North x Northwest

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Without a second thought, Sagastar pulled out his gun and aimed at the face with crudely glazed gold teeth…

– – – – – – – – end of flashback – – – – – – – –

– Bang! –

A precisely aimed bullet pierced between the brows of one of the ship’s officers. The body, which had been on its knees, fell to the side. Sagastar watched the execution before he crossed the plank. The ship was already full of navy officers eagerly searching for their admiral. When Sagastar stepped onto the deck and adjusted his hat, major Conan saluted and began his report.

“It’s not the Towny Lelden. It’s a ship that wasn’t even noted in the Marchand records. Also, since we found a large quantity of Erimyan in the warehouse, we continued the search with utmost precision. And…”

The major handed him a piece of paper. It was a map folded in a specific way to make it easier to carry.

“…Do you remember the testimony of Sergeant Sorola of Legardon? He stated that the Admiral took one of their charts without permission, that was the reason why he chased him.”

“Yes.”

“I already confirmed it with the Legardon’s support officer. He’s certain that this chart belongs to Legardon. There’s no way the pirates could have access to the map used by the Navy, which is proof they’ve encountered the Admiral.”

Sagastar turned his head. A group of pirate officers were chained on the railing on one side of the ship. Half of the men were already dead, and the other half trembled at the prospect of their impending death. Among them, a particularly fat pirate suddenly raised himself and spat phlegm at Sagastar’s feet.

“Fucking Navy bastards! Why did you have to turn south…”

– Bang! Bang! Bang! –

The swearing stopped with several gunshots. The pirate’s chest and forehead were pierced, and the impact caused his lifeless body to fall backwards. It happened so suddenly, but no one was shaken. There were also no voices asking who had disposed of him. As if he had just been waiting, a navy officer came out and wiped the phlegm off Sagastar’s boots. Sagastar looked back at the major with indifferent eyes.

“What about Sir Edgar?”

“He’s not on the ship. We know for sure that they kidnapped two sailors, but they confessed that they escaped along the way, but…”

“But?”

The major gulped down as he looked at Sagastar. Although Sagastar lives by saying that he’s on the verge of quitting the role of Edgar’s babysitter every day, all officers were aware of how strong his loyalty to the admiral was. Sagastar’s attitude now also proves that; the urge to wipe out all the obstacles in front of his eyes was scary.

“…One guy testified that he saw the Admiral collapsing after getting shot. But the guy next to him said he saw the Admiral safely get onto another ship. Their confessions don’t match up…”

“Therefore?”

“…We’ll resume the interrogations with utmost care.”

Like hammering nails into horses, a mix of dozens of screams and groans could be heard from the lower decks. Sagastar decided to go downstairs and interrogate them himself. The major seemed to have read his thoughts and stepped aside to make way.

“…Commodore!…”

“..?!”

Sagastar looked back at the voice coming from the Visha. It was Captain Long, who was standing on the poop deck of the Visha.

“Commodore! It’s a messenger pigeon!”

After a while, Captain Long and Sagastar stared at the decoded letter from the admiral. The correspondence was very short.

[ You must have heard that I was kidnapped. It’s no problem. I don’t know how much you already stirred up, but don’t waste your energy. Go back to Marchand and wait. ]

The captain, who had been waiting for an order, asked quietly.

“What shall we do?”

“Sink them immediately.”

Instead of asking any further, the captain nodded and opened the door to the admiral’s office. When the junior officer who was waiting outside was given the order, the young cadet, burning with a sense of mission, shot across the deck. The captain closed the door again and asked.

“What should I…”

Sagastar, who was staring at the letter, spoke without looking up at the captain.

“It’s suspicious that the title of the book is written on it.”

“…Ah. Well, that’s true. Usually, the title was all numbers…”

“That’s why it raises my suspicion.”

“Yes… Yes?!”

The captain, who was just leisurely answering the conversation, became startled when reality hit him and summoned the recording officer at once. The records officer rushed in, grabbed his quill and unfolded a piece of paper.

“It’s questionable that the composition of the code is different from the usual. There’s never been anything like this in all those years. My interpretation of this is that the Admiral is still in danger.”

“..!”

An officer’s order to open fire came from afar. Soon, dozens of cannons exploded at once. The shells that fired mercilessly tore the hull to shreds. The sound of masts and bow poles breaking and collapsing was heard. Screams, shouts, and curses continued to rise from the slowly sinking ship.

Sagastar continued like he didn’t even hear the uproar.

“We will search the entire Ingres Sea to secure the Admiral’s whereabouts.”

***

The Bell Rock, anchored on a shallow shore, has been undergoing maintenance for over a week now. The ship had been through heavy rain right after the battle, so the hull and gun deck as well as the mast suffered heavy damage. Some sailors remained calm, believing it would be all right. But some were feeling a sense of panic. Nonetheless, the original Bell Rock crew had few complaints. The main issue was the temporarily borrowed crew, who were extremely dissatisfied.

On the Bell Rock, where corporal punishment wasn’t implemented, the borrowed crew acted like outlaws. In addition, an injured captain has weakened authority, so fights and mutinies happened from time to time. If the gold bars hadn’t been taken from the Marian, there would’ve been a lot more friction between them and the Bell Rock’s crew. Lil managed to lift the mood by giving away more gold as a bonus and promised maintenance to ensure a safe voyage. However, when a considerable amount of time was spent on repairing the ship, their supplies began to run out. As a result, the Bell Rock had to change its course to an uninhabited island in order to complement their insufficient food supply. The sea to Serlio was very calm, so their schedule would be pushed back even more if the wind didn’t catch up soon. At this rate, their plans would be delayed by several weeks as they also deviated from the best water route.

Two small boats idly moored between the Bell Rock and the inhabited island. The pale sea shimmered densely as a gentle breeze blew. Ed was slumped down leisurely and bounced on his surihe. He rested his legs on the bow bar fixed at an angle to the deck and lay down using a finely folded sail as a pillow. As he was blankly staring into the air, he slowly blinked and grasped for a specific point in his memory…

– – – – – – – – – flashback* – – – – – – – – –

Her wet lips trembled as if she was trying to keep herself from laughing. The rainwater trickled down her cheeks and gathered at the corners of her mouth before seeping towards her neck.

“You…now…”

“Is it so shocking to hear that I still believe?”

“…”

Lil smiled awkwardly and brushed back her hair. She appeared to be a bit embarrassed herself.

Suddenly, a wind blew through the cabin, causing the shirt covering her shoulders to flow down. To Ed, the sound of her falling and crumpling clothes was as loud as thunder. He remained frozen as a man struck by its lightning.

“How unexpected. I thought you’d like it.”

“…”

Ed completely missed Lil’s sarcastic undertone and therefore took her remark way too seriously.

‘Of course, if I had seen her like this at another time, I might have liked it. However, the situation is so shocking that I don’t have the time to truly enjoy it… What the hell is going on?’

He started reasoning but soon realised he was groping in the dark.

‘I mean, the necklace is still hanging…’

“Hm, you can make a pretty cute expression. With your brown hair and your mouth open like that, you look like a surprised little squirrel.”

“…”

Ed’s thoughts came to a standstill without getting a single step closer to an answer. His face heated up at the complimentary words given by someone from the opposite sex. He had no choice but to be defenceless while facing her smiling expression as she spoke the words. It was also the first time he had ever seen Lil smile as a woman. He noticed that when she smiles, her cheeks get very full, and her pupils disappear into her puffy eyes.

‘It really is the first time I’ve seen her smile…’

In an attempt to hide his flushed face, Ed started looking for the bottle he had dropped. It was also an effective way to avoid his gaze. However, he struggled to concentrate on the vial.

‘Where is it? Where did I drop it? There was no rolling sound, so it must have fallen somewhere on the bed…’

Ed, who was frantically rolling his eyes, discovered the vial next to Lil’s hand. He hurriedly extended his arm, but Lil was quicker. She picked up the medicine bottle and examined the ointment-like contents within. It was the ointment he’d just applied on her knees.

“Is this what you have put on my abrasions?”

As if being chased by something, Ed hurriedly nodded. However, it appeared that Lil wasn’t really waiting for an answer, seeing she had already taken some ointment on her finger. When she pointed her finger at him, Ed bit his tongue in surprise.

“I’ve been watching you do this for a while…”

*Footnote:

This scene is a continuation of their conversation at the end of chapter 102 (end of vol. 3), if you are having trouble following the dialogue, we advise you to reread the end of ch101 and ch102, before rereading this flashback! 😊