it now. It's because he's so useless that he has a system following him. A useless guy plus a system makes him somewhat decent. Guess I'll give the system back to him."
"Honestly, how can someone who crossed worlds be this hopeless? You don't even have the free will. Wait, that's wrong—the free will isn't easy to find, it's the desire for freedom. You don't even have a hint of that. Why are you going out to sea?"
Jett stared at Kai as if he were seeing a ghost, stuttering:
"You… you knew all along?"
"Since the first time I saw you."
He wasn't lying either, from the moment he looked into this world, he'd immediately recognized Jett as an outsider.
"Wait… are you a traveler from another world too?" Jett asked.
He clung to the hope that he'd found someone from his old world, someone he could partner up with, even though he himself didn't really offer anything useful.
But even as he thought this, he realized it was unrealistic. Kai's will of freedom was something beyond what ordinary people possessed.
At least in his twenty-something years of life, Jett had never met anyone like him.