HEO 91

In such cases, the problem is easily solved by opening the door and breaking down the threshold. However, this kitchen was a building stuck into a sunken site. The moment the threshold was broken, the communal kitchen would have to be converted into a communal bathhouse.

The floor of the kitchen was filled with water two inches above a person’s ankles. Buckets floated here and there. The firewood piled in one corner was half-soaked, its undersides pitch black. The charcoal beneath the largest pot emitted a dim orange glow. In human terms, it was like the state where one’s eyes briefly sparkle right before death.

Wolf cursed inwardly.

If it weren’t for this damned island, I would have fled long ago.

One of the cooks bailing out water suddenly roared.

“Finally here, you bastards! Half the firewood is soaked!”

“I’ve brought the new recruits! One is fast and the other is big!”

One of the senior pirates shouted. The cook on duty waved his arm without even looking this way.

“Alright! Fast one, scoop out the water! Big one, push the pillar!”

The seniors joined in and started barking like sheepdogs.

“Silver! Clean the drain first! Then scoop out the water overflowing on the floor here!”

“Stuffy-Nosed Mouse! You push the pillar!”

“If the pillar collapses, prop it up with your head!”

Wolf walked toward the pillar. Silver kicked the bucket into the air, snatched the handle, and walked toward the drain.

Silver squatted down, put his hand in the water, and cursed.

“Shit. It really is fish guts.”

“With so many other places to throw it, they had to do it in a rainwater jar. That’s a talent.”

Wolf muttered as he placef both hands on the pillar. Silver immediately retorted.

“It’s your brothers’ talent.”

“What?”

Wolf glanced at Silver out of the corner of his eye.

“What are you talking about? My brothers?”

“Am I wrong? All the pirates here are your brothers.”

Silver tore off a handful of guts and hurled them away. The flying guts slammed ​Read on​into the butt of a senior who had been goofing off.

“Hey! You bastard!”

Silver didn’t even lift his head. The senior pointed his fingers at him and raised his voice.

“Watch your step, you bastard. You’re going to slip.”

“That bastard did it on purpose!”

“No, he just threw it without looking back. It was a mistake, a mistake.”

Wolf, who had been watching, suppressed a smile.

Silver actually has a funny side.

Anyway, he didn’t want to stay in this flooded mess for another moment. Wolf twisted his body stolen contenttoward the opposite side of the pillar. One foot right in front of the pillar, the other half a step back. He bent his knees to lower his center of gravity and pushed with all his might. The moment the wood grain slid against his palms, the pillar snapped upright.

“Mission accomplished!”

Wolf dusted off his hands and stepped back. His seniors abruptly stopped their chatter and looked at him. Their mouths were all gaping open, wide enough for their chins to touch the ground. Wolf shrugged.

“I told you I’d do the work of five people.”

“You did that in one try…? This isn’t the work of five, it’s the work of fifty! The inside of the wooden pillar is rotten! No matter how much energy you have, you can’t raise that huge pillar in one try.”

Wolf paid no heed to the seniors and leaned over Silver’s shoulder to examine the drain. The water flow was the problem. The water, which should have flowed down the slope of the floor and into the drain, was swirling.

Wolf shifted his gaze to the broken wall. A palm-sized hole had been drilled through the kitchen floor at just ankle height. Due to the rapid current, not much water was leaking through it.

Wolf nudged Silver’s shoulder with his knee.

“Hey.”

“Do you want me to break your leg?”

Silver didn’t even turn around. Wolf placed both hands on his hips.

“You said you didn’t want to be treated like a brother. Anyway, let’s get to the point. If you just keep digging the drain like that, you won’t be able to finish even if you stay up all night.”

“So? Is there another way?”

“Yes. Just wait a moment.”

Wolf splashed through the water and stepped outside. Doing this reminded him of the time he did the “Water Bottle” task. He kicked away the muddy memory once and pushed away the nightmare.

He scanned the outside. Wooden planks, fist-sized stones, broken roof tiles. Usable items were scattered everywhere.

Wolf picked out a sturdy wooden plank. He placed several big stones on the plank. He carried it like a dessert ​Read on​tray and returned to the kitchen. He crouched down next to Silver.

“Move aside.”

“Hmph, why? What are you doing?”

Contrary to his words, Silver quickly stepped out of the way.

What a quick-witted fellow.

Wolf placed the wooden plank over the drain. He carefully observed the direction in which the edges were lifting and placed the stones one by one. Under the weight of the stones, the plank stuck to the drain. The murky foam and current surging from the drain subsided noticeably.

“See? The backflow is blocked.”

Wolf gestured toward the interior with his chin.

“Even if we clear the drain, the waterway outside is just diligently pushing the rainwater Read onthis way. In the end, the water just circulates here. We have to stop the backflow first.”

“This is supposed to…”

“Right. It won’t end just by doing this.”

Wolf stepped back outside. He leaned several planks against the broken wall of the kitchen one by one.

These guys were the guards protecting the outside.

Then, he dragged several long planks back to the kitchen. He had also loaded the planks with stones. He laid the planks diagonally on the ground toward the hole in the wall and secured them with stones.

These guys were the attackers diverting the swirling water.

It didn’t take long for the water flow to change. The water hitting the attackers turned in unison and began to slide out through the hole in the wall. The water level on the floor gradually dropped. The rainwater rushing into the interior was blocked by the guards outside.

After a little more time passed, the current finally subsided. The water stopped at ankle height.

“Ta-da! Now, whoever scoops the water out wins.”

Wolf raised both arms high. Silver glanced at Wolf once and turned his head away. The seniors and the cook let out a cheer.

“Wow! We saved it before all the firewood got soaked!”

“He’s doing the work of 500, not 50!”

“Silver! Don’t bury him, spare him! He’s useful!”

“Brothers, you’re too kind. Even some little kid from Atania could have come up with something like this.”

After throwing that pointed remark, Wolf picked up a bucket. It was time to scoop out the water pooled in the kitchen. Silver also picked up a bucket and muttered.

“Bastard. What a sly trick.”

Insults instead of thanks? So you really did mark me as a ‘bastard to tear apart’ just because I slipped up a little?

The senior pirates were at least thinking straight. Upon realizing that if they left the two new recruits to scoop out the water, the task wouldn’t end until all the firewood was soaked, they picked up buckets. Together, they scooped out the water and tossed it out the doorway.

The kitchen was so vast that the work seemed to drag on. Wolf’s hair clung to his back. Even though he had left his upper body bare from rushing out, sweat was trickling down. The seniors had been scooping water with their shirts off for quite some time. Silver, standing with his back to Wolf, was the only one wearing a robe. He had even pulled his hood down.

“Aren’t you hot?”

Wolf asked absentmindedly. Silver didn’t even lift his head. Scooping water, lifting it up, throwing it, scooping it up again. Only his arms moved like a waterwheel.

Wolf immediately shut his mouth. For some reason, he was furious.

Only the sound of splashing water, the curses spewed by the senior pirates, and the heavy rain enveloped the surroundings. The torrential rain pounded the roof like a maniac, as if it harbored a grudge against the pirate crew. Wolf put down the bucket and stretched out. He looked around as he pressed his palms against his lower back.

The floor was slowly coming into view. There wasn’t much time left to blindly [unauthorized copy]stare at Silver’s pitch-black robe…

…Uh, stop.

Something belatedly occurred to him. He wondered why he had stared only at Silver’s back the entire time he was scooping out water. He could have looked anywhere else.

Am I conscious of Silver?

I admit it. I am. Ever since I first saw him on board.

But this feeling seems to be of a different nature than that.

…

Wolf muttered to himself as he turned away. Think of a cute little goat. Think of freshly squeezed goat’s milk. Imagine bread just taken out of the oven.

He grabbed the bucket again. This time, he scooped out water while staring at the floor. By the time it would take for one candle to burn down, the floor finally came into view.

“Fuck. Done.”

Wolf threw the bucket down. The seniors, too weak to even cheer, had all collapsed onto the floor with their eyes closed.

Alright, I’m escaping before those drug addicts open their eyes. Hurry up before I have to take on more grunt work!

He flinched the moment he turned around. Silver was already running out of the kitchen. Wolf widened his stride and caught up in three or four steps.

“Hey.”

“I’m busy.”

“Alright. Just run as hard as you can.”

They ran for their life.

The mud splashed under their boots. Before they knew it, the torrential rain had turned into a fine, persistent drizzle.