After that, nothing happened and we made it back to the Scarlett without incident. We sent Pierre, who was fussing a lot, near the vicinity of the port of Charos, and … Yes, We didn’t throw him out in a small boat on the open sea. … Once again, our carefree pirate adventures resumed.
But that didn’t mean that everything was the same. Even if Rebecca herself had not changed, the behavior of those around her changed drastically.
“Ya lot look to have gotten your hands on some sweet booty. I’d let it slide so far, thinking y’all were just a bunch of fussy little flies, but now, I ain’t gonna give up. Leave the treasure behind if you don’t want to get ya arse smashed!”
“Ha! A little fly like you won’t touch me or my treasure! You two, let that little punk know his place and what he’s up against!”
“”YES!”” Tia and I replied in unison,
Until now, it had been quite rare for pirates to directly target pirates, but since we have acquired the legendary treasure [Sword of Light] there was no end to the number of people who wanted to challenge Rebecca. Well, the crew of the Scarlet, who were routinely engaged in anti-pirate warfare, were much stronger than your average run of the mill pirates, and with me and Tia here, no raid was ever successful.
And it wasn’t just the behavior of pirates that had changed. Behaviors of merchant ships, passenger ships, and other civilian ships were also beginning to change dramatically.
“Oh, you’re the famous Captain Rebecca! Please shake my hand! Also, if you don’t mind, I’d like to see the actual [Sword of Light] ..”
“A-ah, yeah. It’s fine.”
Rebecca shook hands with a small, fat merchant who offered his hand with a big and stiff smile on his face. She then picked up the silver candlestick she wore at her waist, and a gnarled candle sprouted from the base of the trident candlestick, lighting a small fire at the tip.
“OHHHH!!!? This is it! This is the famous … How magnificent! I don’t mean to be rude, but could you please sell this to me? I will pay you any amount of money you want!”
(T/N: Merchants remain the same no matter which isekai or world it is)
“Is it hot? C-Can I touch it …?” The merchant added,
“As long as you don’t complain later, do what you want.”
In response to Rebecca’s mocking words, the merchant reached for the candlestick,… and you could probably guess what happened. It was an exchange that had been repeated many times already, and with her back to the merchant, who looked like he couldn’t give up, Rebecca announced that the ship was leaving.
“Ha~, I’ve been seeing a lot of this lately.”
“Good work, Captain.”
“Ah~, Ed. I’m really tired. But if I ignore them, they’ll chase after me.”
“Haha, How about we just sink them all in?”
“Don’t be silly. If we do that, the Army will be called out.”
Rebecca smiled and replied to the words of a passing sailor. It was true that we were strong, but at the end of the day, we were just one pirate ship. If the country were to get serious and organize a strike force, we would be wiped out in no time.
“Come to think of it, It’s been six months since you both came aboard. What are you going to do now?” Rebecca asked me,
“Ah yeah. Hmm … I was thinking of disembarking the ship at the next port of call.”
“… I see”
Rebecca paused for a moment to think about my answer, and then she just walked away after replying. I had no way of knowing what she was thinking.
“You guys will be out in Six months huh. Time sure flies quickly.” The sailor replied,
“Haha, yes. I am grateful for all you have done for us, senpai.”
“Gahaha! It’s fine. Ah, But, I don’t care about you, but Tia-chan, I wonder if she’ll stay? We’ve got warm pockets thanks to all the pirates ships we’ve been looting lately, and if you want, I’ll even take care of her――”
“Huh? Who’s going to take care of who?
A familiar elven woman suddenly appeared from behind the sailor, who was wearing a crude smile. I know, it seemed contradictory, but that smile was the face I would make when I wasn’t smiling in the slightest.
“Hie!? N-NO, Tia-chan! I――”
“Hmm?”
“I-It’s nothing! Fuck, she’s so scary, I can’t even handle it! See you later!”
Laughing and waving, the sailor left. Tia looked stunned as she watched him leave, but there was also a hint of sadness in her face.
“I see, so it’s almost time to say goodbye.”
“We’ve done most of what we wanted to do. Besides, if we don’t leave now, we probably won’t be able to get off the ship for a while.” I told her,
“Really? Well, certainly if we don’t get off at the next port of call, it will be months before we make another one.”
“It’s different. … Well, I ain’t sure about that either. If you want to stay longer, we can postpone it, okay?”
Only this time, it was quite easy to fulfill the condition of being expelled from the Hero’s party. It may be difficult to stretch it out over a year, but a few months would not be a problem.
But when I asked Tia, she smiled and shook her head slightly.
“It’s fine. I trust your judgment. … And, frankly, I’m tired of peeling vegetables.”
“Hahaha, I see. Well then, …”
******
“Are you sure this is the right place?”
Two weeks later. Rebecca asked us that question on the deck of the Scarlet, which was now able to make normal port calls even though it was a pirate ship.
“Yes. We’ve been draining away at the results of our travels at every port we stop at,…… and with the captain’s recent success, we feel we’ve had enough of that.”
“Thanks for all your help, Captain.”
Rebecca chuckled lightly at my words and Tia’s bowing.
“I didn’t do anything serious. But, yes. If you say my efforts are useful, maybe I’ll be able to see things in a better light from now on.”
“Oh, so you really are going?”
“Ah, I’m fed up with my neighborhood… I am venturing outside”
Rebecca grinned. Ahh, as expected. I’d love to see that, it would be interesting, but .. that was the reason why we part ways here. Whatever happens now, It was only reserved for the people of this world to enjoy it.
“I wish you all the best.”
“Look forward to it! I’m going to have the greatest adventures of all time so that wherever you are in the world, my name will be heard!”
“Eh? Adventure … Ah!? Ugh, I wish I could be there.”
And there, Tia , who finally understood the meaning of Rebecca’s words, furrowed her brow in disappointment.
“Hmm? Then would you like to come with me?” Rebecca asked Tia,
“That’s… I’m sorry.”
“Ha! I know. After all, I didn’t know what kind of person you guys were. But I’m not so stupid to not realize the relationship between you guys. You were pirates on my ship, even if only temporarily! As pirates, you can do as you please! Ed, Tia, you two are cleared to disembark!”
Boom!
—Condition met. Only 10 minutes remaining to return home.
A familiar voice echoed in my head. There was no turning back now, and I had no intention of doing so. Once we descended the ramp, the Scarlet slowly left the harbor.
“Pirates, to hell with your status! Be happy!”
With a final shout, Rebecca and her ship vanquished. We would be able to find out what was in store for us … in a little while.
“Fufu. Hey Ed, be happyl.”
“Welp, that’s the kind of misunderstanding I expected.”
Two people, a man and a woman, who boarded onto a pirate ship with nothing but themselves,…. the most obvious assumption would be an elopement due to love affair because of different social status. In fact, since Tia and I have been working together almost all the time, and for better or worse, the nonchalant Tia had been sneaking into my bed, it would be rather strange if she didn’t think so.
“Ara, It’s not a misunderstanding, you know? You saved me, and thanks to you, I’ve been able to travel the world and meet a lot of people I never would have met on my own. …. I’m happy, you know?”
“Happy to hear thatt.”
Tia smiled at me and I smiled back and extended my hand to her. We both held hands and hid ourselves in a corner of the warehouse district where no one was around. … Soon after, our presence vanished from the world without a sound.