chapter 29

"Well, a lot of things happened, and Johnny here saved my life after things went wrong with Francis," she said and then paused while pointing at me to let it sink in. "he also offered me to join his crew, and I agreed after some consideration," she concluded with her arms.

"so don't call your captain a bum since you'll come with me too," she said as she crossed her arms while looking at her butler. "You should try to get along with him too, captain. He has a sharp tongue, but he's a great company once you get to know him," she continued her speech as she turned to me.

The sharp-tongued butler and I stared at each other for a while, and then we looked away while grunting in annoyed agreement.

"as I've said, I won't accept anyone who can't carry their weight in my crew. I'll need to test his strength before he can join," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"I can't let my friend's daughter join some punk who can't take care of himself either, so a test suits me just fine," he said while playing with his mustache.

"It's decided then, but now is not the time, so tomorrow morning, you and me, old man, outside the city," I ended the conversation while pointing my finger at the redhead's butler, and he nodded his head.

"you stay here if you like, Elly. I will go to explore the city and find someplace where we can buy some quality wood for our ship," I said to Elly as I made my way to the seedy bar door. "alright, captain. I'll meet you at the inn at six in the evening," came the redhead's reply as she sat in front of her butler and started to chat him up.

The capital of the Ballywood kingdom, a city unironically called Ballywood city. It was a typical wild west themed city, which looked very much like Saint-Denis city from red dead redemption 2, except it was much larger and had a forest of weird leafless black trees to the west of it, giving it its name.

I spent several hours roaming around the streets while occasionally stopping to ask some people about the city and its landmarks to familiarise myself with it. I also stopped at shops that seemed interesting to browse and look around.

I've discovered all kinds of shops in this city, weapon smiths that would sell all types of weapons, swordsmiths that specialize in crafting and selling swords and nothing else, and even armor shops that sold all kinds of protective equipment.

And that was just the combat-oriented shops. There were many different stores like exotic pet shops, weird art merchants, and even a shop that sold pirate memorabilia items.

I'm not even ashamed to admit that I might have bought wax figures for Gol D Roger and Whitebeard, which I stuffed into my backpack.

It was lunchtime before I knew it, and just as I was about to head back to the inn for a quick meal, a familiar, enticing smell had sneaked its way into my nose and drew my attention.

I followed the smell and what I found at the end of the smell's trail put a smile on my face as I entered a small restaurant packed full of people enjoying their meals, meals which comprised hamburgers, fries, and coke.

It kind of makes sense now that I think about it. It is an island based on America, after all. Their king even named Ham Burger, for god's sake.

I made my way inside after taking a second to examine the restaurant and look for an empty seat and then made my way into it once I found one.

I first adjusted myself into a comfortable position and then started browsing the menu left on the table in front of me. It took ten minutes for a waiter to come and take my order, as the restaurant seemed to be having a busy day.

"Hello sir, what can I get for you?" asked the server with a friendly smile as he placed a cup of cold water on the table in front of me. He was a young man who seemed to be the epitome and representative of averageness in this world.

"Hello, I would like a hamburger meal with dries and a coke please," I remarked with a friendly smile of my own while trying my hardest not to show my less than polite thoughts about his averageness show on my face.

"very well, sir. Your order should be ready in ten minutes. Please, don't hesitate to call me or any waiter if you need anything else," he concluded as he wrote my order and then left to deliver it to the cook.

After ten minutes, the same server came back while carrying a tray that had my order, and he placed it at the table. "Here you go, sir. Please enjoy the meal," he said with a smile as he finished placing my order at the table.

"Thanks," I replied with a smile that hid my conscious effort to not fall into the typical you too trap.

After having my meal and paying the bill, I went outside and began exploring the city once more, and after several more hours of that, I decided to go and inquire about buying the wood required to build my ship.

I made my way to a somewhat large shop with all kinds of miniature woodworks showcased inside of it. I then went straight to the shop owner and spoke to him.

"Hello, I would like to buy enough Bally wood to build a brigantine ship. Are you capable of providing that kind of quantity?" I asked the man, a shifty-looking merchant who looked very similar to leather from Skyrim.

'he'll definitely try to rip me off,' I thought as I shamelessly judged the man based on his appearance.

"Hello, sir," he first replied to my greeting and then paused to give a once over. "Yes, of course. We can provide the necessary amount to suit your needs," he concluded with a flawless business smile adorning his shifty face.

"How much will that cost me exactly, and How soon can you have it prepared for me?" I asked as I crossed my hands and looked at him with a blank face.

"While we can provide such amounts of Bally wood, it would take us a month or so to prepare it any sooner than that would cost you extra," He replied, and I could have sworn his eyes turned into belly signs for just a second before reverting back.

'here it comes, I knew the bastard would try to rip me off,' I thought in my head as I haggled with him for the best price and shortest time I can get.

After a half-hour of going back and forth with the merchant, we finally came to an agreement.

"very well, sir. You drive a hard bargain, but this is the best I can offer you for now," the merchant said with fake distress in his voice. "Five million for the wood, and I'll even take care of transporting it to shipwright town for you, once it's ready in a week's time," he said, as he offered me his hand.

"that will have to do then," I replied as I took his hand and grasped it in a firm handshake.

I might have placed too much strength into my grip, causing him to wince and start sweating because I knew he was still ripping me off somehow.