A person who fell into the sea experienced many sensations.

The skin shivered from the cold chill, breathing became impossible due to water blocking the nose and mouth, and even opening one’s eyes became difficult because of the intense saltiness.

But none of this mattered to you.

After all, you were unacquainted with the cold, unburdened by breath, and eyes were obsolete in how you perceived the world.

Of course, it wasn’t all good points.

This heavy body was sinking rapidly downwards even at this moment.

Since it was impossible to rise up with simple swimming motions, you had to use the mana inside your body as propulsion to move towards the surface.

It was just as you poked your head out of the water.

Boom!

With a terrifying impact, your body, which had just met the sun, was plunged back into the deep water.

Looking around with your gaze from under your half-crushed helmet, you could understand what had happened to you.

Cap’n Bill’s pirate ship had approached and rammed you with its hull.

You tried to pull your body out of the water again, but once more, the approaching pirate ship hit your body without fail. You were knocked back under the surface again.

Feeling puzzled, this time instead of trying to escape straight out of the water, you stared intently at the area above the surface.

At the edge of the pirate ship’s deck, a crew member with eels sprouting where hair should be was staring directly at you with a single eye featuring a cross-shaped pupil.

Even amidst the violent currents caused by the ship in the sea, his gaze towards you didn’t waver.

You changed your strategy and moved towards the bottom of the pirate ship.

This was partly to avoid the other’s surveillance, and partly because you thought it would be more stable to climb up by stabbing the ship with your sword like mountain climbing.

But instead of the pirate ship’s bottom, your sword only sliced through formless water.

This was because the pirate ship made an evasive maneuver just before the sword could reach it.

And that, upwards.

You felt momentary bewilderment.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ demands to know where in the world there’s a ship that can maneuver vertically!]

Although a situation impossible for a normal ship had occurred, there was no time to contemplate the principle behind it.

After all, if it was possible to go up, it meant it could just as easily go the opposite way.

And the ominous premonition hit the mark.

Whoosh!

The huge ship rapidly descended, crushing you with its massive body.

Even for you, it was impossible to withstand that mass with just mana emission in a place with no foothold.

Your body was pushed down far more than ever before.

That wasn’t the only adversity.

Splash! Splash!

Water splashed around the pirate ship as crew members with inhuman forms plunged into the sea.

The upper and lower bodies you had clearly cut apart were somehow reconnected.

“────!”

A pirate who looked like an octopus placed on a human head pointed a weapon at you and issued a silent command.

Following that, pirates whose body parts had transformed into sea creatures swarmed towards you with movements too fast and free for ordinary humans.

Multiple blades flew at you from all directions—front, back, left, right, up, and down.

The fact that mana was imbued in all those swords showed how excellent these elites were.

They say even a temple dog could recite poetry after three years; it seemed these pirates had reached a certain level after doing piracy for so long.

Clang!

Your sword clashed with the pirates’ swords.

The result was your victory, but you couldn’t be too happy about it.

Not only did you have to counter their sword energy with your own instead of just a plain sword, but you also saw the bodies of the enemies you had dismembered starting to reconnect like assembly toys.

If you were determined, you could grind them up as if putting them through a shredder, but you didn’t have enough mana for that.

As it was, you had to constantly consume mana just to avoid sinking into the deep sea while staying still.

The enemies seemed to know this too, as they kept clinging to you and interfering so you couldn’t escape to the surface.

The pirates were weaker than you but skilled enough to leave sword marks on your metal body, and above all, they kept reviving nonchalantly no matter how many times you cut them.

You felt the need to forcibly break out even if it meant overdoing it a bit.

Whir whir whir.

The sword energy on your sword rotated at high speed like propeller blades.

The pirates tried to stop you somehow, but those who blocked your path just turned into minced meat scattered in the sea.

Just as you were about to make a large hole in the bottom of the pirate ship, something shining golden intervened in front of you.

《Where are ye rushin’ off to, matey!》

Cap’n Bill, with a body made of golden bones, surprisingly forced your breakthrough to a halt.

The sword energy you hadn’t fully offset scattered behind, slicing up his body, but a smile formed on the golden skeleton’s mouth as if that was a trivial matter.

《The sea be cold n’ rough. Above all, it be greedy, mightily so. Even me, who’ve been pirating in me own way, can’t fathom just how big n’ deep this fellow’s enormous belly be. How about it, would ye like to check for yourself?》

Although it was clearly underwater, it was possible to clearly understand Cap’n Bill’s words.

It felt like some power closer to magic, different from a knight’s unique sword energy or body enhancement.

Instead of giving an answer that your opponent wouldn’t hear anyway, you moved your sword in succession.

Even amidst all sorts of difficulties—non-existent footholds, water resistance hindering movement—the “Tin Knight’s” skills were flawless.

Cap’n Bill withstood three of your strikes, but after that, he had to sacrifice his right arm that was holding the sword.

《Oh, ye be mighty, truly mighty! In me long, weary life, me has met few as mighty as ye, countable on one hand even. However—》

He added.

《It seems we have the upper hand in the sea.》

Swish.

Sensing something creeping up behind you, you quickly swung your sword.

Your attack cut a burly giant wearing a Viking hat in half, but even with just the upper body remaining, the giant wrapped around your body and restrained you.

Other pirates also clung to your body, blocking your movements.

Cap’n Bill shouted.

《My lovely lassy, show our wrath to this matey who’s interfering with ending this wretched curse!》

The next moment, the pirate ship with golden sails responded to the captain’s call.

Like a horse rearing up, the ship raised its front high, then brought its hull down with all its might.

Crash!

Evasion was impossible.

With an impact strong enough to turn the giant holding you into minced meat, your vision spun round and round.

You somehow managed to regain your sense of direction, but soon realized you were facing a major problem.

Your body had sunk to the deepest point yet.

And your mana was depleted.

You almost reflexively emitted mana towards the surface, but immediately sensed the result.

No matter how you used your remaining mana, it wouldn’t be enough to reach the surface.

Your vision blurred and eventually turned black.

Just as the Tin Knight and you outside the screen were about to separate.

Someone’s hand touched you.

Like oil cleaning a rusty doll, distant and mysterious mana filled your body.

Your will-o’-wisp-like eye light, which seemed to nearly flicker and vanish, once again burned brightly with power.

You saw.

Blue eyes. Black hair. White skin.

Your contractor, your master, your witch.

Dorothea was there.

You were about to ask her why she was here, but had to stop.

Something red was spreading hazily around Dorothea’s body.

It was blood flowing from wounds all over her body that looked quite deep, even at a glance.

The cloak she usually wore and the staff she carried were nowhere to be seen.

In fact, this was natural. It would have been nearly impossible to dive deep into the sea, especially in the chaotic waters where a naval battle was taking place right above, while carrying such cumbersome objects.

But at the same time, it also meant she had left behind her means of defense to protect her body.

Grab.

Dorothea firmly grasped your head, which had suddenly frozen and couldn’t move, and thrust her face close.

Even with wounds on her body and bleeding, her eyes remained as steadfast as ever.

Although you couldn’t see her mouth shape because she was biting something like a leaf, just looking at those fierce eyes, you could immediately understand what she wanted to say.

Presumably.

─Are you just going to take this? Aren’t you going to snap out of it? Is our contract a joke?

The witch provided you with mana to move freely and in return, you guaranteed the witch’s safety from threats.

As if telling you to do your job properly as a guard, the witch glared at you with an annoyed face.

You felt amused.

There truly never was a dull moment with such an audacious witch around.

You embraced the witch’s body.

And held your sword forward.

You could see the pirates approaching, but it was already too late.

The rotation of sword energy you had shown earlier unfolded once again.

But the scale was anything but similar.

If the previous rotation was at most slightly thicker than your torso’s waist, this one exceeded that by dozens of times.

It was your—the Tin Knight’s—full power, not considering mana consumption or efficiency.

The rotation, which at first seemed almost leisurely, turned into a massive storm in the blink of an eye.

A flurry of sword energy that ground up everything it touched externally, yet was incredibly calm at its center.

Cap’n Bill shouting words, his crew members, the beautiful and wondrous golden pirate ship.

All were mere fragments before this grand waterspout.

Splash!

With the largest water splash yet, you and Dorothea emerged above the surface.

You skillfully adjusted your direction and landed on the ship where Adelaide and Sophia were.

Minimizing the impact to prevent Dorothea’s wounds from spreading further.

The pirates who had formed a temporary alliance with your party stared at you with their jaws dropped.

Sophia smiled and drew up her holy power.

Adelaide let out a sigh of relief and loosened her grip on her sword.

You didn’t bother to look back at where Cap’n Bill and his crew had been.

The sea was calm.

As if nothing had happened.

***

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