CH 167

Chapter 167 – Fishermen and Pirates

After unloading the luggage from the horse-drawn sleigh at Calmon’s parent’s house, I headed for the town of Lafan to return the sleigh.

Since it would be troublesome for all of us to travel together, the only one accompanying me from the ‘Battlecry’ was Colon, who was acting as my guide. In the other horse-drawn sleigh, I will sit on the driver’s stand, and Myrill, riding on Moff, will be my escort.

This would protect us from bandit attacks up to a maximum of 124 (according to Mir-neesan).

But that’s not the problem…

“I’ve never handled a horse before.”

“All the horses for the loan are of a very gentle nature, so you won’t have to worry.”

Really? This horse is looking at me with a very anxious look on his face. Horses are said to be intelligent… Oh, he just let out a sigh.

I’m a demon king who gets ridiculed by a horse.

“Woof!”

“Don’t mind!” I’m even more depressed when Moff makes a face like that. Colon looked at me suspiciously.

“Colon, you know where to return the horse-drawn sleigh, don’t you?”

“We’ve used it a couple of times. If it’s in Lafan, it’s at the west end.”

Well, I guess so. Most travelers probably come from the west side, where Sarz and Roses are.

It’s at least a mile in a straight line from Calmon’s house to the center of town. If we turn off to the west, we will have to take a big detour, which will add another half a mile. We would have to go back the way we came, but it would have been impossible to return the sleigh with a full load of luggage.

In addition, we were swarmed by elderly women from the neighborhood who were very curious about us, and we were repeatedly stopped by them as they asked us who we were and what we were doing here.

I answered without a trace of displeasure, as I knew that in the countryside, this would be a substitute for security.

“My wife and I are merchants of the kingdom.”

“Yes, Calmon-san has been a great help to us in Sarz.”

“Indeed. We heard that Calumon-san, who had become a very successful adventurer, was going to retire and return to his hometown, much to the regret of everyone in Sarz.”

“Yes, we accompanied him to see the birthplace of a hero.”

“Right. I’m sure we’ll be visiting again in the future on business.”

“Yes, we look forward to seeing you again.”

“This is just a small souvenir. Please enjoy it if you like.”

After the grandiose praise (he was not present), I handed out the baked sweets, and all the old ladies went home with relieved looks on their faces.

Successful persuasion. They are so easy to win over.

“How is it possible for you to come up with so much out of your mouth, one after the other?”

The dumbfounded Myrril-san is still unaware of my profound purpose. Or maybe she is aware of it, but her reaction is not very convincing.

“No, Mir-neesan, it’s all true.”

“What’s with that irritating face and tone?”

“I have the image of a well-spoken merchant. What I said before was not a lie or a fabrication. We’re going to make it true.”

The dubious look on her face suddenly brightened up as she looked at me.

“That sounds like… a lot of fun, doesn’t it?”

“I know, right?”

It is scary that she is unconsciously patting the UZI on her shoulder. What in the world kind of vision are you seeing?

◇ ◇

After returning the horse-drawn sleigh, I returned to Calmon’s parent’s house, where dinner was ready.

They had also prepared a room for us to stay the night. We’ll be sleeping together in a large room, but it won’t be a problem. If worse comes to worst, we can get our own bedding. Mofu was happy to have a pile of fluffy straw in the stable.

Dinner was a large pot of seafood soup with wild vegetables and a long, thin loaf of dried bread mixed with grains. I was told that this was a local specialty. It was simple but flavorful, nourishing, filling, and delicious.

“It tastes like fish sauce. Is it fermented fish sauce?”

“Yes, Takifu-san is very knowledgeable. It’s made from shrimp and small fish.”

“It tastes just like the one from my hometown. Very tasty.”

“You should eat a lot.”

I felt sorry for my sudden visit, so I brought out my stock of roasted pork (wild pigs hunted near Casemaian) and flatbreads from storage.

The parent seemed to have never had a chance to eat meat, although seafood is abundant along the coast, so it was well received.

For today’s occasion, I also served drinks, and for Calmon’s mother, Tryn-san, and the women, I prepared herb tea and pancakes with warm cream.

“Takifu-san, this is a very good liquor, isn’t it?”

“Guahh, hell, this is strong!”

“It’s not bad. I like it.”

Unfortunately, there was only cheap whiskey left in my storage, so there seemed to be some differences in opinion. I suggested that they drink it mixed with water, but they rejected it out of hand.

“The only time I’ve ever put water in my liquor is when I’m drinking the rotten grape wine that the common soldiers are issued. It’s an omen.”

I don’t know about that, but they don’t seem to have the idea of mixing it with water. It doesn’t bother me. Just do what you want with it.

“Dad. How’s the fishing going lately?”

“The catch is leveling off, and the price is going down. But the market price is going up.”

Calmon nodded his head at his father’s words.

“…What’s the lord doing?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The wholesale price is going up, and the purchase price is going down, which happens before wars. Merchants and lords hoard money, goods, or both. I don’t think the Republic has any enemies that need to be prepared for war right now.”

“””Hou…?”””

Hey, stop it. Don’t look at me, you guys. That enemy is not me.

I’m accumulating all sorts of stuff too, but that’s because the people I’m releasing it to won’t take it. I will make them take 10,000 silver coins or a jar full of copper coins and send them all away by hand.

Anyway, Calmon’s father, Kayson-san, is an active fisherman, and although he is now a hired hand, he seems to be experienced and skilled.

Although both father and son are not very precise, it appears that if young Calmon had not set out for Sarz to become an adventurer, he would have had his own boat by now.

It was a little late, but when Kayson-san heard that his son had returned home and was able to buy a ship with the money he had earned, his face broke into a smile.

“By the way, Takifu, do you have any idea where I could get a boat?”

“That’s what I thought, too. Maybe if you ask, you can get it, but it’s too different from these boats, and it’ll make you look bad. And if we can’t get fuel, we can’t keep using it.”

“I see. That must be difficult.”

“We’ll buy the fishing boats with the money we give them, and if we need a boat, we’ll get another one for our own use.”

Since our immediate goal was to launder the money we had taken, it would be a complete waste of time if we were conspicuous.

Myrril agreed, so I asked Calmon’s father for information on the pirates.

“…Pirates? Ah, there are pirates. Recently, some merchant ships were captured, and ransom was demanded.”

“Do you know where they are?”

“Yes, about three miles to the northeast, there is an archipelago of reefs where the currents are strong. Among them is a pirate island… or rather a fortress.”

“If you know where it is, why don’t the lords go there to beat the pirates?”

Tig asked curiously. We were not familiar with life by the sea, and we were not familiar with the situation in Lafan, so we wondered about that.

“Of course, we go. We have been there many times and lost many times. Now there are no fishermen to sail and no adventurers to follow us. We can’t drag the guards protecting the town with us.”

“But you know what, old man? There is no way to leave it as it is. The damage is too great, isn’t it?”

Tig shook his head at this question. I heard that pirates don’t touch local fishermen unless they are hostile.

That may be a pirate’s way of getting around, but it serves as a kind of warning and reduces the number of shipowners who cooperate with their lords.

“Merchant’s vessels are escorted by merchants at their own discretion. But if a fisherman is spotted by a pirate, they can’t survive. So now, the pirates can do whatever they want. The fishermen have not been harmed, but I hear that the trade in Lafan is very slow.”

Pirates do not seem to have a name like XX-Group like inland bandits do, and when they call themselves, they only bear the name of the place or the leader’s name.

The pirates off the coast of Lafan are called the “Pirates of Atoll” because of the common name of the atoll area.

“How many pirates and how many ships do they have?”

“Four to five rowing boats of 30 feet and one sailing boat of 50 feet. The number of pirates is about 40 to 50.”

A 9-meter rowboat and a 15-meter sailboat. They were smaller than I had expected, but in an environment protected by currents and reefs, they might be more practical than large vessels.

We looked at each other and nodded.

The question is, how long do we have to look at it? We had intended to stay a few days and then return to the Sarz, so our rooms at the inn were still available.

“Kayson-san, how long will it take you to buy a boat?”

“If it’s a used boat, you can buy it tomorrow. If it is a new boat, it will take about two months.”

After some discussion, Calmon and his father decided to buy one of the secondhand boats on the market in Lafan.

The boat was 30 feet long, about the same length as a pirate’s rowing boat. However, it looks like a sailing boat so that it can be operated by a single person.

“The ship’s owner is said to have gone bankrupt, so there is no one to take it back. It was worth 120 gold coins until the summer, but the pirate scandal has reduced the number of buyers, and now it is down to 70 gold coins.”

“If that’s the case, it would be better to buy it. Your son will exterminate the pirates.”

“”That’s right, that’s right!””

“The greatest adventurer in all of Sarz will kick their asses!”

When we grinned and cheered him up, he froze with a frightened look on his face.

No, we came up with this on our own. Don’t worry. I’ll lend you a hand and even hold your funeral if you die.