How High Is A Pirate Head?

In the dining hall, Rei and the old man had already arrived first for dinner. But unlike Rei who just had a few bites, the captain had already started scooping up his third roast from the table. Rei almost called him tacky, but he doesn't seem to be in a position to say that considering he used to be like that too.

And besides that, his mind was already preoccupied with other things. "Mr. Bishop…?" Rei muttered for the umpteenth time, still feeling awkward when he finally heard the captain's name. "Feels like I've ever heard--"

But before he could voice his suspicions, the sound of footsteps from the corridor caught his attention first. His other two guests of course.

"Wow!" As soon as she saw that there was a lot of food on the table, Feny ran over immediately. But oppositely, Aria seemed to be walking very slowly because Julia managed to persuade her to wear high heels earlier. She even almost died from falling down the stairs just now!

Even though Aria's plebeian demeanor was not noticed by Rei or the captain at all because her figure looked more fascinating. She's so different from the woman they had seen all day today!

That orange dress with some strap accents certainly looks good on her. And as if there was a special light, her face also looked brighter than before. Moreover, her black hair is flowing smoothly and decorated with a new hair clip in the shape of an orange butterfly.

"Wow, Miss Aria! You look so pretty! Prettier than any noble I've ever seen!" Praise Mr. Bishop instantly.

"I know, right? Even earlier, the maids suddenly got enthusiastic when they dressed her." Said Feny too.

Still being careful about her shoes, Aria just laughed softly. "You guys are exaggerating. I must have just looked really dirty this afternoon." She replied bitterly before finally sitting down at the dining table.

Sobering himself, Rei was about to eat his food again. But for some reason he suddenly caught that both Mr. Bishop and Feny were looking at him with a protesting look and gesticulating their hands silently while pointing at Aria.

But with an annoyed face, Rei only glanced at Aria quickly. "Eat a lot. We'll have to discuss things later." He said curtly.

And before Aria could say anything, his gaze had immediately shifted to Mr. Bishop again. "By the way, how long do you usually stay in town?"

"Usually it's only a day or two. But since we're in the capital, we usually stay a few days longer to sell and find some new stuff." Answer Mr. Bishop. "Why? Do you think Feny and I can stay here a little longer?" He asked again which was more like an inducement.

Rei scowled displeasedly since that wasn't why he asked that, but then he replied "Well, I do have an empty house near the hill if you want--"

"Really?! Did you hear that, Feny?! He wants to give us a house!"

"Ahem! Rent!" Rei corrected quickly. "I won't ask for any money, but I will need help with some things."

"Hey! My dad doesn't kill people anymore." Feny objected first.

Feeling dejavu, Rei let out a little sigh. "I know, I know. It's not that." He said. "For starters, I just need you guys to accompany her when she meets Loir tomorrow, the tall man from earlier. I need to do something else tomorrow." He continued while pointing at Aria.

"M-Me? Why? Because I need to visit that pirate?"

"That too. But what's more important is that you need to demand the reward for Irigen's head." Replied Rei.

"They tend to be stingy sometimes, and unfortunately I'm not sure you can complain much if that happens…" He continued with a judgmental expression. "So I thought the experienced merchant might help in such a situation."

"Reward…" Aria muttered quietly, who just realized that pirates like Irigen usually have a price tag around their neck.

Although on the other hand, both Feny and Mr. Bishop were silent for a moment while glancing at each other with meaningful eyes and lips that forced them not to smile. "Ahem. Unhandsome brother, you can't deceive me and my father." Feny suddenly talked with a made up mature voice.

"We know the reward for that dreadlock is high. Unless you're willing to give half of the reward to us, we won't help." Feny said.

Rei seemed to expect it, but Aria, who knows nothing needed to ask first. "How high is the reward…?"

"If my memory serves me right, 100 gold coins."

"Wha--" Surprised, Aria's mouth widened. "That many??" She asked in disbelief. She had heard that the price of a pirate's head was high, but she never thought that Irigen's head would be worth that much.

Even though on the other hand, Rei didn't seem to mind that much. "Fine. You may even take all of it." He says relaxedly. "As long as you also make sure that Loir doesn't bother her and bombards her with a mountain of questions, let alone asking her out."

"Agree!" Said the captain directly. "We will be her personal guards tomorrow!"

"W-Wait, I need some more explanation." Interrupted Aria.

Even though the guy being protested instead took his last bite and wiped his mouth then stood up. "Meet me at the library when you're done." He said. "Take her there later." He added again to Julia who was also there.

"B-But…" Aria wanted to stop him. But since it seemed like she couldn't, she decided to put back her knife and spoon to the table as well.

Although before she could catch up to him, Aria immediately fell to the floor because she had forgotten what monstrous shoes she was wearing. "Ow!"

"Miss Aria! Are you okay?" Asked Julia who immediately approached her. "I'm so sorry. This is because I forced you to wear these shoes…"

"No, I'm fine. I just need--"

"Tsk, I really can't believe you." Said Rei who turned back. And without saying anything first, he just squatted down and took off the sharp shoes from Alisa's feet and threw them away.

And while he was pulling her up, he glanced sharply at the maid beside Aria. "You're fired." He said. Although rather than the maid, the panicked one was actually Aria again.