“You are the cook?” asked the pirate while looking at Marvin.

It was no wonder the pirate was suspicious. Marvin’s attire was far from what a cook would wear. The son of a farm owner could actually be quite fashionable. The plump man had put on a wig, and his collar and sleeves had floral stitching on them as well. On top of it, he had also adorned a custom-made jacket. As for his feet, only a pair of socks could be seen as his beautiful boots had been confiscated by the pirates earlier.

“My…. my mother has a motel in Canterbury. I help up with the cooking whenever there are not enough people in the kitchen.”

Still, the muscular pirate was in doubt as he looked at the pants that Marvin just wet. Immediately, he realized that he had just screwed up the pirate’s first impression of him.

“I make delicious food. Sometimes the cook on this ship would even ask for my opinions and help. You can ask your friend if you don’t believe me. I was in the kitchen when they found me.

“The fat lad speaks the truth,” ''Correct,'' confirmed both of the pirates who had found Marvin and Thorson.

Marvin then turned around, grinning at the muscular pirate with sensitive and sheepish eyes.

“Give it a try then. But here’s a fair warning. If your food tastes bad or our stomach acts funny after we try it, the rest of my comrades will not forgive you even if I’m willing to do so,” warned the muscular pirate while pointing at his fellow crew.

At that, Marvin quickly thanked the pirate for taking him in.

“Alright! Everyone! All positions have been filled! The recruitment is done. I wish you all a pleasant journey later,” the muscular pirate continued.

Then, a voice came from his back.

“Hold on.”

Immediately, the muscular pirate halted in his steps. He did not notice that Marvin had become extremely nervous after hearing the voice.

Thorson ignored Marvin’s signal and proceeded to speak his mind.

“I wish to join the crew too.”

It was too high a risk to get on the small boat and wait for a rescue that might never come. He would have chosen to get on it if he was the only one, though. That said, he knew that things would become complicated with that many people on the same boat. Besides, those weird items were still on the ship. He would not be able to retrieve them if he left with the rest of the passengers now.

“I admire your passion. Like I said earlier, all we need is three people, and all positions have been filled,” the muscular pirate shrugged.

“Hand me the gun,” said Thorson calmly.

Perhaps it was Thorson’s confidence that had compelled him or the encouragement from his friends to hand him the gun. Anyhow, the muscular pirate picked up the weapon and handed it to Thorson, who immediately did a quick check the moment he got his hands on it. After going through the war in Finland, he had become quite knowledgeable about guns.

What he was holding right now was a gun with a flintlock mechanism. As compared to a matchlock, its shooting process was much more straightforward. For this gun, the user would use flint to light up the gunpowder. Featuring a better range and a smaller recoil, which meant that it was more accurate overall.

The gun with the flintlock mechanism was invented during the 16th century. In the 17th century, it was widely distributed amongst armies in Europe. After that, it played an essential role in the American War of Independence.

However, this weapon was severely outdated for its time and could never compare to the M28 that he used during the Finnish war. Gunpowder and bullets had to be loaded separately, requiring a long time for the user to reload after ammunition had depleted. To make matters worse, it could only shoot up to 80 meters.

Thorson took a good minute to study the gun. Every single pirate, including the muscular one, was starting to get impatient. It was at that moment that Thorson raised the weapon, and without any warning, he pointed it at Marvin.

Left in a shock, Marvin thought Thorson was about to kill him.

BANG!

The gun was fired, and the bullet whizzed by Marvin, landing on an apple that a pirate was holding at the end of the ship.

At the unbelievable shot, the pirates were all awestruck by Thorson’s excellent marksmanship. After a while, everyone began cheering for him. Thorson and the apple were more than 40 meters apart, not to mention the ship steadily bobbing up and down in the rough sea. Considering his less than ideal circumstances, it should have been almost impossible to hit any target accurately. Thorson had learned how to operate the gun from Laila and his movements were so fluid that it seemed as if he did not take any aim before firing the shot.

Most of the pirates here were just ordinary people with no particular set of skills. Armed with the sole concept of the strong preying on the weak, they would always respect those who were better than them. Suddenly, one of them shouted out aloud, “Take him in! Take him in!”

Soon after that, everyone else followed suit. The muscular pirate frowned, knowing that he couldn’t disappoint everyone just like that.

“Fine. You are a great shooter. No one will be able to say no to you. I don’t mind adding one more to our crew. Come with me.”

The four of them then followed the pirate to the lower deck.

“They call me Owen, leader of the pirates on the Sea Lion. I don’t care what you have done before, or where you come from. You are now part of the Sea Lion. Of course, we can’t trust all of you yet, but it’s okay. Time will tell. There are some things you need to know before you come abroad. There will be no gambling, no stealing, and no random brawls. That is unless you have somebody to witness your fight. And most importantly, fleeing a battle is punishable by death!”

Owen paused for a moment and took a look at Marvin, who wiped away his sweat as he tried to crack a smile.

“When we plunder other vessels, keeping any loot you found is a big no-no. Unless you have personally killed an enemy, you will get to choose one item from your kill. Otherwise, everything we rob will be pooled up and distributed equally to everyone aboard. The captain and our helmsman will get double the loot. After that, the doctor, carpenter, cannoneer, and pirate leader will get one and a half times the booty a regular crewman gets. Those who perform well during battles will be rewarded afterwards. And if you are injured during a battle, you will also receive a certain amount of compensation. The amount you get will depend on how long you have been on the ship.

''Oh. One more important thing. Every single matter on this ship, including the appointment and removal of the captain and helmsman, is to be decided by everyone. Everyone on this ship has the right to say something and vote. That’ll be all for now. Any questions?” Owen asked as he looked around.

“I have a question. I’m not trying to avoid responsibility, but does the cook need to join battles as well?”

“Typically, no. However, if things do go south, every crewman has to pick up a weapon and defend the ship! Speaking of which, I need you to look for Dufresne later. He will hand you a gun. I will inform him about your talents,” said the pirate to Thorson.

“The rest of you, you all can all go and get your weapons from Dufresne as well. Consider this our welcoming gift. In the future, you will have to pay up if you damage the weapon. We will deduct its cost from your loot during our next raid.”