Armad didn't wait for the pirates' answer. He walked to the young man covered in ice and touched him. The ice melted away. After making sure the boy was fine, he turned to the pirates.

The captain of the ship, who had just ordered his men to kill the young man for touching his ship, was the first to jump into the water and swam away. The others followed him behind. Anyone who lived in this age knew about the Great Cold and the massive gap between those who could use it and those who could not.

Armad sighed and turned to the captain, at which point he realized all the people on the ship were looking at him like they had seen a ghost. It was very rare to find someone controlling the Great Cold outside the empires. And such people didn't travel by sea. They owned the Eycigan houses so they could move anywhere at any time. Why was Armad there?

Armad ignored them and went to Besaiah. The man was dying, blood dripping from his mouth. Maybe his earlier assessment about the arrow not piercing the man's heart was wrong. He was no healer after all.

"Y...you... can you do something for me?" He gasped, grabbing Armad with both hands. "I'm asking not because I deserve it."

Armad held his hands gently, careful not to hurt him. He didn't know what the man would ask of him but he nodded.

Besaiah raised a finger and pointed to the young man Armad had just saved from the pirates. "Take care of my son."

Armad looked at him in amazement. First, he didn't know the man had a son on the ship, and second, he was in no position to take care of anyone now. Even as he debated on it, Besaiah started gasping. It went on for a few seconds before he gave in.

Looking at the captain's dead body, Armad changed his mind and dived into the water to chase the pirates. He came back a few minutes later with seventeen of them tied in a rope. The young man he was supposed to take care of sat next to the captain's dead body in tears. The rest of the crew were all crying. Who would have thought that Besaiah who was perfectly healthy a few minutes ago would fall dead now? That was the world for them.

The other passengers who had been sleeping on the floor began to wake up and the first thing they found was the captain's corpse.

Armad had a rope hung around the necks of all the seventeen pirates. Then he walked to the captain's son. "If you want, I can let you do it." He handed the young man the rope.

The young man took it. The pirates' eyes widened in terror, knowing that their lives were about to end. Some of them began to apologize, while others were soaking their pants. The young man pulled the rope without any hesitation and hanged them. Many of the passengers returned to their rooms as they couldn't watch. But Armad, the young man, and the six guards stood and watch until the pirates stopped moving. Armad threw their bodies in the water and turned to the dead captain.

The Wilberforce buried their dead. But according to the son, they burned their dead and threw the ashes into the sea. Armad asked him if it was okay to do just that with his father, to which the young man nodded his agreement. Besaiah was burned and threw into the sea.

They found a lot of money on the Sneaker, an indication of the status of the pirates who used to have it, which Armad distributed equally among the passengers. But they chose to continue sailing on the Night-trader in honor of Besaiah.

After three days of mourning, Armad gathered everyone and explained to them in a soft, charismatic voice. "The late captain was the one who saved me from drowning back when he didn't even know me. I will never forget him. It was his time and no one could have prevented it. I will protect his ship from here until we reach the kingdom of Sisiya."

Armad paused for a moment before moving on to his room, thinking about the will that the captain left for him to take care of his son.

For the next three days, Armad didn't say a word to the boy. Partly because he didn't know what to say or what was required of him.

On the fourth day, the young man came to him and knelt on one knee.

"My name is Miki Inara," the young man said, "We were originally from the kingdom of Mikironomada but my father and I chose to live in Sisiya. I want to be your student if you will have me."

Armad took a deep breath, and after a moment of thought, he closed his eyes with another sigh. Teaching the art of Bending was an expensive thing. Most of the time, you would be required to go to the great schools in the kingdoms before you could learn it. Unless if you had good teachers like Zaikid who would be willing to teach you. Armad didn't go to school and was also taught by his grandfather. Teaching the young man how to protect himself from future pirates wouldn't hurt and would even serve to pay the late captain for saving his life. It was just the timing that wasn't good.

"I agree to teach you the basics of Bending," Armad said. "However, I'm currently on my way to Sisiya to help my mother. I don't how things will turn out but it can get complicated. I can't tell you who I'm but it's not safe for you to be around me now. Just tell me where you live and I'll come and get you whenever I'm ready."

The young man looked at the ground with clenched fists. "I know who you are, my lord. And I can always return to the sea after I have completed my training. It doesn't matter how dangerous it's. My life needs this now. I'm to blame for my father's death. If only I have been stronger."