Chapter 003
…A pirate?
“…What?”
“You said the navy’s chasing you. That makes you a pirate, right? Where’re you from? Zagor? If you settled in Cather, maybe Belder?”
What’s Zagor? Where’s Belder?
Rinca blinked, then quickly shook her head.
“No! I’m not a pirate. I’m just, just a citizen of Cather.”
“Then why’s a regular Cather citizen on a pirate ship?”
“I-I…”
The man fell silent, gazing at her intently again.
The murderous aura that had enveloped them was now gone, as if washed away.
Rinca clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
Fine, if it comes to it, she’d rather beg to be thrown into the sea and killed. Dying by this man’s hand or by a sea monster—what’s the difference?
“I want to go to land! Please, just take me with you this once!”
Boom.
Bang—
The loud sound of cannon fire outside played like background music.
“…What?”
The man asked, sounding dumbfounded.
But it didn’t seem like a bad reaction.
Rinca cautiously opened her eyes, gauging his mood, and poured out her story.
“Anywhere but Cather… Just let me stay for a bit and drop me off on land. I can’t go back to Cather.”
“Hmm. If you’re not a pirate, you probably can’t fight. What’s in it for me?”
And unexpectedly, a positive response!
It wasn’t outright agreement, but Rinca grabbed the hand still on her cheek and knelt before the man—no, the captain.
“I’ll do anything you ask. Please let me stay.”
“Anything?”
“Yes!”
“Well… Can you cook?”
“Uh, not great, but I can manage.”
“Do laundry or mend clothes?”
“I can do that!”
“Seasick?”
“Nope.”
He lightly patted her cheek again, as if weighing his final decision. Rinca tensed alongside him.
Please, let this work, just this once!
Did her desperate plea get through? A beautiful smile spread across the captain’s face.
“Alright. From now on, you’re the kitchen assistant and general handyman.”
“Kitchen assistant and handyman…!”
…They didn’t already have someone for that on this huge pirate ship?
Rinca swallowed the urge to retort and nodded. Anything was fine. As long as she could stay on the ship, she was confident she could cook, do laundry, row—whatever!
The hand on her cheek brushed softly against her face, but she had no time to savor the sensation.
“I won’t give you much food.”
“I don’t eat much anyway!”
“Good, good. So, what’s your name?”
“Rinca. Rinca Marybell.”
Rinca Marybell.
The captain rolled her name lightly on his tongue, offering a casual compliment about it being a good name before standing up.
The ship was still swaying endlessly, but he looked as steady as if on solid ground.
“My name’s Ananta.”
“…”
“And this ship you snuck onto is our ghost ship. Welcome aboard as a crew member of the ghost ship.”
A crew member of the ghost ship.
The name sounded familiar, like something from an old tale, full of mysterious and strange stories.
She’d heard pirates always gave their ships bold, impressive names. Was it just that?
Rinca placed her hand on the one Ananta extended and gripped it.
“Here’s to working well together.”
“Good. Call me Captain, or just Anan if you like.”
“Yes… Captain.”
That’s it?
Weren’t pirates supposed to be ruthless, caring only for their goals and profits, tossing people into the sea because killing them was too much hassle?
And this man, Ananta, was a pirate among pirates. The captain.
‘But why?’
Why isn’t he asking more questions and letting me stay?
As if reading her mind, his deep, smooth lips curved into a smile.
“I’m letting you stay, but don’t try anything funny. You’ll be ‘off’ this ship in no time.”
“…Yes.”
Where she’d be “off” to… she could guess.
But still, she’d achieved her goal.
Rinca was leaving Cather.
Leaving behind a port city where one person knew her secret and another was chasing her… heading to a place where she’d never see the sea again.
Cannon fire still echoed outside, but the captain casually withdrew his hand and lightly patted her cheek.
“But a verbal promise might leave you uneasy.”
Does he always carry contracts like that?
From his chest, he pulled out a soft-looking parchment that seemed to glow faintly on its own.
Luckily, Rinca could read and write. On the swaying ship, she and Captain Ananta drafted a peculiar contract.
A self-moving paper…
[Rinca Marybell will disembark when the ghost ship reaches land. (At Rinca Marybell’s discretion.)
Until then, Rinca Marybell will serve as a crew member of the ghost ship.
Ananta, as captain, will ensure the crew’s safety.]
Simply placing her hand on the paper and reciting the terms made the words appear.
The captain, smiling, warned her not to try anything funny with pirate property.
“Oh, I forgot one thing.”
With a grin, he moved his hand again.
[However, if she betrays the captain or other crew members, she will be dealt with.]
…That’s pretty brutal.
The word “dealt with” seemed written in harsher, more threatening strokes than the rest, making Rinca squeeze her eyes shut.
Soon, the completed contract folded itself and flew into her arms.
As the ship’s shaking stopped and it slowly turned its bow, the captain dressed Rinca in sturdy leather clothes and opened the storage door.
A few crew members were there, probably to return weapons. Rinca let out a small gasp but quickly covered her mouth.
“Did the navy retreat?”
“Yeah. Looks like Cather doesn’t have any decent cannons. No need for the mages to step in.”
“Good. Alright, everyone, look over here.”
Was it okay to hear a battle report like this?
Before Rinca could process her doubts, she was thrust in front of the pirates.
Huh?
As she blinked twice, the captain announced,
“New crew member. Temporary.”
“Never seen her before.”
“Of course you haven’t. I just found her hiding in the storage. How do you lot even do your jobs?”
“All we’ve got in there is meat.”
“Anyway, she’s a new crew member, so introduce yourselves. Her name’s Rinca Marybell. Kitchen assistant and seamstress.”
Was it okay for someone like her, just doing odd jobs and not a proper pirate, to join them?
From menacing faces and huge builds to people as small as Rinca, pirates of all sorts stared at her.
‘You guys are too scary!’
What if they refused to accept her and threw her into the sea?
Would the captain stop them?
In the minute—or maybe just 30 seconds—of silence, Rinca imagined herself being tossed into the sea ten times over.
“Kitchen assistant…?”
“Seamstress…?”
“Not slicing up people or beasts, but cooking food?”
“Not stitching limbs back on, but mending clothes?”
But, like the captain’s reaction, their responses defied her expectations.
A kitchen assistant who slices up people or beasts?
A seamstress who stitches limbs…?
What on earth had been going on on this pirate ship?
“She’ll cook, mend clothes, and toss out old rags. Right, Rinca?”
“Uh, yes!”
“Go on, introduce yourself.”
“Yes… I’m Rinca Marybell.”
Bow.
The pirates, who’d seemed cold and terrifying, were filled with emotion in the brief moment Rinca bowed and raised her head.
“Now we can finally eat proper food!”
“No more of the captain’s garbage stew with salt instead of sugar!”
“No more wearing holey clothes forever!”
“We can brag to the Zagor captain’s crew next time we hit Rabanto. We’ve got someone to cook and mend now!”
Rinca had no idea what they’d been eating or wearing until now, but just explaining her role seemed to make them more than ready to accept her.
No one objected to the fact that she was a stowaway or might be useless in a fight.
They didn’t even seem curious…
“So, what have you guys been eating and wearing?”
Unable to hold back her natural curiosity, Rinca finally voiced her question.
“I cooked.”
“You made garbage, not food.”
The captain, grinning as he claimed to be the cook, was followed by accusations of making trash, dog food, stuff even dogs wouldn’t eat.
Of course, he didn’t seem to care.
The crew, pounding their chests, pulled Rinca to sit with them, ranting about how awful the captain’s cooking was and how many times they’d begged for a new crew member who could sew.
Weren’t pirates supposed to throw stowaways into the sea?
In an atmosphere where that seemed impossible, Rinca became a temporary crew member of the ghost ship.
