The hall of "Pritz Port Ticketing Company" was quite spacious, with a full seven ticket windows, but in front of each window, there were already a dozen or so people lined up.
Klein glanced at them, not going directly to the queue with fewer people, but taking two steps to the right, towards a brown wooden board standing upright.
On the board were pasted consecutive white sheets, publishing all the information about passenger ships for the past week, including destinations, ports of call, prices for different classes, etc.
Before Klein could look carefully, a staff member came over, drew a red circle on the second-class berth of one row, and marked a word:
"Sold out."
"Very popular..." Klein sighed softly.
"Of course, Pritz Port is the largest port in the kingdom, countless people pass through here to seek opportunities in the Southern Continent and those colonial islands." A middle-aged man standing next to the board replied somewhat flamboyantly.
He wore a black soft hat and a black-and-white checkered uniform that looked like a police uniform, but without epaulettes, only a seagull badge on his chest — exactly the same as the emblem of "Pritz Port Ticketing Company."
The face, hands, and all exposed skin of this middle-aged man were bronze-colored and quite rough, as if they had been exposed to the sea breeze and sun for years, so much so that it felt like salt had seeped into his wrinkles.
If there's a dispute, look for the hall guard... This should be the guard... Klein remembered the notice at the entrance and didn't mind him speaking first. He smiled and said:
"You seem to know a lot about this port?"
Hearing this question, the middle-aged man replied quite proudly:
"I was a sailor in the Royal Navy. Their main base is on Oak Island in Pritz Port. I served for 15 years, spending a long time here at sea. If the war in East Balam hadn't ruined my health, I could have done another 10 years as a sailor! I know this port as well as I know my wife's body!"
A bit cultured, yet a bit vulgar... Klein, intending to probe for maritime news, casually chatted:
"After retiring, you became a guard here?"
"No, I was shoved into a night school for two years, being both a student and a janitor. Storm above, can you imagine someone my age reading aloud with a bunch of kids ranging from a few years old to teenagers? And they recognized and memorized words faster than me!" The guard showed an expression of unbearable memories.
Saying this, he patted the outside of his thigh and sighed:
"Unfortunately, in damp and cold weather, my knees can't take it, otherwise I would also work part-time as a teacher at the night school. Those kids make you feel young, but I won't deny that I do it to earn more money. When you have a wife and four kids, you have to realize you need to support the family."
Sir, you talk a bit too much... That's probably why the ticketing company hired you as a guard... Klein didn't pick up on his topic but smiled and said:
"I just read the notice at the entrance, and it said that wolf-fish cans are not allowed here. Frankly, I've never heard of such a thing."
The guard's expression suddenly became complex.
He pinched his nose and said:
"That's a food popular in the eastern coast of Fursak, the Gargas Islands, and other places. It's salted wolf-fish, but the blood is retained. The smell, the smell is very, very, very pungent, stinky and disgusting!"
So it's a kind of dark cuisine... Klein laughed:
"But I don't think anyone would specifically eat a can while queuing for tickets, right?"
"No, you don't understand that feeling. Maybe one day you'll experience it." The guard had a scared expression. "Once, a northern barbarian came here to buy tickets, but there were already many people in front, filling the hall like a barrel of fish. He was very anxious, so he opened a can of wolf-fish. In less than ten seconds, only he and a few guys were left in the hall."
This, this is a biological weapon... A normal version of the "Biotoxin Vial"... Klein chuckled:
"In the end, he successfully bought the ticket, and a new notice appeared outside?"
"The result wasn't what he expected. The female and male ticket sellers also ran out. Heh, you know, a barbarian's brain is worse than a curly-haired baboon's!" The guard laughed. "When I was still a sailor, there was a rumor at sea: a group of pirates captured a merchant ship from Laos. Ah, that's a city on the eastern coast of Fursak. Anyway, the pirates eagerly opened their spoils, but it turned out to be barrels of salted wolf-fish. And you can imagine the result? They fainted, vomited, lost combat effectiveness, and became the crew's bounty."
"Good story." Klein suppressed a laugh.
He turned his attention back to the papers on the board, looking for ship information for January 5th.
As a professional, he had previously divined the suitable departure dates within the week: one on the 5th, one on the 8th. Among the passenger ships heading to the Roth Islands on the 5th, the ones that suited him best were the Saint Full and the White Agate.
Both still have tickets, and the prices are similar: third class 4 pounds, second class 10 pounds, first class 35 pounds... Those who live by the sea more or less believe in the "
He didn't rush to decide but turned to the guard:
"Do you know anything about the White Agate?"
The guard immediately smiled:
"Sir, you have good taste. The White Agate is a steamship but retains sails, and its maximum speed can reach 16 knots.
"And the captain is very experienced. He was a boatswain on the Royal Navy's William V, no, the Imperial Navy. The king always claims he has obtained the emperor title of Balam. Heh, in the Imperial Navy, no matter how outstanding or excellent an ordinary person is, they can at most become a boatswain, cannot become an officer, unless, unless you can satisfy your superior, no matter how, any way! Only then can you be recommended to Pritz Naval Academy and become a reserve officer!"