The Pirate King's Daughter - Chapter 57

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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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Episode 57
“It proves my heart can change.”
Kies murmured faintly.
He was right, honestly, but I sensed it was better not to push further.
I couldn’t know everything behind his eyes, but they looked devastated in a way that cut deep.
“Actually, nothing changed. Same shell, different person—but you never loved that person anyway.”
I spoke brightly on purpose.
“What I’m trying to say is, we’re adults now. All of that is just the past.”
“The past…….”
“Right. We forget the past and live in the present.”
The hero who had to reach the Empire and save the world couldn’t afford to waste strength on this.
Kies stared blankly, repeating the words I’d spoken—past, present, adults.
“I understand.”
Then, as if he’d made some resolve, his eyes hardened with newfound determination.
‘Something still feels off.’
But I hadn’t seen him wear such a vibrant expression in a while, so it must be for the best.
“Now go use the bathroom. I’ll be in the dining hall.”
He was even taking care of my restroom breaks. How mortifying—and oddly thoughtful.
* * *
After a long voyage, we finally arrived at the coastal city of Rabet.
“We should find an inn first, then buy some proper clothes.”
This place was textbook tropical rainforest climate.
Hot, humid, and dank—the kind of suffocating weather that was truly unbearable.
We all had only long sleeves, and everyone was suffering.
Berto especially. Sweat rolled down his neck and collarbone, and I could count how many shirt buttons he’d undone.
“Let’s find the inn quickly.”
Kies took the lead, walking from the Dock into the roads winding through the city.
Broad-leafed trees dotted the streets, making everything verdant, and crowds of people milled about in bustling energy.
Almost too crowded to approach anyone.
“Excuse me, you there!”
I spotted a man walking alone with a paper bag and hurried over to call him.
“Yes?”
The man turned. He had a gentle face and wore glasses.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
He suddenly screamed at the sight of me, threw the paper bag away, and bolted.
Fish, figs, and all manner of produce pelted my face.
“So this is what it’s like to be someone people think is possessed.”
I’m barely surprised anymore.
“Tatiana!”
The protagonists ran over as I stood there, resigned.
“Are you all right?”
Kies removed something green clinging to my hair.
“Fine. Just smells fishy.”
I had one more reason to find that inn quickly.
“Does Tatiana’s appearance seem frightening in this country?”
Perian bent down, picked up a clean fig, wiped it on his clothes, and took a bite.
“Oh, this is really sweet. We should buy some fruit later.”
While he blithely said that, the man had become tangled in Dilshard’s vines and was dangling upside down. Berto was now pressing a sword toward his face.
“Tell us what you attacked for.”
“Eek!”
I wasn’t sure that qualified as an attack.
The terrified man clasped his hands and wept, pleading desperately.
“N-no! There’s no reason! It was just a mistake! Please, spare my life! Waaah!”
The commotion drew a crowd.
This was heading toward an arrest situation. The thought of the Naval Alliance Base prison came to mind, so I rushed over to stop it.
“Dilshard, put him down.”
The man’s head touched the ground safely, and he ended up lying on his back.
I went to pick up his fallen glasses to help him out.
“Please! I was wrong! I’m sorry! I’ve committed a terrible crime! Just spare my—”
“…….”
Maybe Perian was right. Maybe my face really did look frightening here.
That’s when I had a genuinely rational suspicion.
“He’s a demon. I think he recognized the treasure.”
Pudding, in hidden form, flew to my side and whispered. Of course, the others couldn’t hear it.
“A demon?”
As I turned to ask, the man sprawled on the ground’s eyes went wide with shock.
Soon he trembled uncontrollably.
In a world where even a contract with a demon meant being burned at the stake, what kind of execution would befall a demon itself was obvious.
“It might be best if we moved somewhere quieter. Could you guide us to a place where we can talk undisturbed?”
The man’s face turned ashen, his eyes widening in disbelief.
He hadn’t expected me to protect him.
‘Though I could always report him.’
A demon who also knew about the treasure?
This man held every piece of information I needed most desperately, and I would use any leverage necessary to get him to talk.
“But don’t try anything foolish. As you can see, my friends are quite formidable.”
The man nodded frantically, eyes full of dread.
Luckily, the place he brought us to was an inn.
“I… work here, actually. Please wait while I put these groceries in the kitchen.”
So that’s why he’d gathered up the provisions he’d thrown at me. Even a demon, if enslaved to money, has no choice.
Once he returned, we secured rooms at a very reasonable price and gathered in mine.
My room was the largest and finest in the inn, probably including soundproofing.
‘That demon’s got good sense.’
Free upgrades, truly free.
I hid a smile far more sinister than any demon would wear and opened my mouth.
“My name is Tatiana.”
At my introduction, the man hesitated.
“……Basil.”
“You’re a demon, aren’t you?”
“……Yes.”
He answered readily, as if he’d already accepted there was no point hiding it.
At that, the three fighters summoned their weapons—sword, vines—and took defensive positions.
Perian leaned casually against the wall near the door, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice, his smile easy even as his fingers tapped relentlessly on his crossed arm.
“Why did you run when you saw me?”
“Well…….”
The man glanced at the protagonists arrayed around him before continuing.
“You possess tremendous power. A weak demon like me could be killed in an instant.”
What’s with calling me “Commander”?
I wanted to point it out, but there were more pressing matters.
“You’re talking about the power contained in this Treasure Fragment?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. That too, but I also sense it from you directly.”
He must be referring to the power Lucas gave me.
‘This can’t come out now.’
I decided I’d need to meet with him separately, away from the protagonists, and lifted my pendant to draw his attention to it.
“Do you know what kind of treasure this is?”
“That couldn’t be. How would a lowly being like me dare to—”
“No, wait. I’m genuinely asking because I don’t know. I happened to obtain this treasure, but it affected other people negatively.”
“Ah…….”
Basil adjusted his glasses and peered at the treasure intently from a distance, squinting.
“May I look closer?”
“Tatiana, don’t take any risks.”
Kies immediately cut in.
He was already uncomfortable staying at the inn; now he was being annoying again.
“No, it’s fine. I pose no threat to you whatsoever, but I’m simply too frightened to approach…….”
It didn’t sound like a lie.
He was far more afraid of me sitting still than of the three combatants in attack posture around him.
“Truthfully, when I said I didn’t know, I meant it. As a mere creature, I can only sense a power so overwhelming I dare not even gaze upon it.”
“Could it be a demon’s possession?”
“Hmm, I suspect this isn’t an object any human or demon could simply own.”
I’d thought I’d finally grasped a clue to the treasure’s nature, but my mind only grew more tangled.
If even a demon’s power couldn’t withstand it, why was I unaffected?
“Yet I haven’t been affected in any way.”
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
Pudding suddenly materialized in front of Basil’s face and spoke—he yelped and fell backward in shock.
“A… a Spirit Being……!”
Basil pointed at Pudding accusingly.
At this point, I was curious about what Pudding and Popo actually were. They’d said Guardian, Sacred Beast, and now Spirit Being.
“Pudding, what exactly should I call something like you?”
At my question, Pudding swept a tentacle over its nonexistent chin and tilted its head.
“I’m just a jellyfish. Humans just call me whatever they feel like. But if I had to name it, Spirit Being probably fits best.”
“You are truly…….”
Reverence shone in Basil’s eyes as he looked at me.
‘Not bad.’
I felt like I’d become a genuinely strong character.
“Do you know why the Spirit Being wasn’t affected by the treasure either?”
“Well… hmm. Perhaps because Spirit Beings don’t receive divine power but exist on a higher plane than humans or demons?”
Strong enough to resist the treasure, it seems.
“Tatiana, do you have any other questions?”
Kies asked while maintaining his guard.
I had plenty more, but they were things the protagonists couldn’t know.
“No. That’s enough for now.”
“Then I’ll take him out.”

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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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