BBYW Vol. 3 Chapter 40 (WN)
Chapter 40 – Departure at Nightfall
We waited for the reconstruction of the port to be completed to board the ship “borrowed” from the pirates and leave Brutos.
We left before dawn, hidden in a cloak of darkness: if we were seen trying to leave the town, we were definitely going to be stopped.
“Sneaking out in the dark like this makes me feel like a criminal…well, we’re technically pirates right now, so I really can’t complain, can I…”
Rocked by the waves, I took a deep sigh.
A parade in celebration of the reconstruction was going to be held soon. Naturally, the returning governor, as well as big names from the capital — and even members from the royal family — had been invited to participate.
Randy, the captain of the security guards, had reported about my involvement in excruciating detail, so I ended up being chosen as one of the main guests in the parade.
“If my identity gets exposed, it’ll turn into a pain in the ass…best thing to do is get out of here as soon as possible.”
The guests invited from the capital were definitely not fools. Once they knew a foreigner like me was involved, they would definitely have me investigated.
Soon enough, they would find out that I was a noble from Lamperouge, and that I had ties with the White Demon pirates.
Even in the Lamperouge Kingdom, only very few people were aware of the relationship between my margrave father and pirate mother.
If the fact ever became public knowledge, those who suffered losses due to the White Demons’ piratical acts might petition House Maxwell for compensation.
“Fwah…so that is why…we have to leave at night…”
Sue, failing to suppress a yawn in a pretty adorable way, came to sit next to me.
She was wearing one of my old coats on top of her roomwear. I had thrown it away, since it had gotten too dirty, but she must have picked it up from the trash for some reason.
“I am a slave, so old clothes like this are just right, hehehe…”
Sue snorted, trying to take in the smell of the coat. It was stained and reeked of blood…yet the girl looked positively happy to bury her face in it.
On the deck of our newly acquired pirate vessel, the sailors were working busily.
The White Demon pirates who came with me to Brutos were in command, but the actual work was being done by new recruits we hired at the port.
They were sailors who had lost their ships during the Lion King pirates’ attack. They had also lost all their supplies, as well as a way back home, so they accepted this suspicious nighttime departure for the money.
“And that’s all right, but…why are you here too?”
“Oh, don’t be like that, brother,”
The man who jokingly scolded me was Roh, the fortune teller I met in Brutos.
He had successfully negotiated with Brutos’ governor, and was now laying the golden coins he received as reward on a wooden chest to count them.
“I’ll say, brother, the smell of money wafts all around you, so let me have a slice of the pie, won’t you?”
“We’re not going to go do business, though. If you get in the way, you’re getting cut up and spread as fish lure, all right?”
“Wow, so scary! Please, don’t be so cold! We are brothers in arms, who bravely stood against a formidable foe, aren’t we?”
I glared at Roh and the fishy expression ever plastered on his face.
“…I can’t remember seeing you on the battlefield, though. Where the hell were you hiding?”
“Oh, me? I certainly wasn’t sneaking around in the warehouses of the trading companies who abandoned the city! No sir!”
“…guess it’s time to feed the fish.”
So I muttered, half joking, and Roh seemed to realize he was in danger: the man started waving his arms frantically.
“No no no! It was a joke, a joke! C’mon look, my retainer and your maid became fast friends, right? We should get along too!”
“Fast…friends…?”
I followed the fortune teller’s gaze and found Sakuya, sitting in front of the woman Roh had brought with himself.
Her expression was lacking as usual, but her face and the other girl’s were extremely close, almost bumping foreheads: they seemed to be in the middle of a heated debate.
“As I said again and again, my master is superior!! He is a master of the sword and an excellent military commander!”
“Mph! Don’t look down on Cerros, you! He’s got a silver tongue and is a great negotiator, and no one can count money faster!”
As it turns out, Sakuya and Roh’s retainer — a young girl called Xiao Mao — were both gloating about their respective masters.
Though I was more surprised by the fact that Roh’s real name was stated loud and clear. What was even the point of using a fake one?
“I’ll have you know that Lord Dyngir is extremely popular with women! Just last time, he took 10 prostitutes to his private residence and entertained himself for three days and nights!!”
“Hmph! Cerros not lose either! He looks all flashy and acts like a playboy, but he still is a pure vir—”
“Aaah! That’s a delicate topic! Don’t say anything more! I lose completely anyway!”
Xiao Mao’s sudden revelation left Roh foaming at the mouth.
The sailors close enough to overhear the conversation glanced at him, pity in their eyes.
“GAAAAH! Don’t look at me like that!! I just have high standards!!!”
Unable to sustain the compassionate looks from the crew, Roh started rolling and thrashing about on the deck.
This journey was supposed to be incognito, but had turned already into a noisy mess.
“This trip is going to be so fun, Master!”
“For sure…”
Sue looked at me, with sparkles in her eyes. I looked up at the sky instead, to find an escape from this reality.
“…with a party like this, I’m feeling pretty damn anxious all of a sudden…”
The pirate ship was a vessel large enough to house 100 people, but now felt like a broken-down raft.
Thus we sailed towards the Garnet Kingdom…