Translator: Pai_

"Uh..."

When Turan first landed on the deck, the pirates were so dumbfounded that they couldn't even speak for a few seconds.

The sight of a human leaping tens of meters and crossing between ships was so surreal that their brains momentarily refused to comprehend it.

But a few seconds later, some unknown pirate broke the silence by shouting in a loud voice.

"Ki-kill him! Fight!"

Seventy or so pirates approached, brandishing every kind of weapon that could harm a person, from swords and axes to any kind of weapon that could harm a person.

Turan was inwardly baffled.

When a wizard suddenly appears and demonstrates such overwhelming power, it would usually break the will to fight, leading to surrender. So why weren't they backing down?

However, just because he was puzzled didn't mean it would bring any significant change to the battle.

Even if a bear flinched when a mouse suddenly attacked, that wouldn't give the mouse a chance to win.

As Turan stretched out his hand toward the other side of the deck, a blue wave responded to his will and surged up. In an instant, it released scorching heat and transformed into sharp ice spikes that seemed capable of piercing anything.

"Th-that is...?"

"Ru-!"

Before the word "Run!" could even be completed, dozens of ice spikes rained down on the pirates gathered on the deck.

The result was utterly gruesome.

Some died instantly with their heads pierced, others choked and flailed with their necks impaled, and many collapsed with their chests or abdomens punctured...

In an instant, more than sixteen pirates lost their lives or were incapacitated.

And this was after Turan deliberately restrained his power to a much weaker level than usual, all to maintain the act of being a knight.

Humans who were not born with the power of magic were truly fragile.

"Don't chicken out, you bastards! If we don't kill him, we're the ones who'll die!"

While the pirates at the front screamed in agony, skewered by ice spikes, someone in the back shouted this.

Only then did Turan understand why the pirates were resisting so desperately.

They, too, knew that Turan wouldn't spare their lives.

As the pirates rushed in frantically, Turan gathered some of the water he had drawn from the sea and formed a long ice greatsword in his hand.

He could have simply rained down more ice spikes and wiped them all out, but if he was going to pretend to be a knight, he needed to conserve his strength and engage in close combat to sell the act.

"Urgh-"

Schk! A head was severed, and the body collapsed limply to the ground.

Flesh and bone were no obstacles against the strength imbued in the greatsword, which could crush even metal.

After cutting down one pirate, Turan parried incoming attacks with practiced movements, slicing another's throat. He then took a large step back to create some distance before extending the greatsword to slash through three enemies simultaneously.

Unlike his sparring sessions with Haram, there was no thrill of combat in this.

The pirates' physical abilities were incomparable to Turan's, and their combat skills were even more crude.

In the midst of this, a few of the pirates' attacks managed to reach Turan's body.

After all, with only two hands and a single sword, it was impossible to block every attack flying at him from all directions while deliberately limiting his strength and speed to that of a knight.

If he were a master like Haram, it might have been a different story.

"Urgh..."

But these attacks weren't even worth trying to block.

A particularly large pirate thrust his entire strength into a strike aimed at Turan's exposed neck, only for the blade to skid off, unable to even scratch his skin.

Others slashed and stabbed at his shoulders, chest, and back, but none of their attacks had any real effect.

A noble's body was not so weak that it could be pierced by a mere sharp piece of metal swung by a commoner.

Even without the Guardian Magic Artifact, the result likely wouldn't have been much different.

After about three minutes, Turan realized that he was the only one still standing on the deck.

The deck, now a sea of blood, was filled with nothing but groans and cries of pain.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Mo-mom, it's cold... Mom-"

"Please, spare me..."

Looking down at the fallen pirates, Turan threw the ice greatsword onto the ground. At that moment, the sound of metal clinking echoed as a few grappling hooks latched onto the deck.

Because the Blue Marlin had circled back around after Turan jumped ahead and the two ships had crossed paths, it had only now caught up with the pirate ship.

Captain Pires, skillfully balancing as he walked along the ropes, surveyed the pirate ship's deck and clicked his tongue.

"It's over, Captain."

"So it seems. This is, well..."

Pires had a look on his face as if he wanted to say a lot, but couldn't find the words.

He was probably beginning to suspect that Turan wasn't just an ordinary knight.

But unlike him, the crew members approaching from behind were brimming with excitement and shouting incoherently.

"Th-this is amazing! Long live Sir Knight!"

"Uwaaaaaaah!"

"Those bastards! Serves them right!"

Some of the sailors, unable to contain their joy, kicked at the sprawled corpses of pirates and ended up falling over.

At that moment, one of the crew members, noticing Turan's state, spoke up.

"But, um, shouldn't you go see the ship's doctor first?"

"That's right! Actually, it might be hard for you to move, let's call the ship’s doctor here instead!"

The sailors were understandably fussing over him. After all, Turan's entire body was drenched in blood, and his clothes were torn all over, making him look like he had been gravely injured.

Turan smiled and shook his head.

"No need to worry. I'm not hurt anywhere. This is all the pirates' blood."

"Is that really true?"

"My goodness..."

"As expected of a descendant of the gods."

In truth, if he had been an ordinary knight, his bare skin would have been torn when pierced by spears and swords.

And if it had been a vital area like the eyes, it could have been a fatal blow.

Of course, the crew members didn't know all this, so they just concluded that knights were indeed amazing.

"Then may I go in and rest first, Captain?"

"Of course. Boatswain!"

"Yes, sir! Listen up, you maggots! Start by cleaning the deck! Whether they're alive or dead, throw them all overboard!"

Boatswain Renak shouted with a red-faced grin.

*

While the sailors handled the aftermath, Turan returned to the Blue Marlin and took off his tattered clothes to clean himself.

The fact that it was a ship full of men made it convenient for him to wash on the deck without any concern for modesty.

"Do you happen to have any spare clothes I could borrow?"

"Here you go! Although they might smell a bit, is that alright with you...?"

"I don't mind."

Turan had an exceptionally keen sense of smell due to his bloodline traits, but that didn't mean he was particularly sensitive to bad odors.

After all, the human sense of smell quickly grows accustomed to new odors, so after the initial encounter, one barely notices them.

If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have been able to endure his ragged state when he first stayed in Orem City.

"Hoo..."

After cleaning himself and changing into a sailor's sweaty clothes, Turan set aside his blood-soaked original clothes in his cabin.

Thanks to the magic Ashiz had cast on them, his clothes would soon return to their original state.

Judging by their current condition, it would likely only take a few hours.

When Turan climbed back up to the deck, Captain Pires had already returned to the Blue Marlin.

"We’re still searching the ship, but it seems that vessel was a merchant ship that disappeared from Abacha a few years ago. The pirates must have seized it and put it to use."

"I see."

"It would be better to sell it."

Turan gave Pires a puzzled look, to which Pires smiled and explained.

"Since you ended the battle single-handedly, the ownership of the ship belongs entirely to you."

"Ah."

Come to think of it, such a ship wouldn’t be cheap. Even though the battle wasn’t much of a fight, the thought of claiming the ship had momentarily slipped his mind.

"What’s usually done in these situations?"

"You could sail back to Abacha and demand compensation from the original owners in exchange for returning the ship. Alternatively, you could sell it in the Enril Desert. But I think selling it on one of the islands along our current route would be the most practical option. The northern archipelago always has a high demand for sailing ships. Goods usually fetch the highest prices where they’re needed most."

The North Sea Archipelago, as its name suggests, consisted of islands scattered across the middle of the North Sea and served as a trade hub connecting the northwest, central, and northeast regions of the world.

The Blue Marlin was also scheduled to stop at one of the islands in the North Sea Archipelago soon to restock on food and water.

Captain Pires spoke with a slightly troubled expression.

"The thing is, to move a ship of that size, you need to mobilize quite a large crew..."

"So you're saying transportation costs are needed. How much should I pay?"

Pires widened his single eye in surprise.

He hadn’t expected Turan to agree so readily.

"There's no way I can haul that ship alone. If I use people, I should compensate them, shouldn't I?"

Over the past week, Turan had learned enough about handling a sailing ship to understand how difficult it was to operate one as large as the captured pirate ship.

Of course, extra crew members were always assigned in case of fatalities during rough voyages, but operating an additional ship of similar size was no easy task.

The workload and watch shifts would likely double. Exploiting people without compensation would hardly be acceptable.

"In that case, perhaps one-tenth of the profit..."

"How about two-tenths? Could I ask you to handle the sale as well?"

"Of course! I know plenty of people in the area, so I’ll make sure to get you a good price."

Seeing the delighted expression on Captain Pires’ face, Turan suddenly realized a new problem.

His backpack was already bulging with gold coins. Where would he store the money from selling an entire ship?

It seemed he'd have to purchase something small yet valuable on the island where they would dock.

Assuming such items were available for sale, of course.

A short while later, Captain Pires seemed to have said something to the crew, as they once again cheered and shouted praises at Turan.

It was likely an encouragement to work hard, with the promise that a portion of the ship's sale would be shared with them.

Although Turan was the only one who fought in the battle, the victory was celebrated with drinks shared among the crew. However, just as the merriment reached its peak, a sudden commotion erupted from the pirate ship tethered nearby by ropes.

One of the sailors, looking utterly dazed, shouted in alarm.

"Captain! A mermaid, it's a mermaid!"

"What? Even mermaids have come to attack us now? Where?"

Captain Pires exclaimed in shock.

Having been unbothered for the past week, to now face both pirates and mermaids in quick succession felt too unfair.

But the sailor's next words clarified the situation.

"N-no, that’s not it... The pirates were keeping a mermaid captive. Underneath the ship!"

*

When Turan returned to the pirate ship, Boatswain Renak was stripping and shaking down the crew members who had gone below deck.

This was to ensure that those sent to search the pirate ship wouldn’t pocket any valuable items they might find.

Though it was already nearing early winter in the North Sea, making such an ordeal quite harsh, no one complained.

After all, who would dare grumble when there was a chance that someone might try to steal from the knight who had just slaughtered seventy pirates?

"So, there’s a mermaid on board?"

"Yes. I haven’t gone down to see it myself, just received the report."

"Good job. Turan, would you like to check it out?"

"Of course."

Naturally, if a mermaid did exist, its ownership would belong to Turan as well.

As Turan entered the lower cabin of the ship, he asked Pires a question.

"Are mermaids worth a lot of money?"

"I hear that a beautiful female mermaid can sell for an astronomical price. Wealthy collectors of rare creatures go absolutely crazy for them."

Turan recalled the characteristics of mermaids he had read about in books.

They were said to sing among the reefs, luring ships in and sinking them to feast on the crew.

Was their voice truly so enchanting, or did they possess some kind of special power to mesmerize humans?

He would soon find out for himself.

"This way."

Clink. As Turan descended into the ship's hold, his eyes widened in shock at the scene before him.

The "mermaid" the sailors spoke of turned out to be nothing more than a young boy, likely no older than twelve or thirteen.

Beside him, Turan could hear Pires clicking his tongue.

"A male, huh? Male mermaids probably won't fetch much. Unless he’s some legendary royal capable of transforming into a fish..."

At that moment, the mermaid boy, having overheard Pires, shouted angrily.

"How dare you! A male, you say?! I am none other than Armania, the forty-seventh prince of North Estadeil! Show some respect, you land-dwellers!"

Indeed, the voice of the mermaid boy was more beautiful than any human voice Turan had ever heard in his life.

It was akin to the sound of instruments played in the background during a theater performance.

But what was more surprising than the voice itself was the content of his words.

"...Is he saying he's royalty?"

"Seems like it. Although, he might just be bluffing in hopes that we won’t kill him and will sell him alive instead."

Pires replied with a skeptical expression.

Still, considering that the pirates had bothered to capture a male mermaid, which wasn’t worth much money, there was a chance he might be telling the truth.

Pires added with a serious face,

"Can you transform into a fish, mermaid prince?"

"I-I can’t do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because I’ve been tied up out here on land… I need to be in the ocean in my full condition to transform!"

Turan and Pires exchanged a glance, their thoughts perfectly aligned without needing words.

This little brat was clearly scheming to escape.

"What do you want to do?"

"Mermaids quite often eat people, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I’ll kill him. If he’s not worth any money, there’s no point in keeping him."

"But if he’s truly a prince, wouldn’t it be a shame to waste him…"

"We can’t just release him to confirm whether he’s telling the truth. If he can’t transform, he won’t even sell."

Without hesitation, Turan reached out toward the mermaid boy.

Even though he was planning to kill him, given that the boy looked like a child, he thought it best to ensure the death was swift and painless.

Sensing the danger, the mermaid boy stepped back and screamed in panic.

"I-I’ve never eaten a human before! I have no intention of doing so! If you spare me, I’ll give you treasure!"

"Treasure?"

Turan paused at the word, and the mermaid boy, Armania, brightened with hope.

"Yes, treasure! The treasure left behind by the Preah Gods you worship!"