WeTried Translations
Translator: Hydrogen B
Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 107: Where the Storm Calls (7)
──────
The air inside the tavern felt ready to explode at any moment. Surrounded by dozens of murderously gleaming blades, Kyle calmly tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.
Sounding them out was the right move. I had my doubts, but it paid off.
Kyle knew nothing about life on this island. He did not know how hostile the people of the Corsa Archipelago were toward outsiders, nor how many inland people currently lived on this island.
That was why Kyle had no choice but to gamble when the bartender tested him by bringing up a supposed sailing ship from ten days earlier. It could not be helped. The information Kyle had was extremely limited.
Most of the ships docked at the harbor were fast ships, but sailing ships were not completely absent.
It would have been best if they could find passage and leave peacefully, but that no longer seemed possible. The only unexpected things were that the island was more closed-off than he had expected, and that the tavern they had casually entered was no ordinary drinking establishment.
I had a feeling it would be like this from the moment we came in.
That only leaves the second-best option.
“You...”
The bartender broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at the blade pressed against his neck. The men in the tavern, glaring at Kyle as if they wanted to kill him, seemed not to have expected him to react so quickly. None of them dared to move carelessly.
Elysia was much the same. Yet she was not entirely the same. Her surprise lasted only a moment. Once she realized they had walked into a trap, Elysia immediately composed herself. At the same time, she slowly released the hand holding her cup and drew up mana, ready to use magic at any time.
At the very least, she would not hold Kyle back.
“...Where are you from?”
The bartender shifted his eyes between Kyle and the blade at his neck before barely managing to speak. Kyle answered as though it were nothing.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m from inland.”
“Where inland?”
“I don’t see any obligation to tell you.”
“All ships arriving at this island’s harbor must undergo an inspection. I’ve never seen anyone like you. There hasn’t even been a sailing ship from inland for over two weeks. Where the hell did you come from?”
The bartender looked around the tavern and asked again. Kyle did not answer. During the brief silence, the bartender’s eyes darted back and forth before he muttered as if he had realized something.
“Come to think of it, you said you wanted to go toward the Federation...”
“...”
“If you had departed from the Kingdom of Rustin, you would not have said that. Don’t tell me you really came from Cadis? Did you sneak onto the island through the north?”
“What if I did?”
“You think you’ll get away with this!”
The bartender suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs. The men, each rising from their seats and drawing weapons, slowly closed the distance. They exchanged glances and formed a circle around Kyle and Elysia.
“The Skaldir Family must hold quite the reputation. Even a lowly tavern bartender can raise his voice with a blade at his throat.”
“You know that, and yet...!”
Just as the bartender tried to shout again while desperately ignoring Kyle’s sword, a sudden gust of wind swept between the men surrounding Kyle and Elysia. Realizing something was wrong a moment too late, the men all stopped at once.
A harsh scraping sound followed.
Crraaaash!
The old wooden floor burst apart, scattering splinters. Grimy tables split in half and collapsed. The bowls of food and cups of alcohol on top of them came pouring down.
The men, who had avoided the attack by the narrowest of margins, stared at Kyle with shocked expressions. His empty left hand was pointed behind him, unlike his right hand holding the sword.
“Magic?”
“When did he...?”
Murmurs spread through the once-quiet tavern. It was a commotion filled with shock. The bartender kept his mouth shut, but he was no different from the rest.
He prided himself on having sharp instincts and broad knowledge, even if he was weak in combat.
That was why he knew. The chantless Wind Magic Kyle had just used was not something that could be cast simply because someone could handle mana. If Kyle had wanted to kill them, he could have slaughtered them all with ease.
Once he realized that, every instinct in his body began ringing alarms.
Fast. Strong. Extremely so.
Thinking back, he had not even properly seen Kyle draw his sword. The blade had slipped through a blind spot in his awareness, and before he knew it, it was already at his neck. Both his swordsmanship and magic were far beyond ordinary.
At the very least, they were no match for him.
“I’ll be asking the questions now. Answer me.”
Kyle lowered the left hand he had raised behind him while keeping his sword aimed at the bartender’s neck. When he turned away from the bartender and looked behind him, the men who met his gaze flinched and lowered their eyes.
“It’s nothing difficult. Just a simple question.”
Kyle glanced at Elysia, who was still seated beside him. Their eyes met briefly, and she gave a small nod.
“Did anyone else arrive from Cadis a day or two ago?”
“Someone else...?”
“Yes. The captain and sailors of the Black Crow Merchant Company. They ran into your family’s pirates, and an accident happened. Their sailing ship was completely wrecked, so if they were lucky enough to survive, they would have returned on a fast ship with sails bearing the Skaldir crest. They could have made port in the archipelago faster than reaching the mainland. Do you know anything?”
“That...”
The bartender could not answer right away. There was a blade at his throat.
“It seems you know something.”
Kyle did not miss the reaction.
“I-I only heard it secondhand! We don’t know the details either!”
“Is that so?”
Kyle looked behind him again. Not one person could meet his eyes. He could not tell whether they truly knew nothing or were only pretending.
Still, there did not seem to be any need to force an answer out of them.
The moment they could no longer quietly board a ship and leave, only one method remained.
“Then I’ll go ask directly.”
“What...?”
Kyle slowly withdrew the sword he had aimed at the bartender’s throat. The bartender unconsciously clutched his chest in relief.
“Go deliver a message.”
Kyle smoothly sheathed his lowered sword. The sharp click echoed hollowly through the silent tavern. Everyone’s shoulders twitched.
Standing in the middle of the tavern, which had been wrecked by the deeply gouged floor and shattered tables, Kyle gestured toward the tightly shut door.
“Tell them an outsider from inland wishes to meet your master.”
* * *
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the men quickly left the tavern.
After that, Kyle and Elysia sat at the bar and patiently waited for someone from the Skaldir Family to arrive.
“...”
An uncomfortable silence continued for some time. The bartender, who had narrowly escaped with his life, and the many men in the tavern who had tried to subdue Kyle all watched the two carefully, unable to do anything else.
Kyle did not care. He sat still and stared at the yellow drink, its ice now completely melted.
Would the Skaldir Family take the bait?
They would. Kyle was certain of it. He had deliberately implied that he was connected to the Black Crow Merchant Company. The leader of the fast ships that had come to collect the toll seemed to hold a fairly high position. Whether those men were alive or dead, there would be a reaction.
Even aside from that, no sailing ship had arrived from inland for two weeks. This island was practically the capital of the Skaldir Family. An unidentified outsider was openly walking through its center, and there had even been a minor conflict.
If the island’s ruler learned of it, he would never leave it alone.
Kyle drank the beverage after the ice had completely melted.
The silence broke nearly an hour after one of the men had left the tavern.
“...What is going on here?”
The tavern door suddenly opened. Seven men entered at once. Fully armed, they stood at the entrance as if blocking everyone inside from leaving.
A man at the front stepped forward and looked at the bartender with an irritated expression.
“W-Well, that is...”
The man who had left the tavern earlier stood beside the leader, moving his dry lips and grinning nervously. His almost servile expression made the bartender swallow hard.
While he hesitated, the man at the front glanced around before his gaze stopped in one place. Near the bartender, a man in a black cloak sat at the bar leisurely tilting a cup, while a woman in a white robe silently watched the men at the entrance.
“Are these the ones?”
The man asked, jerking his chin toward the bartender.
“Yes. Yes, sir! They suddenly came in during the early evening. Not only did they go on about the Black Crow Merchant Company, they even threatened us by invoking Lord Cesar’s name...”
“Enough.”
The man raised a hand. The bartender immediately shut his mouth.
“You two, come out. Lord Cesar has summoned you.”
After leaving those short words behind, the man turned away with his subordinates.
The threatening atmosphere made it clear that no objection would be allowed. Kyle put down his empty cup and stood.
“Ely.”
“Alright.”
Ignoring the hostile stares pouring down on them from behind, they stepped outside the tavern. Cool, humid sea wind immediately swept over Kyle and Elysia’s entire bodies.
When Kyle looked up, he saw the darkening sky. When they had first entered the tavern, the sky had burned in a vivid orange. Now twilight had fallen, and crimson and deep navy were tangled together.
There were fewer people on the streets as well.
“...Let’s go.”
Kyle stood at the tavern entrance for a moment before speaking. They followed the man walking far ahead of them.
More precisely, they headed toward the grand castle on the hill to the city’s left.
“Kyle, do you know who this Cesar we heard about earlier is?”
Elysia asked from beside him as she pulled the hood of her robe lower over her head.
“No.”
“If I am right, he is the head of the Skaldir Family, the ruler of this island and the master of the Corsa Archipelago.”
“Probably.”
Kyle did not deny Elysia’s guess.
Cesar. If Elysia was right, his surname was likely Skaldir.
Like Duke Terban, he was essentially a king ruling over a small country. That much was evident from the discipline of the men walking a short distance ahead. Their equipment differed greatly, but the atmosphere and presence they gave off were no less formidable than the elite knights of most nations.
It was proof that their military discipline was properly maintained.
“It is good that we are meeting him, but do you have any other plan?”
Elysia asked again.
“We should talk first.”
“And then?”
“Be ready, just in case.”
“You intend to fight?”
“Negotiation comes first, but we don’t know what might happen.”
They had plenty of money. Thanks to clearing the Ruins of Alenos, Gerard had personally made Kyle an Inventory Pouch containing enough Gold Coins and high-grade Magic Stones to equal the annual tax revenue of a major city.
Still, it was doubtful that the island’s ruler would simply accept money and lend them a ship.
Kyle and Elysia were the desperate ones. They did not even know what had happened to the sailors of the Black Crow Merchant Company.
Kyle raised his left hand and checked the mana stored in the ring.
He had more mana than he could use.
He would negotiate as much as possible. If things went wrong after that...
“Kyle.”
Elysia’s voice pulled him from his brief thoughts. Kyle lifted his head and looked forward.
The castle, which had seemed quite distant until moments ago, was now right before them. The man from earlier and his subordinates had already arrived and were waiting in front of the gate, staring at Kyle and Elysia.
“I will warn you in advance. It would be wise to watch your words and actions from here on.”
As the two approached, the man spoke in a blunt tone.
“Anything else?”
“Mind your tongue. Especially in front of him.”
The man turned away without waiting for a response. Kyle and Elysia followed behind him without another word.
The inside of the castle was more orderly than it had appeared from outside. It had been built as sturdily as possible with brick to withstand corrosion from the sea wind, but there were plenty of decorations throughout.
Most notably, expensive Azaril carpets covered the floors of the castle’s corridors. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the mounted animal heads on the walls created a strange yet oddly harmonious sight.
They really spent money without restraint.
Elysia also looked somewhat surprised by the lavish interior, so different from the exterior. Kyle gave a quiet inward laugh before stopping in his tracks.
“I have brought them.”
The man guiding them stopped before a large door. He knocked politely and spoke in a respectful voice. Before long, an answer came from inside.
“Send them in.”
The man opened the door and stepped aside. Kyle glanced at him once, then entered the room with Elysia.
“I wondered who this uninvited guest talking about the Black Crow Merchant Company was...”
The interior was as vast as the door suggested. Luxurious decorations filled every corner, enough to make even the corridor seem dull by comparison. Long sofas faced each other across a table in the center.
A young man lounged on the sofa to the left, his chin propped on one hand and his expression languid.
“I am Cesar Skaldir. Ruler of this island and master of the Corsa Archipelago.”
The young man spoke. He wore expensive silk clothing unique to Azaril, and had short hair and bronze skin. His sharp features, combined with his low voice, naturally gave him an imposing air.
Yet Kyle and Elysia could not look at him.
More accurately, they had no time to pay attention to him.
A familiar face stood behind the sofa where Cesar sat.
“How...?”
Elysia stared behind the sofa with shocked eyes. The three fast ships that had blocked the Black Crow Merchant Company’s trade ship. The leader of the pirates aboard those ships stood there unharmed, watching Kyle and Elysia.
Two cutlasses hung at his waist.
“Sit down first.”
Cesar looked between Kyle and Elysia, then gestured toward the sofa in front of him.
“It seems this will be a long conversation.”
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried