WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 108: Where the Storm Calls (8)

──────

No sooner had Cesar spoken than the door to the room closed.

Inside the sealed room, their gazes shifted among one another. The young man sprawled lazily across the sofa continued to smile with ease.

"What are you doing? Sit down already. How long do you plan to stand there?"

The smile on Cesar's lips deepened. His eyes did not smile at all.

The young man in silk clothes was studying Kyle and Elysia as though examining them piece by piece. The man standing behind him was doing the same.

The pirate they had already met once aboard the Black Crow Merchant Company's trade ship.

The man with two cutlasses who had led the three fast ships.

The man slowly looked back and forth between Kyle and Elysia. His gaze lingered longer when it reached Kyle.

It was only natural. They had nearly fought before.

If not for those waves, closer to a natural disaster than anything else, one of them would certainly have died. At least, that was what the man seemed to believe. He did not know Kyle's abilities in detail.

He looks quite surprised. Did he not expect us to survive?

Just as Elysia was shocked, the man was flustered as well. He was good at hiding his feelings, so it did not show on the surface, but Kyle could see it all. If nothing else, the eyes could not lie.

Kyle had not expected that man to be alive either.

Strictly speaking, he had thought the chances were low. It would have been stranger if he had remained completely calm. As the silence in the room dragged on, Kyle felt something tap his forearm.

Tap.

Kyle glanced to his side. Elysia, her face hidden beneath the hood of her robe, was looking at him from the corner of her eye.

What will we do?

She asked with her lips. Kyle spread the mana drawn from his ring over a wide area. As his five senses sharpened, the castle's layout and the presence of people within it became as clear as if he could grasp them in his hand.

He sensed one presence standing outside the door.

He still has not left.

It was the man who had guided Kyle and Elysia here. Despite the door closing, he had remained there, waiting silently.

Kyle determined the positions of the other people as thoroughly as he could. At the same time, he mapped out the interior structure in his mind. Once he had secured the shortest route of escape to use if trouble broke out, Kyle glanced at Elysia again.

She gave a small nod.

Only then did Kyle sit on the sofa Cesar had indicated.

"You're awfully cautious."

Cesar muttered mockingly as he looked at Kyle. Elysia, seated beside him, kept glancing toward the man behind Cesar.

"It is Azaril pomegranate wine, brought across the southern ocean. It just came in recently. Would you like a drink?"

Cesar lifted the round bottle on the table and gave it a small shake. Inside the finely crafted transparent glass bottle, a bright red liquid that resembled blood swayed gently.

"No."

Kyle refused without a moment's hesitation. When he answered curtly in an informal tone, the man standing behind Cesar twitched an eyebrow.

Cesar did not care.

"Hm... How interesting. Usually, people say yes even if they do not want to."

"Is it expensive wine?"

"It costs about as much as a small townhouse in the city. There is steady demand for it among the Federation's nobles."

"That means nothing to me. I do not drink in the first place."

"You do not drink?"

Cesar's finger traced the rim of his glass. Cold droplets of condensation had formed on its surface, and a large sphere of ice floated inside.

"You look like a mercenary, yet you do not drink..."

"......."

"It was a joke, in its own way. You refuse rather elegantly. Is it because you are afraid it is poisoned?"

With a faint laugh, Cesar lifted the glass to his lips. Even then, he did not take his eyes off Kyle.

Kyle watched him silently as he took a sip of the red pomegranate wine. He continued watching until Cesar lowered his glass.

"You do not seem to like small talk."

Cesar took his hand from the glass.

"You have tested us enough. Stop beating around the bush and get to the point. I have no intention of wasting time on nonsense."

"Fine. If that is what you want. What is your relationship with the Black Crow Merchant Company?"

Cesar's atmosphere changed in an instant.

Until moments ago, he had been a languid, decadent young noble. Now he looked every inch a ruler.

He stared directly at Kyle. Kyle did not look shaken.

He had expected this from before they came here. He had implied that they were connected to the Black Crow Merchant Company in order to meet the island's ruler. On top of that, they were strangers who had clashed with the island's residents.

Kyle turned to Elysia. At that moment, she finally took her eyes off the man behind Cesar and looked at him.

"Before that, one thing."

"Hm?"

"There is something I want to make clear."

Kyle's calm voice rang through the room. Cesar remained seated arrogantly and gestured with his chin as if telling him to continue.

"Are the captain and sailors of the Black Crow Merchant Company alive?"

Instead of answering Cesar's question, Kyle asked one of his own.

Cesar gave a deflated laugh.

"I wondered what you would ask."

"......."

"To answer your question, they are alive. No one was seriously injured. They will be confined to their beds for a while, though."

"How did they survive?"

"Is that what you are curious about? Well, nothing special happened. They were just a little lucky. The Black Crow Merchant Company's trade ship sank, but one of the three fast ships remained."

Cesar's explanation was simple.

All four ships, including the Black Crow Merchant Company's trade ship, had been swept away by the waves. Yet one of the fast ships had survived through fortunate timing.

The sailors who had fallen into the water were veterans who had spent half their lives at sea. The pirates aboard the fast ships were even more experienced. After being swept into the sea, the pirates desperately swam to the surviving fast ship. Then they pulled out even the Black Crow Merchant Company's sailors, who had been on the verge of death.

It could only be called good fortune.

"They returned around dawn today. The ship was in terrible condition, but it somehow managed to make it back to the island."

Cesar rested his chin on his hand again, just as he had when they first entered. Kyle realized that his guess had been correct.

"While repairing the fast ship, they began treating the survivors. Unfortunately, a few people died, but most survived. They are all lying in bed and resting now."

They had been swept away by the waves late in the afternoon. The pirates' fast ship had reached the island at dawn. After that, Kyle and Elysia, who had drifted separately, had been carried by the current and washed ashore on the island's northern coast in broad daylight.

Going by the time, roughly one day had passed.

"I have answered your question enough. I will ask again. What is your relationship with the Black Crow Merchant Company?"

Cesar asked with the same utterly languid expression as before.

"We were their escorts."

"Escorts... I thought so."

"You knew?"

"I heard it from the sailors we captured. They had to explain their situation as well. The captain said that two mages had been hired to escort the trade ship. Mages skilled enough that Merchant Head Enrico had forced them aboard the day before. Mages who were not afraid to clash with us, either."

Kyle looked at the man behind Cesar. The man stared straight back at him.

He did not avoid the contest of gazes. It seemed that the man, said to be a knight of the Skaldir Family, had spoken about Kyle.

"Though after seeing you in person, one of you looks more like a swordsman than a mage."

Cesar's gaze moved to the sword Kyle had leaned beside him. Kyle did not react.

Usually, one chose either the sword or magic and devoted a lifetime to it. Kyle was different. The boundary between the two was blurred for him.

That was likely because he had two teachers: Rowen, who had been the Commander of the Knights of Ash, and Cecilia, who had once belonged to the same order.

The foundation of Kyle's current strength came from those two.

"This is becoming troublesome."

Cesar frowned and grumbled. He lifted the hand supporting his chin and pressed it against his forehead.

"Where are you from?"

He asked again. Kyle answered readily.

"Cadis."

"At a glance, you are clearly not from the southern part of the continent. Your accent is close to the Empire's, with a little northern dialect mixed in. Though I cannot be certain."

"So?"

"We saved the Black Crow Merchant Company's captain and sailors partly because we already had ties to them, but also because they broke the rules of the strait. Did you know that?"

"More or less."

"Then why did you ask to meet me, knowing that? You must have known that saving the Black Crow Merchant Company's sailors was not simply an act of goodwill."

Cesar spoke in a tone of genuine incomprehension.

Kyle had joined them as an escort. More precisely, he had been their escort before the ship sank.

Even so, he could not deny his connection to the Black Crow Merchant Company, which had broken the rules of the strait.

He had willingly walked into an unfamiliar danger, risking his life.

Cesar could not understand it. Was Kyle that confident? Or did he have some other reason?

"I want a deal, Cesar Skaldir. With you, the island's ruler and master of the Corsa Archipelago, not anyone else."

The question was answered quickly.

Ignoring the looks from Cesar and the man behind him, Kyle stated why he had come here.

"A deal?"

Cesar gave a hollow laugh. Kyle nodded.

"Yes, a deal."

"This is absurd. Do you not understand your situation?"

"......."

"The Black Crow Merchant Company broke the rules of the strait. They were caught secretly transporting a star iron sword without informing me, the master of the Corsa Archipelago."

"Does that mean I, their escort, am responsible too?"

"Of course you are. Do not use ignorance as an excuse. I do not know what you received in return for escorting them, but you boarded a trade ship that departed during the season when autumn storms rage. That means you knew everything and chose to turn a blind eye. You also ignored the order to turn back toward the Corsa Archipelago and tried to continue sailing. Are you going to deny it?"

Kyle looked at the man behind Cesar again.

The man with two cutlasses at his waist remained expressionless.

"How much will it take?"

"What?"

"I heard the Corsa Archipelago runs on money."

"If you are going to say something like that over a few coins, you would be better off keeping your mouth shut."

Cesar spoke like a warning.

The Corsa Archipelago was richer than most small nations. Even this castle was filled with precious items from the Empire, the Federation, and Azaril, a continent across the sea.

"And if it is not a few coins?"

Kyle did not back down.

He might have had less money than the young ruler before him, but Kyle possessed enough wealth that no one would believe he was only a mercenary. Acquiring one ship would be easy. It would still be easy even if he paid a great deal extra.

"It seems you have some money of your own."

"......."

"But this is the Skaldir Family's castle. My own home. Have you never considered that it might be quicker to take your head and your money than trade with someone tied to the Black Crow Merchant Company?"

"If you intended to kill us, you would have drawn your swords long ago. If you have changed your mind even now, go ahead. I will accept it."

As soon as Kyle spoke, he gripped the scabbard of the sword leaning beside him.

The man standing behind Cesar reflexively grabbed the hilt of a cutlass at his waist. At the sudden change in atmosphere, Elysia instinctively drew up mana.

"Enough."

It was Cesar who broke the tense standoff.

He raised a hand as if telling them to calm down. Once the atmosphere settled somewhat, Cesar let out a tired sigh.

"You said you wanted a deal. What do you want?"

"Passage to the Federation. More precisely, to Belmar, the southernmost port city of the Kingdom of Rustin."

"Belmar..."

Cesar tapped the table with his fingers. He stared at the pomegranate wine remaining in his glass as though deep in thought.

"Is it possible?"

"It will not be difficult once the storm subsides. The weather may clear in a few days."

"Then..."

"There is no particular problem. There is no problem, but..."

Cesar trailed off. Even then, he continued glancing at Kyle.

Kyle frowned and finally spoke.

"If there is something you want, say it. Stop circling around it."

Cesar did not answer immediately. Only after draining the wine remaining in his glass did he finally open his mouth.

"As you know, I do not need money."

"Is there something you want besides money?"

"There is, actually. It looks like you mainly use a sword... Can you use magic to the same degree?"

"Better than most."

"And your companion?"

Cesar turned to Elysia. Kyle answered in her place.

"She is a mage from the Magic Tower. She is far better than the mages on this island, at least."

"A mage from the Magic Tower... I do not know what Merchant Head Enrico saw in you, but there must be a reason he boasted so confidently. Can you use Spatial Magic?"

Elysia shook her head.

Even in famous magic towers, only a very small number of mages could use Spatial Magic. Cesar took his eyes off her and looked at Kyle.

Kyle wore a subtle expression.

"It is not my specialty, but it is not impossible either."

"To what extent?"

"I can handle the basics. I have also read quite a few books on it. I rarely use it because its efficiency is terrible."

"Is that so?"

Cesar fell silent in thought for a while.

Kyle, Elysia, and the man with the twin blades all waited for his answer. At last, Cesar slowly raised his head.

He spoke with a resolute look in his eyes.

"I heard you came from the north side of the island. Did you happen to see it?"

"See what?"

"A rift."

Kyle turned to Elysia. Elysia did the same.

They narrowed their eyes at the unfamiliar word.

"There is a small spatial rift in the northern forest of this island."

Seeing their reaction, Cesar added more.

"It is Dragon magic that is at least several thousand years old. If you close that rift, I will not only provide you a ship to the Federation, I will also overlook the matter with the Black Crow Merchant Company. I will give you anything else you want as well. Anything, as long as you close that unstable rift in space and time."

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried