Chapter 15: Adolf’s Test

Sules was startled by the man’s gaze, immediately realizing that this Adolf was indeed no ordinary person.

How could such a sharp look belong to someone who constantly drank?

Of course, that look lasted less than a second.

The next moment, Adolf’s eyes drooped again, disappearing back into his messy hair.

Sules suppressed her excitement, raising an eyebrow noncommittally.

“Who knows?” she said, handing the charcoal pencil to Adolf.

Adolf seemed not to consider whether the pen would leave a mark, signing his name boldly on the paper.

His handwriting, like his appearance, was messy, but the strokes were firm, showing no weakness.

“Whoa! It actually wrote? You’re lucky, kid!”

The people nearby stared in astonishment as Adolf successfully wrote his name on the paper, all marveling at his good fortune.

Sules, meanwhile, had been pondering something while he signed: did Adolf discover her true intention?

If so, how?

If not, why did he say what he did just now?

Was it just a coincidence?

Seeing that the person she most wanted had appeared, and she had also chosen enough others, Sules stood up and announced, “Alright, all my destined ones have appeared. Now it’s time to distribute rewards and discuss matters.”

With that, she pulled her captain’s hat from her bag, put it on her head, then turned to take the bagged wine from the bar, saying, “The destined ones I’ve chosen are actually destined for my ship. I’m a new captain, and I hope to recruit you as my crew.”

At her words, everyone was stunned.

After all, Sules had mostly chosen young people, who usually had few options.

Now a captain was willing to take them, and though she was new, it was at least a chance to gain experience!

Sules continued, “I’ve joined the Siren Guild, so I have backing. You don’t have to worry about me being new or about security…”

She hadn’t finished speaking when Annabella Ciaud directly raised her hand.

“I’m in! But I don’t want to be bound; at most, the contract can be long-term.”

For her, this was a golden opportunity not to be missed.

Annabella was a girl, and girls were already at a disadvantage in this world, especially in a physically demanding profession like being a sailor.

So, no matter what, Annabella wanted to join Sules’s ship.

If she missed this chance, she didn’t know when the next would come.

Moreover, Sules’s ability to be a Siren Guild member proved her potential; she was a very suitable captain.

Sules nodded.

“Alright, you can stand aside. We’ll sign the contract soon.”

She turned to the others.

“How about you? Anyone else willing to join?”

Immediately, two more young people stepped forward.

Like Annabella, they were eager to seize this opportunity.

A captain from the Siren Guild, though young, certainly had unlimited potential.

Adolf lazily stretched, then turned to leave.

“I’m not interested in playing a little girl’s house.”

Sules said seriously, “How do you know it’s just playing house? Perhaps this is the beginning of a grand enterprise.”

Hearing her words, the people around burst into laughter, clearly taking her statement as a young girl’s joke.

However, only Adolf, who looked directly at her, saw clearly that Sules’s eyes were full of seriousness, without any hint of joking.

He scoffed and turned to leave.

Seeing him truly walk away without hesitation, Sules’s eyes darkened, but she didn’t stop him. She merely picked up a bottle of wine and called out, “Hey! Take your wine!”

Hearing this, Adolf, his back to Sules, paused slightly, then a smile curled on his lips. 

He turned and took the wine with big strides, then unceremoniously opened it with one hand and took a swig.

This was wine, mind you!

And top-grade wine!

Sules felt a pang of heartache watching him squander it.

But even more heartbroken were the other drunkards.

“Hey! Adolf, if you can’t drink, don’t! You only deserve beer anyway. How about this, I’ll trade you this bottle of beer?”

A shirtless sailor, displeased with Adolf’s actions, said directly.

Adolf swayed and took another drink, then laughingly mumbled, “No way! I’m not stupid!”

The sailor sneered, “I think you’re stupid. If you give it to me now, I’ll give you a bottle of beer. But if you refuse a toast and force a penalty, then I’ll just have to give you a beating.”

Adolf continued to smile, seemingly oblivious to the sailor’s threat, and floated out of the tavern.

Seeing this, the sailor’s face darkened, and he immediately moved to go beat him.

Sules, who had witnessed it all, sighed and turned to Annabella and the two others who had decided to join her crew.

“Your first mission has arrived: stop that sailor.”

Hearing this, Annabella looked at her in surprise, but she didn’t object to Sules’s decision.

Instead, she was the first to rush forward.

The other two exchanged a hesitant glance and rushed up as well.

Sules unexpectedly found that Annabella had good fighting skills, truly worthy of being the “kid king” of that generation.

Although the sailor was tall and strong, under the obstruction of the three, he couldn’t chase Adolf anymore.

Once Adolf’s figure disappeared from the tavern, he angrily pushed the three aside and strode towards Sules.

“Why did you stop me? That drunkard ungratefully rejected you, and you not only gave him good wine but also helped him solve his problems? Are you a saint or something?”

Annabella and the others also looked at Sules with some confusion.

In their opinion, Sules had already shown enough kindness by giving Adolf the fine wine after he rejected her offer, as per her promise.

Now, helping Adolf out of trouble seemed like excessive benevolence.

On the high seas, kindness was the most useless thing.

If this captain was too much of a “saint,” they would really have to reconsider whether to continue following her.

Sules shook her head, explaining, “I’m not a saint. It’s just that his trouble was indeed caused by me, so there’s nothing wrong with me solving it for him, right? If others don’t offend me, I don’t offend them. That’s how it should be.”

She was clear in her mind: if she hadn’t set this trap to recruit Adolf, he wouldn’t have gotten into trouble with the sailor.

Since she caused the issue, it was her responsibility to resolve it.

This had nothing to do with whether Adolf would be her crew member; it was a matter of personal ethics.

Besides, there was another crucial reason: she knew Adolf was a five-star big shot.

Even if she couldn’t recruit him, she certainly couldn’t make an enemy of him, right?

That would be foolish.

After Sules finished speaking, she disregarded the varied expressions of the others.

Seeing the sailor roll his eyes and leave in a huff, she turned back to the remaining people.

“What about you all? If you don’t want to join, that’s fine. My earlier promise still stands; like Adolf, I’ll give a bottle of wine to those who are destined.”

She had chosen a total of seven people.

After this conversation, four remained: Annabella, Sam, and the two brothers, Ryan and Ryder—three men and one woman.

The rest took their wine and left.

Sules looked at the four of them.

“Regarding your treatment, first, board and lodging are included on our ship. As for wages, I currently have two proposals. One is a monthly contract, two months at a time, where your daily wage will be three copper shells. Since you’re all new, joining my ship is essentially like being apprentices, so I can’t offer much.”

Sules was telling the truth; apprentices were the least valuable nowadays, and some unscrupulous captains even dared to pay just one copper shell a day.

She was considered quite generous.

Seeing them nod, she continued, “As for the second option, that’s a direct one-year contract, paid monthly, one silver shell per month. Of course, if you choose to directly bind with our ship, the treatment will greatly improve, but I doubt any of you would choose that, right?”

Once bound, it couldn’t be undone; they would be tied to that ship.

Unless there was a deep understanding and strong emotional connection, binding crew members was rare.

Indeed, everyone shook their heads.

Annabella was bolder and knew that as a female sailor, it would be almost impossible for her to change captains quickly.

So she said directly, “I choose the second option, bound for one year. Captain, let’s sign the contract.”

Sules nodded with satisfaction.

For her, the longer the crew members signed, the better.

The longer they signed, the higher their loyalty and self-awareness.

After all, they would be living on this ship for the next year, so they surely wouldn’t cause trouble.

***

On Mercury, signing contracts was something only captains and certain specific professions could do.

Once a captain awakened their talent, this knowledge was naturally transmitted to their mind.

Sules closed her eyes, held her hands cupped in front of her chest, palms up, and activated the captain’s energy within her body.

“Esteemed Sea God, I, Sules Sulia, hereby apply to sign a contract with Annabella Ciaud. May the contract’s content, as I envision, manifest through divine miracle!”

After she spoke, a translucent blue agreement appeared in Sules’s hand.

The contents of the agreement were exactly what she and Annabella had agreed upon.

Annabella took the agreement and read it carefully, then looked up.

“The agreement is fine, but Captain Sulia, I need to remind you, my personality is quite impetuous, and I’m not suited for delicate tasks.”

Sules nodded.

“Call me Sules. Don’t worry, since I’ve recruited you, I’ll definitely put you to good use.”

The other three signed two-month contracts with her.

They were more interested in gaining experience and had no physical limitations, so they wouldn’t sign long-term contracts.

This way, if things went south, they could easily leave without being too tightly bound to the ship.

Sules had anticipated this.

After signing contracts with everyone, she stood up, ready to leave.

Overall, the harvest this time was significant.

She would check the attributes of these three people once she returned.

It was a pity, though, that she hadn’t managed to seize the opportunity to recruit the five-star big shot.

Sules still felt a pang of regret about that, but there was nothing she could do; she knew she had done her best.

As soon as she stepped out of the tavern, she was surprised to see someone waiting at the entrance.

Looking at the person’s disheveled appearance, it was clearly Adolf!

Adolf saw Sules staring at him in surprise and impatiently ruffled his hair.

“What are you looking at? Didn’t you say I was your destined person? Then hurry up and get the contract out so we can sign!”