Chapter 12: Pirates

September 1st, 2022

In a panic, I put out the fire with water from the creek, then I made Iwao wait at the cave’s entrance and return to the coast. The ship was closer than before; its shape can be seen more clearly now.

It’s at a distance that if I went out to the beach now, I would certainly be seen from the ship. I wonder what kind of people are on the ship.

At times like this I wish I had a telescope. Let’s write it on the list of things that I want to create next.

…

…come to think of it, I have neither paper nor pen here. I wonder which one I should create first, it seems like there’s still long way ahead until I reach a proper civilized life.

As I continue observing while hiding in the bushes, the ship anchored off the coast of the island. Probably that’s where the sea level is shallow enough so the ship can’t get any closer without scraping the bottom of the ship.

The people working on the ship look small from here, but it seemed that they are all women. All of them were wearing pants, and no one was wearing skirts.

Don’t women in this world wear skirts?

Oh, come to think of it, the noblewoman who captured Chris was wearing a skirt. I think in this world, skirt is like formal clothes for those in high position.

That aside, what kind of people are in the ship anyway? No one wears a uniform so probably not soldiers.

Fishermen, perhaps?

Or, in worst case scenario, pirates?

I can’t tell from the clothes they’re wearing… Some of them were wearing clothes similar to T-shirts, and some are not wearing anything on the upper body and showing their skin.

From afar, their tanned skin looked attractive, but now is not the time to get excited by it, since I can’t be sure what kind of people they are… I really hoped these people weren’t bad people, but unfortunately, my premonition was spot on. (TN: Really Shirou, there’s a possibility that a band of pirates arrives at your doorstep and you’re getting excited by a chance for some shagging? Truly a man of culture)

Among the people coming from the ship, there were only two people who were dressed decently, like a captain in a pirate movie. (TN: Like our ol’ captain Jack?)

One of these two must be the captain because she seemed to be giving instructions to the people around him. Was the other one a vice-captain or a chief navigator then?

 Before long, a boat was lowered from the ship.

As I thought, they intend to land on this island. Alongside the two well-dressed women, eight sailors also boarded the boat.

When they finally landed on the shore, the captain-like person quickly gave orders to the others.

“Anne, Louise, keep the boats tied up! Hillary, Thatcher, you guys go and confirm the position of the river we saw from the ship. The rest is to explore the island with me. If there are some game animals here, we’ll hunt them!”

“Aye, cap’n””

Just as I thought, that red-haired woman seemed to be the captain. She had brown skin and a rather harsh look in her eyes, but she’s quite a beauty. She had a large body, slightly taller than me, and her chest was bigger than Chris’.

“Quite a wonderful island isn’t it, Captain? We’re lucky to find a place like this off the map just as we were being chased by the navy”

The only a fair-skinned woman among the bunch was talking to the captain, I think the other crew regarded her as the vice-captain. The vice-captain was also quite beautiful, but I get the impression that she’s a bit mean.

“Indeed, Janice. It’s a really good hiding place we found here. We could even use this island as a new base of operation”

Being chased by the navy? New base of operation?

These guys were really pirates!

Do you intend to live on this island? That would really bother me. If possible, I don’t want to have criminals as neighbors, no thank you. Can you please just go away somewhere else.

“Oy! Don’t slack off, we’re heading out to explore soon”

The captain scolded his subordinate who was sitting on the spot and walked away. My heart skipped a beat as she passed by the place where I was hiding.

“Yeah yeah whatever….”

The scolded sailor muttered and stood up. Her body was stout, and even though she’s a woman, her arm was twice as large as mine. As she passed by the bush I was hiding in, I could hear her complaining.

“Tch, what an overbearing woman… Why don’t you kiss my arse instead, one of these days I’ll get back at you”

The group didn’t seem to get along very well. Well, they’re pirates, so the group atmosphere would be totally different compared to a tight-knit girl group. (TN: No shit Sherlock)

After hiding in the bushes for a while longer, I hurried back to the cave. Actually, I wanted to follow the pirates, but I was afraid that I would quickly be found out when following them.

As soon as I returned to Iwaya, I started packing. I was planning to hide in the mountains until they leave, so I packed many important items in storage bags. Mirror, razor, knife, pot, soap, file; things that were easily obtainable back on earth is now really valuable here.

 I also took all the fruits I that had.

“Is there anything else I forgot to bring… Ah, the fishing road…”

Hiking with a spear in one hand and a fishing rod in another is difficult. Maybe I should just bring the spear and hide the fishing rod somewhere in the woods.

 When I finished all the preparations and left the entrance, I suddenly ran into one of the sailors.

She was on the beach earlier. Her eyes went wide open in shock, but eventually the corners of her mouth rose. I could see her yellow, misaligned teeth.

“A guy, there’s a guy! Hey everyone, there’s a guy here!”

The female pirate was screaming. Her spits flew from her ragged teeth.

I hurriedly returned to the cave while holding my spear.

“Iwao, guard the entrance. If anyone tries to enter, attack them!”

 After giving orders to Iwao, I yelled toward outside, “Please don’t come near here! If you try to force your way in, the stone golem will go on a rampage!”

The female pirate flinched at the sight of Iwao, but her lustful gaze was still directed at me.

“What happened? Why are you yelling loudly?”. The red-haired captain I saw earlier arrived with her crews.

Damn it, it’s too late to run away now.

“Heeh, there’s a cave in a place like this? Is there anyone living here?”

I stood by the small window and shouted out again, “Please don’t come in here! If you try to force your way in, the stone golems will attack!”

The female pirates looked surprised.

“Hey, it’s a man right there, innit?” “Is that a stone golem, can that stone doll really moves?”

I quietly gave orders to Iwao, “Iwao, raise your hands and try to scare them”

Iwao took a banzai posture. Since it didn’t have mouth, it couldn’t speak, but even though it’s not too intimidating, you really tell it’s a real stone golem.

“Don’t mind the stone golem, we can crush it easily if we gang up on it. That man, he’s quite a looker, right? Look at his smooth skin”

“I’m getting excited now. I want to quickly make him squeal”

 The captain suddenly punched the subordinate who was making a fuss while making a disgusting face.

“You idiot! You think I would allow you to assault a weak guy? Doing such thing is beneath us!”

Everyone was suddenly silent as if frozen in place.

“You there, rest assured. We only stop in this island for restocking our supply. We’ll soon leave after we found some water and meat. I won’t let anyone harm you.”

The captain seemed like a decent person, but I’m not so naïve to just take her words for it. After all, one does not simply work in a black-company and retain their naivety!

“I understand. You can get water from the small river over there, and if you need some animals to hunt, there are deer, goats, and wild boars around here. You can hunt as much as you want”

“Aah, we’ll do that then. I’m sure you must be afraid, but I won’t lay a hand on you so please don’t worry. Alright crew, let’s go on our way”

After the female captain gave the order, the rest of the pirates then followed her and left the area. Some of them were leering at me until the end though, but I’m glad that I was somehow saved.

Although it’s too soon to say that the situation is now completely safe, at least they wouldn’t be able to enter easily while Iwao is here. Since I can make food with my magic, for the time being I can endure being holed up in the cave.