Chapter 111
Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Pirates
“Damn it, we’ve run into a monster….”
On the deck of the pirate ship, a man who looked like the captain muttered to himself.
They had watched the entire scene on the island through their spyglasses.
Of course, the monster in question wasn’t the mermaids.
They’d seen plenty of mermaids to last a lifetime and knew exactly how to deal with them.
But the real monster fighting those mermaids was something else entirely.
It was a being they couldn’t possibly hope to face.
The sight of a young girl single-handedly massacring hundreds of mermaids in the blink of an eye.
It was a scene too unbelievable to pass for reality.
“Let’s get the hell out of here!”
“Captain! The anchor won’t come up!”
One of the crewmen shouted, sweat pouring down his face.
The anchor must have gotten caught on some underwater reef.
“Cut the damn rope if you have to—get us moving!”
“But then later…”
“Later’s a problem for later! Right now? We gotta bolt before that thing heads our way!”
Terrified, the crewmen grabbed axes to chop the anchor line.
That was when it happened.
“C-Captain! Look… look at that!”
“If you’re seeing it with your own eyes, then just spit it out! Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“But it’s too hard to describe…”
“Quit dicking around…. What is it? Gimme the spyglass!”
The voice of the crewman who’d been on lookout cracked with fear.
Cursing, the captain snatched the spyglass again.
These idiots could never be trusted with even the basics of reporting.
“W-What the hell is that….”
The captain couldn’t trust his own eyes.
The girl from the island was now walking across the surface of the sea.
No—upon closer inspection, she wasn’t actually walking on water.
With every step she took, a path of sand extended a handspan ahead of her.
A path stretching toward their ship at terrifying speed.
Of course, figuring out the trick of walking on water didn’t make it any less horrifying.
“T-That’s impossible….”
He’d only ever heard of magic like that in legends.
The captain urged his crew on once more.
“Set sail, now!”
“You slugs haven’t done it yet?”
The deck turned into chaos in an instant.
The crewmen screamed as they hacked through the anchor line.
But the girl’s pursuit was far faster than their efforts.
The sand path reached the bow of the ship in a flash.
The girl reached out her hand.
“Stop.”
The sand path swelled up massively.
Two enormous sand arms burst forth at the same time.
The sailing ship was firmly caught between them.
Creeeeak—!
The ship screamed to a halt.
It was an overwhelming force on a whole different level from the anchor—perfectly pinning the vessel in place.
No matter how hard the wind blew or how they rowed, the ship wouldn’t budge an inch.
The pirates stared in stunned silence.
***
Even so, directly manipulating the soil deep underwater was tough.
What I’d done was simple.
I’d just shoveled sand from the island’s beach and carried it over.
The island’s surface area had probably shrunk just a tiny bit, hadn’t it?
“That took more effort than I thought.”
Water and I just didn’t mix well, as expected.
If I accidentally fell in, it’d be a total disaster.
Beaches were my personal playground, but I’d have to move carefully on the ship itself.
I lightly vaulted the ship’s railing and stepped onto the deck.
Thud.
The moment my small foot hit the deck, every pirate on board fixed their gaze on me.
With my hands in my pockets, I slowly looked them over.
“Enjoy the show?”
At my voice, a few pirates snapped out of it and gripped their weapons tighter.
But their hands were trembling.
“It’s the Sea Witch…!”
“Damn it, a witch of all things….”
Murmurs spread through the pirates.
Sea Witch? Not exactly flattering.
The folks back home called me a sage.
“You the captain?”
I pointed at the man frozen in place, still clutching his spyglass.
His red coat stood out—he had to be the captain.
“Planning to fight?”
“…”
The captain swallowed hard.
A moment of silence passed.
Slowly, the captain set his sword down on the deck.
“Fuck, they say to watch out for women, kids, and old folks at sea…. Should’ve known when two outta three applied.”
Cursing, the captain glanced at his crew and bellowed.
“What’re you waiting for, you idiots? Drop your weapons! You wanna die?”
At that, the other crewmen hastily tossed their weapons to the ground and raised their hands.
Not everyone cooperated, though.
One crewman whipped a pistol from his coat and shouted.
“…You think bullets won’t pierce a witch?!”
“That moron—what the hell are you doing? Stop him!”
Bang!
The startled captain tried to intervene, but the trigger had already been pulled.
Of course, I wasn’t tense at all.
It happened in a flash.
The wooden deck beneath me turned to sand, then rose up as a barrier.
Clink.
The bullet was easily stopped.
“Hmm.”
I pulled the bullet out of the barrier.
Unlike modern bullets, it was an old-fashioned round lead ball.
I stared at the bullet, lost in thought.
How should I deal with that guy?
As if sensing my thoughts, the shooter’s face drained of color, and he shook violently.
That was when it happened.
“You fucking idiot, you’re gonna get us all killed!”
The captain shot to his feet and strode toward the crewman.
Without hesitation, he grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up.
“C-Captain!”
“Shut your trap!”
The captain lifted him effortlessly and headed for the bow.
Seeing him handle an adult man so easily, the captain clearly had exceptional strength.
I watched quietly to see what he’d do.
Splash!
Without a second thought, the captain hurled the crewman into the sea.
“Huh?”
I blinked in surprise at the sight.
An unexpected bold move.
The captain dusted off his hands casually.
“No need to worry about trash like that, ma’am. I’ll handle all that from now on.”
His face showed not a flicker of unease.
Unbelievable composure for someone who’d just tossed his own man overboard.
“So, approve of how this pirate handled it…?”
I eyed him for a moment.
Quick situational judgment, decisive, and easy to talk to.
I liked him.
I nodded in satisfaction.
“Good, you’re reasonable. Makes things easier.”
I approached the captain.
“What’s your name?”
“Edward Teach. Call me Teach.”
“What?”
A few images flashed through my mind.
“No chance your nickname’s Blackbeard, right?”
“‘Blackbeard’… Not bad. I’ll keep it in mind if I ever need one.”
“No, never use that nickname…”
“?”
If even his nickname was Blackbeard, I wouldn’t be able to stop laughing.
Truth be told, I was already at my limit.
I forcibly shoved away the images of flaming nipples and cherry pie popping into my head.
“Anyway, this ship’s mine now.”
I said as I looked around the vessel.
A pretty big, sturdy ship.
It’d be useful for tackling the ocean floors around level 40.
The captain didn’t bat an eye at my sudden declaration.
If anything, he looked relieved.
“Of course, do as you please. Captain.”
He answered without a hint of hesitation.
His nonchalance piqued my curiosity.
“Not fazed at all? I’m taking your ship.”
“I’ve heard tales about witches like you before, Captain.”
“Huh?”
“Witches always have their own goals, right? They don’t give a damn about us, no matter how grand their aims.”
“…”
“And usually, they just ride along for a month or two at most before leaving quietly. Since we’ve already got you aboard, better to treat you like a guest. No point pissing off a witch and dying over it, especially when we can’t win…. Fuck.”
“Hmm…?”
The captain was no ordinary guy, that was for sure.
Good for me.
Competent underlings meant less for me to worry about.
“Alright, before we set sail, load the ship with sand. Fill the deck to the brim— as much as possible.”
“Sand?”
The captain looked puzzled for a second.
Why load useless heavy sand onto a ship?
But Teach nodded as if he’d figured it out.
He’d seen me handle sand clearly enough to guess.
“Got it. I’ll tell the crew.”
The crew rowed small boats back and forth, diligently scooping and hauling sand.
But their pace was laughably slow.
“Sigh, I’ll just do it myself.”
Frustrated, I used magic to form a massive sand pillar and dumped it onto the deck.
The deck turned into a playground in an instant.
“Now set sail.”
At my order, the captain bellowed at the crew.
“What’re you gaping at? New captain’s orders! Move your asses!”
The crew finally snapped to and moved with crisp efficiency.
I nodded in satisfaction and headed for the captain’s cabin.
Maybe there’d be something worth taking.
The captain followed quietly behind me.
“Can you read?”
“Picked it up here and there.”
The captain’s cabin was oddly full of books—like a small library transplanted inside.
Not very pirate-like.
‘He might’ve read more books than me….’
I felt a twinge of crisis as I scanned the room.
Fine. I had YouTube and ChatGPT these days.
Didn’t need to read as many books.
Someone once said life’s lessons aren’t in textbooks anyway.
The large central desk was neatly organized.
Atop it sat a weathered sea chart and a palm-sized compass.
“This looks like something special.”
I picked up the compass.
Even at a glance, it wasn’t ordinary.
A gold body.
Instead of cardinal directions, strange runes were engraved where they should be.
“What’s this?”
As I lifted the compass, the captain spoke.
“It points to where you need to go. Regular compasses are useless in these seas.”
“An item, huh.”
I turned the compass over in my hands.
No system window popped up, but it was clearly infused with the Tower’s unique laws.
“Where was the next stop?”
“We were heading to the Whirlpool Archipelago.”
“What’s there?”
“Pirates only sail toward two things: treasure or slaves.”
“Treasure?”
His words sparked my interest.
Treasure hunting—not a bad event.
I pocketed the compass.
Mine now.
The captain said nothing.
He just stood there silently.
“Nothing else worth seeing.”
I headed back to the deck.
A cool sea breeze brushed my forehead.
I could feel my new pirate crew stealing glances at me now and then.
How long had we been sailing?
A pirate with a spyglass shouted.
“Something’s approaching!”