I WAS The Rank–1 Hero-Chapter 150: Maria Frostvile [2]

I felt the wind tousling my hair as I stared at the black-haired girl standing in front of me.

My eyelids twitched as I repeated her words.

"Immortality?"

I acted as if I didn't know the term. There were more than 20 pirates surrounding us, and 'immortality' was a term they must have been unfamiliar with.

Leaving that aside, how did she come to know about immortality?

I mean, it's obvious. She just admitted that she was the daughter of the 1st Queen Alice Frostvile, who ruled the Frostvile kingdom thousands of years ago, and as her daughter, her age must be over 1000.

Staring at her spotless face, she looked almost the same age as I. There's no way she was 1000 years old. Right?

And not to forget, my <Immortality> came from a skill granted to me by the God of Death, Agroth. Therefore, accepting her immortality was somewhat challenging for me.

But if she were a deity, then it's somehow possible.

Staring back at me, and with a smile, she informed me.

"Yes, immortality." She said, looking around at her crew, "And don't worry, my people knew about them, and there is someone from my crew who even fought one."

Them?

She must be talking about the Authority Holders and Gods.

So, she told her crewmates about them?

Exactly how trustworthy were they?

To her words, I once again looked at the faces of all the pirates surrounding us, both men and women. They were carrying all kinds of weapons, their builds were broad, and some even had scars on their bodies.

Honestly, they're all emitting a red-flag aura.

"So, what do you say?" Maria extends her hand toward me.

I looked at it, confused, as I tilted my head.

"Say what exactly?"

Maria, with her cold expression, asked politely. "Don't get me wrong, Paradox, I know exactly the reason why you came here for."

Well, I'm at a loss for words.

I tried to act cool. I hadn't told her our exact reason for visiting the Red Skull's territory, and I doubt she would ever suspect that we're here to hijack their ships and explore the underwater gate.

"It's because of the gate, am I right?" She guessed without putting much effort into it.

How the hell?!

'Don't take her lightly, idiot!' Sera scolded me in my head.

Was she a psychic?

Now she'll take us hostage.

Maria, seeing me quiet, continued.

"If you're here to ask for our help to visit the underwater gate, then I'll be grateful to lend you a hand."

"..."

I blinked. "Sorry?"

"I'll lend you a hand." She repeated, her eyes fixed on mine.

"Yeah, I heard. But why?"

That's my question. Why would a Time Authority holder who controls more than 5 warships and possibly has over 1000 years of battle experience lend me her help? That is, unless she expects something in return.

Asking Maria, I turned my attention to Ruby beside me. She seemed to understand the gravity of her question; hence, she was giving me her concerned look from behind her mask.

"Don't read it too much now," said Maria. "There was a condition to open the gate. And for that, I need you."

I thought so. In the end, she also wants to enter that underwater gate.

And it piques my curiosity to discover exactly what lies behind that gate.

"So," she asked, once again extending her hand in my direction. "Are you in?"

If I wanted to enter the area and not cause any trouble for me and Ruby by fighting with the other pirates inspecting it, I needed Red Skull's warship.

After thinking for a few minutes and with Ruby's agreement to it, I took Maria's hand.

"Alright, but I have a condition." I gently placed my hand over hers before demanding my terms.

"First of all, I want you to tell me all information regarding that Gate, and what lies behind it…"

"Secondly, I don't want any of your crewmates to lay a finger on my partner. Breaking the above conditions will be the same as breaking my trust. If you agree to it, then I don't mind helping."

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Nodding her head, Maria turned around and instructed her crewmates.

"Lift the cruise ship on, pull down the sails. We're heading to the Twilight Triangle."

"Aye aye, captain~!"

"As you command!"

"Get it moving, everyone!"

"Pull the chains!"

By her one command, everyone on the ships picked up their paces. Some men moved to the engine room, others released the sails, and still others pulled up the anchors. Within a second, the atmosphere on the ship shifted to rapid activity.

Witnessing all of their actions gave me the idea of how respectable Maria was as their captain.

"Now then, come to my cabin, you two." Maria politely gestured to one of her offices at the corner of the ship.

I looked at Ruby before we both followed behind Maria.

Click—

As I closed the metal door behind me, Maria welcomed me into a cozy room she called her cabin.

Crushed, folded papers were scattered on the ground, as a few wine bottles were left half empty on the table. The smell of alcohol was still strong, burning my nose. Several maps of the continents and many of the ocean routes were pinned on the wall with a cross mark on a few areas.

Seated on her chair behind the wooden desk, she gestured for us to do the same.

Ruby and I sat before my gaze fixated on Maria as she elegantly crossed her feet on top of one another, and with a slight grin on her face, she looked at us.

"Jasmine," Maria addressed Ruby calmly before dropping a bomb on her head. "You can take her out; she must be suffocating inside that cloak."

"Huh…?!" I flinched alongside Ruby's.

How did she?!

There was no way she could just see through an anti-elemental cloak with a single glance.

Now, what should I do?

Glancing at Ruby, I saw her giving Maria a cold, deadly look while she was clutching her cloak.

She was this close to unleashing her katana before I placed my hand on her back to calm her down.

"It's fine, take Lily out," I said calmly.