“Did you really take the lead? Commander, are you out of your mind?”
“Hah…”
A young female officer spoke with a look that seemed to have lost all sense of disbelief.
In response, General Garden, the admiral participating in this operation from the Port of Marinseu, let out a deep sigh.
“Even I, who belong to the army, understand this fact. Stepping to the front against that Pirate King—this is essentially tantamount to being a bullet catcher or committing suicide, isn’t it?”
“True, but… what can be done? The commander made that reckless decision. More than that, now that discussions with the others have taken place and a decision has been made, there’s no way to change it.”
“Ugh…”
If it were a unilateral decision, perhaps they could have pressured the inexperienced commander to try and make some changes.
But as it stood, they were undeniably obliged to operate within the alliance.
In such a situation, changing a previously decided matter would be exceedingly difficult.
“What on earth are they thinking?… Why would they do something so absurd…”
“They probably weren’t thinking at all. That’s the kind of person who was chosen by Duke Ocleang, and well… it’s not my place to comment.”
General Garden forced a bitter smile as he recalled the past involving Magellan’s crew.
Continuing, he looked at her and spoke again.
“By the way, you’ve had a lot of trouble, haven’t you? Even if it’s General Rafael’s order, participating in a naval battle while being in the army like this…”
A hint of bitterness laced his words.
To this, she…
A woman in her early twenties with close to black blonde hair and green eyes smiled faintly, replying.
“It can’t be helped… It’s for work, after all.”
Gratefully feeling sincere thanks towards General Pierre for agreeing to take the lead, the other three had a separate meeting.
Unlike those genuinely feeling thanks, they were accurately grasping the situation and began discussing the forthcoming war.
“Well then, since General Pierre has agreed to take the lead, we can comfortably strategize now.”
“Agreed. It’s truly thoughtful of him to sacrifice for us.”
“But it’s curious… How can such a clueless innocent be a commander?”
When it came to assessing military strength and maintaining vigilance, Commander Pierre knew nothing about the level of the Pirate King’s power.
No matter how insufficient the navy strength of the Kingdom of Frantz was, it was still hard to fathom how someone lacking such fundamental common sense could lead a sizable military force to this point.
“About the Kingdom of Frantz. I have no interest. We just need to use them.”
“Same here. For now, let’s focus on how to seize this opportunity to strike against the Pirate King.”
The three nodded lightly at Achroiel’s words.
And then.
“Let’s position ourselves on the left wing at Benessa.”
“That’s alright. Leave the left to us. You deal with the vice-captain on the right wing.”
“If we’re pirates, shouldn’t we gallantly take down the enemy? I have matters to attend to on the left, so you privateers should deal with the foes on the right.”
“Haha…”
The expected squabble began.
Preliminary maneuvers for minimizing their losses and maximizing their gains were underway…
The ‘strategy meeting’ extended until it was shrouded in darkness.
They planned to set out at the earliest by the day after tomorrow, so the gathered naval officers and pirates were currently docking at the Island of Sicilia, easing their ways and preparing for battle.
In particular, the crew of the White Shark Pirate Crew, led by Elise, who had run the farthest to get here, were mostly extremely exhausted.
Some were still on the ship, asleep in their cabins, while many were resting in an inn located in the port city.
“Come on, drink up!”
“How long has it been since we had meat? I’ve suffered through eating stinky fish all this time.”
“Higuma, you’re a pirate and yet you’re whining about meat? Why not just change jobs from pirate to bandit?”
“Haha, should I really consider that? If this job goes well, it’s definitely something worth thinking about!”
The pirates relaxed, munching on drinks and meat after disembarking.
No matter how long they had lived aboard the ship, solid ground was indeed more comfortable than a swaying vessel.
And…
Among the pirates lingering on the land was something else as well.
‘Is she not yet here?’
That which moved silently, wandering through the city.
As much as it wished, it wanted to protect its mother as usual, but now that was impossible.
There was a directive given that, apart from the involved parties, no one should be allowed to enter while the meeting was in progress.
So, it wandered around, feeling a sense of ‘longing,’ as it followed its mother’s instructions to observe the area.
For something that had been guarding its mother day and night, this sort of situation was very rare.
At such times, not knowing where to go or what to do, it merely moved aimlessly.
Hoping that its mother would show up as soon as possible.
At that moment…
–“Yeah non facile! Mundus qui permisit me Facile appropinquare! Hoc non est comfortable et dulce spatium~!”
“!…”
A voice resonated from somewhere.
So faint that it was difficult for human ears to catch.
Yet, it was just barely audible…
At the same time, that extraordinarily beautiful sound…
Gave it the sensation that something was resonating within it for the first time since birth.
“…”
Drawn by the sound, it slowly started to move its feet.
Warm and peaceful…
Simultaneously, it felt as if something was awakening.
Thus, upon arriving at the place it felt mysteriously drawn to,
In a wide clearing on the outskirts of the city,It finally managed to locate the source of the sound.
“Sed adhuc Volant! In parva LACINA pone somnia tua alas Nunc exspecta modo~ O amica mea!”
“…”
Under the shining moonlight stood a being producing the ‘sound.’
A woman clad in black robes with silver hair and blue eyes.
With a voice as beautiful as that of an angel from the heavens,
That exquisite appearance harmonized with it.
And it…
Could only gaze at her in a daze, unable to move.
At that moment…
“Eh?…”
“…”
The woman suddenly turned, finally noticing it.
For a moment with a surprised expression, the human female cautiously asked.
“Who… are you?”
A reaction filled with wariness.
To this, it felt a slight ‘awkwardness’ and, adhering to the set protocol, bowed its head and answered.
“I apologize. My name is Cheshire Jabberwock. I serve the great Mother, General Elise von Derland.”
“Elise…?”
The moment it introduced itself, she showed a hint of startled reaction.
However, the human woman soon looked at ‘it’… Cheshire, with a calm smile, and said.
“So, you are one of the pirates who came to visit? What brings you here?”
“I came because of the sound. The sound ringing in my head.”
“Ah… I see? I’m sorry. It seems I was a bit loud.”
As if she understood the situation somewhat, a more relaxed atmosphere developed, but Cheshire’s earnest response made her start feeling perplexed once again.
Given how it sounded, it seemed like it came to complain about noise pollution.
But then.
“I would like to keep hearing that sound.”
“…What?”
“Would you mind letting me hear it a bit more?”
“Ah… yes. I suppose so…”
A reaction a bit unexpected.
Yet, at least feeling a slight sense of relief that it wasn’t coming to complain, the human woman started to produce the sound once again.
“I wish to fly like a butterfly. Lifted by the wind. Always feeling this way…”
The sound resonated once more.
As that voice flowed to Cheshire from even closer than before, it felt as though something within its heart was blossoming more and more.
Something pleasant that it had never experienced before.
*
The woman, singing with a sweet voice.
Auriel Stardust.
She was carefully observing the person in front of her.
A woman with short black hair and cold features, possessing black eyes.
This woman standing before her had already provided sufficient explanation about who she was.
One of the forces gathered here on the Island of Sicilia, a subordinate of Elise the shark pirate from the Brittania Empire.
Moreover, given her unusual presence, it seemed like she held a significantly high rank as well.
In short, a person who could be considered Auriel’s enemy.
To be singing near such a person could be seen as highly dangerous, yet…
Auriel herself was not feeling fear, but rather a strangely quickening heart.
‘It’s a bit earlier than anticipated, but… this can also be considered a type of contact. In other words, the mission is starting.’
After all, to carry out the Pirate King’s orders, having this sort of chance meeting disguised as coincidence was always beneficial.
Though the process had gone a bit differently, Auriel thought that ultimately this wasn’t bad as she finished her song in a calm voice.
“How was it?”
“It was beautiful. Just like my mother.”
“…? Ah… yes. Thank you… very much.”
Though it was a peculiar way of complimenting, Auriel took it purely.
Toward her, the woman then politely bowed her head once more and continued.
“Thank you for sharing such lovely sounds. Well then…”
“Um… excuse me!”
“What?”
As the woman, Cheshire, began to take her leave, Auriel’s eyes gleamed slightly as she spoke to her.
“Would it be okay if…”
