Chapter 46: – The Ruffian Who Showed up, I Won't Say Who He Is
–World transfer complete
“Owww!”
The 003rd world. We emerged in a small, dark… No, narrow! Too tight! What on Earth is this?
“Wh-What is this place!? Ed, I am in pain here!”
“Idiot! Don’t move, Tia! I’m in severe pain, too!”
“I don’t know anything! Ah mou~~! Ughhhhi …!”
We were tightly packed in a mysterious enclosed space, with our small bodies folded up. Yeah, what the hell? I didn’t experience anything like this during my first round…!?
“Ggh! Ah, yeah…. Hey, Tia, calm down first.”
“If this is how it is supposed to be, I’m going to blow it away with my magic! Bind the wind――”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait! Stop it, Tia! It’s alright!”
I felt a sharp pain in my head and at the same time I remembered where I was, and I hurried to stop Tia. If she used a big magic spell here, we would surely be thrown into the sea.
However, my body was also not free. I was supposed to come alone, but when two people were crammed into a tight space like this, no matter how petite Tia was, there was no way there would be any gap.
“In the name of Lunaritia――”
“Stop! Can you really please stop, Tia-san!?”
“Is this it? Oi, come out obediently, you stowaways――”
“[Stormbringer]!”
“Ehhh!?”
The lid of the closed box was opened, and Tia’s spirit magic exploded in the face of the old man who peeked in――
“Hey, are these the stowaways?”
“Yes, Nee-san.”
“It’s not “Nee-San”, it’s Captain!”
“Heggh!? S-Sorry, Ane … Captain …”
Tia and I are forced to sit upright in the center of the large deck. Tia and I were forced to sit on the floor in the center of the large deck. Our hands were tied, our weapons were taken, and we were surrounded by about 20 men and it was a desperate situation.
And in front of us, another old man was being slapped on the head by a beautiful woman in gorgeous, stylish clothes. I knew that the captain of the ship was a redheaded woman who looked to be in her thirties, with ample breasts and buttocks that were on the verge of bursting.
“Well, that’s all right. You both, what are your names?” The woman asked.
“I’m Ed.”
“I’m Lunaritia. I …. I’m sorry for being so violent out of the blue. …”
“Ah, I don’t mind. When you see our men’s ugly faces, it’s natural to want to scream.”
“That’s cruel, Nee-san!”
“I told you to call me Captain!”
“Goha!?”
The captain threw a knife… the handle part of course, but… it struck the protesting man directly in the forehead. Wow, that sounded rather nasty. Looked painful.
“So? What kind of a stupid idea you had for you to stow away on my ship? If things go wrong, I’ll just throw you overboard. …”
The captain of the ship opened her hands and showed them to us. Yes, we were in the middle of the open sea, with no land in sight. If so, this ship was the same as a small country, and I spoke politely to the captain, who believed she held our life and death in her hands.
“First of all, I apologize for our rudeness in coming on board your ship without your permission. But we have our own circumstances. … would you be willing to let us stay on the ship for six months?” I said.
“…You, are you deaf? I’m asking you about your situation.” Captain asked.
""
“I am sorry, but we cannot answer that question. If we tell you that, you’ll be involved in our affairs, too.” I replied.
“Hou? Is that what you’re saying? You want me to let a guy who is obviously in trouble and has come on board without permission, without asking why, stay on this ship? Do you think I’m stupid?”
The Captain Lady, who was looking down at us from above, glared at me with penetrating and chilling eyes. The intimidation I felt was proof that this woman had indeed earned her captain’s position with her abilities… but there was not enough murderous intent and madness in her eyes to scare me.
“By no means. Because――”
I put strength into my arms and cut the rope that bound me. Of course, this was impossible with my brute strength, and this was because Tia had secretly cut a slit in the rope with spirit magic.
When I regained my freedom to do so, I stood up on the spot and clenched my fists. I wasn’t that good with this, but it was just enough to face them.
“With my fist, I will prove my usefulness to you.”
The Captain Lady shuddered looking at my vicious smile. The look of amusement on her face at the smell of violence, as I expected …, but that was okay for now.
“Ha! You sure are talking big! Hey, you guys, let’s see if that boy is a man of his word!” The Captain commanded.
“Yes, Captain!”
At the Captain’s words, three old guys surrounded me first. But their faces had a loose grin and none of them had drawn their weapons…. In other words, I was being looked down upon.
“Hey, Lad, I’ll baptize you to be a man of the sea….?”
Before the old man could finish his words, my fist slammed into his stomach. I had activated [Hermes Dash], for a split second, and no one was able to notice my movement.
“…One.”
“Y-You!! What――”
The surprised old man placed his hand on the sword at his waist, but it was too late. Before he could pull it out, I rushed in and hit him again with the [Hermes Dash], which caused another old man to roll on the floor.
“Two.”
“Da, damn it!!! Hey, somebody, join me! I’ll chop you up and feed you to the fishes!”
At the sound of a panicked third man’s voice, the rest of the men surrounded me like prey and pounced on me. But still, it wasn’t enough… danger for me.
“Ggh!”
“Geehaa!?”
“What!!?”
One by one, men were sunk by my fists. The [Hermes Dash] could only move in a straight line, but it was impossible to stop my advance for those who were not calm enough to notice this and who did not have the minimum ability to cope with this speed.
“What the hell is going on? Somebody do something about this guy!”
“O, Oi, brat, stop! Do you not care what happens to this woman!?”
Hearing this voice from behind me, I turned around to see a dull, shiny knife pressed against Tia’s neck. It was a common way…
“Oi oi, That’s a bit too much, don’t you think?” I said.
“What the hell are you talking about? It’s too late for that――-”
“Nope, Not you.”
Denying the man’s misunderstanding, I chuckled and turned to my partner, who was sitting on the ground with her head facing down. The chanting, which could be detected by the movement of her mouth, was more than a little powerful.
“―― Manifest, [Vortex Aura] !”
Instantly, a huge tornado appeared around Tia, easily blowing away the man who was holding a knife against her. The men on deck were in an uproar at the sudden appearance of the tornado, which lasted less than a second, and Tia smiled smugly when she saw it.
“Fufufu~. How’s that? Sorry, but I’m not a woman who needs to be protected, okay?”
“Glad to see that you were careful. I was afraid you’d get serious and cut the ship in half.”
“I would never do something like that!? What does Ed think I am?”
“You’re the same tomboy who didn’t listen to me earlier when I told her to wait and instead fired off a spell, right?”
“Ggh! That’s why I’m … sorry.”
I said while grinning at her, and Tia turned away from me while twitching her ears. Nonetheless, it would be pitiful to tease her too much, so I turned to the captain again and gave her a beautiful bow, like an aristocrat.
“Do you like it? Did I meet the captain’s expectations?”
“Hahaha! I see, I see. Well, if you are that strong, you certainly have your uses, even if it brings trouble, alright. Listen up, you guys! From today on, these two are your friends, newcomers! Anybody who has a problem with that, come forward!”
The captain’s words were loudly proclaimed, and no one openly objected. Even if there were, it would only increase the number of people rolling on the floor, of course.
“Yoshi yoshi. Well then, I’ll tell you my name again. I am the captain of this ship, Rebecca. Let me welcome you all aboard the pirate ship Scarlet.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Thank … Eh, Pirate ship!?”
As I grabbed Rebecca’s extended hand gripping, Tia’s hysterical voice seeped into the wide blue sky.
(T/N: I accidentally tled the wrong chapter for romcom. Except two chapters tomorrow.)