Chapter 55
A tavern located a bit outside the city.
Though it sat on the outskirts, the place was unexpectedly filled with quite a few people enjoying drinks and food.
“One more bottle of rum here!”
“Yes~! Please wait a moment!”
Servers busily rushing to take orders, drinks and food constantly flowing from the kitchen.
It was, in all respects, just like a typical tavern.
There, Cheshire calmly lifted the glass in front of her and drank.
“You’re drinking quite well, I must say. Honestly, I thought you’d be terrible with alcohol…”
“For me, the concept of ‘getting drunk’ does not exist. Drinking alcohol serves no purpose other than storing fluids.”
“Fufu, that’s quite a bold statement. So you mean you drink alcohol like it’s water?”
“…You could say that.”
Though the real meaning was quite different, Cheshire didn’t bother explaining and emptied the rest of her glass.
But even while drinking the strong rum, her focus was entirely on the woman in front of her.
The one who produced such beautiful sound— The first person, aside from her Mother, to truly capture her attention.
The woman in the robe who introduced herself with the name “Dust.”
She claimed to be traveling the world, and thanked Cheshire for enjoying her song—
Suggesting that, since fate brought them together, they share a meal.
There had been men before who had said similar things.
“Let’s have a meal.” “Let’s have a drink.” Or “Want to enjoy some time at the inn?”
Following her Mother’s teachings, Cheshire had always ignored such remarks or responded aggressively if necessary.
Sometimes with verbal warnings—
Other times, if it went too far, with the axe at her waist.
But strangely, this time she didn’t feel the urge to respond that way.
It wasn’t just because the other person was a woman.
More than anything, she felt an odd curiosity toward this “Dust.”
What was it about this woman’s voice…
That stirred her heart, just like her Mother’s voice?
And so, the two of them came to a nearby tavern for dinner.
Inside, many sailors and pirates had already claimed seats—
Among them were some subordinates of her Mother whom Cheshire recognized.
They were fellow pirates from the White Shark crew, sharing drinks together.
Still, Cheshire didn’t pay much attention to them. A brief nod of acknowledgement was all she gave.
Throughout the meal, she listened intently to Dust’s stories.
“One of my friends is like that too. She used to be a mercenary—could drink an entire barrel of rum by herself.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, haha. But right after that, she ran off somewhere clutching her mouth and didn’t come back. The next day, she was found collapsed on the deck.”
“I’ve seen something similar. Our crew sometimes bets on who can drink the most. Though I’ve never participated…”
“I see. The strong are always shunned in drinking contests. I used to be a nun, and one of the monks I knew was like that. He drank so well that everyone would avoid joining whenever he stepped up.”
“A nun… Those are people who serve in the clergy, are they not? I thought drinking was forbidden for them.”
“Ah… come to think of it, it was prohibited in the Protestant faith, wasn’t it? But our great Pope said we didn’t need to worry about such things. He taught us: ‘Drink and enjoy, but do not get drunk.’ In other words, it was okay to drink as much as you wanted— As long as you didn’t get drunk.”
“…That sounds like a rather self-serving interpretation.”
“Fufu, I’ve always thought the same. Honestly, I only started drinking after I left the clergy.”
They were idle stories without much meaning— The kind often called small talk.
And yet, for some reason, Cheshire felt something different from usual in these conversations.
Thinking about it, this was probably the first time she had exchanged this many words with a human aside from her Mother.
Trivial things, yes— But she could feel something called “fun.”
Without realizing it, she kept the conversation going— And found herself completely absorbed, losing track of time.
“But… I never thought something like this would happen. I finally came to Sicily, only to find the port blocked by both pirates and navy. It’s going to be hard to leave for a while…”
“That is… ‘unfortunate.’ According to Mother’s words, we’ll likely be staying here for at least five more days. You may have to endure until then.”
“I see… five days, huh…”
Dust smiled quietly and took a sip of her wine.
Watching how she didn’t express disappointment or frustration—
Within Cheshire’s heart… a feeling known as “relief” began to bloom.
“Well, it’s a little inconvenient, but what can you do? Luckily, I’ve made a good friend, so I don’t think I’ll be too bored.”
With those words, Dust looked straight into Cheshire’s eyes.
At this, Cheshire blinked in surprise and cautiously asked in a soft voice.
“…By ‘friend’… you don’t mean me, do you?”
“Fufu…”
Instead of answering, Dust gave a light laugh and gently nodded.
“…Is… is that really okay? Calling someone like me… a friend…”
Cheshire’s voice held a quiet shadow.
To this, Dust kept her smile and spoke in a calm and bright tone.
“It’s true, the fact that you’re a pirate is a little concerning… But what can I do? I already sang to you, shared a meal, and we’ve had a nice conversation without any problems… At this point, I think we’ve already crossed the line into being friends, don’t you?”
“Is… is that so…?”
“Yes. At least by my standards… that’s how I see it.”
Dust answered with a slightly playful change in tone, as if mimicking someone else.
To this, Cheshire began to feel something gently swelling in her chest, different from what she felt earlier when she heard Dust’s voice.
Friend…
She understood the word in theory.
But to someone like her—who had never grown close to anyone besides her Mother— The word “friend” was incredibly unfamiliar.
‘But… I don’t dislike it…’
It wasn’t something she was used to, Yet it wasn’t uncomfortable either.
A sensation like a “lack” she had never noticed before was now being filled.
And in that moment— Without realizing it herself, the corners of Cheshire’s mouth began to tremble slightly.
“A-Alright… then… from now on, we’re… frien—”
Bang!!!
“Gaaah!!!”
“Kyaaaaa!!!”
“!”
The next moment, a sharp noise suddenly rang out from inside the tavern, and Cheshire quickly turned her head in that direction.
And then she saw— A man collapsed on the ground, bleeding out, clearly dead.
Cheshire’s face turned ice-cold in an instant.
“H-Higuma! Get a hold of yourself!”
“You can’t die like this! Higuma!!”
Of course, the man lying there was someone who had just lightly nodded to her moments ago.
A pirate belonging to the same White Shark crew as her.
“What on earth happened? He seemed fine just a moment ago, and now…”
“T-That is…”
“I-It was those guys! Those Franz Kingdom navy bastards suddenly started a fight and then just opened fire without warning!”
“What did you say?”
Suddenly brimming with killing intent, Cheshire glared at the navy men.
But they didn’t shrink back at all. On the contrary, they responded proudly.
“Started a fight? Weren’t you the ones who picked a fight first?”
“And who drew their weapon first? This was purely self-defense.”
“A filthy pirate like you… What a ridiculous lie. Do you think you can ignore the justice of the navy?”
“To shamelessly spew lies like that… Then again, for a pirate, lying through your teeth must be second nature, huh?”
The sailors of the Franz Kingdom spoke not with apologies, but with mocking tones instead.
In response, the pirates’ faces turned dark red with rage.
“You shot and killed a man, and now you’re spouting nonsense?!”
“We’ll avenge Higuma! Right here, right now!”
Drawing their weapons, the pirates readied themselves for battle.
By nature, pirates were aggressive, and above all, valued loyalty to their comrades.
In a situation where a comrade was killed and they were being taunted—of course they would snap.
And in a situation like this…
Cheshire, who had been ordered to protect her comrades above all else,
Also drew her axe and began preparing for combat.
—
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