HEO 90

To ensure her son was recognized as a Stoll warrior, White Deer drove Wolf into various battlefields. His father, Bronze-Billed Hawk, did not stop his wife, likely because he hoped his youngest son, who had arrived out of nowhere, would die on the battlefield. The result?

He disappointed both his father and mother. Wolf did not die on the battlefield, nor did he shed the label of “servant.” In any case, in the process, Wolf’s hands were stained with enough blood to fill a dozen bathtubs. It would not have been surprising if he had become someone’s enemy.

However, this is Stoll. During the three years he spent in this barbaric land, Wolf had learned one thing. The people of Stoll never held anyone accountable for deaths that occurred on the battlefield. With tribal conflicts being so commonplace, there was even a joke circulating that if the calculation of revenge were added to the mix, the sound of babies crying would have ceased long ago in Stoll.

But Silver called him “a bastard he saved to tear apart.”

This part was strange. After all, Wolf had only ever killed people on the battlefield.

Perhaps he was simply a petty fellow. Unexpectedly, Wolf had seen more of that type in Atania than in Stoll. A man who killed his wife after a petty argument. A woman who cunningly fed onions to a neighbor’s dog because it had damaged her garden. Silver might be one of those types too. Perhaps they crossed paths by chance at one place, and he might have labeled him a “bastard to be torn to pieces” in a fit of rage over a minor slip of the tongue.

His mind leaned toward this side. He was a fellow whose only beautiful trait was his eye color; his aura was as murky as sewage.

Hmph, his inner pettiness must have just spilled out. Anyway, where is that bastard right now? The cave? Those drug addicts wouldn’t let a lackey like that rent a room… Wait, why am I worrying about him?

Wolf punched his thigh.

“Time.”

〔3:42 PM.〕

For afternoon, the sky was pitch black like night. The door remained wide open. The pouring rain had turned the dirt road into a shallow stream, and ropes and fish bones were carried along the current as it meandered. No one was seen walking this way through the downpour. Not yet.

Wolf slapped his own cheeks with both hands.

Focus.

“Hey.”

〔What?〕

“You went around the island with me once. Tell me about the main facilities.”

〔The main base is known as ‘Maze Wharf.’ A harbor shaped like a half-closed lagoon.〕

〔Main facilities. Ship launch ramp, tar furnace, blacksmith shop, carpentry workshop, net repair warehouse, smokehouse, salting room, assembly hall, prisoner warehouse, bone flute tower. Five main ships.〕

〔A closed whaling base on the eastern coast. In addition, the central residence, used as a command post and a place for rituals and oath ceremonies.〕

A map of the island slowly formed in Wolf’s mind.

〔The Bone Flute Tower is a highly dangerous facility for intruders. A tubular structure that causes spatial and directional illusions through acoustic disturbances.〕

〔Located on the map in the waterway most easily accessible from the outside.〕

〔Steering cannot be maintained if approached closely. There is a high probability of crashing the hull into the reef zone.〕

“What about the pirates?”

〔Drug use observed in the majority of the adult population.〕

〔However, physical functions do not appear to have deteriorated. The majority maintain muscle mass suitable for continuous physical labor, such as rowing and carrying.〕

Wolf remained silent for a moment. Suddenly, the sound of the rain intensified.

“What is the number available for combat?”

〔Excluding non-combatants and those with severe disabilities, between 200 and 300.〕

〔Unsuitable as professional combatants. Due to drug addiction, they cannot withstand sustained combat. Suitable as expendables. Useful as disposable units deployed in specific operations without expecting survival.〕

“Hoho.”

Wolf whistled.

“Useful as disposable units? That’s too generous a rating for those drug addicts.”

〔The state of drug addiction actually works to their advantage for that purpose. This is because highly dependent individuals are easily motivated by short-term rewards and are less likely to question orders that carry personal danger.〕

“That’s true.”

Wolf gazed at the raindrops falling on the threshold.

Thirty-hundred bodies. Villains who should not exist in this world.

Trash worth less than breadcrumbs scattered on the deck.

Soon, Wolf’s expression turned stiff. Beyond the wide-open door, someone stolen content was walking through the torrential rain.

It was Silver.

Suddenly, his heart began to pound.

6.

A drowned rat.

If you were to define Silver’s appearance in a single word, that was exactly what he looked like. A robe clinging tightly to his body. His hair, matted with rainwater despite wearing a hood. The hem of the robe was covered in mud. His pace was neither slow nor fast. He appeared nonchalant on the outside, but who knows? A distorted expression, turning red and blue, might be lurking beneath that mask.

But then?

People were seen following behind Silver. All senior pirates. Three of them.

They stopped in front of the entrance to their quarters. The smell of alcohol, fish oil, and hallucinogenic herbs drifted all the way to Wolf. One of the pirates shouted.

“Stuffy-Nosed Mouse! Come out!”

Wolf blinked. What is this?

“The kitchen is overflowing! The drain is clogged! We have to scoop it out before all the firewood gets soaked!”

“Come out here, you bastard! You said you’re good at repairing houses? The kitchen pillars are on the verge of collapsing, so show them off now!”

“You said you’d do the work of five people by yourself! Keep your promise, you bastard!”

“Ah, yes!”

Wolf quickly stood up. He placed the human skin mask against his face, pulled the strings tight, and tied them behind his head. For the first time, the damn rule that ‘new recruits must wear a human skin mask for one year’ felt admirable. This mask, with its mouth opening shredded tight, was the most reliable shield in this awkward situation.

Whoever’s face it was, I look forward to working with you.

He braved the torrential rain and headed toward the kitchen. Clumps of tar floated in the muddy water like leaves. The pirates walking ahead stared complaining.

“Which lunatic threw fish guts into the rainwater catcher? It flowed all the way down the drain and caused this mess.”

“Who else? It’s the guy who got drunk last night and threw up in the first hole he saw. Was it you?”

“Am I crazy? If the firewood gets wet, we have to eat oats mixed with cold watRead oner tomorrow morning!”

Wolf and Silver, walking side by side behind their superiors, remained silent. They were close enough for Wolf to smell the scent emanating from Silver’s robe. The smell of wet cloth, seawater, and mud.

They were close enough that their hands would brush against each other with just a slight movement of their arms. Yet, neither of them moved an arm. Nor did they open their mouths.

Wolf walked on while staring straight ahead. He had decided long ago. He would deny everything. He would laugh and brush it off, ‘Brother! I know nothing!’ Compared to the time when he was recklessly thrown into the battlefield without proper combat training, this battle of wits was a cute little game.

However, Silver was a guy who survived the lair of the skeleton evil spirit. On top of that, he was very strong. His usefulness was incomparably greater than that of the trash pirates here.

I must be careful not to provoke him while I handle the mistake of handling last night’s situation. While I’m at it, I should try to get friendly with him. I doubt it’s actually possible, but I want to make sure he can laugh it off later if I reveal that I am his ‘servant.’

“You didn’t die.”

A voice suddenly flew through the rain.

Fuck, it startled me.

It was unexpected that the usually stoic Silver spoke first. Wolf calmly tilted his head slightly. Silver’s gaze fixed on the pirates ahead.

“Why would I die?”

Wolf asked back in a stunned tone. Silver’s steps faltered for a moment.

“…You were in pain.”

“That’s true. But how does brother know that?”

Wolf mixed just the right amount of surprise into his voice. After a beat, he laughed and added.

“Ah, I guess you stopped by the lodgings while I was groaning in pain?”

Silver said nothing. Just as Wolf was about to throw in another remark, a pirate turned around.

“What? What are you two whispering about? Are you dating?”

“No.”

Silver retorted.

“I was thinking about when to bury that bastard in the ground.”

Wolf was dumbfounded. He had suspected it, and as expected, that petty fellow was furious over the minor collision.

Even so, isn’t it too much to bury someone alive…? Hey, I was mentally and physically incapacitated at the time!

“Really? Go steal a sturdy shovel.”

To his astonishment, the senior pirate went a step further. Wolf didn’t say a word and trudged away.

Just shut up. These guys are impossible to reason with.

The communal kitchen looked even more impressive than Wolf had expected. A pillar had leaned inward, shattering the wooden wall, and rainwater pouring through the gap created a furious splash inside. The pillar was tilted at an angle of about 40 degrees. The two jars placed there to catch the rainwater were already overflowing. The drain near the leaning pillar was also completely clogged, spewing out water in a torrent.