Keith and I gathered the things needed for shooting practice and headed up to the second deck.
Apparently, his profound intention was that if I made a mistake, it should be toward the sea.
"Firearms are inaccurate and dangerous, so be careful."
In this world, guns had not yet developed very far. They were also expensive.
"Hmm, like this?"
After enduring his constant nagging, the lesson finally began once I cocked the hammer.
"I think I look pretty cool right now."
Standing with my legs slightly apart and my arms extended exactly as instructed, I felt like some kind of special agent.
"Stop fooling around."
Keith was surprisingly strict when teaching. Next time, I'd ask someone else.
"Now pull the hammer all the way back and squeeze the trigger."
Standing at the bow, I aimed at the vast ocean.
Bang!
"Not bad for your first time."
"Holy crap."
"I thought you'd become a completely different person, but your foul mouth is still the same."
I was about to snap back at him when an unfamiliar sight unfolded before my eyes.
Pushing away the man who had been correcting my stance, I ran to the railing.
"We've arrived!"
"Be caref—... what?"
Keith, who had rushed after me to scold me, narrowed his eyes and stared at the distant horizon.
Between the line where the sky and sea met, something small appeared.
"Let's get ready to disembark."
"Wait. There could be pirates. We need to move carefully."
Keith brought over a holster and ammunition.
"This is..."
"Oh, I'll handle it."
I strapped the holster to my thigh and covered it with my shirt.
Then, just as Keith had instructed, I rotated the cylinder so an empty chamber was aligned and placed the revolver into the holster.
"Shall we go?"
At last, it was time to leave the ship.
"I told you to wait on the ship."
The moment I jumped off the ladder onto shore, Keith spoke.
He had said he would keep watch while staying alert, but apparently that also included endless nagging.
"It's quiet. Nothing's going to happen."
According to the original story, the other two protagonists had arrived on this island yesterday and immediately dealt with the pirates.
More importantly, with Keith and them around, there was nothing to fear.
"If you're taken hostage, it'll be troublesome. Stay close to me."
"Got it."
We walked along a path leading inland from the shallow, pebble-covered shore.
After a short walk, houses came into view in the distance.
Suddenly, Keith grabbed my arm and stopped me.
"What is it?"
"There's a battle going on."
"It's this quiet?"
The moment I protested—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out as debris and dust burst upward from one of the buildings.
"...Should we go back to the ship?"
Looks like they'd been slacking off before fighting.
"You might run into pirates. Just follow me."
Keith and I cautiously approached the village.
Clang!
The sound of steel striking steel echoed through the air.
Hiding behind a building, we peeked around the corner and spotted someone fighting against the pirates.
"...!"
Keith's eyes trembled slightly.
A natural reaction, seeing a comrade he had believed dead.
"See? I told you."
Short black hair. Beneath it, golden eyes flashed.
The pirate standing before the man fell instantly.
Marquis Berto Chedorf.
Our precious navigator, whose swordsmanship was every bit as impressive as his sailing skills.
"You should go help—"
Though Berto could have handled them alone, I was about to suggest Keith assist him.
But before I could finish speaking, Keith had already dashed forward and cut down a pirate.
Planting one foot dramatically atop the fallen enemy, Keith grinned as Berto's eyes widened.
"It's been a long time."
Watching them from behind, I shook my head.
"What a show-off."
With Keith joining the fight, the pirate crew was quickly overwhelmed.
When he swung his sword once, a blazing red aura surged forward like a savage beast.
The pirates collapsed screaming before they even understood what was happening.
"Gahhh!"
The aura I'd only heard about was truly terrifying.
A chill ran down my spine.
I never wanted to face someone like that as an enemy.
"I'll take care of this."
A firm voice sounded.
Berto appeared behind Keith and leapt lightly into the air, targeting a pirate's vital point.
"Die!"
Another pirate charged at Berto.
But—
Grab.
His neck was caught effortlessly.
Berto possessed a massive frame that completely contradicted his clean swordsmanship and quiet personality.
At 190 centimeters tall with beast-like muscles, he could easily lift and snap a grown man by the neck.
Unable to resist, the pirate foamed at the mouth and lost consciousness.
Scary bastards.
Berto still couldn't use aura yet, but he had already reached a level where awakening during the voyage was only a matter of time.
"That's enough!"
While I watched the battle without a single worry, an extremely villain-like voice rang out.
"Let me go!"
A huge pirate was holding a red-haired child by the back of the neck.
"If you want this brat to live, throw away your swords."
"I'm fine! Just kill them all!"
The child shouted.
But there was no way Keith and Berto—the original male leads—would listen.
Clang!
Their swords hit the ground.
The surrounding pirates cackled and immediately tackled them.
In an instant, the tide of battle reversed.
"Tch! We'll do as you want. Let the child go!"
Keith shouted.
"Hahaha! You think I'd believe that? Beat them!"
Forced to their knees, the two endured the pirates' attacks.
But eventually Keith's forehead split open, blood running down his face.
Beside the stream of blood, his sharp gaze fixed on the pirate holding the child hostage.
Click.
Quietly watching the scene, I rotated the revolver's cylinder one notch, loading a live round instead of a blank.
The front sight.
The rear sight.
And finally, the pirate's head.
All lined up perfectly.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
No...
The gun barrel lowered.
My hands were trembling.
At this rate, I might hit the child.
I need to move.
I carefully stepped away without making a sound.
Even now, Keith and Berto were being mercilessly beaten.
A little farther away—
A place where nothing obstructed my view.
Following everything Keith had taught me, I took aim.
Then—
Bang!
"AAAAARGH!"
I had aimed for his back, but the bullet only grazed the pirate captain's arm.
Still, the child he had been holding was thrown to the ground and immediately ran away.
"Ahhh!"
The moment an opening appeared, Keith and Berto sprang to their feet and effortlessly cut through the remaining pirates despite being covered in wounds.
"You little bitch!"
"Ugh!"
Just as I was about to flee in relief, the pirate captain grabbed me by the hair.
Pain exploded across my scalp.
Damn this body.
I had been caught far too easily.
"Tatiana!"
"Just keep fighting, you idiot!"
Keith stopped fighting, turning my brave attempt into nothing.
"So in the end, you've only exchanged one hostage for another."
The pirate captain yanked my hair upward and forced me to face him.
Behind him, I could see Keith and Berto struggling once again.
"You insolent little bitch. Now that I look closer, you're actually quite pretty."
The pirate captain grabbed my face and turned it from side to side.
"You're ugly. Looking at you makes me sick, so get lost."
A vein bulged on his forehead.
"Built like you could wrestle down a bull, yet you can't handle two men without taking children and women hostage? What a coward. Cut your balls off already!"
Another vein appeared.
Good.
This was exactly how it needed to go.
It was a little unfortunate that I was about to lose a life, but in order for my ability to awaken, this pirate had to kill me.
And then—
"Ghk...!"
Pain shot through me as though my neck were about to snap.
Just as planned, the pirate captain dragged me by my hair.
"Tatiana!"
Keith shoved away a pirate and tried to rush toward me.
But—
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Guh—!"
The pirate captain wrapped a hand around my throat.
As I struggled for breath, Keith had no choice but to stop.
"Damn it! Let her go!"
Keith allowed himself to be restrained once more.
The beating resumed.
Yet despite the pain, his fierce eyes never left the pirate captain.
"Hah... cough! We'll leave the island immediately, so stop this!"
Finally able to breathe again, I spoke while my hair was still firmly gripped in his hand.
Ignoring innocent victims leaves a bitter feeling.
But I wasn't some righteous hero.
I couldn't sacrifice my life—or the lives of the heroes destined to save the world—for strangers I didn't even know.
"It's already too late."
The pirate captain sneered.
"Watch carefully what happens to fools who don't know their place."