Part 3 the traveler chapter x the adventurer
Just as he stepped on deck, and before he had a chance to enter his cabin, Klein saw out of the corner of his eye a figure pass through the crowd toward him.
Outwardly careless, but inwardly alert, he glanced sideways and found a man in his thirties wearing a half-height black bowler hat and a long trench coat of the same color.
The other party has a frost polished face, rough but extremely manly, light blue eyes do not contain a smile, as if precipitating many past events.
A little familiar …… By the way, the guy I met yesterday in the ticket company seems to be the same adventurer …… Being on the sea in January, it is surprising that he is wearing a windbreaker, it is very strong …… Klein lifted his cane in a relaxed manner and made a false point down the incline, while smiling and speaking:
”Good morning, we meet again.”
It was as if he was greeting an old friend.
The gruff man, however, didn’t feel surprised and paused, nodding slightly inwardly:
”Krivis, former adventurer.
”Man, you’re a fellow traveler?”
”I thought you knew that yesterday, Germaine Sparrow.” Klein responded with a smile.
He did not hand his cane to his left palm, as he did not intend to shake the other’s hand.
”I can see that.” Krivis said after two seconds of silence, “Adventurer is not a wonderful profession, I have changed careers and become a bodyguard, this time following my employer’s family to the capital of the Rothschild Islands.”
He half-turned his body and pointed to another spot on the deck.
Crane followed the trail and saw a gathering of nearly a dozen men, headed by a middle-aged, blond gentleman with rosy cheeks and soulful eyes, and a double-breasted long tuxedo in which the gold chain of a pocket watch and a jewel-encrusted lapel pin were visible.
Beside him was a lady in a broad-brimmed round hat, whose face was completely hidden by a fine veil of dark blue that hung down over her face, and whose figure was kept in good shape.
In front of them stood a small child, the younger a boy, under ten years old, dressed in a child’s version of a tuxedo, and the older, fifteen or sixteen years old, a vibrant young woman who was not particularly striking in appearance, but whose brown eyes were quite soulful, and whose faint freckles and fluffy, pleated skirts added a touch of playfulness.
Next to them were three people carrying suitcases and various items, a man and two women, all dressed as servants, one of the maids had a brownish-red complexion, and was clearly of the southern continent’s race.
Protecting the above seven people is a man and a woman, dressed in simple but competent, both do white shirt, light sweater, black coat, dark pants and sturdy leather boots dress.
The two bodyguards did not specifically cover the marks created by the gun pouches on their belts, and unflaggingly scrutinized the pedestrians coming and going as they approached, their eyes sharp and their temperament calm.
”Three servants, three bodyguards?” Klein asked casually.
This configuration is still quite extravagant, indicating that the employer is a rich man …… He instinctively made a judgment.
”Right.” Cleves nodded his head.
Without further ado, he quickly turned around and walked towards his employer’s family.
…… Klein froze in place, not knowing what the other party’s special coming over to say hello represented.
Recalling the novels, movies, and TV shows he had read in his past life, he gradually understood Crivis’ latent meaning.
He is a bit wary of me, or the person who calls himself an adventurer and doesn’t look too easy to mess with, so he introduces himself in advance, identifies himself and what he’s going to do, and tells me not to hit on his employer’s family, which simply means, you do your job, I do mine, and don’t infringe on each other……. Is this sort of a tacit understanding between seasoned adventurers or veteran bounty hunters? A little bit interesting …… Klein let out a low laugh, carried his suitcase, took the black cane, entered the cabin, and according to the ticket, found the room that belonged to him.
With a creak, he pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside.
It was not a spacious room, just big enough for a bed, table and cupboard, not even a chair.
The best thing about it was that it possessed a window, and the sunlight from the harbor shone in, showering the table and bed with pure gold flecks.
”The crew just now said that the lavatories and baths were common, about eight rooms to a room, and that if one was in too great a hurry, wooden toilets could be provided, but one had to pay for the cleaning, which was three pence a …… have to be thankful that the White Onyx had been remodeled, with a lot of metal plumbing, and that there was a boiler on the burning, with a supply of hot water, providing a relatively convenient way of life, otherwise traveling would not be anything pleasant ……” Klein voicelessly lamented a few times.
He quickly pulled out the necessary items and set them on the table for easy daily access.
Once packed, he sat down on the edge of the not-so-high bed and listened to the long whine of the whistle, feeling that power from steam and machinery contained within.
As the ship began to sail, Klein looked out of the window at the ocean view for a while, then gradually withdrew his thoughts and began to consider the next most important thing, that is, how to play the “Faceless Man”.
In the face of the “real Creator” descent ceremony and the powerful Mr. A, the decision to give up the escape attempt to destroy the magic potion has allowed him to digest a little, based on this feedback, he has some new understanding of the role of the “Faceless Man”.
”‘You can pretend to be anyone but yourself,’ is the code that ‘Master of the Secret Puppets’ Rosago was asked to memorize …… I initially thought that ‘Self’ means the original identity, but now it seems that this is not perfect enough, what is self must be truly figured out …… “Klein leaned forward, bathing in the sunlight, as if he were a statue in thought.
After a while, a thought gradually came to him:
”Does this correspond to the spirit itself, referring to the truest self within?
”Even when he was on Earth, Zhou Mingrui had a lot of disguises, and in this way, he formed a personality mask in the social sense, which in a sense, had a large element of falsehood.
”Well …… when I took on the appearance of other people and took over their identities, in order not to be discovered, I also had to do interpersonal disguises, which amounted to wearing different personality masks.
”When all the personality masks are removed and there are no longer any remnants, what kind of ‘self’ will the ‘faceless man’ eventually see?
”Is this the deeper meaning of ‘self’ in that code?
”When I face my inner thoughts head on, conquer my fears, and don’t challenge the impossible for socially meaningful reasons, I am truly being myself?
”To be explored and validated ……”
With that thought, Klein shifted his position in order to sit more comfortably.
Reflecting back on all that had gone before, he noticed another playful question:
”When I was in the underground ruins, I had disguised myself as Ince Zangwill and escaped successfully, but why is there absolutely no feeling of the magic potion showing signs of digestion?
”Does this mean that this shallow disguise is not enough to digest the ‘Faceless Man’ magic potion?
”Well, it’s closer to the application of extraordinary ability than playing!”
”The playacting that would drive the digestion of the magic potion is the deeper level of disguise, the true substitution of a person, becoming him in the social sense? Waiting for his relatives and friends to be unable to detect it for a long time before showing that the disguise was successful?
”So, I feel attuned to the ‘Faceless Man’ potion because of my previous success in disguising Klein Moretti?
”The first rule of the ‘Faceless Man’ code, you can impersonate anyone but yourself …… the second rule, to perform a deep disguise that conceals you from everyone?
”But to stand in for someone and be him in a social sense is evil just by imagining it ……
”Should we look for the kind of person who died in a foreign land, but had an unfulfilled wish?”
Klein settled down his inexplicable fears and tentatively formulated a direction to try.
”The higher the sequence, the worse it gets to play ……” He sighed, pulled out his pocket watch and pressed it open to check the time.
Seeing that it was still early for lunch, and that his room was too small and rather confining, he decided to go for a walk on deck, to catch the sea breeze and enjoy the view.
After the warmth of that hour just after sailing, the deck was not too crowded, and Klein walked along the side of the ship, to secluded areas with large shaded areas.
The day was sunny and warm …… There was no drawback except that it was rather windy and he had to be careful of his hat …… He pressed his half-high bowler hat on his head, and leisurely scrutinized the cabin, listening to the sound of music that came faintly from within.
Suddenly, he saw Crivis, the former adventurer, busying himself in a corner, with what appeared to be a three-pronged thorn, a dagger, and a short knife in front of him.
Crivis, sensing something, looked up at him, very weathered, and said without a smile:
”All old fellows, got to take care of them often.”
Here he added:
”There are children in the cabin.”
”Understood.” Klein responded with a smile.
Krivis buried his head and continued to busy himself, asking as if casually:
”You don’t seem to have any of these with you?”
”I’m used to using weapons that follow the trends of the times.” Klein said cryptically, “And I do a lot of maintenance.”
Crives raised his dagger in silence, glanced at it against the sunlight, and said as if to himself:
”At sea, a gun is not enough.
”Pirates will board, there will be many of them, and when you’ve finished shooting, you won’t get a chance to reload, and these fellows, though no longer current, are useful enough.”
It is very professional Well …… worthy of a former adventurer …… Klein leaned against the side of the ship and said half jokingly:
”If there are really pirates boarding the ship, the probability is that I will choose not to resist.”
Cleves turned his head sideways and gazed at him for a full three seconds before withdrawing his gaze, then said in a low voice as he gathered his belongings:
”It seems you don’t need reminding that you already understand the rules of the sea.
”Bounty hunters who walk the earth often fail to be adventurers of the sea.”
With skillful movements, he hid daggers, short knives, three-pronged thorns, and other weapons under his clothing, watching Klein’s eyes glaze over.
”Thanks.” Klein smiled and nodded.
Without another word, Krivis turned around and returned to the cabin, leaving behind only a broad, deep back.
Klein tickled the corners of his mouth and shook his head, casting his gaze beyond the side of the ship.
Blue waves gently undulating, a silver-white flying fish sometimes leaped out of the water, soaring in mid-air.
This kind of fish can “fly” can swim, is considered by fishermen and sailors as the “Lord of the Storm” dependents, even if salvaged, will be released back into the sea …… Klein leisurely enjoy the sunshine of the sea level, as well as the sea level. The sea level, as well as a flying fish on the sea level, an idea flashed uncontrollably in his mind:
Hmm, I wonder how meaty they are ……