Chapter 34

The fleet of the Black Waves pressed forward toward Algiers. After two days of scrubbing the deck under the scorching sun, Miguel came to a profound realization of just how utterly boring life as a pirate could be during voyages—and when you were unfortunate enough to be at the bottom of the pirate hierarchy, that boredom was doubled… Because while you were racking your brains to cope with your own boredom, you probably also had to muster every ounce of energy to deal with the boredom of your superiors.

For example, just as you finished cleaning the deck, rubbing your aching back after bending over all morning, and were about to sneak into the storage room to reward yourself with some fruit, the boatswain, who had nothing better to do, would show up. He would scrutinize the deck with a murderous expression, as if he walked on it with his face every day.

According to Miguel’s observations, such frenzied and irritable behavior usually indicated that the boatswain had just been toyed with by his superior—namely, one of the charge captains.

By extension, where did the charge captains’ urge to find someone to toy with come from? Without a doubt, it usually stemmed from the one and only bored and restless red-haired first mate.

And where did the red-haired first mate’s rage come from?

…Who knows? Maybe it’s menopause. Definitely not Caesar.

The captain was the captain. The elegant Captain would never vent his boredom on just one person—but when he got bored and started looking for trouble, it usually meant the entire fleet was about to face a catastrophic disaster.

“Knowledge training? What the hell is this?”

Spitting out the rust in his mouth, Miguel, who had long abandoned any standards of hygiene and only required a freshwater rinse every three days and a seawater wipe daily, swallowed the jackfruit without batting an eye. Before the plate of stolen fruit could be snatched away by his fellow crewmates, he swiftly grabbed half an apple and held it in his hand. “We have to learn stuff to be pirates?”

Crewman A: “Nonsense! Are you looking down on pirates?”

Miguel: “No, of course not!”

Crewman B: “Then do you have a problem with the captain?”

Miguel: “No, of course not!”

Berry: “The captain said that every crew member must participate in the knowledge training. We’re aiming to be high-quality pirates. Anyone who fails the training will have to work on the deck until they pass the next session. Oh, and they’ll also lose a month’s salary.”

Miguel: “Fuck me, no way!”

This feeling of “I always believed in your bottom line, but you fed it to the dogs”!

Berry: “Don’t worry, the training is simple… Every ship has this rule! It existed even on Barbarossa’s ship back in the day. Captain Rick said our assessment is absolutely fair, just, and transparent! The content includes basic German translation, ship knowledge, common articles of the Maritime Convention, and pirate history trivia. See, isn’t that… What’s wrong, Miguel?”

Nothing, just the realization that I’ll probably spend the rest of my life scrubbing decks. Miguel wiped his face wearily, thinking to himself that he didn’t know if Big Dog would look down on him for being a lowly deck scrubber unworthy of his cold and noble demeanor.

“Life is long. You’ll get one question right eventually,” Berry said sympathetically, patting Miguel on the shoulder. “If you end up in Captain Rick’s hands, he might let you pass just for translating the German word for ‘hello,’ especially since your hair color is different from ours.”

“But I only know how to say ‘good morning’!” Miguel twitched his lips, his face a picture of distress. “…And considering that the red-haired first mate himself probably doesn’t even know what’s written in the Maritime Convention, I think we should prepare a welcome flag for the first mate joining us in deck scrubbing.”

…Miguel, who was all too happy to mock his superior, didn’t notice that the red-haired first mate he was talking about had already sauntered up behind him.

So, he got a hard kick in the ass.

The black-haired young man yelped and turned around, complaining when he saw who it was, “Be gentle! I’m still injured!”

“Your head isn’t on your ass,” the navigator sneered, amused by the absurd logic. “And I’m sorry to disappoint you, but as an officer, I have the privilege of not participating in Caesar’s little game. I’m your examiner, kid. Know what that means? It’s not too late to start kissing my ass now.”

An officer? Miguel’s eyes lit up as he caught the key point: “I heard I’m a noble navigator too! Does that count?”

“Oh, of course it does,” Rick drawled, his grin widening as he saw Miguel’s hopeful expression. “But I heard you also have a slave identity.”

The red-haired first mate’s gleeful expression made Miguel feel like he was about to hear something bad.

Sure enough.

“So, while your navigator half doesn’t have to take the test, in a week, please remind your slave half to show up on time for the assessment. And don’t be late, mwah,” the red-haired first mate said with increasing delight. “The captain really hates waiting, and when he’s angry, it’s terrifying.”

Miguel: “…”

Glancing at the stiff-faced mascot, Rick happily stroked his chin. “Ah, speaking of which, the only person on this ship who can recite the Maritime Convention from memory is Caesar… Oh, and pirate history—that’s practically his life story. As for the structure of the Wind Fury, well, that’s the madman’s own modified design. I guess only a ‘native’ ‘German’ would enjoy studying such weird stuff!”

Berry raised his hand, hopping like a rabbit: “First mate! First mate! Aren’t you German too?”

“…” Rick paused, then answered the impertinent question with a deadpan expression, “I am, but I’m from the remote mountains. Doesn’t count.”

Biting into the apple, Miguel turned around, fetched a bucket of seawater, and splashed it on the deck, scrubbing away—

“We’ll reach Algiers before sunset, you brats,” Rick announced, seemingly unbothered by the blatant hint being ignored. The red-haired first mate, having had his fill of amusement for the day, raised his voice cheerfully. “Get your coins ready. Before we face those pompous nobles in Spain, this is your last chance to let loose—”

Miguel: “First mate, could you move your foot? You’re blocking me from scrubbing the deck.”

Moving aside, Rick continued to face the sea, basking in the spring breeze: “But the captain isn’t one for indulgence. I heard that after we dock, he’ll only attend an important meeting and then stay in the captain’s cabin the whole time!”

Miguel: “…”

Rick: “…Right!”

Miguel: “…”

Rick: “Right!!!!!”

Miguel threw down the scrubber, his face full of resignation: “…What are you trying to say?”

Rick: “You’re not really planning to scrub decks for the rest of your life, are you, kid? The odds of getting tested on the two words you know—’good morning’ and ‘captain’—are two out of a hundred and fifty-eight… You’re one of my men, so don’t embarrass me. Go seduce the examiner. Even though he’s straighter than the main mast, I’m sure you’re good at that.”

Miguel: “What happened to fair, just, and transparent?”

Rick said without batting an eye: “That’s for kids.”

Miguel: “…”

Afternoon.

According to Miguel’s internal body clock, it was around four in the afternoon when the Black Waves fleet successfully docked at the port of Algiers. Many ships from other fleets were already moored at the dock, and the most eye-catching among them was undoubtedly Leoza’s Hornet.

Thus, the mysterious figure Caesar was planning to meet, as mentioned by Rick, was about to become clear.

Throwing down the deck-scrubbing bucket, Miguel darted off, blending into the chaos of the crowd, and sneaked onto the captain’s Wind Fury.

Evening.

When the captain returned, his handsome but perpetually cold face was now unmistakably marked with “bad mood, strangers and dogs keep out”—so when night fell, and everyone instinctively avoided the captain, even Rick chose to stay on his own ship and make do with bread for dinner, a certain navigator who thought he was on familiar terms with the captain foolishly approached.

Miguel: “Big Dog, bad mood?”

Caesar, lying in his armchair with his eyes closed, remained silent.

Miguel: “Mom said when you’re in a bad mood, you should talk about what’s bothering you so everyone can… no, so everyone can share your unhappiness, and your unhappiness will lessen.”

Caesar, lying in his armchair with his eyes closed, snorted, clearly dismissing this flimsy logic.

Miguel: “Come on, speak up!”

“…Leoza agreed to transfer five crates of muskets to me.”

Huh? That’s quite generous. Miguel was taken aback: “…Isn’t that good?”

“Yeah,” the man’s voice was low and calm, as if he were talking about the price of cabbage going up. “He said the condition was to exchange you for them.”

“…”

The cabin fell into a brief silence.

Throwing the hat off his face and swinging his legs down from the desk, Caesar sat up and looked at Miguel with interest—surprisingly, the fisherman’s reaction was eerily calm. Propping his chin on one hand and leaning his butt high on the desk, Miguel raised an eyebrow confidently and asked, “And then? How did you turn him down?”

Hmph, so that’s how it is. Caesar inwardly sneered but kept his face expressionless as he deliberately replied, “Turn him down? Five crates of muskets.”

Miguel: “So?”

Caesar: “I agreed.”

Miguel: “…”

With one hand elegantly propping up his head, Caesar glanced amusedly at the devastated navigator and said leisurely, “But I added a condition. I told him to exchange his navigator for you.”

“…” Miguel was furious, “What kind of condition is that! How dare you still look at me with that ‘I made a token effort to resist before abandoning you, aren’t I so considerate’ expression! (╯°Д°)╯ ┻━┻”

“Ah…”

“Ah what ah! How could Leoza possibly—”

“He refused.”

“…Huh?”

“He refused.”

“…”

“He probably also thought… as a navigator, you don’t seem very reliable… Well, can’t blame him for that. Come to think of it, it’s rare for me to agree with him on something.”

“…”

Well, how does that song go again?

No one loves you, no one cares, be careful or you’ll end up a public nuisance╮(￣▽￣”)╭ .