Secrets of the Azure Sea

 

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“──What is your name?”

 

As the man with the heron tattoo uttered in a low voice, an eerie sensation ran down her back. It was a feeling she had never experienced before, a mixture of fear and awe.

 

“F-Floria…” she murmured in a barely audible voice, like a small animal being overpowered by a powerful predator.

 

“I see, Floria. I’ve come up with a good idea. Your Franz still hasn’t paid the compensation he owes us, the ones who led the naval forces in the previous war. So, I’ll take you as payment,” he said.

 

and without hesitation, the man with the heron tattoo suddenly lifted Floria up.

 

“No! No! Let go of me!” she struggled, but the man smacked her buttocks! just as if he’s punishing a small child for misbehaving. The touch of his hand made her body twitch involuntarily.

 

The burly man grabbed Franz by the hair, forcing him to look up. His face was filled with fear. Meanwhile, the man with the heron tatto looks down at Franz with disdain.

 

“Franz, you still haven’t paid the promised gold. Have you forgotten who enabled your victory in the war? My clan does not tolerate being deceived. However…”

The man with the heron tattoo sneered.

 

“If you hand over all the cargo on this ship and this woman to me, I might spare your life. So, what will you do?”

 

With Floria held in one arm and an axe in the other hand, the man with the heron tattoo stared down at Franz.

 

Floria was stunned by his words.

 

──If you hand over this woman, I might spare your life…

 

‘Am I going to be handed over? To such a barbaric man?

 

I said I would do anything, but I never expected to be taken away alone. If it comes to  that, it would be better to die here with Franz.’

 

Being taken away by a barbaric man all by herself, that thought enveloped her entire body with a fear she had never experienced before.

 

“No, no! Franz-sama, please, help me!” Floria cried out, trying to escape, but the heron man’s arm tightened around her waist with even more force.

 

And then it happened.

 

“Uoooooh!”

 

Suddenly, the captain, who had been hiding in the shadows, swung his sword and charged forward.

 

It was as if he was willing to stab the heron man even if it meant stabbing Floria as well.

 

The heron man clicked his tongue and quickly changed his direction to ensure the sword wouldn’t hit Floria. Just as she thought she heard the sound of the axe being thrown, the captain’s large body fell to the ground in front of Franz, kneeling. The captain didn’t move an inch.

 

Franz trembled and let out a scream.

 

“I-I’ll give her to you! If you want that woman, I’ll give her to you! Just spare my life!”

 

Floria couldn’t believe her ears at the words Franz uttered. The trust she had placed in him shattered into pieces, and her mind went blank, unable to think of anything.

 

When she came to her senses, she noticed a small, agile-looking ship docked right next to Franz’s sailing ship. Upon closer inspection, she saw several black, mysterious-looking ships gathering, surrounding this ship like a swarm of ants converging on a big prey.

 

The heron man, still holding Floria in his arms, effortlessly leaped onto a ship within the black fleet that was particularly large and long.

 

Looking up, she saw that same blue heron perched on top of the mast. No, when she looked closely, she realized that the sailcloth on the top of the mast was adorned with an image of a heron. The surrounding black ships also displayed sailcloth with the same heron emblem.

 

──The bird that guides to the underworld.

 

As Franz had said, was she being taken away to the underworld?

 

What kind of fate awaited her from now on… Her happiness from just yesterday crumbled away so easily.

 

The heron man, who seemed like the king of the sea barbarians, walked leisurely on the deck of his own sailing ship, still carrying Floria. The half-naked barbarians on the deck raised victorious cries as they witnessed the woman abducted from Franz’s ship being carried.

 

Among the men with dark skin, Floria stood out, wearing the only pure white negligee, her rose-blond hair covering her translucent white skin. Even if she looked around, there were no other women in sight.

 

A sense of unease made her heart pound rapidly. Something bad was going to happen.