Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route-Chapter 148: A Stunning Bounty Hunter—This Girl Really Is…

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: A Stunning Bounty Hunter—This Girl Really Is...

"What are you all still staring at? Don’t you have anything better to do?!"

Rael barked at the room, "Get back to your own business!"

Rael was somebody in Bilgewater’s upper quarter, so the moment he shouted, the crowd scattered. Even so, one curious pair of eyes after another kept drifting back to Logan and Jinx.

Rael’s men also dragged Celia and her people out of the tavern. Outside, Celia’s companions hurriedly hauled her up, not daring to look back as they half-carried her out of the upper quarter.

Three months without work... it wasn’t like they’d instantly die, but it did mean that before Rael’s "no-hunting period" ended, Celia’s sea beast hunting crew was going to be going hungry.

Bilgewater wasn’t made up entirely of pirates. Most people did "legit" work, and one of the most common jobs was hunting sea beasts. That "beast" meant sea monsters—if a ship went out, brought down a massive one, and the money got split up, even the regular crew (not counting leadership) could live large for a week or two.

Of course, high profits meant high risk. If sea beasts were easy to catch, they wouldn’t be sea beasts. These things were often hundreds of feet long—every hunt was putting your life on the line, and every voyage was basically spitting in Death’s face.

Back inside Black Firestone, Rael wore a fawning smile as he approached Logan. "Lord Logan, do you think this was handled properly?"

"Sure," Logan nodded. "My wife and I didn’t really lose anything."

Meanwhile, Jinx grabbed an empty cup, then grabbed a bottle and tried to pour herself a drink on the sly—planning to steal a couple gulps while Logan wasn’t looking.

Seriously, she wasn’t a kid anymore, okay?!

So why was it that Logan, Vander, Silco—hell, even Vi, who practically lived with a bottle in her hand—none of them ever wanted to let her drink?

"Ahem."

Logan’s attention had been on Jinx the whole time. Jinxie’s little move didn’t escape him. He just cleared his throat once.

Jinx looked at him. Caught him glaring. She immediately avoided his eyes, grumbling under her breath as she put the bottle down obediently—then reached into her backpack and pulled out a bottle of milk instead.

The key was compliance. Very good. Very well-behaved.

Jinx perched on the wooden bench with her toe tapping the edge, squatted there like a gremlin, and chugged her milk like a sweet little angel—glug glug glug—leaving a white mustache on her lips.

She’d beaten someone up. She was tired. Time to drink something and quench her thirst!

Rael watched that whole scene and quietly confirmed something.

This wasn’t some kept man.

Because what kind of kept man lived like this?

Bilgewater had plenty of powerful, capable women. Rael had dealt with them. They didn’t look at their "kept" men like that, and those men sure as hell didn’t behave this obediently.

"Logan, when are you coming to my place?" Rog said from the side. He shot Rael a look, understood what Rael was trying to do, and added, "Alright, stop trying to butter him up. Black Firestone—going forward, I’ll take care of you a little more."

Rael nodded furiously, practically vibrating with excitement. He bowed to Logan, then took his men and left.

Before he went, he also had the staff bring over fruit, dried meat, and a whole basket of booze.

Logan and Rog sat at a table and started talking.

"The shipping route Mr. Silco gave me has been a lifesaver," Rog said as he drank. "It passes three offshore islands—workshops, smugglers, all kinds of connections. I still haven’t even had the chance to thank him."

"Next time you go to Zaun," Logan said, popping a piece of dried fish into his mouth while he talked.

The dried fish was actually really good—spicy, salty, and fragrant. It was called "dried" fish, but it didn’t feel dry when you chewed it. If anything, it had this... tendon-like chew to it.

Great texture. Great snack.

So Logan grabbed two more pieces and handed them to Jinx, who was stuck drinking milk because she couldn’t have booze.

Jinx saw him do it without even looking her way. She leaned over, opened her mouth, bit the dried fish, and started chewing.

"Next time works," Rog nodded. "I’ve got a job that’ll bring me to Zaun again soon anyway. But Zaun doesn’t lack food anymore, does it?"

When he said that, Rog couldn’t help feeling a little emotional.

A few years ago, Zaun’s trade with Bilgewater was mostly Zaun begging Bilgewater for alcohol. But now?

Zaun had its own industrial distilleries. They were making their own booze now.

All kinds of booze.

Rog asked curiously, "Logan, do you still need fresh fish and stuff like that in Zaun?"

"Of course," Logan said like it was obvious. "Who complains about having too much food?" He smiled and continued, "And it’s not just a little, either. Zaun doesn’t lack food anymore, sure—but fish can be processed into cooked meals and snacks. Stuff like this dried fish is perfect. Make it into snack food for drinking—Zaunites will love it."

Rog nodded. The more he listened, the more he felt how massive Zaun’s changes had been.

And those changes... Rog knew exactly who had brought them.

The guy sitting right in front of him.

Zaun had statues of him everywhere. Rog had even asked why they built them—because the man in those statues was their hero. The one who saved Zaun, changed Zaun, their forever Lord of Zaun.

"That’s good," Rog said. "Down at the docks, the slaughtered sea monster corpses are piled up like mountains. The rot stinks so bad it’s pulled in countless—"

He didn’t finish.

Because Jinx made a gagging face.

Logan chuckled. "Don’t get the wrong idea, Old Rog. She just got to Bilgewater’s docks this afternoon and saw some... heavy stuff."

Rog grinned. "I get it. Even I can’t stand those smells. It’s so strong—hell, even if you soak a cloth in the strongest rum, it still can’t block it."

"Dockworkers are careless as always. Chopped scraps, organs, blood you can’t ever wash out. Seagulls stealing bites and leaving behind piles of white bird shit. And those uncivilized, no-manners, motherless turtle-brained assholes pissing and shitting wherever they feel like—heh. That’s Bilgewater."

Old Rog raised his cup, took a huge drink, and shouted the last part like he was proud of it.

Logan drank too.

Then his gaze suddenly froze.

Beside him, Jinx hopped down from the bench. Her black boots hit the floor. One hand went to her hip as she narrowed her eyes at a woman walking over.

A whole group followed behind that woman. She had gorgeous wine-red hair that fell to her waist. She wore a black jacket unzipped to show off her pale stomach, and on her unreal, narrow waist sat a black-and-white bra that made the two treasures on her chest bounce with every step.

Most of the men in the tavern couldn’t stop staring, drool practically hanging off their jaws.

She wore black pants and riding boots—beautiful and commanding at the same time—walking over with a smiling, unhurried confidence.

A pair of striking emerald-green eyes locked onto Logan’s table.

Around the room, people noticed her and turned to look.

Celia had approached that man the same way earlier, and she’d ended up beaten like a dead dog, humiliated and tossed out of the tavern.

And now... someone was still daring to come over?

But nobody spoke.

Because this woman was far more famous, far more beautiful—and far more dangerous.

She wasn’t famous just for her looks.

What made her truly famous was how ruthless she was.

A few years ago, she’d come to Bilgewater alone—and in less than half a year, she’d become Bilgewater’s most famous bounty hunter. Countless major pirates had died by her hand. Plenty of people wanted revenge on her, but every attempt failed, turning them into yet another dead soul under her guns.

Then, in just two years, she’d built a powerful crew of her own. With brains and strength, she’d carved her way through Bilgewater—so much so that she’d even driven Gangplank out, forcing the boss of the Isles to spend years drifting at sea.

More than once, she’d openly declared she was going to kill Gangplank—make the Pirate King taste what it meant to lose his life.

At first, people thought she’d lost her mind.

But after she escaped Gangplank’s hunters again and again, and then paid him back by killing the people who tried to assassinate her and hanging their bodies from the docks... people slowly started believing she hadn’t been talking big.

She meant it.

And now, she was smiling as she walked straight toward Logan.

Jinx tightened her grip on her cup, her adorable little face turning sour as hell.

This woman was way prettier than the last one—and her chest was ridiculously huge.

It bounced with every step, like it was about to spill out.

So annoying. Seriously—if you’re that big, why aren’t you fat too?!

Watching her sway her hips, Jinx felt her teeth grind.

Her own waist was slim too. Her waist-to-hips ratio was great. Logan slept with his arm around her waist all the time.

But compared to this woman... their waists were equally slim. Jinx’s skin and abs were even nicer.

But the hips?

Not even the same universe.

It was like a kid versus an adult.

Ugh. Fine. She really did need to drink more milk.

Jinx felt the danger creeping up on her. She stepped forward, already ready to start something.

So what if she’s pretty? I’ll beat a pretty one too.

But then she noticed the group behind her...

If it turned into a brawl—Logan would help her, right?

Thinking that, Jinx secretly glanced at Logan—only to see Logan staring at the woman too, looking kind of... weird.

That made Jinx even madder.

Forget it.

Even if she got jumped and took a beating—one versus many—she was still doing it.

This fight couldn’t be avoided.

But the moment Jinx turned, the woman was already in front of her.

"Let’s get acquainted. I’m Sarah. A bounty hunter." Sarah extended a hand—callused, strong—toward Jinx, her smile warm. "You’re Silco’s daughter, right? I’ve got business I want to discuss with your father. Let’s talk."

Jinx froze, blinking as she stared at Sarah.

Huh...

She’s not here for Logan?

She’s...

Here for me?

Why?

Off to the side, Logan lifted an eyebrow.

Right. He knew a little about Sarah—this gorgeous future queen of the seas of Bilgewater—and she could be summed up in one sentence:

If Jinx was romance-brained, then Sarah was pure business-brained.

This woman didn’t do love. She cared about her work. At the start, it had been about killing Gangplank to avenge her family. But after she took control of Bilgewater, she started thinking about Bilgewater’s future.

In short, Logan’s proud little charm skill might earn him some goodwill, but hoping Sarah would fall for him the way most people did?

Not happening.

And thinking back to what Rog had said earlier—calling him the Lord of Zaun—Sarah probably hadn’t heard that. If she had, she wouldn’t be talking to Jinx right now.

She’d be talking to him.

But watching Jinx—who had just been hit on by a woman for the first time in her life, and who also happened to be a gorgeous, big-chested woman Jinx hated—standing there all flustered and silently looking to Logan for help...

Logan found it hilarious.

He decided not to explain anything.

Flustered Jinx was rare.

And—yeah, Logan liked pretty women.

But now, the only person who made that side of him react was Jinx. Sarah could be as beautiful as she wanted, as stacked as she wanted—Logan wasn’t going to fixate on her.

His surprise earlier was just because he hadn’t expected Miss Fortune to be in this tavern at all.

Seeing a champion he used to play all the time?

Of course he’d be surprised.

"I... you’re looking for me?" Jinx clenched her teeth when Logan avoided her eyes, then turned back to Sarah.

"Yes." Sarah nodded. "Not just because you’re Silco’s daughter. Also because this is the first time I’ve ever seen a girl this cute in Bilgewater. Even if you weren’t Silco’s daughter, I’d still want to know you. I like protecting beautiful things."

Sarah wasn’t joking. She really had heard that Jinx was Silco’s daughter—but she’d already noticed Jinx the moment she arrived.

When Celia went over to flirt, Sarah had considered stepping in, but before she could move, Jinx had already started beating Celia down.

And honestly?

Her hands were good.

Clean. Sharp. Efficient.

And Jinx was genuinely beautiful—bright blue hair tied into two little buns at the back, side-swept bangs in front, hair naturally smooth as it fell along her cheeks. Her face shape was gorgeous too—more of a delicate V-line, but with a little softness to it, not perfectly "model" sharp.

A small, neat nose. Soft-looking lips. And those big blue eyes—

In Bilgewater, Sarah had never seen a girl like this before.

"I don’t know you, and I don’t want to know you," Jinx said seriously. "Your boobs are too big. Milk makes me dizzy. You make me nauseous."

Sarah blinked—then laughed. "That’s fine. We’ll talk a bit and then we’ll know each other. As for you getting dizzy around milk..." She covered her mouth, glancing at Jinx’s flat chest with a teasing little smile. "I’m really sorry, but this is natural. If you don’t believe me... you can reach out and feel for yourself?"

As she spoke, Sarah pushed her chest forward a little, making that snowy cleavage even more outrageous.

This was what people meant by weaponized cleavage.

This was a full-on explosive payload.

"You fucking—" Jinx sucked in a sharp breath.

Sarah pretended she hadn’t heard the profanity. Instead, she tilted her head toward Rog. "Rog. Scoot over?"

Rog looked at Sarah, then at Logan, hesitating.

He wanted to help Logan, but he truly couldn’t afford to offend Sarah.

He was influential in Bilgewater, sure—but compared to Sarah—the woman who’d driven Gangplank out, who’d openly declared she’d kill him and was still alive, and whose power only kept growing—Rog didn’t measure up.

Sarah was one of Bilgewater’s real giants.

"It’s fine," Logan said when he saw Rog struggling. "Come on. Let’s all have a drink together."

Then he looked at Jinx and said, "Come sit, Jinx. She came to talk to you."

Logan was openly messing with her now.

"I actually wish she came for you," Jinx snapped as she sat down beside Logan with her arms folded tight. "Then I could just start swinging!"

Then she flexed her arms and tried to squeeze her chest together, forcing out a round, tiny little shape.

Yeah.

Jinx genuinely wished this gorgeous woman was here for Logan—because then she could hit her without any guilt.

But Sarah was here for her, and she was clearly being friendly.

So Jinx couldn’t just explode.

Sarah noticed the squeezing attempt. She didn’t comment.

She just smiled a little wider.

This girl named Jinx...

She really was adorable.

// I hope you enjoyed this massive release. Again, thanks for the Power Stones, comments, reviews, etc. Also, thanks to the supporters on Ptrn for voting in the poll.

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