"Captain, do we need to inform him, the Count of Nehmor about this matter," Viper asked when they were the only ones left in the hall.
"It doesn't matter if we inform him or not, since he will come to know about it anyway from somewhere else, sooner or later... Don't worry about that man, he will not be able to order me around for long." Captain Torrento revealed as he sat comfortably in his chair thinking about his past.
Viper did not seem surprised. Instead, he reacted as he had already expected him to say this.
"And... what about the Seashell island?"
"... Like we discussed with the others, first we need to find out everything about this new Lord. The Merchant said that Alex Mordrake and his family were just some common villagers until a few months back living under the domain of the Dorbank family. This information was revealed to the public on the same day, Alex had executed Darren and Cole and declared himself as the new Lord of the Dorbank city. You see, it's hard for me to believe such nonsense and that is why I need to find out everything about him through our channel first. If he has someone strong backing him and we cannot offend that person then it's best we leave him alone."
"You are right. It almost seems like a fairy tale story to me too. We need to confirm everything about him first by ourselves but... if we find it the same as the Merchant has said then what? I know you want to get out from the shadow of that man and for you to do that you need to build your army and have a place to build a stronghold. Seashell island satisfies both the requirements as it is huge in landmass, maybe even bigger than the territory under the Count of Nehmor. Also, it has a huge population of people residing on it, making it easier for us to recruit people into our force if you ever siege the island in the future. As I had once told you in the past, the only place that can help us achieve our goal is that island."
Captain Torrento laughed as he said "Little brother, I'm aware of that Have I ever ignored your advice in the past. Seashell island with its untapped resources is indeed one of the important parts of our plan through which we can build a strong base helping us face that man in the future. From the time I knew him, Count of Nehmor had always wanted to increase his fiefdom's size which their family's ancestors had obtained with the title of the count from the king of their kingdom. And after the kingdom which he was part of disintegrated suddenly due to civil war, his ambition started growing more day by day. The Nobles that neighboured his territory also thought the same."
"Count of Nehmor knew he could not easily annex the territories of his neighbors so he set his eyes upon this archipelago of islands, particularly the Seashell island as it is the biggest of all the islands and has vast resources that his family could benefit heavily."
Taking another puff from his pipe, Captain Torrento continued "That's why he sent me here undercover so that I can do his work under the guise of a pirate and also build a force for him so that he can use it in the future himself."
"I have long since been fed up with him ordering me around all these years. Seashell Island was indeed a perfect place to build my force but its inhabitants were just as strong when I had come here. All these years I had waited for a perfect opportunity to strike and just when I found it, some outsiders with powerful backgrounds come swaggering in to interfere in my plans."
"But even those people were not successful in helping the Jordan family to rule the island instead some boy I don't know from where appears without our knowledge and conquers the whole island in just two days. I say this if I assume what the Merchant said before is true."
"Anyway, if what he said is true then we can expect this young Lord to have quite a powerful army since the feats he had managed to do was not something anyone could achieve in just two days. Viper, do you have any way through which we can make this boy and his army submit to us without battling him face to face or defeat him without damaging our forces too much."
"Captain, for that I would need to know about their overall strength. Let's wait till our guys bring back intel of him and his army. Only then can I decide on our future strategy" Viper shrugged his shoulders
"Hm, alright then. Let's wait for them to finish their work first."
...
Alex stood in front of Tom while still thinking about how to handle this delicate situation. Hank was waiting for him to say something that will put some sense into his friend while Tom acted like no one could make him change his decision.
Alex can not reveal the secret about his puppets even to his family and friends now, at least not anywhere in the near future. He could guess why Tom would fall in love with a prostitute. His mother was forced to work in the same line before out of the need to survive in this world and fill the stomach of her son.
"Tom, does that girl have the same feelings for you as you have for her," Alex asked after contemplating something.
Tom clearly hesitated for a moment.
"I... don't know. I mean, I think she does enjoy my company and I'm sure if I propose her then she will definitely agree."
"Oh, come on man. Her work is to make sure their customers feel loved. They act as your lover just so that you can keep coming back to their abode and pay more for their services." Hank said disagreeing
Tom glared at Hank but he didn't rebuke him as he too knew how that place worked. But in his heart, he still thinks that this girl... also likes him very much.
"He is right, Tom. It's their work to make sure that their customers keep coming back and spend more money on them. You see, I'll never think low of you no matter what type of girl you fall in love with or marry in the future as that is your life. It's entirely up to you how you want to live your life in the future or who you want to spend the rest of your life with. As for this girl, let's just go and ask her straightaway. If she is ready to accept your proposal then fine. I'll always support your choice but if you are just another customer for her then it's better you forget about her." Alex suggested at last.
"Let's go" Alex then turned to walk in the direction of the pleasure house as he wanted to deal with this matter as early as possible.
Hank too followed behind him quickly.
"What? Now!?" Tom asked bewildered.
"Yes, now. Do you want to come with us or not?" Alex said without turning his head.
Tom could only sigh before catching up with his two brothers.
