Piracy

At gunpoint, Settsu and the others raised their hands meekly.

“Handcuff him.”

On the commander’s orders, three soldiers moved to handcuff Setsu and the others. The soldiers did a body check on their clothes. I guess they were checking to see if we were carrying weapons.

The sound of a slap was heard.

It was the sound of the soldier who was checking Mitsuki’s body hitting her on the cheek.

“Don’t give me that cocky look.”
“I’ve always had these eyes.”

Mitsuki was not offended at all.

“Don’t play, you fool.”

The commander came to a halt faster than the soldiers could do anything more.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

The soldier looked unconvinced, but obeyed the commander’s order.

“A great man?”

When Setsuko called out to her, Mitsuki looked the same as always.

“No problem at all, my lord.”

Mitsuki’s reply clearly irritated the soldier. However, the commander did not allow them to do anything more.

“I’m taking you in.”

Setsuko and the others were taken out of the cafe.

Keuk was playing in the terminal’s casino.

“Well, I guess that makes me the overall winner.”

The men at the same table looked despairing as Keuk turned over the cards that were lying face down in his hand.

The coins were piled up in front of Keuk’s eyes. The coins belonged to a man who had plunged everything he had into a reversal of fortune.

“Keuk, you’re looking good.”

Jack, a member of the crew of the Black and Silver Glory, took the empty seat next to Kyuuk.

Jack shook his head in response to the dealer’s look asking if he was going to participate, and replied that he had no intention of participating.

“Oh, I don’t think I’m going to lose today. Aren’t you going to do it?”
“I’m not stupid enough to fight a guy like you.”
“So you’re here to haggle?”
“Nonsense. But I’ve just been beaten to a pulp, so if you want to buy me a drink, I’ll take it.”
“That’s good. And?”

You have something to do, Keuk said.

“Oh. I got beat up, so I thought I’d freshen up, and they got that kid.
“You’re really pushing me to lose.”
“I thought if I kept saying that, maybe you’d buy me a drink.”
“There it is, I’ll make you drink yourself to death later. And why is that?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t look like a drunken rampage. He was on his way to the military police station, but it wasn’t the military police that caught him. That was the uniform of a fleet officer you see every once in a while.”
“Do you think they knows?”
“Maybe so.”
“I wanted to win some more. I would have liked to have won a few more games, but I guess I’ll call it a night.”

Keuk sat up.

“Jack, you find out what’s going on. I’ll round up the guys who are playing.”
“Okay”

It wasn’t until half an hour later that Kitty received a voice-only transmission from Keuk.

Kitty was just relaxing on the bridge, watching the news.

“And that’s how the fleet guys got hold of Set.”

Keuk recounted the situation he had gleaned from the employees and customers of the café where Setsuko had been captured.

“I see.”
“I’m sorry. I may have given you a little too much freedom.”
“Freedom is the motto of our ship.”

There was no air of reproach in Kitty’s voice.

“You haven’t heard anything from Mitski?”

Mitsuki has a built-in communication device. If Mitsuki wanted to, she should be able to communicate with the Silver Glory.

“No. I think Setsu won’t let her, she’s too reserved with us.”
“Well, sure. So, what can I do for you?”

Keuk asked Kitty.

“We’re pirates under contract with this country, so some people think we shouldn’t be fighting with them.”

Kitty kept her mouth shut for a moment and closed her eyes. She recrossed her legs and, with a willful effort, inhaled.

” Keuk. Do you think you can fool me?”
“No.”
“I am the daughter of the pirate Lage Havenberg. Freedom and pirates, that’s the rule on my ship. We are free to live as we please and die as we please. I don’t need to ask you what you will do. He’s my prey, our prey. He’s my prey, our prey, and I’m not going to sit back and let him snatch it from me. You say we have a contract with this country so we won’t fight. That’s no way for a pirate to live. There is no such coward on my ship. Isn’t that right?”
“You’re right. I’m glad we could confirm your intentions.”
“I’ll leave that side to Keuk. No one’s really going to hesitate, are they?”
“Ever since Raja’s head died on a woman’s stomach, we’ve dreamed of dying with him.”

Kitty laughed.

“I’ll show you a good dream.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Do you need help?”
“I’ll take care of this one here, and you get the ship ready.”
“Yeah, okay.”

Communication is over.

Kitty called out to the remaining men on the bridge.

“Come on, let’s get ready to sail!”
“Aye!”

A vigorous reply went up.

One hour later, the terminal’s military police sub-branch received a report that a group of pirates had gotten into a dispute at a bar and were about to start a fight.

The military police immediately formed a unit and went to break up the fight. In some cases, they even overpowered them. More than half of the soldiers were mobilized due to the large number of pirates involved in the dispute.

The soldiers formed a line in front of the sub-office and ran toward the tavern.

The terminal is large.

More calls came in to the military police. This time there were three locations, all of which were involved in pirate fights.

“What the hell is going on?”

In order to cope with the sudden storm of fighting, the military police further divided the remaining soldiers in the sub-office and went to the scene of each fight.

Keuk and the others watched the scene from a store near the sub-branch. Surrounding Keuk were twenty members of the crew of the , who had gone out to the terminal. They were armed only with the guns on their hips.

“So most of the people who are supposed to be working now have left.”
“I like it.”

Keuk nodded in satisfaction.

Over the years, I’ve made a few loans here and there, and I’ve had a few pirates I know use them to create a ruckus.

Try not to get arrested, and keep them around as long as possible.

The pirates accepted the offer without being told the details. The military police, who usually did not do much, had become a source of annoyance to many pirates by claiming to protect the security of the terminal.

“What are you trying to do?”
“You don’t want to hear that.”

Keuk with a smirk. The one who asked me also gave me a bad smile.

“Okay. You’re going to give these guys a run for their money, right?”
“Come on, man.”

That’s about it.

Keuk gulped down the packaged spirits in his hand.

“Let’s get this over with.”

He placed the empty pack on the table and stood up. The men around him stood up as well.

Keuk walked quickly to the business office. The rest of the men followed Keuk to the office.

“Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait.”

Even when the men behind him stopped, Keuk did not stop walking. The two soldiers guarding the entrance to the business office noticed Keuk and showed signs of alarm.

“Hey, Poli.”

Keuk said in a bottomlessly cheerful tone. His face was also red.

“No, wait!”

The men behind him tried to stop Kyuuk.

A drunken pirate had gotten into a tangle, and his friends were trying to hold him back. That’s what the soldiers understood.

“What the hell are you doing spying on me like this, hmm?”

Keuk tangled with the soldier.

“It’s my job. Get away from me or I’ll arrest you.”
“Oh, it’s not like the military police to arrest you for drinking.”
“I’m sorry, he’s had a little too much to drink.”

Jack finally caught up with him and apologized to the soldier.

“Be careful. Get him out of here.”
“Hey, excuse me. Here, Keuk.”

Let’s go, Jack pulled Keuk, and Keuk paid for it as he shook him off. Jack staggered and fell on one of the soldiers.

“Hey!”

The soldier who had tried to spring him stopped moving. Jack had pressed the muzzle of his gun against the soldier’s chin.

The other soldier, startled, was dealt with by Keuk. With a sharp turn from his drunken movements, he jumped into his pocket and held his gun to his head.

“You guys, what is it?”
“I’m a pirate. We’re always getting along, right?”

Keuk said in his usual light tone.

Keuk’s face turns red as soon as he drinks. He gets red, but he doesn’t get drunk. He was that kind of man.

“You have a contract with us. Come on.”
“Contract. Contract.”

Keuk muttered to himself as he chewed and included.

“I’m sorry to say, but we just notified the pirate bureau of our cancellation a minute ago. Hey.”

The soldiers looked at each other, wondering what he was talking about.

“It’s no wonder you low-level guys don’t know anything about it. Now, let’s talk a little inside. If you make any noise, I’ll shoot you. My fingers are light, so be careful.”

Keuk and the soldiers walked into the business office in good company.