Translator: Cinder Translations
...
Dean Isaka turned into a small alley beside the main street. After making sure no one was following him, he walked up to the door of a house and knocked three times, paused briefly, then knocked twice more.
The door opened, and a young girl peered out, glanced around the streets on either side, then grabbed Dean by his clothes and pulled him inside.
"Hey hey! Be gentle, you're tearing my clothes," Dean protested unhappily.
"You've got the nerve to say that! You've been gone so long, I thought something had happened to you," frowned the pink-haired girl, hands on hips, clearly annoyed.
"Oh? Oh? Is the captain worried about me?" Dean feigned surprise.
"You—don't make me smack you!" The girl blushed, lifting a chain ball that seemed disproportionate to her stature.
Dean immediately raised his hands in surrender. "I surrender, I surrender!"
"Hey hey! Isn't it time for you two to stop flirting? Susan's grandfather is still in the hands of the pirates," a tall, blond-haired youth beside them interjected helplessly.
His face promptly met the chain ball on the girl's face.
"Silence is not an excuse, you little 'fly,'" the girl said ominously, chain ball in hand.
The blond rocker youth covered his swollen cheek and said sadly, "Yes, Captain, I dare not anymore."
As soon as he finished speaking, two more people walked out of the inner room, a scholar-capped girl and a girl with a ponytail. Only the girl with the ponytail was dressed in the civilian clothes of the Northwest Bay style. She joyfully said, "It turns out that Dean is back."
Seeing Dean safe and sound, the two couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The scholar-dressed girl asked, "Dean, have you found out any information?"
"I did get a lot of useful intelligence," Dean continued, "Port Frand is now under martial law, with strict restrictions on entry and exit. I heard the pirates ran into some trouble recently."
The girl with the chain ball asked discontentedly, "Who asked you about that? What about Susan's grandfather and our target?"
"Don't rush, I'm getting to that. I got a drunk pirate lackey to spill some details. Susan's grandfather and our target are both imprisoned in the church. But when I scoped out the area nearby, the pirates are keeping tight security. It's hard to get close. So we need to find the right opportunity."
The chain ball girl grumbled unhappily, "Why bother with all that trouble? In my opinion, we should just storm in, grab that 'shark,' beat him up, and make him hand over the people to us!"
Dean sighed helplessly, "Captain, you have to consider the numerical comparison between us and them."
The chain ball girl glared angrily, "Then what do you suggest?"
Dean remained calm. "I do have a plan, and it relates to what I mentioned earlier. Do you all know how badly the pirates got hit recently? They lost over four hundred men! That's nearly half of Shark Gang's forces."
The bruised rocker covered his cheek and asked, "Who's that formidable? Could it be the local lord?"
Dean shrugged. "That lackey didn't know. You served in the military, right? You should know that for these lower-level guys, they're often kept in the dark. If the enemy is too strong, it might cause them to desert or, worse, be used as cannon fodder at the last minute. The news of losing over four hundred men came from someone close to the leader."
The chain ball girl interjected, "Could it be the lord's army, Su...?"
"Don't joke around. Do you think our local lords care about the lives of coastal civilians? They sold us out to the pirates over a decade ago."
Before the chain ball girl could finish, the ponytailed girl piped up with a firm voice.
Her expression turned from disdain to frustration, her little hand tightly clenched into a fist.
"The shameless nobles even come here every quarter to collect taxes from us, the mayor not only has to satisfy the pirates' greedy appetite, but also deal with the tax officials sent by the idiot lord, so many town residents complain about it."
As she spoke, the girl's eyes moistened, tears swirling in her eyes against her will.
The scholar immediately put her hand on the girl's back and comforted her, "Don't be sad, everyone's just venting, but they all understand the old man. Otherwise, why would they elect your grandfather as mayor every year?"
The ponytailed girl wiped her tears and sobbed, "Yeah... I understand everyone's intentions. Being extorted by both pirates and lords inevitably leads to some grievances."
"Ahem!" Seeing the atmosphere becoming heavy, Dean cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention and continued with his plan:
"Regardless of who caused trouble for the pirates, judging by their recent deployments—fortifications and restrictions on movement—it seems like they're about to come to clean up in Port Frand."
"Now, there are only a few hundred pirates left in town. According to the information I dug up, most of them will be sent to defend at the city gates, leaving only about twenty in the church."
"We can't judge whether the newcomers are good or bad. Since Susan has said the local lord is incompetent, I suspect it might be another group of pirates coming to take over. We'll have to rely on ourselves. When the time comes, we can take advantage of the chaos like this... like that..."
...
After discussing the details of their plan, the chain ball girl decisively concluded, "Hmph! It's simple! Let's do it this way. If only the rest of the team were here. With everyone together, I think we could charge right in."
"There's no way around it. You took on two tasks, Captain."
"Hmph! I'm thinking for the future of our adventure team. But speaking of which, why did our target—Master Foster from the Angle Bay Alliance—come here? He's only causing trouble for us."
"Why else would he come? A rich young master like him must have had his brain addled by some knight adventure novels, fantasizing every day about slaying dragons and rescuing princesses. Since there are no dragons to slay, but plenty of villains, wasn't this place previously the territory of the great pirate Edward? It's said many have challenged him before, but none succeeded—they all ended up fish food. This young master of ours is just incredibly lucky, catching Edward's absence perfectly."
The ponytailed girl added, "Dean, Meru, I want to help you too, especially since my grandfather is among those to be rescued. Let me come with you. I know the church's interior well."
"No way! It's too dangerous. Susan, stay home and wait for good news from us," the chain ball girl quickly refused, a serious expression on her face.
"I—Meru Hammer, bet on the name of the Leechman Adventure Team, guarantee to safely return withyour grandfather."
...
Meanwhile, the church in Port Frand had become headquarters for the Shark Gang pirates. Leaders large and small gathered in a room, discussing their recent defeat.
The classic pirate, with a rugged face and an eyepatch over his left eye, known as Shark, spoke bitterly, "No wonder that eel was so jittery and ran back to the sea. Turns out the little guy from the Grayman family has some tricks up his sleeve."
A minor leader suggested, "Boss, should we retreat to the sea too? The brothers below are getting nervous. Rumors of wizards helping them have spread everywhere."
Shark roared, smashing his cup to pieces on the table, "Spread the word: anyone who dares to spread rumors about me will have their tongues ripped out!"
"You want to go back to the sea, to live the drifting, hand-to-mouth life? Now that we've finally driven that meddlesome star, Edward, away, I will completely swallow this fat piece of Port Frand."
"But this land belongs to the Gleeman family..."
"I don't care about Grayman, Trayman, or whoever. If I take it, it's mine."
A former leader from the Quik's Gang, now under his command, showed fear, "But Boss Shark, their 'wizards'..."
Before he could finish, he remembered Shark's order not to spread rumors and quickly shut up.
Shark looked fierce, "Use your brains. If they really had wizards or magic, wouldn't the Church have dealt with them long ago instead of bothering with us? They're probably just using some uncommon weapons. I've consulted brothers who've faced them directly and developed a strategy. Just wear thick armor, or even thicker clothing; those iron nails and debris won't do much damage. As for those tubes that shoot iron pellets, they're just like bows, slings, but faster and more powerful, and there aren't many."
Though Shark talked tough, he was secretly afraid. He had seen a pirate grazed by a bullet from them, and his arm was almost useless, dying a few days later from a persistent fever.
But he couldn't show it, or how would he convince his subordinates to risk their lives? So he continued with some inspiring words, promising great rewards for their loyalty once Port Frand was permanently under their control.
His followers were roused by Shark's speech. Grayman's secret weapons didn't seem so scary anymore; they all vowed to fight to the death against Grayman's army.
"Oh, by the way, how are the old man, the mayor, and that young master from the Angle Bay Alliance doing?"
"The old man still won't cooperate. No matter how hard we torture him, he won't admit to your lordship. The young master, however, is quite cooperative—whatever we tell him to write, he writes."
"Hmph! When we fend off the army of those dog-headed nobles, I'll have plenty of time to play with the old man. But by then, his denial won't matter. And keep an eye on that young master; he's our cash cow."
"Yes, Boss!"
(End of Chapter)