Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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There was nothing to be done about it. Once family upbringing entered the conversation, there was no way to interfere. Thomas dampened his already melancholy heart with sympathy as he gazed at the distant approach of vessels.
“Wow! The legendary Pirate King Thomas!”
“Thomas! Pirate King Thomas!”
“We entered piracy after hearing the legends of Pirate King Thomas! Can you see our flag? We modeled our Jolly Roger after your ship, Thomas!”
Even from a distance, their voices rang so loudly they reached the dock, causing Thomas to bury his face in his hands. This was precisely why he’d never wanted to summon his juniors.
“I thought only the Ship Captain would be embarrassed, but it turns out I’m ashamed too.”
“When I retired, I never realized piracy was such a shameful profession.”
Because the pirates were making such a commotion, even setting off firecrackers, the people of Ilram whispered among themselves, pointing fingers and saying those old thugs couldn’t break their habits and were at it again. One elderly man even cursed Thomas roundly and struck him repeatedly on the head with his cane, asking if he wanted to cause such a spectacle again.
“I don’t want to do this! Evan said she needed me!”
“Why is the Market Master shaking hands with thugs! You’ve been a liar since way back!”
“No, I’m telling the truth!”
The pirate fleet tried to dock their ships at the harbor, but the Coast Guard that Market Master Evan had newly established wasn’t merely decorative—they fired their cannons repeatedly.
“We’re not here to raid! We just have some questions!”
“You fool, if that’s the case, you should come ashore yourself! Why are those bastards docking at the harbor!”
The elderly man struck Thomas’s head once more with a sharp crack. The man shouted that these old geezers had never made sense, then began preparing to set sail.
“Raise the anchor! We’ll have to leave!”
“Me! Me! Let me raise the anchor, sir!”
“Well… if the young lady of the Count wishes to do so, then by all means.”
The capstan was normally turned by several strong men working together, but the spirited young lady Reina Letem raised the anchor single-handedly and completed the preparations for departure.
It was astonishing, but the person in question was a friend of Evan Laef. If she was Evan’s friend, such things were possible. She was the childhood companion who froze the winter sea and chased down bluefin tuna on foot—surely she could raise an anchor alone.
When I thought about it, it was only natural. Like attracts like, and ink blackens those near it. Evan would naturally have someone similar beside her.
“Sir! Let’s hurry!”
“Young lady, but Evan seems like the type who gets tired easily.”
“Huh?! How did you know?!”
You could tell from the first moment you saw them. Reina was clinging to Evan’s side, and Evan was desperately trying to avoid making eye contact with her, her face showing clear displeasure.
“Well… when you get older, you come to know these things.”
“Wow! Old folks really are amazing!”
The girl was kind, though a bit foolish—that was her only flaw. Thomas barely restrained the urge to pat Reina on the back out of pity and set the course.
“Let’s go, you lot! Keep signaling the Coast Guard that we’re safe so they don’t shoot!”
As the sails unfurled and the crew moved toward the stern, Reina struck another dramatic pose, standing at the bow with her arms crossed, laughing heartily. Thomas watched the bright red young lady of the Count with weary eyes and offered some advice.
“Young lady! If you stand there, you’ll get soaked with seawater!”
“It’s fine! Right now I feel like a seafarer!”
“No, when it dries, salt comes out of your hair and clothes! That’s an expensive outfit, isn’t it?!”
The moment Reina heard Thomas’s words, she scurried back to the center of the deck like a cockroach.
She really was a good girl…
Perhaps that’s why Evan couldn’t let her go either. The girl seemed genuinely kind, with only one flaw—she was rather foolish.
Thomas, dressed in magnificent leather clothes that could boast of having twenty belts, ordered his juniors to board his vessel using small boats and conducted a meeting at sea. The representatives from each pirate ship gazed curiously at Thomas’s enormous fishing vessel and began to speak.
“This ship—isn’t it a refitted version of that lovely Eleanor?”
“Don’t you dare! Don’t speak that name aloud, you madman!”
“Even if you’ve changed your trade, the scars remain like medals on the hull—you can’t hide them! Isn’t that scorch mark on the mast from when you fought the Navy back then?!”
“How the hell do you know all that? Are you a stalker?!”
“Argh! I miss those days when you ruled the East Sea, Senior! Why did you have to retire!”
The truth was that catching mackerel earned far more money than piracy. As a pirate, you’re hunted by the Navy—the risks are enormous. Even when raiding merchant vessels, one battle means astronomical costs in gunpowder and wages. For someone thinking about retirement, closing shop was the right call.
At my age, I can no longer compensate for scarce resources with brute strength. If Eleanor ever returned from the city, I’d need substantial funds on hand to gauge whether to confront her or let it slide.
But I couldn’t tell my ambitious juniors the truth. Many of them became pirates after hearing my legend, and if I admitted I lowered the pirate flag for mere mackerel, what would become of my reputation? I tried to deflect and ask around about who’d captured Duke Neftis, but Reina Letem—a genius at feigning ignorance—burst out laughing.
“Ha-ha-ha! Well, fishing has lower risks and better pay than piracy, so what else would it be!”
“What the—!”
“Don’t let some clueless girl belittle the great pirate Thomas!”
“The Pirate King would never abandon his dreams for mere money!”
I’d thought the kid was just stupid, but she had another flaw: her mouth was a gateway to hell.
I was trying to stop my hot-blooded juniors before they disrespected the nobility, but Reina Letem—who wore such a pleasant expression—spoke with brutal, concise words.
“Skill. Inferno Blaze.”
When Reina selected the largest pirate among us and set him ablaze, the atmosphere froze solid. The burning pirate leaped into the sea and hastily extinguished himself. After the splash, Reina continued.
“We’re busy. Answer Thomas’s questions and get lost.”
While my juniors whispered nervously that the Pirate King had brought a mage, I sighed. Right—there’s always a pseudo-Evan beside the real Evan. A schoolmate, they said, and apparently a mage too. Now that I think about it, I recall hearing that some count’s family has produced flame mages for generations.
I realized one more reason why Evan couldn’t let go of Reina, and my heart grew heavy. The kid shouldn’t be choosing friends like this at her age.
“Hey, thanks for keeping quiet. I called you here because I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it, sir! Just say the word! We’ll find out for you!”
“No, no—I’m asking a question, not ordering an investigation.”
So this world still practices burying criminals on uninhabited islands. At least during my tenure we eliminated the custom of binding people by majority vote and feeding them to sharks. As a former Pirate King, I politely asked if they knew who’d captured Duke Neftis, that wealthy nobleman.
“We know them! They defied the Pirate King’s summons—those bastards!”
“They’re newcomers with no manners!”
“We believe in you, Pirate King Thomas! Please take their heads!”
“They extorted us too! It’s unfair! Please take thirty million crowns from them, Pirate King!”
I’m not a mobster—I’m not collecting debts for you. I was about to say that, but Reina stepped forward and smacked the guy asking for money upside the head.
“Thomas is busy. If your eyes work, you’d see that, you punk.”
So how did that count’s daughter end up speaking like a delinquent? Is that part of her upbringing? I’ll never understand nobility. If I have kids, I won’t raise them that way. Come to think of it, Evan speaks quite prettily for a child her age. After mulling over various thoughts, I nodded, impressed that Eleanor had raised her daughter with such courtesy, and kept my business brief.
“Does anyone know their hideout?”
“That guy!”
“Huh? Not me! Him, right?”
“I know the general area, but it’s quite a distance from here.”
Should I tell Evan first then? My juniors might commit some rudeness toward the count’s daughter, so it might be better to leave this to Evan, the Market Administrator. After discussing with my crew, I sought Reina’s opinion. Of course, she didn’t even pretend to listen.
“Wait a moment, sir. Let’s talk for a bit.”
Reina Letem linked arms with me and, stepping away from the others, revealed her true intention. She’d stepped in primarily to prevent Evan and Duke Neftis from meeting.
“You don’t know this world well, sir, but when that man schemes, it’s obvious at a glance.”
“Why does the world you’re talking about keep sounding like the one I know?”
“Of course you wouldn’t know! Have you ever played the nobility game? This world is far dirtier than you think!”
“Ah… yes, I see. You must have been through quite an ordeal.”
“Grr! A stranger I’m meeting for the first time actually understands my suffering!”
Thomas couldn’t help but think that this Count’s daughter had the mannerisms of a street thug. He continued to ponder this observation while listening intently to Reina Letem’s explanation.
“This is a common tactic among the nobility. They deliberately get themselves captured, and if you rescue them, they cling to you with gratitude. If you ignore them, they accuse you of wrongdoing. It’s a technique they frequently employ on those they’ve marked as targets.”
“Wow…”
“Think about it logically. Even if a horse racing track was just built, why would a Duke of all people come to such a remote place with barely a single escort? There must be something valuable he’s after.”
“And that something is our Evan Laef?”
“Exactly. Unless you’re nobility yourself, you can’t truly grasp the desperation of losing an heir. That Duke Neftis—he probably wishes she’d died while captured. This way, he can pin everything on Ilram Market and manufacture a new heir.”
“Even so, would he really gamble with his own life?”
“You don’t understand, sir. That’s exactly what nobility does.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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