Unmoor — Chapter 3 (Part 2)

“…Yes. Understood.”

Astric nodded as he replied. At the same time, though, a question arose. Why did Valerius need an errand runner in the first place. He didn’t recall Valerius assigning errands back on the ship. Maybe, as he’d said earlier, he usually had Sheniba or Resh do them.

Scratching his cheek, Astric subtly moved to stand behind Valerius and waited for the next instruction. Perhaps he hadn’t expected such ready compliance, because Valerius gave him a faintly strange look.

‘…Why is he looking at me like that. Should I have refused?’

The gaze was odd enough to make Astric feel uneasy. If Valerius hadn’t soon lost interest and turned away, Astric might have ended up showing his discomfort outright.

“Don’t fall behind.”

Valerius gave the order in a cold voice, then strode off with long legs, utterly without consideration. Much shorter by comparison, Astric awkwardly followed behind him, grumbling inwardly.

‘Why is he walking so fast?’

He’d never been someone’s errand runner, trailing after them like this, and chasing after Valerius’s back was a particularly unfamiliar experience for Astric. He had never imagined he’d find himself in such a situation.

Valerius led him all over Ront Port. There was no need to set aside separate time to look around, because Valerius took him through places Astric hadn’t yet seen, one after another. Still, he didn’t assign any specific task. He merely checked occasionally to make sure Astric was keeping up, while continuing at his own long, steady pace.

After spending about an hour browsing shops and outdoor stalls scattered throughout the port, Valerius entered a restaurant.

It seemed to be one of the larger establishments in the harbor and specialized in fish dishes. The interior was decorated like the deck of a ship, making it feel as though one were actually aboard a vessel.

When Astric looked around in fascination, Valerius scolded him quietly.

“It’s distracting. Stop staring.”

“I just found it interesting without realizing it… sorry.”

Valerius’s eyebrow twitched at Astric’s mumbled reply, then he sharply turned his head away, as if he no longer wanted to deal with him.

Before long, a well-dressed man entered the restaurant. After briefly scanning the interior, he spotted Valerius’s seat and brightened, hurrying over at nearly a run.

“Haha, well now. I didn’t expect you to arrive first. It’s been a while, Captain.”

A hand adorned with numerous pieces of jewelry was extended toward Valerius. Valerius stared at it for a moment, then merely gave a small nod. The man laughed heartily, seemingly unbothered by the reaction, and sat down across from him.

“Thank you for coming again this time. Quite a lot of good items have come in. I was wondering how to inform you, Captain, but the timing worked out perfectly!”

The man spoke cheerfully, even clapping his hands. In contrast, Valerius only nodded with an utterly indifferent expression.

“Rather than this, I should be showing you the goods. We could even change locations right away… hm? But there’s someone I don’t recognize here.”

As he chatted, the man noticed Astric and tilted his head.

“Did you hire an aide? Or is it… that, perhaps?”

As the man spoke with a strange look, wiggling his eyebrows, Valerius’s face twisted. He glared at the man with clear displeasure, as if he’d just heard something filthy, and opened his mouth.

“I didn’t call you here to listen to your nonsense.”

“Ah, my apologies. Seeing a pretty face by your side, I couldn’t help myself. Ahem. I can show you the goods anytime. When would you like?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Yes, then I’ll show you the goods tomorrow.”

The man stood up with an easygoing smile.

“Then I’ll be on my way first, since I have another client to meet. Put it on my tab, and enjoy your meal before you go. You as well, miss beauty over there.”

At the man’s wink, Astric let out an awkward cough. He really didn’t look like someone Valerius would associate with. Unlike Valerius, who carried a sense of weight in every movement, the man felt endlessly light and frivolous.

After the man swayed his hips as he left, Valerius sat in silence for a while, then took a sip of water. He stood up and left the restaurant.

Astric hurried after Valerius, who walked out without any warning. Ever since becoming Valerius’s errand runner, it felt like all he’d done was trail behind him, walking or running nonstop. If he was just going to be dragged around like this, Valerius could have gone alone without bothering to take an errand runner.

Did he dislike being alone too?

With a lukewarm expression, Astric followed closely behind Valerius. Still, he couldn’t help wondering who that man from earlier was. They’d talked about goods in a fairly familiar atmosphere. Had they dealt with each other many times before?

He had no idea what the goods were or who the man was, so it was hard to say he’d gained any real information. He’d thought running errands for Valerius might earn him some clues or insight, but perhaps because the other party wasn’t easy to deal with, it hadn’t gone smoothly.

As Astric continued following him, Valerius suddenly stopped in his tracks. Astric halted as well, staring at the back of his head.

“I’m thirsty.”

It was a dry voice. He’d clearly drunk water at the restaurant, but maybe it hadn’t been enough. Astric quietly waited for Valerius’s instructions.

“There’s a place nearby that sells tea.”

“Yes.”

“It’s a shop decorated with red flowers. It has to be tea from that place. Go and buy tea that’s neither hot nor cold. If you tell the owner, they’ll understand. You don’t need to pay separately.”

After saying that, Valerius resumed walking and disappeared somewhere. Left alone in the middle of the street, Astric blinked blankly.

Finding the shop was one thing, but did Valerius really leave without saying where he was going? Standing alone without even knowing the destination was nothing but confusing and absurd.

After letting out a brief sigh, Astric moved his legs. Still, a shop decorated with red flowers should be easy enough to find. Red flowers were vivid and would stand out even from a distance.

Astric wandered around looking for a shop with red flowers. But no matter how much he searched, there wasn’t a single shop decorated with red flowers. All he could find were shops adorned with white flowers.

He’d thought it would be easy to find. Had Valerius sent him somewhere that didn’t even exist just to mess with him?

There wasn’t even a single petal of a red flower in sight, enough to make Valerius seem childish. Astric looked up at the sky, breathing heavily with an exhausted expression. The sun was gradually setting. It felt too late to buy tea at a red flower tea shop and then find Valerius.

Maybe he should just buy tea from one of the shops with white flowers.

Just as Astric stood there staring blankly at a shop, the sun slowly sank and the sky began to burn red. The sunset dyed the entire world in a crimson hue, and at the same time, the white flowers gradually seemed to take on color, until they turned red.

“…Huh?”

A tea shop decorated with red flowers, which hadn’t existed before, now came into view.

“Is that it?”

Astric stared blankly as the white flowers turned red, then moved as if drawn by something.

As he approached the tea shop, an elderly owner greeted him with a gentle smile.

“Welcome.”

“Um… could I order tea that’s neither hot nor cold?”

At Astric’s cautious request, the old man smiled kindly.

“So you’ve come at his request. Please wait just a moment.”

The old man went into the kitchen as if preparing something, then soon handed Astric a glass bottle filled with tea.

“Here you are.”

“The payment…”

“It’s already taken care of. He will handle it later. You should be on your way before the tea cools.”

At the old man’s polite dismissal, Astric gave a small bow and left the shop. As he started to head toward where Valerius was supposed to be, he remembered the fact he’d briefly forgotten.

Valerius hadn’t told him where he was going.

“Ah…”

Which meant Astric once again had to wander all over Ront Port, just like when he’d been searching for the tea shop. By now, the layout of the port was practically engraved in his eyes and head. Holding the glass bottle, he staggered forward with a thoroughly exhausted look.

No matter how thoroughly he searched, Valerius was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, night had fully fallen, making the streets hard to see. In this situation, roaming the port to find Valerius was unreasonable. With a sigh, Astric finally decided to return to the lodging.

Even if Valerius came later to scold him, there was nothing he could do. He’d tried his best to carry out the errand, but failed because Valerius hadn’t told him the destination. With a whatever-happens-happens mindset, Astric headed toward the lodging. Thankfully, the place Sheniba had shown him earlier was nearby.

Using the faint remaining glow of sunset as light, Astric entered the lodging and saw a familiar face.

“……”

It was Valerius. He was walking down the lodging corridor, dressed more comfortably than before.

If you were going to be at the lodging, you could’ve said so in advance. Was it really that hard to mention it before leaving?

Grumbling internally, Astric trudged over to him and held out the glass bottle he’d been carrying.

“Why did it take you so long?”

Valerius clicked his tongue as he looked displeasedly at Astric and the bottle he offered.

“It’s obvious without looking that it’s gone cold. Drink it yourself. And next time, you’re not to be this late again.”

As Valerius tried to pass by after saying that, Astric couldn’t hold back and stepped in front of him. Valerius raised an eyebrow and looked down at Astric. After briefly appraising his face, Valerius asked in a voice bordering on mockery.

“Why are you staring at me with a face like a drugged rat. Do you have something else to say?”

…What kind of thing? A rat? Astric was so taken aback that he almost forgot what he was about to say. He looked up at Valerius with a stunned expression, then furrowed his brows. After that, he opened his mouth and spoke rapidly.

“From now on, when you give me errands, please tell me where you’re going as well, Captain. Today, you didn’t say anything like that, so I wandered around for a long time before finally coming back to the lodging. And then I was surprised to find you already here.”

Valerius, who had remained silent, asked in a puzzled tone.

“Didn’t I say I was going back to the lodging?”

“No. Not at all.”

“I see. I’ll make sure to say it next time.”

Valerius replied in a flat voice and left. It was Astric who ended up feeling bewildered at how easily Valerius accepted it without resistance. It felt like all the steam had gone out of him. Astric stared blankly at the spot where Valerius disappeared, then sighed and started walking.

As he was looking for a suitable room, Sheniba happened to come out of the room across the hall.

“Oh, Ente! You found your way here. You weren’t coming for so long that I was just about to go look for you. Come this way. You and I are in the same room.”

“Yes.”

When Astric entered the room, Sheniba followed after him and asked,

“What did you do today? What were you doing to come back so late? And what’s that you’re holding?”

“Well…”

After hesitating for a moment, Astric decided to tell Sheniba about what had happened that day.

“I ran some errands for the captain. They weren’t really much, for errands. And the thing I’m holding is something I bought because of the captain’s errand.”

“The captain’s errand?”

Sheniba tilted his head and asked again. Seeing Sheniba’s interest, Astric began pouring out his grievances with a wronged expression.

“Yes. About the tea being cold… I feel like I’m tattling if I say this, but since it’s you, Sheniba, I’ll tell you. The captain didn’t tell me where he’d be, just told me to run the errand, so I got a bit lost.”

Here, Astric jutted his lips out in frustration.

“Because of that, the tea went completely cold. I gave up and came back to the lodging, and the captain was already here. He said since I came back late and the tea was cold, I should drink it all myself.”

Sheniba stared at Astric with wide eyes. Then he suddenly burst into laughter.

“Ahahaha! This is the first time I’ve ever seen you talk this much, Ente. No wonder you look exhausted. This time, the captain really went too far. Even if he’s the captain, I can’t take his side on this one!”

When Sheniba took his side in a half-laughing tone, Astric felt strangely affected. It felt as if he and Sheniba were truly sharing their feelings as comrades. When Astric fell silent, Sheniba patted his shoulder and joked lightly.

“Cheer up, Ente. If you think about how lucky you are not to be sharing a room with Uncle Desmond, you’ll feel better no matter what. Uncle Desmond snores insanely loudly. Sharing a room with him is pure suffering. Last time, I barely slept for ten days straight. I thought I was going to die!”

Sheniba glanced at Astric, who was quietly listening, and added,

“From now on, if Uncle Desmond asks you to share a room with him, you should refuse, okay?”

Astric gave a faint smile at that, and Sheniba, watching him with satisfaction, suddenly clapped his hands.

“…Ah! By any chance, Ente, do you have trouble sleeping too?”

“What?”

“That tea helps you relax and sleep better, you know. That’s why the captain looks for it every single time he comes here. It works best when it’s warm, but just because it cools down doesn’t mean the effect disappears completely.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. I don’t think the captain withheld his destination just to mess with you…”

Sheniba trailed off with a subtle smile. When Astric furrowed his brows, trying to understand the implication, Sheniba let out a small laugh and added,

“Before we came here, something bad happened to you, right? So maybe, in his own way, the captain was trying to make sure you could relax while you’re at the port.”

“Do you really think so?”

The question implied doubt that Valerius could be that considerate and gentle. Sheniba averted his gaze and answered vaguely.

“Well, maybe… it could be. Anyway… ah, right! That’s not what I meant to say. You know, Ente.”

At the sudden call, Astric looked at Sheniba with a puzzled expression. Even though there was no one else in the room, Sheniba glanced around for no reason, then lowered his voice and spoke quietly.

“Earlier, while I was doing what the captain told me to do, I ran into Krok. He was walking alone, but he couldn’t even walk properly. I wondered if Ivan had beaten him up or something. He usually has Kinta with him, so maybe he got ordered not to associate with Kinta? Anyway, it was funny, so I thought I’d tell you.”

Astric blinked quietly at Sheniba’s words. He wasn’t sure how to react. Krok not being able to walk properly. He wondered if Sheniba was right and Krok had really been beaten, but at the same time, the thought crossed his mind that perhaps Krok had taken Kinta’s place.

The image of Ivan’s back as he left the cabin without his trousers still lingered vividly in Astric’s mind. He hadn’t seen Ivan’s face because he was turned away, but his large frame was clearly remembered.

He didn’t care what happened to Krok and Kinta, nor did he want to get involved, but thinking about what they might have suffered at Ivan’s hands left him unsettled. Unlike Sheniba, who said it was funny, Astric couldn’t laugh.

“Anyway, Kinta and Krok deserve whatever they get. Even after the captain went that far and warned them, they didn’t listen and went after you, Ente. They should’ve ended up as food for sea monsters. It’s such a shame.”

Sheniba’s face was serious as he spoke about their punishment.

“But haven’t they been on the Scepter for a long time?”

“Yes. But I don’t care what happens to them. We’re not that close, and Krok and Kinta have done bad things without a second thought for a long time. Especially Kinta. Ever since he started hanging around Krok, he’s been acting like he’s something special. Originally, aside from being big, he was nothing remarkable.”

“Kinta? He didn’t really seem like that kind of person…”

Compared to Ivan and Krok, Kinta had seemed quite gentle and timid. It was enough to make Astric think that he might be getting dragged along against his will. But Sheniba shook his head firmly and added,

“Ah, that’s only because you’ve seen him when he looks pitiful. Do you know how badly Kinta and Krok tormented the newbies before you came? One time, the two of them dunked a rookie into the sea. In waters where sea monsters live, no less!”

“…Really?”

“Yes. They called it ‘training the newbie’ or something like that… ridiculous, right? If I hadn’t found him, that rookie really would have died. Well, things have calmed down a bit since Ivan arrived. Anyway, so don’t feel too sorry for them, Ente. Going along with bad deeds is wrongdoing too.”

Astric tilted his head at Sheniba’s story.

“Ivan joined later than those two?”

“Yes. He joined last year, to be exact. I remember he was kicked out of another pirate crew and came here. Anyway, I ran into a pirate from that crew before and talked a bit.”

Lowering his voice even more than when he talked about Krok, Sheniba continued,

“They said he beat every single person he was linked to until they were half-dead and sent them off. Eventually, even the places that provided those connections refused him, so he turned on his own comrades too. Still, since he’s known the captain since they were young, they took him in. Honestly, I don’t really know about that. He’s strong, sure, but that’s not everything. There’s discipline within a pirate crew too.”

Sheniba said that and stood up from his seat.

“We can go down and eat dinner. You’ll probably see Krok there too. When that happens, try watching how he walks.”

“Okay. I’ll wash up a bit and then head down.”

“Then I’ll go down first and grab us a seat. Take your time.”

Sheniba smiled as he spoke and left the room. After he was gone, Astric gathered the clothes provided by the inn and headed to the large public bath. Since most people were eating dinner or resting, the bathhouse was quiet. Astric quickly washed up and came out before anyone else entered.

The clothes provided by the inn were a tunic of decent quality, and the texture wasn’t bad at all. After neatly placing his worn clothes into the basket in the room, Astric locked the door and stepped out. As he walked down the hallway and started down the stairs to the lower floor, he heard footsteps coming up from below.

He took one more step down without paying much attention, then suddenly stopped. Large feet and long legs entered his field of vision. A vague sense of unease crept over him, but Astric slowly raised his head to see who was coming up.

“……”

He was so startled that his breath nearly caught in his throat.

‘Well, he’s not quite on the captain’s level, but he’s handsome, right? Tall, well built. The personality’s the problem. Ah, and he has blue eyes. It’s a common color, but it’s not like the Scepter is crawling with handsome pirates with blue eyes.’

It matched exactly what Sheniba had said before. There was no room for doubt or mistaken identity. It was Ivan. His expressionless face, different in tone from Valerius’s, was staring straight at Astric. Astric’s stiffened face was reflected clearly in those blue eyes.

When Astric froze midway down the stairs, Ivan strode up and spoke with a slight smile.