Chapter 55

A tavern located a bit away from the city.

Surprisingly, despite being on the outskirts, there were quite a few people gathered there, enjoying drinks and snacks.

“Another bottle of rum here!”

“Yes~ Just a moment!”

As people rushed around taking orders, drinks and food emerged from the kitchen.

In this typical tavern setting, Cheshire calmly lifted her glass.

“You seem to drink surprisingly well. Honestly, you look like you wouldn’t handle alcohol at all…”

“I have no concept of getting drunk. Drinking alcohol is simply a means of hydration for me.”

“Heh, that’s quite a boast. So, you’re saying you drink it like water?”

“…It could be said to be similar.”

The actual meaning was quite different, but Cheshire chose not to elaborate and finished her drink.

Yet, even while downing the strong rum, her thoughts were solely consumed by the woman before her.

With a beautiful sound,

She was the first person, besides her mother, to capture her attention.

The woman dressed in a robe introduced herself as ‘Dust.’

Traveling around the world, she expressed her gratitude to Cheshire for appreciating her song and proposed to have dinner together as a coincidence.

Such offers had come from various men before.

“Let’s share a meal,” or “Let’s have a drink,” or even “Let’s enjoy a bit at the inn.”

So far, Cheshire had either ignored these advances as her mother advised or dealt with them harshly if they became too excessive.

With verbal warnings, or if necessary, by swinging the axe she wore at her waist to split their heads.

However, for some reason, she felt no urge to do that now.

It was partly because the other party was a woman, but above all… she felt an inexplicable curiosity toward this Dust.

What was it about this woman’s voice that could stimulate her heart like her mother’s voice?

Thus, the two people who came to the nearby tavern for a meal found themselves seated where many navy crew members and pirates were gathered, including some of her mother’s subordinates…

Some pirates belonging to the same White Shark crew were drinking together.

Still, Cheshire was not particularly interested in them and simply nodded slightly as a greeting before focusing on Dust’s story throughout the meal.

“I happen to have a friend like that. A former mercenary, he downed an entire bottle of rum by himself.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, heh, but right after that, he clutched his mouth and ran off somewhere, never to return. The next day, he was found sprawled out on the deck.”

“I’ve seen similar scenes. On our ship, the crew often bets on who can drink more. I’ve never participated, though…”

“I see, indeed, strong drinkers are always shunned in drinking contests. I used to work as a nun, and the priest I knew back then was similar. He drank so well that everyone avoided him whenever he showed up.”

“A nun means… someone who works in the clergy, right? I thought they abstained from alcohol…”

“Ah… come to think of it, it was forbidden in Protestantism. Our esteemed Pope said that wasn’t something to worry about. Enjoy your drink, but don’t get drunk… in other words, as long as you don’t get drunk, you can drink as much as you’d like, according to the Pope.”

“…That seems like a rather off interpretation…”

“Heh, oddly enough, I think the same. Actually, I only learned how to drink after quitting the clergy.”

These were just trivial conversations,

the so-called small talk.

Yet for some reason, Cheshire felt a distinctly different sensation from this dialogue compared to usual.

Thinking back, this was the first time she had talked so much with someone other than her mother.

It was trivial but…

At the same time, stories that evoked the feeling of ‘fun.’

Unintentionally continuing the conversation, Cheshire found herself deeply engrossed, losing track of time.

“But… I never imagined such a thing would happen. I’ve finally come to this Island of Sicilia, and the pirates and navy are blocking the port like this… it seems it won’t be easy to leave here for a while.”

“Such an ‘unfortunate’… incident… According to my mother, I believe we’ll be staying here for at least five days or more… I suppose we must endure until then.”

“I see… five days… ”

Dust took a sip of the wine in her glass, smiling calmly at those words.

Seeing her reaction, which surprisingly showed no disappointment or frustration, Cheshire began to feel a sense of ‘relief’ rise within her.

“Well, it’s a bit uncomfortable, but what can we do? Fortunately, I made a good friend, so I doubt it will be boring.”

At those words, Dust looked straight at Cheshire.

In response, Cheshire hesitantly asked with wide eyes,

“…Friend… are you talking about me?”

“Heh…”

In reply to that question,

Dust offered a light laugh and nodded slightly.

“…Is it… okay… to call me a friend like that…?”

With shadows of calmness in her words, Cheshire asked.

To this, Dust maintained her smile and replied in a gentle tone.

“Certainly, while being a pirate is a slight concern… what can we do? You’ve already shared your song, and we’ve shared a meal and had uninterrupted conversation… isn’t that enough to surpass the line of friendship?”

“…Is that… so?”

“Yes, by my standards… it is.”

Dust responded in a tone that resembled someone imitating another.

At that, Cheshire began to feel something stirring within her, different from when she first heard Dust’s voice.

Friend…

She knew intellectually what this was.

However, for her, who had no one close besides her mother,

the word friend felt incredibly foreign.

“But… it doesn’t feel… bad…”

This unfamiliar sensation was not uncomfortable.

A feeling of ‘insufficiency’ that she had never experienced nor recognized was beginning to fill her.

In that instant, without her realizing it, the corners of Cheshire’s mouth began to tremble slightly.

“Ah… I understand… then… moving forward, we will be fri… ends…”

At that moment.

-Bang!!!

“Gaaaah!!!!”

“Kyahhhhh!!!”

“!”

The next moment, a sharp sound echoed suddenly through the tavern, and Cheshire quickly turned her head towards the noise.

What entered her view was a man lying on the ground, bleeding, dead.

Instantaneously, Cheshire’s face turned cold and stiff.

“Hi… Higuma! Pull yourself together!”

“You can’t die like this! Higuma!!”

Naturally,

this man lying on the ground was the same one who had just nodded at her a moment ago.

A pirate belonging to the same White Shark crew as she.

“What on earth happened? Why did he suddenly…”

“Th-That’s…”

“It was those bastards! Those navy scum of the Kingdom of Frantz suddenly picked a fight and shot him down without warning!”

“What?!”

In an instant, Cheshire began glaring at the navy with a fierce intensity.

However, the navy showed no signs of backing down and instead spoke with a proud voice.

“Picking a fight? The one who instigated first was you lot!”

“And who drew first? This is clearly self-defense.”

“How dare a filthy pirate speak such nonsense… Do you dare to mock the navy’s justice?”

“The audacity to spout lies so boldly… no… thinking about it, it’s naturally pirate-like to utter falsehoods, isn’t it?”

The navy from the Kingdom of Frantz spoke with a tone filled with scorn, instead of offering an apology.

In response, the faces of the pirates began to seethe with deep rage.

“How can you utter such nonsense after shooting someone dead?!”

“Higuma’s murderer! I’ll take revenge right here and now!”

The pirates drew their weapons and assumed a battle stance.

By nature, pirates were aggressively inclined and held camaraderie among themselves, so when one of their own was killed and provoked like this, they could hardly contain themselves.

And in this situation…

Cheshire, who had orders to protect her comrades, also drew her axe and prepared for battle.