by Ryota Hori
But rather than be taken aback by her anger, Kevin simply sighed heavily.
“Melissa... You really don’t understand, do you?”
Seeing her reaction made his expression darken in an exasperated, but somehow convinced manner. As if something he’d been vaguely aware of had just been confirmed.
“What do you mean?”
“I meant exactly what I said... You don’t understand the position you’re in.”
Melissa furrowed her brows.
“I understand how much Lord Mikoshiba did for us too, you know.”
She would never forget the day she survived their final trial and was recognized as a full-fledged soldier. At first there were three hundred or so of the slaves, but on that day their numbers were reduced to nearly two hundred and fifty. Roughly twenty percent of the slaves went missing during the final trial.
And as promised, those of them who survived were freed of their slave status. They were all gathered in a square, where their slave contracts were burned before their eyes. For Melissa... No, for everyone present there, that sight was an act of benevolence that could not be matched by anything else. Their very lives had been returned to their hands. This was something she would never forget for as long as she lived.
Kevin shook his head, though.
“No, that’s not what I meant... I’m talking about what comes next.”
“What comes next...?” Melissa parroted him in clear misunderstanding.
They were indebted to Ryoma Mikoshiba, and they were aware of it. What else could there be besides that?
“All right, listen. Lord Mikoshiba is a benevolent man. He freed us from slavery. We were just labor slaves, but he gave us a means to fight, taught us so many things and gave us everything we need to live... But he’s not doing it out of good will. I mean, I do think good will is part of it, but I think he gave us power so we can help him with something.”
This was something Melissa was somewhat aware of. He spent a large amount of money on the slaves and put in time and effort to teach them how to fight. She realized he hadn’t done that entirely out of mercy or the kindness of his heart.
“He’s testing us...” Kevin whispered, looking around anxiously.
“Testing us?” Melissa whispered back. “What is he testing us for?”
“He’s trying to see if we’re really going to obey him.”
Teaching slaves how to fight meant granting them the tools to oppose their master. This was why slaves typically weren’t given an education. Heavy seals were applied to war slaves that inhibited their power unless their master gave them explicit permission. But Ryoma didn’t place any limitations or seals on the children he bought in Epirus. In fact, this was why so many slaves escaped from their severe training early on.
Ryoma initially had the children divided into teams of five for their basic training. The members of each group always acted together. They ate together and slept in the same tent.
“See, right now we’re a group of five, including one of the mercenaries they hired in Epirus. Do you understand what that means?”
The structure of the teams had changed since they began their thaumaturgy training. What was once a group of five children was broken into a group of four children and one mercenary. Of course, the experienced mercenaries served the role of commanders for the teams, but things didn’t boil down to just that.
A certain suspicion surfaced in Melissa’s heart.
“Is he there to... monitor us?” Melissa whispered, to which Kevin nodded wordlessly.
This made Melissa understand what Kevin and Coile were anxious about.
“You see? They filtered us out before, and they’re filtering us out even now.” Kevin said.
Those words struck into Melissa’s heart like a wedge.
Maybe I said too much... Kevin thought to himself, a sense of guilt coming over him as he saw Melissa’s petrified, guilty expression. No... I feel bad for her, but she needed to hear this.
In their eyes, Ryoma was a king worthy to lay down their lives for. When they were put up as slaves, no one reached a helping hand out to Kevin and the others. All that the people passing through the slave merchants’ shops in Epirus’s back alleys provided were gazes of pity and scorn, if not outright sneers. But Ryoma alone treated them differently.
We made an oath that day... The day he called our names...
The events of that day were still vivid in Kevin’s mind.
♱
The following day, Ryoma Mikoshiba and his convoy reached their objective. It was an inlet. They pushed their ways through the thick trees and shrubbery, moving along the bank of a large, 400-meter wide river. They followed the current as it made a sharp turn west, when the scenery suddenly changed before their eyes.
The first things they noticed were the white dunes of shores extending to the north and south of them, and beyond it, the transparent, cerulean waters of the sea. The waves washing against the shore were gentle, and the salty scent of the wind tickled their noses gently. Further into the gulf, they could make out the shadows of a few islands.
This land was completely untouched by man. It was the very incarnation of the dichotomy between the rough essence of the wilderness and the beauty of nature. The region was surrounded by low, triangular mountains, forming a natural fortress. But if they could clear this forest and make use of the river flowing into the sea, they would have everything they’d need to be self-sufficient.
“I see... I saw the report, but this really is a good plot of land.”
Standing atop a cliff that stuck out and overlooked the inlet, the two looked down on the region. The two of them came to survey the region. Gennou sat on horseback, while Ryoma stood beside him, squinting under the intense light of the sun. Gennou spoke with a satisfied smile, proud to see the report his clan had delivered was accurate.
“Yeah, an ideal plot of land if there ever was one,” Ryoma nodded and looked around. “Be sure to serve them some of your finest alcohol.”
A large river and a forest, as well as a slightly open area near the shore. Within that area, a large number of people were going to and fro, busily setting up camp. Logs were thrust into the ground so as to set up tents.
Ryoma regarded the sight with a satisfied smile. The river flowing out toward the gulf offered them a supply of drinking water. They could also use it for agriculture and for a moat, should they build a castle. They had plenty of lumber from the nearby forest, and the more trees they would clear out, the more farmland they could acquire. The four-day walk from Epirus was just the right distance, and the location was perfect in terms of defenses, too.
Gennou’s smile broadened at Ryoma’s words. He was proud to have his accomplishments praised. Ryoma, on his end, knew how important it was to reward his subordinates for their accomplishments. And that didn’t have to mean a monetary reward. The truly important part was being thankful and considerate of the effort they put forth to achieve it.
I appreciate your efforts. You’ve done well. Thank you. Those small words of consideration went a long way to solidify interpersonal relationships.
“I’m grateful for your words, milord. I’m sure they will be happy to hear of your praise as well.”
“I mean, being able to freely choose our base is one of the few advantages we have. It only makes sense we’d look for the best land possible. But I didn’t imagine this area would be this good. We’ll be able to build a village in no time with this.”
The fact this was an undeveloped land that hadn’t been touched by man meant Ryoma could build his base wherever he desired. Were there even a single, small settlement on this peninsula, Ryoma would not have had this freedom of choice. The need to ensure the citizens’ safety would mean he’d have to develop around that settlement, no matter how disadvantageous its position might have been.
After all, he didn’t have the military to defend an existing settlement while developing a new base of his own.
“Lad! We’ve s
et up the camp!” Boltz’s voice called out to him. “Come, over here.”
Apparently, their camp was ready. Starting tomorrow, they would cut down the forest and begin building their village.
“So this is where it really begins, huh...”
Ryoma turned a challenging glance to the south. As if glaring at a yet-unseen opponent...
Chapter 5: Merciless Hellfire
“Huh...? Me eyes ain’t playing tricks on me, are they?” The man whispered, looking away from the telescope.
He couldn’t believe what he’d just seen and rubbed his eyes time and again. His hair had turned bright brown from exposure to the salty winds, and his skin was dark red and tanned from the sunlight. His appearance made it clear he was a seasoned sailor. The same could be said for the man helming this vessel.
Approaching either of them would fill one’s nostrils with the scent of salt, proof of the countless days they spent at sea. And along with that scent, the metallic scent of blood wafted up from them — proof that they were no ordinary sailors.
“Naw, I see the same thing... Not that I can believe it, aye?” The man helming the ship replied, glaring at the coastline.
Their ship was sailing the deeps over two kilometers away from the shore, scouting over the shoreline. But despite the considerable distance, these men had spent years at sea and had gained a name among their fellows for their keen eyesight.
And yet, the two of them doubted what they were seeing. The cape of the peninsula stuck out toward the sea like a bull’s horns — and sitting between those two so-called ‘horns’ was undoubtedly a settlement. No, not just a settlement — it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a small port town.
Large bonfires were set up to serve both as watch fires and to stave off the darkness of the night, with two of them sitting on each end of the port, as if to keep the coastline illuminated.
“But, I mean... is that even possible?” The lookout asked.
“Who gives two coppers about if it’s possible? It’s there, right in front o’yer eyes...” The man helming the ship spat bitterly.
“Well, aye, but what do we tell the boss? No one’s gonna believe this.”
They could hardly believe it with the facts staring them in the face. If they were to report the truth, they doubted anyone would trust their report. Everyone would just say they drank themselves to sleep and had some intoxicated dream.
“But still, man... Whatcha gonna do, lie to the boss? If you get found out, they’ll skin you and feed you to the sharks... Sorry, I’m not sticking my neck out here.”
It was a rather chilling method of execution, meant to strike fear and make an example to anyone who might consider breaking the rules. And indeed, a number of people were subjected to this severe punishment. The men’s body shivered with terror at the memory of that sight.
“Then what are we supposed to do?! It’s not like this isn’t yer problem too!”
The two of them knew full well just how cold-hearted and unforgiving the person they were talking about was, especially when their subordinates lied to them. But if they were to report the facts as they saw them, no one would believe them.
Shit... Talk about pulling the shortest fucking straw.
Had he simply been an onlooker, the sailor helming the ship would have snorted at his comrade and told him he was out of luck. But he was involved in this, and that changed things. Namely, his life was equally on the not-all-too-proverbial chopping board.
“Well, we only got one option here. First thing tomorrow morning we land on the cape and check things out from close up.”
“Did all the booze finally pop something in yer head? The boss ordered us to scout and nothin’ else.”
And going against the boss’ orders meant becoming shark feed. Such were their rules. But the man at the helm shook his head.
“We’ll be shark feed either way now, won’t we? Then we’re better off breaking orders and getting more accurate information. Or do ya want to just turn tail and run?”
“Don’t be stupid... We can’t run anywhere on a vessel this small.”
The vessel they were on was one of the small boats supplied to larger ships for boarding purposes. It was more than enough for cruising along the coast, but it couldn’t cross long distances. Not to mention they only had enough food and water for another day — just enough for the return trip to their mother ship, docked to the north of the gulf.
If this was an ordinary place, they wouldn’t have much to worry about if they ran away, but they were in the no-man’s land that was the Wortenia Peninsula. If they were to land in the wrong place, they’d simply be eaten by monsters before long.
The fact Wortenia was outside the jurisdiction of any country allowed them, the pirates, to move about freely without any risk of being apprehended. But at the same time, it meant they had limited ways of reaching the outside world.
“Then we’ve only got one option here. We tell the boss the truth and hope we get treated fairly,” the man at the helm said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Ya really think he will?” The other pirate asked.
“Do we have a choice?”
The lookout pirate fell silent as his comrade replied to his question with a question. He realized that they didn’t have any other choice. The problem was that neither option would land them in a favorable position. He let his gaze drop to the deck and fell silent.
Shit! We’re screwed no matter what we do... Guess the only thing we can do is ignore the boss’s orders and check the place out.
He heaved a heavy sigh and looked up.
“Fine. Let’s take the boat to the cape. We should reach shore before dawn.”
The pirate helming the ship nodded silently and raised anchor.
God damnit...
Lamenting their lack of luck, the two pirates maneuvered their ship silently toward the shore.
♱
“It wasn’t just our imagination... I can’t believe this! How the hell did this town show up here so quickly...?”
Upon reaching the northern cape, the two of them snuck through the dark night and climbed up the slope. Upon seeing the town lit up by the campfires, they gasped nervously.
“A town? No, this place is about as supplied as a small provincial city...”
The western coastline was entirely paved by flagstones, allowing it to function as a port. There were deep trenches dug in the eastern side that completely cut off the town from the nearby forest. To the south, they could make out the large shadow of what looked like a rampart. It wasn’t perfectly secured, but this settlement was more than capable of functioning as a port city.
But that alone wasn’t enough to elicit so much surprise from the two pirates. The problem was that this was the Wortenia Peninsula, and this town was only built over the last two months.
“Is that made out of stone?” One of them whispered, surveying the town through his telescope. “I mean, it’s definitely not made out of wood... How the hell did they build this? Did they carry all this stone from Epirus? That can’t be... But how else could they do it?”
They were able to get much more detailed information compared to when they saw the town from the sea, but it only served to create more questions. If this entire settlement was made of lumber, that would have still been comprehensible. Putting aside the question of where they got their workforce, the area was surrounded by thick forests. It was perfectly possible.
But the city was made of stone. And while there were small mountains surrounding this inlet, the terrain wouldn’t allow them to serve as a source of stone. Quarrying stone from the shore was possible, but there was a limit to how much one could take from there. And if that was the case, there would have been a stone pit near the shore, but there was nothing in sight.
In which case, one would normally assume they carried in their raw materials from a nearby city, but once again, this wasn’t a normal region. The road connecting to Epirus wasn’t maintained, so ferrying raw ma
terials would be difficult. It would have been possible with a large number of guards, but if a convoy like that existed, their allies in Epirus would inform them.
“Maybe they used a sea route...? No, there’s no way we wouldn’t notice that,” the other pirate mumbled to himself, as if answering his comrade’s question.
A sea route wasn’t an unthinkable option, but it would take multiple trips to ferry the resources needed to build a city like this. And if a fleet of large ships made multiple round trips, the pirates would surely have noticed that. After all, they kept a tight cordon on the surrounding ocean regions. Any ships sailing nearby would be sighted, and the same held true for any cities built along the shoreline.
“What the hell is going on?!” The pirate growled, his grip around the telescope beginning to shake. “It’s only been two months since that bastard came here. How did he and his men build a city in such a short time?!”
It was six months ago that their comrades within Epirus informed them the Wortenia Peninsula had been granted to some noble. Upon hearing that report, the pirates simply mocked the noble’s rotten luck. They knew all too well and from bitter experience that Wortenia was a unique environment, and believed that governing the place was a pipe dream.
And indeed, the aforementioned noble arrived in Epirus, but didn’t enter the peninsula for some time. The pirates thought it made sense that he wouldn’t. He might have been granted rights to the land, but upon realizing it had absolutely no value, he’d likely chosen to simply stay in Epirus.
And yet the city spread out before them made it evidently clear just how wrong they were to think so.
“Let’s head back for now... I really don’t know if the boss’s gonna believe us, but we gotta tell him what we saw...” The pirate said.
His grip on the telescope was still shaky. Cold sweat was dripping down his spine. But he himself didn’t understand what he was so frightened of. The two of them ran back to the cape, as if fleeing the place, and scrambled onto their boat that was moored against the rocks. They set their course north, toward their mothership.
