Chapter 101 - The Second Day's Anchorage and a Talk of Pirate Slaying
Our second day's anchorage was much like the first—a tall watchtower and a village built into the mountainside. As usual, we were eating at the campsite's soup kitchen. The menu was the same, too: dried bread and stew. The stew had chicken, carrots, onions, and some kind of vegetable with the texture of Chinese cabbage. No potatoes. Today, however, they'd added an orange-like fruit.
There was some kind of cheap wine available, but no one from Levante dared to touch it. Cecily and I were drinking water we'd conjured with magic. Incidentally, the wine I'd brought out last night still had some left when we returned to the inn, but it was all gone by morning.
Fam was watching me with a curious expression as I nibbled on my bread with a scowl.
"Master, you can get meals at the inn. If the food here is not to your liking, perhaps you should eat there?"
It seemed she wasn't fond of the camp food either. She'd barely touched her own meal.
"Fam, I think Mash's goal is to be in the same place as everyone else, eating the same food as them,"
Mizuki answered on my behalf.
"Is that so?"
"We're exempt from the work on board, and once we're on the river, we have to entrust our lives to them. It's the least I can do."
I knew we stood out. Fortunately, perhaps thanks to the wine I shared last night, the crew had started greeting us cheerfully when we joined them for meals.
"It's just a personal thing, so you don't have to go along with it. I think it tastes bad too, so feel free to eat at the inn."
Fam shifted slightly, moving closer to me as she settled back down on the log.
"I will eat the same meal as you, Master."
Just as Fam took a sip of her stew, Joe and Becky approached with their own food and sat on a nearby log. Joe downed his cheap wine in one gulp.
"Remind you of home?" I asked jokingly.
He shook his head. "This stuff is awful. But it'll help me sleep soundly."
Joe grinned. It must be pretty strong alcohol.
"By the way, I heard your trading company was the one that suggested we continue down the river without changing the schedule, huh?"
"Yeah, well, we've got that warrior woman with us."
I glanced over at Avea, who was eating with the members of Altair. I was the one who had agreed to the plan, but I decided to keep that to myself.
To be honest, it seemed the Mateo Trading Company was prioritizing getting Claire and me to Migul over their cargo. That's why they'd wanted to take the safer route. But they knew I possessed a special skill from a goddess summoning. If I said we should press on, they'd assume our passage was guaranteed to be safe.
Avea must have also figured that even if a battle broke out, she could handle anything that happened within her line of sight. Thinking about it that way, it was clear she had absolute confidence in her abilities. I wondered where that confidence came from.
"I see… Oof!"
As Joe stared at Avea, Becky jabbed him with her elbow.
"The company we're escorting and one other have agreed not to change their plans. We'll be moving on as scheduled tomorrow," Becky said. She didn't seem particularly worried either. They certainly lived up to their reputation as the self-proclaimed 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
"If we're going to encounter pirate ships, when do you think it will be?" Maira asked.
"I hear the pirates are a fleet of five galleys. If we continue downriver, the day after tomorrow we'll pass a massive island in the middle of the river, about five hundred meters long. The island has a small hill, which is perfect for observing passing ships. It's an ideal place to hide a fleet, too."
The word galley brought to mind the triremes of my old world. If they were similar, that meant a crew of about two hundred per ship. That was a lot of people.
"Have you been to that place before?" Maira asked, slightly surprised.
"We've taken on escort missions for caravans between Flucht and Heilong many times. We have a good idea of where the pirates are likely to appear."
"You've been to Heilong… yet you didn't know where Nielen was… Oh, um, never mind."
Maira let that slip. I wonder if that was intentional. To support her, I dropped a piece of meat from my stew into hers. The man serving the food, pleased with yesterday's wine, had given me an extra portion.
Just then, Aira let out a little "Hmph!" and snatched the meat from my stew. Cecily, Mizuki, and Fam followed suit, raiding my bowl one after another. Soon, all the meat was gone. Taking pity on me, Maira gave me a carrot.
"It's his fault, you know! Hmph!"
In the middle of this fierce plunder, Becky elbowed Joe again.
"Aren't there around two hundred crew members per ship? If so, we're facing nearly a thousand enemies. We've only got about fifty per ship, totaling two hundred fifty. How can you all be so calm?"
And I'd heard that the demon race was physically superior to humans. If we were talking about composure, Avea was another one who seemed completely unfazed.
"You scared?"
Joe asked, rubbing his side. Just as I was about to answer "Yes," I noticed Fam staring intently at me.
"Nah, we'll be fine. We have Avea. I also heard there's an incredible swordsman on one of the ships ahead of us, a guy named Wake the Unsinkable…"
I decided to pin all my hopes on Avea and this swordsman I'd never met.
"What kind of ridiculous nickname is that?"
Perhaps because Becky was there, Joe was completely taken aback.
"Mash, it's 'Unsinkable'," Maira said, pouting. "He's a former member of my party. Please don't say strange things like Fam does."
"Still, what's a battle on ships even like? Do we get close, exchange arrow fire, ram our ships together, and then start hacking at each other? I guess with magic, we can expect fire spells to be flying back and forth, too…"
"The enemy won't use fire magic on us."
"They won't?"
"Nope. The pirates' goal is to steal the cargo. They won't do anything that would sink the ships."
It seemed unlikely they'd try to ram our hulls head-on to sink us, either. In that case, we just had to prevent them from boarding. We could try a strategy of taking minimal evasive action and simply outrunning them to the next port. But the enemy would surely anticipate that. Besides, I had to check on Fam's friends.
"What happens if we lose?"
"Well, I don't know if they'll tow the ships away or just take the cargo, but we'll probably be sold off in some town. Anyone captured will become a slave."
"…"
"Don't be so scared. We're with you. Just think of it as being on a battleship."
Joe let out a loud laugh, so I offered a polite one in return.
The two of them left. Fam looked like she wanted to say something to me. She must have realized that taking the convoy further down this river was more dangerous than she'd imagined. But I had to confirm the safety of her friends. Depending on the situation, we might have to rescue them. To do that, I needed the convoy to move forward, but that would put everyone in danger. My thoughts were still a jumble, so I didn't want to hear what she had to say right now.
"By the way, are there many people with nicknames?" I asked Maira.
"All sorts. Some people just make them up themselves. But most A-rank adventurers have one," Maira replied.
"You have one, Maira. The 'Saintess'. Does Aidan have one?"
"Saintess is embarrassing, so I'd rather you not call me that. And Aidan's nickname is 'Siege'."
So his special skill's name just became his nickname.
"I want a cool nickname, too."
"Mash the Pervert," said Cecily.
"Mash the Lustful," said Aira.
"Master Pervert," said Fam.
"Rapist," said Mizuki.
"…I said a cool one. I feel like crying."
Perhaps because I'd ignored her when she tried to talk to me, even Fam had joined in. And Mizuki… though I was responsible for my actions, was 'Rapist' even a nickname? Hearing that, all I could do was apologize, but I didn't regret it.
"Mash, your nickname is Hero," Maira said with a smile.
"Maira, that's not fair! That's really not fair!"
As Mizuki got angry, everyone else started to gang up on Maira. Where did this incredible solidarity come from?
"What's so funny, Mash the Pervert!"
Cecily complained when she saw me laughing at their argument.
"Quiet, Cecily the Careless."
"Hmph! If we end up fighting the pirates, I'll burn their entire fleet to ashes and show them what's what!"
"I can only see a future where you're stopped by a defensive barrier and end up screaming that your magic doesn't work."
"…You have a point. I'll follow your lead, Mash. You have a plan, right?"
I nodded. Normally, I would have expected her to argue back defiantly, but her reply was meek. She must be anxious, too.
Next to Cecily, an antsy Maira looked at me.
"It's not fair to give only Cecily a nickname. Please give me one too."
She leaned toward me with a smile, listening intently. It was true that her nickname, 'Saintess', was specific to Richelle and had a strong local flavor. I could understand why she found it embarrassing. Wondering if a terrible nickname like Cecily's would be acceptable, I studied her features.
"Maira, First in the Pecking Order."
"…Hmm? Mash, do you think of me as your number one lover?"
She looked at me, puzzled. For once, her large chest was still.
"Maira, what Mash is trying to say is truly awful," sighed Mizuki, Third in the Pecking Order. Fam, Last in the Pecking Order, puffed out her cheeks.
"So, what's the plan?"
"The morning after next, we'll pretend to be making a break for it and leave the port with just one ship. We'll make it look like we're going to speed through the island area. That should bait the enemy. We'll draw in as many of their ships as possible and then wipe them out with Racshell's arrow. I don't know if it will work, though."
We didn't need to annihilate them. If we could inflict enough damage, they should abandon their piracy and retreat to the Demon Kingdom. The problem would be if the enemy had someone with a special skill and it turned into a shootout. But Maira said that members of the demon race didn't have special skills. If I could eliminate that uncertainty, we shouldn't lose.
"But a lot of people might die. Are you okay with that, Mash? I… I don't like it."
Mizuki's face was clouded with worry. I wanted to avoid that outcome too, but I couldn't say it in front of Fam. I was at a loss for words.
"Mizuki… I'll make sure you don't have to play the unpleasant role this time."
"If you've made up your mind, Mash, I'll go with you," Mizuki said with a nod.
"Master. Please listen to what I have to say."
Unable to wait any longer for me to address her, Fam spoke up.
"…Go on."
"The convoy should wait for the fleet from Flucht after all. I will go down the river alone on a raft."
I pictured her, poling a raft to challenge the entire pirate fleet single-handedly. She was probably imagining herself as a legendary lone warrior heading to a fateful duel. My eyes met Mizuki's. She wore an equally indescribable expression.
"…You wouldn't be able to do anything alone. When we go, all six of us go together. That's final."
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me. I'll do my best.