“So aren’t you going to tell me about it?” There it was, Kirameki’s first line of question, which was akin to the calm before the storm. I steeled my heart and braced for impact, only to find myself dwelling deeper into the abyss as it swallowed me whole. “What do you want to know?” I threw a question back to my sister, as I lightly tapped my hand against the bed, enough to make a slight noise. “Come on. You can sit beside me. We had an awful and tiring day.”“Don’t worry. I won’t change the topic. And the two of us won’t sleep before we can resolve this… just like always.”Kirameki hesitated for a second after hearing my invitation. She thought I was driving her into something horrendous, but Kirameki was talking to me. I was not a stranger. So instead of rejecting my invitation, my sister fully accepted my instructions as she later on sat beside me, whilst staring at the ground. I promised Kirameki that she would never cry again before going to sleep. Right now, as I glanced towa
Even if it was in the middle of the night, the town of Horizon was still beaming with life. Every pirate and civilised person roamed around the place without showing any fear from bandits or neighbours that could ruin their lifestyle. I had no idea if it was thanks to Captain Israel’s leadership or because of her people. Regardless, it didn’t concern me.It was the ideal life back from my hometown. Some streets were filled with crime, while others worked thousands of hours, day and night, just to provide what little amount of money they could on the table. I couldn’t imagine living in a world without war or disputes, but this mere town alone proved my thought wrong…‘What if these pirates chose to follow Captain Israel's chivalrous effort and genuinely wish to shape the town into something new?’ I couldn’t help but think about that possibility. But alas, I brushed those thoughts aside and carried on bearing the weight of my own problem. This world was nothing to me, and I just had to
As I was passing by a lonely alley, the people coming by became fewer than usual. And upon reaching a dead end, a familiar face greeted my eyes. It was a pirate. She stood there for a while, staring into nothingness as if reminiscing of the past that she once had. But her eyes were drowning, and her hands vibrated. Tears had been flowing from her eyes. “Margarette, what are you doing in a place like this?” I asked, but I was a hypocrite. I found myself walking around this lonely alley, without any reason for anything. Maybe Margarette was the same. “Nothing… Just, you know, reminding me about stuff I don’t want to recall.” “Those are… contradicting things you’ve said there, Margarette. Makes it hard for me to believe…” “No, I…” Margarette tried to rephrase her sentences, but I continued, letting her know I knew what she wanted to say. “But I get it. Don’t worry. I get every single thing you’re feeling right now because I… find my past almost identical to this very road.” “You do
As soon as Margarette ended her explanation, she bid me farewell and went straight towards the town. She had left me alone in this place, beside the graveyard where she had mourned. But the words Margarette said remained inside my head. The sun finally showered me with its rays, telling me I should return to the place where I belonged… The place where I could see my sister. In spite of these lingering thoughts, those words Margarette uttered somehow calmed my raging emotions. This journey was worthwhile, I could say that. And I found a conclusion.While I was walking down the street where Margarette and I had trod, the family I saw a while back met my eyes. The boy was in front of me, and his father was at his side. When the two noticed my gaze, they bowed and offered me their vegetables. This town was poor, and everyone lacked the resources to live an abundant life. And yet, the old man and his son generously gave me a gift. Even though they had less, the family offered me their al
“Name?” the guard asked.I answered, “Bob.”“Bob?” I nodded.“What is the purpose of your visit?”I cleared my throat and handed him over a few gold coins from my stash, “Women. Lots of women.” I gave him a wink, afterward. The soldier scrambled the gold coins back into his pockets and croaked, “S-Sir, right this way. You’re just the perfect guy we need.” He then turned to his comrade and shouted, “ALL CLEAR! THIS GUY’S CLEAN!” The man returned his gaze to me. “The red district is right that way, my good man. If you ever need a girl, you know who to call.”“A man of culture, I see. Gotcha.” Disguising myself wasn’t a problem. I didn’t wear any clothes that resembled a pirate or anything, actually. I wore casual clothing that mimicked the merchants, which was why I was granted entry inside the Kingdom’s base. But I had to use some of the wealth we had in exchange for my entry. I was no assassin nor a trained parkour person. What I had was gems. If I could use whatever stored inside
“Follow me, and I’ll show you how much you got… But I want information. For the slaves,” I stated. After which, I didn’t mind throwing them a bone - reward - or two. The merchants managed to catch a few of the diamonds I had. But they wanted more. As soon as they learned how fucking rich I was, probably richer than that man wearing a costume of a bat, they huddled up together and talked to themselves. The shopkeepers were wary about my wordings, status, and my presence. One guy from the left argued to his comrades that this was a terrible idea, and I was a suspicious person that the Kingdom might want to collect… akin to the bounties posted on the pieces of paper on my way here. But the posters never clearly illustrated my face. However, something was written on it. It had the lines… “The person who has this much power shall be questioned by the authorities.” That was a stupid line, to boot, but it was something the Kingdom did best. And now, these merchants wanted to take advantage
“Going back to my first question, have you seen a pirate lately, you know, captured by the Kingdom? Or anything suspicious happening in the slave industry? Lie, then I kill you. Tell me the truth, you would be rewarded, handsomely,” I chirped, and showed a sinister smile. “Don’t make me ask twice, goddammit. I’m losing my marbles here.”The man who I pointed earlier was in the middle. And that same guy replied, “Y-Yes. Of course. I-I’ll answer, just please don’t kill me!”“Maybe. We don’t have all day.”“The Kingdom’s town not far from here, Evergreen, was behind this. The secretary is here with us and was tasked to investigate this place. While they are at it, the Kingdom soldiers of Evergreen found an unliberated island not far from here. We’re merchants, so we know the place. But since we were no warriors, we let… do whatever they think is right. Since it had come to that, the Kingdom gathered all slaves they caught back at the infirmary, not far from here. If you’ve noticed, ther
While this was happening, my system alerted me about the presence of the Kingdom soldiers slowly creeping beside us. When I viewed the map, red dots circled on our figures. It was a warning. Those red markings painted on the map symbolised the enemies or the Kingdom guards, and the blue and green ones were harmful… for now. So I couldn’t help but pick up the pace. But since I was dealing with people and squeezing information, speeding things up could lead to a disaster. “Now, for my second question, mister lefty,” I said, whilst clearing my throat. “Where and when can I find you guys if we… the group I knew wants to trade items with you? We are in dire need of exchanging goods from merchants. You people are just the guys we need.”“I know that you’re siding with the merchants right now. But if the people backing me up could provide you more opportunities than living in this place, there’s no point in working with the Kingdom, right?” I continued. “I’ve seen enough while roaming aroun