Chapter 82
After Captain Maurice burst out, the crew of the Lazybones followed, each likewise carrying a long piece of lumber.
Among the sailors pouring out one after another were Zeze, Jini, Borel, and Gatt, all armed with lumber. They rushed out in a single wave and attacked the masked children.
The crew of the Silverwing was slow to react to the sudden attack. Taking advantage of the confusion, Captain Maurice and his sailors grabbed the children by their collars and threw them into the sea.
When I looked toward the sea, I saw the children who had been thrown overboard cursing and pounding the water's surface. As expected of island children, they were excellent swimmers. They were unlikely to drown anytime soon.
"Old man?! How the hell did you get out!"
Mary-san hurriedly drew the sword at her waist. The masked sailors also drew their swords and prepared to attack, but Zeze, Jini, Borel, and Gatt stood in their way with lumber in hand.
The masked children slashed at Zeze and the others, but the four of them easily evaded the incoming blades.
"The ship rocked too much last time, making it hard to fight,"
"But with the rocking this mild!"
Borel and Gatt dodged the enemy's blades while striking the children's hands and arms with their lumber.
The children dropped their swords from the pain. The crew of the Lazybones swarmed them and threw them into the sea.
In the previous battle, the high waves had rocked the ship so violently that Borel and the others had been unable to use their delicate sword techniques or evasive movements. But now that we were in calm waters, they could move just as they would on level ground. They could now defeat the children without killing them.
With Borel and the others at the forefront, Captain Maurice and his sailors threw the children into the sea one after another. The crew of the Lazybones also cut the rope securing a small boat to the hull and dropped it into the water. The children who had fallen into the sea would be able to climb into the boat on their own.
"This... Don't tell me you did this!"
Mary-san looked at me with her eyes wide open. She must have realized that the handkerchief I had thrown moments ago was a signal to Captain Maurice and the others.
"How? No, never mind. If I use you as a hostage..."
Mary-san pointed the sword she had drawn at me.
"I won't let you!"
Paula-san stepped forward to protect me, but I stopped her with a gesture.
"It's all right, Paula-san. You can't take me hostage."
I smiled at Paula-san, then shifted my gaze to Mary-san.
"Mary-san. The answer to how Captain Maurice and the others managed to get out is standing right there."
I pointed with the fingers of my right hand to Mary-san's left. The next moment, the sound of a sword being drawn rang out. A blade swept out and sent Mary-san's sword spinning through the air. It then traced a streak of silver light before coming to a stop in front of Mary-san's neck.
Mary-san, Ann at her side, and Bohn all gasped.
The sword was being held by a masked sailor. His right arm was wrapped in red cloth.
"Are you betraying me?"
Having lost her sword, Mary-san forced the words out.
"Mary-san. He isn't betraying you at all."
I told her with a smile. The sailor holding the sword in his right hand then pulled off his mask with his left. The face beneath it belonged to a man with unruly hair. Though he was short, his features were strikingly fierce, and his poised stance held the lithe grace of a predatory feline.
"...Who are you? You're not one of the men from my ship."
Mary-san glared at the man pointing a sword at her. It was no wonder she did not know him.
"His name is Kyle. He's one of my men."
I smiled at Kyle, and he smiled back.
"I had Kyle sneak aboard your ship. He's been right beside both you and me this entire time, you know?"
When I told her, Mary's eyes wavered. Beside her, Kyle let out a deep breath.
"Thanks to the mask, I could move freely around the ship, but I had a lot of work to do, so it was pretty tough."
Kyle complained with a laugh. Indeed, during the battle, he had always positioned himself where he could bring Mary-san down at any moment. After I was captured, he not only protected me, but also gave Captain Maurice and the others the tools they needed to escape and conveyed the signal to attack. He had truly played a vital role.
"That's impossible! I've been watching you ever since you came to Merka Island. There shouldn't have been anyone like you aboard my old man's ship."
"I came ashore on Merka Island twenty days ago. I arrived on another ship, well before Romelia-sama and the others."
I nodded, affirming Kyle's words.
Before beginning negotiations with Merka Island, I had sent Kyle to infiltrate the island in advance. It was so he could gather information on Merka Island, but it was also a precaution for our safety. If the negotiations on Merka Island broke down, there was a risk that Captain Maurice and the others might capture me and sell me to another country.
I had dispatched Kyle as a safeguard against the worst-case scenario. During my time on Merka Island, we exchanged letters using lily-of-the-valley flowers as a signal.
"You people were making suspicious moves, so I snuck aboard the Silverwing on Romelia-sama's orders. Man, when I nearly got caught by Al and Ray, I was sweating bullets."
Kyle was unusually talkative. He must have had a lot of pent-up frustration. Since no one but me knew Kyle was there, he had even had to hide from his own comrades. I would give him a special bonus and some time off later.
"You'd been preparing for twenty days?"
"No, much longer than that. I've been preparing ever since the decision was made to build a port."
I answered Mary-san's stiff expression with a smile.
The moment we decided to build a port, I had already set my sights on the Mebyum Inland Sea beyond it. I had, of course, gathered information on Merka Island's plight and the rise of the Vaal Archipelago as well.
The sea was an unknown realm to us, so I had made meticulous preparations.