Chapter 469: Rica Rescue Operation 9
“Now, let’s get the information we want. Well, we’ve gone to the trouble of getting into a violent situation, so it’s too bad we can’t just rely on word of mouth. Let’s get some nautical charts”
“Nautical charts!? That’s a pirate’s life. How can I give it to you……”
“I’m not offering a deal. I am demanding. You know what I mean”
Dianne-san tied up the 「Red Whale Pirates」 and thrust the cutlasses they were holding at them. It was quite interesting that the only one with a long saber was that guy who was called 「Big Brother」, while the other sailors had cutlasses that looked easy to handle. I guess in a place like a ship, maneuverability is more important than simple reach.
“Kuu……what the fuck, you guys……no matter how much we were beaten by that fucking merchant, we´re still the world´s Red Whale Pirates……”
“I’m not going to repeat myself”
“Wait Dianne. ……Didn’t you say you were beaten by a merchant?”
Almeida stopped Dianne who was about to push through with her demand without question.
“What do you mean? Those who lag behind merchant ships at sea can’t be called pirates”
“Eh, what do you mean, Almeida-san?”
Almeida nodded to Naris, who immediately demanded an explanation.
“If you hire a merchant caravan on land and the escorts you hire are good, it wouldn’t be strange for them to retaliate like bandits. But on the sea, it is a different story. There is a clear difference between ships suited for combat and those suited for transport. With a limited number of ships, limited space on board and a completely different number of sailors to move the ships, there is no way that a combat ship can be turned back by a merchant ship”
“Red Arm……doesn’t an Ace Knight-class individual power overturn that difference?”
“Not necessarily, but plundering at sea requires more preparedness than on land and there are inherent skills in shipboard hand-to-hand combat. If you’re going to be a pirate for a long time, you should have that much combat power overall. Perhaps the captain of these guys is so skilled that it wouldn’t be strange to be appointed to the knight class on land”
“Haa……Almeida-san, you know quite a bit. I thought only 100-man commander Dianne was familiar with this kind of thing”
“100-man commander……? You Celesta”
It seems that the older brother noticed something, but Dianne doesn’t seem to care.
“What kind of speculation is that?”
“The merchants would have their navy and pirates do the work of killing the pirates and escorting them back. If you are not beaten by them, it means that the merchant is not relying on such forces and has his own forces……especially here in Lapal, with its well-stocked navy, I can’t see how he could be so composed”
“Sounds like a crook, this Rabines guy”
“I’ve never heard of him either and such a large force. The Royal Intelligence Agency is not supposed to leak any elements that could lead to that kind of political unrest”
Dianne, Tetes and Almeida all groaned. The pirate brother, on the other hand, sniffed out that Dianne and the others as someone who should be taken in.
“W, Well, don’t be so hasty in coming to a conclusion. You should go and see our captain for now. It seems you two are not business rivals and I don’t think it’s a bad idea to work with each other here”
“Hou”
“Y, You’re going to give that damn merchant a good beating, aren’t you? You’ll need a ship. Those lousy ships won’t want to go near the red whale. The tides are complicated in that area……”
“I don’t need a ship, but if I’m going to ask for charts, it might as well be the captain, not you”
Dianne grabbed the middle-aged pirate by the forelock and lifted him up.
“Let’s meet. Where is he?”
“……I, It’s a ship in the harbor. It’s on the easternmost wharf……you’ll find it”
We left the pirates tied up for the time being (they’d have to take care of themselves, since they probably didn’t have all that many sailors anyway) and headed for the red whale pirate ship.
“I don’t know if I’m lucky or not”
“Mmm, Naris-chan. I think it’s good that you’re talking so quickly. If it’s a fistfight without consideration, it’s not often we have more power than we do now”
“I don’t really want to get into a fistfight that doesn’t involve me”
I followed Dianne while listening to Naris blabbering and sure enough, there was a pirate ship that was instantly recognizable from the looks of it. The entire ship was painted black, with an aggressive beveled ram at the bow end and numerous battle scars and repair marks. To top it all off, a flag with a bright red whale proudly holding a saber in its mouth was fluttering on the mast.
“……I wonder what the navy is doing?”
“They must have some interest that we don’t understand”
Dianne slid onto the ship from a plank hanging over the bridge. The sailors who had remained on board the ship spotted her and rushed toward her.
“Hey, do you know whose ship this is? Do you think women and children are allowed to board without asking……”
“Call the captain. I want to talk to him”
“Ah?”
“I said call him. I’m in a hurry”
“Who sent you? Well, for a messenger, it’s a pretty big group of women……”
“My name is Dianne. I was introduced to you by the vice captain. I want a chart to attack the red whale
“……What kind of crazy talk is that? Are you crazy?”
“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. We’ll just take it directly from you”
The sailor was bubbling over when Dianne started to walk away again.
“D, Don’t be silly! Can I let you pass?”
“I told you I was in a hurry. Either you’re an intermediary or not. If not, I have no use for you”
……Dianne’s attitude was unusually sloppy, as if she didn’t feel like negotiating politely with pirates who were often bluffing.
“Dianne, you’re really in a hurry……”
“If the ship Rika-san is on is getting to the place called Red Whale before us, it might be because if we hurry, we can get her back before anything is done”
“Ah”
I finally understood when Hilda told me. Is it because it’s just at the brink where you can calm down and do various things at that base? Just when Dianne-san started showing signs of getting frustrated and about to get rid of the sailors, a big man appeared quietly from the cabin. I thought for a moment that it might be an ogre, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a beastman. I thought it might have been a cat, but it looked more like a lion.
“What do you want, woman?”
“I would like to have your charts. I’m here to deal with your second-in-command for his insolence”
“……Do you think I’ll do it?”
“If you don’t, we’ll take it”
“Did you come here to steal from pirates? You are a bold woman”
The lion beastman laughed in a low voice. The sailors around him also start laughing as if they were caught in it.
“I thought we came here to cooperate with them”
Naris points out with a cold sweat. But Dianne doesn’t move an eyebrow.
“That’s just something that man said on his own. We don’t have time to waste. Even if we did, we wouldn’t be able to keep pace with those who come poking around on the ship”
“Captain, she must be crazy. There is no ship faster than our Bloody Orca”
“I don’t know. ……You guys, stay back”
“Ha?”
“Can’t you see that? This woman……no, these women are……”
A moment later, the huge body disappeared.
“!?”
And all around us moved at once. To be more specific, Anzeros, Neia, Maia and Almeida all disappeared with a thump on the deck and Tetes, Aurora and Sahul protected me, Luna and Hilda, who were non-combatants. Naris stared blankly for a moment, then hurriedly readied her sword. Then the hulking lion beast captain and Dianne-san collided head-on.
“Nouu!!”
“Lion beasts like unarmed martial arts”
Dianne-san is catching the fist fired by the captain with her kicking leg. She catches every fist bobbing from there like a storm with her kicking leg and repels them. The dimension of movement is different. No, from my point of view, the lion beast’s movements are fast, but Dianne’s kicking fists, which are released only with her arms, look like a bizarre dance in which the axis of her body shifts moment by moment unless you concentrate on the movement. And then the other four scattered around them each knocked out another sailor with their hand knives or weapon hilts and by the time Dianne had exchanged a few rounds with the beast captain, we had completed control of the deck.
“You guys……!”
“Now, captain, what about you. I’m not going to enjoy this dance for very long”
“As expected……I was feeling the nasty millet……!!”
“Will you give up your charts? Or will the chart be stolen from you? I’ll let you choose now”
We’re totally the villains here. ……And at that moment, I heard the sound of flesh colliding behind me.
“Guuu!!”
“Sahul!”
I turned around to see Sahul on his knees, apparently having been hit by someone.
“Get out of my way, kid!”
And the person who seemed to have hit him was a……cat, or rather, a young woman who also seemed to be a lion beast. Her tanned skin and coarsely braided blonde hair dazzled the eye.
“Even this guy……should be defeated!!”
And then, straight at me……Tetes and Aurora jumped out from the side, dodged the swords that were held out like a cross and came within inches of me. But just in time, she is knocked down by an iron staff extending from behind me.
“Almeida!”
“Get away from Andy”
Thanks to Almeida’s speed, Luna, Hilda and I move away from the female lion beast.
“Gu……”
“Galatia!”
The lion beast captain yelled to the female lion beast, who immediately dropped to her knees.
“Ku……okay, I surrender! You can have the charts!”
“Father!”
“Surviving defeat is a pirate’s prize! I’ll get the charts again!”
……Are they father and daughter? I mean, it’s really just plunder and I’m very sorry.
“All of you, that’s enough. ……Then let’s have him give it to us. What, you can have it back when we’re done with it”
“Really……?”
“We’re in a hurry. Please hurry up”
Dianne was like this until the end. And then, we were able to obtain a chart with the seal of the Red Whale Pirates on it.
“This is the Red Whale. If you go from here, you have to go around the back of the Seven Star Archipelago or the ship will run aground on the reef here. The current will pull you in even if you try to avoid it”
Dianne asked the captain to mark their destination as well.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be airborne”
“Sky……?”
“It’s Celesta’s secret technology”
Dianne rounds up the chart, saying something appropriate.
“Wait, give it back! Without it, our ship will be……”
“Galatia. You shut your mouth”
“Father!”
“Winners take all, losers take all. That’s our rule”
The captain seemed to be hoping that by following the rules solemnly, he would make a good impression and get his charts back, but his daughter seemed to want to bite the bullet.
“Even though it’s a pirate ship, there’s a girl on board……”
I couldn’t help but mutter. If you look closely, she was about the same age as Luna. She is such a rough nest and although she is the daughter of this timid father, she worries unnecessarily whether she will be okay. After all, the vice-captain is the kind of guy who would just kidnap a random woman and try to rape her. The daughter glared at me sharply.
“Don’t you dare to underestimate me! I’m a lot stronger than a scumbag like you!”
“……I guess you’re right”
“……You, aren’t you pathetic to admit it so easily? You let women protect you and even let children take your place. You’re the one who’s in charge, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m just a lowly guy……why do you think I’m the one?”
“Why else would you be here?”
“…………”
What am I doing here? Please give me some time to think about it.
“Andy is a proper master to me”
“That’s right. Don’t worry. Sometimes I wish he would show a little guts”
Luna and Tetes, the youngest of the two, comforted me. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do that. Thank you.
“Well, but it’s not wrong that the whole thing will fall apart if Andy gets hit, right☆”
“No, no, in terms of the chain of command, as long as Dianne is a 100-man commander, we’ll be fine, right?”
“But Maia won’t listen to me, will she?”
“Yes”
Unusually, Maia nodded obediently to Almeida’s opinion.
“Umm……I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about that kind of weakness so happily in public……”
I think Neia’s point is totally correct, too.
“I’m not sure I can keep my cool for a minute either……”
“I was wondering if I should release a slashing wave……”
If I had made a mistake, could this girl have been cut in halves? In the meantime, I’m glad she’s safe.