As we trailed Suda’s ship, we started to see a glimpse of a coast from a distance. Currently, I was at the bow of the ship along with a few of my guys, staring at the land far ahead.
“Is that it? Shinoroa?” one of the crew asked no one in particular. His eyes were wide with anticipation. He was one of the kidnapped ones, so I was quite surprised he seemed to be looking forward to arriving in another land.
“Yes,” answered Taneva. “Or to be precise, that’s one of its main islands, Hokunoa.”
“Woah.”
Hm, pretty nice to be arriving at a new place, wasn’t it?
I saw the ship ahead of us reducing their speed, must be because we were closing in. Not to mention the ships floating ahead, they must be guarding the waters in this part. There were a lot of big and small ships scattered about. Although smaller ones I assumed to be fishermen. The rest were the navy of the city in front of us.
I had imagined something like this, for them to currently have tight security, considering what Suda mentioned. Perhaps they were wary of any enemy that might get through, especially now that they had provoked the pirates. Who’s to say the pirates won’t try to secretly sneak and wreak havoc inside the city or something? Or they just suddenly launch an attack. Considering their criminal nature, I won’t be surprised if they attacked just to harass the opposition.
Good thing we had a backer, hehe. Go on Suda, make our sailing smooth!
Suda went by a naval ship. With him carrying their own flag and a familiar ship, verification shouldn’t be that difficult. They seemed to be communicating with each other, shouting. I could faintly hear them. They mentioned something about them being attacked. And then there came about letting us through without trouble as we were with them.
Since there didn’t appear to be any resistance, there should be no problem now. Suda continued on as we followed behind them. A moment later, we passed by the same ship they spoke with. There were men in uniform standing on the deck, staring sternly at us. They were bearing weapons, their crossbows and ballistas aiming at us.
My men stared back at them, looking closely at the weapons pointed at us.
“Steady and be calm,” I said to my men, who were growing tense. “Behave. They’re just keeping a watch on us, nothing alarming. And don’t glare back at them.”
Just don’t piss anyone off.
At any rate, we got through the first set of guards, no problem. And eventually, we arrived closer to the harbor. There were numerous ships, big and small, docked in the harbor. While there were also others just floating on the water away from the coast. They carried no flag whatsoever, so likely they were just civilian ships.
We continued following Suda until we had to split off and find a spot to dock our ship. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for us to find one. Suda went farther away, which must be where their ship should be docked, being from the navy. As we slowly moved into the dock, I noticed my men were a bit nervous. I mean, it was just like how one would be nervous when parking a car for the first time, especially in a tight space.
The rest, particularly the ladies in our company, scattered around the deck to look at the surroundings. Their eyes shining with intrigue. As we were now close, we could see more of the city of Mahana. And if I have to say, their buildings were less refined than my home city. The buildings were made of wood, even those with second floors. Others were made of rocks and looked shabby. They had a particular style from their architecture. They seemed more practical than giving mind to appearances.
Although, they weren’t particularly lacking in design either. Aside from the straightforward walls of wood, some buildings were painted color, but not as colorful as what I would see from my home. Some of the triangular shaped roofs were made of wood, while others were made of tiles. The latter must be a little bit of a show of wealth. Although the colors again were on the darker side. Even most of the tiles were darkly colored. It reminded me that Taneva described this archipelago as a dead land. I could certainly feel a bit of a grim feeling from the lack of color variety.
The people on my ship observing the place also felt that dark vibe.
“This place looks a bit more terrible than the city,” a woman commented.
“Not a bit, can’t even be compared,” added another.
They must be comparing it with Eventon. But for me, this place looked piss poor when compared to my clean and presentable home city, where everything was more decorated and organized. This one here looked like they just built buildings wherever they could.
Once the ship had stopped, and after tying it to the dock, everyone gathered. I stepped forward to address them.
“This is a foreign city in a foreign land. I suggest everyone behave as much as they can and be very careful. If you wish to go out and see the place, don’t go out alone. At least go out in fives. Additionally, don’t leave the ship unattended. Always have people watch over it.”
I turned my head around the harbor. I sensed several gazes pointed at us. Was it even necessary to stare? Hm, now that I thought about it, this place wasn’t too busy. There were a lot of activities, but not many that would fill the harbor. Likely we arrived at a less busy time. There were men loading wooden crates into a ship, while others were unloading from other ships.
“What are we going to do now?” asked one of my crew.
“For now, we wait for Suda.” Velar told me that he was intending on helping us get started here, being tourists and all. So we ought to wait for someone who knows the place.
Suddenly, a man stepped up from the wharf to the platform leading to our ship. He casually and haughtily stepped on our deck and looked at us with a sharp gaze. I lowered my pirate hat to cover my face. He checked the ship.
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The man was wearing somewhat formal clothing: a coat, boots, and a hat. But they were far from fancy. His clothes were a bit ragged and old looking. As he observed around, he twirled his mustache. Was he some kind of official or something?
A large man stood behind the man. He must be his guard.
“Hm, a lot of passengers. Young men and beautiful women.” The man walked around the ship as if he owned the place. “A galleon class ship.”
I gestured to Velar to talk with the guy as I hid amongst the crowd. I mean, I was literally too beautiful. Seeing what I am might be troublesome. Yeah, I said it, my beauty could cause all kinds of trouble.
Velar approached the man, and he was towering over him. “May I ask who you are?”
The stranger scrutinized Velar without fear. “I’m the harbormaster of this area. And I’m here to assess your ship and collect the necessary fee.”
A fee? That's a thing?
Hm, dunno. I mean, maybe it was expected to have a toll or fee. But I had a bad feeling about this.
“Is that so?”
“Have you been here before?” the harbormaster arrogantly asked.
“No, it’s our first time here.”
“I see, I see.” He stared at the women and grinned a little. “Is this a slave ship? You just let your women out here on the deck without chains?”
Surprising, he just outright assumed they were slaves. But then again, thinking about it, you would never expect to see this many women on a sailing ship. This ain’t normal for sailors.
Velar forced a smile. “... You are mistaken. This is not a slave ship.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “It’s not? Then what’s the point of them?” He pointed at the crowd before shaking his head. “If you’re hiding the fact that you’re slave traders, it is fine to tell us here.”
“We are truly not slave traders.”
The harbormaster narrowed his eyes. “... Is that so? A shame. You have a lot of good products.”
I could hear some of my crew members groan in anger.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I quietly said to them. “Let this pass.”
The harbormaster shrugged. “At any rate, how long will you be docked?”
“... Um. We have not yet made a specific plan. But we expect it to be at least a week.”
“I see, I see.” He placed a hand on his chin. “Then I will need to collect fifty silver coins. Whatever currency, as long as they’re silver coins.”
Is that a lot?
Velar seemed troubled. “Is that truly the price?”
“Of course. You're questioning me? I’ve been doing this for years, so don’t dare question me.” The man glared at Velar, pointing a finger at his face.
Hartwin stepped in from the side. “Isn’t that quite a lot? I expected it would be around five to fifteen silver at the most expensive, like other docks on the continent.”
“Well, this is Hokunoa, and my dock. I say whatever the price is.”
Damn this little shit is ripping us off?!
What a good fucking impression this place had! Already getting scammed the first moment of arrival. We had the budget, of course. There was a lot of money on this ship. But fifty silver coins? Quite expensive shit for docking to this shithole.
“Perhaps you could reassess?” Velar asked.
“I just told you. Now pay up.” The harbormaster held out his palm, as if waiting for Velar to drop the money.
The guard with the harbormaster stepped up in front of Velar. Velar stared at the guard in the eyes.
Hartwin casually shook his head. “No need for violence. Maybe we can come to an agreement.”
The harbormaster raised an eyebrow. “Agreement? Hah! From the looks of it, you can’t pay. But, hmm, yes, we can come to an agreement.” He smirked before pointing a look at the crew. “Let me borrow a woman for the night, and I’ll give you a fifty percent discount.”
I got a glimpse of Velar’s face twitching amidst his smiles. There was a growing tension in the crowd I was hiding in as well.
“Bastard…”
“What a scum.”
There were such whispers.
Yeah, what an asshole, to demand such an outrageous thing. And half a discount for that heavy sacrifice? Are you really that scummy, you little shit?
Hartwin just stared at the harbormaster with squinted eyes.
“We can’t do that,” Velar answered.
“Then scrounge up some silver or leave this shore. Otherwise, I will have to call the authorities to have you detained and confiscate some of your belongings.”
Now that just wasn’t good. This place didn’t seem like a good place to be imprisoned. Especially for a pretty girl like me.
Should I just kill him?
Nah, would just make more trouble. Although, I was a bit annoyed.
I was considering stepping in when a familiar face arrived.
“What’s going on here?” It was a man in uniform, the man of the hour, our savior, Captain Suda!
The harbormaster looked surprised to see a navy member onboard. “W-What are you doing here?”
“I am Captain Suda Nuraki of the Hokunoan Navy. What is the problem here?”
The harbormaster forced a smile. “I am only doing my duty. Collecting the fees in docking here.”
Suda suspiciously stared at him before turning to Velar. “How much did he ask?”
“Fifty silver coins,” Velar answered.
Suda directed a stern look at the harbormaster. “Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“I think that is f-fair. With this many people, and this big ship, that price is j-just right. Of course, if they’re your friends, we can give them a discount!”
Suda frowned. “They’re my guests, and the garrison commander has been notified of their presence.” Suda leaned forward, closer to the man, glaring into his eyes. “So there is no need for fees.”
“W-What?!”
“You heard me. They’re exempted from the docking fees. Do you understand?”
The harbormaster clenched his fists and scoffed. “Grrrr... Alright. I understand.”
“Good, then you may leave.”
The harbormaster left with stomping feet, this face fuming in anger. When he and his guard were gone, Suda turned towards Velar with a sigh.
“I apologize for that. There are just some harbormasters that take advantage of you if it’s your first time here. In the future, you can try saying it’s your third time.”
“I see. It was a mistake to be honest then.”
“Honesty is not always the best option on rare occasions. But good thing I arrived before you gave him any money.”
I stepped out of the crowd and approached Suda with a smile. “Thank you for the help, Mr. Suda. I don’t know what would have happened if it went on.”
For some reason, he wryly smiled at me. “Well, I can imagine some… Anyway, he shouldn’t bother you any longer knowing you’re connected to us.”
“... Oh yeah, about that. Did you just mention you notified the garrison commander of us?”
“Yes,” he casually said with a proud nod. “Technically, it was one of his lieutenants. I gave a brief report of what happened when they saw the bodies. But the commander should be notified soon. I had an idea of what could happen when you arrive, so I headed straight here.”
Well, it was good you arrived. However…
You couldn’t have just reported to someone of lower position?! We were supposed to be lowkey!! What a fucking blunder this was. Seriously? I knew they would report it to their superiors. But to a lieutenant of the garrison commander? That would certainly head straight to the garrison commander himself. That’s like to a general. Couldn’t it just be someone in a lower position?! Someone less important and influential? Like a local department captain? And I would be long gone before the matter arrived to the head of the navy. Ugh, whatever, what did I expect anyway? Well, I was hoping it wouldn’t be that big of a deal since they were only a scout ship.
“I-I see…” That was all I could say.
“I imagine they would like to thank you later, so expect that. Maybe the commander himself would personally come to thank you.” He chuckled.
No way. I don’t want that. And nothing’s funny!
“Anyway, I still have to give my full report. See you later.” With that, he left.
I rather not get the attention of someone that high up the food chain the first moment I arrive… Ugh, can’t believe my reckless decision would drag this headache to my doorstep.
Whatever, let’s just get over it. I must minimize any potential trouble this may bring.