BBYW Vol. 3 Chapter 8 (WN)
Chapter 8 – The Ship’s Destination
I brought clothes and a simple meal for Sue, then went out to the deck.
The sea breeze cooled off the heat from my body. The seabirds were crying overhead: we were approaching land.
“You sure had fun last night, fool of a son!”
“…you were on this ship, shitty hag?”
As soon as I stepped on deck, my mother — sitting on the ship’s bow — called out to me.
The ship I was on, formerly owned by the Snakebone pirates, was following the lead of the White Demons’ ship.
Grace was the White Demons’ captain, but, for some reason, she was on this ship instead, her red dress boldly waving in the wind.
Because of the way she was sitting, I ended up confirming that her underwear was the same color as her dress. Not that I needed that, or any kind of information about my own mother’s underwear.
The only thing that crossed my mind is that she was way too old to wear underwear of that color.
“How could I leave my precious son alone? As they say, children feel more precious the more foolish they are!”
“Hey, nice words. You’re starting to sound like a mother.”
I replied to her sarcasm the same way, then leaned over the starboard side and looked at the sea.
While I was the heir of House Maxwell, my place of birth was actually in these southern seas.
When I gazed at the sea, I had the nostalgic feeling of having returned home.
I was raised by Grace D.O. Maxwell in my infancy…so let me spare you the details.
It was an absurd “farce” I would not be able to talk about without crying once or twice.
“That’s a good woman, isn’t she?”
“…pretty rare for you to praise a woman without trying to kill her first.”
I stared at Grace’s face, sincerely surprised.
My mother was a battle-loving, murderous lunatic: her basic way of communication with others was using her fists.
For example, after the battle (nearly) to the death with Sakuya at the Baal empire port, Grace labeled her a “good woman”.
I rarely ever heard her praise another woman without fighting, however, no matter how wise or smart she may be.
“Yeah. Those black hair with blue streaks, those golden eyes…very good.”
“And you’re even praising her looks? Stranger and stranger…do her hair and eye color have a special meaning? You’re not going to tell me she’s a descendant of some royal bloodline, are you?”
I only lived in the southern seas until I was 7: there was much I did not know about this side of the world.
Despite being such a beauty, Sue had been left untouched by the Snakebone pirates: maybe she belonged to a special lineage.
“If I said everything, I’d be robbing my son of a chance to grow! Find out by yourself.”
“Tch…whatever.”
Grace cackled loudly, refusing to answer.
When she talked like that, I knew she really would not say anything. I had to investigate the matter on my own.
“More importantly, look at that.”
“Ooh…!”
I looked ahead and found a small island covered in green.
On the other side of the island there was a bay with some buildings made of wood, forming a small settlement.
We had arrived at Alexandrite, a small island of the Southern Archipelago.
The home base of the White Demons and also my birthplace.