Strong Luck?
“So what was meant to be a simple navy tour turned into pirate suppression—should we say you’ve got strong luck, Hardt?”
“Grandmother, please don’t make it sound like it’s my fault.”
“No, I agree with Grandmother. There’s never a time when something doesn’t happen if you’re around.”
How cruel. I guess it’s true that I often get dragged into things. But it’s not like I’m the one causing it.
“Come to think of it, on the ship everyone was making weird faces. Do you know why?”
“You really don’t realize it? Everyone was stunned because you were constantly using outrageous magic.”
“I didn’t do anything unusual.”
“Meyer and the others are used to your magic, but the Southcourt navy was seeing it for the first time. From their perspective, it looked like you were using healing, ice, and water magic, not to mention an unknown hot water spell.”
I see, they didn’t realize that ice and hot water were just applications of water magic. This conversation might turn into a lecture—time to change the topic.
“Grandmother, regarding Brother Gerald and Miss Diana, has Lady Caroline been convinced?”
“I told her about the short life expectancy of Westland’s political marriages and that’s why Gerald doesn’t have a fiancée. She told me to have you spend time with Miss Diana while you’re in Southcourt, and if it doesn’t work out, you can turn her down.”
Well, that makes sense. It’s hard to find someone as good as Brother Gerald. They wouldn’t want to miss out on a good match. It all depends on Brother Gerald’s decision.
But wasn’t the curse of Westland common knowledge? Aren’t there more people who don’t know about it?
“I thought Miss Diana was a typical noblewoman, but she’s shown many sides and is a wonderful person. Still, since it’s a lifelong decision, I want to think a little more about it.”
“That’s fine. We’ll be staying in Southcourt for a while, so take the time to talk to her. I won’t approve unless it’s someone you truly want to marry.”
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
While we were talking, Miss Diana came to report on the pirates we captured. Apparently, they discovered that the pirates had a base on the old volcanic island, so they planned to inspect it tomorrow. When we offered to help, she declined, saying there could be stragglers and it would be dangerous.
But I tried to push back, saying we proved useful alongside Brother Gerald. Brother Gerald also said, “Seeing you striving as the next head is admirable, but in a dangerous situation, the more skilled people, the better,” which made Miss Diana give in.
Honestly, it looked like Miss Diana only heard the first part. I could see her cheeks turning a bit red.
Hmm… she’s a maiden in love, very similar to a certain someone. My brothers really are oblivious charmers.
“Wow, that magic yesterday was something else, Young Master Reinhardt!” Bernard slapped me on the shoulder, and it hurt.
Today, we boarded another ship disguised as a merchant vessel under Bernard’s command along with Brother Gerald.
When we checked the captured pirate ship yesterday, besides magic tools, precious metals, and gold coins, we found a map of the old volcanic island with a marked spot different from their base. They wanted to land and investigate since the pirates were tight-lipped.
Apparently, the pirate base was located on the far side of the island, accessible through a crack in the cliff that led to a large cave where two ships could be docked.
Ordinarily, people wouldn’t venture into such a narrow crevice, and since the island was barren due to past eruptions, no one approached it, making it a good hiding place.
Since there might still be stragglers, we split up between the captured pirate ship and the merchant ship, each with marines on board.
As we sailed through the crevice, the cave turned out to be empty. So the marines aboard the pirate ship stayed behind at the crevice to monitor in case any pirates returned.
Our merchant ship proceeded deeper into the cave and moored at a simple dock.
As Bernard looked around the cave, he said, “Seems like they operated alone. The cave hasn’t been altered either, so they might have discovered it recently.”
“Maybe so. Only half the loot was on the pirate ship. They could have been using this place as a hideout while preparing to attack another one or two ships. Either way, let’s go ashore and check out the marked spot on the map.”
What do you think about this chapter?
