-258- Aftermath and a girl?

Noxian Calendar, 985th Year, August 4th

The people of Bilgewater vividly remembered the exact time the battle of the gods occurred, down to every second. It had been twenty-one days since then. Now, the borders of Ionia, abandoned due to Noxian invasion, welcomed an unexpected "newcomer."

Driven by Linwin's intentional manipulation, Bilgewater had drifted "unintentionally" close to Ionia and settled there. Bilgewater now occupied the southernmost waters of Ionia, known for two notable islands: the circular Island with the Temple of Pallas and the deserted Sodaro, once inhabited by monks.

Due to various factors, Bilgewater was now divided into two islands, east and west. Influenced by the battle of the gods, Bilgewater had undergone a rebirth, growing larger and more fortified than before. Despite the island still being divided into upper and lower tiers, the reshuffling of power had occurred due to many deaths in the war.

Amidst these significant changes, the most pressing issue for Bilgewater now was its increased poverty. Fortunately, they had someone to help them.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, ships continuously docked at the temporary port built on Bilgewater's west side. Observers might notice that these pirate ships weren't carrying money and food but rather large chunks of stone and timber salvaged from nearby abandoned islands. Bilgewater aimed to rebuild its home.

However, while the locals worked on construction, they also tore down some intact buildings. These structures, once esteemed for their Bilgewater style, were now being dismantled one by one.

Of course, Sarah, known as Miss Fortune, a powerful pirate queen, didn't engage in such labor. She was the boss, after all.

With Plank missing again, Bilgewater could be said to be leaderless. Or maybe not. The new leader wasn't a king but a queen.

Given her good relations with Graves and Twisted, nobody dared to offend Sarah, especially with ties to Twin Cities.

The enforcers from Zaun, or rather, Twin Cities, were even more terrifying than imagined. Sarah's relationship with their leader was also good. So, once Bilgewater stabilized, Sarah would undoubtedly be its new ruler, the true ruler.

She would become the empress of Bilgewater.

All Bilgewater residents believed this, especially since that man assigned her many tasks, including managing Bilgewater in the future, seemed to be one of them?

At this moment, the beautiful new queen of Bilgewater lazily sat in a newly constructed tavern, still filled with various odors. Sarah leaned against the bar, savoring her drink.

Sarah diligently fulfilled all the tasks Linwin requested. His power was one reason, saving her was another, but more importantly, it was about working with Linwin. Sarah could gain a lot from him.

But it was ridiculous. Such a powerful guy, facing someone weak like herself, proposed cooperation instead of giving orders?

If Sarah had the strength of Linwin Lorant, she would have long dominated Bilgewater. Although she wouldn't consolidate her position with violence like Plank, she wouldn't hesitate to act when necessary. So, she found it hard to understand Linwin Lorant. Why was he so polite to her?

Originally, Sarah thought he might be trying to woo her. After all, her body was quite attractive, and Sarah was well aware of it.

But something that happened later made Sarah realize she had completely overthought it.

With that in mind, Miss Fortune sighed softly, looking at her deputy beside her, Sarah whispered, "Rafen, do you think we'll have a chance to meet again?"

"Meet again? With who?" Rafen blinked, wiping glasses. This tavern had just been built recently, and it was easy for dust and dirt to fall from the stone and wood. After staying here for a while, one would get covered in dust. Therefore, the glasses needed frequent wiping; otherwise, when poured with liquor and shaken, it would be mud wine. But now, every place in Bilgewater was like this.

The island's construction projects were in full swing.

"Who else could it be? Of course, Linwin Lorant," Sarah put down the glass, turning to look at her first mate, whispering softly.

"Um, Captain, wait a minute. I mean, are you thinking because Mr. Linwin saved you and you want to...?" Rafen blinked, looking at Sarah's expression, contemplating whether to continue speaking.

If he continue talking like this, he'll definitely....

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do I look like such a naive person?" Sarah looked at Rafen's hesitant expression and gave him a disdainful look, propping her chin elegantly. She whispered, "And even if I were, he doesn't see me that way."

Rafen scrutinized Sarah, finding her words lacking credibility coming from such an extraordinary beauty. Their captain, Miss Fortune, was undoubtedly a rare beauty on Runeterra, yet she claimed Linwin Lorant didn't have any interest in her?

Could he be blind?

Rafen pondered, finding it implausible, but then it dawned on him.

"Is he already married?"

"From what Graves mentioned, no, but he does have a partner now," Sarah recalled what Graves had said and gestured with two fingers. "He has two actually."

"So what?" Rafen grinned. "For someone as powerful as him, ten or twenty wouldn't be too much, so what's two?"

"He doesn't see me in his eyes. When that blue-haired girl is around him, you've seen it, he dotes on her a lot."

Sarah recalled an incident from ten days ago.

When the people from Twin Cities were leaving, Linwin specifically came to meet her, accompanied by that girl. Sarah remembered it was about Ionia, hoping she could help him, but he came with that girl.

Hah, Sarah recalled the scene and smiled faintly.

Powder was indeed a cute girl.

Sarah liked her personality, unashamedly expressing her affection for Linwin. She was a beautiful girl who wasn't shy about her feelings, which suited Sarah's taste.

While Linwin talked to her, the girl jumped on his back, covered his eyes with her hands, and shouted, "No!! Linwin, you're not allowed to look at her!"

"Listen to me, having it this big is not scientifically possible. I've researched it thoroughly, Linwin, it must be fake! FAKE!!" Powder exclaimed. "And, and if you want to look, you should look at mine instead. I'll grow to be as big as hers one day!"

At first, Sarah couldn't understand what she was saying, but when she realized it, she almost burst out laughing. Of course, she wanted to laugh, but she also felt a bit angry.

Fake? They are definitely real!

Her chest was genuine, not fake! If she wanted to check, Sarah wouldn't mind letting her touch.

But... saying that she could grow that big?

Heheh....

It's not that Sarah was malicious or sarcastic, but looking at her tiny bumps, Sarah really felt like it was just wishful thinking.

In her lifetime, maybe that size is already the limit.

It's nice actually, you can save fabric and it's easier to move around.

As Sarah reminisced about the incident, her smile grew wider.

Seeing Sarah's smile, Rafen thought she agreed with him and quickly continued, "So what? Compared to you, she's far less charming. You can give it a try, and if you succeed, we don't need to worry about future problems anymore."

"You've seen it, the people of Bubru were defeated by them, even Bearded Lady lost half of her tentacles and fled."

"If we ride with him, then maybe we could even go after Noxus...."

"Rafen, I think you need to control yourself from now on," Sarah suddenly straightened up, looking at Rafen seriously.

"Huh? Control myself? Wait, Captain, haven't we always been like this?" Rafen asked, puzzled.

Sarah nodded, seriously saying, "Yes, that's right, but Rafen, that was before. Before, we were a group of pirates, and we could do whatever we wanted. We were lawless, robbing this merchant ship today, that merchant ship tomorrow. If we didn't like someone, we'd shoot them in the head because we were pirates. Pirates don't follow rules. But now, we pirates are Bilgewater people under the Twin Cities Federation."

"From the words of that tall, skinny, somewhat intimidating man, soon all the countries in the world will know about this, know that Bilgewater has become part of the Twin Cities Federation, and in the future, our every move represents the will of Twin Cities."

"Have you forgotten his words? He hopes we can shed our pirate identity and become their navy, the navy of Twin Cities." Sarah recalled the seemingly elegant, slow-speaking, gentle man, sending shivers down her spine.

Linwin was powerful, so powerful that Sarah felt like a beautiful insect in front of him. If he wanted to, he could crush her with a finger. But... the pressure from that guy named Silco was even greater.

Perhaps it's because Linwin is a kind person, or maybe it's because he has good intentions, but whenever that man named Silco "reminds" herself, even though he's just standing there speaking gently, Sarah always feels like he's holding a knife to her throat.

Thinking about this, Sarah spoke up, "Do you want to have another 'conversation' with that man?"

"Uh," Rafen paused, shaking his head.

He's a more dangerous person than Plank.

At the age of over forty, from Rafen's perspective, having seen all kinds of people on Bilgewater Island, that guy is like a cold poisonous snake.

Yes, just like the captain said, the situation is different now. Bilgewater, it's no longer the lawless place it used to be.

Now, Bilgewater's wolves are shackled and have become the watchdogs of Twin Cities.

It's a harsh statement, but it's the truth.

And most Bilgewater people support this, they're happy to integrate into Twin Cities.

Because the people who come to Bilgewater are those who have committed crimes or are fleeing debts and persecution.

They are people who come to Bilgewater to survive.

The islanders like adventure, but no one wants to live in a dirty, chaotic place. If there's a chance for a better life, who would want to live a worse one?

And now, Twin Cities wants to lead them into the light.

"Alright, let's leave this topic at that."

Seeing Rafen understand, Sarah waved her hand and casually said, "I want to see him because I want to gain more benefits from him."

"We're broke now, and our only Hextech station has been destroyed."

"Ah, about that, they seem to be sending people to rebuild next month, and then we can use the Hextech phone to communicate with them," Rafen said, putting his hand to his ear.

"Uh, good news. And what about Ionia? It's about time our people have reached that island, right? Linwin values that place highly."

"Speaking of that place... Captain, our people have already returned this morning."

Sarah opened her mouth in surprise, "So they've found information this quickly?"

"I think you'll be disappointed," Rafen shook his head, recalling those guys and their nonsense. Rafen's mouth twitched.

Looking at Sarah, he said, "They first went to Raikkon , then crossed the mountains to Zhyunia, and finally asked the locals, took a boat to Vlonqo, a mountain very close to Navori. Along the way, they saw many Ionians with strange clothing. Captain, there were many people, and the place was particularly large."

"Okay, then what?" Sarah asked eagerly. "Did they see Irelia, as Linwin said she should be in Navori now?"

"Our people only made it to Vlonqo."

Rafen slapped his forehead, sighing as he looked at Sarah, "Then they were chased back by the locals and suffered serious injuries. If they hadn't been wearing ragged clothes, they might have been killed by now."

"What happened?"

"It was a girl, a girl who looked no more than sixteen."

"She alone, in the stone forest, defeated them and left with a warning."

Sarah's expression immediately turned sour. A group of armed people was severely injured there, and she thought...

"So Rafen, what you're telling me is, my most elite dozen or so men were defeated by a teenage native of Ionia?"

"But that's the truth, Captain."

Rafen shrugged, "It's happened, and it's no use getting angry at me."

"I wasn't planning on getting angry at you."

"Well that's good to know."

Rafen laughed.

Then, as if remembering something, he exclaimed.

"Oh, she also mentioned her name."

"Akali, her name is Akali. She said if we want revenge, she's ready anytime, but if we meet again, she won't show mercy."

"Heheh....."