HEO 126

The pirates’ reaction was explosive.

“Woooooo—!”

“The bird is talking—!”

“Captain Stuffy Field Mouse! You’re the coolest—!”

Screams and groans erupted, and the rowing speed increased. The square sails unfurled wide. In an instant, the three ships entered the narrow waterways of the Shark Tooth Archipelago. Dozens of oars moved as one. In perfect unison, they laid flat, dove deep into the water, and rose back up. The ships navigated the jagged reefs with exquisite precision, as if they were a single organism. A thunderous song echoed, loud enough to scatter every seagull perched on the cliffs.

As they were halfway through the waterway, Silver stepped up beside Wolf.

“Look.”

He pointed to a circle on the map he held out to Wolf.

“That’s morgan. The optimal route is to hug the northern continental shelf beyond the whetstone rapids. At this time of year, the current pushes east, so keep a heading of 15 degrees downwind until you leave the channel, and after that, just leave it to the wind.”

“If the wind stays calm, we’ll reach the mainland port before sunset,” Wolf muttered.

Silver perched himself on the railing.

“Damn. Finally leaving this godforsaken island.”

A faint sense of relief lingered in his sharp tone. His platinum blonde hair whipped violently in the wind. Red Eagle, who had circled from the bow to the stern, landed on Wolf’s shoulder. Wolf gave a slight glance toward the white parrot.

Yesterday, Wolf had requested that Red Eagle call him ‘Captain’ instead of ‘Wolf’ for the time being.

Wolf swallowed hard and looked at Silver.

“Silver.”

“Yeah.”

Silver kept his gaze fixed on the sea. After a moment of silence, Wolf forced the words out of his mouth with all his might.

“Your father’s name. What was it?”

“Why do you care?”

Silver glanced at him sideways. Wolf turned his head, brushing back his hair with one hand.

“I heard he was the strongest assassin in Stohl. It’s only natural to be curious about a man like that.”

“Tch, what a weird thing to wonder.”

Silver spat toward the sea. A trace of melancholy flickered in his eyes.

“Black Weasel. The brave Black Weasel.”

“Black Weasel… without the title, the name is pretty ordinary.”

“I’m not entirely sure. I told you, it took me a few days to remember his name.”

Silver frowned and shrugged one shoulder.

“It’s probably that name. I can’t guarantee it, though.”

“It probably is. After all, it’s the name his son struggled for days to recall.”

“Fuck, stop being sarcastic.”

Silver kicked Wolf’s leg and walked away toward the stern. After letting time pass for a while, Wolf spoke in a low, extremely hushed voice.

“Hey.”

〔Yes.〕

“Open. That.”

〔Executing.〕

The mirror document unfolded before his eyes. Wolf unconsciously clenched his fists. Starting with the usual fish bone, a long list of names followed. Black Weasel. Black Weasel…!

As he scrolled past a hundred names, the name in question did not appear. Since it was a common name, one would expect three or four people with the same name, but strangely, there wasn’t a single one. As he passed the three-hundred mark, Wolf let out a soft sigh.

“Close it.”

〔Confirmed.〕

The mirror document closed. Wolf leaned his back against the gunwale and tilted his head back. The cloudless autumn sky was as deep blue as it had been yesterday. If it were a person, it would be an expression devoid of any worry. Though perhaps not to that extent, the expression on his own face now was considerably lighter than yesterday’s.

I didn’t kill Silver’s father.

Fuck. Awesome!

All that remained was to clear up Silver’s misunderstanding. It wouldn’t be easy, but he had to manage it somehow. And… he had to say those words. The words he had decided to tell Silver the first moment he spotted the mantis fairy on Silver’s shoulder back on the beach.

I’m also a survivor who escaped the skeleton wraith’s lair, just like you. What reward did you get from there?

Do you want to go on an adventure with me?

They arrived at the mainland port before sunset. As the three pirate ships rounded the final cape, the sun had turned copper and was descending from the sky. The port was of a scale that could easily accommodate thirty of the Shark Tooth Gang’s makeshift piers.

The stone-built piers stretched long into the sea like measuring tapes. Beside the rows of docked local vessels, several elegant and sophisticated Atania merchant ships braved the sea breeze. Dozens of Stohl royal warships were also [stolen content]visible. The warships, adorned with -->stolen contenttheir characteristically gloomy bow decorations, were clustered near the eastern breakwater, far away from the general vessels.

The docks were crowded with people. Sailors hurriedly carried wooden crates along the deck ramps. Merchants raised their voices while waving cargo manifests, and a port bell rang somewhere. Fishmongers, mule drivers, carriages, and carts moved in a chaotic mix. And the ‘true masters of the docks,’ as recognized by everyone in Stohl—the riffraff—were stationed everywhere, their eyes gleaming as they scouted for today’s prey.

As the sunset descended, the Shark Tooth Gang’s pirate ships entered the empty berths. Before the mooring lines could even tighten, the riffraff spotted them.

“Huh? Oh! Ohhh!”

“Oh? Oh! Ohhh!”

The masters of the docks rushed forward like a swarm of rats descending on a pile of grain. In an instant, the pirates were surrounded by beggars, pickpockets, prostitutes, male hustlers, and muggers.

“Honeyyy! That one-eyed look is so hot! One penny for a night!”

“Your gums are sexy! I’ll suck you deep in the throat! One penny!”

“Just give me a single cent!”

In the hands stretched out here and there, there were not only beggar’s tins but also bundles of green leaves.

“Top-grade hallucination herb! One bundle for one penny!”

“Two bundles for one penny! Taste heaven…!”

The sales pitch couldn’t be finished. A pirate as large as a bear roughly snatched the bundle of hallucination herb from unauthorized copythe beggar grandma’s [unauthorized copy]hand and buried his face in it, weeping as if greeting a lover returned from war. Before long, the riffraff were the ones surrounded by the pirates.

The pirates went wild, shoving each other to seize even one more leaf of hallucination herb. One pirate knocked out an old male hustler with a blow to the head and plundered his bundles of herb. In the blink of an eye, all the hallucination herbs of the riffraff had passed into the pirates’ clutches. Not content with holding them in their hands or stuffing them in pockets, they put them in their mouths and even plugged them into their ears and nostrils. Among them, some pirates used their old pickpocketing skills to clean out the riffraff’s pockets entirely.

The commotion only ended after enough time for half a candle to burn down. The riffraff barely managed to escape, crawling between the pirates’ legs. Wolf raised an arm.

“Listen up! Everyone assemble at the pier tomorrow morning when the bell rings nine times. We depart according to the tide. Anyone who doesn’t show up gets left behind!”

“Don’t worry, Captain!”

A female pirate with hallucination herbs plugged into both ears raised her fist.

“We’ll assemble when the bell rings seven times! You’ll be the one who’s late, Captain!”

“Reliable as always.”

Wolf nodded, firmly resolving that he would wake up tomorrow dawn and go to every inn to beat those druggies awake.

“Now, let’s go rest at the inn.”

Since there were so many people, they split up, with 50 people per inn. Wolf, leading a group of pirates including the vice-captain Charcoal Fire Bear and Silver, headed toward the nearest inn.

The inn’s sign was so worn by wind and waves that it looked like nothing more than a scrap of board. A yellowish light leaking from the windows stained the ground outside. The moment Wolf’s party pushed open the door and entered, the tavern fell into a dead silence. All the customers seemed speechless at the sight of the drug-addicted army, armed(?) with hallucination herbs all over their bodies.

Charcoal Fire Bear was efficient. He scanned the surroundings, [Read on Read BL Novels]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen content]his eyes showing only the whites, and said just one thing.

“Get out.”

The customers were quick-witted. They all shut their mouths, grabbed their coats, left the money for the drinks on the tables, and fled in silent, orderly fashion. Once the tavern was empty, Charcoal Fire Bear strode upstairs. Thumping sounds, the slam of doors, and women’s screams followed in succession. In the time it took to breathe in and out seven or eight times, only the pirate crew and the owner remained in the inn.

Wolf asked the owner.

“How many rooms?”

“Twelve. Two beds per room. It should roughly fit if four people go into one room.”

“Two people left over. Well, that shouldn’t matter.”

Wolf looked back at Silver.

“Want to share a room? In case you want a bed all to yourself.”