North x Northwest

Headnote: Warning for mentioning gore and violence.

Suddenly, Lil’s face hardened terribly. As he witnessed her shift that seemed to fall into the abyss, Ed felt the need to change the subject. Because the longer she was silent, the colder the mood and the harsher she would be. Ed quickly looked around and pointed to the fish shop owner who happened to catch his eye first.

“But why doesn’t that person have a nose?”

However, as it turned out, there were more than one or two people who had this.

“Huh? It’s not just that person… That woman, too… Then that man… Hm? …Why their nose?”

Lil had to swallow a hollow laugh at Ed’s attitude of taking such a lighthearted approach to a typical Southern tragedy. The expression on Ed’s face told her that he really didn’t know why and she felt a strange sense of duty to enlighten him.

“Are you asking because you really don’t know?”

“..?”

“Every day, slaves are dragged onto merchant ships or into fields. If a slave attempts to escape and gets caught, their nose will be cut off as a mark that they tried to run away. It’s a practice that the Garni association came up with.”

In an instant, Ed distorted his face in displeasure.

“What?”

“…That’s why I’m glad we have the island of Panichi! You see, on this island, they can hide, young man…”

An old man appeared out of nowhere and flopped down next to him. Lil jumped to her feet, more startled by what he said rather than his sudden appearance.

“Anunchio! You senile old man! You know who this guy is, so don’t tell him that!”

“Hello, Black Whale.”

“Hello… and don’t do that also!”

Lil snatched the bottle that Anunchio was about to drink. Ed greeted the good-natured but ragged old man.

“Now, go away quickly!”

“Your Captain and I have different beliefs. He wants to keep this place a secret, but if it’s up to me, I want to write its name on the white sand beaches… But I can’t blame him.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Young man, I’ve heard you had a lot of trouble under that bad-tempered Captain. Did you say that you’re a newcomer?”

“Who told you that?!”

“My name is Ed.”

Despite Lil’s nagging, the old man calmly invited Ed to a handshake. Ed chuckled secretly and took the old man’s hand. The old man noticed his smile and winked. Ed stiffened in an instant and struggled to get his hand out of his grasp.

“Welcome to Panichi, young man, call me Anunchio.”

“Thank you, Anunchio.”

“No, what’s this nonsense! Show Anunchio some respect! Hey, call him Captain. What’s this absurdity of my crew calling a highly respectable man by his name?”

However, Anunchio ignored Lil’s complaints again. In situations like this, it was common that she acted stubborn as she didn’t want anyone to be on par with the League’s founder. Defeated, Lil clenched her jaw and slumped back into the chair.

“Young man, this is the stronghold of the League. If you thought Amiaeng to be the base of operation of the southern pirates then you are mistaken. Do you believe we could have survived in Amiaeng, where the imperial nobles and Navy come and go?”

Due to taking the time to think about an answer, Ed hesitated for a moment.

“Oh, no.”

“Indeed. We couldn’t stay there. The League needed a safe place to hide the rescued slaves and Panichi, surrounded by high terrain, was well suited for that purpose. The marks you see, are not only engraved on the slaves but also on those who oppose the aristocrats. Those bastards enjoy putting marks on our faces with an iron or a knife, making wounds that can’t be hidden or washed away. That’s why they pluck our eyes out or connect our mouths with our noses… Those imperial bastards are fools who believe that that’s the only way they could keep us in check.”

“…”

“As you can guess, young man, this island was quickly filled.”

“…”

At this point, Lil thought Ed would have started laughing, but he was unexpectedly quiet. He sat neatly, listening to Anunchio, like a grandson intently listening to one of his grandfather’s stories.

“The Empire treats all foreigners as slaves. It sounds absurd, but when you think about what happened to us, it makes me think that it might be true. Seeing how they stormed our land, shook our homes and fields, and sold us as slaves. But what’s a slave? We don’t know. Because there’s no such word in the South. The only unpaid labourers in the South are livestock. And you have to be a complete madman when you cut off the noses of grateful livestock… See, I don’t understand it at all. I just can’t. I’ve lived with this body for decades, but I still don’t understand why we have to be slaves.”

“…”

Anunchio narrowed his eyes as he recalled something from the past.

“When I first encountered people from the Empire, I was astonished. The monsters I’d heard so piercingly about had the same shape as me. I couldn’t distinguish myself from them no matter how hard I looked. Independent beings who walk on two feet, with facial features in the same place as me and move based on their own thoughts! They even plough fields and make love! Then, did they only see skin colour?”

Anunchio, who unexpectedly took another bottle of wine from his pocket, drank it gully. While the old man sighed, Lil observed Ed.

‘His expression of disgust and displeasure doesn’t appear to be a lie.’

She thought Anunchio made the right call to tell him personally. Ed would have figured out the identity of the island even if Lil hadn’t told him. He could hear all this information if he just stood on the market for an hour. It was inevitable from the moment she brought him along. Anunchio, who knew Ed was a navy officer, was attempting to edify him by telling him first-hand.

Lil tilted her head. Anunchio has such charisma. It also wasn’t the first time he was able to convert a naval deserter.

‘Can he bring this arrogant Ed on our side? But Ed doesn’t have the same air as other naval deserters, so he might not understand Anunchio’s whole story.I guess he’s still…’

“…Kyaaak!…”

The market suddenly erupted with screams. It was followed by shattering glass and the sound of something being smashed. Ed was the first to respond and moved his head as quickly as the wind. On the other hand, Lil and Anunchio only shook their heads at the familiar noise. The morning market was in shambles. Shouts came and went, and eventually, a woman, caught by several people, was dragged away. However, it wasn’t violent.

Anunchio wiped his lips after another long sighted and explained.

“That woman is poor Lully. I don’t know how she got out of her house, but Lully… well… When the Garni association first occupied the island of Corado, her husband was part of the vanguard that resisted. The brave Demeko. He lasted three days, but in the end, he was captured alive. The brutal bastards tied Lully to a stake and tore Demeko’s stomach open. His spilt organs were wrapped around Lully’s neck and shoulders. She was tied to her husband’s mutilated body for a week, and after that, she went crazy…”

Lil looked at Lully who struggled forcefully when she was dragged away. But Lil had to turn her head when people tried to gag her.

“It’s always sad to hear such a tragedy. I’m going to see Lully, alright? I want to know how she got out of the house.”

Lil answered bitterly.

“She must have used her teeth and escaped.”

Anunchio nodded his head, wiping away the drops of alcohol on his beard.

“Then I’ll go, Black Whale.”

He lightly lifted his hat. At the same time, Lil mirrored him and tried to lift hers, but realised she wasn’t wearing one, and instead fumbled with her finger in front of her forehead. The old man, who smiled mischievously, stopped walking and turned to look at Ed again.

“Young man.”

“Yes, Captain?”

“The Empire calls us pirates. But what’s a pirate? A thief who steals from the sea? That would make the Empire’s the real pirate here, wouldn’t it?”

This time again, Anunchio looked straight into Ed’s eyes as if he was hoping for an answer. The old man had deep wrinkles all over his face, but his eyes were as bright as he had never aged a day. Ed replied, lowering his eyes a little.

“That’s right.”

“Hehehe! Look at this youngster!”

Anunchio grinned and patted Ed on the shoulder. Feeling the pain transmitted to his stomach, Ed put a forced smile on his lips. Then the old man snatched the bottle that Lil had taken away and disappeared into the noisy market. Ed, who was watching Anunchio’s back without saying a word, suddenly asked.

“What does he do? I don’t think he’s just a Captain.”

With Anunchio gone, Lil expected that it would be up to her to answer Ed’s questions. But even though he already found out about Panichi, she wasn’t planning on letting her guard down and will be carefully selecting her answers. Even if it was the goal to get Ed on their side.

“Anunchio oversees the management of Panichi. He’s retired, but everyone here still respects him enough to call him Captain.”

“He deserves it.”

His affirmation seemed to be imbued with some kind of respect. In a not-so-bad tone, Lil went on to say what she was going to say.

“Actually, some of the Bell Rock’s income is used to supply the island. It’s the same for any other ship in the League.”