- POV General -

*BOOM*

"WHAT TH-...??"

In the Captain's room, Hestia was asleep on the bed when she was startled awake by a loud noise followed by a big jolt that almost made her fall. She didn't understand what had happened, putting away the hunting knife that she had taken out by reflex. Glancing out the window the young woman saw the sea but also slightly hidden in a corner, the mainland under the appearance of a black sand beach.

"Oh bloody hell, what the fuck ?"

Pulling on her boots, putting on her shirt, coat and tricorn as fast as she could, Hestia rushed out of her cabin determined to find out what was going on. Had they finally reached the city of Gaze ? The scenery was nothing like a city and looked more like a wild island at first glance. Nearly destroying the door, the Captain finally came out and ordered everyone to gather on the deck.

"All hands hoay, scrappy cockroaches !"

"AYE !!!"

Soon Mysie was jumping out of the crow's nest with a rope, Edward, Lucas, Buggy and Douggy were letting go of the ropes, Kali was coming out of the hold and Joe was leaving the helm. They all ran to the sound of her voice without waiting for her, and stood in front of her to greet their Captain. Achi, with her head turned upside down against the mast, was obviously also shaken by this sudden landing as she rushed to the rail to vomit while Hestia spoke.

"What the fuck is going on ? Quartermaster, explain to me, where are we ?"

"Captain, we have finally arrived on the neutral southern continent and have made our way as planned to the city of Gaze. However, several miles off the coast Mysie has spotted a small cove where we could dock instead of going directly to the city's port. It is just behind the cliffs at I would say about 15 minutes walk from the forest, needless to say I take full responsibility for this decision."

Thanks to Kali's explanation, Hestia now had a better understanding of why she hadn't woken up directly in the city of Gaze. After what had happened in Belfort City it was indeed best to be discreet and if the opportunity to land on the mainland discreetly presented itself, it should be seized. Adopting an air a little less cold and authoritarian, the Captain relaxed slowly reassured that no unforeseen event had occurred during her sleep.

"Excellent decision, Kali, you did well. So we've arrived..."

Without further ado, Hestia then moved to the starboard rail to untie a rope that was strung there from the main mast. The next second, she was carried away by the rope, which was wrapped around a pulley and pulled her at high speed towards the crow's nest. Letting go of the rope once she reached the top, the young blonde woman landed on the yardarm as always to observe what was in front of her.

It was quite fast since there was only a forest as far as the eye could see on top of a cliff just above the closed beach forming the cove thanks to the two cliffs that surrounded it. It was not going to be easy to reach the forest and thus the city, but they could already consider themselves lucky to be out of sight. While she was still scanning the horizon carefully, Hestia's eyes fell on a shape, straight ahead, almost hidden by the trees.

"There's a shack or at least a small wooden house in the distance, the walls look a bit dilapidated but it still looks usable. Are there people there ? It looks deserted to me..."

"Ah yes I've been watching it with the telescope since I spotted the mainland, to me it's also abandoned but for what reason that I don't know."

Mysie had appeared having climbed for the rope ladder before jumping into the crow's nest too clumsy to climb the yardarm and not fall. 

"We'll find out soon enough, no time to dawdle."

"Eh ? W-We're going to town ? Now ?"

"Time to get everything ready and we're off to Gaze indeed to visit and buy everything we need before we go to the nameless island. But don't get me wrong, we're also going there to enjoy and why not have a drink fufu~"

Not giving Mysie time to respond, Hestia winked at her before lifting her tricorn in salute and jumping down to return to the deck. Every time she did this, the young redhead felt as if her heart would stop. Rushing to the edge of the crow's nest, she could see her Captain smiling mischievously from below causing her cheeks to swell up in a cute way.

"Sigh... so Hestia after all haha~"

Sighing, Mysie leaned against the end of the mast, letting a hand slip over her heart after the little scare she had just had. Looking up at the sky, playing with her hair, an innocent and radiant smile appearing on her face, Mysie thought about everything they had been through. It had been almost a month now since she and her friends had left Coven Island and she now felt so far from home.

"Gaze, huh ? I wonder what else we'll find out there..."

The excitement was still high though, especially when it came to seeing a whole bunch of new things and learning more about their mysterious world. Everything was moving so fast now in their lives, everything was so intense and filled with adrenaline but that was the pirate life. Little did the Cerberus bard know, however, that they were all about to have an encounter that would change their Captain.

______

"Wow, the living room is pretty big, the kitchen is still in good shape, the shower room too and upstairs there are four bedrooms with sheets and beds. Why is this house empty ? It looks like the owners left in a hurry..."

After two hours of preparations, the Hysterics had finally arrived at the very top of the cliff they had seen from the ship through a hidden passage in the rock. They were now all partly in the wooden house and discovered with amazement its impractical and unlivable condition. Yet the craziest thing was knowing that something must have happened but they didn't know what until Achi explained.

"Well I know I was asleep during my political geography lessons but you don't know anything about the neutral continent do you ?"

"Oh and what is there to know, Lady Von Kokosnuss ?"

Everyone then turned to the young noblewoman who was sitting on the stairs and who had made this rather interesting comment. For the crew who had never left Coven Island, this was all new and they were discovering the world little by little as they explored it. So, as a young Lady, what Achi had learned in 15 years of existence was far more than all their years combined and multiplied by 100.

"Give me some gold coins for the work done on the ship and I'll tell you."

Seeing this as an opportunity to scrape together some money, the greedy brat crossed her arms and smiled mischievously feeling herself grow wings. For the first time, she felt like she had some leverage against those pirates who spent their time teasing her. Achi finally saw a way to get back at them by blackmailing them, but that was without counting their Captain who obviously never let herself be blackmailed.

"Or I can also show you how crazy I am to make you talk, kiddo fufu~"

"Hiiiissss~"

Hestia had pulled out her black blade and pointed it right at the girl's throat with a crazy smile that she now knew very well after five days. Achi didn't know if the young woman in front of her was joking or not and didn't want to tempt the Devil herself. So it is by raising both hands with an air of excitement to have seen her plan fall apart that the young noble consented to explain without counterpart.

"I-It's okay I was joking and my name is not kiddo you beautiful bitch !"

"HAHAHAHA sure thing, kiddo~ Now tell us"

"Sigh...well I've never left Belfort City since I was born but like any noble girl I was educated on a little bit of everything. The Neutral Continent is called as such because it is not under any general authority like the other two. Here the countries are all different and have their own laws, each crazier than the next which makes it a much more hostile land."

"..."

"Dangerous creatures are more numerous here, crime too depending on the country and its rulers if they are some. Gaze is part of the land called Dolund and is a city with no real power figure, being a land where anyone can settle."

"Mmmmh, but then there must be an awful lot of crime"

"Yes and no. Yes because there is no military power set up and no because people aren't crazy like you to make these lands go into anarchy. People take justice into their own hands when necessary and possible but otherwise they opt for a verbal non-aggression pact."

The description Achi had just given suddenly reminded Hestia of the island where she was born and raised: Coven Island. There it was the law of the strongest, but coming from pirate families, the crimes never went as far as murder or serious acts. The more she had listened, the more eager the Captain was to discover this new city that would perhaps remind them of where they came from as Achi finished.

"Abandoned properties like this one don't surprise me, the house is far from the city, almost surrounded by forest and close to a cliff. The owners must have...fled a raid of wild beasts, bandits or whatever...brrrr I hope I don't run into any."

"It's decided let's settle down too for the time we're going to stay in Gaze ! It's far from the city, discreet, hunting is possible and good encounters too hehehe~"

At the young noblewoman's words, Hestia's eyes began to glow with an intense gleam at the thought of being able to do one of the things she loved most: hunting. Before she became a Captain, her job was to hunt all kinds of wild animals and creatures, which quickly made her the best hunter in the village. This had also earned her the nickname huntress, hunting both beasts and women.

"Buggy, Douggy my cuties, you will stay on the ship, Kali, Mysie and Lucas go around and try to bring our new animals here. After five days at sea they must want to step on land, if they don't run away then they will stay with us. Ed, Joe, Achi, you three come with me for a first scouting of the town, then we'll all go back together for a little rest and fun."

"AYE CAPTAIN !"

"Oh and Lucas, Mysie, Kali... I entrust you Loki and Azeil for the scouting of the surroundings if something unexpected happens they will know how to help you without any doubt"

Having received the answer she wanted and said all she had to say, Hestia finally turned on her heels, clicking her boots on the wooden floor. Her cloak floated behind her, the feathers of her tricorn too, which went perfectly with the confident face she was wearing. Achi was in total admiration despite herself, the girls had their hearts beating wildly and the boys were smiling at this scene that they found very cool indeed.

It was decided, this house would be their home temporarily and now that everyone knew what to do, everyone could go about their business.

____

After having crossed the forest carefully for 20 minutes, the group of four finally arrived in the city of Gaze which was quite different from Belfort City. The streets were not made of stone cobblestones but of dry earth, the houses were mostly made of wood and beggars were everywhere. Yet it was a fairly large city, neither poor nor rich, made up of a little bit of everything proving its diversity as Achi had mentioned.

Some passers-by were dressed rather simply and others a little more elegantly walking through the streets without giving a single glance to the others. What immediately shocked the hooded pirates was the large number of slaves walking down the street. Recognizable by their iron collars, they were all working for their master, pacing the streets like extinct souls or puppets trained to obey.

"If there is one thing common to the whole world it is the slave trade because of the prices that can be as low as 10 pieces of silver. Anyone today can own a slave even though when they are sold for nothing its generally because of their physical and mental state."

Achi who had understood the astonishment of Hestia, Joe and Edward had quickly explained what she knew especially since her father was trading them. Continuing without really knowing where they were going, the group observed and tried to locate stores that could be useful for them later. Then suddenly, while everything seemed normal, the voice of a little boy followed by his cries called out to the three pirates and the young noblewoman.

"G-GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK ! *Cough cough* W-Without...without it my mother will get hit again ! I...I have to protect her and if I don't bring anything back, b-by my fault...she...she"

"Then come and get it hahahaha~ come and get it or give up you slave vermin !"

In an alley a little further down, a little boy with blond hair and light blue, almost white eyes was being bullied. He was about 7 years old, which was hard to tell since he was skinny, shivering, dirty and dressed in rags, which was not surprising considering his status. Like most of the people here, he was wearing an iron collar around his neck, which explained the violence of the man in front of him and the lack of reaction of the passers-by.

The little slave was being beaten by a tall, muscular man who seemed to be enjoying the scene after apparently stealing a single silver coin from him. It wasn't much, not even anything, but to a poor, possessed little boy, that little coin could mean his life. That's why he tried desperately to get it back despite his weakness only to receive a violent slap on the face.

*SLAP*

"AAARG !!!"

"Give up you dirty slave and go back to your master like a good dog hahahahaha~"

His face was swollen, blue from the many blows, he could pass out at any moment, almost not standing on his shaking legs. Looking at him, Hestia wondered how he even managed not to collapse after what he had taken. Then, shaking her head knowing they had other things to do, the Captain was about to continue on her way when suddenly the little boy's words froze her in place.

"E-Even if I have to die I won't give up ! A-And I can't die, my...my mother needs me *COUGH COUGH* I won't...give up !"

"Then die for a silver coin, that's all your miserable life is worth !"

The man who was tired of playing was determined to kill him no matter who he belonged to, forming a fist with his hand ready to bring it down on the little boy. He was shaking and had received enough blows in his life to know that he was left not to get up after this one. No matter how brave he had been so far, the little slave was still a child who also feared death, closing his eyes out of instinct unable to move, terrified.

*BAM*

Yet, as the boy waited for the blow, it didn't come, replaced by the sound of a wall being broken, shaking the small alley. Hesitantly opening his eyes and still scared to death, he discovered his assailant with his nose blown off, fainting in front of a figure who had stepped in. The little slave was confused, he didn't understand what was going on as the mysterious person turned to him with his silver coin in her hand.

"Here kid, now go find your mother."

It was obviously Hestia who had decided to act on a whim somewhere touched by his determination and tenacity despite his condition and young age. The little boy still did not move, shocked by what had happened and unable to believe that all this was true. A stranger helping a mere slave ? For him it was impossible, as the young woman threw the coin in his direction, summoning him to get out of the way as soon as possible.

"Hey oh ? Get out of here before I steal you back."

The words of Hestia woke him up suddenly from his state of trance also caused by tiredness, pain, fear and anger. His vision was blurred, he couldn't even see his rescuer's face clearly but had heard her words. Bending down to pick up what belonged to him, before bowing respectfully as he had been taught and scooting away under the surprised gaze of Edward, Joe and Achi.

"I didn't think you would do anything, Captain."

"I don't care about other people's lives, kids are walking germs but there is one thing I do recognize and respect Joe, and that is courage. I can tell you that this kid has courage so I had to honor it exceptionally...nothing else"

"He had the same look on his face as you did at age ten when you came back from the forest after...after the trauma that awakened the first stage of your gift"

At the mention of this event that no one was talking about, Hestia raised her head to glare at her Sailing Master who had said too much. Yet he was not wrong, the young woman had for a moment left her insensitive side to come to the aid of this little slave who had reminded her who she was when she was younger. Not answering, indicating that the subject was closed, Hestia turned on her heels in silence, followed by the others, finally leaving the alley.