The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 288 - 8: Hayreddin

Chapter 288: Chapter 8: Hayreddin

"Heh, a lazy man from Sparta? I’ve never heard such a joke before. Spartan men are never cowards or sluggards. Under any circumstances, they bravely face everything before them, don’t they? Could it be that Captain Portalan’s life only consists of captaining a small passenger ship?" Komer wielded his sharp tongue like a weapon, searching for the other’s mental wounds. Although well-hidden, before Komer’s unusually keen intuition, nothing could remain concealed.

The Bearded Captain’s cheek muscles twitched slightly, clearly stung by Komer’s words. His complexion became somewhat forced as if he couldn’t find the right words to excuse himself and turning his head aside felt too impolite. His gaze gradually grew heavy with too much resentment and pain.

"Captain Portalan, I don’t want to understand the painful past that you might have had. However, I do understand one thing: a real man cannot regain his dignity and honor by self-exile or numbing himself with mellow wine. A true man fights to recover all that with his own hands, thoroughly repaying those who have looked down on him and insulted him. That is what a real man does. Although you seem quite composed on the surface, I believe, deep down, you harbor an unyielding flame just like me. Trust that I can bring you the life you desire, help you achieve your wishes!"

Without giving the other a chance to explain or deflect, Komer lashed out with a barrage of words, whipping at the scars the Bearded Captain was trying to dodge, making his face turn ashen as death in an instant, his robust body even began to wobble.

Painfully closing his eyes, the Bearded Captain seemed unable to endure the lashings of Komer’s words and finally turned away. However, Komer remained unnaturally calm, firmly believing his speech could awaken those with spirit. If the other party remained numb and indifferent as he was now, they would lose the value of being invited by Komer.

Odessa had no shortage of trout taverns, but only two or three were renowned, and without a doubt, the Carino Trout House was among the best. Komer did not repeat his invitation, simply informing the Bearded Captain upon disembarking that he would dine at the Carino Trout House before leaving peacefully with Reese, Solonberg, and Lome.

As a mage wandering far and wide, Reese naturally would not refuse such a culinary opportunity. For Solonberg, a dark knight who saw dining as a task to be completed, following Komer’s arrangements was the default. As for Lome, wherever she went, she encountered endless novelties. As long as she could stay close to the Great Sage, she was utterly content.

Pan-fried trout, mushroom trout rolls, trout caviar, trout fillet - when a series of uniquely flavored trout dishes were served, finally, a knock that Komer had been waiting for sounded at the door: "Your Excellency, please forgive my tardiness, I hope it hasn’t affected your dining mood."

To Portalan’s arrival, Reese and Solonberg remained exceptionally calm. Komer’s actions were always unexpected, Reese never interfered, and Solonberg was utterly indifferent. Lome, however, was quite intrigued by this bearded captain who had traveled with them for three days, particularly by his behavior on board, which had enlightened the ever-curious Lome—how to fish at sea, how to discern approaching weather from cloud formations, how to recognize types of ships. All this filled Lome with admiration for the passion of the bearded captain.

The night view of Odessa is beautiful, suffused with a romantic atmosphere. It is the largest city on the Busen Plain and the second largest port of the Homer region after Cyprus. Following the Sim River northwest from Plovdiv into the Canal Area, one can reach the capital of the Galle Region, Gutenberg. It is also an important slave trade market in the Homer region, where slaves of all southern races are available. Even in the clandestine slave markets, one can purchase rare Shark-people slaves. Of course, such dealings are highly secretive; inciting the wrath of the Shark-people, who pride themselves as children of the sea god, is vastly unwise in these maritime port cities. It would invite punishment from all sides.

Perhaps to satisfy the mundane lives of seamen tirelessly traversing the sea, Odessa’s pleasure establishments are almost as numerous as those in Cyprus. Here, the number of slave courtesans and free citizen courtesans even surpasses Cyprus. After all, Cyprus is the capital of Homer, and from any perspective, sexual trade seems an enterprise not acknowledged by clerics.

The vibrant nightlife hadn’t intoxicated Komer and Portalan, no, he should be called Hayreddin, Hayreddin Barbarossa. Both men might have been equally interested in the opposite sex, but now they seemed more intrigued in gaining a deeper understanding of each other.

Portalan’s origins, now to be called Hayreddin Barbarossa, were not foreign to Komer. The Barbarossa family in Sparta could count as a large and prosperous clan, yet it was precisely because of the family’s overwhelming size that, apart from the most direct and legitimate lineage, the majority of collateral families had been excluded, to the extent that many branches even adopted other surnames. However, Hayreddin’s line seemed to have not given up their surname, which they believed to be quite noble; their efforts, though, appeared to be met with ruthless irony.

In Oubeia, when Hayreddin began his naval life, he was actually prohibited from using the Barbarossa surname simply because the Barbarossa family in Sparta had charged at the Oubeia City-State Court, claiming that Hayreddin was not truly of the Barbarossa lineage. Hayreddin had no choice but to superficially relinquish his surname, which was undoubtedly a significant provocation for him. Hoping to prove himself with his own success, it took him just ten years to rise from an ordinary sailor to a navigator, but the promotion examination not only drained his savings but left him heavily in debt, forcing him to work around for others in the following years. When he mustered the courage to pursue an Elf Clan woman and was coldly rejected because he was not entitled to the Barbarossa surname, it was almost thanks to his kindred aristocratic children that Hayreddin felt an urge to kill all those aristocratic children who could arbitrarily enjoy the surname Barbarossa.

Komer, slightly tipsy from his own confessions, was very understanding, although he did not think a surname could change anything – he even wanted to discard his own last name, Reese. But he also knew that for some people, just like a family, a surname is indeed an inseparable part of their life. All he could say was that Hayreddin was too fixated on this, to the point of dueling with family children. And of course, the result was that he was falsely accused of seeking revenge for murder and drunken rape of a tavern maid, a clichéd story that has unfolded countless times in every city, and Hayreddin seemed to be one of its actors, only tragically, he was the tragic figure. Fleeing appeared to be the only way out, which was also reliant on his good relationships in the Southern Mediterranean; much though, as powerful as these ties might have been, they were not enough to dare confront the arrest warrant of the Corinth City-State Union, which holds significant influence throughout the Mediterranean. To evade the legal force of an arrest warrant and survive, fleeing the Mediterranean became the inevitable result for Hayreddin.

"Lord Baron, I want to ask, it seems you’re embarking on a long journey this time. May I know where your destination lies?" Hayreddin asked, swaying his wine glass gently, the light flickering in his dark brown eyes seemingly foretelling something.

"First to Luxembourg, I plan to enter the Java Swamp to meet with the Jellyfish People," Komer did not wish to hide his intentions.

"Jellyfish People?" Hayreddin’s sensitivity to waterways was extraordinarily keen, "Could it be, Lord, that you intend to persuade the Jellyfish People to open up the water passage of the Catania River?"

"Haha, Mr. Hayreddin is indeed astute, guessing my purpose from a single sentence. Indeed, you’re probably aware of the situation in my territory now. Philip is now using his naval fleet to constantly pressure me, trade with Mattdam and the Northern Region has been greatly affected, and now the Floating Bridge on the Nissai River has been burnt down. Even if it hadn’t been burnt down, Bruce Fortress would have tightened like a noose on the neck of Caucasus, the Caucasus cannot continue like this, being at others’ mercy is too dangerous, especially since the Caucasus has not yet been able to be self-sufficient in food, and our mineral products from the Caucasus also need more export markets."

"So you want to open up Catania River, a passage leading to the heart of the Continent? Lord, are you aware that Luxembourg and other nations along the Catania River have already thought of this, why hasn’t it been achieved? The closed customs of the Jellyfish People deter everyone; they won’t accept any terms." Hayreddin shook his head, apparently convinced that Komer’s journey would not bear success: "Rather than expending effort in this regard, Your Excellency might as well think more about solutions in the Mediterranean. I heard that Mattdam is right under the nose of the Gray Skull, but isn’t the Leader of Gote in good standing with Your Excellency? Why not seek assistance from the Leader of Gote to solve this problem?"

"There’s no need to be reticent; the relationship between the Caucasus and the Gray Skull is merely one of mutual use. Indeed, I have a gentleman’s agreement with Gote, but he will not help me resolve conflicts with the Homer Navy. He only guarantees that his own forces won’t attack ships trading with Mattdam, what’s more, isn’t he currently fully engaged in a Great War with Katrina? It’s even less likely that he’ll pay attention to our Caucasus’s affairs," Komer said with a light smile.

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