Chapter 107: Kaiou Pirates Captain Douglas?
Chapter 107: Kaiou Pirates Captain Douglas?
Having seafood barbecue, sightseeing Esport, stocking up food and storing them with Space magic. And just like that, three days passed while spending the time doing such things.
And then, early morning of the fourth day. We headed to the port toward the anchored ship that will go to Kagura.
The morning of the port city of Esport is brisk.
In the early morning, people who catch fish are already moving around busily since morning and went to the sea. There might be those among them who went fishing since the sky is still dark, there are some boats that returned as if to replace the departing fishermen.
Since the fish caught are brought to the market, the market is naturally bustling with people since morning.
This is where the fish would probably be sorted, processed, and preserved.
I can constantly hear lively voices even when I am at the harbor.
『Yes, it’s a freshly caught Dos Tuna! It’s six big gold coins!』
『Six big gold coins and five gold coins!』
『Seven big gold coins!』
There’s probably an auction happening at the market, that’s why I can hear those lively voices again and again.
I guess there are also cooks who aimed at fresh fish that have just been caught in the early morning.
While hearing the hustle and bustle from the market, I turn my eyes toward the front.
The view in front of me was filled with the sea stretching out as far as my eyes can see, making a gentle sound of waves.
On the other hand, I can see the wide, deep blue sea with the clear blue sky continuing beyond my line of sight, it’s as if they are mixing together on the horizon, at the boundary between the sea and the sky.
The contrast of the green flowers and the blue sky is also beautiful, just like the one at Koryatt village, but I guess the view where the sea and the sky met is not bad. I thought like that while squinting my eyes at the light from the sun that had just risen up.
There are three sea birds flying about in the sky and crying - as if enjoying their freedom - in the blue sky which seems to spread out boundlessly with no clouds in sight. Seeing their appearance, I thought that, 『Should I use the non-attributed magic Shield and walk in the sky with them』, but right now I’m just going to enjoy the scenery from the ground.
The sound of the rushing waves is pleasant to the ears.
There are also some irregular sounds of waves among the constant rhythm of the calm waves. The sounds of something hitting something, fish jumping from the surface, the flow of the current changed and the sounds of waves colliding with each other, there are no sounds that are the same.
Even though those various sounds mixed together, the sounds of the waves are not loud at all, it was more of a harmonious, calming sound.
It sounds just like when you soothe a baby, maybe…? That kind of calming sound.
The sea is the mother of all things. I feel like I can understand why they said that the sea was the source of all living things.
After that, I continue to stare vacantly at the sea.
I feel the air of Esport with my whole body, free from obstructive thoughts.
I wonder how much time has passed since I stare at the sea absent-mindedly like that?
Irvine came from the direction of the ship.
「Ooーi, Alfried-sama! The preparation is overー. Eh, oi oi! We’re going to go on a sea trip after this, so why do you have that kind of dead-looking eyes! You have the eyes like the Dos Tuna that we ate yesterday, y’know!?」
Saying that a person’s eyes are like a dead fish's eyes, what a rude person this guy is.
Irvine peered into my face and started poking my cheek, while I was unable to convey what was in my mind.
「So rude. My eyes are always like this, you know.」
「Ahー, that’s right. You always have that dead-looking eyes, huh.」
Though I’m trying to say that my eyes look like this usually, but I was awfully misunderstood.
Even though my eyes are as clear as the sea of Esport, this misunderstanding is terrible.
I should say a few words here.
So I thought, but then Irvine placed his hand on my shoulder *pon*.
「But, a kid doesn’t have that kind of eyes, y’know? Alfried-sama is still a kid, after all. There are still a lot of fun things to be done! First of all, let’s enjoy this sea trip with us! Look, a happy future is starting from now on!」
Irvine stood up as he said that, and started to run off energetically.
「Oi, hey! Don’t show your pity on me as you please! I’m enjoying my life properly, you hear?」
◆
「This is the ship that we’ll be riding, y’know!」
「Ohー, it looks quite impressive when you look at it from up close, huhー」
There was a large sailing ship when we headed to the place where we were to board the ship with Irvine.
It was so large that we had to look up. We have to use the stairs from where we are to board the ship.
I pretty much thought that it won’t be a small ship, since it’s a trading vessel between Kagura and Esport, but this is much larger than I expected. It also has three masts.
Sure, the main-mast is the tallest, and the one behind it is the mizzen-mast. Then one in front should be the fore-mast, I guess. I had a quick look at a movie about ocean adventure before, so I remember a little bit of it. However, a ship has various tools with subtle names, so I mostly remember nothing else.
「Indeed, that main-mast snapped in stories and dorama, isn’t it 」
「Oi oi, don’t even say something that will jinx us, we’re going to have a sea trip after this, y’know.」
When I look up, there are ropes hanging everywhere, men who appear to be sailors are climbing those ropes toward the mast.
「What is that diagonally hanging rope?」
「Ahー, the one those sailors are using to climb up right now? That is a rope ladder to climb up the mast called shroud. That’s a stay, a rope to support the weight of the mast, and behind that is the backstay. A rope to support the mast.」
「I see. I don’t understand it since it’s too messy…」
It seems that Irvine knows about it more or less since he has been on a sea trip before, he pointed to them one by one with his finger, but aside from the shroud, nothing else enters my head.
「Well, we’re not sailors, but I guess it’s fine to call them all, ropes.」
「That's right. We’re not sailors, so we can just call them all shroud ropes to climb.」
Un, they’re all ropes. That’s very easy to understand.
「Haahaaha! I heard that there is a remarkable noble young master boarding the ship this time, but surprisingly, you don’t look like a noble at all!」
Just when I was admiring the sailing ship with Irvine, a deep and low voice can be heard coming from the back.
When I turn around, there is a giant of a man that is as tall as Roomba, standing while crossing his arms.
With an all-back pitch-black hair, a thick facial hair growing around his mouth, a man with a wild look.
Wearing a green pirate coat, with a white-collared shirt underneath it.
The skin that can be seen from the shirt is quite tanned, and he has a muscular figure.
There are a lot of knives fastened to his waist, with an impressive orange-colored embroidery hanging on it.
Hmm, to describe this man in one word………
「……a pirate?」
「You’re mistaken, I’m not a pirate! I may look like this, but I’m a merchant, okay!」
The man heartily laughed at my honest comment. His voice is a bit loud.
「My name is Douglas. The captain of this sailing ship 『Kaiou』!」
「The captain of Kaiou’s pirates? 」
「Ahーexactly! We’re the Kaiou pirates, so frightening that we can make children stop crying! Give me your valuables if you want your life to be spare――no, that’s wrong!」
「You’re quite lively aren’t you…」
His intonation and words are said with no hesitation. I can only think that he’s used to it.
「But well, maybe I look like this since I performed in a play when I was at the bar.」
When I stared fixedly at him, he muttered as he scratched his cheek for some reason, perhaps he became a little embarrassed.
The sailors are also brawny, so when they went to a bar, you can only think of them as a group of pirates.
「How is it, Douglas? Alfried-sama doesn’t look like a noble, right?」
Just when I thought like that, Irvine - who is beside me - started to talk casually to Douglas.
It seems like they know each other since he addressed Douglas with his name alone.
I guess that’s because the members of the Silver Wind party often took a lot of sea escort missions. It’s not the first time they came to Esport, so it’s not that strange for them to ride Douglas’s ship, I guess.
I wanted to ask Irvine carefully, whether he’s praising me or speaking ill of me to Douglas.
「Aah, that’s right. He doesn’t put on airs, and he’s good at playing along. He’s easy to interact with, unlike with the other nobles.」
That’s cause there are all sorts of nobles in the Kingdom of Misfrit. There are a lot of nobles with high pride just like in my imagination. There are friendly baron-like nobles like Eric and me, or those troublesome nobles from a house of Earl such as nobles led by someone like Bram. Especially an Earl’s daughter or something.
On the contrary, if you look at those from the Duke house, I think they look considerably composed, maybe they’re of a different caliber.
「Even so, that brazen look in his eyes………People with that kind of eyes seldom die early, y’know.」
Douglas crouched and peered into my eyes.
Uーn……Is that a compliment? I’m not sure.
For now, let’s introduce myself here since he already introduced himself.
「My name is Alfried Slowlett. Please take care of me for these seven days until Kagura.」
When I greeted him formally, Douglas and Irvine laughed at the same time. Did I say something strange, I wonder? It’s social etiquette, isn’t it?
Then Douglas placed his big hand on my shoulder.
「Ou! Leave it to me!」
I thought my shoulder would come off.
Author note :
I want to write more about seafood barbecue. Shrimp, Turban shell, all kinds of things!
They went to the sea just like that.