I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 7

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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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[007] Difficulty A-Rank Quest
“You’re asking me to deliver this to your wife in the Royal Capital…?”
―That’s right. More precisely, my ex-wife. I’m a dead man now, after all.
“Ah… I, I see….”
―Why, disappointed it’s so simple? If you’d prefer different terms, I can arrange them. A talent like you deserves a place in my personal guard. Serve as Undead for about two hundred years, and I’ll grant you eternal rest.
“No, no thank you….”
I hastily bowed my head.
Orgillian’s reason for summoning me privately was nothing complicated.
Simply deliver a letter he’d written to his ex-wife living in the Royal Capital—a straightforward task.
All the questions I’d anticipated and prepared answers for before meeting Orgillian felt like wasted effort given how simple this mission was.
At the same time, a blue window materialized in my vision.
[Quest Initiated!]
｢Orgillian, the legendary knight of the Teuton Knights Order, was transformed into Undead after being ambushed by a Lich during an expedition to subjugate heretics on the Iberian Peninsula.｣
｢To resolve his lingering regrets, please deliver his letter to his ex-wife in the Royal Capital.｣
｢Reward: ???｣
[Difficulty A]
‘…Wait.’
I flinched at the final paragraph just as I was about to casually accept the Quest.
A simple letter delivery, yet the difficulty is A-rank?
‘What on earth is he scheming…?’
I regarded the Death Knight with suspicious eyes.
In Belheim, A-rank Quests typically only appear for high-level players, and beginners rarely even catch a glimpse of them.
Normally, it wouldn’t be strange to die several times during such a mission.
Just what kind of hidden difficulty warranted an A-rank rating?
―Why do you hesitate, human? Surely you’re not refusing my request?
“N-not at all… I gladly accept. Haha….”
Despite my unease about the high difficulty, declining wasn’t an option.
If I refused the Quest, the Death Knight before me would surely turn me into fish food with his own hands!
As I bowed deeply and accepted the mission, Orgillian contentedly caressed the gold coins piled on the table and spoke.
―Good, thank you. You’re quite the interesting fellow… I have a feeling you’ll handle this well. Oh, and I hear some madman on your ship was leading a unit arm-in-arm with Skeletons. Do you know who that is?
“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about that….”
―Hmm, is that so? I was curious what kind of lunatic would be so bold, but it’s a shame. Well then, don’t linger—leave this place at once. My subordinates are on the verge of causing trouble.
Looking through the window he indicated, I spotted Undead staring at me with greedy gazes.
I quickly bowed to Orgillian and hurried from his cabin.
The blackened sky above the Vast Sea remained shrouded in gloomy mist and the aura of death, yet my heart felt lighter.
Before departing the fleet, I lingered and surveyed the Ghost Ships around us, where the eerie songs of Undead hauling ropes and resuming their voyage echoed across the waters.
‘…A song?’
As I listened, a solemn melody worthy of a cathedral drifted across the countless sailing ships.
Yo ho… yo ho….
Raise all the sails….
We are beggars, vagrants, informants.
Hear us, you corrupt nobles.
Yo ho… yo ho….
All of you… pull the ropes….
We are slaves, criminals, smugglers.
Listen, you old and sickly king.
….
「You have heard the Undead’s Hymn [Introduction] [Sea]!」
「The Undead’s cohesion increases.」
「The Undead’s fighting spirit rises and their will to battle surges!」
「If you unravel the riddle woven into the song, you will receive a great reward!」
‘That was… a hymn?’
A fact I never discovered in ten years of gameplay.
I was astounded that the songs the Undead sang possessed a proper structure.
Until now, I had thought the sounds of sea breeze passing through the Skeleton’s ribs or their mindless mumbling was just noise.
Perhaps transforming into a Skeleton once had granted me the ability to comprehend the Undead’s language.
“Just how many hidden pieces does this game contain….”
Even I, who had once climbed to the rank of top player, was experiencing everything for the first time—what must it be like for other players?
If I had uncovered all these hidden secrets, could I have grown even stronger?
Could I have become stronger than when I played as a game and cleared this world?
I discovered myself trembling with excitement at this truth I hadn’t known, and I held back a self-deprecating laugh.
I truly did love Belheim as a world.
In a sense, that’s why I came to this world in the first place.
“Yo ho… yo ho… everyone raise the sails….”
I hummed the Undead’s song as I headed toward Barbo.
* * *
“L-Land! Land is in sight!!”
“Land, you say…?! Everyone move your asses like they’re on fire!! Anyone who dawdles will get acquainted with the whip on their back!”
“Unfurl the sails!! We sail at full speed!”
Three full days had passed since we escaped the Ghost Ship Fleet, where human lives were treated no better than fish.
Piercing through the sea fog where we couldn’t see even an inch ahead, as we pressed toward the nearest harbor at maximum speed, green land began to appear in the distance.
With water and provisions running dangerously low, the Pirates embraced one another and shared their joy at the relief of returning alive.
“We made it, damn it!! We’re alive now, hahahaha!!! Why isn’t everyone breaking out the rum?!”
“Ugh…! When we encountered the Ghost Ship in the middle of the sea, I thought we were done for….”
“We’re probably the only humans to face a Death Knight and survive, right? It’s the highest-tier Undead after all…! Though there is someone who actually faced one directly….”
The Pirates on the Deck simultaneously turned their gaze toward me.
In the eyes of the Pirates looking up at Doran, disguised as Captain Barbo, admiration and trust were seething.
How could such charisma flow from merely standing still?
I’m certain it wasn’t like this before!
As Doran silently turned the helm while bathed in sea breeze, the First Mate approached through the Pirates who were celebrating with gulps of rum, carrying a bottle of rum.
“…On a day like this, wouldn’t you care for a drink, Captain?”
“You lot can drink amongst yourselves. If we’re to sail this ship, at least one person needs to stay properly awake.”
“But… surely just one sip wouldn’t hurt, Captain…?”
“I’m fine.”
“Come now, don’t be like that! Share in our joy! Riding the waves, catching the fair wind, and savoring the moment—that’s a captain’s virtue!”
“Hmm… if you insist so strongly, First Mate, then perhaps I’ll have just one sip.”
I accepted the bottle with a wry smile at the Pirates’ jesting.
I didn’t trust the liquor they offered, but refusing too firmly might arouse suspicion about my identity.
“Kyaa~ Our Captain! So bold even in drinking!”
“Barbo!! Barbo!!”
As I drained the rum with a hearty laugh, cheers erupted from the drunken sailors around me.
I finished every drop and returned the empty glass bottle, and the First Mate looked up with a subtle expression—apparently he hadn’t expected me to drink it all.
“…What, disappointed?”
“Ah, no sir. Of course not….”
The First Mate set down the empty bottle quietly, his gaze complicated.
He swallowed hard and then asked carefully, as if probing.
“Sir… there’s still one thing that puzzles me. Would it be alright if I asked…?”
“Go ahead.”
“When we were surrounded by the Undead… how did you ever think to sail between the Ghost Ships? What gave you such audacity…?”
“That was….”
As I prepared to answer calmly, I realized every eye on the deck was fixed upon me.
Though they said nothing, their curiosity was unmistakable.
I chuckled softly and delivered the excuse I’d prepared.
“I once read an ancient manuscript on an island. The Lich and its subordinates possess high intelligence, so they often don’t attack if you approach them first.”
“So you made such a bold decision based on what was written in that book…?”
“Yes. It was a gamble, but at that moment, I judged it worth the risk.”
“Then… when the Death Knight called you aside separately, what did you discuss?”
“Hmm… it said it had a request for me.”
“A, a request from the Death Knight…! Then that request was…?”
“I cannot speak of that.”
“What, such a grave secret! How, how remarkable! We were terrified even to look upon that dreadful Undead! Truly, you are our Captain!!”
The Pirates gazed up at me with admiration.
In truth, it was less a request than a task forced upon me, but there was no need to correct them.
Once we reach the harbor, I won’t see them again anyway.
However, I noticed one crew member reacted differently to my words.
“As expected of our Captain….”
“…First Mate, is there something else?”
“No, sir. Nothing at all….”
The First Mate hesitated and lowered his head.
I studied the First Mate carefully for a moment, then shrugged and headed toward the Ship’s Cabin.
As the First Mate’s gaze followed Doran’s retreating figure, a young man limped toward him.
“Sir First Mate Robert, I… there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Discuss? You?”
The First Mate narrowed his eyes and turned to face the man.
Philip—the newest recruit, barely a few months into the Pirate Crew.
Word had it that during the battle with the Skeletons, some madman had stabbed him through the thigh.
When the First Mate gestured for him to continue, Philip opened his mouth.
“It’s about the Captain, sir… Ever since we encountered the Undead, something feels off about him. As if he’s become a different person. No matter how I think about it, it’s strange…!”
“Strange? What do you mean?”
“Well, surely you don’t believe what the Captain just said, do you? Our Captain can’t read! He’s never been brave like that either! People do change after traumatic experiences, but still…!”
Captain Barbo of the Barbo is no sage.
He’s a coward with no backbone.
Yet he steered the ship straight into the heart of the Undead and negotiated boldly with the Death Knight, a high-ranking Undead.
Even if heaven and earth were remade, he was never the sort to accomplish such audacious feats.
Had he possessed such talent, the First Mate would never have suffered so many headaches from him.
As Philip rambled on with such implications, First Mate Robert spoke with finality.
“Philip.”
“Yes?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Yes…? Why so suddenly?”
“If you value your life, don’t ask questions carelessly, you fool. The mysteries of the sea may claim your life just as they did Tyrosh, who burned to death below deck.”
In this world, some secrets are better left buried.
The First Mate cut short Philip’s naive prattling.
One undeniable fact echoed in his mind.
The ‘Captain Barbo’ I serve would never drink rum.

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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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