"Quiet."
Silas glared at Anderson, the dangerous meaning contained within making the other man quickly shut his mouth.
With a helpless expression, he closed his eyes and felt the situation inside his body.
"Swoosh!"
Almost instantly, he sensed the key. It was near his heart, right next to Mr. A's slot, quietly suspended as if it had originally been one of his organs.
It really did enter my body.
Silas grimaced inwardly.
Can I take it out?
The next moment, as his thought shifted, the black key immediately appeared in his palm.
The key floated in his hand, spinning a few circles before finally pointing in a fixed direction, like a compass.
Good thing I can take it out.
Silas thought with relief.
Can this thing still be handed over to the Queen?
Should be able to, right?
Might as well try.
"Come here and hold this key."
Silas said to Anderson.
"No way."
Anderson shook his head violently.
He wasn't an idiot.
That key had just been glowing, playing music, and speaking in a strange language he'd never heard before.
Based on the information he'd learned at the Church of Knowledge, that thing was definitely some extremely dangerous item.
Just touching it might produce terrible consequences!
"What if I say 'please'?"
Silas emphasized his tone.
Anderson hesitated. He looked at Silas, then at the key, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
"...Then I suppose I have to help you."
His smile was very forced.
Then this Sequence 5 Hunter carefully extended his hand and reached for the black key.
And his hand passed right through it.
"I can't touch it."
Anderson said with a broad smile, "What a shame, I couldn't help you."
Silas glared at this guy, then crouched down and tossed the key onto the beach.
Then he turned and walked into the distance.
One step, two steps, three steps...
Silas suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A hard sensation came from his palm. With some expectation, he looked down and, sure enough, saw the black key lying in his hand.
What the hell kind of thing is this? Auto-return within ten meters of separation?
Silas thought helplessly.
He really admired Roselle.
Truly worthy of someone who'd been the "Knowledge Emperor." The things he made were impressive, with built-in binding that couldn't even be canceled!
But the "King of the Black Throne" was pursuing this key. Would this result mean he'd be constantly hunted?
Come to think of it, the "King of the Black Throne" wants this key so badly. Could it be because the ship's name matches his title so well?
And this key belonged to the Queen's father. Would she also be displeased with him because of this?
The worst outcome would be simultaneously offending two pirate kings.
Silas didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
As for the only benefit, that would be the "Black Throne" that Roselle mentioned.
In the diary entries Kline had provided him, this ship had been mentioned.
Roselle had once piloted it, leading Green, Edwards, and others to explore the Misty Sea.
But the results of that exploration and more detailed information about the ship weren't recorded in the diary entries he'd obtained so far.
However, judging from the tone in Roselle's remaining voice message, that proud manner of speaking, this ship must be something special.
It definitely wasn't an ordinary vessel!
Since the key couldn't be removed, Silas could only try to cheer himself up and accept the situation.
He observed that the key always pointed in one direction, and immediately guessed that was likely where the "Black Throne" was located.
He just didn't know how far the actual distance was. If it happened to be in the Misty Sea, he'd have to cross half the Five Seas to get there.
Silas extended his spirituality into the key, trying to obtain more information.
Unfortunately, the key gave no further feedback.
Come on, Roselle, are you reliable or not? You only know how to insert meaningless music, but the features that really should be added are completely absent.
Silas silently grumbled about his fellow transmigrator predecessor.
He tried a few more methods and finally confirmed that, for now, there was no way to contact the Black Throne.
What a shame.
He shook his head with slight regret.
Putting this matter aside, Silas began considering what to do next.
His main objective was undoubtedly advancement.
Although he'd gotten separated from the Queen, having finally arrived in these waters, he absolutely couldn't easily give up this opportunity.
After all, he could still communicate with the Queen through dreams—provided she hadn't turned against him.
In that case, he had to leave this island and continue exploring the God War ruins.
Which meant he needed a ship.
The problem was, it was basically impossible for a ship to pass by here.
And if a ship really did come, he'd have to worry about whether it was Barros in disguise.
Where can I get a ship?
Silas pondered for a long time.
He'd considered whether to use "Travel" to return to Backlund, buy a ship there, then bring the ship back here via "Travel."
But first, "Travel" might not be able to transport something so heavy, and second, using the precious and rare "Travel" ability for this seemed somewhat wasteful.
"Travel" had been "recorded" by the Scribe characteristic that Mr. A had shepherded. After Silas had used it several times, only three uses remained.
What a hassle. If only I could capture and shepherd a lamb that could use "Travel."
Silas shook his head at the thought.
But if that method wouldn't work, surely he couldn't really do as Anderson suggested and build a dugout canoe together, could he?
Unless someone from the outside world could send him one, but that was completely impossible... Wait?
There is a way to contact the outside world and transmit things!
Through sacrifice to Mr. Fool!
Silas's body trembled, surprise flashing in his eyes.
He just needed to go through Mr. Fool and have other members from the outside send a ship over!
[Justice], who had connections at home, [The Hanged Man] and [The World] Klein, who were at sea, were all excellent candidates!
But that brought up a new problem.
There was a witness here: Anderson.
Praying to The Fool in front of him would expose himself.
Directly obtaining a ship through a sacrifice ritual would be a truly spectacular display.
This sharp guy would definitely sense something wrong and discover something.
Use hypnosis to control him?
Or shepherd him?
Neither seemed quite right. Hypnosis might not work on a Sequence 5, and while he could kill him, he still needed to borrow his sailing knowledge.
Might as well make him an accomplice.
Have him pray to The Fool!
After finishing his thoughts, Silas looked up at Anderson.
"What now?"
The latter shrank his neck warily, seeming to sense Silas's ill intentions.
"Want to leave this place?"
Silas asked with a smile.
"...Yeah?"
Anderson looked at him with an odd expression, not understanding why he was asking such an obvious question.
"I have a way to get a ship."
"That's great, we can—"
"But to obtain this ship, we need to perform a ritual and pray to a certain deity."
"Not one of the Seven Gods?"
"No."
Silas said calmly, "That great existence is called [The Fool]."
"The Fool?"
Anderson's eyelid twitched sharply.
"That's right. As long as you believe in The Fool, you can gain salvation."
Like some bizarre cult leader, Silas spoke bewitching words to him.