No matter how I think about it, this prank was too much.
Usher couldn’t forgive Bersia even more as he imagined himself confidently walking through the streets in that lewd outfit that might have existed.
Wasn’t it so? Bersia’s prank was ultimately something that made him strip and wander outside.
What if someone with ill intentions appeared?
Of course, with his strength, he probably wouldn’t have been harmed, but just imagining that situation made Usher shiver.
That was why he was more upset than usual.
He didn’t feel any respect from Bersia’s actions.
Because it was amusing to him, she wounded Usher’s dignity.
Then, while casually putting her hand on Usher’s waist, she tells him to calm down.
Usher felt like he was becoming a petty person, the kind who sulks at every little thing, and that made him feel very uneasy.
He seriously expressed those feelings.
Then, for the first time, Bersia apologized.
It was a rare occurrence.
“I’m sorry. I’ll rethink it.”
“Really? Just like that?”
“Should I not apologize?”
“Well, that’s not it…!”
It was still uncomfortable, but since he had received an apology, Usher reluctantly accepted it.
Afterward, they headed out to the street.
Regardless of anything, they should see the sea, right?
Whitton’s sandy beach was divided into a swimming area and a harbor area by a massive rock formation in the middle. Usher was heading toward the swimming area.
“Wow…!”
The sea, seen up close, was even more special.
Especially as the sun set and the sunset was swallowed by the ocean, it evoked a deep emotional response.
It was a completely different experience from the sun setting behind the mountain ridge. As the red light reflected and merged with the waves, Usher became entranced.
Then, absentmindedly, she muttered, “Isn’t it really beautiful?”
“Yes, well…”
Bersia was looking at Usher, who was immersed in the red-tinged world, but Usher didn’t know that.
She just absent mindedly took off her shoes and stepped barefoot into the sand.
The soft and ticklish feeling made her smile without thinking.
“Can I go further in?”
“Of course.”
With that response, they moved even closer to the shore.
Finally, when they reached the frothy area, the edge of the waves brushed against the tops of Usher’s feet.
His toes curled.
It was then.
Whoosh!
“Eek…!”
The wind made his skirt flutter.
Usher was startled and hurriedly grabbed the flying skirt.
Bersia said, “I think that’s even more erotic.”
“Please be quiet…!”
“Do you know that everyone around us is looking at you?”
Not letting her be lost in the scenery. Usher glared at Bersia with a haughty expression.
He knew that Bersia was trying to tease him in any way possible.
He wouldn’t fall for it again.
“W-Well, it’s fine. I’m wearing a swimsuit underneath.”
At that moment, Usher realized the difference between a swimsuit and underwear.
Yes. It was just clothing to justify himself.
When wearing a swimsuit at the beach, he didn’t feel as embarrassed mentally as he would if he wore the same amount of underwear.
Because everyone else was doing it too!
Of course, he wasn’t thinking of stripping off his dress to just wear his swimsuit, but still.
It was a pretty confident answer, even to himself.
Feeling a little proud of himself, Usher decided to add one more point.
“And even if it’s visible, it’s not like my body is showing! I won’t let myself be treated like this forever… Eh, wait! Why are you undressing…!”
“I can’t be the only one who suffers, can I?”
“No! No, I’m sorry!!!”
Usher quickly snapped the button of Bersia’s shirt back into place.
The situation turned into him grabbing the collar
Somehow, it ended up with Usher grabbing her collar.
Usher was trembling, his head lowered so much that even his ears turned red.
Then, he gave Bersia a haughty glare.
Bersia had a smirk on one side of her lips.
“Why are you resisting when you won’t even get your money back?”
“….”
“You started it this time, you know.”
“…I know.”
That was the incident.
The trip to the sea ended well.
They ate fresh fish that had just been caught along the coast, and Usher had now gotten used to the lewd advances of strangers, brushing them off with ease.
Before returning, they also saw the sea under a star-filled sky at night.
By that time, Usher’s mood had clearly lifted from earlier in the day, and he kept chattering away to Bersia.
Hee said he never knew the sea could be so beautiful, and how it had such a mysterious charm, changing with the time of day.
Then, he belatedly realized he had been talking too much and asked Bersia,
“Don’t you want to see something, Saintess?”
At his words, Bersia turned her gaze towards the sea.
The answer came only after the sound of the waves swept between them.
“…A whale.”
“Pardon?”
“I want to see a whale.”
A gentle smile appeared on her lips.
It was a smile that looked somewhat sad.
For a moment, Usher’s words were caught in his throat.
But the expression quickly vanished.
“Well, there are only serpents here.”
“…Eh?”
“This is the Serpent Archipelago. If it’s a small fish, fine, but a big whale would probably have been eaten by them.”
“No, no! There must be a big whale somewhere…”
“If there was, it would’ve been caught. Darlin once told me that pirates catch and eat whales. Because they’re so big, they’re a great food source.”
“Do you really have to ruin the mood like that…?”
“Well, it’s the truth.”
The mood, which had briefly become emotional, quickly returned to normal.
But since she was enjoying herself, perhaps it was okay.
The first day ended like that.
The next morning, Usher, having washed up, now had a serious expression on his face.
It was time to focus on the mission.
In fact, there wasn’t much preparation needed before entering the archipelago.
All that was required was to get a general sense of the city’s atmosphere and collect any rumors.
However, just because the tasks were few didn’t mean they were easy.
Usher encountered a few small obstacles during his investigation.
The obstacle was shame.
“What if pirates show up? I-I’m scared…”
From the perspective of a tourist, a delicate young girl’s body, to get the locals to talk, he needed to act like a worried, fragile girl (which was crucial).
The sensation of his masculinity slowly being undermined was enough to make him grit his teeth.
The fact that Bersia kept holding back laughter only made it worse.
But the embarrassment unexpectedly worked to his advantage.
With his face red and his head bowed deeply, it certainly stirred the protective instincts of the locals.
“Ah, don’t worry about that, miss! Pirates don’t show up much these days!”
The Pirates Have Arrived
“Was it about a month or two ago? The ones bothering the trade caravans have definitely decreased. Thanks to that, money is flowing better these days!”
The sailors and traders, who worked on the ships, spoke of how quiet the pirates had been.
This gave Usher a small sense of confusion and a larger feeling of unease.
The influence of the heretics was undoubtedly involved here, but how should he interpret this?
It could be that the heretics were still capturing pirates for experiments, or perhaps the pirates were capturing hostages to use as test subjects instead.
Whatever it was, he would only find out when he reached that place.
What was left to figure out were the islands where the pirates resided and the structure of their power.
The locals had been quite helpful with this information.
The story they told was quite interesting.
“It must have been twenty years ago… one day, the pirate king disappeared, and since then, it’s been like a warlord era. His power broke into four factions, and they started fighting among themselves. That’s when the islands in the archipelago started flying different pirate flags. The biggest faction is…”
Usher’s eyes sparkled as he listened to the story about the pirate king and the war that followed.
Wasn’t it just like a story from old fairy tales?
Bersia, however, showed a slightly displeased expression at Usher’s sentiment but didn’t say anything.
In any case, the information gathering was over, and that night, the group gathered again to prepare for departure.
They were headed to the archipelago.
“The ship has been arranged. The church has one that we can use.”
“It’s… small.”
“Did you think the church would have a large warship or something?”
In front of the harbor, Judith let out a hollow laugh at Usher’s disappointed tone.
The ship was a small caravel, one that could easily be steered by two people.
Usher, who had secretly been excited about sailing, felt a bit let down by the simplicity of the ship compared to his imagination, but that didn’t last long.
A caravel was still a fine ship.
Once on board, Usher could feel the swaying of the deck.
It was clear that they were moving away from land.
A faint excitement began to rise within him.
He tried to calm himself and walked toward the bow of the ship.
From behind, he could hear voices carried by the sea breeze.
“We’ll be setting sail now!”
Two priests, sent by the church to steer the ship, called out.
At Judith’s gesture, the ship began to move.
Whoosh—
The wind felt quite refreshing.
The sensation of cutting through the vast sea under the starlit sky was, in its own way, something special.
They were crossing the sea, lost in time and space.
On the deck, Judith could be seen sitting in a chair made of Melvin, reading a book under the lantern.
Rumors of turning Melvin into a human chair for experiments—
Was it just an illusion, or did the atmosphere around that area feel colder than the rest of the ship?
With a somewhat awkward smile, Asher was lost in his thoughts when Bersia approached.
“Are you feeling seasick?”
“Oh, no! I’m actually better than I thought. Saintess, how about you?”
“I have a tough body.”
Bersia shrugged and turned her gaze toward the sea.
Her eyes narrowed.
“I hope we don’t run into pirates.”
“Indeed, naval battles are dangerous. I don’t have much experience with them, and there could be unforeseen factors.” Usher quickly added,
“But don’t worry. I’ve heard several rumors about pirates being quiet recently, and most importantly, they probably won’t be sailing at this time of day.”
He said this to reassure Bersia, feeling her nerves sharpened since taking on this mission.
But perhaps he shouldn’t have said that.
Bang!
“P-Pirates!”
“Eh…?”
Not even ten minutes after Usher had reassured Bersia, they encountered pirates.