Chapter 170

Chapter 170:  Crazy Skill

Midday, at the dock of the Mudside trading port.

Here, ships seized from the Count of Tread were being actively remodeled.

Among them, a few vessels were nearly completed, and an unexpected commotion had broken out aboard one of them.

“The anchor’s positioned wrong. Lower it further!”

“L-Like this?”

“You should probably carve out this section a bit.”

“Ah, yes, yes. Understood.”

These were pirates Hardin had brought from the Calav Archipelago.

They were up on the ships, interrupting the carpenters who were in the middle of modifications, giving unsolicited advice left and right.

“......Ughh, Hardin. I really don’t know if this is the right thing to be doing.”

“Brother, are you sure about this?”

While concerned expressions filled the faces of those watching—

The very instigator of all this remained completely carefree.

“I’m telling you, it’s fine. Those guys may be a bit rough around the edges, but when it comes to skill, they’re the real deal.”

“......Sigh. You better keep your word, brother. If we’re not satisfied with their abilities, we’re calling the whole thing off, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

The reason Malion and Cobalt were entertaining this absurd situation at all was because of the proposal Hardin had made.

---

“I’ll prove those guys’ skills to you right away. If you're still not satisfied after that, I’ll kick them all out. That’s fair, right?”

“Well, in that case, I guess there’s no reason not to……”

---

If they didn’t like what they saw, they had every right to throw them out.

After all, with terms like that... if the two of them just hardened their hearts and pushed a bit, they felt they could get rid of the pirates without any serious trouble.

How long had they been waiting with worried looks on their faces?

“Young Master, the adjustments are complete!”

A pirate standing on the deck shouted loudly.

At this, Hardin nodded and turned to the two.

“All done. Hop on.”

“You want us to board the ship? This one?”

“Yes. You’ve got to see their skills for yourself from up there to know if they’re good or not.”

“Ughhh… I suppose that’s true.”

Cobalt scratched his head with a displeased expression.

Even if it was work, he didn’t want to board a ship piloted by pirates.

Scenes of being kidnapped or threatened—classic crisis scenarios—flashed through his mind.

“If you don’t get on, I’ll just assume you’re satisfied with them.”

“No, no. I’m getting on. Let’s go, Malion.”

“......Yes, Father.”

With uneasy faces, the two followed Hardin and boarded the ship.

Once everything was ready, Hardin gave a nod to a pirate wearing a captain’s hat.

“Set sail.”

“Aye!”

BWOOOOOOO!

The pirate roughly blew the departure horn.

“Raise the sails!”

Flap!

The crew on deck rushed to action, scrambling up the wooden masts like monkeys and lowering the sails.

At that moment, the helmsman sharply turned the rudder.

“Let’s goooo!”

“Urah-cha-cha-cha!”

The pirates gripping the oars pulled with all their strength, accelerating the ship.

The entire process unfolded seamlessly, as if the crew were one single entity.

‘…F-Fast.’

‘This is…’

Even Cobalt and Malion, who were aboard, had their eyes widen in astonishment at the sheer momentum.

Seeing this, Hardin grinned and asked,

“So? Looks pretty good, right?”

“Th-This alone isn’t enough to judge.”

“He’s right, Brother. That level of maneuvering could be done by any other sailors with enough training.”

“Yeah? Well then, just keep watching a bit longer.”

Splashhh!

The massive merchant ship rapidly cut through the water, surging forward.

The problem was, there were quite a few ships going in and out of the inner harbor right now.

But...

“Outta the way! Move!”

The pirates didn’t slow down—in fact, they picked up even more speed as they charged ahead.

“Sh-Shouldn’t we be slowing down, Hardin?”

“We’re going to crash at this rate!”

The father and son shouted in panic.

“Just watch, would you?”

Hardin merely laughed and waved a hand nonchalantly.

“Eeeek! Get out of the way!”

As expected, people aboard an incoming vessel screamed in alarm.

“Hi-di-ho!”

Whether drunk on adrenaline or madness, the pirates hollered as they pushed even faster.

“They’re gonna crash!”

“Uwaaaah!”

Just as Malion and Cobalt squeezed their eyes shut—

Swish!

The ship narrowly swerved past with barely a hair’s breadth to spare, zipping straight through.

Without even the slightest reduction in speed—pure velocity.

“Geez, such scaredy-cats. I’m telling you, these guys are amazing.”

“Whoooaaaaa…”

Hardin, arms crossed, spoke with a confident grin.

‘Like I haven’t worked with the Calav pirates for years now.’

Naval combat and ship handling.

In those two areas, he had never seen anyone surpass the pirates from the Calav Archipelago.

Back in the days of Varlach, there were even a few times when he had recruited Calav pirates not just as sailors, but as knights.

He remembered clearly how they transformed into entirely different people the moment they were on the sea.

Just then, the pirate captain shouted,

“Alright, we’re going even faster now, so hang on tight!”

As Cobalt and Malion blinked in shock, the ship had already exited the inner harbor.

With the sail catching every bit of wind, the speed made it hard to believe this was just a sailing vessel.

Their hair whipped wildly in the wind, not staying still for even a second.

At that moment, Cobalt finally came to his senses and asked,

“Hardin, where exactly are we heading with this ship now?”

“What do you mean? We’ve got to head somewhere that’s perfect for showing off their sailing skills.”

“Somewhere good…?”

“Over there, see it? Right there.”

“Huh?”

As Cobalt followed Hardin’s chin gesture, his eyes began to tremble violently.

“Uhh? T-There?”

A rocky zone littered with jagged reefs.

The current was strong, and sharp rocks jutted out everywhere, making it nothing short of a graveyard for ships.

In fact, even the Count of Tread’s sailing vessels, when they invaded, had struggled terribly against Hardin within that very terrain.

“You’re saying we’re going in there?!”

“Brother! S-Stop! If we go in there… the ship we just spent all that effort modifying will be completely wrecked!”

The two men raised their voices in protest.

To anyone watching, steering this large ship into that area looked like sheer suicide.

“Just watch, will you?”

“I said stop!”

As the three argued back and forth—

“Urah-cha-cha! Hold on tight!”

The helmsman spun the wheel hard, and the ship quickly veered to the side.

“Waaahhh!”

Malion, who had grabbed Hardin’s collar in panic, lost his balance and tumbled over with a crash.

Hardin let out a sigh and hauled Malion up with one arm, saying,

“When I said hold on tight, I didn’t mean to my collar.”

“H-Heuuuh…”

With a face like his soul had left his body, Malion barely managed to get to his feet and grab hold of a nearby pillar.

But that was only the beginning.

“Urah-cha-cha-cha! Fold one of the sails!”

“Fold it!”

As soon as the captain gave the command, the crew on deck darted about like monkeys, precisely adjusting the ship’s configuration.

Each time the helmsman turned the wheel, the ship slipped past the reefs with barely a sheet of paper’s width of clearance—an expression that was no exaggeration at all.

As this breathtaking scene continued, even Cobalt and Malion began to show expressions of awe.

“M-My god…”

“They can actually do this?”

At this point, even a fool could tell.

The pirates Hardin had brought weren’t your run-of-the-mill sailors—they were monsters, on an entirely different level.

In under ten minutes, the ship had passed through the rocky zone unscathed.

“So? Have we shown you enough, Young Master?”

The captain asked with a satisfied smile.

At that, Hardin shrugged and met Cobalt’s eyes.

“What do you think, Father? Would you say those guys… are good enough to use?”

“Y-Yeah… I suppose they are.”

Viscount Cobalt had no choice but to nod.

---

---

Several weeks had passed since that day.

In the meantime, the carpenters of Mudside were so busy finishing the modifications on the sailing ships that they barely had time to breathe.

The pirates were assigned lodgings and went through the administrative procedures to be formally incorporated into the household.

And whenever a small problem cropped up during that process...

“Third Young Master, this fellow’s got unclear background records. What should we do about him?”

“…Just say he was born in Mudside.”

“That’s allowed?”

“It’s fine. The empire hasn’t been able to fully assess Mudside anyway, what with how fast it’s grown.”

Malion, showing an uncharacteristic sense of flexibility, smoothed the issue over effortlessly.

Maybe it was thanks to everyone’s tireless effort.

“Kuuhhh… Magnificent. Absolutely magnificent.”

At the dock of Mudside—

Hardin stood before the row of newly modified sailing ships, now transformed into merchant vessels, hands on his hips and a deeply satisfied smile on his face.

And behind him…

“Hoho, never thought I’d wear clothes like this.”

“Brother, that uniform suits you like wings on a bird. Anyone would think you're working for the imperial navy.”

“You’re lookin’ good too, you rascal! Kehaha!”

Over a hundred pirates—no, sailors—stood in perfect formation, neatly dressed in uniform.

Some looked awkward, scratching their cheeks or fussing with their collars, unfamiliar with the situation.

“Alright, everyone, attention!”

At that moment—standing among the ships, Viscount Cobalt in full dress uniform raised his voice.

As all eyes turned toward him, he cleared his throat and continued.

“Today marks a historic day—one where our Daphne Viscounty sends its first trading fleet in decades. First of all, to everyone here… as the Lord of this house, I want to thank you for the hard work that brought us to this day.”

Nearby, carpenters and retainers observing the event nodded with proud expressions.

After briefly making eye contact with them, Cobalt continued.

“I, as a descendant of the once-great Daphne House, earnestly hope this day will become the starting point of restoring our former glory—and I will do all I can to ensure it becomes so. Therefore, in the name of Daphne, I ask for your resounding applause in support of these brave men who are about to take the first step forward!”

With those words, Cobalt began clapping.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Bring back some good news!”

Cheers and applause erupted from all around.

The pirates, unaccustomed to such fanfare, looked a bit sheepish.

“Hohoho, like we’re doing something grand…”

“…Man, this is embarrassing.”

Though they seemed flustered, at heart, they clearly didn’t dislike it.

With the speech concluded, Cobalt raised his voice once more.

“Alright, time to depart! May the sea bless your journey!”

“Yes, sir!”

The pirates—now true sailors—answered with vigor, then quickly scattered and began boarding their respective ships.

Once all preparations were complete—

BWOOOOOOO!

The horns blared from all sides as the ships bearing the banner of the Daphne Viscounty began to leave the harbor one by one.

A grand and deeply stirring sight.

“Huuuu… We finally did it.”

“Exactly,” Cobalt and Malion said, their expressions solemn as they watched the departing ships.

At that moment—

“Tsk tsk, gentlemen. Even if your mouths are crooked, you should still speak straight.”

Tap!

Hardin stepped forward, coming to stand beside the two of them.

“Hardin?”

“What are you on about, Brother?”

The two tilted their heads, confused, and Hardin responded with a sly grin.

“I did nine-tenths of the work this time. So it’s not ‘we’ who pulled it off. It’s ‘I’ who pulled it off. Me. Am I wrong?”

Hardin raised his chin and pointed at himself with pride.

Cobalt and Malion both let out a deep sigh at the sight.

“…Sure. Let’s go with that.”

“Yes, Brother. You did an absolutely splendid job.”

The two replied in a tone that was unmistakably sarcastic.

‘Man, if only he could just keep that mouth shut for once.’

Malion tightly shut his eyes and shook his head with a weary sigh.