Chapter 15

An unfamiliar ceiling loomed before her eyes.

As she gazed at it,

the woman named Elkana spoke in a dazed voice.

“?… Am I… alive?”

A cannonball soaring towards her at the last moment.

She thought her already fleeting life would come to a complete end with that.

Yet, at this moment, she was alive.

Moreover, she felt no more pain or fatigue,

to put it simply, she felt incredibly high.

‘What happened? Why am I…’

Elkana looked around, questioning the reality of the situation.

Just then…

“Hmm…”

“Hmm?”

In the next moment, a familiar voice reached her ears.

Turning her head towards the source of the sound, Elkana found the figure before her,

and in an instant, tears began to swirl in her eyes.

“Magellan…”

A man sprawled on the bed, dozing off.

Seeing the one she had risked her life to save unharmed washed over Elkana’s heart with profound relief.

Automatically, her hand reached out.

Overwhelmed by the desire to hug the man right then and there, she lowered herself.

But then…

“…Huhuhu…”

Suddenly, another desire emerged, pushing away her previous yearning.

Elkana wiped away the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes and began to smile widely.

And then…

– Thud!

“Ugh!”

A mercilessly strong punch landed.

The strike was akin to a bullet… no, comparable to a cannonball, jolting Magellan’s mind awake with dazzling clarity.

So bright it felt like his head was about to fry…

“Ugh… What? Who the hell…?!”

“When are you going to wake up? Good children should rise early!”

“…”

“…Huh?”

Despite the usual morning greeting, Magellan remained unresponsive.

Feeling awkward as he stared at her with a vacant expression, Elkana asked in a cautious voice.

“What… what’s up?… Why are you staring at me like that? It’s so awkward… Could you react a little… oof!”

Immediately, Magellan pulled Elkana into a fierce embrace.

Caught off guard by the sheer intensity, Elkana struggled a bit, feeling as if she couldn’t breathe.

Yet…

“Thank goodness… really… I’m so relieved…”

“…”

With deep relief, Magellan trembled.

Unbeknownst to her, Elkana smiled softly while gently patting his back.

“Thank you… truly… really thank you… Elkana… for being alive…”

“…I should be thanking you, Magellan, for staying alive…”

What they thought might be their final moments turned into a situation of survival.

Sharing their joy over that fact, the two embraced for a while.

After a while, as their intense emotions settled, Magellan cautiously lowered his arms, feeling a little embarrassed.

At that moment.

“So, when are you going to buy me clothes?”

“Uh… huh? Oh… clothes?”

“Are you seriously going to forget? You promised that if we survived, you’d buy me a dress laden with jewels. You were even crying when you said it, don’t think you can back out now!”

“Ah…”

The memory from that frantic moment suddenly came back to him.

Given how heartfelt that promise was, he had to uphold it.

However…

“Um… well, you see…”

“What? Are you saying that now that you’ve survived, you feel it’s too wasteful to buy for a girl like me?”

“Ah… No… that’s not it, it’s just…”

Stuttering and hesitating, Magellan pondered.

But… considering it was something he had to explain eventually, he couldn’t avoid the truth.

This was the cabin of the Pirate King’s Ship.

With the help of the Pirate King, they had narrowly survived, and they had sworn allegiance to him.

And even more seriously…

“Wha… What? 100 talants? What kind of treatment cost is that?! Furthermore, what country charges a weekly interest of 10%?!”

“W-Well, I managed to scrape together 25 talants from the money left on board to pay some of the debt… but we still have 75 talants left.”

“…Damn it… Is this some kind of highway robbery? Oh… they are pirates, aren’t they?”

Given that their profession was literally holding swords and demanding money, it felt somewhat silly to complain now.

Above all, given that the value of life was literally at stake, one could argue that they got off cheap.

And since they weren’t originally wealthy, compared to the sums they had earned as bounty hunters, 75 talants didn’t seem that outrageous.

The problem was…

“Well… I should assume the money at the Marinseu Bank is completely gone.”

“Haah… That was hard-earned money… All those 8000 talants collected by someone who skipped a drink or two with the ladies, all gone like this…”

“…Are you seriously complaining about this now?”

“It’s a compliment, you know?!”

“Hmm…”

Since the navy had deployed cannons, it was certain that various charges had been fabricated against them.

Their savings at the bank must have also been confiscated in the process.

In any case, given the dire state they were in with the Duke hot on their tails, returning to the Port of Marinseu was out of the question, leaving them practically broke.

Considering the absurd interest rate of 10% per week, they needed to secure money as quickly as possible, but Elkana had no immediate ideas.

“Well… if the person we borrowed the money from is the Vice-Captain, we’re basically subordinate and superior now, right? With the current situation, isn’t it alright to have a little debt?”

“…You really don’t know, do you? That pirate named Lemain is quite a character.”

“Uh… what?”

“Rumor has it, if you borrow money from her and can’t repay it, entire villages have disappeared from the maps. There’s even talk that an entire family ended up being sold at the black market as fresh meat for 2380 coopers per 100g. Do you really think she’ll show mercy just because you’re her subordinate?”

The oddly specific numbers made him uneasy, but it was plain to see that getting into debt with such a person could lead to them being butchered and sold as soup bones.

Regardless of the truth behind the rumors, consolidating any kind of debt relationship was a good idea.

“Ugh… then it’s really not the time to be discussing dresses and all… What… what are we supposed to do now…?”

Naturally, in their current state, hunting pirates for the bounty was impossible.

And even considering that they could steal, it was a world where opportunities for plunder were scarce, and the rising interest rates were terrifying.

Though they had escaped with their lives, Elkana couldn’t help but frown at their troublesome predicament.

At that moment.

“It seems that given the circumstances, we have only one remaining means.”

“Hmm? What? Do you have some hidden stash of emergency funds?”

“Emergency funds, you say… to be precise, there’s some payment we received for a mission that slipped my mind. Do you recall the strange witch who we received a request from before? The one that had us chasing Leviathan across the sea for nearly three months?”

“!… Ah… I remember. Right… the payment from that time, we didn’t bring it back because something urgent came up, did we?”

“Yes, that’s right. It should be around 800 talants, which is more than enough to pay off our debts.”

“Indeed. Plus, it would cover moving expenses as well…”

Though they had become crew members of the Pirate King, they were essentially rookies starting anew.

To establish their daily lives and a foothold on this ship, they definitely needed some leeway in funding.

Thus, Magellan and Elkana decided their immediate course of action was to retrieve their deposit from Benessa.

Next, they aimed to secure a firm footing here as quickly as possible, not as nondescript recruits but aiming for a higher position…

To become part of the crew’s hierarchy.

And then…

Once they became officers and gained a voice within the pirate king’s fleet…

“Ocleang… how dare you touch our companions…”

“That pig of a duke… no matter the cost, I will cut off his head with my own hands…”

Unlike the two fortunate survivors, the remaining comrades had perished.

Thinking of the precious families of Demanes who had sacrificed themselves to protect them provoked a smoldering anger in their hearts.

They had to exact revenge.

To relieve the grievances of their comrades who shed blood in the afterlife, they had to ensure the Duke Ocleang met his end by their own hands.

To achieve that, the two needed to win the Pirate King’s favor and mobilize his enormous power.

With that determination fueling them, they were about to delve deeper into discussions related to Benessa when…

– Knock knock.

“Hmm?”

A sudden knock interrupted their thoughts.

As the cabin door slowly opened, a familiar face began to appear.

“Ah… you’re… definitely from back then…”

“Hello. I am Ambasha.”

The girl with bright, innocent eyes was the one they’d met on the Island of Cyprus.

Perhaps because their first meeting had gone terribly, Magellan felt a bit awkward towards her.

However, unlike him, Elkana beamed with a bright smile and said to Ambasha,

“I see, well I just happen to have a lot of questions now. I’m looking forward to your guidance, senior.”

“Yes! To begin, I’ll tell you the basic rules. Generally, physical violence between crew members is prohibited on board…”

Elkana’s natural and friendly responses eased the awkwardness.

Following suit, Ambasha immediately began to explain.

Feeling that she was quite adaptable in such matters, Magellan quietly listened, appreciating the cheerful vibes that Ambasha brought.

*

Inside the command room, over a map.

I gazed at the depiction of the Mediterranean Sea before me and calmly asked the man standing opposite me,

“What’s your take?”

“…It won’t be easy. Getting in won’t be a huge problem, but getting out will certainly attract the attention of the Adriatic Navy.”

A slender man with glasses and a sharp appearance stood before me; he was one of the leaders of the pirate crew and our ship’s navigator.

Samir Rolonu.

Feeling a pang of disappointment from his calm assessment, I voiced my bitter thoughts.

“Tch… so sneaking in quietly is out of the question.”

“The season is not in our favor. Given the current currents, entering is straightforward, but escaping quickly will be challenging… Personally, I wouldn’t recommend even trying to enter Benessa now.”

“Hm…”

It seemed we had no choice but to accept some level of damage.

Typically, I would have taken his advice and considered other options.

But…

“I regret to say, I’m not asking you for your judgment. I merely wish to know how much loss we should expect.”

“What’s… going on? Is there a reason we must go to Benessa at this time?”

Samir cautiously inquired.

To which I replied,

“There is. So set sail.”

“…Understood. Captain.”

He respectfully bowed his head before promptly exiting the cabin.

I turned my gaze to Benessa marked on the map.

The maritime city charmed as the queen of the Adriatic Sea.

A certain item lay buried within it.

And I thought of a person…