15.Investigate

The breakfast sent by the Bard family was excellent, almost too good for someone who was used to roughing it.

Klaw ate an entire radish. He liked radishes, which were easy to grow and cheap in the Caribbean. This wasn't to say that Klaw would willingly spend money to buy radishes, but rather that after stealing, few people would be so upset over such a small loss. The soil in the Jamaican interior always produced high-quality vegetables, of course, the best parts were usually reserved for nobles and the wealthy. It might be considered a blessing in disguise that Klaw was now eating this special supply. Had he not been too preoccupied with his bizarre situation to enjoy it, he would have shouted with joy and thanked Lord Bard. But then again, without this experience, he probably wouldn't have caught Lord Bard's attention.

"I didn't take Lord Bard's gold coin."

This was the voice of his conscience, which had spoken several times in the past few hours.

Klaw made sure no one was outside the window, then took out his trophy from his mouth—the pirate's gold coin.

In fact, it wasn't a pure gold coin. Or rather, only the middle ring on one side had the texture similar to gold, but the silver-white ring that enveloped this golden yellow, the shell embedded in the gold coin, was definitely not gold. It was very hard, even harder than steel, and no scratches would appear even if he tried to engrave it with a knife. In addition, its taste was more bitter than gold and felt colder.

What exactly was this thing?

Klaw had no clue about the gold coin, and as many smart people do when they're stumped, he assumed that if he didn't understand something, others wouldn't either. And once he started thinking this way, there was only one thing left to do.

"Damn Rat-Eye... where the hell have you gone?"

He didn't believe Rat-Eye had been kidnapped, but couldn't fathom how such a flamboyant guy could vanish without a trace... Rat-Eye was a profit-driven individual; it was unlikely he had any means of fencing stolen goods without the guild. Besides, Uncle Bo said the pile of trash they'd swindled was still intact, Rat-Eye hadn't taken it, which meant he must have had a reason to leave. Perhaps he also realized the trash had no value, and fearing his plot against Klaw would be exposed, he fled? This could explain a lot, at least more plausible than being kidnapped by outsiders unfamiliar with the terrain right at his doorstep. To figure this out, Klaw had to investigate. Thus, for the first time that day, Klaw disregarded the significance of Lord Bard's arrangement for him there, beginning to feel that all the talk of pirates and treasure was nonsense.

He ate another radish, casually stuffed a few fruits, and then left the cozy cabin, heading to the dock. He wanted to find Rat-Eye personally and make this despicable man receive the "justice" he deserved!

Klaw first went to the dock market, hoping to find some clues there. Although Rat-Eye was despicable to the extreme, he had an ambition not to be outdone, and thus, whenever he made a deal, he wished the whole world knew about it. Moreover, he liked to spend money extravagantly, often buying drinks for strangers in bars to show off his capability. This despicable guy never wanted to contribute more to the guild's collective livelihood but learned from the bigwigs to cultivate connections with money. Unfortunately, most in the Red Brick Tavern were small fry like him and wouldn't follow his lead just for a few drinks.

"Perhaps at this moment, he's drunk in some dancer's arms," Klaw thought, but after searching the entire dock market, there was no sign of Rat-Eye, and neither the drinkers nor the dancers had any news of him. Klaw began to feel uneasy; could it be, as Uncle Bo suspected, that Rat-Eye was kidnapped by those unwelcome visitors from the sea?

"Klaw!"

A boy was sprinting towards Klaw from afar, it was his young companion, Yemir. His grimy face was alight with a radiant smile, as though he had just devoured a hearty meal or come across a pair of old shoes free of holes.

The boy reached Klaw, leaning on his knees with his thin arms to catch his breath. Klaw noticed that Yemir seemed even thinner than he had been two days prior, which didn't make sense. He had just feasted at Lord Bard's banquet; why then did he appear so ill?

But Klaw was well aware that this was the result of long-standing poverty, not something that could be remedied by a couple of good meals. Yemir's sallow face glowed with excitement and happiness, which suddenly made Klaw feel extremely guilty. He recalled Uncle Bo's words again—if things went well, Yemir would receive a proper education and wouldn't have to dream of making it big while mired in hardship like him.

They shared their experiences with each other, but sadly, Yemir had no information about Rat-Eye. When he realized that Rat-Eye had abandoned him and driven off alone, he sensed something was amiss. He left Lord Bard's residence and kept watch outside for the entire night, only then seeing Klaw being taken away in a carriage.

However, he did witness something intriguing.

"Klaw, the night I was waiting for you to make your escape, I saw two of Bard's men discussing Rat-Eye as they boarded a carriage and left."

"Are you certain they were talking about 'Rat-Eye'?"

"Absolutely certain, the fat one was grinding his teeth and repeating it several times."

"Well, that's fat Joe, which confirms Rat-Eye's betrayal... They must have gone to the Red Brick Inn to reward Rat-Eye, indicating that Rat-Eye had been in contact with Lord Bard, perhaps for a one-time deal, I can't be certain."

Could Lord Bard have imprisoned Rat-Eye just as he had Klaw?

Klaw wondered skeptically. Then, he handed the key to the cabin to Yemir, allowing him to go inside and eat something, before turning to leave. He was determined to seek Lord Bard for some clarity.