novelraw Chapter 62 : I Got Caught Too
Chapter 62 : I Got Caught Too
Chapter 62: I Got Caught Too
A dark, damp cabin.
In a storeroom that would originally have held supplies, a young girl lay sprawled about at ease.
Awakened by the commotion outside, she raised her hands after seeing the handcuffs fastened around both wrists.
Clank.
Each time she shook the heavy, rusted iron handcuffs back and forth, the sound of chains rang out.
The girl looked back on what had happened before she fell asleep.
She had eaten the stew given to her by a sailor who looked rough but likely had a warm heart inside.
It had a murky color, a funky smell, and a sour taste, but she finished it without leaving a drop.
Perhaps it had been made with care, because sleep came to her the moment she finished eating.
And then she opened her eyes to this.
“So they really were pirates.”
She recalled the boy she had met while waiting leisurely for the ship to depart.
The boy had suggested they go together, but he had not been able to break her stubbornness.
Ever since she had become able to properly handle spirits, she could count on one hand the number of people who openly showed hostility toward her.
Just lighting a flame on her fingertip had been enough for everyone to treat her kindly.
Then what about now, when she was in the middle of recovering her Ether?
“This reminds me of the old days.”
As long as she was not killed outright, she was confident she could escape whether it was a pirate ship or an underground dungeon.
Wasn’t she good at waiting alone?
The musty smell and dampness of the cabin were nothing she could not tolerate.
‘Until we reach land, I’ll behave.’
After organizing her thoughts, she found a spot with less shaking and flopped down.
Using the wave-rocked ship as her bed, she lay there, and her eyes slowly closed.
Just as she drifted on the edge of sleep.
People came pouring in all at once.
When she turned her head to look around, she saw dozens of people trembling in fear.
“Hic… we’re all going to die.”
“Damn it! How does it make sense to get robbed by pirates when there were knights on board?!”
“Those damn pirate bastards…….”
The cabin, which had been passable for sleep even if it was not comfortable, instantly turned into a prisoner holding area.
While she lay there staring blankly with only her eyes open, a familiar boy approached.
This already made it the third time.
It was the third chance encounter.
With a feeling of delight, the girl asked,
“Roy, did you come to rescue me?”
“No, we got caught too.”
“…….”
Robin showed her the thick rope binding his hands.
Imelda and the old man who followed behind him were also tied up.
Imelda put on a tearful face and asked,
“So it really was the ship Serena was on. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
At that question, a smile leaked out of Serena.
Robin and Imelda wore expressions of not understanding what was going on.
“Haha, I was just so glad to see you that I couldn’t help it…….”
Laughing just because she was glad, in a situation where they had been captured by pirates.
Watching Serena suddenly burst into laughter, Robin revised his evaluation of her.
‘She might have some psychopathic tendencies…….’
“What happened outside? I’ve been here the whole time, so I have no idea.”
“The pirates attacked the ship we were on. All the passengers were taken prisoner.”
Robin gave a brief explanation.
When his hands had been bound and he was brought up onto the deck, the surroundings had been filled with blood and corpses.
The most shocking among them was the deaths of the two knights.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say that nearly all of the merchant ship’s combat personnel had been killed.
On the other hand, the pirate ship’s casualties were not severe.
About ten had died and many were wounded, but there were few seriously injured.
They were in no shortage to continue their piracy.
Whether she understood the seriousness of the situation or not, Serena remained calm.
“Serena, you do have a way to get out of here, right?”
“Well. For the time being, I’ll refrain from using Ether.”
“…Are the aftereffects from back then still lingering?”
“There’s some effect, but this is a different issue. I’m in the middle of expanding my vessel. I won’t command spirits for a week.”
“That’s bad.”
At Robin’s troubled expression, Serena widened her eyes.
A shadow also fell over Imelda’s face.
“The pirates will execute prisoners with no value. It’s a problem for us too, but Serena can’t avoid it either.”
Serena’s sharply raised eyes lifted even further.
Only then did the gravity of the current situation truly sink in.
Cold sweat ran down her spine.
There was an uproar as they were packed in like livestock, but after an hour it subsided.
Robin, Imelda, and Serena all pretended otherwise, but they could not shake their worry.
Once the prisoner executions began, there was a high chance that one person would be made an example.
Their gazes turned to the old man who was snoring away without a care in the world.
“We have to stop it.”
“How?”
“Somehow. We can’t let an innocent old man die.”
Robin had brought the old man along because he wanted to learn swordsmanship. He felt responsible.
For the time being, things might be fine while they inspected the merchant ship and extracted the information they needed from the crew, but there was no room for reassurance.
‘At the earliest, today. At the latest, it’ll start tomorrow.’
Not only the prisoners, but also the lives of the captain, navigator, and passengers who had been on the merchant ship could not be guaranteed.
From the pirates’ perspective, they were witnesses and bothersome obstacles.
Killing them was clean.
If there was any consolation, it was that none among them could use Aura.
In other words, Robin judged that he had a chance of victory even if he fought the pirates.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound of someone being beaten echoed from the deck, and the door opened.
Though it was night and the visibility was poor, they could somehow make things out.
One man came tumbling in with a crash.
“That’s what you get for acting up without knowing how precious your life is.”
“Just stay shoved in there. We’ll kill you even if you don’t struggle, heh heh.”
Two pirates spat at the fallen man and closed the door.
When the presence of people faded away, Robin approached the man.
Bruises the color of deep blue were clearly visible all over his face and body.
“Admiral.”
“Roy…….”
The state Admiral, who had shared the same cabin, was miserable.
Just a few hours ago he had been a tall, handsome young man, but now he looked like a disheveled traitor awaiting execution.
Robin carefully helped Admiral sit up.
After panting and catching his breath for a long while, he finally opened his mouth.
“If only the captain hadn’t been so stupid, it wouldn’t have ended up like this…….”
“What happened? You didn’t come back to the cabin before the attack, so I was worried.”
Admiral continued speaking in broken fragments.
Before the battle broke out, he had advised the captain.
Not to put the knights at the front from the start, and to use them only when necessary.
They were not invincible, and they were not accustomed to naval combat.
In front of dozens of incoming arrows, they were nothing more than slightly sturdier people.
But the captain had snorted and ignored Admiral’s words.
Left with no choice, he had stayed behind to be of some help, but the result was a crushing defeat.
Pirates armed with crossbows were more than a match even for knights.
He had drawn out his aura and blocked several arrows, but collapsed under the relentless assault.
Once the knight fell, the tide turned completely.
“Why did you go that far? Admiral was just a passenger who paid the fare.”
“Pirates don’t go easy on passengers. When there were knights, there was hope that we might drive them off, but now it’s all over.”
Just as he said, the captives would now go through the pirates’ selection.
Those with healthy bodies would be sold as slaves, and the useless ones would be thrown into the sea or turned into fish bait.
Admiral muttered in a sunken voice.
“I don’t care how, I just wish the merchant ship could be saved…….”
“Even if it’s an enemy of the Empire?”
“This isn’t the time to be picky. Even if it costs me my life, if you save the ship, what couldn’t I do in return?”
Robin’s eyes flashed.
As the merchant ship’s cabin rocked back and forth, Admiral’s belongings rolled around as well.
Among the unremarkable odds and ends, there was one thing.
A sealed wax bearing a shield crest was sticking out.
If the old man’s words were correct, Admiral was no ordinary person.
‘He said it was the Wilcock Count family’s crest.’
It wasn’t certain that his status was that of a noble, but at the very least, there was a strong chance he was connected to them.
And not just any noble house, but the Wilcock Count family.
An old and distinguished family that had protected the Empire from invasions by the Demon Tribe.
In the north, Count Wilcock wielded authority rivaling even the emperor.
‘Captain is also employed by Count Wilcock and is fighting in the war.’
On top of that, the fact that he spoke casually to the captain.
The fact that he prioritized the merchant ship over his own life.
The words he let slip, knowingly or not, pointed to a single conclusion.
Admiral. He was either a noble or in a position equivalent to one.
‘What could I get if I save someone from a count’s family.’
Robin and Imelda were fugitives, hunted by the Empire under a wanted order.
Even a count could not openly defy the Empire’s will, but he could likely turn a blind eye.
It was regrettable that he hadn’t heard more about Count Wilcock from the old man.
Robin spoke up, probing subtly.
“What would happen if the merchant ship fell into pirate hands?”
Admiral’s eyes were badly swollen, but even with that puffed-up face, he did not hide his wariness.
The look in Admiral’s eyes as he watched Robin changed.
“…It would be best to consider it a calamity.”
He tried to answer casually, but it was too late.
Robin caught a clue in Admiral’s hesitant manner as he chose his words.
Why did he want to save a merchant ship carrying military supplies so badly?
Admiral was connected to the Wilcock Count family.
The Wilcock territory was currently at war.
Then.
‘Does that mean there’s something important loaded on the ship we boarded.’
What was a crisis for one could be an opportunity for another.
He didn’t know how much impact the loss of wartime supplies would have.
Whether that impact was small or large, if he navigated the current situation well, it would be no different from earning a major merit.
Robin judged that now was the opportunity.
‘If this goes well, things might resolve easily.’
“Admiral, if I drive off the pirates, what can you do for me?”
“That’s nonsense.”
“Whether it’s nonsense or not, we’ll see. If it does work, what will you do then?”
“If you defeat the pirates and the merchant ship arrives safely in Runeberg, I’ll grant you anything you want.”
Robin paused as if thinking, stood up, and approached the old man.
At some point, the old man had woken up and was watching Robin closely.
“Sir, given the circumstances, I need your help.”
“Tsk, you insolent brat. What are you expecting from an old man like me?”
“Aura. You can use it, right?”
“What do you take me for?”
Robin leaned close to the old man’s ear and whispered.
“You’re in your right mind right now. You don’t have to hide it.”
“Sharp-eyed brat.”
When Robin raised his hand, the wrinkled corners of the old man’s mouth lifted.
As he raised his index finger, a faint blue light gathered.
Slice.
The ropes binding them were cleanly cut.
Imelda was freed, and even the iron shackles on Serena’s wrists were severed.
With both hands free, Robin crouched in front of Admiral.
“You’ll grant anything, huh. That’s awfully vague.”
Admiral, unable to hide his shock, could only gape without managing a reply.
He had never imagined that anyone here could use aura.
Especially not a wheezing old man.
Robin smiled kindly, as if savoring that reaction.
“It’s better that it’s vague. That means there’s no limit to the scope of the wish, right?”
“Rather than no limit…….”
“Right?”
Admiral had no choice but to nod.
Whatever the identity of the old man who had suddenly released aura.
Whatever the reason the boy before him was so persistent in extracting a promise.
The supplies on this merchant ship were vital to the war.
“It won’t be easy, but I’ll save you, Admiral.”
Paired with a confident smile, his voice was irresistibly alluring.
Like a poisoned chalice that could not be refused.
Admiral raised his hand, and the ropes binding him were cut away.