By Zephyria =======
Several rafts were scattered on the beach where the funeral was being held. Those damn bastards. Silver flipped them off in his mind and turned away. If Black Weasel were alive to see this scene, he’d be wide-eyed with shock, but this seemingly docile obedience had its own hidden reasons.
Article 3 of the Shark Tooth Gang’s regulations. If caught slacking off without working, you must personally pull out your own tooth. For some reason, all the pirates strictly adhered to this rule. Not only the senior pirates, but even Charcoal Fire Bear—there wasn’t a single person in the Shark Tooth Gang with a full set of intact teeth.
I want to live as a slave……!
The Bone Flute Tower was located on a promontory quite a distance from the breakwater. It was a tubular structure haphazardly assembled from whale rock bones, auditory bones, ribs, and vertebrae. This tower, which looked like a pile of animal bones from the outside, was actually a defensive weapon.
When wind seeped through the cracks in the tower, the thick periosteum of the whale’s ear bones would vibrate, producing an extremely low, unstable, trembling sound that spread in multiple directions. Its effect was powerful. Those near the tower would have their sense of direction disrupted, unable to steady themselves. Vomiting. Fainting. Invaders approaching by boat would lose control of the helm and crash their hulls onto the reefs.
Even plugging your ears with wax and wrapping them tightly with cloth couldn’t block the sound. That didn’t mean the fortress was completely impregnable, though. There were three or four methods. One of them.
‘Depending on the wind direction and speed, the sound sometimes weakens.’
The senior pirate had said when showing Silver the pirate island facilities.
‘Between an east wind of 3 bu and 4 bu, the sound weakens. With a west wind or strong wind, the sound gets muddled. You’ll feel dizzy and nauseous, but it’s somewhat bearable? Of course, no wind is best.’
In other words, he had to seize that brief moment when the sea fog cleared and the wind axis twisted. Silver sprawled on the sandy ground, spreading his hands. In the distance, the Bone Flute Tower shone silver under the moonlight.
The night breeze brushed his hands. Silver took a deep breath. The saltiness of the sea, the fishy smell, rushed into his body. Soon, a soft whisper escaped his lips as he exhaled.
“Southwest… 3 bu?”
If the wind axis twisted just a little more, the sound would disappear. Silver closed his eyes and focused all his nerves on his palms. Around the time it would take to drink a sip of water, the wind axis changed minutely. From 3 bu to 2.5 bu.
Now.
Silver immediately stood up. No time to brush off his butt. If he ran as fast as possible, he could reach the Bone Flute Tower in the time it took to exhale fifteen breaths.
He inhaled sharply and dashed out simultaneously. The stone path leading to the promontory was wet. Silver’s body, unburdened by the robe that was like iron armor, was as light as a butterfly.
Fourteen. Twelve.
In an instant, the Bone Flute Tower drew closer. The sound wasn’t dense. The wind had stopped.
Nine.
The Bone Flute Tower looked as if several giant orcas had been captured, their flesh stripped and bones left behind. Two scarecrows hung from the top of the tower. They served as flags, but no pirate could properly explain why they had to be scarecrows. With no wind, the two scarecrows hung limply like executed prisoners who had been hanged.
Seven. Six.
Four!
He arrived faster than expected. Silver stepped on the protruding bones and climbed up. Compared to scaling cave walls, this was a piece of cake. The problem was the wind. Getting hit directly by the sound here would be like being rammed by a bull.
A little more. Just a little more.
Silver’s hand swiftly snatched the two scarecrows. He then swung his body up in one motion. Landing on the tower’s midsection, he jumped down to the ground in one go. He immediately pressed himself to the ground and rolled away. After a while, he spun around, righted his posture, and stood up smoothly. Meanwhile, the bone flute was making sound! A surging wave of nausea directly announced the wind’s return. Damn it!
Silver plugged his ears tightly with the scarecrows and ran for his life.
“Ugh! Fuck! Fuck!”
How long had he run? Somehow, he felt his stomach settling. Silver subtly slowed his pace and slightly removed the scarecrows from his ears. Oh! It’s fine!
Looking back, a long trail of footprints was deeply imprinted in the sand. The Bone Flute Tower looked as small as a seed. Silver slung the scarecrows over his shoulder and let out a deep sigh.
He ended up recalling it after a long time. The skeleton wraith with the face of an innocent girl.
“These bones, those bones… they’re all fucking awful…….”
* * *
The sandy shore beside the breakwater was littered with driftwood and crab shells. An overwhelmingly strong smell of alcohol, as if a brewery’s barrels had all burst at once, and the smell of roasting meat filled the beach completely. Charcoal Fire Bear was sitting on a wooden chair next to a raft, tilting a wine cup. Beside him, his lover poured wine and flirted.
The pirates were utterly drunk on alcohol and hallucination herbs, staggering about. It seemed all members of the Shark Tooth Gang had gathered. Well, if they’re providing booze and a show, only a fool would leave.
“Oh, you’re back already? Newbie, your skills are pretty good!”
When he found the seniors and presented the scarecrows, slurred voices replied.
“Wow, similar! Newbie, did you work at a tailor shop before coming here?”
“Hey, look at this face, it looks just like him!”
“Newbie, next time make my clothes toooo!”
Finally, Silver’s mind went completely blank. That’s right, why didn’t I think of that? I could have gathered the straw scattered everywhere and made scarecrows! No, more than that?
‘Hey, newbie. You heard? We’ll take care of the raft, you bring the scarecrows.’
Looking back, the seniors hadn’t even mentioned the Bone Flute Tower from the start. They knew that the very act of fetching scarecrows from the Bone Flute Tower was utterly absurd. Not knowing that, I risked my life, tumbled around, fought nausea while running… Am I a bigger fool than those senior bastards?
Silver slumped down slowly. The seniors each held up a scarecrow, let out cheers, and ran towards Charcoal Fire Bear.
“Charcoal Fire Bear! The brothers are here!”
“We’ve decorated the older brothers and the second brother!”
Charcoal Fire Bear bellowed loudly. Silver rested his chin on one hand and watched the frenzy before him. The pirates’ behavior was so bizarre that compared to them, Black Weasel seemed like an Atanian monk.
Why, of all those uninhabited islands, did I have to drift to this one?
Damn storm. Goddamn shipwreck. Uselessly tenacious life.
“Big Brother, was it like this?”
A guy missing three fingers and one eye picked up a charred black branch from the bonfire. Soot was smeared thickly on the scarecrow’s face.
“How is it? Just like him!”
“Not at all. It looks like my pubic hair.”
When someone retorted, the pirates held their bellies and giggled.
“You have to attach eyes, you idiot!”
A female pirate missing her front teeth pushed her comrades aside and stepped forward. Two mismatched buttons were attached to the scarecrow’s face.
“Finished! This is it! Big Brother!”
“Big Brother! Big Brother! We respect you!”
The pirates, who had been swinging their fists in the air, pounced on the second scarecrow. A rolled-up dried squid was stuck in the scarecrow’s crotch.
“It’s Second Brother! He always bragged about his prince, right!”
“Really impressive!”
“Brother! You should get up! A great ship is passing through our sea!”
Only then did Charcoal Fire Bear stagger to his feet from his chair. With a face as red as if painted with blood, he let out a belch and stammered.
“Me and you guys are here… ah, why did we come again? Right, to send off the brothers… A life like… bird shit, no, like sparks…….”
“Hurry up and finish!”
Someone shouted abruptly.
“The meat’s gonna burn! Let’s send the brothers off quickly and have fun!”
The pirates responded with cheers. Immediately, the ‘brothers’ were laid on a raft made of three logs.
“Light it up!”
A pirate held a torch to the scarecrows. With a whoosh, the scarecrows quickly transformed into balls of fire.
“Push!”
The pirates pushed the two rafts into the waves with all their might. A sudden gust of wind blew from the sea, and the rafts wobbled back towards the beach.
“They’re coming back!”
“The brothers don’t want to go!”
“Push harder, you one-eyed bastard!”
The pirates jumped into the water and showered curses towards the rafts.
“Go! Get lost quickly, you bastards!”
“Let us have some fun!”
Finally, the two rafts caught the current. The rafts, now turned into fireballs, gradually drifted away, but by then, no pirate was paying attention. Toasts. The smell of burning meat. Laughter. In every aspect, it was the epitome of a ‘live-for-today’ life. Silver hung his head low. He was so disgusted he couldn’t stand it anymore. After just one month, he was giving up on pirate life.
Let’s run away.
78 – Hell Execution Order