Wolves of Hader

Chapter 31

The ship was heading toward Ta-iki.

There were quite a lot of reefs in the area.

It wasn't just here—this entire sea was like that.

Had the spirit of the sea accepted us? Could anyone reach Ta-iki after crossing the storm?

It seemed that we had already passed Wuda, the stronghold of the pirates, but none of the pirates had tried to escape.

Unlike most islands, Ta-iki was colorful. That was because it had many fluorescent plants and exotic metamorphic herbs not found on other islands.

The pirate captain was standing next to me.

Perhaps because the battle against the storm had been a kind of fight, a sense of camaraderie had formed. The sailors and pirates had also become much closer.

"I hear that the young master calls the fairy island Ta-iki."

"Have you ever been there?"

"Of course. Although a large pirate band occupies that island, they don't attack fishermen. I visited several times as a child."

"Which pirate band is it?"

"The Red Beard Pirates."

"They must be brutal."

"They're different from simple fishermen like us. Red Beard is one of three men who obtained a relic of the Pirate King, and he is a very strong fellow."

"What is the Pirate King?"

The pirate captain grinned slyly.

"They call him Golden Hand. Golden Hand had three divine relics, and whoever possesses those becomes an invincible warrior. You might say the inheritor of Golden Hand becomes a candidate for the second Pirate King."

"How large is the Red Beard Pirates?"

"About a thousand men, I'd say. When someone obtains a relic of the Pirate King, pirates flock to them. I hear they even have four huge pirate ships."

"Their main base is Ta-iki?"

"Their base is far from here, but they do have an outpost in Ta-iki. Since there are many monsters in Ta-iki, they don't go deep inside. I've never seen the fairies myself, though."

It seemed that possessing a relic of the Pirate King made one invincible. I didn't particularly covet it, but I was curious.

"Where are the other pirate bands?"

"They're both very far away. Compared to them, the pirates here are just stealing pocket money from children. Who would want to live in waters like these, plagued with storms?"

"Who are they?"

"The strongest pirate is Krapos the One-Eyed, in the far northern seas of Beltern. The next strongest is Black Mane, who is in the distant southern seas."

"Black Mane—is that a name?"

"The only thing known is that she's a female pirate captain. There are rumors she's of Yan descent, since she's near the Yan continent. But she never comes to these waters, so there's no chance you'll encounter her."

Black Mane, huh.

Was her hairstyle shaped like a horse's mane?

Moreover, a female pirate captain.

Long ago, my father had once suppressed the pirates in the west. Those pirates were probably Krapos's band.

After all, the southern seas of the western Arshaire Continent were the north of the Beltern Continent.

"Looks like just approaching Ta-iki is risky."

"As long as you don't get too close. At this hour, all the pirates are likely dead drunk by now."

The pirate captain pointed to an island.

"There's a hiding spot for ships on that island. Unless the pirates deliberately search for it, they won't find it. There are over a thousand islands just in these waters."

The area near Ta-iki Island was an archipelago. The abundance of large and small islands made it an ideal environment for a pirate stronghold.

"Captain! Please head toward that island!"

The ship changed direction.

There was a sheer cliff, indented in a reverse slope, on one side of a large rocky island. It had formed over a long period, eroded by the waves.

When the ship entered the cove beneath the cliff, it was as if we'd vanished. We were completely hidden from the view of the pirates' base.

"What are you planning now?"

"Spread word among the pirates. Whoever wants to stay may stay; whoever wishes to go home may go. Just tell them that if they come with me, they'll be able to live without worrying about their families. If you all do your part, you could even become rich."

"Even though we're pirates?"

"It's not like you were born to be pirates, were you?"

"Young master..."

The pirate captain suddenly looked like he was about to cry.

Honestly, it was a rather abrupt sentiment.

Patting the captain's hunched shoulders, I turned away.

Soon after, the party assembled.

Myself and Donnie. Urald and the pirate captain. Only the four of us decided to head to Ta-iki.

I took the pirate captain along because he might try to capture the ship, and he could also serve as a guide on Ta-iki.

We took the landing craft and rowed ashore. The crew dropped us off on Ta-iki's eastern coast and returned to the ship.

"This way, please."

Although I was quite familiar with Ta-iki's geography, I didn't know where the pirate outpost was, so it was better to leave it to the captain.

We walked beneath low cliffs, gradually climbing upwards. Soon, we came upon a forest full of dazzling plants. The roars and howls of monsters could be heard in the distance.

"The pirate encampments are all clustered on the western coast over there. Whatever happens on this side, they won't come. There are too many monsters. But where exactly are you going?"

"We're heading into the forest."

"The forest is dangerous, you know."

"Can you run, if you need to?"

"Of course."

"If things get dangerous, just run."

"That's all?"

I sketched a rough map on the ground.

It was the shape of Ta-iki Island.

I marked our intended destination.

"We're going straight there. If possible, we mustn't attract the monsters' attention. If they attack, don't fight—just get away as quickly as possible."

"That's quite a distance, though."

"Once we get past this point, even the monsters can't enter. It's the Fairy's Forest. If we achieve what we came here for, we'll head to the mountain at the center of the island."

Donnie and Urald nodded. They might have had questions, but they didn't ask. They had always trusted that I'd tell them someday, just as before.

But the pirate captain was different.

"This really your first time here?"

"I read about it in a book."

"Then how do you know about the Fairy's Forest?"

"Why? Don't pirates know?"

"All we've heard is there are rumors of fairies, but no one has actually seen them."

"That's to be expected—they're not visible."

They all looked at me in puzzlement.

The people here could indeed be called fairies, but that was a little inaccurate.

They looked like fairies and communicated with spirits, but they weren't truly fairies.

It was hard to define them as a distinct race.

In any case, the others would be surprised when they met them. They would witness rare magical beings.

///

We walked through a dense jungle.

It was filled with trees whose branches seemed all intertwined, and flowers with strange colors and shapes.

An hour after entering the jungle.

We had been forging a detour, avoiding places where monsters clustered.

The monsters were incredibly diverse.

There were so many creatures not found anywhere else that it was hard to even describe them.

The closest comparisons were to certain insects or animals.

Rock gorillas. Blade mantises. Wolf monkeys. Crocodile raccoons. Giant cockroaches. Poison-stinger dragonflies.

Some of these monsters lived in groups, others alone. Among them, the wolf monkeys were the most dangerous.

They hunted in packs and moved extremely fast.

"There's a monkey to our left."

"Shh. Stay low."

We crept through the underbrush, moving slowly.

If one wolf monkey attacked, they would all join in.

If they bit you even once, their jaws were so strong they could rip chunks of flesh right off.

Crawling as silently as possible.

Luckily, the wolf monkeys were busy foraging for breakfast and some were napping.

We had almost gotten past their territory when—

"Ow! That hurt!"

"I told you not to make noise."

"Something bit my leg!"

Khaaa!

A roar rang out behind us.

"Run!"

We sprang up and ran.

Kyaaa!

Three or four wolf monkeys were now chasing us at full tilt. The pirate captain immediately fell to the very back.

"Save me!"

The wolf monkeys rapidly closed in on the captain, who ran with all his might.

I let out a sigh.

There was nothing else to do—if we wanted an easier escape route, we'd have to deal with these monkeys.

"Aagh! My butt!"

"Donnie, keep going straight! Don't stop, just cut down anything that gets in your way!"

"Got it!"

"Captain! Get down!"

"Waaaah!"

I kicked off a tree and launched myself toward the pirate captain. At the same time, he tumbled forward.

A straight-up body slam!

*Thump!*

The three monkeys chasing the captain slammed into my body and bounced off.

The next one charging in got a solid kick!

*Yipe!*

The monkey screamed as it flew. The rest, coming at us in turn, each got a punch straight to the face.

*Smack! Thwack!*

*Yiii! Urk! Crack!*

I kept punching and kicking, channeling magic power into my strikes.

There was the sound of bones breaking as they went flying off into the depths of the forest.

Any that collapsed croaking got kicked in as well, sent flying into the trees.

These things had to have their skulls cracked or ribs shattered for them to stop attacking.

"Phew..."

I must have taken down about thirty of them.

There were wolf monkeys in other parts of the forest, but we weren't going that way; just dealing with these was enough.

We took off running again.

Because once more, I could hear the pirate captain's screams. Maybe we should have left that man on the beach...

We entered an even denser jungle.

A forest twinkling with countless fluorescent insects. Trees that seemed almost alive, swaying and writhing, and grasses emitting eerie lights.

The scenery was like a fantasy world.

There were many bizarre monsters in this forest, but in truth, they were its guardians.

To pirates, it might look like a cursed forest.

As soon as I entered, sharp tree branches flew at me like tentacles. These were the first guardians of the Fairy Forest.

Dodging and slashing at the branches trying to grab me, I ran forward.

All around, the neatly sliced branches were proof of Donnie's sword technique.

After passing through the forest of living trees, thorny vines sprang up everywhere from the ground.

I kept running, dodging the vines that tried to catch my feet.

After outrunning these second guardians, we finally reached a clearing bursting with bizarre flowers.

Donnie and Urald were frantically dodging a giant chasing after them. That stone giant was the final guardian of the Fairy Forest.

"Donnie! Hit it properly!"

"It's a monster made of rock!"

"Cut its waist! That thing is made up of several stones put together!"

"Ah!"

"I'll draw its attention!"

As Donnie quickly slipped behind the stone giant, Urald struck at its knee to grab its attention.

"Hyaaa!"

Donnie spun with all his strength, swinging his greatsword. Using both the sheer weight of the blade and centrifugal force, it was a powerful attack.

*Thunk-thunk!*

With a metallic clang, Donnie's greatsword cut through the stone giant's waist. Just as it was about to grab Donnie—

*Rumble...*

The stone giant's body instantly fell apart into many pieces.

"Whew!"

Donnie and Urald stopped running at last and let out sighs of relief. Both looked at the chunks of stone scattered on the ground.

"It's a monster called a golem. It looks alive, but in reality, it's just enchanted rocks."

"That's some amazing magic. Donnie and I thought it was a single solid rock."

"I thought it was made up of several rocks."

The pirate captain, looking thoroughly frightened, asked,

"Where on earth is this place?"

"Donnie, take the captain and head to the mountain in the center of the island first."

"Understood. Let's go."

"Why me? I just wanted to know where we are!"

"Let's go, hurry."

Donnie dragged the captain away.

I went straight to where the yellow flowers were. They probably couldn't be seen, but were watching us.

I sat in front of the yellow flower.

"I apologize for finding my way here so brashly. I would like to meet the elder of the Iki Tribe village."

There was no reply.

Urald asked,

"Is someone there? I can't see anyone."

He also sat down and looked at the flower.

I spoke again.

"We didn't come to harm you. We have magic power stones. We wish to trade them for what you possess."

"Did you say you have magic power stones?"

A tiny voice, like the fluttering of bee wings, sounded strangely in the air. Urald looked puzzled.

"There are quite a few. Enough for you all to use for more than a hundred years."

At that moment.

A tiny figure appeared from within the yellow flower before me.

A fairy of Ta-iki,

An Iki.