Anchor, Stop Pretending, You're in Chaldea - Chapter 155

“Yay, thanks a lot! I thought I was going to sink into the ocean.”

Himiko smiled.

On their way back to shore, Bai Qiu had spotted Himiko unconscious on the surface of the ocean and promptly rescued her.

“Many thanks to all the noble people who helped me, for without your aid, I would have met disaster this day! This humble one is truly grateful!!!”

Xu Fu thanked Himiko and Draco, who stood before her, then leaned toward Bai Qiu.

“Yay, it’s all thanks to the special envoy. When I return to Qin, I must speak highly of you to the first emperor.”

“Oh?”

Bai Qiu laughed.

“So you plan to return to Qin and see the first emperor?”

“…Ah ha ha… The special envoy is jesting with me. How could this humble one abandon the search for the Elixir of Immortality?”

Xu Fu, still awkwardly smiling, changed the subject. “Speaking of which, where’s that brave warrior?”

“Heracles? He’s guarding Caster.”

Bai Qiu pointed behind himself at the stairs leading down to the cabin, which had by now become a gaping hole. “Ah, if it’s all the same, I’d ask the special envoy…to treat our ship…with a bit more care…”

Xu Fu looked like she was about to cry, but no tears would come.

“Ah, but it’s already so dilapidated—what does it matter now? Are you certain repairing the ship is as simple as returning to the village?”

“Of course! This ship has gathered the most skilled craftsmen and engineers of all Qin, as well as a large number of experienced sailors. If it were an ordinary vessel, it likely would have fallen apart long ago.” Having regained some semblance of control, Xu Fu’s tone once again took on an air of pride. “Is that so? Then why haven’t you found the Elixir of Immortality yet?”

“Wha—?!” Having been pranked by Bai Qiu, Xu Fu looked like she was about to cry again. “Special Envoy, p-please don’t bring this up…”

“Actually, why would you want to spare that weak magus’s life?!”

Crossing her arms, Draco glared at Bai Qiu, clearly displeased. By now, she had fully shed her dragon form and returned to her small human body.

“Anyway, she doesn’t seem to have any ability to fight back, does she? Plus, we know practically nothing about this era, can’t contact Chaldea, and don’t even know where Mashu and the others are.”

“Fine, I won’t pry into these trivial matters, but how did you manage to summon that demigod’s Heroic Spirit?!” Draco leaned in close, staring straight into Bai Qiu’s eyes, her face devoid of any hint of a smile.

“Could you please explain, Master?”

“Uh, well…” Bai Qiu scratched his head. “Please allow me to explain…no, clarify, actually, the situation at the time was like this…”

Before Bai Qiu could finish, Draco seemed to have realized something and looked toward the surface of the sea to the right.

In the distance, a ship appeared to be sailing toward them.

“Hey, are those your men?” Draco immediately asked Xu Fu.

“Men? That monster in the sea ate all of my men. How could I still have any underlings? Eek! Could those ships approaching us be the legendary pirates?”

Taken aback, Bai Qiu also promptly turned to look at the sea.

A massive three-masted ship was indeed closing in on their position.

Oh no, could they really have run into pirates?

—-

Below deck, in what had been Xu Fu’s personal cabin, Medea was now confined.

“Hmph, I didn’t expect you to actually respond to the summoning. Was it because I invoked Hydra?”

Heracles stood tall before her, the injured Medea seated on the ground.

“You can’t possibly believe that boy’s nonsense! He’s a beast contractor—why would you heed his command?!” Medea pleaded desperately with the tall man before her.

“I once fell into madness and killed my own child with my own hands, so at the very least, I must confirm everything with my own eyes,” Heracles said in response to Medea.

“Is that so… We are both unfortunate ones… ever since setting foot upon that man’s ship.” Medea’s face twisted into a furious scowl. “That’s why I will not allow ‘that man’ to live comfortably, no matter what era we inhabit. I will never spare him! Cough cough!”

The gravely wounded Medea coughed up a massive mouthful of blood, her emotions running high.

“Do you require medical attention?” Heracles asked, looking at her.

“Have you no respect for me?! Heracles, I am not yet weak enough to require an enemy’s charity. What does ‘our interests align’ mean? That boy could never understand the pain I’ve endured! Cough cough cough!” Medea clung to the wall, coughing incessantly.

“Ahem… However, this world will soon meet its doom as well, for my doppelgänger is over there. It’s a bit unfortunate that I can’t kill him with my own hands.”

Just as Heracles was about to speak, he sensed something rapidly approaching.

“Bang!”

A loud noise sounded; something had struck the side of the ship!

An enormous iron hook had broken through the side of the hull and been embedded deep within the interior wall.

The craftsmen taking refuge on the second and third levels all cried out in alarm.

The side panel of the ship creaked, pulled against its will toward the other vessel. Even if the sailors pushed themselves to their limits, they couldn’t free the ship.

Realizing something was amiss, Heracles immediately turned to Medea.

“Is this your companion?!”

“Companion?”

Medea laughed weakly. “If verbal allies can be considered companions, then I suppose that’s correct.”

A voice called from afar: “Listen up, y’all! This is the Golden Hind! Hand over your valuables and we won’t harm you—other than that, we mean you no harm!!!”

The loud voice traveled over from the three-masted ship.

“Ahoy, pirates!”

Xu Fu’s face paled in fright as she once again hid behind Bai Qiu.

“Special Envoy, think of something, quick!”

“Why are you always asking me to think of something… Aren’t you a Servant?”

Bai Qiu was at his wit’s end and could only turn to Draco.

“…And where did this boring person come from?”

Draco, looking quite displeased, pointed his harpoon gun at the three-masted ship, intending to shoot and forcibly tether the two vessels together. But before he could, an arrow flew out from the cabin and precisely severed the rope connecting the two ships.

The freed ship immediately sped off into the distance.

“Don’t let that fat sheep escape! My men!”

The cannons on the Golden Stag promptly began to aim in their direction.

“Scare them enough to dissuade any attempts at escape, open fire!”

“Bang, bang, bang—!”

Several cannonballs struck the deck of the larger ship, which was already listing precariously. The tremors caused by the explosions nearly sent it capsizing.

At that moment, a tall figure appeared on the deck of the larger ship, once again holding that giant bow.

“How come you’re here, Heracles?” Bai Qiu asked immediately.

“What about Medea?!”

“If she dares to flee, I will not spare her.”

Heracles nocked an arrow imbued with the feathers of the monstrous bird onto his bow.

The muscles in his arm pulsed with Mana. “Whoosh!”

The arrow pierced the air, shooting straight toward The Golden Hind.

Yet despite its initially straight trajectory, the arrow veered off course as it approached the ship’s cannons, taking a nearly ninety-degree turn to slice through six cannons that had just fired, all still in the process of recoiling!

The explosions of the cannonballs that had been caught inside their chambers echoed one after another.

“Boom, boom, boom—!”

The sounds of explosions continued to emanate from The Golden Hind.

Heracles drew his bow once more, taking aim at the ship’s main cannon. “Whoosh!”

This arrow flew directly toward the bow of the ship, heading straight for the cannon!

It was clear that Heracles intended to destroy the enemy’s weapons systems first.

Just as the arrow was about to hit the ship, a familiar silver shield appeared at the bow?!

“Clang!”

The shield blocked Heracles’s attack head-on.

But Heracles’s arrow was too powerful, and the shield slowly began to be pushed back. Just as it could no longer hold, a burst of black flames exploded from the ship’s side.

Together, the silver shield and the black flames managed to block the arrow.

Heracles drew his bow once more, preparing to shoot a third arrow.

“Wait!”

Bai Qiu called out to him.

“Why?”

Heracles looked down at Bai Qiu, puzzled. The giant man was not so tall anymore.

“Among those people over there are our companions!”

“Companions…”

Heracles pondered this word, then lowered his bow.

“Listen up, all you bastards! Your attacks are futile. We have experts of all kinds on our ship.”

Because the two ships’ propulsion systems were on completely different levels, the figures standing on the Golden Hind gradually became clear.

At the bow of the ship, a woman dressed in a lavish outfit and wearing a pirate hat yelled provocatively, “I repeat, we will not harm anyone if you just hand over your valuables. We’re pirates, not murderers!”

“Miss Drake, I don’t think this is right!”

Suddenly, a pink-haired girl appeared, attempting to stop the woman wearing the pirate hat.

“Ha, now that we’ve come this far, what do you think you’re doing? Robbery is a pirate’s natural instinct. Besides, we’ve already told them we only want their valuables. If we don’t seize them, we’ll be laughed at when we return to Pirate Island!”

“Even so, it’s still wrong!” the pink-haired girl insisted.

“Fine, as expected, newcomers need time to adjust. Then, blackie, you come with me!”

“Ha? Why am I going?” a girl dressed in black armor grumbled.

“We’ve already told you, we’re only using your ship to find someone. Besides, didn’t I already protect you earlier? If not for me, our ship would’ve already been sunk.”

“The Golden Hind isn’t so fragile! Though honestly, it’s a good thing I stepped in, since neither of you newcomers could be of any use! Alright, kids, time to prepare for plundering!”

In response to her call, the sailors dressed as pirates on the deck all began to cheer.

“Seize the prey~~~?”

“Drink up, me hearties~~~?”

Watching the crew cheer and prepare to board the ferry, Mash continued to try to talk them down.

“Mashu?!”

Mashu reflexively turned around and saw Bai Qiu waving from the precarious ferry, not far away.

“Senpai is on that ship over there, Jeanne Alter-san!”

Mashu immediately chose to share the good news with Jeanne Alter.

“Wha?!” Jeanne Alter’s eyes widened, and she turned to look in the direction Mashu was gesturing. Sure enough, Bai Qiu was waving at her.

“You…” She smiled brilliantly, but when she saw Draco beside Bai Qiu, she quickly suppressed it, her expression becoming terrifying. “So that’s how it is… We were searching for you, and while we were doing that, you were hanging out with that beast…?!”

Jeanne Alter’s entire body began to glow with a pitch-black Mana.

“Jeanne Alter…San?!” Mashu called tentatively.

“Heh heh heh, looks like you want to be burned alive, huh? Seeing you just makes me indescribably mad!”

Black flames roared from Jeanne Alter’s Evil Dragon flag, burning all the way to the deck and instantly filling the front half of the Stag with thick smoke.

“Put out the fire! Save the ship!”

Several sailors rushed to scoop up seawater and pour it onto the black flames, but the water only intensified the blaze.

“Ah, it’s so hot!”

“Cap’n, we can’t put it out!”

“It’s too big, we can’t handle this fire!” cried the pirate-hat-wearing woman.

“Stop panicking! Think of something else!” she ordered.

At that moment, a figure leapt from the deck of the larger ship onto the deck of the Stag.

“You’re the one who wanted to hurt everyone, right?” asked Himiko, her hair in twin ponytails, her fists clenched.

“So what if I am?” The pirate-hat-wearing woman pulled out two flintlock pistols.

“Then let me show you the power of the first queen!”