Ahhh!~
The breeze of the sea feels so good and salty. The sun shines over the sailing ship and the sound of salt water being parted by the ship speaks to me on a spiritual level.
I mean, I was on a ship that time when I died from a terrorist attack back in my world where I got shot and it was also a ship’s fault that Alstroe and I wind up in the beast continent and lost our way.
I am not necessarily afraid or traumatized by ships but, I feel like I am unfortunate around them. Also, there’s the fact that I can only swim a little. All I can do is a doggy paddle which I can only do three minutes at best.
Moreover, it makes me think that fate weaved this absurd situation itself. First are magma and now, the open sea where tons of unknown creatures lurk at the very bottom.
But what worries me the most is what that dwarf told us…
We are participating in the pirate war. It makes me think, how does that work?
“Ahoy, newbies!”
Casablanca and Hibiscus who are staring at the sea as it cruises over the water in amazement, are surprised us our attention was called by the captain herself, Merissa.
We turn our heads towards the short girl. She’s holding a stack of clothes in her hands as she cheerfully smiles and looks at us in excitement.
“I’m really delighted to have new subordinates at this season! It set my heart ablaze to know that there are young aspiring pirates out there that yearn such adventure out here in the sea!”
“W-We are not here for that…you just assumed that yourself… and pushed us here…”
“My heart feels so overjoyed! We may have our bad and good times but, we, as captain-crew, will be serving each other whatever happens! We, as one with this ship and the sea, shall be having our fair share of pain and pleasure together with all sorts of treasure…”
“You’re not listening…”
“We, all of us, will overcome everything! We shall sail out there and take the top position! We are going to snatch the seat of the Sea Emperor! We will not set our goals to a measly Top Five Flag Ships. We aim higher than that!”
“That’s sound so absurd…and I am telling you…you’re mistaken…”
“So, to be part of our crew, I’ll have you three dressed befitting of a pirate! These are for you three! Take it!
“You’re still not listening…”
The twins happily receive that presented clothes but I reluctantly take it from her hand. Casablanca and Hibiscus are getting giddy.
Merissa guided us towards one of the cabins inside the deck. The ship is actually fairly large and the structure seems modernized and looks actually sturdy. It is made out of steel and partly wood that I well painted as the exterior was kept as a wood looking design but the interior is neatly white.
The doors are made of sturdy wood and the ceilings are made out of metal. It gives me the sense of relief, knowing that this ship won’t easily sink.
Merissa takes us in a fairly normal cabin with two bunk beds with two layers. There’s a long table top at the middle and neatly furnished cabinets.
Is this really a pirate ship?
“Well then, I will leave you three to your own devices. I shall head to the main deck and supervise. As soon as you finished changing, come up to where I am.”
“Aye, Captain!”
“Thank you, captain!”
“A-Aye…”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
As Merissa turns her heels, Emby immediately flies towards her direction and lands on the top of her head.
“Oh? This bird?”
“Ah! Emby!”
“Pii!”
“Oh, you want to go with her?”
“Pii!”
“Ehehehe! Be nice, okay?”
“Pii!”
That’s really unusual…
That dumb bird is usually aggressive towards me but it is actually going with strangers?!
As I took a glance at the dumb bird, it makes one quick glance over us before fidgeting…
Hey…that Emby…is it actually…a boy?!
Is he being considerate for Hibiscus?
As I stare at the bird wonderfully, it stares back at me and…its eyes are actually smirking at me… How arrogant!
.
.
.
And so, after dressing, we left our cabin and head out to the main deck. As we emerge from the middle deck where the cabins are located, the captain saw us and immediately approaches us from the quarterdeck.
“Wow! That’s more like it!”
Is what she exactly said about our new outfit change…
Casablanca wears a wears a white shirt tied above her midriff topped with an open tunic which red in color. In her arms, she wears leather gloves with a gray ribbon tied at her left shoulder. She wears ebony black pants fastened with a belt with skull motif. Her leather boots cover below her knees and the sole of her shoes are covered with plated steel.
If I have to score it, it’s impossible as my chart is already broken. She is still in her growing phase but the outfit already brings out an allure of a grown up woman. The contrast between her childish countenance and matured outfit brings an indescribable charm. Her midriff is the most sucking part as it shows her white fair skin. The tight black ebony pants further emphasize her modest figure.
Next is Hibiscus who also emerges together with us. She wears a sleeveless vest with unfastened buttons that shows the loose shirt inside tightened by multiple body belts from her diaphragm up to her waist. The loose white shirt’s sleeves poke out from the vest but it has a gap in the shoulder that shows Hibiscus’ tanned but flawless shoulders. The rest of her arms are covered by the extension of the said white shirt earlier and at her wrist, the cuffs are pleated. She wears a frilly skirt that extends down above her knees but still shows her thighs. The most enticing part is that the long boot she wears goes up to the said thighs and the flesh there is being subtly pressed. Also, she wears a bandana that is red in color that added a strong charm.
No good… she is also way past the chart!
Contrary to Casablanca, Hibiscus is the kind of pirate that you want to bully and tease just to see her tear up. She does not have an adult charm but her shy figure would stir anyone’s heart and tickle their senses to protect her. I bet if this is the kind of girl is about to steal your treasure, you’ll just let her take it because you cannot fight back the cuteness this girl exudes!
Come on, Captain! You already found the treasures!
“Well, well, you really overdid it huh, whitey.”
“M-Me?”
“Yeah…I mean, you still wore that sexy black tank top under the buttoned shirt that you rolled the sleeves and still manage to show your slender waist by tucking it in those hot pants of yours that you even fastened with a belt. That tight detached black sleeve also matches the leather gloves fashioned with bracelets and such. You even expose your slender pale white legs and prefer to wear leather ankle boots complimented with black socks that extend up to your knees. And the most attractive charm point of you is how you tied your short hair into a ponytail! I’ll give you a score but the chart broke.”
Wha--?!
How did she…?!
But…?!
It’s true that I wear my hair in a ponytail now because it’s a bit hot but…my intention is to look plain and simple.
“Anyway, all of you look fantastic that I doubt if you guys are even fit to be pirates!”
“Like I said earlier…you are mistaken…”
“Any questions?!”
“Still not listening…”
“Questions so far?”
“Hmm…how the hell does this ship moves with main sail closed…and the wind current only comes from the ship’s speed…?”
“Oh, that’s a good question!”
“You can hear me after all!”
“Follow me to the lower deck!”
And so, we follow captain towards the lower deck where she was so excited to show to us.
We walk past the cabins on the middle deck and continue walking until we reach an intersection but we still walk straight until we arrive at a stair that leads further inside the ship.
A male crew with demon horns greets us as he saw the captain and the three of us with a flushed face.
The captain leads us further into the well-lit room until we reach another door made out of iron. Without hesitation, she opens the door and let us in.
What inside the room had my mouth gaping…the same goes for the twins as we saw that…
Huge machinery that encompasses the whole room and it seems it further extend towards the frames of the whole ship.
In the middle of the machinery surrounded by tons of cogwheels and mechanism that I cannot hope to understand, there’s an orb that looks so mechanized and modern that emits strong light. It’s not magic or divinity. It is also not a power I am familiar with.
Rather, the power it emits feels so foreign to me.
“Captain…this is?!”
“We call this Etheric Core Point.”
“Etheric Core Point?! What does that mean?!”
“You see, the whole pirate game is to determine rankings. Of course, now that you see this, it should be obvious that we are not that kind of run-in-the-mill pirates, per se.”
“……”
“The large sea that you can see on the shore, from the place where we sailed, if you go straight from that place, you’ll eventually arrive at the fairy continent. Now then, do you know, even though the continent of the dragons and fairies are supposedly connected, has a huge gap as if there was something in this place a long time ago?”
“Ethers…”
“Correct!”
“This sea…is supposedly where the continent of the etherians is?!”
“Smart girl! I am proud to have a crew like you!”
“What’s the connection between that and this core here?!”
“To be exact, there are seventy-five cores like this and all of them are being used by pirates too. All those seventy-five are our rivals!”
“How did able to find them?!”
“The sea is vast. The same goes for what’s under it. The first core is found one hundred and fifty years ago. After the discovery of the first Etheric Point Core, the scavenge for them began and so, up to now, we were able to find not only those cores but also some blueprints left by the ethers in some underwater caves.”
“And you used those blueprints as a model for this machinery?”
“Correct! I am a first generation dwarf so something so simple is nothing for me!”
“And you are telling us that we are going to fight ships with similar specs like this?!”
“Correct! Hahaha! Are you three getting excited?!”
No…definitely not.