Chapter 7

In an instant, Franklin dashed forward.

Like the wind, she swiftly swung the butchering knife at the man, who seemed to be a bounty hunter or something.

It was hard to believe that this was the same Franklin, who usually appeared a bit sluggish.

As Ambasha watched, her heart began to race without her even realizing it.

“How cool…”

The butchering knife was surrounded by a flickering light. Although she couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, it sent an instinctive shiver down Ambasha’s spine.

It felt oddly familiar… as if it was awakening something deep inside her.

With this sensation firmly etched in her eyes, she cautiously began to fidget with something in her bosom.

“Should I use it now? The one my father gave me…”

A tool handed to her with a warning to use it if danger arose.

But soon, she pulled her hand away from it and focused on the scene unfolding before her.

Every clash of Franklin’s knife against the man’s sword sent a tingling sensation throughout her body.

It felt like… it was trying to awaken something within her.

*

-Kiiiiiing!!!!!

A sharp sound reverberated in her ears.

The clash of magical powers made the hairs on the necks of everyone present stand on end.

This was no ordinary situation of metal weapons clashing.

Magical energy spiraled around the sword at incredible speeds.

A technique known as “concentration,” regarded as the beginning and end of all magical manipulation.

Its power was such that even a skilled warrior could fell a giant tree with a rusty sword in one strike.

In the midst of this overwhelming force, Magellan could only frown instinctively.

“This woman… is strong!”

In an instant, the woman unleashed a strike.

Though her robe and shorter stature obscured her facial features, Magellan, renowned for being a bounty hunter and a seasoned fighter, could tell with just one exchange.

The magical energy in the butchering knife was pushing against his beloved sword, Calaborg.

The energy, glowing blood-red, clashed with the magical energy flowing through Magellan’s sword and measured up to at least that of a Grade 7 Advanced Warrior.

At this level, she could compete with a general or faction leader capable of defeating hundreds of soldiers single-handedly. Magellan could not underestimate her strength.

Moreover, beyond mere strength, this pirate had some very peculiar traits.

– clang!

With incredible speed, she swung the butchering knife once more.

Having faced many foes up till now, this woman’s attacks felt distinctly alien.

It was far removed from the forms and elegance inherent in typical swordsmanship.

Like slaughtering meat, her moves were rough yet surprisingly devoid of superfluous motions…

It was more akin to chopping than swordplay.

She swung in a manner that aimed to strip flesh from bone, and despite the fierce efficiency of her movements, Magellan felt a fresh thrill even while struggling to contend with her.

“Not bad, huh? Well, if she’s this strong, the Duke must have shelled out quite a bit of money… but…”

He had to admit that his opponent’s skill was far from ordinary.

At least on par with his own.

However…

Magellan was not thinking about losing.

The reason was…

-Bang!!!

“!!”

Suddenly, a bullet came flying.

She quickly swung her sword to deflect it.

Even though she was in a position where she ought not to be hit, she intentionally moved her body to make the defense.

The reason was simple.

Behind her…

The girl in question was standing there.

Having witnessed Franklin throwing herself to defend against bullets moments ago, they realized one thing.

For reasons unknown, she cared deeply for that girl.

In other words, if they aimed an attack at the girl, that pirate would absolutely have to defend.

Fair and square? Such things do not apply in this line of work.

No matter how dirty the tricks, as long as you win, that’s all that matters.

With that gap created by throwing fair play to the dogs, Magellan swung Calaborg and aimed accurately.

“Ugh!”

– clang!!!

The pirate woman narrowly defended against the falling black sword.

However, it was at that moment that the flow of the battle was disrupted, and Magellan pulled the balance of the fight toward himself, swiftly transitioning into an offensive stance.

The speed might have been a bit slower, but in terms of raw power, he was a step above.

To ensure that his opponent had no chance to wield her sword, Magellan increased the output of his magical energy and pressed the attack.

“Ugh!”

– Crack!!!

Magellan swung his sword at the opponent, who had faltered.

The blade cut into her shoulder.

Red blood burst forth.

Realizing that the tide of battle had completely turned, a deep smile began to creep onto Magellan’s lips.

*

“This… unbelievable…”

The intense pain in her shoulder.

Franklin found herself gripped by confusion and regret.

At the moment combat began, she had thought she was somewhat confident.

Though she had a timid disposition, her combat ability was well on par as one of the pirate king’s direct subordinates.

With a bounty of 2530 Talents on her head, she was a strong individual standing on the brink of reaching the realm of a Grade 10 Grand Warrior.

Most ordinary foes could be swept away in an instant, and it was only natural that she believed this fight would end the same way.

Especially since she was protecting someone else for the first time… Ambasha.

The fierce desire to show her younger sister a magnificent display of strength drove Franklin to engage in an immediate battle rather than fleeing aimlessly…

But in this situation, she had failed to anticipate two key variables.

One was that her opponent was among the strongest she had ever faced.

In reality, Magellan was a noteworthy figure in the seas.

At least in these waters of the Mediterranean, there was very little chance he wasn’t known.

The real problem was that Franklin was one of those who didn’t know.

Had she not been the sort to remain cooped up in the kitchen all the time, she surely would have heard Magellan’s name.

It was not that she was genuinely surprised at being unaware of his reputation.

“Well, it makes sense that they would be this good if they’re going after one of the pirate king’s officers.”

There was no way they would attack someone without knowing about Ezra, the Golden Beard.

They must have been confident in their ability to defeat her and escape cleanly.

The second unexpected variable, on top of her opponent’s prowess, was that Magellan’s group was even dirtier than she had anticipated.

The attitude of disregarding a fair 1:1 fight, openly firing bullets toward a young girl to gain an advantage, was abundantly clear.

Moreover, based on their earlier conversations, it seemed their target wasn’t Franklin’s neck, but rather Ambasha.

Thus, doing such a thing without hesitation.

With these unforeseen variables, the outlook darkened for Franklin.

Regret washed over her.

Due to her recklessness, she had not only put herself but also Ambasha in jeopardy.

Had she simply fled, the situation wouldn’t have escalated to this extent.

Her foolish greed and complacency had led to this crisis.

However…

Instead of succumbing to despair and confusion in this situation.

Franklin clung desperately to her crumbling mental state, tightening her grip on the knife.

“I have to… take responsibility… now that it’s come to this… at least for Ambasha…”

She couldn’t just sit down like this.

Though her legs were shaking and dizziness washed over her, she endured it.

To crumble would mean putting Ambasha in danger as well.

She focused her mind and collected her thoughts.

There were indeed ways to turn the tide.

If she could buy some time using ‘that method’…

Perhaps Ambasha could escape.

Resolute, she steeled herself…

In such a dire situation, she felt gratitude toward Ambasha for enabling her to think this way.

And… for the first time in her life, she felt thankful to be in such a position.

Franklin slowly began to push back the hood covering her face.

At that moment…

-Bang!

“…?!”

With a sound coming from behind, something soared into the sky.

As a familiar memory surfaced in her mind, Franklin’s expression shifted in an instant.

*

Her opponent, clearly cornered.

In other words, the success of the mission and the ensuing pile of gold lay before him, and Magellan yelled out, filled with excitement.

“It seems like we’ve come to a conclusion, huh? If you surrender peacefully, I might spare your life.”

Of course, he’d hand them over to the Navy, given they were a highly wanted pirate, but at least he wouldn’t kill them himself, so there was some truth to his words.

At that moment…

“…”

A pirate slowly lifted their hand to the hood that had been deeply pulled down over their face.

To be honest, it was a face he had been curious about throughout the battle, and with victory nearly assured, Magellan began to feel a touch of curiosity.

At the very least, since she was a woman,

He wondered just how pretty the face hidden within was.

But then…

“…Hah!”

“Heek!”

The face revealed slightly from the hood.

At the moment he saw the eyes within the disheveled hair, Magellan felt a new emotion surge within him.

Just something about it felt frightening.

Regardless of whether it was pretty or ugly, if he passed by this face at night, he might faint at worst or startle in fright at the very least.

The shadow cast by the hood that hadn’t been fully pushed back only added to the fear.

However, before he could even process this feeling…

They started to sense something ominous about her in another way.

“…W-wait a minute… that… that woman can’t be…?”

“…Huh? What do you mean?”

“Ah… no, it’s just…”

Her familiar face brought about both dread and an oddly nostalgic feeling.

When one of Magellan’s subordinates was pondering the source of this sense…

-Bang!

“!?”

With a sudden explosion-like sound.

As they gazed skyward towards the rising golden smoke…

“Ah…”

“Shit….”

In unison, all their minds suddenly cleared as they recalled a certain figure.

“…the… Pirate… King…?”

“Why?”

Though it was already too late.