Chapter 39: On the Board
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 39: On the Board
We managed to take down the Serpent safely… in a manner of speaking.
“Sigh…”
However, I was fuming because of that Bloodhound bastard who kept treating me like an idiot.
“Hahahaha…!”
The people on the ship were cheering or hugging each other, celebrating their survival, but I felt like crying and screaming at the same time.
Under the sea, that damn hound had literally butchered the Serpent.
Yes, butchered.
The Serpent had been turned into a tattered rag, turning the surrounding waters into a sea of blood. The stench of gore was overwhelming.
Look, I’m not blaming the Bloodhound for showing his true strength underwater. It’s not like the Young Lady or the others saw him going wild.
What really gets me is…
“How am I supposed to get forty million Dalk for it in this state?!!”
He was just berating me for being a pushover and a fool, yet he goes and blows my chance to pay off my debt like this!
What? You say it’ll still fetch a decent price?
It won’t be forty million!
Even if we split this among the villagers and ourselves, it’ll be peanuts! Who could possibly be satisfied with that?
And what was that? Since I’m the one who racked up the debt for a stupid reason in the first place, I should just suck it up?
“Hahahaha!!”
All I could do was laugh. I guess I let my expectations get too high after being tempted by the Captain’s words.
“Alto! I’m bringing the ship alongside! Can you make it up?”
“Ah—of course!”
Captain Maya hurriedly steered the ship closer. Her helmsmanship was incredible. She had identified the Serpent’s rank at a glance and held the ship steady against the wind and rain without letting it drift.
“Master Alto! Over here!”
Arasen lowered a rope ladder for me. I climbed up, holding Roar and Howling in one hand. On either side of me, sailors grabbed ropes and dove into the sea.
“Lads! Tie it up tight! We lost all the mackerel, so that thing is our only income this trip!”
“Captain, it’s been torn to shreds. This is gonna be tough, isn’t it?”
“That beast was a sturdy one! Just the bones and hide should fetch thirty million! We’ll just have to accept that the other fish might’ve nibbled on the meat a bit.”
“Aye, aye!”
Over thirty million? My ears perked up at that.
My job was done, so there was no need for me to help with the recovery. I was exhausted. It was all because that hound bastard decided to have his fun and overwork my body. To use half my real strength on a mere Serpent… what a waste.
Stepping onto the deck, I stretched my stiff back and cracked my neck.
“Alto!”
“Young Lady.”
Just then, the Young Lady ran over and threw her arms around me.
“Are you hurt anywhere? No wounds? There was so much blood in the water…”
I smiled at her as she frantically brushed back my wet hair, her face full of concern.
“Is your seasickness feeling any better?”
“You dummy, I’m asking if you’re okay right now.”
“And yet you’re struggling just to stand on the deck.”
Subconsciously, I reached out to stroke her cheek but flinched and stopped myself. However, she grabbed my hand firmly and, with her other hand, lightly took Roar and Howling from me.
“Let’s go inside and rest. I’ll take care of you.”
“I think I’m the one who should be taking care of you.”
As I worried over her increasingly pale complexion, she gave me a soft smile.
“Whatever the case, you’ve worked hard. Just rest by my side.”
The moment she said that, a wave of fatigue washed over me. The weather following the Serpent’s rampage was peaceful. The wind was calm, and the ship barely swayed.
“Shall we, then?”
I tried to take the daggers back, worried they were too heavy for her, but she quickly slung them over her shoulder and supported me.
“These weapons are truly vicious.”
“The enemies are vicious, so I have no choice.”
“But if you’re Gold-rank, can you really face a Serpent alone? Even as a Supporter?”
“I can’t exactly be a burden to my party, can I?”
As we walked and exchanged idle chatter, I noticed Arasen standing awkwardly to the side. She was holding a large towel, her face looking like she had much to say.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Ye-yes! Um… here…”
“Thank you.”
“…It was nothing.”
Draping the towel Arasen gave me over my head, I entered the cabin with the Young Lady. My body felt heavy, as even my underwear was soaked through. The Young Lady carefully laid me down on the floor and covered me with a blanket. That alone made it difficult to open my eyes again once they closed.
* * *
It was just before sunset when the people of Massa Village finally managed to secure the massive Serpent to the ship. Various fish were already clinging to it, tearing at the flesh, but they simply treated those as extra bait and hauled them all up in nets as a bonus.
I had stayed awake just in case another monster appeared, but once I confirmed the work was finished, I fell into a deep sleep. When I opened my eyes again, everyone was sleeping huddled together in the dark cabin.
I tried to sit up, but something was holding me down. Looking down, I saw the Young Lady sleeping soundly, leaning against me under the blanket.
“…”
She’s cute.
The way she was pressed tightly against me made my heart flutter strangely. I tucked the blanket around her and stepped out onto the deck.
Countless stars filled the night sky, and the night breeze chilled my still-damp trousers. The beautiful starlight made the afternoon’s battle feel like a dream. If possible, I wanted to just keep staring at the horizon and the sky, but the Bloodhound’s sharp senses wouldn’t allow it.
By the way, that Serpent.
It was faint, but it had emitted a familiar energy.
Right? It was the energy of that crazy bitch who always used to chase us. I thought she was stuck in the Lukart Dungeon? Or perhaps her essence was shattered and scattered across the country?
As I’ve mentioned before, dungeons are formed when the essence of a Demon remains, exposing the surroundings to demonic energy. They usually take the form of underground caves or labyrinths, but they can erode any terrain—like forests or seas—to generate monsters.
That was the very reason we originally went to Lukart. A thirst that couldn’t be quenched by ordinary blood. I believed that a dungeon created from the demonic energy leaking from Vulcanus’s essence would satisfy it.
I was right to an extent, but wanting to prevent a rampage, I stayed as a Supporter and learned self-control. I thought that if I was loved by my party members, I could completely break free.
It was a complete delusion, though.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
A clear, standard accent. Captain Maya was standing on the deck.
“I think I’ve slept the longest out of everyone.”
“That’s true.”
Biting down on her pipe, Captain Maya asked me, “Just who are you, exactly?”
“I’d like to ask you the same thing. What kind of work did you do before this?”
“I walked the path of magic for a bit, but it didn’t suit me, so I quit. I came back to my hometown, met my husband, got married, lost him in the war, bought a fishing boat, and ended up like this.”
That was a concise summary. While I was debating whether or not to tell her about myself, the Captain struck first.
“You’re a war veteran, aren’t you?”
“…On what basis do you say that?”
“That body. And your skin color.”
The scent of strong pipe tobacco drifted and scattered along the sea breeze.
“Skin exposed to demonic energy never turns white again, but it doesn’t turn completely black either; it takes on a dusky tan.”
“It looks the same if you just tan in the sun, though?”
“And those scars.”
The Captain pointed to the large, circular scar on my body.
“One of the Four Heavenly Kings once pushed all the way into Hus. My husband died in battle then.”
“…”
“I went to a field hospital because they desperately needed nursing staff. It was filled with bodies torn apart by that woman. The peculiar thing was that every single one of them had wounds shaped like a vortex.”
I see. So that’s how it is. Of all things, she was a civilian mobilized during that battle.
“I could never forget it even if I wanted to. That woman’s spear that churned through the middle of my husband’s body… The shape of the wound that spear left behind.”
The Captain bowed her head to me.
“You are the person who avenged my husband. Master Alto Bertrand.”
“How can you be so sure I’m Alto Bertrand? Skin exposed to demonic energy, a wound from a Heavenly King’s spear… those are clues any soldier who was at the Battle of Hus might have.”
“Two ridiculously large daggers that no ordinary person could ever lift.”
“…”
“This damn country is so rotten that they didn’t publicize your characteristics or exploits in detail, but I know. Because I saw it with my own eyes.”
Extinguishing her pipe, the Captain gave me a salute.
“I thank you for the peace achieved through the blood of you and your comrades.”
“I am a dead man. A ghost who failed to die where he should have. A scoundrel standing on the blood of his comrades.”
“The real scoundrels are those of us who enjoy this peace without ever having stepped onto the battlefield.”
“What do you mean by…”
“We are the scoundrels for failing to stop the powerful men who never went to war from taming the women, and for failing to stop the women from submitting to them.”
The Captain gripped her pipe and looked into the distance.
“I shouted until I was hoarse, telling the young girls not to be swayed by those who rely only on their faces and what’s between their legs while failing their duties as men. I told them not to give their hearts to those who don’t do what they must, whether they be man or woman. But they wouldn’t listen.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I just find it hilarious that a hero who saved the world is treated poorly everywhere he goes just because his appearance is ordinary.”
Was it memories or tears reflected in the Captain’s wistful gaze?
“A man who is infinitely gentle when he can be, yet steps forward without hesitation when his woman is in danger—that is a true man. The young things in this world don’t realize that. They give their hearts and souls to those who do nothing but act like leeches… I worry for the future of this country and its villages.”
“The future is for those who survived to handle.”
“That’s why I’m saying this.”
Captain Maya approached and wrapped both her hands around mine. Her hands were rough and covered in deep wrinkles.
“The girl you saved this afternoon… she’s my youngest.”
“Eris?”
I remembered her. A healthy-looking woman with bright brown hair that reached her shoulders. She was the one who had been trembling in my arms after I dove in to save her from being eaten by the Serpent.
“My youngest was the one most obsessed with looks. Even after seeing Luke, she claimed she wasn’t attracted to him and boasted that she would only meet a handsome man. But this time, she must have truly understood what I meant.”
“Captain?”
The grip on my hands tightened. Or rather, it became more desperate.
“From the moment you emerged after slaying the Serpent, her eyes haven’t left you. She wants to approach you but can’t—it was unmistakably the look of a woman who has fallen in love.”
“Ha… Love. That’s something I’ve never received. Not even in the city.”
“Then their eyes were crooked. Everyone has a match somewhere. It might take a long time, but everyone has one. What matters is the courage and confidence not to let that love go when it arrives.”
“…Captain, what are you trying to say?”
“Please take my youngest with you.”
My eyes widened more than they ever had before.
“Wh-what?”
“Better she lives being loved by a real man like you than being some pretty boy’s meal ticket somewhere else. As a parent, it’s only natural to want what’s best for my daughter.”
“I don’t have the kind of looks your daughter would like…”
“How many men in this world do you think would charge at a monster to save a woman!”
The mother’s sharp cry echoed through the silent night sky.
“That child knows now. She knows what kind of man is a real man. A man, you see, is someone who knows how to protect his own and steps up when his country is in danger! I may not have raised her in luxury, but I raised her with love. Whether you’re the hero who saved the world or just an adventurer… it doesn’t matter at all!”
“What makes you trust me enough to ask this?”
“What makes me trust you? Honor and faith are found in one’s actions. Who charged at that Serpent, hacked it to pieces, and saved my youngest? Wasn’t it you? What does it matter what you did in the past? It’s the actions and attitude you’ve shown until now! To this old woman, that looks like a sturdy rope I can trust my daughter to.”
“Still, without even asking for her opinion…”
“Fine. I understand.”
The Captain lit her pipe again.
“I’ll have to show you that my youngest is a woman worthy of living with you as well. I can’t tell you to take her right this second, but I’ll send her to you soon enough to repay the debt of saving her life in some way. Just keep an eye on her.”
“You’re being far too presumptuous.”
“I just want you to promise me one thing.”
The scent of strong tobacco drifted on the wind again.
“If there is a woman who loves you—whether it’s one, two, or three—never let them go and make sure they are happy. Don’t let them suffer at the hands of other men they don’t even care for.”
I let out a deep sigh against the smell of the smoke. Stepping back from our private conversation, I showed my respect once more.
“If they truly are people who love me.”
“Look at their eyes. The eyes can never hide the heart.”
I knew. I could still vividly recall the way Mirei’s party looked at me in Lukart.
As the night deepened, the only person awake in the cabin bit her nails after overhearing the conversation between the Captain and Alto.
“Bertrand…!”
That conversation became the catalyst for overwhelming shock, resentment, and jealousy to violently shake the heart of the Dakuren family’s only daughter. And at the same time, her body began to burn with an uncontrollable, aching longing.