Chapter 24: Reunion (1)

The next day. Claire woke up and was horrified to see the clock pointing to one in the afternoon. Unless he was ill or unconscious, he had never slept until the afternoon in his life. He scowled, thinking he was becoming tainted by this hedonistic lifestyle, when he felt an arm draped across his body.

Since a wounded man couldn’t exactly go anywhere, it was only natural—Elkain was still in bed. It seemed he found Claire’s body truly comfortable, as he was sound asleep with his arms wrapped tightly around Claire, his face looking completely defenseless. Seeing how Claire was tucked neatly into his embrace, it appeared Elkain was just as tall as Elpian.

As Claire stared blankly at that flawless, ivory-like face, long, light-colored eyelashes lifted to reveal violet eyes.

“Sleep well, Claire?”

“Ah, yes. I suppose…”

Despite waking up in an embrace, Elkain offered his morning greeting without a hint of embarrassment. Just as Claire was beginning to feel a strange tickle in his chest and turning red—

“You two…”

At the sudden voice, Claire startled and bolted upright. Giuseppe was standing at the door with an expression as if he’d seen something unholy.

“What on earth… I wondered why the Captain never showed interest in women, but is this your taste?”

“What taste?”

“It’s not like that! I just fell asleep while checking on Elkain’s condition.”

Claire hurriedly denied it on behalf of the nonchalant Elkain and climbed out of bed. Fortunately, since they were both fully clothed, Giuseppe seemed to drop his suspicions and didn’t press the matter further.

“Right. Is the Captain’s body doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” Elkain answered for himself.

“Then there’s no need for the doctor to stay glued to you. Claire, come with me.”

“Ack? What’s that about? I’m hurting.”

“You just said you were fine.”

Giuseppe spoke flatly and gestured for Claire to follow. Leaving behind Elkain’s disappointed face, Claire stepped out of the room with the First Mate.

“Where are we going?”

“We don’t have much time before departure, and we’re short-handed. We won’t be staying in Las Palmas for long.”

“What kind of preparations?”

“We have to cross the Atlantic soon, so we need supplies. And don’t you need to move your things from the 2nd Fleet? You don’t look like the type who’d use a dead man’s belongings.”

“All I have is what I had with me then.”

“That’s all?” Giuseppe asked, sounding surprised. Since Claire only carried a black medical bag, it was a reasonable reaction. “With a face like a young lord, you’re surprisingly pirate-like. You’re saying a sword and the clothes on your back are enough?”

“It’s not exactly like that. There are… circumstances.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Claire expected more prying, but it ended with a blunt, dry acknowledgment. Instead of digging into the “circumstances,” Giuseppe asked:

“If you have no luggage because of your situation, do you need anything else? Planning to buy some things?”

“There are things I need, but the truth is, I have no money.”

“Well, if your situation was dire enough that you couldn’t even pack a change of clothes, I suppose that follows.”

As if he had expected as much, Giuseppe led Claire to a room on the first floor. He then tossed several leather-bound books stacked on the desk toward Claire.

“Fundamentally, those who haven’t signed the Articles of the Sea aren’t recognized as comrades. So, naturally, they don’t get a share. A doctor gets a good dividend, but right now, you aren’t officially our doctor. So, consider this a private job I’m giving you. If you handle it properly, I’ll advance you enough money for daily necessities.”

“What is this?”

“Ledgers for ship supplies, trade goods, and tribute. Most pirates can’t even read or write. Go to the warehouse, look through everything, and organize the ledgers to make sure the numbers match.”

A pirate ship is this systematic? Claire looked down at the ledgers, thinking that Giuseppe, like Giltre, must have received a university education.

“This is an enormous list.”

“Indeed. The fleet is large, and we’re crossing the Atlantic soon.”

The coastal waters of Europe had felt daunting enough, but seeing the thickness of this list made the sheer scale of the Atlantic Ocean feel real. Giuseppe handed over ink and a quill before heading for the door. Claire clutched the ledgers and followed him, asking:

“Where are we going now?”

“To the flagship. I’ll show you your room, and since most of the tribute has been moved off that ship, start the inventory check there.”

Claire’s heart began to race at the mention of boarding the Muse of the Road. Even knowing it was a pirate ship, he was so impressed by its beauty that he looked forward to boarding.

“When does the ship set sail?”

“Loading the supplies shouldn’t take too long, so we’ll likely depart in three or four days.”

Since the mansion wasn’t far from the harbor, a short walk brought the Muse of the Road into view. Excited, Claire quickened his pace and soon arrived before the ship.

Stepping onto the snow-white deck, the vast expanse of the ship came into view. If Elpian’s Crescent had a sleek hull optimized for battle, the Muse of the Road was majestic. Claire gasped as he entered the cabin.

There was a massive hall that seemed entirely out of place on a pirate ship. As if the story of the Queen gifting it were true, every pillar and railing exuded aristocratic elegance. He could see places where chandeliers or curtains had been stripped away and luxury furniture removed to simplify things, but the elegant framework remained intact.

“This is a truly magnificent ship.”

“There are so many cumbersome parts that it’s a real pain to maintain. I have no idea what kind of confidence the Captain has to use a party boat—one that practically screams ‘please sink me’—as his flagship.”

“I heard the last battle was intense, but it doesn’t look like it took much damage. Was this ship not attacked?”

“If anyone dared to point a cannon at the Capfrancis flagship, the moment of firing would never come. They would simply be sent to the bottom of the sea by the Muse’s barrage.”

For all his grumbling, his voice was filled with affection and pride for the ship. Claire gave a small smile and followed him to the stairs.

“Would you like to see your room before you start?”

“No. I’ll get to work immediately.”

“Good attitude. I’ll be heading out then, so go down to the hold and begin.”

“Eh? By myself?”

“Do you need a crowd for this? I’ll see you back at the mansion when you’re done.”

Claire felt a surge of tension as Giuseppe prepared to leave. He remembered Elpian’s fleet, where he couldn’t even walk around alone without pirates swarming him.

“You’d better finish before sunset. The docks are dangerous for a doctor like you.”

Giuseppe’s parting words fueled his anxiety. However, not wanting to show weakness, Claire pursed his lips and headed for the hold. He comforted himself with the nuance that the docks were the problem, which likely meant the ship itself was safe, and hurried with his work.

Fortunately, unlike the 2nd Fleet, no one in the 1st Fleet acted rudely toward him. Furthermore, as Giuseppe had said, most of the cargo had already been moved, so there wasn’t actually that much to do right now. Though, given the sheer size of the hold, he figured he was in for a hard time once they started loading supplies for the Atlantic crossing.

Though the work was simple, he had started late, and by the time he finished, the sunset was staining the sea. Remembering Giuseppe’s warning, Claire hurriedly gathered the ledgers and was cautiously descending the high ship when—

“Claire!”

He heard someone call his name and turned to see Mary Read standing there. It had only been a day since he left the ship, but seeing her in an unexpected place brought both joy and unease. Claire climbed down the ladder and ran toward her.

“Mary Read! What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? I came looking for you because I was worried. It looks like things worked out well?”

Did she come all the way from Madeira? Claire was puzzled, but he welcomed her nonetheless. Seeing the brightness on Mary Read’s face, he felt relieved, assuming Elpian hadn’t woken up yet.

“Yes. I’ve been assigned to the flagship.”

“That’s great, really. Did you meet the Admiral?”

“Yes. Just as you said, his appearance and his inner self seem very different.”

Mary Read looked confused for a moment, then burst out laughing and slapped his back.

“Ah, I see what you mean—you’re talking about the Captain? Just like I said, right? Hahaha. Everyone says that. But I wasn’t talking about the Captain.”

“If not Elkain, then who?”

“Our Admiral, not the Captain.”

“Elpian? I haven’t seen him. Isn’t he on the Crescent?”

“The Admiral got off the ship before I did.”

“What?”

A sense of foreboding washed over Claire, and he whipped his head toward the pier. There, he saw a massive black hull that hadn’t been there earlier that afternoon. It was Elpian’s flagship, the Crescent.

“W-what? The entire fleet returned to Las Palmas?”

“Yeah. After sleeping for so long, he must be all better because he’s been running around like crazy. He was looking for you the moment he woke up.”

“Looking for me…? Why?”

“He asked where you were, so I told him you went to Captain Elkain. He muttered bitterly about not even getting a chance to say goodbye, asked around for your whereabouts, and then told us to head to Las Palmas. I guess our Admiral really did like you.”

Mary Read offered a heartwarming interpretation and laughed, but Claire was terrified. He could perfectly imagine Elpian with glowing eyes and a sinister voice, gnashing his teeth and saying he “needed to say goodbye.”

“Then right now… where is Elpian?”

“He’s feeling much better, so he left a while ago to go see the Captain. He said he’d see you while he was at it, so I naturally assumed you two had already met—Wait? Claire? Where are you going?”

Claire thrust the ledgers into Mary Read’s hands and, leaving her call behind, began sprinting toward the mansion.

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