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
Even though the Kingdom soldiers caught nothing from the three merchants, they were strictly patrolling the venue. There were a couple of traders left here and there, but I believed they were selling… or handling free items such as boozes and irons for these soldiers. These merchants were lucky. If I had to guess, these shopkeepers wanted to spark a name out of themselves or they owed the Kingdom some supplies in exchange for something - protection, the slaves, or their lives.I squeezed my way through the couple of guards and eventually arrived at the tents the merchants had told me. There was a dumpster box of some sort that concealed my presence, and the only way for these buffoons to notice me was if they had a magician with them that could sense my arcane or someone who dared pinning me behind my back. The tents looked exactly from what I had imagined. The camps in front of me were all dyed in white paint, with glass that obstructed heat and cold wind from the environment. Not to
Arata wasn’t the type of person who could present a speech, nevertheless in front of the crowd. Owari, on the other hand, was a scientist. He had always showcased his research to everyone, and the entire world would be watching him. But the thing was… Arata had learned something valuable. And that was, he knew that these people would listen to him and cheer for his name. It wasn’t because he was willing to control the town, but he wanted to lead the place into a brighter future. Much so with Owari.That was why Arata had to be the first to do this. He was the one who paved the path.“Citizens of the Honeywood town!” Arata shouted. “My name is Captain Arata, leader of the pirates! As you may know, the pirates and the soldiers, at least, for this village of Honeywood, have decided to unite with one another! Although I have yet to live a long life, I know, for a fact, that my mentor, Captain Israel, the former Captain of the pirates, had wished this kind of thing to happen. And it happe
“Pirates… and soldiers working together for this global war.” Arata pondered to himself for a while before handing Owari his answer. “Don’t you think the Kingdom will be the one who gets to decide the last? If you’re asking me, I’ll… notify the pirates back from the Abandoned Barnacle ship and ask them about this. But knowing them, they will definitely agree to it too.”And that's what they did. As soon as the meeting ended, Owari and Arata got out of the town hall and told everyone they had to gather around the plaza. An announcement would occur in a few moments, and that was enough to attract the people’s attention, including Arata’s pirates.While that was happening, a messenger appeared before Owari and Arata, the two leaders of the Honeywood town and the pirates respectively. When Owari noticed this was the same messenger, Luke Formis, he greeted the mailman of this world and asked what was the matter.“We’re about to send a message to the King about the situation. You're just in
“Who’s going to go first?” Arata asked the most important thing of them all. “I suggest it has to be you, mister cowboy. “Stop calling me cowboy, Arata.”“Alright, cowboy.”Arata never gave Owari a chance to explain this sudden attitude. The man just saw Owari as a cowboy because of his cold demeanour with a gun in his hand. Nothing more, nothing less. Eventually, Arata stopped calling Owari names such as the recent “Cowboy” attempt and continued on with the meeting.Owari let whatever Arata wanted to call him slide and be the first one to elucidate what he had found out.“I got the chance to meet Sebastian.”“You did?” Arata couldn’t help but react. When he saw Owari’s eyes throwing daggers in his direction, Arata nodded to himself and muttered, “Yeah. I thought so. Sorry.”After a faint cough, Owari resumed his story. “I met Sebastian’s holographic image…” Owari paused for a second and studied Arata’s confused look on his face. “In your world, I assume you also have some kind of ho
Owari sat parallel with Arata as the two exchanged what they had learned from the Empire and from Captain Blackbeard.It was already late at night, so the two had sent their family members to sleep. Kirameki insisted she should join the meeting, but Owari was the one who had advised her to have a complete bed rest. “If you want your brother to not worry about you, listen to what I’m saying. I’m a doctor, so...”With that Kirameki had no fighting chance against Owari as she returned to her room and went to the dream world for as long as she had remembered.Rex was drowsy to begin with, so there weren’t extra steps between Owari and Arata to be done besides reminding him about the time.Hence, Arata and Owari were the only ones inside the office of the Honeywood town. It was also the municipal hall, where there was a giant crater above their heads.Before the assembly would start, Arata had to suggest that they should bring more individuals in this room. Although the place was a bit cr
Third Person Point of ViewArata's and Owari's perspective………….As soon as Owari heard the Empire had someone who was aiming to kill him and the Kingdom, he immediately returned to the municipal hall. He also found out there was a sudden blast and smoke emitting near the plaza. "It could only be the townhall," thought Owari, as he raced towards the place. The man even met with the soldiers who wished to escort him. But Owari was too speedy. Since the townspeople already knew their Mayor's prowess, they didn't mind being tossed aside, since it was for the best interest of the town.While that happened, Arata had also ended his conversation with the strongest pirate, Captain Blackbeard. The moment Ahmya had bid Arata farewell, Arata looked at Kirameki and called for Rex. Just like what Ahmya had promised, the two children were unharmed. But a gigantic hole was left from the ceiling, marking Captain Blackbeard's breach from the office.Fortunately, during that time, Kirameki had woken u
Ahmya answered, “It’s because my people are dying. Unfortunately as it is, I cannot run the community with no money in my hands. We still have to purchase or hunt food that is not raw or collect edible monster meat. It’s disastrous.”“But… I know you. You’re planning on turning your back against Sebastian too… You’re the type of person that will ditch others as long as you find them useless or… they do not benefit you.”“Hardly so… But it depends. Right now, I do not see any advantage to relieving my ties from Sebastian. And answering that is not of your concern.”“On to the third topic - Sebastian. Sebastian Serra is, like I’ve mentioned, an isekaid person and the trump card of the Empire. He has mastered the art of creating weapons, much like from Owari. But better.Arata had a million questions in his mind. Samples of these were: Why, out of all people, Captain Blackbeard, the person who tried killing all male pirates, including Arata, to be invited to this catastrophic party with
Arata’s PerspectiveThird Person Point of View_______________________Owari had advised Arata to stay indoors and protect the people they cared about, especially Rex and Kirameki. And so he did. At first, Arata was sceptical about this plan. But the moment he remembered they were up against Captain Blackbeard, the Kingdom, and the Empire, having someone to look out for Rex and Kirameki was the best decision they could have.Kirameki was still unconscious, and Rex tried his best to stay awake. But he was just a child. His weariness got the best of him, so he slept on the extra mattress, right next to Kirameki. Arata and the two children were inside the same room, and all the guards were standing their posts outside the room, waiting to inform Arata and Owari of any intruders within the area. But the thing was… the trespasser had already breached themselves inside the town hall. And it didn’t take long before Arata could meet that person.Arata promptly sensed someone’s presence in his
And his son, Rex, was on the line.“I have heard… from my trusty information breaker that you have a son and a wife. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t kill your wife before she could… But I leave my regards to Ahmya. And… And. You still have your son with you, right? I’d bet the world would press against you if you see your son, Rex, cripple and fall in front of your eyes… Now, wouldn’t that be a sight to behold, Owari Ryutarou?”“Also, I suspect that there is also another person who has been reincarnated just like us. Sebastian added, as he stood there, returning Owari’s gaze.Ahmya… Ahmya Shirahama was the name of Captain Blackbeard, the one who had murdered Owari’s life, Elizabeth. She was the one Owari had been looking for. But right now, the person in front of him, Sebastian, knew exactly where Captain Blackbeard was hiding.“You… You made a deal with the devil? You know Captain Blackbeard? What is your relationship with her…? TELL ME!”Captain Blackbeard was known to be a fraud
Owari’s Perspective Third Person Point of View ____________________________________ It didn’t take a genius to know that the Empire had acquired a new fellow that had the same intelligence as Owari, even greater! Owari was a scientist and a doctor, not an engineer or an inventor. He only had the blueprints of these firearms and mimicked what they could and couldn’t do in the process. But against a person who had studied far more books about machines and weapons would be the victor of this match. Not to mention, this supposedly reincarnated person was backed up with the Empire’s funds, making him or her the most powerful individual next to Captain Blackbeard. “I should tell Arata about this.” But the moment Owari tried retreating, his arcane detected something unusual in his surroundings. And when he checked for the anomaly’s origin, he had found a strange figure of a man appearing from the shadows. The odd part about it was that… this individual didn’t have any mana within him. I