Volume 4 Chapter 70 The Enemy Is A Pirate？
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”──Listen”
Lifia slid her fingertips gently and strummed the harp strings.
The magic tool, the Siren’s Harp, shone silver-blue as it quietly played music.
A calm and clear melody spread across the ship.
The faces of the pirates lying on the deck grew calm. The sound entered their minds.
The rebellious pirates hesitated, then quickly fell silent.
This magic tool, the Siren’s Harp, can control the feelings of anyone who hears it.
This time, the targets were pirates. The effect wanted was to make them honest. It was used as help for confessions.
Now, we began to question the pirates.
”Name? Where are you from? How did you know about the navy’s movements?”
At first, the pirates only groaned in reply. But little by little, they started to speak.
But—
”I don’t know… my boss decided everything.”
”The ship, the maps, the weapons… we got them from somewhere.”
”When the boss said the navy would be there next, they were never there.”
”How we know… no one knows…”
No matter how much we asked, no one knew any details.
From what we learned, the boss appeared a few years ago.
He gathered thugs and sailors who lost their jobs in the town and formed a pirate group.
For some reason, they knew about the navy’s movements, had pirate ships, and many mysteries surrounded them.
They never spoke about their boss’s background.
As expected, that boss wasn’t just a normal bandit.
Pirates always put their own lives first. There should be no information worth dying for.
The atmosphere did not feel very pirate-like.
Maybe it was a pity they died. We should have used the harp first to take away their will.
But it’s fine. No point regretting.
After calming down, we began searching the pirate ship.
We checked the cabins, secret compartments, and cargo areas carefully. We found several maps and navigation records.
This is useful. We just set sail and don’t know much about the nearby waters.
We handed everything to Sailor Brownie right away. They should make good use of it.
During the search, it became clear where the pirates’ base probably was.
It matched the place where we had interrogated them.
A pirate hideout—maybe there is treasure there?
After delivering Korukona, if we have time, exploring there might be a good idea.
We might learn about the organization or their purpose.
While we were thinking this, Korukona suddenly asked quietly.
”Taro, are you pirates or what?”
I froze from the unexpected question.
Pirates? Us? Why would she say that?
”Because there is no flag or anything.”
Yeah, our ship has no flag or crest. Nothing to show who we belong to.
But does that instantly make us pirates?
”Even without that, can you be a pirate?”
I looked at the pirate ship’s sail. It had a skull mark that showed they were lawless on the sea.
”That’s not there.”
”Not there?”
”Yes. If a ship with that mark shows up, normally the navy would come running.”
Even Korukona’s sense tells her that using a skull mark is not normal for pirates.
Typical pirates don’t do something so obvious.
They hide, sneak, and try not to be noticed by the navy.
Normal pirates disguise their ships as harmless fishing or merchant ships.
But that pirate group proudly showed the skull mark. They wanted to be seen.
In other words, the skull mark proves they are unusual.
Maybe they think it’s valuable to show off. That is their way.
Normally, the navy would chase pirates with that mark. But for this group, the navy does not try to catch them.
It must be because they have some reason or plan.
”So, it’s weird that you and the others are called pirates. Compared to them, your ship looks much more like a pirate ship, Taro.”
I understood.
If there are no signs to show who owns the ship, meeting the navy or other ships could cause trouble.
They would be careful, and the navy might chase us.
Of course, our ship is fast, and with Lifia’s wind magic, we can escape. If needed, we can run to a Love Hotel. But doing that every time is annoying.
If we plan to keep sailing, we should think about countermeasures.
Well, we can decide later.
* * *
Two ships cut through the waves on the open sea.
One is our fast, high-performance ship bought at the dungeon.
The other is the pirate ship we took from the pirate group we caught.
Sailor Brownie and the others steer the pirate ship.
If left to them, they can handle it easily. They are skilled.
Still, I worried a little about what to do with this new ship.
Looking at the ships’ performance, ours is much better. Speed and equipment are very different.
We don’t need a second ship.
But even if it is worse, it’s a shame to just throw it away.
It would be best to store it in the motel, but we cannot do that now.
Korukona is with us. We cannot show her the details of that space.
So for now, we sail with two ships side by side.
We will store the pirate ship after sending her back home.
Then, there was the question of what to do with the pirates.
We can’t get more information from them. They are not trustworthy as sailors.
The Siren’s Harp controls them only while they listen to music. When it stops, they become lawless troublemakers again.
Giving them to the navy is also bad. We are almost criminals ourselves, so we want to stay away.
So, we let the pirates go free.
They are probably swimming happily with the fish by now.
* * *
After sailing for some time, we saw the fishing village ahead.
It was the village where Korukona, the cat-eared girl, lives.
The village was clearly on alert because two suspicious ships were coming.
Small boats near the harbor pulled back quickly.
Men with weapons gathered on the pier, watching us from a distance.
This reaction is natural after pirates attacked before. It was no wonder they thought pirates had increased.
”Hey!”
Korukona broke the tense mood as she stood on the deck.
She stood at the bow, cheerfully waving her hand.
Seeing her, everyone was surprised and confused but slowly felt relief. People began to gather.
When the ship got close to the port, before docking, Korukona moved.
Though still some distance away, she jumped from the deck.
She barely crossed the water and landed on the pier.
Amazing body skill.
”Grandpa!”
She ran and jumped with great force onto a white-haired, cat-eared old man waiting at the harbor. He must be Korukona’s grandfather.
”Korukona!? You’re safe!”
The old man opened his eyes wide and hugged her.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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