HEO 83

“Then are all the pirates here addicts?”

“As you can see.”

His cheek stung. Stuffy-Nosed Mouse was staring at him.

“What’s your problem?”

“I was wondering if you were doing drugs, brother.”

“I quit.”

He used to, occasionally. On boring nights. When memories of the past stung his vision.

“I quit after coming here. You know why without me having to tell you, right?”

“That must not have been easy. You’re amazing. But your name, brother.……”

“I am a bird! A seabird! I am going to the sky!”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse was interrupted as some guy suddenly jumped up and shouted. By then, the dining hall was close. The scent carried on the wind revealed the dinner menu. Grilled salted fish, turnip stew, and porridge simmered with goat’s milk and grains.

They reached the end of the alley and walked further up the hill where the new recruits’ quarters were visible.

“See that tiny little thing at the bottom of the slope? That’s the quarters where they shove the newcomers in. Fill your stomach and find your own way back.”

“What about you, brother?”

“I already ate.”

Silver just waved his hand and headed toward the quarters. The annoying sound of footsteps following him finally faded away. Starry Eyes’s voice leaked from his belt pouch.

〔Ƨᴉɼʌԍʁ. You’re mean.〕

“It’s nothing.”

Silver scoffed and kicked the dirt ground. The only things welcoming a new recruit in the dining hall were a meager meal, mountains of dishes piled high in the kitchen, and a legion of greasy pots. He couldn’t even pretended not to klow. After all, the human skin mask was a instantly recognizable mark of a “newcomer idiot” from a distance.

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As dusk fell, the door to the quarters flew open with a loud bang.

“Hey! You bastard! How dare you send a starving man to the labor yard! I can’t stand it anymore…!”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse froze in the exact position he had kicked the door. His entire body was drenched in sweat. He must have suffered quite a bit. Even his stomach continued to rumble.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming in?”

Silver asked, lying on the bed with his arm as a pillow. Stuffy-Nosed Mouse lowered his leg down and looked up, down, left, and right. It was only natural. The roof of the quarters was riddled with holes resembling pockmarks after being battered by days of torrential rain. The sunset light streamed through the pitch-black, soaked wooden planks.

The cloth that had been draped to block the rain lay sprawled on the floor, soaking wet. Buckets filled with rainwater and puddles were scattered here and there. The bed, barely big enough for two people to lie on side by side, was a bed in name only, it was merely a stack of wooden planks.

“Is this… a… place… where people live…?”

“You said you didn’t care if it was just a puddle of rainwater, you just wanted to wash off the grains of sand clinging to your body, right? Those buckets over there are full of rainwater. Hurry up and wash.”

“Brother. Tell me this is pirate training.”

“No. This is where you and I are staying.”

“Haa…”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse leaned weakly against the doorframe and looked up at the ceiling. The sunset shone through the gaping holes.

“The lighting is good. You’ll be able to see the stars well at night.”

“Shall I send you to the slave quarters?”

“It’s a wonderful house! Damn, it’s luxurious!”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse lingered at the threshold for quite a while longer before stepping inside.

“Don’t tell me I have to sleep on that plank with you?”

“If swimming is your hobby, sleep on the floor. I’d be grateful for the space.”

“Ugh.”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse walked over to the bed. He looked like he could have hissed steam through the human skin mask without it looking strange.

“Damn bastards. Now I see why they make us wear this thing.”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse tore off the human skin mask and sat on the edge of the bed. Silver took a piece of jerky out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.

“The facilities and discipline of this pirate crew are more systematic than they look. The members right now are all out of their minds, but the first crew to settle on this island must have been anything but ordinary.”

At those words, Stuffy-Nosed Mouse looked at Silver.

“Systematic facilities here? Really?”

“If you don’t believe me, you turn around.”

The Bone Flute Tower was a meticulously constructed defensive facility. So much so that Starry Eyes remarked, “There must have been an engineer among the early members of the Shark Teeth Gang.”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse clasped his hands together while looking down at the ground. His knees, where his elbows rested, looked as solid as rock, even though they were wrapped in cloth. A glimpse of his profile came into Silver’s view. Even from this angle, Wolf’s features were subtly visible.

Could he really be related to the servant bastard, just as Starry Eyes said? Or perhaps they know each other?

“Hey.”

Silver impulsively opened his mouth and stood up.

“Do you have something to do with the Stoll royal family? Are you close enough to be considered relatives?”

“Huh?”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse unclasped his hands and turned around immediately. Silver’s whole body went cold at that quick reaction. Was Starry Eyes right?

“You’re quite the big shot. To think you’re a relative of the royal family.”

“Wait. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse raised a hand.

“We’re not related by blood. It’s just that our tribe was close to the capital. So, my grandmother or father might have spent some enjoyable time with members of the royal family in a secret place. You know how the people of Stoll are.”

Silver glared silently at Stuffy-Nosed Mouse. He blinked and pushed his golden hair, which reached his chest, over his shoulder. His expression was awkward.

“You look awkward.”

“I can’t help but be awkward. It’s the first time I’ve ever had my family tree investigated by someone. And…”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse shrugged slightly.

“To be honest, you have been a bit difficult to deal with since the first time I met you. It’s already difficult enough, so getting a family tree investigation on top of that is just flustering.”

Silver thought it was convincing. He lacked the talent to read people’s minds by looking at their faces to begin with.

“Have you never heard anyone say you resemble a member of the royal family?”

“My grandfather heard that all the time. Me? Not really.”

Stuffy-Nosed Mouse paused before asking back.

“But brother, why are you asking that? Do you know anyone of the royal family who resembles me?”

Silver stared at him in silence. Aside from having Wolf’s features, he was clearly a different person. Wolf was not stupid enough to cast aside the practical option of being a wealthy widow’s stud to dive into dangerous piracy. He didn’t curse constantly, nor did he act shameless or cunning.

However, what suddenly came to mind at that moment was the memory of them role-playing together in the cavern. Wolf was a fellow with outstanding acting skills. The bastard, who was usually as docile as a puppy, had brilliantly pulled off every distinct role in the role-play: a foolish captain, a cunning strategist, a violent warrior.

After Black Weasel was killed, Silver realized something. That he knew nothing of Wolf. That he had viewed Wolf through the lens of the “innocent Atanian idiot.” In reality, Wolf was a wolf pretending to be a domesticated dog. A man who concealed dangerous fangs behind a bright smile like the sunshine of the South. That greatsword that had instantly severed Black Weasel’s neck was the deep murderous intent Wolf had cunningly concealed for so long.

He was a cunning actor, and I was completely fooled.

Maybe even now.

Absurd thoughts filled his head. This arrogant warrior in front of him was actually Wolf. He had somehow drifted ashore on a pirate island and was acting under a false identity to survive among the pirates.

“You.”

Silver spoke without thinking

“Don’t you know me?”

5.

Wolf was speechless. Did this bastard recognize him?

No. At that time, he was wearing a helmet and a top.

The madman repeated the same thing.

“Don’t you recognize me?”

Deny it.

“I didn’t know you until I was washed ashore on this island.”

Wolf smiled and waved both hands.

“Of course, I know you now. Even though we aren’t related by blood, we are brothers.”

“Not that.”

The madman pointed his finger at his face, which was covered with a human skin mask.

“Can’t you recognize me? Don’t you remember?”

“…….”

Is this guy really not on drugs?

“Brother. You should ask that question with your face showing.”

“Can’t you recognize me by my voice?”

“No. Unfortunately.”

At those words, the madman lowered his hand and stepped back. Through the gaping eye sockets, his cold eyes stared silently at him. Wolf barely managed to hold back the smile threatening to slip from his lips. The barrage of unpredictable questions was starting to irritate him.

What the hell is wrong with this bastard? Does he have a hobby of testing people’s patience?

“If you show your face and give me your name, I’ll recognize you, brother. Believe it or not, I have a pretty good memory.”

Wolf tapped his temples with his fingers. No answer came back. In the silence, only the scent of wet wood drifted on the breeze.