Tokushima turned to the line of dock workers that had formed to bring them the bad news.
“Today’s den mochi is officially sold out! I hope you come back for more next time!”
“Huuuh?! Already?!”
Tokushima and Edajima bowed their heads in thanks and regret to the dock workers, who were already starting to disperse.
The sales of den mochi were great and they were able to completely sell all of them, even when the price was three times that of the base price. Given its popularity, even if they procure more ingredients and increase the number of articles, they’d probably still sell all of them. But making a profit wasn’t the duo’s objective. No, it was to know of Tinaye’s peculiar traditions, the state of their shipbuilding, and even the name of their captains—all of which they’ve accomplished, too.
“Sir. Once we’re done here, we’ll head straight for the rendezvous point, right?”
Tokushima asked Edajima as he was packing up.
“Yes. Then we’ll proceed as planned afterward.”
Edajima was logging down the number of den mochi they sold and the number of copper coins they had. Even if they’re just pretending for the sake of intelligence work, they still have to properly record their sales and transfer the profits back to the national treasury once they get back. Of course, in reality, it will eventually be lumped into the mission’s expenses, but until then it’s a matter of integrity to properly process them as sales.
Not long into his work, however, Edajima’s expression turned grim.
“Tokushima…”
“Ah, yes, sir? Are the figures not adding up?”
Tokushima tilted his head puzzlingly. He had never seen Edajima make a mistake in this kind of work before, which means that if something was wrong it’s more likely than most his fault. In this case, he may have miscounted the number of den mochi that he made.
“No… It’s nothing. Please hurry and pack up.”
But Edajima simply shook his head and went back to packing their things. After wrapping up, he promptly headed for the facility’s exit and called on Tokushima to follow suit. He appeared to be dashing for the exit, so much so that Tokushima had to pick up the pace more so than usual.
“What’s up, sir? Why are we hightailing it?”
“Have you really not realized it, Tokushima?”
Edajima’s expression remained grim.
“…We’re being watched.”
“What’s the big deal? We’re being watched this entire time!”
“Yes, that we are. But the attention we’re currently getting is clearly distinct from surveillance. I feel that they are out to get us.”
Cairipinya’s attitude toward them had been extremely warm after they briefly brought up the excuse that they didn’t know the area was off-limits. He even promised to overlook the incident once they were done selling their den mochi. Of course, he still had armed men send them off to the exit to dissuade them from trying anything, but that was just him being broad-minded. Still, Edajima is saying that there’s someone else watching them but with more direct intentions.
Making sure for himself, Tokushima tried to turn and look around but Edajima stopped him.
“Don’t turn around. You’ll alert whoever’s tailing us.”
“Then what do we do?”
“There’s a street lined with warehouses right ahead; we’ll turn right there. Once we do, you position yourself to my left, face me, and then pretend we’re having a casual conversation. You should be able to see the person tailing us from the corner of your eye. Did I make my instructions clear?”
“Yeah yeah.”
Doing just as Edajima told him, Tokushima walked alongside him. Once they were on the street with the warehouses, they turned toward their right. Then, while pretending to make conversation, he kept his attention towards their back right behind Edajima’s shoulder. Not long after, he spotted several silhouettes taking cover behind some objects. They must have been the ones Edajima was talking about. Donning what appeared to be dark robes, they appeared very suspicious.
“Why the hell are they following us…?”
“They might be suspecting us to be part of the pirate bands that are blockading the kingdom. We stand out with our different customs and they might have been alerted to something we said.”
“But I find it hard to believe they think of us as spies for the pirates. I mean, I’d buy it if they think of us as spies for some other country…”
“Tell me, Tokushima: how do you think do pirates find their prey in such a vast ocean?”
“Uhhh, they ambush them at known sea routes?”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that they may find easy prey just by dropping anchor and waiting at one of the known sea routes. But doing that would not only make it easy for the merchant ships to avoid them altogether since they could just not follow the known routes but simply lying in wait for your prey to come to you isn’t a very effective strategy. They’d have to strike big just to break even in the amount of pay and supplies spent in waiting. That isn’t even mentioning that just sticking to the known sea routes makes them easy targets for the navy.”
“So how then?”
“To be more effective in piracy, they must first know beforehand when the ships with the most loot set sail and which route they will go through. Bonus points if they know when the navy’s ships leave port.”
Tokushima clapped his hands as if something had finally clicked.
“Ohh! By doing so, the pirates could not only save on time and provisions but they could also avoid encounters with the navy! Now I understand why they use spies!”
“That has always been the case for massive piracy operations since time immemorial. In Ikenami Shōtarō’s work, the Onihei Hankachō, he describes in detail how the thieves work: in their organization, they have many roles such as the nameyaku, who search wealthy merchant families’ warehouses for the location of their treasury, and the hikikomi, who embed themselves in the merchant families as servants for years, gaining their trust before finally allowing the thieves through the front door when the entire family has retired for the night. On the other hand, knowing of this scheme, it also depicts the merchant families guarding against the thieves.”
“You sure know a lot, sir. Are you perhaps a fan of Ikenami Shōtarō?”
“It was quite the fuss among us manga fans. I myself have read the manga version.”
“But if that’s really the case, then we’re full marks in the ‘spy behavior’ test; we even asked around about the Odette!”
“Yes, but what’s troubling above all is that we have no means of proving our innocence.”
The concept of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ doesn’t exist in the world of the Special Region. In fact, in these times of social uncertainty, people are much more likely to give into hysteria and get them to do the extreme. The trend of punishing someone over mere suspicions is rampant so if they’re caught under the suspicion that they work for the pirates, it’s likely that would be the end for them. This is why Edajima’s expression turned for the worse.
“So what do we do now, sir?”
“I’m thinking.”
“I know I know, but we gotta get outta here, yes?”
“But if we just carelessly break into a run, we’ll just draw more attention to ourselves… But then, I guess we really don’t have a choice.”
Just as Edajima made up his mind, they were already too late: the person with the dark robes who had been tailing them suddenly appeared in front of them. Behind them were more people in dark robes and in between the two were the high walls of the warehouses and the sea.
“Fuck, I guess that’s the water for us…”
Tokushima murmured to himself as he thought of jumping into the sea. But when he turned to look, there were multiple boats near the quay with figures donning dark robes on board.
“Stop! There’s nowhere to run! Don’t make this any worse for yourselves!”
A short man standing on the prow of one of the boats cried out to them. The man was wearing a dark robe like the others but judging from his stature and voice, he was a young man; he also wore tinted spectacles.
Despite glassware still being a rarity, the world is already aware of the concept of spectacles. In place of glass, they use the transparent molten husks of insects as lenses. Certain insects, such as cicadas, have brown translucent husks, making them ideal for sunglasses.
“What do we do, sir?”
“There’s only one thing we could do.”
“What is it?”
“Pray.”
Left with no other option, Edajima and Tokushima raise their hands, signaling their intent to surrender. They then wait to be calmly and promptly examined and taken in.
I wonder who was the god who answered their prayers?
“In here.”
Arrested by the dark-robed men without incident, Tokushima and Edajima were led to a small building tucked away in a corner of the port warehouse district. The interior was dimly lit and there was only a plain wooden table in addition to the bare minimum in furnishings. Judging from the stationery and documents present, it must have been an office of some sort.
“Took you two long enough.”
They heard a voice they were not expecting to hear. They turned around and soon enough, the figure of a man in a sharp black suit was there. It was none other than Tōdō Tetsuo, one of the diplomats working for Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Oh, it’s Tōdō! Did they arrest you too?” Asked Tokushima.
“Why the hell are you here?” Prodded Edajima.
“Hey hey…”
Tōdō motioned them to speak in the Special Region’s common language so that the others around them could understand them. If they continued to talk in their native language, they might be suspected of talking about something dangerous. Starting from the top, Tokushima asked him again, this time in the Special Region’s common.
“Why are you here, Tōdō?”
“We at Foreign Affairs are working with these people.”
“And who are ‘these people’?”
“They’re known as the ‘Negri Ma’ and they work for the Tinaye government. Right, in Japanese, their name means…”
Edajima raised his right hand as if to answer.
“The ‘Black Hand,’ right?”
“That’s spot on. I’ll be borrowing that term in my reports.”
“So to put it, you were not arrested at all and are just working with us?”
Tokushima confirmed with him what he understood from their conversation. Tōdō nodded yes, but the young man wearing the dark robes had a different opinion.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken. You Japanese do not work with us; the Empire’s Privy Council has introduced us to you and we are only accommodating you strictly because they asked us. Also, because of you two, what could’ve been a once-in-a-thousand opportunity has gone to waste.”
“My sincerest apologies.”
Tōdō bowed his head deeply in apology.
“What does he mean by that? What did we do?”
Edajima asked, to which Tōdō explained.
As the preparations for the Odette’s entry into service enter the final phases, Tinaye authorities, anticipating that pirates will be sending spies to catch a whiff of its specific departure date and time, have set up a stakeout to try and catch the spies. With the renowned “Thundering” Captain Cairipinya at her helm, they have bet that the pirates are very much interested in the Odette. They were thus confident that if they prepared a trap around Captain Caipirinya and the Odette, they could catch the pirate spies festering within Nasta. It is in that situation where Tokushima and Edajima unknowingly enter into the trap.
Unfortunately, the trap could only be sprung once. Now that they have, their mission is in shambles.
“It was a one-in-a-million shot for us! Dammit!”
The “dammit!” that came from the boy’s mouth was especially chilling that it sent emotional shockwaves through their hearts.
“I-I’m really sorry…”
Tokushima promptly bowed his head in apology; Edajima followed suit.
“We didn’t know, but we still offer our sincerest apologies. We had some time left before our scheduled rendezvous with Tōdō here, so I thought we might be able to learn a thing or two about your country. It appears I was too greedy.”
The young man accepted the duo’s apologies with a muted sigh.
“So I take it that it was also the two of you who landed at Lopezza wharf in the fog earlier this morning? You were accompanied by Aquas, yes?”
“How do you…?”
“Someone reported you. Tsk tsk, you look down on our intelligence network too much. It may have been very foggy this morning, but it was still reckless of you to drive your boat right into the middle of the harbor.”
It looks like someone had spotted Tokushima and Edajima coming in. Now that they mention it, the fact that the navy facility had such spotty security may have been on purpose to entice pirate spies in.
“But still, for you to connect the dots between us and the landing of two individuals of unknown identity… The Black Hand—no, you may be a lot more brilliant than you let on.”
“You aren’t flattering yourself out of this mess.”
“Ah, I see? I thought you’d be more malleable given how young you look.”
“…”
The young man’s expression soured before ignoring Edajima’s remark.
“Anyway! You owe me for letting this one go. You’ll have to repay me someday!”
“A-Ah… Of course.”
“I will repay, too, to the best of my ability.”
“Allow me to compensate you, too, as long as it’s within my capability.”
Tokushima, Edajima, and then Tōdō replied in earnest. Looking at their lowered heads, the young man reluctantly accepted their apologies.
“So, how’d it go?”
With the young man’s frustrations calmed, Edajima moved the topic back to the mission at hand.
“The other party was a greedy son of a bitch; they tried to get under us and raised the price but thank goodness we managed to reach an agreement. All that’s left is for us to hand over the agreed amount and receive the goods. We’re to meet them at sundown. I trust you brought the exact amount?”
Edajima had Tokushima plop the metallic briefcase down on the table.
“Yes. It’s all here.”
He produced a key, unlocked the briefcase, and opened it.
“Just as MoFA handed it to us. You can go and check for yourself.”
“Alright…”
Tōdō examined the contents.
“Oooh!”
The young man glanced at the contents of the briefcase and yelped in surprise. It was chuck full of gold coins minted in the Special Region.
“You gentlemen are really going all out for a single slave, aren’t you? Is the person in question that rich? Or are they a minister or a noble? Well, if your country went out of its way to send its bureaucrats all the way out here, that guy must be some sort of big shot.”
“Oh, he’s none of those; in fact, he’s not even Japanese.”
Edajima remarked.
“Huh? So who are they, then?”
“They’re a journalist.”
“‘Jurnaleest’? What’s that supposed to be? An authority of some sort? The priest of an important shrine?”
“Where to even begin to explain…?”
Tōdō turned to Tokushima and Edajima for help, but even they were at a loss on how to explain what a journalist is. In the end, they just shrugged their shoulders.
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
Princess Primera, who as of today was now at the ripe, marriageable age of 18, began her morning by emptying the silver cup one of her maids handed to her.
“Good… mor… ning…”
The citrus fruit juice flowing down her throat was all kinds of bittersweet and the air was awash with the aromatic fragrance of fruit liquor. As she started to process what she drank, the vibrant life force of the citrus started to take its effect, making the princess with the braided strawberry blonde hair appear as if she were sparkling. The languid hangover that lingered in her head was slowly but surely ebbing away and her mind began to get back on its feet.
“Ahhh… I still wanna sleep some more.”
But alas, a single cup of hangover cure was by no means enough to completely dispel the young woman’s stubborn hangover. However, this was within the expectations of the princess’s chief maid, Amarett.
“Your bath is ready, Your Highness.”
“Thanks.”
Then, as if on autopilot, Primera rose from her bed wearing her birthday suit.
“Wait, Your Highness!”
The princess tottered along before Amarett and the other maids could help her, emerging out into the halls bound for the bath.
She dipped her toes into the bath before completely immersing her body in the water. The easing sensation of the warm bathwater slowly seeping throughout her body pushed the heavy feelings of hangover out. Before long, the languidness had dissipated, replaced by vigor and vitality.
Plopping into the bath while drunk is extremely dangerous, but with her maids constantly by her side, she has nothing to fear.
“Phew…”
Washing her face with the soothing bathwater, she undid her braids and allowed her hair to soak. Amarett then ordered the maids attending to the bath to wash Primera’s hair and body. They gathered around her feet and hands and started scrubbing them with skin scrubbers made from dried nut fibers.
“How are you feeling, Your Highness?”
“My headache… it’s feeling a lot better. How much did I drink last night?”
“Since last night’s feast was for Madame Padre to show off her precious jewelry, there was a lot of gruff comic banter here and there. That’s why… well, Your Highness… you emptied a barrel’s worth of fruit liquor…”
“A barrel’s worth?!”
“Yes, Your Highness, an entire barrel’s worth… Albeit, a small barrel, but still…”
“Ugh… I don’t wanna drink ever again.”
Primera shook her head as the maids finished scrubbing her hands and feet. She slumped into the bathtub, making bubbles as she sunk half of her face into the water.
“So you say, Your Highness, but can you receive and accommodate guests from faraway lands without the power of alcohol? How about with the esteemed gentlemen? You will soon be married into the Schilaff family, after all.”
The maids pulled the sulking Primera from her bathwater hiding place before more maids with towels approached the princess.
“Err… B-But Sir Digestif is such a kind person…”
With the last drop of water that decorated Primera’s hair wiped away, another batch of maids with undergarments and makeup came and flocked around her.
“Indeed, His Eminence, the son of the Marquis of Schilaff, does have that air about him. He is not only a refined gentleman but he is also very accepting of your extreme shyness. But his subjects do not share the same sentiments. They view your particularly reserved demeanor as unbecoming of a noblewoman. After all, it is in the duty of the nobility to meet with and accommodate high-ranking officials from all across the land and head festivals and ceremonies.”
“Ugh, but going out and receiving them while drunk is too shameless…”
“I’m afraid you need not worry about that, Your Highness. They already refer to you as Prim, Her Drunken Highness. To be outwardly sober may end up giving the wrong impression. Also, this is just my humble opinion, but Your Highness tends to come off very strongly and confidently under the influence.”
With a loud “One, two, three!” four of the maids strapped onto Primera her corset. The sudden pressure on her form evoked a loud yell from the princess.
Even these young noblewomen from affluent families who appear elegant and graceful from the perspective of outsiders are actually determined and hardworking themselves. The tenacity these women have to appear beautiful and appealing was nothing out of the ordinary. After all, the world of high society was characterized by its dog-eat-dog dynamic of pretensions and appearances and thus was hostile to anyone too passive to make their mark. That also means that any hint of shyness presented a massive disadvantage.
But Primera can temporarily overcome that difficulty with the power of alcohol. It is with this power that her restraints have come off, leading her to push aside the other women of Tinaye high society and take her spot atop the pecking order.
As her dress was being put on, she muttered.
“I hate this… I don’t wanna get married yet! Hey, Amarett, is marriage really… How do I put it?… Not something you can expect your partner to accept your flaws and shortcomings and love you for who you are?”
Hearing the princess’s words, Amarett snickered.
“That sounds more like a commoner’s marriage, one that is consummated through pure love. Whereas nobles conduct themselves in the interest of the country or their families… In simpler terms, noble marriages are consummated based on the mutual interests of the concerned parties. Your demeanor, conduct, and manner of speech—they are all tied to the fate of your family or country. That is why you’re allowed a degree of personal extravagance in your lifestyle.”
Another batch of maids came in this time with combs. They braided the princess’s hair and arranged them atop her head in the shape of a crown.
“I wonder if I can get someone to go in my place… Amarett~?”
“I respectfully decline, Your Highness. How could you say that when we maids have been attending to you every single day?”
Once the finishing touches of pink were applied to her lips, a mirror was brought in for her use. She was finally ready for the day. She looked to the left, then to the right, and then she did a little twirl to get a feel of her entire outfit. Satisfied, she gave a nod to the maids in acknowledgment; the maids received her approval with a quick bow before making themselves scarce. Only Primera and Amarett were left in the room.
“You say that because you’re their chief, huh?”
“Precisely. As rigorous in duty and as well-mannered as they are, one can only imagine what swirls in their hearts… But if one can imagine it then, well…”
A mean-looking smile appeared on Amarett’s face.
“Oh, so they are thinking of all sorts of things?”
“Naturally! Do you really want to know? I guarantee that even you, Your ‘Drunken’ Highness, won’t be able to muster an appetite for days.”
“Oh, no, never mind… Yeah, I’m good.”
Primera groaned. Getting the idea that the maids whom she always thought were loyal to her were not actually how she thought they were overloaded her mental capacity.
With her personal grooming out of the way, it was now time for breakfast.
“Shura! Odette! Morning!!!”
Her two closest friends were already at the dining hall waiting for the dignified appearance of Her Highness.
“Ah, good day, Your Drunken Highness.”
First to greet her was the eyepatch girl, Shura no Arch, who sat on the right side of the seat of honor. She had her black hair cut short evenly all across, and besides her beautifully tanned nape that was visible, she carried with her the gallant appearance of a male captain in formal dress.
“You’re later than usual. What have you been doing, Your Drunken Highness?”
“It isn’t even that late yet, you know? You just go out to sea while it’s dark out so it just seems late to you when it’s actually still early.”
“Really now? The sun’s already about to reach as far south as it could go. Is that what counts as ‘early’ to you?”
“Yeah! That’s why it’s ‘Good morning, Your Highness’! And we’re just about to have breakfast, too!”
“Hear what she’s saying, Odette? What d’you think?”
Right across from Shura—the seat on the left-hand side of the seat of honor—was a maiden Avi, Odette ze Nevulla.
“You overslept. While you were in bed, passed out drunk, I’ve already gone to see my ship.”
“Not you too, Odie! You traitor!!!”
“See what I’m telling you, Prim? Just come back down to reality and admit defeat! It ain’t morning anymore, it’s already noon! And no, the right greeting is ‘Good day’! You say it!”
Shura asserted herself triumphantly.
“Ngh…”
Primera groaned in defeat.
“Fiiine… Good day, Shura and Odie! Wonderful weather outside!”
“Atta girl! Now take your seat and join us! We’re already starvin’!”
Shura stood up, went to the seat where Primera was supposed to sit, and pulled it out for her.
“Right. I’m famished as well! What with a certain someone reminding me I never got to eat breakfast!”
Beckoned by Shura, Primera hurriedly took her seat.
It was time for lunch.
“Appetizer, Your Highness.”
While the three girls chatted away, taking sips from their apéritif, half-boiled eggs were served for appetizer.
“That looks really good!”
Seems like the chef, Passam, knows their way around her stomach.
The half-boiled eggs, served in special bowls, had already been shelled completely. Taking her silver spoon, she scooped into the solid yet soft egg white, revealing the runny glistening mass inside that was the egg yolk. Pouring a sauce with a mixture of garumi, larsel, and pepper on the egg yolk, she scooped it up with her spoons and brought it into her mouth.
“Mmm! Deliiiish~!!!”
The delectable taste evoked a reaction filled with pleasure.
The royal farmhands raise countless healthy chickens, taking care of them with love and feeding them right so they can lay good eggs. Out of these many eggs, the best were taken away to the royal kitchens, where the royal chefs boiled them at meticulously maintained temperatures to produce these perfectly half-boiled eggs. When she thinks about how far these eggs have come and the amount of work that went into them along the way, she gets to appreciate the taste even more.
The next dish, soup, followed.
“Sea turtle soup, Your Highness.”
Once again, the hall was filled with an aroma that beckoned their appetites. What was brought before them were bowls of soup containing sea turtle meat simmered to perfection and seasoned to taste with herbs, fish sauce, olive oil, and various spices. With brand-new spoons, she took a scoop or two, brought the silver up to her lips, and let the soup flow in. The mixture of tastes and flavors worked to create a sort of savory harmony that tickled her tongue. She chewed on the solid pieces of sea turtle meat, bringing about an appetizing flavor together with the pleasant sensation of the meat’s elasticity.
“Ah, this is sooo good!”
Primera was beaming.
“It’s the best feeling when you could say that a good meal is good, you know? Don’t you think so too, Shura? Odie?”
“Ah, but you’re making it all complicated, Prim. All I can say is that this is really good.”
“I knew you were gonna say something like that.”
“Eh? You making fun of me?”
“No no no. I’m just jealous that you get to be carefree and just take things the way they are. No, I’m serious! I actually think it’s nice that your tastes only consist of ‘terrible,’ ‘good,’ and ‘really good.’”
Hearing this, Shura sharpened her tone further.
“You’re clearly making fun of me.”
“Chill out! Even I know that as a sailor, you’re not really in a position to complain about food, right?”
“Well… You have a point. Being picky doesn’t get you far at sea.”
Memories of days of the same old grub surfaced, evoking a self-deprecating giggle from Shura.
“So why don’t you do me a favor and explain what you’re sayin’ in more… simple terms?”
“Sure sure.”
Primera cleared her throat and started breaking it down for Shura.
Simply put, it doesn’t matter if a dish is delicious if the one eating it is not in a good mood because their appreciation for it will be affected. Whether you’re fuming, devastated, and coming off at the seams, or are afflicted with worry, the end result will always be the same. In other words, the ingredients, the chef bringing them together into a fine meal, the atmosphere the meal is consumed in, the people you eat the meal with, and the circumstances of your heart at the time you eat—they’re all indispensable to experience the full flavor that the dish has to offer and must thus all be up to the mark for the dish to be delicious.
Right now, Primera was in good health and without worry, and being with friends she had known since childhood, she couldn’t be any more elated. What else is this but not happiness—not joy?
“Oh, I get it now. Thanks for humoring me, Your Drunken Highness.”
Shura nodded, having finally understood where Primera was coming from.
“So what you’re trying to say is that Odie must be worried about something, aren’t you?”
“Spot on! Couldn’t expect any less from you, Shura! You really do look out for your friends!”
“Huh? Me?”
Odette looked confused. The spotlight of the conversation shined on her from out of nowhere.
“Yeah, you, Odie. You look like you haven’t been able to focus on your food. Something eating on you?”
Odette nodded.
“Mhm. You’re right. No hard feelings toward the chefs, but I’m not enjoying this.”
“What’s wrong? We’ll hear you out.”
“Yeah, so tell us, Odie.”
Seeing their friend wear an expression they had never seen before on their face, Primera and Shura leaned in close to hear her out.
“Okay.”
She looked at her two friends in the eye and told of what transpired earlier this morning: when she went to see the ship that had been christened in her name, she came across a couple of men from faraway lands.
“…That’s the gist of it.”
“So what you’re trying to say is that those men recognized your womanly charms and were complimenting you about it? Ain’t that a good thing?”
Shura tilted her head to the side in confusion. What was the problem with that?
“No. They were talking about the ship and its… rear.”
“The ship? As in your ship?”
“Yes, the ship. You know, the one you wouldn’t shut up about wanting to be a captain of for so long now and how you dreamt of catching the wind and setting out into the great blue. One of them even said that its curves are… ‘bewitching.’ It never really mattered to me before but when I think about how the ship that has my name has ‘bewitching curves,’ I sort of feel like I lo—no, never mind… I’m just not in the right mood right now.”
Shura and Primera stared long and hard at their friend, who with a straight face almost conceded that she ‘lost’ but stopped short of saying it.
Odette is beautiful and lovely. She carried with her some sort of majesty precisely because she is an Avi, a rare and highly esteemed race of people. Still, even they would have to concede that she is not gifted with womanly charms and curves. Her chest is very much constricted into her form and the mellowness she expects out of her bosom and buttocks is best described as “modest.” Naturally, some of this is down to the peculiarities of being an Avi but the fact that she is yet to grow up is very much apparent. It also doesn’t help that Odette herself doesn’t have much experience in the way of romance so her form never once mattered to her. However, that in itself lends some credence to her feeling of inferiority. In summary, she is finally, for the first time, feeling conscious of the other sex.
Primera hesitated in responding. Should she be proud of her friend growing up or break into a fit of anger over some strangers’ discourteous remarks toward her friend?
“Maybe those gentlemen are just weirdos who harbor impassioned feelings for ships, yeah? I hear about those eccentric types all the time! Right, Shura?”
“Huh?! O-Oh… Yeah…”
Still in disbelief, Shura nodded along.
“I see. So I should just ignore those weird men?”
“Of course!”
Hearing this, Odette beamed.
“Thank goodness. So they were just weird…”
With her worries dispelled, she took a spoonful of the sea turtle soup. Unlike before, this time her face twirled in ecstasy. Shura, still bothered, leaned in close to Primera and whispered.
“Hey, Prim! I’ve never come across those types of people before! You really sure about this?”
“It’ll be fine! It’s for her sake, anyway! Besides, it’s not like it’d hurt anyone, right? Just go along with it!”
“F-Fine…”
Shura turned back to look at Odette.
“Look, Odette. I bet that that man won’t give anyone the time of day. I know that because you’re actually very beautiful yourself!”
“So you’re saying that he’ll even ignore you?”
Odette replied as her line of sight fell upon Shura’s chest. Among the three of them—nay, amongst all the women of their age, she was perhaps the most gifted in terms of her bosom’s curves. Even in her formal, masculine uniform, her breasts appeared to bulge in a captivating manner.
“O-Of course!!! If he wasn’t the weirdo he was, he’d be head over heels for you!”
Just then, Odette stopped eating her soup as if she remembered something unsavory.
“Ah, speaking of. Cairipinya’s at it again with the touchy-feely attitude.”
“Now that would be a normal response from a man! See? You’ve got charm!”
Shura smiled as if hitting the jackpot in convincing Odette. Primera, however, was livid.
“Wait, what?! No no no no! That isn’t right!”
“Huh? Why?”
“Don’t they say that the connection between the ship and its captain is like that of a husband and wife?”
“Well, yeah? That’s how it really is.”
“But it’s that Cairipinya, girl?! He has the monicker, ‘the womanizer,’ for a good reason! He has a woman at every port but the number of women he made to cry is as vast as the stars above! Then there are the rumors that he’s had an affair with every guardian protector of the ships he had commanded over the years!”
“Ahhh, well… You know what they say, ‘Great men have greater tendencies for women.’”
Shura remarked with envy.
“Precisely my point!!! We can’t let Odie be another chain in that man-whore’s long list! This is Odie we’re talking about!!! We’ve known her for as long as we can remember! Dammit, I was wrong all along! I thought he’d never lay his filthy hands on Odie since I heard he prefers his women ‘past their prime’—whatever the hell that means! To think he’d lay his hands on someone as flat and bare as Odie… That unprincipled old geezer!!!”
“Flat and… bare?”
“Odie! It’s not too late! Please step down from being that ship’s guardian protector!”
“The spiritual ceremony tying me to the ship had already been done at its launch. I am already that ship and that ship is already me. Besides, I don’t want to give up the role of seeing you off to Schilaff.”
Seeing the impasse between her friends, Shura raised her hand.
“If that’s the case, then how about we just change the captain? What do you think, Prim? Maybe I could be the captain, and then I could accompany the both of you and also see you off to that Schilaff guy.”
“Oh, thank you, I’m so glad to hear you feel that way! I am on board giving you the captaincy of that ship! But are you sure? Won’t that mean you’d have to serve with the navy?”
“Eh, there’s nothing bad with earning some experience sailing with the navy.”
“Really? You’ll be able to make connections once you’re in, too! But then it’d be more difficult for you to take over your family’s pirate operations… And if you will take over, the need to fulfill your service in the navy means it’ll be put off.”
“I also really want to see you off to that Schilaff guy. It doesn’t matter to me how roundabout it is as long as I get to do that for you.”
“Aww, thank you. Really! All that’s left now is to bring this case up to Father!”
“Alright! I’ll get to be captain!”
“The main dish, Your Highness.”
At once, the maids came in and brought to them their main dishes.
“Okay, girls, time for the main dish! Let’s all enjoy our roasted suckling pig with herbs!”
Taking charge as chief of their lunch, Primera was priming her friends for their awaited main dish. They’ve had their amazing half-boiled eggs and sea turtle soup, enjoyed a heart-to-heart chat, and prepared their body and heart for this moment. After all, she had personally ordered Passam to roast her a suckling pig that had been fattened with dried figs. She expected a suckling pig filled to the brim with spices and herbs, its skin glazed with honey and egg yolk and roasted to crispy perfection, and its juicy meat brimming with savory juices. She was most looking forward to the liver, the part renowned the region over for how exquisitely delicious it was.
“Huh?”
However, what was brought to them was not what she was expecting. On the plate where the roasted suckling pig was supposed to be was an erida, a white body fish. The erida is known throughout the region as a luxury fish and is well-regarded for its savory flavor when cooked. It was by no means a commoner’s dish and it’s one of the dishes Primera could expect to see on her dining table. However, this isn’t what she had ordered.
“What’s this supposed to be?”
“It looks good! C’mon, let’s just dig right in, Prim!”
“I know, Shura, I know. I can see for myself that this is one fine catch and it was cooked splendidly, but… this isn’t what I ordered.”
With her smile frozen in place, Primera turned and asked Amarett.
“Didn’t I order for roasted suckling pig? What’s this?”
Amarett’s response was to bow down to her waist in apology.
“My apologies, Your Highness, but I believe that Passam has ensured that this freshly caught erida is cooked as excellently as a roasted suckling pig.”
“But it’s not what I ordered! I wanted my friends to have roasted suckling pig! I also wanted roasted suckling pig!”
“My most humblest apologies, Your Highness! Please forgive this transgression!”
“Who do you think I am?! I’m the daughter of Harvey Luna Walvanker, the Doge of the Majestic Pearl of the Blue Sea, Tinaye! When I say I want to eat suckling pig, I want to eat suckling pig! Why isn’t there a suckling pig on my table?!”
“Wait, Your Highness! Please don’t bring it all on Amarett!”
Passam, the head chef, came running out of the kitchen as if to try and spare Amarett from the princess’s reprimanding.
“Passam! Explain yourself!”
As drops of sweat steadily poured down his face, Passam gave his defense.
“To tell you the truth, we find it difficult to procure figs as of late. Inevitably, as a result, we also couldn’t fatten any pigs…”
“No… Do you understand what you’re saying?! This is no laughing matter!!!”
“M-My sincerest apologies, Your Highness!!!”
“Even if it’s ‘difficult’ to get, you cannot just give up; I ordered it, you know?! If the situation is that bad, then that just means there are no figs. Correct?”
Pale and sweating profusely, Passam once more lowered his head.
“Y-Yes… You are correct, Your Highness.”
“This isn’t good.”
“Yes, I humbly apologize!”
Primera stood up from her seat.
“This isn’t the time for apologies, you hear?! If I can’t get what I want for lunch, then what more about the commoners? Doesn’t that mean that there are hundreds of poor children out there who are starving and crying and whatnot?! What is happening to my Tinaye?!”
Passam replied.
“Starving children? S-Surely that mustn’t be the case, Your Highness! Our granaries are still stocked to the brim with grain and as long as the seas continue to provide us with their bounty and we won’t spoil it, our people will not starve! But it is as you say… We’re an island nation and much of our food comes through the merchant ships…”
“So there’s currently a shortage of high-class goods?”
“C-Correct…”
Primera dropped back onto her seat as if her questions had been answered.
“Those horrible, horrible pirates… I must raise this matter to Father with haste! At this rate, even the commoners will start to find their supply of necessitates lacking! Just what in the world is the navy doing these days?… Oh, I’m so sorry, Shura.”
“Hm? Why?”
Shura, who was already stuffing her mouth full of erida, jolted in her seat from the sudden mention.
“About that talk earlier about making you captain… Yeah, at our current state of affairs, the navy department will never say yes, because, urk… that Cairipinya, one of our greatest captains, is about to enter the fight with our newest ship. Suffice it to say that not even the people will approve of your sudden appointment in place of him. I won’t bring it up to Father anymore. This isn’t the time to press him for what I want…”
“Ah well. Desperate times, am I right?”
Shura shrugged, easily dropping her ambitions; Odette had the same sentiments. It was almost as if they knew this was going to happen.
“Oh, Odette…”
Primera turned to Odette with worried eyes.
“You don’t need to worry, Prim. I never liked Cairipinya, anyway, so I’ll turn him down at every turn.”
“Really? Will you really be okay?”
Seeing Primera all worried, Shura couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You’re such a worrywart, Prim! Yeah, Cairipinya’s a whoring bastard, but as long as Odette shows her disdain for him he won’t force himself onto her.”
“Of course he won’t. If he does, I don’t care if he’s one of our greatest heroes, he’s going down! But still…”
What happens between a man and a woman isn’t set in stone; what may once be a couple who are like cat and dog with one another may end up overcoming such differences. It’s this line of thinking that’s got Primera worried that the ‘well-seasoned’ Cairipinya may try to trifle with Odette’s pure and innocent heart.
“It’ll be fine.”
Shura assured Primera in support of Odette, who also wants her to stop worrying.
“Alright! Rather than stress about things that haven’t happened yet, let’s just eat my catch, okay? I guarantee you, it’s amazing.”
“Wait, you caught this?”
“Oh yeah. I brought this in just this morning when it was still dark out.”
By worrying too much and becoming overprotective of her friends, she may end up hurting them and isolating them further instead. Disposing of her worries with a sigh, she turned her gaze toward the plate in front of her and thought about what Shura said. By the time she ordered a suckling pig yesterday, everybody must have already known that it wasn’t possible to accommodate her wishes. To find a substitute for the suckling pig, Shura must have set out early in the morning to catch the erida in front of her.
Primera’s heart caved at the thought of everyone around her trying to work around the limits so that she could still have what was best. Then, the embarrassment of her being oblivious to it all followed not long after.
“I’m such an idiot. How could I have known…”
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up for it. You’re already leagues ahead of any other noble out there.”
“Still…”
“You already know what you’re supposed to do in these times. You ought to let your Father and the men of government do their work.”
With that, Primera regained her sense of being in the moment.
“You’re right. Alright. Let’s start from the beginning and have our fill of this steamed erida seasoned with fruit liquor! I know it’ll be good because it’s your catch!”
With a knife and fork in hand, she cut out a section of the meat from the bone, dipped the bright white fish meat in the surrounding sauce, and put it in her mouth. The juicy texture of the meat felt like it melted in her mouth as the liquor and sauce steadily oozed out. A few seconds in and the flavor was already too good to bear.
“Well?”
“I told you! It’s soooo good!”
Beyond the flavor of the ingredients and the spices, she could taste the well-meaning intentions of her friends. But two bites in, their lunch was abruptly cut short.
When Primera opened her eyes, she found an arrow sticking out of the silver plate she was eating on.
“Huh? What in the world…”
It seems to have come from outside.
“Prim! Get down!”
Figuring out what was happening, Shura and Odette threw themselves on Primera, pinning her down on the floor and accidentally scattering the food they were eating all over the place.
“Aww. What a waste of the erida you caught…”
Rather than feel fear from the danger on her person, what lingered on Primera’s mind was the erida Shura had gone out of her way to catch for her.
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