Chapter 168 â Unintentional Attacks
We must have been tired from the road trip. I, MyrRil, and the other members of the âBattlecryâ all fell fast asleep, and it was almost noon when I woke up.
âGood morning.â
âOh, good morning.â
Calmonâs mother, Tryn-san, was preparing food with her daughter-in-law, Rufia-san, and her granddaughter, Nora-chan.
âGood morning, Takifu-san.â
âGood morning, Uncle!â
Nora-chan is in high spirits this morning. She was wearing an oversized apron that I had seen before, and she was holding something like a ladle in her hand. Sheâs helping out; isnât that great?
Even though she has an expression that says, âIâm a good and capable Onee-san,â she has flour on her nose, which is adorable.
âWhere are Calmon-san and Kayson-san?â
âThey went to town. They are buying a boat.â
âAlready? Theyâre moving fast, arenât they?â
âThatâs true. Lafan men are stubborn and good-natured, while Lafan women are strong-minded and gentle. Itâs been said that way for a long timeâ¦
âI can see that in Calmonâs couple, but what else?â
âLafan people, both men and women have one unyielding dream.â
âUh⦠Kayson-sanâs dream is to own a boat, right?â
âWho knows? Itâs a dream that is not easily shared with wives and children because it is said that if you talk about it, it wonât come true. But I know it all too well. Iâve been so nervous since last night.â
Dreams. What was my dream again?
I forgot what my dreams were in my former world. Maybe I never had them. And now Iâmâ¦
To make Myrril happy. To be happy with Myrril. Everything else is just a trivial, unimportant thing.
âThank you, Takifu-san.â
âThank you.â
âHuh?â
Tryn-san and Rufia-san suddenly held my hand and bowed their heads with tearful faces, making me feel nervous. Even Nora-chan clung tightly to my waist.
Whatâs wrong?
âThanks to Takifu-san, we can all live happily together as a family.â
âWe, Rufiaâs parents, too. Thank you, Takifu-san.â
âThank you, Uncle Takifu. My father and mother were very happy.â
I patted Nora-chanâs head. She thinks of her parents first, not herself.
Hey, child, youâre a good one. I will give you sweets.
I stuffed a bunch of candies and chocolates into Nora-chanâs apron pocket and turned to Rufia-san and Tryn-san.
âOh, you seem to have misunderstood, but itâs just that Calmon-san has finally been given a fair evaluation. Itâs as if all the hard work heâs put in up to this point has paid off, or rather, the money he loaned us has been returned to him.â
âStill, it was Takifu-san who gave him the opportunity.â
I wonder if that is so. So far, I have always involved others without thinking, and even with regard to Calmon, it was only âby chanceâ that I helped him, so I feel a strange sense of guilt if people thank me too much.
âI appreciate everyoneâs gratitude. But you see. You should see what Calmon-san can do when he gets serious.â
ââ¦..Eh?â
Well, neither Nora-chan nor Rufia-san seem to have a real sense that Calmon is a capable person. From what Iâve seen, I think he has a decent amount of skillâ¦
Letâs put the responsibility for this on him. Letâs make him a hero and throw the whole duty on him.
â â
By the time lunch was ready, the sleepyheads had begun to get up in droves. First, the women. The men are still rolling around in their beds, snoring.
âOh Takifu, youâre earlyâ¦â
âI woke up because of a good smellâ¦â
âGood morning.â
âYou guys, itâs almost noon. Where are the men?â
âThereâs still some booze left. Theyâve been drinking till the early hours of the morning.â
How sloppy. I canât speak for the others either, but you should learn from Calmon-san and his father.
âHey!â
âWeâre home!â
I heard that Calmon-san and Kayson-san had returned. They are calling for Tryn-san and Rufia-san from outside. I heard Nora-chan cheering.
âItâs so big!â
âThatâs your father and grandfatherâs boat, you know.â
âA boat? Did they buy it already?â
We and the other members of the âBattlecryâ went outside and headed for the sea. A few hundred meters down the hill from the house, a brand new boat was moored at the dock.
With two sail girders, it looked to me like a combination of a sailboat and a fishing boat. Thirty feet, or about 9 meters, bigger than I had expected.
âThe stage is now set. All we need now is the pirates, and the cast will be ready.â
âMir-san, arenât you being a bit hasty?â
Tig and Louis, who were excited to see the boat, poked at Calmon happily.
âThe boat is quite a nice boat, isnât it? How does it feel to be on board?â
âNot bad. No, I think itâs a great boat.â
âNo wonder. Itâs my boat, after all.â
I donât know what Kayson-sanâs argument is, but I can tell that he likes it very much.
Iâm glad I was able to contribute to the happiness of Rufia-san, Nora-chan, and the parents (and Calmon, for that matter). Iâm happy for them, butâ¦
Carmon, why do you look so reluctant?
âHey, Calmon, whatâs going on?â
ââ¦O-oh. Well, a little.â
Tig and Louis looked at Calmon suspiciously. On behalf of his son, Kayson-san told us.
âWe heard there were pirates again. They have taken a passenger ship belonging to a lord and are demanding a ransom.â