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‘Judging from her reaction, it seems that something secret is hidden here. It might be an island that serves as a hideout for the Federation. It’s the same with the ship…’

Ed made a guess, seeing Lil’s stubborn attitude.

Amanda left a simple meal in front of Ed. Her eyes were stuffy as if she had been stung by a bee. To show his gratitude, Ed whispered to her.

“…I’m sorry…”

He rinsed his mouth with water several times before scooping the soup. Nevertheless, the sand stuck between his molars gave off a rough presence. Ed, who was chewing the hard kernel, thought about whether to complain to Lil or not but closed his mouth after seeing the remaining sand on Lil’s forehead.

“What happened when I lost consciousness?”

“Just as you said, the tide quickly turned and the Westerners surrendered. The officers who resisted were imprisoned by their own. We took away their weapons and they were scattered so they couldn’t regroup.”

“How about our casualties?”

“About 30 sailors died and more than half were wounded. If you came to your senses, go do your job. There are still many left that need treatment.”

“Okay. But, didn’t you say that the Bell Rock would take another shot? Why did we lose so many men?”

“They said they couldn’t aim because I was on the mast.”

“Ah. Too bad, the Bell Rock was loaded.”

“…”

Ed took a peek at Lil, who had become visibly sunken after his previous question. A sigh, clearly stifled by the weight of her guilt, escaped.

“Do you think the Bell Rock shouldn’t have come?”

“That’s right.”

“Then we might have died?”

“Yes.”

“And you said you couldn’t die there?”

“Yes.”

“What did you want then?”

Ed frowned like an adult facing a fickle-minded child. Lil waved her hand in her annoyance, signalling him to just eat his food. Fortunately, Ed’s silence allowed Lil to immerse herself in her thoughts.

‘Ed is right, so I have nothing to say. I shouldn’t be angry about how the crew got dragged into this, who had nothing to do with the mess. I don’t know the reason why the hell they would risk their lives to rescue a single individual, but I might have died if they hadn’t come. Someone whose life is saved should be grateful to the person who did the saving…’

Whether she wanted it or not, Lil couldn’t say anything.

On that day, when the battle was over and the death toll was determined, Cesar hugged Lil’s body and desperately whispered in her ear. Those words were now hovering around her head. 

{ “Liloa, I was so scared… I thought I lost you…” }

From the moment he overheard the conversation of the Marchand navy, Cesar had meticulously planned Lil’s rescue. However, sacrificing the majority for the sake of one life was unheard of in the South. It wasn’t due to a lack of loyalty. But no matter how great a captain is, he is merely an ordinary human in the arms of the mother of all things. In the end, all lives were equal and valuable whether it belonged to a captain or a sailor. 

‘Whose idea was it that a Captain is worth the lives of a hundred sailors? In the absence of a Captain, the Bell Rock could always have elected a new one by vote. No matter how virtuous and good-natured a Captain was, rescue is a completely different matter, and in most cases, a rescue was impossible…’

However, Cesar successfully led the Bell Rock to Lil. Along with the huge rewards, he convinced the sailors with the promise of free contract termination. Now, right before the Admiral is about to turn the southern seas over, it’s a very appealing suggestion that the sailors could retire after one last hit. As a result, many men signed up for their severance pay and left. Most of them were well-experienced sailors and thereby high-quality personnel with long contracts. But now, less than half of the Bell Rock’s people remain.

A pirate ship required significantly more personnel than a regular merchant ship. This is due to the fact that merchant ships overwork their crews, whereas pirate ships do not. To properly share the work, a crew of three or four times the minimum number of heads was required. Because, when the workload becomes too high, the likelihood of rebellion and thereby the mortality rate increases dramatically. A ship was an independent organisation that was basically its own society, to maintain stability and balance, it was necessary to have its own rules. Lil had no desire to die in vain after a captain’s vote or rebellion onboard, so she took measures to ensure high safety for her crew and herself. Therefore, the Bell Rock couldn’t depart until the proper number of people was reached.

Lil felt it after being stagnant on this island for a week. No, she could clearly see it. Her own little society had crumbled in half. Although she thought it was firmly built, by spraying it with water and tapping it with her hands dozens of times, in the end, it was nothing more than a sand castle. Easily destroyed by wind and waves. No matter how disallowed torture and punishment were on her ship, they still left… 

‘For practical reasons or whatever. Now I don’t know why I didn’t rule with a whip. Perhaps they didn’t  even realise what it meant…’ 

Lil shook her head bitterly.

“You’d better find a new job, too.”

“Didn’t I sign a long-term contract with the Captain?”

“I said no. I will tell the Bell Rock’s crew that your injury is so severe that you need to recuperate for a long time and you won’t be healed before the next voyage.”

“Are you really going this far because you feel sorry for one person?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to drag you further into this mess or have a headache because of it.”

“For what reason do you want to continue sailing?”

“Interesting question.”

“Is there any grand purpose from the league?”

“The purpose is to make a living…”

“…Captain!..”

A young voice crossed the hall. At the same time, Lil and Ed turned their heads towards the entrance. Lil, who had been shaking her head at Ed during their conversation earlier, only then realised that rotating her head was accompanied by muscle aches. She probably sprained her neck due to the heavy lifting. 

“Courant.”

Taking off his hat, Courant gave Lil a brief greeting. The agile and quick-footed Courant served as a messenger for the Bell Rock, so Lil raised her eyebrows to ask if something’s happened this morning.

“Is something going on?”

“Oh, no. I’m here for breakfast with my sister.”

“Sister? Well, Mel… Was it Mellie?”

“Yes, Captain.”

The girl, who had been standing behind Courant, poked her head out of her brother’s side. She was dressed as a common girl from the neighbourhood, wearing clothes that were a bit worn out but still clean and was holding a bunny doll with similar clothes. The little child, who hesitated because she couldn’t overcome her brother’s height, greeted shyly.

“Oh, hello. Black Whale.”

“Hello, Mellie. Amanda, please bring two more breakfast plates.”

Courant dragged the hesitant Mellie towards them. Lil opened the child’s hand, which was holding the bunny she used to hide her face behind and gave her two silver coins.

“Th… thank you.”

“Would you like to sit with me?”

Lil pointed to the seat next to Ed. But Courant looked at Ed with displeased eyes, implying he didn’t like Lil’s offer and then took Mellie across the hall. Meanwhile, Ed was getting up to give them the chair but gleefully sat down again. 

“He seemed to dislike me?”

“He hates you because you were in the Navy.”

“Why?”

“Courant is from Marchand and the Southern Navy killed his parents in front of him. Mellie, who was also present, screamed and had her ear cut off. She must have been less than ten years old at the time. Naturally, they wouldn’t like you.”

“…”

Ed kept his mouth shut. 

“You don’t think it was a unanimous decision to save you too, right? There are many sharpening their knives onboard, especially the sailors from Marchand. There are only a few as there weren’t many survivors. But those survivors are still haunted by their traumas. Like Courant, whose parents died after being caught and tortured, there are always those whose anger could randomly come out. So, if you don’t want to fall off the railing without knowing whether it was a mouse or a bird that pushed you, you’d better look elsewhere.”

“…”

Ed knew how the Empire acquired Marchand. Conquering Marchand itself was actually close to a regular battle, but the problem was that it ended in a massacre. As an island surrounded by the vast sea on all sides, it was a terrain that creeped the instinctive fear of invasion into its inhabitants. Out of fear of the southerners attacking from the east, west, north or south, the people of the Empire who resided in Marchand set a cruel precedent. Serving as a gruesome example to prevent rebellion in the future, Marchand became a sacrificial land. The southerners were different from the imperial people in appearance. They had tanned skin and their average body shape was small but solid, distinguishing them from the mainlanders. As a result, the navy was able to carry out the massacre relatively easily. And because of their difference in appearance, they were considered inferior and treated like they weren’t even human.