Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27 "Uh…"
When Turan first touched down on the deck, the pirates stood frozen, the words dying in their throats for several long seconds. Their brains momentarily refused to process the impossible sight of a human leaping dozens of meters across the open sea from one ship to another.
A few seconds later, an unnamed pirate shattered the silence with a frantic roar.
"K-kill him! Fight!"
Armed with everything from swords and axes to any tool capable of drawing blood, seventy-odd pirates began to close in.
Internally, Turan felt a flicker of bewilderment. Normally, when a mage appeared out of nowhere and displayed such overwhelming power, people lost their will to fight and surrendered. Why were they reacting like this?
However, his confusion didn't change the reality of the battle. Even if a bear flinches when a mouse suddenly lunges at it, the mouse still has no chance of winning.
Turan reached out toward the deck. Responding to his will, a surge of deep blue seawater rose, shimmering with intense energy before hardening into jagged ice spikes sharp enough to pierce through anything.
"W-what is that…?"
"Do—!"
Before the word "dodge" could even leave his throat, dozens of ice spikes rained down on the pirates gathered on the deck.
The result was nothing short of gruesome.
Heads were impaled, causing instant death; throats were pierced, leaving men thrashing as they suffocated; chests and bellies were punctured, sending bodies collapsing to the floor. In an instant, fifteen or sixteen pirates were either killed or incapacitated.
And this was despite Turan intentionally using far less power than he was capable of, all to maintain his act of being a knight. Humans born without the gift of magic were truly fragile.
"Don't back down, you bastards! If we don't kill him, we're dead anyway!" someone in the back screamed while the pirates in the front collapsed with ice spikes embedded in their bodies.
Only then did Turan realize why they were resisting so desperately. They knew he had no intention of letting them live.
Facing the pirates rushing at him in desperation, Turan gathered some of the water he had drawn from the sea and fashioned a longsword of ice. He could have simply wiped them all out by firing more ice spikes, but to play the part of a knight, he needed to conserve his mana and show them a physical fight.
"Gack—"
Squelch.
A head was severed, and a body slumped powerlessly to the deck. Against a longsword backed by physical strength capable of crushing iron, human flesh and bone were no obstacle.
After cutting one man down, he parried an incoming attack with practiced form, slashed a throat, took a large step back to create distance, and then extended the length of his ice blade to cut through three men at once.
Unlike when he sparred with Haram, he felt no exhilaration from this combat. The pirates' physical abilities couldn't compare to his, and their combat techniques were even cruder.
In the midst of the fray, the pirates' attacks did manage to reach Turan's body a few times. After all, he only had two hands and one sword; with his strength and speed restricted to the level of a knight, he couldn't block every single strike coming from all directions. If he were a master like Haram, the story might have been different.
"Ugh…"
But there was no real need to block. A burly pirate lunged with all his might at Turan's exposed neck, but the blade simply slid off, unable to even pierce the skin. Several others slashed or stabbed at his shoulders, chest, and back, but none of their strikes were effective.
The body of a noble was not so fragile that it could be pierced by a commoner swinging a bit of sharp metal. Even without his Guardian Magic Tool, the result likely would have been the same.
When about three minutes had passed, Turan realized he was the only one left standing on the deck. Only low moans and screams of agony echoed across the blood-soaked wood.
"Aaaargh!"
"M-Mom, I'm cold… Mom…"
"Please, spare me…"
Turan tossed the ice sword onto the deck as he looked down at the fallen pirates. Just then, the metallic clank of several grappling hooks echoed as they caught onto the railing. Because the two ships had crossed paths after his initial leap, the Blue Marlin had to circle back, only now catching up to the pirate vessel.
Captain Pires, balancing skillfully as he walked across the ropes, surveyed the deck of the pirate ship and clicked his tongue in awe.
"It's over, Captain."
"So it seems. This is, truly…"
Pires looked as though he had much to say but couldn't find the words. Turan guessed the man was likely questioning whether he was actually a noble or something else entirely.
In contrast, the sailors approaching from behind began to cheer and shout in excitement.
"T-that was incredible! Long live the Knight!"
"Wooooo!"
"You bastards! Serves you right!"
A few sailors, unable to contain their joy, kicked the corpses of the pirates and ended up tripping over themselves. Then, one of the sailors looked at Turan's appearance and spoke up.
"But sir, shouldn't you see the doctor first?"
"He's right! No, it might be hard for him to move, so let's call the old doctor over here!"
The sailors' fuss was understandable; Turan was covered in blood, and his clothes were torn in several places, making him look severely wounded. Turan smiled and shook his head.
"No need to worry. I'm not hurt at all. This is all the pirates' blood."
"Is that true?"
"Good heavens…"
"As expected of a descendant of the gods."
In truth, if he were an ordinary knight, his skin would have at least been nicked by the spears and swords. A strike to a vital spot like an eye would have been fatal. Of course, the sailors didn't know the specifics; they simply chalked it up to the greatness of knights.
"May I go inside and rest now, Captain?"
"Of course. Boatswain!"
"Aye! You maggots, clear the deck first! Throw everything overboard, whether they're breathing or not!" Boatswain Renak shouted with a wide, flushed grin.
*
While the sailors handled the cleanup, Turan returned to the Blue Marlin, stripped off his ruined clothes, and washed himself. Since the ship was filled only with men, he didn't mind washing up right there on the deck.
"Could I borrow some spare clothes?"
"Right here, sir! But they might smell a bit… is that alright?"
"I don't mind."
Though Turan had an exceptionally keen sense of smell due to his bloodline, he wasn't particularly sensitive to foul odors. The sense of smell fatigues quickly; after the initial shock of a strange scent, one grows accustomed to it almost immediately. If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have been able to live like a beggar during his early days in Orem City.
"Phew…"
After washing and changing into the sweat-stained sailor's clothes, Turan placed his blood-soaked original outfit in his cabin. With the magic Asiz had cast on them, the clothes would return to their original state before long. Judging by their current condition, it would probably take a few hours.
When he returned to the deck, Captain Pires had also made his way back to the Blue Marlin.
"We're still searching the vessel, but it turns out that ship was a merchant vessel that went missing from Abacha a few years ago. It seems the pirates captured it and had been using it ever since."
"I see."
"Would you prefer to sell it?"
When Turan gave him a questioning look, Pires smiled.
"Since you finished the fight single-handedly, the ownership of the ship belongs entirely to you, Lord Turan."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, a ship like that wouldn't be cheap. Even though the fight had been effortless, the physical exertion seemed to have momentarily dulled his wits.
"What is the usual procedure?"
"We could return to Abacha and demand a reward from the original owner, or we could sell it in the Enril Desert… but I think it would be better to just sell it at the islands along our current route. Sailing vessels are always in demand in the North Sea Archipelago. Goods are always most expensive where they are needed most."
The North Sea Archipelago, as the name suggested, was a cluster of islands scattered in the middle of the North Sea, serving as a trade hub between the world's northwest, central, and northeast regions. The Blue Marlin was already scheduled to stop at one of these islands soon to resupply food and water.
Captain Pires spoke with a slightly troubled expression. "The thing is, moving a ship of that size requires a significant number of men…"
"So you'll need a transport fee. How much should I pay you?"
Pires blinked his one good eye in surprise. He clearly hadn't expected Turan to agree so readily.
"I can't exactly sail that ship by myself, can I? If I use your men, I should pay for their labor."
Having spent the last week learning how to handle a sailing vessel, Turan knew that moving a ship of that size was no easy feat. While ships usually carried extra crew in case of deaths during harsh voyages, managing an entire additional vessel of similar size was still a burden. The workload would double, and the watch shifts would double. It wouldn't be right to work them like that for nothing.
"In that case… perhaps ten percent of the profit…"
"Twenty percent. And can I leave the entire sale to you?"
"Of course! I have plenty of contacts in those parts. I'll make sure we get a fair price."
Seeing Captain Pires's joyful expression, Turan suddenly realized a new problem had arisen. His backpack was already bursting with gold coins; how was he supposed to store the money from selling a whole ship? It seemed he would have to buy something expensive and small at the next island. Assuming they sold such things there.
A moment later, after Pires said something to the crew, the sailors cheered for Turan once again. The captain had likely encouraged them by saying the knight was giving them a cut of the ship's sale, so they should work hard.
Though Turan was the only one who had fought, they were just about to pass around drinks to celebrate the victory when a sudden commotion broke out on the pirate ship still tethered by ropes.
A sailor shouted with a look of utter disbelief. "Captain! A merfolk! It's a merfolk!"
"What? You mean the merfolk are attacking too? Where?" Captain Pires shouted in shock.
They had been fine for a whole week, and now they were being hit by pirates and merfolk back-to-back? This was too much. However, the sailor's next words clarified that it wasn't what the captain thought.
"N-no, that's not it… The pirates caught a merfolk and were keeping it. In the hold!"
*
When Turan returned to the pirate ship, Boatswain Renak was having the men who had gone below strip down and shaking out their clothes. He explained that those sent to scout the interior might try to hide valuable items on their persons, so they had to be searched this way.
It was a miserable task in the early winter chill of the North Sea, but no one complained. Who would dare complain when they might be caught stealing from a knight who had just slaughtered seventy pirates?
"So, there's a merfolk inside?"
"Yes. I haven't gone in myself yet; I only received the report."
"Well done. Lord Turan, would you like to go in?"
"Let's."
Naturally, if a merfolk truly existed, the ownership of it also belonged to Turan. As they descended into the cabins below the deck, Turan questioned Pires.
"Do merfolk sell for a high price?"
"I've heard that beautiful female merfolk sell for astronomical sums. Wealthy men looking for rare things go mad for them."
Turan recalled the characteristics of merfolk he had read about in books. Didn't they lure ships into reefs with their songs, sink them, and then eat the humans? Was it truly because their voices were that beautiful, or did they possess some special power to bewitch people? He would soon find out for himself.
"This way."
Clang.
Turan descended into the very bottom of the ship and widened his eyes at the sight before him. The "merfolk" the sailors had mentioned was a young boy, appearing to be no more than thirteen or fourteen years old.
Beside him, he heard Pires click his tongue. "It's a male? A male will probably fetch a pittance. Unless he's some legendary royalty who can transform into a fish…"
At that moment, the merfolk boy, having heard Pires, shouted in fury.
"How insolent! A male? I am Armani, the forty-seventh prince of North Estadale! Show some respect, dweller of the land!"
Indeed, the merfolk boy's voice was more beautiful than any human voice Turan had ever heard. It was like the sound of an instrument played in the background of a theater performance. But more surprising than the voice was the content of his words.
"…Is he claiming to be royalty?"
"It seems so. Or perhaps he's just bluffing, thinking we won't kill him if he's a prince."
Seeing as the pirates had bothered to keep a male merfolk who wasn't worth much money, Pires added with a serious expression that it might actually be true.
"Can you turn into a fish, Merfolk Prince?"
"I—I cannot!"
"Why not?"
"It is because… because I have been bound here out of the water. I must be in the sea in my natural state to transform."
Turan and Pires looked at each other, understanding passing between them without a word. This brat was trying to pull a fast one to escape.
"What will you do, sir?"
"Merfolk eat humans quite often, don't they?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll kill him. Since he's not worth any money anyway."
"But if he's telling the truth, it would be a waste…"
"We can't just let him go to verify it. He won't sell if he can't transform anyway."
Turan immediately reached out toward the merfolk boy. Since he looked like a child, Turan figured it would be better to kill him instantly so he wouldn't suffer. Sensing the danger, the merfolk boy scrambled back and shrieked.
"I—I have never eaten a human in my life! I have no intention of doing so, either! If you spare me, I will give you treasure!"
"Treasure?"
When Turan hesitated, the merfolk boy, Armani, looked relieved.
"Yes, treasure! Things left behind by the Frea gods you people worship!"
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