– POV General –

Several hours had passed since the three groups left for the city, leaving the ship in port under the supervision of Buggy, Douggy, Loki and Azeil. The two remaining brothers had been busy all morning reorganizing the rations, the goods they had stolen from the merchants and the equipment. They were also in charge of feeding the tigers who unfortunately for them only listened to their mistress.

It was the afternoon, the different groups would soon return from their great morning and noon but at this moment, the brothers were too busy to care. Indeed, they were trying to feed the two beautiful felines rather hostile towards them. Buggy and Douggy were on the deck, each holding meat and fish in their hands that they were trying to give to the two tigers, problem: they didn't dare to approach. 

 "RRrrrrr !!!"

"G-Good little tigers, it's...it's time to eat"

"GGrrrrrrr !!!"

"Y-You're not hungry ?"

The two men looked like two big gorillas and had the strength, that said, when it came to their Captain's animals, they were terrified. This was also due to the one who owned them, whom they feared even more than her two white tigers growling like wild beasts. It was easy to guess that they were better off away from them but orders were orders and they absolutely had to be followed.

"E-Easy...n-nice..."

Douggy was the first to approach gently with a huge whole fish in his right hand and a huge slice of jerky in his left. Loki and Azeil were at the mast, grunting to show that they did not want to be approached. However, the man continued before finally Loki, the fiercer of the two, pounced on him to grab his meal without even paying attention. 

At this moment, Buggy who had stayed a little behind held his breath really worried for his brother seeing how fast the tiger was throwing himself on him. Douggy himself was paralyzed, preferring not to move to avoid an accident but keeping his jaw tight. Unfortunately Loki's fangs were getting dangerously close and just as he was about to bite the fish with his hand, a voice out of nowhere stopped him dead in his tracks.

"LOKI !!"

The next second the two growling tigers had stopped to sit obediently very quickly, recognizing that voice among all. On the wooden plank connecting the ship to the dock, Hestia had appeared followed by Joe, Mysie, Lucas, Edward and Kali...she had arrived in time still covered by her hood. Jumping onto the deck, she stared at Douggy who had nearly lost his hand before nodding walking towards the stern.

"To my quarters, now."

"Aye Captain !"

Saying nothing more, the Cerberus Captain headed for the room below the poop deck as Buggy ran to her side to assist her. When she reached the door, he opened it before all the crew members rushed in to hold their meeting. All the groups had returned from their long hours of investigation and it was now time to gather all the information they had found.

Even Loki and Azeil were trotting into their mistress' quarters, their meal stuck between their fangs leaving no one on deck. The table was large enough to hold all eight people, and as everyone took their seats, Hestia moved to the large seat at the end. Immediately after, Buggy came and put her Captain's coat on her shoulders and placed her tricorn on the table.

"C-Captain."

"Thank you."

Hestia was no longer wearing her cloak or hood, and all the crew members could see without surprise the many lipstick marks on her body. Smiling at the corner, she finally sat down in her seat followed by the others who did the same after waiting for their Captain to sit down. Running her hand through her long blonde hair, Hestia crossed her legs before placing her hand under her chin, displaying her usual smirk.

"Well, tell me all about it, cuties~"

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After long minutes where everyone had explained their findings one by one, silence had returned to the room as everyone was thinking. On the table were Kali and Lucas' maps, Mysie and Edward's open scroll, and Hestia's mother's journal. It was time to discuss and decide on the next step to take in stealing Lord Kokosnuss' map and kidnapping Achi.

On the parchment they had all opened, all the information about the auction was written, the date, time, place and lots. The slave trader had even affixed his seal to the bottom of the sheet proving its authenticity and that sheet was in the hands of pirates. Thanks to this, they now knew the exact location of the Lord of the city and his family and it was perfect for the next step.

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EXCEPTIONAL MASKED AUCTION

Place : Opera of Belfort 

Time : 8pm 

Date : Saturn Day 18th, year 666

- Rare and priceless objects 

- Weapons of collection 

- Slaves with gifts

- Exotic animals from a secret location

Under the exclusive direction of Lord Hamilton Von Kokosnuss and his family from 9pm

Come with your mask to spice up the evening, with your invitation to spend a delicious moment and why not leave with one or more of our exceptional prizes !!

______________________________________

"So there will be an auction hosted by the Lord of Belfort City himself tomorrow night as the sun sets. Mmmh...where exactly is the building where it will take place ?"

"If we go by the slave trader's scroll Edward and Mysie met as well as the city map we found, the Opera House in question is to the East."

Kali, still standing to the right of the Captain as Quartermaster, had pointed her finger at one of the maps that lined the table. After the discussion she had had with Lucas, she didn't dare to look her in the eyes anymore but knew how to keep her seriousness when she had to. On it the city was divided into three districts without any particular separation: the East the nobles’ district, the West the one of the low society and the North a mix between the two.

"I imagine that security will be heightened at the Opera House especially if Lord Koko and his family will be present to attend. That said according to my information, that doesn't mean that the mansion will be left unattended though...mmmh we need to change our plans."

Ever since the Hysterics knew they were going to break into the mansion to steal the map and kidnap the young Achi, everyone had more or less visualized the night. However, everything was different since their target was going to be in an unexpected place and although it was more convenient, they had to organize themselves. One thing was for sure, they were going to act the next night but they had to split up and the question was who was going to do what.

"Captain ?"

"Speak."

"Now that we know the two locations of our targets, we would have to define our purpose to know how many people are needed. For the Von Kokosnuss mansion the map and the treasury are our only goals, but for the auction ? If we go there it is for the young Achi, but what about the lots presented ?"

Joe as always thought about everything and especially asked the right questions serving to target more easily the heart of the problem in order to find the answer quickly. Certainly Achi Von Kokosnuss was the second target but the place where she was going to be was going to be full of exceptional goods. Straightening up in her seat, Hestia looked up at her Sailing Master with an ominous glint in her eye. 

"Mmmh...are you implying that it would be nice to help yourself to the passage ?"

"It all depends on the situation but technically, yes."

Joe smiled as she nodded knowing full well that despite her Captain's question, she knew the answer because the thought had crossed her mind as well. The situation had changed a bit but they were still pirates first and foremost and as such, the call of the booty did not spare them. In fact, Hestia was even waiting for Joe to continue because with his keen mind, it wasn't hard to guess that he had an idea, as always. 

"Let's create a diversion at the Opera House, something big and serious that would force the guards there to act as soon as possible. During the commotion, let's kidnap the girl, steal what we can steal before running away while the place is in a panic."

"Okay but what ? We know where Achi will be but the place itself will be guarded like never before with a considerable amount of nobles gathered in the same place. They too have personal security that it would be foolish to forget."

"Mysie is right, stealing the map will be easier but as far as the auction is concerned it automatically becomes more tricky."

After Joe, it was Mysie and Kali who spoke up while the others around the table nodded their heads in agreement. Of course, they were all ready to take up the challenge, but this time there was no question of going in headlong and Hestia knew it. That's why they had all been looking for information and she was no exception, using what she knew to answer with a straight face.

"From what Lady B the star of the Belfort Beauties reported, most of the city's soldiers and Navy officers will be at this auction. She actually told me that something special was going to happen in the next few days without knowing what, I guess it's about that night."

As she had promised, after noon, the young Captain had gone once again to the most luxurious brothel in town to meet Blanche and Pauline. They had succeeded in making speak some customers and had provided to Hestia some very interesting information during some torrid hours. It was not perfect but precise enough to be able to make a plan. It is thus with the same seriousness that Hestia continued.

"I don't have numbers in mind but if the manor's guard is 100% usually, tomorrow night at dusk its guard will drop to 50%. So the Opera House will indeed logically be more guarded than the Lord's mansion, if we want to kidnap Lady Koko and serve ourselves, at least four people are required..."

Bringing her right hand to her chin, frowning and squinting her piercing eyes, the Captain pondered all the possibilities. 

"Captain at least send me to the Opera House with the other four, with our gifts it will be much easier to pull off the operation." 

"I could come up with a plan very quickly on the spot if I have a good idea of what is going on, Edward's brute strength can replace yours, Lucas' agility and versatility is perfect for an infiltration. Mysie's gift is also indispensable, her voice can leave us an opening against a large group of opponents as for Kali, her hearing will be able to help us plan better according to what is said at the Opera House."

Edward who had suggested the idea had not elaborated but Joe had rushed to do so right afterwards anyway for everyone. At his words, Kali and Mysie both frowned totally aware of what it meant. Everyone else was but the Sailing Master, the Master of Arms who had spoken, stared at their Captain, unmoving, waiting for her reaction knowing full well it would take more to scare her.

"Interesting~ You see me alone stealing the map from the Kokosnuss mansion while you take care of Achi and the auction, right ? Pffhahahaha~ as enticing and exciting as that idea is...I wouldn't go alone."

Obviously this idea was far from scaring her even quite the opposite but Hestia had something else planned and this was the perfect time. Since leaving Coven Island, she had never seen Douggy and Buggy in action and this was what she wanted to see. Turning to the two brothers who were straightening up all stressed out, she looked right into their eyes as she stated what she had decided.

"You two are going to come with me and show me what you are really capable of since I have not had the honor of witnessing your determination. Five for the auction and three for the Lord's mansion sounds good doesn't it ?"

"Aye Captain !"

"We will follow you !"

A smile appeared on Douggy and Buggy's faces as they responded with palpable joy and excitement. Ever since what had happened on the merchant ship, that desire they had felt when they met Hestia had only grown. This sadism, this cruelty that she was showing made them vibrate and confirmed the fact that they wanted to continue to follow her and serve her with unfailing loyalty.

"Oh my~ these are good boys I have here~ so it's decided ! We'll split into two groups to get what we want before we set sail. We'll take the opportunity to examine this famous map my mother is talking about and find out what young Koko has that is so special fufu~ Lucas, the map you brought is just a part of the world isn't it ?"

As crazy as it sounds, after growing up far away from everything the Cerberus crew didn't know much about the world around them. Of course they knew what it looked like and the main continents that ruled it, but they didn't know much about it. The politics, the strategic passages, the laws, the functioning, the Navy...all this was unknown and sailing blind for pirates was synonymous with death.

The sooner they learned about the world, the easier it would be for them to adapt and avoid making mistakes that could have been avoided. One of the maps Lucas and Kali had retrieved showed the western part of the world where they were divided into four. It was far more detailed than what they had been used to seeing on Coven Island and the idea of unlocking all of its secrets was irresistible.

"Yes that's right, currently we are in the western part of the world consisting of three large continents and a multitude of different islands sometimes still unexplored. Also called "Nations of the Western Seas" because it has the particularity of having three territories under different regimes. The northernmost continent where we are is a Royalty while the southwestern continent is a Republic. 

"What about the third continent in the southeast ?"

"Well that's a bit of a blur, it's divided into several territories with different regimes and policies which I guess we’ll have to find out on the spot. However, if there is one continent that everyone in the world recognizes it is the Republic one, the one owned by the Navy since they are the global forces in charge of cleaning up the seas."

The three continents Lucas had just mentioned were indeed present on the map as well as plenty of other islands of varying sizes forming the Western Seas Nations. With the details they now had on where they were, it was easier to plan a route. Since the Hysterics were going to leave Belfort City in a hurry, they had to find somewhere to go while they waited for Lord Hamilton's map to be deciphered.

"The sea lion symbol you see here is the Navy symbol they fly around the world and the raven symbol is the Royalty symbol of the northern continent. If we sail southeast towards the more or less neutral continent, we would arrive in a small town that is a week away. There we can plan our journey to the mysterious island and even leave Achi there if she proves to be useless."

"Mmmh~"

At the words Kali had spoken, Hestia straightened up, raising an eyebrow impressed by the aplomb her Quartermaster was displaying at that very moment. The young woman with the coffee-colored eyes had straightened her head and was now looking at her Captain without the slightest trace of fear. She hadn't even realized it, but at that moment she was no longer blushing and seemed to have forgotten what had prevented her from looking at her only a few minutes ago. 

"As Sailing Master I confirm what Kali told you, Captain. From what I could see by looking at the map for a few minutes, the small town of Gaze would be perfect. It's independent and due to the huge forest surrounding it, I don't think many people are inclined to go near it to the left of the creatures.

Smiling, Hestia didn't need to say another word as she preferred to silently enjoy the change her crew was experiencing in front of her. Of course there were things they couldn't foresee and would have to see in the moment, but the main plan had been put into place. Never had she felt so confident and supported as Mysie broke the silence once again.

"Huuum...just to be sure, reassure me Captain, you're not planning to enter the mansion through the front door, are you ?"

"Hahahaha~ although it's very tempting indeed, I'll do my best to make sure we're as discreet as possible~ In we go, out we go...simple fufu~"

"Mmmh..."

At this moment none of the Hysterics were convinced by the words of the golden-haired Captain especially since she herself was not convinced either. Yet the roles had been divided and each one was going to have to trust the others no matter what might happen on this night. They did not know it yet but everything was not going to happen as planned but one thing was sure, they were not going to stop in front of anything to succeed in their objectives.  

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[N/A : For the official picture of Belfort and the map of the Western Seas see you on discord but I give you at least the functioning of the weeks in the world of Hestia (more or less the same as IRL with some slight changes). I think it can help so I leave that here :