By Zephyria =======
In a case like this, the simplest solution would be to open the door and smash the threshold. However, this kitchen was a building constructed as if it had been shoved into a sunken plot of land. The moment the threshold was destroyed, the communal kitchen would likely have to be repurposed as a communal bathhouse.
The kitchen floor was flooded with water reaching about two palms’ height above a person’s ankle. Buckets floated here and there. The firewood piled in one corner was half-soaked, its bottom half turned pitch black. The charcoal beneath the largest pot emitted a faint orange glow. In human terms, it was like the brief moment of clarity in the eyes just before death.
Wolf swallowed a curse. If it weren’t for being on an island, he would have bolted long ago, damn it.
The cook on duty, who had been scooping water, let out a loud roar.
“You finally show up, you pieces of shit! Half the firewood is soaked—!”
“We brought the rookies! One is fast and one is big!”
One of the senior pirates shouted. The cook waved his arm without even looking this way.
“Fine! The fast one scoops the water! The big one pushes the pillar!”
The seniors joined in, barking like sheepdogs.
“Silver! Clean the drain first! Then scoop out the overflowing water on the floor!”
“Stuffy Field Mouse! You push the pillar!”
“If the pillar collapses, support it with your head!”
Wolf trudged toward the pillar. Silver kicked a bucket, sending it flying into the air, then snatched the handle and walked toward the drain.
Squatting down and dipping his hand into the water, Silver spat out a curse.
“Fuck. It really is fish guts.”
“Out of all the places, they dumped it in the rain gutter. That’s a talent in itself.”
Wolf muttered as he placed both hands on the pillar. Silver shot back.
“It’s your brothers’ talent.”
“What?”
Wolf glanced at Silver from the corner of his eye.
“What are you talking about? My brothers?”
“Aren’t they? All the pirates here are your brothers.”
Silver ripped out a handful of guts and flung them. The mass flew through the air and landed with a wet splat on the backside of a chatting senior.
“Hey! You little—!”
Silver didn’t even lift his head. The seniors pointed at Silver, raising their voices.
“Watch your step, brat. You’ll slip.”
“That bastard did that on purpose!”
“No, he just threw it without looking back. It was a mistake, a mistake.”
Watching this, Wolf suppressed a smirk. Silver, huh? Now that I look at him, he has a funny side.
Regardless, he didn’t want to spend another second in this sea of water. Wolf twisted his body opposite to the tilt of the pillar. One foot directly in front of the pillar, the other half a step behind. He bent his knees to lower his center of gravity and pushed with all his might, as if supporting the pillar with both hands. The moment the wood grain slid with friction against his palms, the pillar snapped upright with a loud crack.
“Mission accomplished!”
Wolf dusted off his hands and stepped back. The seniors stopped their chatter and stared. Every one of them had their mouth agape, as if their jaws might hit the floor. Wolf shrugged.
“I told you I could do the work of five people.”
“In one go… This isn’t the work of five people; it’s the work of fifty.”
“The inside of the wooden pillar was rotten! No matter how much energy you have, you can’t set a pillar that big upright in one go.”
Whether the seniors babbled or not, Wolf looked over Silver’s shoulder at the drain. The flow of water was the problem. Instead of following the slope of the floor and rushing into the drain, the water was swirling violently.
Wolf shifted his gaze to the broken wall. There was a palm-sized hole about ankle-height from the kitchen floor. Due to the rapidly swirling current, not much was leaking out through there.
Wolf tapped Silver’s shoulder with his knee.
“Hey.”
“Want me to break your leg?”
Silver didn’t even look back. Wolf placed both hands on his hips.
“I thought you said you hated being treated like a brother? Anyway, to the point. If you just dig out the drain like that, you won’t finish even if you stay up all night.”
“So? You got another way?”
“I do. Just wait a second.”
Wolf stepped outside, splashing through the water. Doing this reminded him of the time he did the
He scanned the surroundings. Wooden planks, fist-sized stones, broken roof tiles. Useful things were scattered everywhere.
Wolf picked out a sturdy wooden plank. He placed several large stones on the plank. Carrying it like a dessert tray, he returned to the kitchen and squatted next to Silver.
“Move.”
“Hmph, why? What for?”
Contrary to his words, Silver moved aside quickly. Quick on the uptake, this one.
Wolf covered the drain with the wooden plank. Carefully observing which edges were lifting, he placed the stones one by one. Weighted down by the stones, the plank adhered firmly to the drain. The murky foam and current surging from the drain subsided noticeably.
“See. The backflow is blocked.”
Wolf gestured with his chin toward the interior.
“Even if you clear the drain, the outer waterway is diligently pushing rainwater in this direction. In the end, the water just circles here. You have to stop the backflow first.”
“Doing this… won’t…”
“Yeah. Doing this won’t finish it.”
Wolf stepped outside again. He leaned several planks against the broken wall of the kitchen one by one. These were the sentries guarding the exterior. Then, he dragged several long planks back into the kitchen. He also brought planks loaded with stones. He laid the planks diagonally on the floor toward the hole in the wall and fixed them with stones. These were the attackers, diverting the swirling current.
It didn’t take long for the current to change. The water hitting the attackers shifted direction all at once and began to slide out through the hole in the wall. The water level on the kitchen floor gradually dropped. The rainwater pouring inside was blocked by the outer sentries.
After a bit more time passed, the current finally calmed. The water stopped at ankle height.
“Ta-da! Now the scooping side wins.”
Wolf raised both arms high. Silver looked at Wolf once and then whipped his head away. The seniors and the cook on duty cheered.
“Wow! We fixed it before all the firewood got soaked!”
“He’s not doing the work of 50, but 500 people!”
“Silver! Don’t bury that guy, keep him alive! He’s useful!”
“Brothers, you flatter him. Even a brat from Atania could think of this much.”
After throwing out a pointed remark, Wolf picked up a bucket. It was time to scoop out the remaining water in the kitchen. Silver also picked up a bucket and muttered.
“Brat. Using his head.”
A curse instead of a thank you? As expected, you really did mark me as the ‘guy to be torn to pieces’ just because I made a slip of the tongue. Right?
The seniors had at least a bit of brainpower. Realizing that if they left the scooping entirely to the two rookies, it wouldn’t be finished until all the firewood was soaked in moisture, they picked up buckets. Together, they scooped the water and threw it outside the entrance.
Because the kitchen was so wide, the work didn’t end easily. Hair clung to Wolf’s back. Even though he wasn’t wearing anything on his upper body because he had rushed out, sweat poured down. The seniors had also stripped off their tops long ago and were scooping water. Only Silver, with his back to Wolf, remained in his robe. He even had the hood pulled low.
“Aren’t you hot?”
Wolf asked casually. Silver didn’t even lift his head. Scoop water, lift, throw, scoop again. Only his arms moved like a waterwheel.
Wolf shut his mouth tight. For some reason, he felt irritated.
Only the sound of splashing water, the curses of the senior pirates, and the heavy sound of rain surrounded them. The torrential rain hammered the roof frantically, as if it held a grudge against the pirate crew. Wolf set down his bucket and straightened his body. Pressing his lower back with his palm, he looked around.
The kitchen floor was finally starting to show. There wasn’t much time left to blindly stare at Silver’s black robe… wait, stop.
A question occurred to him belatedly. He wondered why he had been staring at Silver’s back the entire time they were scooping water. He could have looked anywhere else. Am I conscious of Silver?
Admitted. I am. Ever since I first saw him on the ship.
But this consciousness feels different from that kind of consciousness.
…
Wolf turned around and muttered to himself. Think of a cute baby goat. Think of freshly squeezed goat milk. Imagine bread just taken out of the oven.
He grabbed the bucket again. This time, he scooped the water while staring intently only at the floor. By the time the time it takes for a single candle to burn down had passed, the bare floor finally emerged.
“Fuck. Done.”
Wolf flung the bucket aside. The seniors, seemingly lacking the strength to even cheer, all collapsed on the floor and closed their eyes. Good, I’ll escape before those druggies open their eyes. Quickly, before I’m saddled with more manual labor!
The moment he turned, he flinched. Silver was already running out of the kitchen. Wolf widened his stride and caught up in three or four steps.
“Hey.”
“Busy.”
“Got it. Run away hard.”
He ran for his life. The mud splashed beneath his boots. Before long, the torrential rain turned into a thin, persistent drizzle.
92 – Hell’s Execution Order