A CRUISE ship.

Zirkus was amazed while looking at the giant cruise ship that they would be boarding to get to ‘Treasure Island.’

[Yeah, Klaus Irvin’s family has a bland naming sense.]

They were as bad as Zirkus Huxford’s parents who named him ‘Zirkus.’

“Hey, where’s the manuscript?”

Aigoo.

Zirkus turned around to face Enzo extending his hand to him. “It’s in my luggage. I’ll give it to you later once I unpack.”

“Tsk.”

“Aigoo,” Zirkus complained while shaking his head. “Kids these days are so impatient.”

“I already gave you your boarding pass,” Enzo said. “Your cabin is next to mine, so give the manuscript to me as soon as you’re done packing.”

He just looked at the villain.

Actually, he was busy “people-seeing.”

It was his first time outside the academy, so he was observing how people dressed outside.

In the academy, the students had two sets of uniforms: one, for classes. Two, the tracksuits they wore for the classes that required physical activities.

He thought the tracksuits were pretty modern in his opinion.

[It’s already mentioned in the original novel that the setting of The Legendary Fisher didn’t exist in the same world, hence I can’t really tell what ‘era’ the timeline here resembles back in my previous life.]

The women around Zirkus at the moment wore light and modest dresses. There were various designs, but all of them had one thing in common: all the dresses fell past the ladies’ knees. Ah, the ladies he had seen so far all wore ankle boots.

On the other hand, the men around wore light long-sleeved shirts and trousers paired with boots. Some men wore vests, some didn’t.

But everyone, regardless of gender, wore a cloak.

It was the kind of cloak that has thermal magic to keep the wearer warm. After all, they already entered the cold season.

[In short, winter is coming.]

Even Zirkus and Enzo were both wearing cloaks.

“Hey, are you listening?” Enzo complained when he probably noticed that Zirkus wasn’t paying attention. “Stop looking around like a pervert. You’re scaring everyone.”

Zirkus clicked his tongue. “I’m just looking around because it’s my first time outside the academy in a long while.

[I need to find what people currently need in order to open a business later. Although Zirkus Huxford is from a rich family, it looks like he doesn’t get along well with his older brother. If I quit the academy, I’m not sure if the Huxfords would still support me financially.]

Hence, he needed to make his own money soon.

“Enzo.”

“What?”

Zirkus smiled at Enzo brightly. “Do you want to start a business with me?”

“No,” Enzo said bluntly. “You totally look like a scammer, Zirkus Huxford.”

***

[OH, WOW.]

Zirkus was genuinely surprised when he entered the cabin assigned to him in the cruise ship.

[It’s like a luxury hotel room.]

The best part?

He didn’t have to share the room with anyone.

The bad news?

[Enzo is just next door, and I can feel the pressure coming from his room.]

“Fine, I’ll unpack and give you your damned manuscript already,” Zirkus whispered to himself. Then he sat down on the floor and opened his luggage. “I also need to prepare his snack.”

He couldn’t cook in the ship since he didn’t bring his portable stove, but he still brought a few packs of instant ramen noodles.

[I have to feed Enzo since he gets irritable when he’s hungry.]

He took out one packet of instant ramen and opened it. After that, he took out the seasoning, break the noodles with his hands, then pour the seasoning into the bag with the noodle pieces. Finally, he shook the packet to coat the noodle pieces with the seasoning.

Since he couldn’t show the instant ramen packet to Enzo, he brought his own bowl.

He poured the crushed instant noodles coated with seasoning. It was supposed to be eaten by hand, but he had a feeling a noble like Enzo wouldn’t do that. Hence, he also brought a spoon for him.

Zirkus stopped what he was doing, then sighed and shook his head. “Am I Enzo’s babysitter or what?”

***

“WHAT’S THAT?”

“It’s raw ramen noodles,” Zirkus said in response to Enzo’s question as he placed the bowl on the table. “You might want to snack on something while reading, so I prepared a snack for you.”

Enzo, who was sitting on a chair with his arms crossed over his chest, knitted his eyebrows. “You want to make me eat raw food?”

“It’s safe to eat raw, and it tastes really good,” he said, sitting on the chair across from the villain. “Have a taste first before you complain. I can’t cook instant ramen for you since I didn’t bring my portable stove.”

“Fine,” Enzo said, then he grabbed the spoon and only scooped a bit of crushed instant noodles before he put it in his mouth. The villain went through different emotions in just a few seconds. First, he looked disgusted, then surprised. And finally, he looked delighted. “Not bad.”

[I knew he’d like it.]

Zirkus put a brown envelope on the table. “Here are the next ten chapters of Garuto and the Hidden Soul Village.”

Enzo looked genuinely surprised. “Ten chapters?”

“I added five more chapters because I have a favor to ask.”

“I won’t start a business with you.”

“Not that,” Zirkus said while shaking his head. “Enzo, protect me during the hunt. You can’t let me die, anyway.”

Enzo raised an eyebrow at him. “That depends on the manuscript that you gave me this time. If it’s boring, you’re dead.”

He tried to smile confidently, but he was actually quite scared.

[There are some action-packed chapters, so I hope Enzo will find them fun.]

“I heard you got into a fight with Rivo and Nixie.”

Oho?

“It wasn’t really a fight,” Zirkus said defensively. “But I did say some harsh things to them.”

“I heard.”

“Are you not mad at me?”

“Not really,” Enzo said, then he paused for a moment. “For some reason, I find Rivo and Nixie’s company boring these days.”

Hmm?

“I don’t remember why I’m desperate to hang out with them before,” Enzo said, tilting his head to one side. “Reading your trash fiction is more fun these days.”

“Hey, Garuto isn’t trash.”

“It’s trash, but it’s entertaining.”

“Thank you?”

“Why are you thanking me when you’re not the author?”

“Because I was the one who introduced the story to you,” Zirkus said with a smiling face. “I feel happy that you enjoy it.”

The villain just rolled his eyes at him.

“Enzo, can I ask you a question?”

“You’ll still ask even if I said 'no,' won’t you?”

Zirkus grinned before asking. Although he looked playful, the way he asked was still careful. “Do you feel awkward with Klaus Irvin?” he asked lightly to make it seem like he was merely curious. “You practically ignored him when he greeted you earlier.”

Klaus Irvin didn’t approach Enzo directly because the dragon saw Zirkus, but Klaus Irvin waved at Enzo a lot.

“Did Klaus Irvin offend you in any way?”

“No, it’s just pure instinct.”

“Huh?”

“For some reason, I see Klaus Irvin as prey. My blood tells me to hunt him down,” Enzo said casually while browsing the papers in his hands. Just when did he open the envelope? “It’s probably because he looks weak in my eyes.”

He heard what the future Disaster said, and now he was shocked.

Klaus Irvin was a dragon.

Enzo was saying his blood was telling him to hunt and slay Klaus Irvin?

Zirkus gasped when he thought he finally connected the dots.

[Is Enzo from a family of DRAGON SLAYERS???]

***

IT WAS pretty shocking.

Zirkus went to the deck to breathe some salty air.

But since there were other people there who looked scared because of his face, he moved to the spot where it was dark and quiet.

And he preferred it that way because he needed to think.

[Did the original novel mention that Enzo Fenton was a Dragon Slayer?]

He waited for the System to activate his <Nerd for Life Skill.> The Window did pop up, but the message written on it was different from expected.

<“New Quest to upgrade your <Trash Reporter Skills!> Find the items you need to unlock the hidden abilities during the treasure hunt! Everything is in the dragon’s lair!”>

Huh?

‘Dragon’s lair?’

“Huxford, is that you?”

Zirkus turned around when he heard the familiar voice. “Yelena Dover?”

Yep, it was the Mermaid Princess.

And Yelena Dover was holding a bag of fresh mackerels that she slowly hid behind her back when she noticed him looking.

[Aigoo.]