Chapter 63

Back when he lived on Hisaril Hill, money had been something Turan could take or leave. The things he could buy were so limited that however much money he had, there was nowhere to spend it.

Once he came down into the world, however, he discovered that money was far more remarkable than he had imagined. If mana was the key to omnipotence, perhaps money was omnipotence in material form.

Delicious food, books, even magic tools and monsters like Vije could all be bought with money. Didn't even nobles value gold and silver enough to mint them into currency?

And the wealth spread out before Turan now rivaled, if not exceeded, everything he had earned thus far combined. There were over a hundred crudely cast gold ingots, over four hundred silver ingots...

Jewelry, gemstones, and other valuables clearly plundered from somewhere lay in disorderly heaps as well. There was even a magic tool among them.

'None of them had anything like that during the fight. Where did it come from? Did they find a hidden stash?'

Wondering about that, Turan tossed the orb, which had something sloshing inside it, into the air, caught it, and put it straight into his pouch. Unlikely as it was, the tool might be a trap designed to harm its user, so he couldn't use it carelessly.

For the same reason, he had yet to identify the functions of the two magic tools he had acquired in his last fight in the western wilderness. Nobles with the Enchanter bloodline could examine a magic tool's workings, so he could ask Asiz once he reached the Dakayn Plains.

After looking around the warehouse, Turan addressed the woman he had put in charge.

"Has anyone asked for their share?"

"Th-their share?"

"The miners worked hard to extract this gold and silver. I thought they might resent me taking it all. And some of that jewelry might originally have belonged to people here."

The woman gave him a look of utter disbelief, then hastily tried to compose herself.

"Of course not! We're grateful enough that you rescued us from the pirates, and you've even promised to pay to send us home. Surely no one would make such a shameless demand!"

Turan thought there were bound to be at least a few people that shameless, but she gave off none of the nervous scent characteristic of liars. In any case, if she was keeping things under control, he needn't worry further.

"Then that's settled. What about the sick?"

"Thanks to your care, they're all doing much better! Though it will take time for them to recover fully."

Only a day had passed, but resting with hope was far more effective than resting in despair. The plentiful meals had helped considerably, too.

And, sadly, there was another reason: anyone too ill to recover quickly had already died and been thrown into the sea.

"So no one's too sick to survive a voyage?"

"Yes, I think... as long as it doesn't take too long."

"Then let's begin preparations to sail at once. Don't bother with anything else. Tell them to gather food and water. Leave the pirates on the shore alone; I'll deal with them myself."

"Should we load all that treasure as well?"

"You can leave it where it is."

While she went to relay his orders, Turan stuffed the entire fortune into his High-Capacity Pouch. Fortunately, gold and silver were heavy rather than bulky, so they took up less room than he had expected.

He arranged the pouch's contents so he could retrieve things when needed, then emerged from the warehouse to find the former captives busy preparing to sail.

"Should we load this too? It looks like it'll spoil soon."

"We can eat it quickly. I'm more worried about whether we can sail a ship that size with the people we have... None of us is a skilled navigator or anything."

"Surely the wizard has something in mind?"

"Still, the sea's a different matter."

Judging from the voices carrying to him from a distance, the former captives were anxious about the future but believed Turan would somehow take care of everything. After listening quietly, he went over to the buried pirates, pulled them out, and asked them a question.

"Raise your hand if you can guide me to Covinus's base. Only if you can."

The pirates exchanged glances. They seemed frightened of him, but even more frightened of what would happen if they betrayed Covinus. Still, these were the most craven of the pirates, so persuading them wasn't difficult.

"If you're no use to me, I'll have to dispose of you here."

"I know the way!"

"So do I!"

It was a little suspicious that all three vermin claimed they could do it, but at least one of them ought to know. Turan took out some rope, bound their wrists so securely they couldn't possibly free themselves, and hauled them onto the sailing ship. The former miners loading food and water hurriedly bowed their heads.

"Spend less time on courtesies and more on work. I want to leave quickly. Lock these men in an out-of-the-way cabin and do just enough to keep them alive."

"Y-yes, sir!"

Turan did more than hurry them along. He used telekinesis to help load the cargo and prepare the ship for departure. Thanks to what the sailors had taught him aboard the Marlin in the North Sea, he could do the work of dozens of others all by himself.

Soon, with all preparations complete, the pirate ship unfurled its sails, and Turan drove wind into them with magic.

He had tried this aboard the Marlin, but it had been so inefficient that he hadn't thought he could keep it up for long. Now, however, he had more than twice as much mana, as well as the wind-commanding power of the Arabion bloodline, incomplete though it was.

"Whoa, that wind!"

"A tailwind! No, this is practically a typhoon. At this rate, the ship might go flying..."

Despite some people's worries, the ship cut smoothly through the sea. Its destination was Anik Island, the base of the Red Whale Pirates.

* * *

As one of the miners had predicted, Turan ended up handling almost every aspect of sailing the pirate ship himself. Quite apart from the women, even the men who had worked in the mines had only handled small fishing boats or served as low-ranking sailors. They didn't know how to sail a vessel like this.

The critical problem was that no one knew exactly where their destination, Anik Island, lay. Even the pirates knew only its name, not precisely which direction to take from here. Turan solved this difficulty in a very simple, reliable way.

Just as he had when searching for Parayan Island, he stopped at passing sailing ships and islands to ask directions. This time, though, his method was a little faster and more decisive.

"A black eagle monster! A monster's coming! There's someone hanging from it..."

"E-everyone, lower your weapons! Now!"

Turan sent Vije high into the sky to look for nearby sailing ships. Whenever she spotted a passing vessel, he flew over and projected his mana.

The one or two knights stationed aboard each large ship would immediately shout for their subordinates to give up any thought of resistance. They had sensed the presence of a great wizard who could easily crush even their House Head, someone they might otherwise never encounter in their entire lives. Knowing he could sink their ship with a gesture, they dared not defy him.

"O descendant of the great and glorious gods, I am a knight of House Razbet, charged by my master with protecting this ship—"

"Which way is Anik Island?"

"Pardon? A-Anik Island... Navigator!"

"Well, uh... south! Probably..."

"Thank you."

Having confirmed his heading, Turan tossed a silver coin onto the deck and returned to the pirate ship with Vije.

The knight and sailors stared blankly after him, half dazed, then filed the encounter away as one more ridiculous tale to tell people later.

Three days passed as he repeated this process several times. Once he confirmed that their destination was close, Turan stopped the ship to replenish his mana and check on the people he had been too busy to look after.

"A few people are complaining of seasickness, but otherwise, everyone is fine."

"I'm glad that's the worst of it."

With him constantly driving the ship forward with wind to force up its speed, the voyage was bound to be rough. Skillful use of the rudder to ride the currents would have helped somewhat, but Turan's sailing knowledge amounted to no more than a crash course. That was beyond him.

After this final check on everyone's condition, Turan steered straight toward Anik Island in the distance. As they approached, two sailing ships of a similar size came out to meet them, apparently to intercept them.

"Hey! Where are you bastards from? Stop your ship!"

"Come any closer and we'll sink you!"

Unfortunately for them, none of the pirates who had come out was a wizard. Turan reached out, raised a suitable quantity of seawater, and dumped it over both ships. Instantly drenched like drowned rats, the pirates trembled.

"I've come to see your captain on business. Go back and tell him."

At his words, the two ships fled back to the island as fast as they could go. A short while later, apparently having received word that some pirate wizard was invading, a figure with noble-caliber mana came aboard a returning ship.

A huge man with red hair and a red beard stood at the bow, a long harpoon in one hand. Recognizing him as the Red Whale, Turan immediately projected his mana.

The man gave a brief groan, then shouted in a flippant tone befitting a pirate.

"Who the hell are you, bringing that kind of power to a kiddies' playground? Wait, you look young. Don't tell me you really are a little brat!"

To act that way even after gauging Turan's strength—he couldn't tell whether the man was ignorant or simply had nerve.

"Are you the Red Whale?"

"I am!"

"I've come to ask a favor, but first I request hospitality in accordance with custom. Pirate or not, you are a noble. Surely you know the proper forms?"

"Uh..."

The Red Whale stared blankly for a moment. His face seemed to ask, What's that?

Perhaps, noble though he was, his pirate roots made such ignorance inevitable. Turan clicked his tongue softly and gave him a quick explanation of the hospitality customs observed by mainland nobles. The Red Whale promptly nodded and cried out.

"Ah, of course, of course! I knew all that already! I, Tasan, heir to the blood of the gods, could never refuse to entertain one of noble blood!"

His delivery went beyond awkward into outright theatrical, but his subordinates behind him exclaimed in admiration and praised how impressive he sounded. Truly, they were pirates through and through.

* * *

The residence of Tasan, the Red Whale, was quite large and imposing, but fell far short of mainland nobles' homes in elegance and luxury. Leaving the former captives aboard the pirate ship, Turan formally met his host in its largest hall.

The officers of the Red Whale Pirates stood arrayed behind Tasan. Turan stood alone, yet it was the pirates who were overwhelmed by the opposing presence. That was only natural: even Tasan, the strongest of them, had less than half Turan's mana, while all the others were merely knight-caliber.

"So, you have a favor to ask? I don't know which house you're from, but someone as strong as you must be pretty famous on the mainland. What could you need us for?"

"No matter how strong I am, there's only one of me. That's why nobles bother to establish houses and raise knights. Unfortunately, I belong to no house."

Judging from the suspicion in Tasan's eyes, he didn't quite believe him.

Turan shook his head slightly and got to the point. He described the island about four days' sail north, or northwest, of here, and the people kidnapped and forced to work there as miners and sex slaves. Tasan erupted in a furious shout.

"Covinus, you son of a bitch!"

As his shout rang through the hall, his enormous harpoon punched through the floor.

BANG!

Turan had known Tasan didn't order his men to abduct people, but he hadn't expected such a violent reaction to another pirate's kidnappings. After huffing angrily for a while, Tasan turned to him.

"So, are you asking me to join you in taking Covinus down?"

"Since you operate fairly close to him, you must have some idea how much mana he has. How does he compare to me?"

Tasan hummed, tilted his head, and answered.

"Hmm... Well, I'm not very good at measuring strength, and it's been a long time since I met Covinus. I think you're probably stronger, but I can't say for sure."

"Really?"

That was strange, considering Turan's mana was now unrivaled among wizards with a single bloodline. Could Covinus actually be a bastard who had inherited a great house's bloodline?

Unexpected though it was, it wouldn't disrupt his plans. With his exceptional magical skill and the Spirit of Fire, Turan was confident he could defeat even a wizard of equal caliber without much difficulty.

"He's one of the strongest pirates in the South Sea. I like to think I'm pretty capable myself, but..."

He had turned timid so abruptly that his earlier hotheadedness seemed almost false, as though he had switched masks. Had Covinus thrashed him badly at some point?

"In any case, what I want to ask is simply that you return those abducted people to their homes. I'll pay their passage."

But for some reason, not only Tasan but every officer of the Red Whale Pirates stared at him as though he were a peculiar creature. Tasan spoke for them all.

"Why?"

"Why pay you? Because I don't think you'd do it properly if I forced you with threats—"

"No, why go to all that trouble? What do you stand to gain?"

"At least it'll make me feel good."

He didn't mention how deeply it had pleased him to see those sheep shower him with praise when he promised to send them home, or how he therefore hated to see them disappointed and despairing. That would expose far too much of his inner self.

Tasan's face stiffened as though in anger at that answer, and he waved a hand behind him. A moment later, a subordinate brought the same kind of sugarcane liquor Solif had given Turan.

"Turan, was it? Did you investigate me before coming here?"

"Only enough to learn that you have a reputation as a relatively moderate pirate who plunders merchant ships without kidnapping and selling civilians or massacring them. Other pirates would just sell these people again instead of sending them home."

Tasan scrutinized him suspiciously for a long while, but Turan was telling the truth and had nothing to be ashamed of. At last, Tasan held out a cup and spoke.

"My parents were fisherfolk. My father drowned when I was eight, and pirates abducted my mother when I was ten."

In other words, Tasan had been born to commoners with the mana of a noble. Though exceedingly rare, such cases were surprisingly numerous. However tiny the chance of a noble being born to commoners with diluted blood, they had so many more children that it was bound to happen now and then. A few generations back among Tasan's ancestors, there was probably an illegitimate child of a knight or noble.

"My low birth led me into piracy somehow, but because of what happened, I've spent my whole life robbing merchant ships without ever abducting anyone. Yet you say you're doing this simply because you want to. It makes me ashamed of myself. If you mean what you say, you're my elder brother from this day forward! Accept this drink!"

Faced with this demand from a thickly bearded, middle-aged man, Turan had absolutely no idea what expression to make.