William was awakened by Gin. In an unfamiliar environment, everyone remained cautious, taking turns to keep watch.
After waking up, William remained calm and tentatively asked Gin, "Did you notice anything unusual last night?"
When Gin shook his head, William sighed in relief. It seemed that what he had seen in the spatial mirror, such as the mysterious light spots, was not visible to Gin.
The bonfire rising in the night sky attracted many light-seeking insects, which flew around the fire, even diving directly into it. A fast-moving insect collided headfirst into William, who was near the bonfire. He quickly extended his index and thumb, pinching the insect and trapping it.
William's gaze flickered. Although the momentary action felt different from before, it was not entirely out of the ordinary. However, it still made him realize that the mysterious space had indeed affected his body.
He lifted his right hand, bringing the struggling insect to his face. In the past, he could also catch such insects with focus, but doing so effortlessly and controlling his strength as he did now wasn't easy.
Though it wasn't a drastic transformation, William was satisfied. The ample training had improved his reaction speed, and this increase in potential would help him break through his limits.
Main characters in Japanese anime are often depicted as descendants of powerful figures. Although William didn't watch much anime, he had heard of this trope. In fantasy and action anime, it was more common for protagonists to be second-generation characters.
This type of anime often raised the strength of new enemies drastically after a change in setting, seeking excitement and impact. This trend led to the idea that even the lowest minions in a new area could be stronger than the previous bosses. To make it believable that the protagonist could continue to grow, giving them a powerful father was the simplest way to explain their potential.
This was a frustrating concept for time-travelers. On Earth, even if there were differences in physical abilities, they were not so extreme as to be from entirely different species. However, in fantasy anime, William feared that despite pushing himself to the limit, his average potential and physical ability might only place him at the level of a small early-game boss. This would make many of his preparations pointless.
Fortunately, the mysterious space in his mind hadn't let him down.
...
After killing Danton, William seemed to have turned his luck around. Initially worried about what to do if they couldn't find a ship to leave, they unexpectedly encountered a merchant ship passing by after staying on the island for three days.
William, Gin, Aramis, and Valon, the young former pirates, used their appearances to their advantage. Though carrying weapons made the ship's crew wary, in these times of rampant lawlessness, carrying weapons didn't automatically make one a bad person.
In addition to food and water, Danton had brought supplies of wealth. William left a generous amount of money with the kind-hearted ship captain before taking his three companions and disembarking at an island located along a major shipping route. After changing ships a few times, they finally arrived at the well-known swordsmanship dojo that Aramis had mentioned: "Isshin Dojo" in Frostmoon Village.
Frostmoon Village, located on a main route with frequent ships, had fast information flow compared to more remote villages, making it easy for any strange news or rumors to spread quickly.
In a pirate-dominated society, a local martial arts institution provided some sense of security, and with the dojo owner being a skilled practitioner, Isshin Dojo was well-known in the area.
William, ever charming, casually walked around the docks and local taverns, gathering a lot of information about the dojo and its owner, Koushirou.
In the tavern, Gin watched William smiling and chatting with a bearded, drunken sailor before returning to their table. As soon as he sat down, Gin eagerly asked, "So, how is it?"
To gather information, William had drunk some alcohol. His body wasn't as accustomed to alcohol as it had been in his previous life, so his face flushed slightly. However, his mind remained clear. After suppressing his smile, he said, "The owner of this dojo seems to be quite capable. This village is located along a main route, but there's no navy base nearby. If pirates haven't targeted it, it either means they're all blind or there's something here that keeps them away."
Gin and the others smiled slightly, but William didn't seem too relaxed. Originally, he had been worried that the dojo and its owner lacked real power, wasting their time and money. But after learning more, he had new concerns.
The owner of Isshin Dojo, Koushirou, had a great reputation locally. Not only did his dojo make the village less vulnerable to pirate attacks, but he also charged low fees to students and would even cover expenses for those who couldn't afford tuition but were willing to work hard at swordsmanship.
Isshin Dojo was the largest landowner in the area. The surrounding rice fields were all under the dojo's name, so there was no concern about not being able to support students. However, William found out that despite the dojo's vast land holdings, it still often bought extra food. Adding everything up, he felt that Koushirou must have some larger plans in mind.
After hearing William's analysis, Valon grumbled, "Maybe he's using it to deal with corrupt officials. You don't know, some officials don't like it when peasants' lands are scattered all over. They find it troublesome, so they go to the big landowners instead, and then have them collect from the smaller households. From what I hear, Koushirou is a decent man. Maybe he's just covering the taxes himself."
"Then where's he getting the money?" William asked in return.
Valon scratched his bald head and said nothing.
Aramis, seeing this, lowered his voice and advised, "William, we're pirates! Why are you worried about what he might be planning? If he's up to something shady, that's even better! Even if we slip up and get recognized as pirates, we don't have to worry about him reporting us to the navy or refusing to teach us."
William thought it over and realized Aramis had a point.
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