The pirate ship Caelum docked at a secret harbor route, and everyone began to disembark.
“Whew. This journey has brought us many gains.”
“All thanks to our princess. Gosh, it was terrifying.”
“Yeah, you were sobbing, thinking the kids were dying. Ugh, you totally ruined your pirate reputation~”
“Sh-shut up, you jerk!”
“Hey! Stop chatting and help with the cargo!”
As I watched them bustle about after disembarking from Nancy’s embrace, I felt my body being lifted gently.
“Oh, I need to take care of my little girl. Almost forgot her because she’s so small.”
“Dad?”
Nereus laughed playfully as he lifted me and carried me off the ship.
‘It feels like I’m being lifted up constantly.’
Especially whenever Nereus saw me, he seemed to hug me tight. I wasn’t used to being carried around like this, so I awkwardly rolled my eyes.
Nereus patted me with his rough hands and said to Isaac,
“Hey, go prepare the horses.”
“Captain, you need to keep a low profile. One of the Pharus family members has recently joined the naval branch in this city, so there might be some of their relatives or affiliates around.”
“Ah, it’ll be fine, it’ll be fine.”
‘Pharus?’
Wasn’t ‘he,’ that Admiral, a marine around this time? Since not much was known about his past, I quietly blinked.
“Even though the captain isn’t worried, it’s still best to handle things quietly to avoid any commotion,”
Isaac added, glancing at me.
“Lala is here too, after all.”
“Ah, right.”
‘So, it’s not about avoiding trouble but handling things quietly.’
As I let out a small sigh, Nereus pinched my cheek lightly and pulled me close.
“Oh dear, why are you sighing again, Lala? Let’s go somewhere fun, okay?”
“Somewhere fun?”
Barely after landing, where could we be going next? I looked at Nereus with a puzzled expression, and he grinned as he pulled on the reins of the horse that Isaac had brought.
“Of course, Lala. It’s a place you’ll absolutely love.”
***
‘What a thing to do, really.’
As soon as we landed, without even resting, he was already taking his fragile daughter somewhere….
‘An orchard?’
It was the orchard where he had purchased the ‘White Sun.’
“Is this the fun place?”
“Of course~ Isn’t it fun?”
“Not really….”
“What did you say, my dear?”
“Oh, nothing.”
While Nereus tied the horse’s reins to the fence, I carefully looked around. There were tracks on the ground.
‘Is someone here?’
I looked around, but there wasn’t even a shadow of a carriage.
“Phew, it’s all done. Shall we head out?”
“Dad, Dad.”
This time, instead of lifting me, Nereus took my hand. I tugged at his hand.
“Look here, there’s a mark.”
“Hmm? It looks like a carriage track. It’s not surprising since there are many orchards around here.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If I couldn’t figure out something like this, I should take down the pirate flag. Besides, even if there’s a dangerous person, so what? I’ll take care of everything.”
‘No matter who we meet, I think you’re the most dangerous one.’
Watching Nereus casually declare that he’d eliminate any witnesses made me realize that, no matter how precious my family is, a pirate is still a pirate.
“Doesn’t Dad make you feel safe?”
“Uh-huh, yeah. Dad, you’re so cool and amazing.”
“You little rascal, the more I hear you say ‘pretty, pretty,’ the less sincere it sounds! You’re going to start believing you’re truly that pretty!”
“So, I’m not pretty?”
“…Well, you are pretty!”
Nereus shook his head at me while I mimicked his movement. My hair, tied up high, swayed and brushed against my face.
“Maybe it’s because you take after me, but you’re unbelievably pretty. Yeah, just keep seeing only the good and pretty things. Got it? Don’t even look at men who are like sardines.”
“Then I shouldn’t look at you, Dad.”
“What, you little…!”
Nereus raised his voice in mock anger but quickly clamped his mouth shut and shook his head.
“I should just stop talking. As an adult, I shouldn’t be getting mad.”
‘I’m the one being the bigger person here.’
Being more mature, I decided to let it go. I pointed towards the orchard.
“Let’s hurry up~ I want to get back to the lodging before dark.”
“Don’t worry about that. I specifically looked for the orchard closest to the harbor to get the freshest produce. I wouldn’t take a weakling like you far away.”
“Oh, that’s true. No matter how much of a fool and hothead you are, you wouldn’t be that thoughtless.”
“……….”
“…..….”
Nereus looked at me with a slightly hurt expression before turning his gaze away. I wondered why he kept picking fights he couldn’t win.
“Yes, our little girl is very strong.”
“…? No, I’m weak.”
“Nope, you’re strong. You’re just young right now. Later on, you’ll probably be able to knock out more than ten pirates with a single punch!”
That’s really impossible. Thinking back to my previous life, it was clear that even taking down someone of a similar build would be difficult.
Rather than imagining an impossible future, I focused on the present and looked around the orchard. The dense and expansive orchard was eerily quiet.
‘Why did he bring me all the way here?’
I needed to visit the orange orchard to get some medicinal herbs, but there was no need for me to come along.
“It’s quiet. How are we supposed to find the orchard owner?”
“Huh? What do you mean by ‘find,’ Lala? Cover your ears.”
Nereus smiled brightly.
I felt strangely uneasy. What the heck? Stop smiling like that, you pirate.
“Hurry.”
“………….”
In the end, I gave in to Nereus’s insistence and tightly covered my ears with both hands.
‘Is he going to shout some curses or something?’
Although they were people who wouldn’t hesitate to use rough language in front of me, they seemed to avoid using extremely harsh words around me. Of course, that didn’t always go as planned….
Bang!
“……..…?!”
Even with my ears covered, I heard a very loud gunshot. I opened my eyes wide and looked up.
In Nereus’s other hand, which wasn’t holding me, there was a silver, shiny gun aimed somewhere. Smoke was slowly rising from the muzzle.
“D-Dad?”
“Heh.”
Nereus smiled with satisfaction and gestured with his chin for me to look over there.
“Look over there, Lala.”
I was genuinely scared to look. Still covering my ears, I hesitantly turned my head in the direction he pointed.
I couldn’t see much because the trees were in the way, so I squinted to see what he had shot at.
“Hmph. You’re smart, but your eyesight isn’t the best, my daughter.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!! Bang!!
As Nereus fired a few more shots, the branches that were blocking my view fell helplessly to the ground.
“Can you see now?”
And in the distance, though small, I could see it. The shattered window and the frozen figure of a person….
As I stood there silently looking at it, Nereus spoke to me in a proud voice.
“How is it? Isn’t your dad awesome? Now that person will come running.”
‘This crazy man.’
Normally, they would run away. But Nereus was holding something that could end everything in one shot from afar.
As Nereus kept aiming towards the house, the person inside hesitated for a moment before slowly starting to approach us. Most would faint by now, but this person somehow managed not to. Although, his face was as pale as a ghost, his clothes were oddly mismatched, and he was trembling more violently than a newborn animal.
“Wh-What… what do you want….”
Click.
The sound of the trigger being cocked echoed. Nereus, unfazed by the hot barrel from the recent gunfire, casually placed the gun against the man’s head as he reached us.
‘There goes the idea of a moderate pirate.’
I had thought that Caelum was relatively moderate compared to other pirates, but seeing this made me reconsider. This was clearly the behavior of a criminal, an outright pirate intimidating a citizen.
Nereus didn’t seem to consider that this could be bad for a child’s mental well-being. Or maybe he thought this was part of my early education as a member of the pirate crew.
I quickly pulled on Nereus’s arm.
“Dad, Dad. Why are you so angry? This man might not have known.”
The problem with the ‘White Sun’ only became apparent later. There was no guarantee that the orchard keeper knew everything. Nereus seemed to consider my point reasonable, as he paused for a moment before asking,
“Did you know?”
“Wh-What do you mean…?”
“I seem to recall that this orchard used to have a dog… but I don’t see it now. What happened to it?”
“……..….”
A sinister gleam appeared in Nereus’s eyes.
“What happened?”
“It… it was an accident….”
“Come to think of it, you used to give that dog some of the oranges, didn’t you? The ones so bruised they couldn’t be sold.”
“…..….”
“And that dog wasn’t around the last time we made a deal either.”
“I-I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
This reaction confirmed it. He wasn’t apologizing out of fear or ignorance; it was clear he was guilty.
‘So, he knew.’
He had known it might be dangerous but pretended not to know and sold it anyway. At the time, the ‘White Sun’ had been sold at an extremely high price.
Seeing this response, Nereus sighed lightly.
“Get down on your knees and bow your head right now, so my daughter doesn’t have to see your face.”
The man, trembling, eventually knelt down and pressed his forehead to the ground. Nereus pulled over an empty wooden crate, turned it upside down, sat on it, and then placed me on his lap.
Casually, he waved the gun he was holding and spoke to the man in front of us.
“Hah… ‘White Sun?'”
“………….”
“Did you take me for a fool? Huh? You… no, this isn’t right. Anyway, yeah, I was a fool to have been deceived by that.”
“…I-I’m sorry.”
“Shut up. I didn’t say you could speak. The only one here who has the right to speak before me is my daughter.”
I didn’t understand why Nereus was treating me as if I outranked him, nor did I have anything to say even if I had the right to speak.
‘What could I possibly say in this situation….’
The atmosphere was extremely tense. It was somewhat endearing that Nereus had refrained from cursing because of my presence, but the situation remained intimidating.
I found myself wishing that some other pirate guardian, like Gerard or Dexter, was here instead. Although, considering their usual behavior, they might have been just as scared of Nereus.
“More importantly, do you even feel sorry? This punk? Seriously?”
“………….”
“Lala, just so you know, when I said ‘this punk,’ I meant it in a slightly rough way as ‘person.’ It wasn’t a curse. Got it?”
Even as he growled and threatened the man in front of him, Nereus spoke to me with the utmost gentleness.
What should I do with this awkward guardian?
“Y-yeah. I got it.”
As soon as I said I understood, Nereus let out a sigh of relief.
‘He’s really a fool….’
I can’t believe my dad is this much of a fool.
But I couldn’t completely ignore the situation. Selling that fruit to the sailors on purpose meant he didn’t care whether those who bought it lived or died out at sea.
‘But then, why did he even bring me here?’
I still couldn’t figure out why he felt the need to bring me along.
