Wolves of Hader

Chapter 82

The Berserkers hid their bodies behind the deck railings, wielding clubs in their hands.

Another member had gone down below the ship, and the deck doors were firmly locked.

After a while—

Shouts were heard.

"Captain! There's no one on the ship!"

"No one, you say?"

"Yes! The ship is pitch black, like a ghost ship!"

"Have you ever seen a ghost ship?"

"No, sir!"

"Then be quiet if you haven't! Throw the grappling hooks! How long has it been since we've seen a ship swept in by the Storm? Hahaha!"

Whoosh—whoosh—

Grappling hooks with ropes were flung and caught on the starboard railing.

Then, the pirates pulled on the ropes, drawing their ship flush against ours.

But before the pirates could even board, all the Berserkers rose at once and leapt straight onto the pirate ship.

I immediately stood up as well.

"Uwaaah! What is this?!"

"Captain! It's him! He's attacking our ship...!"

The Berserkers who boarded the pirate ship began ruthlessly wiping out the pirates.

For those trying to cross onto our ship, I gave them a good thrashing.

"It's over!"

When I shouted, the deck doors opened and the captain and crew came out.

Those with pirate backgrounds were incredibly excited.

"Hahaha! And you dared try to rob us?"

"First Mate! This guy used to bully people in our village!"

"Give him a good beating and tie him up!"

"Yes, sir!"

The former pirate captain, now our first mate, was the most exhilarated. The original crew just watched on with incredulous laughter.

The former pirate crew beat the pirates and began tightly binding them with thin ropes.

Meanwhile, I looked over at the pirate ship.

Those who had boarded the pirate ship were tidying up the deck and had gone below.

///

Except for the duty crew, all members landed on Ta-iki Island.

Everyone was busy admiring the island's strange colors and landscapes.

Especially, the Elin, seeming to have sensed the elementals, looked at the forest with startled eyes.

Thanks to Bellen's careful care, their recovery was quicker than expected.

The pirates knelt in a row on the sandy beach. The pirate captain recognized me, but didn't realize our ship was originally theirs.

Urald looked around and clicked his tongue.

"Well, I see this is your playground, but you haven't bothered fixing any houses since making such a ruckus trying to catch me."

Just as Urald noted, the houses broken about a year ago remained left unattended.

Seeing the leftover meat, it was clear they hadn't stopped coming here.

"How lazy do you have to be to never even try fixing them?"

A pirate replied.

"It's hard to get timber."

"There are trees everywhere on the island. Why is it hard to get timber?"

"If you cut trees here, the fairies get angry. And then the bugs attack, so it's impossible to stay on the island."

Urald, looking somewhat abashed, smacked his lips.

That makes some sense. Cutting trees must be like cutting flesh to the forest elementals.

I sat down in front of the pirate captain.

He seemed irritated just looking at me.

"Business treating you well?"

"Grrngh."

The pirate captain let out a groan and turned his gaze away.

The former pirate crew watched with interest, suspecting what I was about to do.

"Having a hard time making a living, huh?"

The pirate captain looked at me.

"Whose fault do you think that is? It's because you took my ship—my income's been reduced to a quarter."

"Why a quarter, not a half?"

"I have to pay Tribute to the Pirate Lord. It's not the same with one ship as with two."

"And who is this Pirate Lord?"

The former pirate captain answered.

"Red Beard."

"Oh, you mean your boss."

"Hmph."

The pirate captain glared at our first mate, who gave a sly grin.

Apparently he'd finally realized the first mate was once a small-time pirate from a neighboring village.

"And what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, 'what'! I am the first mate of the merchant guild trade ship."

"A first mate, huh?"

"That's right, you fool. And how much are you lot earning these days?"

When the pirate captain failed to answer, one of his subordinates spoke up.

"We barely get to eat meat once a month..."

"There you have it. Listen well. All the Wuda Island pirates you used to look down on are now official crew members. We get paid the same as sailors on a major trading ship."

The pirate captain and his pirates looked at those lined up behind the first mate.

"How much does a sailor make, exactly?"

"Forty-five silver a month."

"Gasp!"

Some of the pirates caught their breath.

It's only slightly better than the average wage for Mouk's crew, but for people stuck in the middle of the sea, it's a considerable sum.

The first mate continued.

"We're going to bring our families from Wuda and head to the continent. Build nice houses too. Our young lord's house also has a big merchant guild, you know."

"He's a noble?"

"That's right, you fools. We're about to start trading with the Bellen merchants. We don't have much saved yet, but with a loan, I can buy my own trading vessel within five years."

"Then you'll be captain?"

"Of course!"

Watching the first mate's boasting made me laugh. It wasn't exaggeration, either.

It was even funnier that he'd grasped my intention and started recruiting on his own.

He pressed further.

"So why don't you all give up your piracy and become real crew? If you stay in this backwater, you'll always be stuck just like this."

The pirates looked at me.

This time, Urald stepped in.

"These guys used to slaughter people like pigs. Think they'll really change? Just look how lazy they are."

"Th-that's not true."

"How is it not?"

"We mostly raided shipwrecks from the storms. What kind of ship would survive and make it here?"

"So you didn't kill?"

"We had no choice when there were fights. But otherwise, we just let folks off on the island."

"You think they all made it home? How many did you fight and kill?"

The pirates couldn't answer Urald's questions.

Unlike our crew, these were real pirates. I didn't intend to take them on as official crew.

"Please take us in. If we lose our last ship, we'll have nowhere to go."

"So, you just don't want to live as fishermen."

"That's not it. Red Beard will kill us. He won't forgive defectors or traitors."

I asked again.

"Where is Red Beard?"

"You'd have to head about seven days southwest from here. It's a volcanic archipelago, and storms there are even worse than here."

"That's near the Demon Exile Island, isn't it?"

"Correct."

That was Wundbark's question.

I was hearing about it for the first time.

"What's Demon Exile Island?"

"That place, like this Fairy Island, is forbidden to humans. When I lived down south, rumors were there's an ancient ruin there."

"Is it close to Beltern?"

"It's about halfway between this island and the Beltern Continent. Our southern Dran ancestors were actually a ruin exploration team headed for that island. When their ship wrecked in a storm, they drifted south and settled there."

There's a big island beneath the volcanic archipelago; that must be the one. In the game, Rac, it was called the Great Demon Island. But there weren't any ruins.

"I'll stop by when we go to Beltern."

"To fight the Red Pirates?"

"I'm just curious about the Demon Exile Island. Besides, that's on our way to the Robe Republic."

"The storms will be harsh."

"If it's too dangerous, we'll turn back."

I looked at the pirate captain.

"How many ships does Red Beard have?"

"Four large ships, six small ones."

"Are the large ships bigger than this pirate ship?"

"About twice as big. Each holds a hundred men."

It seemed that because of Red Beard, intercontinental trade failed to develop.

There was also another notorious pirate lord in the seas between the two continents...

"If you want to live a new life, I'll give you a chance. But you must bring all your families with you to the continent."

"Really?"

"You'll live on a peninsula in central eastern continent. Build a port and houses there."

"We have no money."

"If you're truly committed to a new life, we'll support you. If you settle there, you can run trading ships and take on our commissions. But."

The pirates swallowed dryly.

"You are not part of our house. Since your crimes against people are grave, you'll have to work at least ten years before being officially enrolled in the merchant guild. Anyone who doesn't like it can stay on this island."

The pirates exchanged glances.

There wouldn't be a single pirate who'd choose to stay on the island.

More than anything, they were probably wondering what was going on.

"Thank you for giving us a chance... but Red Beard will kill us."

I looked at the pirate captain.

"All those ships will be sunk."

"... What?"

To enable smooth trade, the Red Beard Pirates must be eliminated.

While we could take their ships, Red Beard is not like these petty pirates.

"Have the pirates board the landing craft and return to your home villages to prepare for migration. About a month from now, if you're not back when we return to this island, we'll just leave."

"O-our ship?"

"If you become crew and this pirate ship becomes a trading ship, you'll get it back then. First mate, take care of the arrangements."

"Of course, young lord! My direct crew, take these pirates and go!"

"Yes, first Mate! Everyone form a line and board the landing craft, now!"

"What are you staring at?! You think we're just ordinary crew?! We've received special training, I'll have you know!"

"Do you lot even know how great our young lord is?!"

"That's right! You're all blessed!"

The former pirates disciplined the current pirates as they marched them off. Everyone laughed at the spectacle.

Urald asked.

"The crew should take a few people straight to the rocky mountain, I suppose."

"Yes. Donnie."

"Yes, I'll go with two others."

Donnie went over to the crew.

They were headed through the eastern forest directly to the rocky mountain at the island center. That's where the Magic Crystal was.

"Deputy Hans."

"Yes, sir."

"When you enter the fairy woods, you'll start healing the Dran and Elin. I'll go meet the Iki Tribe; please watch over things."

"Of course."

"Let's go."

The rescued tribes and our party entered the forest. Hans and six crew surrounded us in an escort formation.

As we entered the forest, where Wolf Monkeys had previously appeared, there were now even more than before.

However, unlike back then, they couldn't easily attack.

It was thanks to my and the Berserkers' magic. The creatures sensed we were stronger.

Krrhaaa—

Wolf Monkeys gathered around but just hovered, not daring to attack.

We continued in stalemate, eventually reaching the Fairy Woods safely.

Unlike before, entering the Fairy Woods, nothing tried to stop us. The tentacled plants were quiet as well.

We stopped in the thick forest not far from the clearing where the Iki Tribe stayed.

The elemental lights began to gather one by one around us.

I was about to ask the elementals, but to my surprise, the Elin communed with them on their own.

Then the healing light began spreading.

All the Elin closed their eyes and communed with the elementals.

Bellen and Lok also communicated with the elementals—it seemed even the siblings had never seen this many gathered before.

"Will they heal?"

"Yes. The power of life heals the soul even more than the body. Many emotional wounds will fade."

I left Hans and the crew in charge of healing and security for the two tribes, then headed for the Iki Tribe village with just Urald and Wundbark.

As we went to meet the Iki Tribe—

Some bugs suddenly flew along our side; looking closer, I saw the Iki were riding on them.

They'd spotted us while on recon and were now hurrying back to the village.

As we entered the clearing, the news must have spread— the chief and the Iki were waiting.

Seated in front of the yellow flowers at the village entrance, we offered a respectful greeting.

Urald greeted them too, and Wundbark awkwardly followed suit.

"It's been a while, chief."

"I wondered when you'd return. You've done well?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, we've achieved much. How is the village?"

"We too have made much progress thanks to the mana stones you gave us. I hear you have companions; can they be trusted?"

"They can be trusted."

At that moment, Bellen and Lok entered the clearing.

"Young lord! We met new elementals!"

The siblings rushed in excitedly, but stopped when they saw our solemn attitude.

The Iki, however, were staring in surprise at the two siblings.

"Why are Elin here?"

"Do you know Elin well?"

The chief's face filled with delight.

So did the rest of the Iki.

The chief's voice trembled as he spoke.

"How could we not know?"

"I see."

Back when I first met Bellen and Lok—

I suspected as much, and it turned out to be true.

The Iki Tribe was originally Elin.