We were making good progress to our destination, it wouldn’t be long before my venture on the sea would come to an end. I didn’t know what I was expecting when arriving there, but oh well. That was what adventures were for, to venture into the unknown. And to see what I would get to see was something I was looking forward to.

Perhaps… that would fill something good in me…

Things had been dim lately…

Amidst my swirling thoughts as I stood in front of my cabin, one of the crew suddenly shouted.

“Ships!”

That snapped me back to reality, and I turned towards the source of the voice, he was pointing towards the right side of the ship. I shifted my gaze towards that direction and squinted my eyes. I walked towards the edge, trying to get a good look. There were indeed ships close to each other.

I couldn’t tell what was going on, but each of the ships raised different flags. I rushed to the bridge.

“Where are we right now?” I asked the older helmsman.

“We should be entering the regions where the pirates are active. But judging from what we are seeing, maybe we’re here already.” He pulled out a spyglass. I found it in the captain’s quarter and gave it to him. He was the driver, so best to just give it to the one that would find it most useful.

He looked towards the two boats.

“One ship has a black flag, and the other appears to be a more formal one. I am not familiar with the flags, so I am not sure which one we should worry about. But… They appear to be fighting.”

“Fighting? Let me see.”

I received the spyglass and looked at the ships myself. Hm, one ship indeed had a black flag, with a sword emblazoned on it. The other ship waved a flag of dark orange and white, with drawings I didn’t quite understand. Seeds? Pellets? Never mind, it didn't matter. But I mean, come on, I already had a feeling who the bad guys were.

I shifted towards the ship decks. The ship with the black flag seemed peaceful, but the other ship, on the other hand, was in chaos. They were fighting, their swords clashing.

I see. A plundering scenario, is it?

Indeed, the black flag were pirates. You could easily tell through how one was being invaded. One was the defender, the other the attacker. I resisted the urge to smile.

People were in trouble, and they didn’t seem to be doing well. I was not sure if that was truly the case, but there were still a few men on the pirate deck. It was clear who had the advantage.

Tsk tsk tsk, someone needs help.

I lowered the spyglass and handed it back to the helmsman.

“Turn this ship around and head towards them.”

Everyone looked at me in shock, even the helmsman stood there frozen in confusion.

“Judging from what I saw, it would seem pirates are attacking another ship. It is a bloody fight. And you know what this means?” I faced the crew, looking up at me. “Someone needs help.”

“You want us to help them?” one crewman asked.

“Don’t you?” I asked.

“To risk our lives for people we don’t know, that is too much,” another said.

“It’s dangerous. We are not even yet good at fighting.”

“We could die for people we don’t know.”

“There’s no need to risk ourselves.”

Hearing that, I narrowed my eyes and formed an expression of disappointment.

“I thought you had developed for the better… I thought you have become better people.”

They were dumbstruck to hear my words.

“You have proven yourselves courageous enough to conquer a storm, to conquer your persecutors. But you’re not willing to save other people. Are you really that cowardly and heartless?”

Their eyes widened, they had nothing to reply.

“You are men of valor, yes. But only for yourselves, is that right?” I let out an exaggerated sigh, placing a hand on the side of my face. “Is it not a good virtue to help those in need? People could die, or they could be taken as slaves. Do you lack any compassion?”

Some of the crew lowered their heads.

“We could do something for those in need, and you want to look away. Ignore their unheard pleas. Not good at fighting yet? You did pretty well when you were not trained at all, you fought against your captors. Ultimately, how would you know how strong you are now without trying?”

Some of them placed a hand on the swords hanging around their waists. They seemed to be feeling regret.

“I am disappointed.” I sighed again and glanced towards the ships. “I want to help them. I feel both pity and mercy for the victims.” When I turned back towards the crew again, I saw Hartwin vigorously taking notes in his small notebook.

What the hell is doing?

Resisting the urge to frown in confusion, I shrugged that aside for now and continued my heartfelt speech.

“Don’t you? Don’t you have a small voice in your heart, any desire at all to help them? To save lives?”

They all looked at each other, hesitation evident in their eyes. Velar then suddenly stepped forward.

“If you wish to help, then I will come with you.”

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Hartwin raised his hands for a moment. “I don’t mind saving some people.” Then he quickly continued writing. Again, what the hell was he writing in this situation?

I nodded with a small, grateful smile. “No one else? If none, then with this, I’m willing to go out there and save those in need of saving.”

I was adamant about this, showing an aura of heroism. Wasn’t I heroic?

Slowly, one of the crew raised his hand. “... I will help.”

Then another slowly raised his hand. “Me too.”

More and more hands followed, raising into the air. Until eventually, everyone raised their hands.

I nodded with a pleased smile. “Great! Then those that can fight, or those that have trained, get ready. Bear arms, and prepare your body and mind!”

With a loud shout of acknowledgement, they began to move and ready themselves. Slipping into protective gears and such.

“Turn the ship,” I said to the helmsman with a determined expression.

“Alright.”

And he started turning the wheel.

“I’ll be changing gears as well.”

I quickly got down to enter the captain’s cabin. Taneva was standing nearby, grinning with crossed arms.

“Are you actually quite kind, Princess?” he asked.

I paused and turned my head to him. “You’ve been observing me and you don’t know that? I know compassion.”

He nodded. “Hm, I see. Your people always praise you for that. Want me to help?”

“You’re strong, right? I want you to oversee the crew. They need experience in battle to be good. Look after them and make sure nothing goes wrong. That means no one dies. Bring the Cursed Children with you.”

“What about you?”

“I have my own private role.”

He stared at me for a moment. “... Very well. Let’s save some people.”

I smiled.

Saving people is not my intention though.

I couldn’t give a single speck of care to some people I didn’t know. Why should I? They may think this was for saving people, but no, it was not for that at all. The true reason I really wanted to go there was…

I just want to kill somebody.

And I wanted nothing more. I desperately wanted and needed it.

So, no, this was not for other people. But all for me.

***

My ship moved towards the two ships.

“Bring us alongside the non-pirate ship,” I said to the driver.

I turned to the crew, they appeared to be ready. They now knew their roles, as I already told them. They would be focusing more on the hostiles on what was assumed as a friendly ship. We were judging based on appearance. Now you know everyone judges on appearance. It ain’t good? Well, reality is not always so kind. That’s why first impressions are important.

As we got closer, I drew my hood over my head. I was wearing my combat outfit. My hair had grown extraordinarily long so they were coming out of my cover, but there was no need to hide them. From the bridge, I moved down the stairs and approached Velar.

“Remember, Velar. Verify our enemies.”

“I understand. Are you sure you want to infiltrate the enemy ship alone?”

“If they took a long time to take a single ship, there shouldn’t be anyone too strong for me to handle. Otherwise, I’ll retreat instantly.”

He furrowed his brows, he seemed to be puzzled about something. “Why do you have to take care of them alone?”

“Oversee the crew. This will be their chance to put themselves to the test. I’ll be fine.”

He faintly nodded. “... Very well.”

The sails of our ship were adjusted and began to slow down, anchor lowered. Until, eventually, we pulled up beside the ship we assumed to be friendly. I walked over to the edge of my ship and observed the scene before me.

Now that I had a closer look, some of the people on the ship were wearing the same outfits of white and brown. A uniform, I assumed. The rest were entirely different, and some of them looked a bit raggedy. They were still dangerously clashing, their swords clanged and ground as they struck at each other.

“Haaaaah!”

“Baaahahahaha!”

“Die!”

The ones I assumed to be pirates were taunting the men in uniform. The pirates were overwhelming and outnumbering the latter. Almost a couple of dozen pirates were on the ship, and less than that were the men in uniform. It was only a matter of time before the men in uniform would be defeated in their dwindling number.

Judging from how there were still many more casually standing on the pirate ship, I guessed there must be more inside it. Three of our ships were the same sizes, so I could imagine how many people there would be. But the men in uniform had lost a lot of men in their battle, and thus their lesser number.

“Look out!” one man in uniform warned his friend. But it was too late, his friend was cut down from behind. “No!”

“Hahahaha! Pointless to fight, yeah? Give up now!”

“Damn you!”

“Hahaha!”

One of the pirates noticed us. Well, they already noticed us way before we pulled up.

“What’s this?” They paused their fighting, standing with clear confidence. They already had the upper hand, so they no longer had anything to worry about. “Look at here, boys. Lost sailors?” He approached closer and grinned at us, extending his sword forward.

I turned towards Velar and nodded.

Velar nodded back and casually jumped towards the other ship, disregarding the gap between.

“Huh?” The pirates grew a bit wary.

A couple of men in uniform looked at Velar in confusion.

Velar pointed his sword forward. “Which one are the pirates?” He then looked at the two men in uniform closest to him.

“I’m the captain of this ship! Captain Suda Nuraki of the Hokunoan Navy! Are you here to help?”

Velar turned towards the captain. “I see. As I thought, you are soldiers. Yes, we came to help.”

One large, muscular pirate stomped his feet. “Are you serious? Throwing your lives away for these guys? I’ve seen smarter dolphins than you idiots.”

“You underestimate us,” Velar replied.

I turned towards my crew and gave a gesture for them to move. Immediately, they lifted the wooden platform, making a bridge between this ship and the next. Once the platform was secured, my crew rushed to the other side, their weapons at the ready.

The pirate grinned as he watched my crew move in. “Boys! Give these wee shrimps some good pummeling!”

“Oaaaah!”

Velar was the first to engage the enemy before the rest of my crew followed suit. They swung their swords at the enemy, and evaded attacks that were coming down towards them. Their faces were bright with determination and will. I saw my men that could use Armament Magic use it, and they seemed to be doing well against those without magical capabilities. That said, it was apparent that many of my men were struggling to keep up.

A couple of fog landed near me, and Taneva as well.

I turned towards them. “Only intervene when a crewmember is in grave danger. Let them practice.”

“And the navy guys?” Taneva asked.

“Keep them safe. Most important is the captain.”

“What an easy job.”

Taneva casually jumped to the other ship and flipped his bronze hair when he landed. A pirate came up to him. He grinned at the ridiculous and hilarious attempt. “Really?”

I, on the other hand, began to move to the other end of my ship.

“Princess. We would prefer not to put you in danger. One of us should keep watch over your safety.”

I paused as I turned towards Heneis. “Don’t even think about it. Focus on the role you are given, and leave me on my own. I will be fine. If you think about doing anything sneaky, I’ll know.”

Heneis let out a resigning sigh. “I understand. Let’s go, Galik.”

“Yeah.”

They jumped on the other ship. I continued onward. Then I saw Shayla’s head pop up from the deck below.

“Keep hidden, Shayla,” I said to her.

She seemed to pout. “You keep safe.”

I faintly nodded and swiftly climbed up the mast of my ship. Upon reaching the top, I ran down the yard and jumped to the wooden yard of the other ship. With a little help from Physical Enhancement, it was pretty easy.

I glanced down at the fighting below. My crew was doing decent, considering their current skill level. But the pirates were still more skilled and ruthless than them, fighting like absolute savages without a regard to their own wellbeing. Like they didn’t care about being injured, or they just didn’t feel threatened by my men. I saw Taneva casually evading one foolish enough to attack him, despite him not doing anything. The two Cursed Children were also standing in a corner. Wow, nice to be strong, eh?

I guess I have nothing to worry about.

I continued on and leaped to the mast of the enemy pirate ship. On the way, I noticed that they threw hooks to attach themselves to the side of the friendly ship. That must be how they caught up to this boat. Considering that it was daytime, my shadow went past the pirates below. They looked up at me with wide and threatening eyes.

“Oi! Who the hell are you?!”

“Get down from there!”

I swiftly pulled out three small daggers in each of my hands, one between my fingers. I cast a magical string on them connected to my hand. I had been meaning to test this technique out, and this was the chance. This way, I wouldn’t need to lose my daggers when throwing them at close range.

Aight, time to kill some motherfuckers.