Central Continent
The deck of the ship instantly turned into a sea of laughter.
“Puhup, puhaha!!”
“You’re going to punish us?”
“Puhuh, it’s so funny I can’t catch my breath, kek, kehek!!”
The pirates were laughing madly, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.
They slapped their knees, rolled on the floor laughing, wiped away tears, and even the helmsman, gripping the wheel with one hand, bowed his head while his shoulders shook.
But Rumiel stood there with her blank expression, completely unmoving.
Rumiel’s blue eyes quietly stared at the captain.
The captain chuckled for a while, then suddenly stopped.
He still wore a smile, but his eyes had turned icy cold.
He slowly drew the dagger from his waist.
Swish.
The blade caught the wind and sparkled.
The hilt was pitch black, the edge razor-sharp.
It looked rough and unpolished, like a pirate’s sword, but the intimidation it carried was more than enough.
The captain lightly twirled the dagger in one hand,
and in an instant brought the tip right up to Rumiel’s face.
“Little one.”
His voice had dropped several octaves.
“That’s enough with the jokes.”
Rumiel quietly looked at the captain.
A wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
He slowly lifted the dagger tip all the way to Rumiel’s chin.
Then he swept his gaze over her again.
Small and delicate body.
White hair and blue eyes.
Appearance that screamed ‘fragile girl’ no matter how you looked at it.
“You⋯⋯, huh.”
The captain muttered with a smirk.
“With this cute and weak body, you’re going to punish me?”
The pirates around him were still bursting into laughter.
“That guy really has guts!”
“Captain! Don’t bully too much! The price will drop!”
The captain stared straight into Rumiel’s eyes.
“Don’t worry, little one. I won’t ruin that pretty appearance.”
At that moment.
The dagger swung.
In an instant, the sword traced a semicircle and came crashing down toward Rumiel.
But
At that exact instant.
The captain’s mind went blank.
More precisely, the entire world slowed to a crawl.
In front of his eyes, a familiar yet unfamiliar landscape unfolded.
In his childhood, he had always admired the sea of clouds.
The boy who grew up in a small fishing village dreamed of the endless blue sky.
“Captain! The ship is ready for departure!”
In his youth, he was a spirited sailor whose entire life revolved around sailing the sea of clouds.
“Haha! The wind is perfect! Let’s plunder to our heart’s content today!”
“Wow!”
As years passed, he became the captain of a pirate crew.
To survive in that cruel world, he grew even more ruthless, showing no mercy to his enemies.
Weaklings could not survive.
He always recited his creed and brought down every last one of them.
Burning ships drifting on the sea.
Those fleeing while howling.
He trampled over all of it and built his kingdom.
So, he became the embodiment of terror here, in the sea of clouds.
But
Now, at this very moment.
He felt as if all those memories were vanishing in an instant.
An overwhelming sense of intimidation washed over him.
Soon, instinctually, he realized.
The little one in front of him was nothing like any enemy he had ever faced.
His life was in danger.
Having spent decades with death, he instinctively sensed that he should not touch Rumiel.
A warning beeped in his head.
His skin trembled.
His breath caught.
His hand suddenly lost all strength.
The dagger in his grip fell to the floor with a thud.
“⋯⋯Captain?”
The pirates stared at him with bewildered expressions.
The captain trembled in place.
His face was deathly pale, sweat pouring down his back.
As if death itself stood before him.
“Captain? Are you all right?”
“Captain?”
The pirates approached with concern.
At that moment, the captain looked at Rumiel, swallowed hard,
and opened his mouth.
“⋯⋯Y-You are a precious guest.”
“⋯⋯Huh?”
“You should not treat a precious guest so roughly.”
“⋯⋯Yes?”
And then, without hesitation, he spread both arms wide.
“Quickly!! Treat him extremely well!!”
“⋯⋯Yes?!”
In an instant, the entire pirate ship descended into chaos.
“What? What did you just say, guest⋯⋯?”
“Treat? Us?”
“You mean that little one?”
The pirates looked at the captain.
The captain’s face remained deathly pale.
Yet he nodded frantically.
“⋯⋯Yeah.”
His voice trembled.
The pirates stared at one another with dazed expressions.
“⋯⋯?”
Rumiel, who had been standing quietly, tilted her head in confusion at the captain’s sudden change in attitude.
So, the atmosphere of the pirate ship Blood Raven was instantly reversed.
“Guest, please sit comfortably here!”
“Bring a blanket! The guest might be cold!”
“Hey, don’t you have any snacks? Bring something!”
“What kind of snacks are there on a pirate ship!”
The pirates quickly created a small rest area for Rumiel in the middle of the deck.
They set up large barrels as makeshift tables and piled food on them.
They even laid out soft cushions that no one knew where they had come from.
One pirate asked with a tense face.
“Guest, would you like something to eat?”
Rumiel slowly looked at him.
“⋯⋯I want to drink coconut juice.”
The pirates were momentarily bewildered, then started to flail.
“Coconut juice?! Did we even have that on our ship?”
“No!”
“Then bring something similar!”
“Um⋯⋯, how about this? Tropical fruit juice!”
The pirates frantically searched inside the ship.
Eventually, they brought the tropical fruit juice they had obtained and poured it into a coconut shell, offering it to Rumiel.
“Guest, here it is!”
Rumiel quietly inserted a straw and took a sip.
“⋯⋯.”
Slurp.
A sweet taste and refreshing coolness spread through his mouth.
“⋯⋯Not bad.”
Rumiel’s ahoge wiggled.
The pirates sighed in relief.
And, in the middle of all this happening.
The captain who had given the orders was actually locked inside his captain’s room and not coming out.
The pirates were curious why the captain was acting this way, but they didn’t dare knock on the door.
Because on this ship, the captain’s orders were absolute.
¤
The massive pirate ship Blood Raven slowly landed in the port of the Central Continent.
The magic circle engraved on the bottom glowed, gently receiving the ship, and the enormous hull floating in the air slowly and steadily sank.
With a grand sound, once the pirate ship was completely docked, the noisy pirates on the deck were still bustling.
They were staring at the precious guest, Rumiel, who had just gotten off the ship.
Rumiel, leaving the captain who was locked in his room, stood silently at the edge of the ship.
The wind was gently blowing.
The white hair fluttered lightly.
The clear blue eyes looked at the pirate flag fluttering in the wind for a moment.
Then Rumiel quietly lowered her gaze and lightly lifted her feet.
Plop.
Lightly descending from the air, Rumiel’s clothes fluttered gently.
Swish, swish.
The white cloth in the sunlight danced like it was dancing in the wind.
The small, light body landed with a graceful curve.
When the feet touched the ground, a bit of sand dust flew up.
The pirates who saw this were momentarily speechless.
The small white being who had gotten off the deck.
An existence that looked like an ordinary girl but carried an atmosphere that could not be approached.
The pirates stared blankly at the sight, then awkwardly scratched their heads and cleared their throats.
“Th-Then⋯⋯, take care, guest!”
Starting with the pirate who spoke first, the other pirates started waving their hands awkwardly.
“Yeah, stay healthy!”
“We’re pirates, so even if we meet again, we might not be able to welcome you warmly!”
“Well, anyway⋯⋯, uh, anyway, take care!”
The pirates waved their hands pretending to be cool, but there was obvious awkwardness and discomfort.
At that time.
One pirate shouted with a flushed face.
“See you next time~!”
At that moment, the entire pirate ship became quiet.
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯.”
Rumiel quietly tilted her head.
“⋯⋯What did that guy just say?”
“See you next time?!”
“Are you crazy?”
“Hiik!”
Of course, that pirate was immediately caught by his comrades and punished.
It was the expected result.
“⋯⋯.”
It was a good atmosphere.
Rumiel, who had been looking at the scene quietly, slowly turned her back.
The port of the Central Continent was bustling.
Transport ships and trade ships floating in the air were constantly coming and going, and many ships were floating in the sky.
The appearance of that pirate ship from just before was also seen, but something was strange.
The people on board were pirates, but the ship’s appearance was that of an ordinary ferryboat.
“⋯⋯Oh.”
I wondered how the pirate ship could dock in the official port, but it was coming and going like this.
Knowledge increased.
Anyway, there were also scenes of nobles in gorgeous clothes getting off flying ships with bodyguards, and travelers exchanging information to decide their next destination here and there.
There were also incongruous appearances.
Muscular men with rough features were walking toward the pier in a line.
They looked intimidating at a glance.
Each had bald heads with rough expressions, and tattoos were engraved on their thick arms.
Just by their size, even decent adventurers would have an atmosphere that was hard to approach.
They walked arrogantly and ferociously, lightly glaring at the surroundings.
As if this place was their territory.
Rumiel quietly looked at them.
One of the men, the largest among the men, noticed Rumiel and stopped walking.
Then, with a lecherous smile, he turned toward Rumiel with the group.
They walked without caring, pushing aside other people at the pier.
The people around instinctively took a step back.
No matter who looked, those were the ones with ‘power’ here.
They were getting closer.
And finally.
The largest man stopped in front of Rumiel.
His gaze slowly swept from top to bottom over Rumiel.
Small body.
White hair.
Blue eyes.
At first glance, appearance like a noble girl.
The eyes said ‘win’.
He opened his mouth with a lecherous smile.
“Hey, little one.”
His voice was rough and low.
A voice that gave intimidation to the listener, like heavy grinding stones.
And, from behind him, other men slowly began to surround.
At that moment.
The atmosphere at the pier changed.
People passing by naturally distanced themselves.
Workers carrying luggage at the pier, adventurers, merchants, all avoided that group.
Rumiel quietly sensed the change and slowly blinked her eyes.
Feeling that the attitude of that Rumiel didn’t please him, he deliberately moved his huge shoulders.
In plain words, shoulder bump.
The heavy impact transmitted from the huge man’s shoulder fell on Rumiel’s delicate body.
Thud.
“⋯⋯Eh?”
Of course, what was bounced off was the bald head.