Extra Chapter 3.

“Same crazy nonsense as always.”

“……Is it dangerous?”

“Has anything he’s ordered ever not been dangerous?”

“Then I’ll come with you.”

Ro didn’t bother hiding a look of utter contempt.

“Oh, wonderful. If you tag along too, what happens to Toulon in the meantime? Who’s going to pay the tribute? That grumpy old man will surely be delighted to hear my excuses.”

“…….”

“So stop babbling and get ready to set sail. It’ll be over within ten days at the earliest, a month at the latest. We’ll rendezvous at the midpoint of the route.”

“Where exactly is that?”

“Barna.”

Without turning around, he could feel Nick’s eyes narrow sharply. Nick snapped back, incredulous.

“Barna?”

“Yes.”

After a brief silence, he pressed again.

“You’re planning to go there alone?”

“It’s not a place I can’t reach by myself.”

“Are you out of your mind? That’s beyond Kirghos’s territory. Dozens, hundreds of people who’d love to kill you could be roaming around there, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all.”

Ro spoke confidently, even with a hint of pride.

“I know.”

“You know? You *know*!”

“We’ve taken enough from others over the past five years. People aiming for our lives? That’s almost cute.”

“You don’t even realize how much hatred you’ve piled up, do you? Even the pirates’ mutual non-aggression pact is meaningless there. The line of people waiting to kill you and take your place would stretch all the way to the capital. And what the hell’s gotten into you……”

“Shh.”

Ro raised a finger to Nick’s lips, making a short metallic sound. They had already reached the front of Billne Inn. While guests would likely be passed out drunk after downing rum or gin, it was still wiser to be cautious. Kirghos’s ears were lurking all over this city.

Ro opened the back door of the inn, avoiding someone’s splattered vomit, then gestured to Nick, who stood frozen in place.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“Huh.”

Looking utterly exasperated, Nick followed. Ro greeted the girl working in the kitchen, slipped a tip to Bill with the excuse of not wanting him to mention having seen her, and quietly pocketed an apple in the brief moment. Then she quickly ascended the low, narrow staircase to the inn room. Despite their similar height, while Nick kept bumping into things, Ro moved like a lithe predator.

“Let’s see.”

Humming a tune, Ro unlocked the inn room with a flat brass key. The room Rosetta always holed up in whenever returning to Syklyde reeked like a dusty pit from lack of ventilation. Ro slipped inside.

“Well? Are you planning to stand there forever?”

She left the taunt hanging in the air. Nick followed in, teeth clenched in irritation. The moment the door shut, a powerful force slammed his shoulder against the wall. The impact made the walls and ceiling tremble with a dull thud. A sharp, numbing pain shot down Nick’s spine, and he bit back a curse.

“Damn it, at least give me a warning……”

“Ah, ah.”

Ro let out a half-hearted moan as Nick froze, utterly dumbfounded. The only point of contact between them was his shoulder, firmly gripped. She hadn’t even unbuttoned her cuffs, let alone removed her shirt, yet she shamelessly used the oldest trick in the book. The moans steadily grew faster, deliberately realistic. Nick turned his head away, cheeks flushed.

“Ah!”

Finally, after a long, climactic-sounding moan, Ro collapsed away. Nick muttered resentfully, his defiant eyes barely concealed.

“Just do it for real instead.”

Ro scoffed as if she’d heard something absurd.

“What, with you? That’s disgusting.”

“Hey.”

“Go relieve your frustration on the men trailing after you. Or better yet, go build some more muscle.”

“……What exactly is this about?”

“What?”

“Kirghos imposed a gag order, right? So this is about giving us a reason to close ranks among ourselves.”

“Oh, right.”

While he rubbed his still-flushed neck, Ro flung open a haphazardly discarded chest on the floor. A jumble of random junk spilled out. After focusing for a while on stuffing clothes and items into a leather bag, Ro suddenly paused, listening to outside movement, then motioned silently. Nick obediently lowered his head.

“I had something stolen. Getting it back is the test.”

Nick nodded gravely. *Something*. From surface meaning to deeper implication, few understood better than he just how broad that single word could be.

“Must be valuable? Judging by the gag order.”

“Well, yes. Extremely valuable, and the interests involved are deeply tangled. But what’s funnier is……”

Rosetta squinted as if choosing her words carefully, then gave up and scratched the back of her head.

“Ah, screw it. I’m not good at beating around the bush. Bilti’s involved in this. And most likely, Kirghos was the one who provoked him.”

“What?”

Nick’s eyes widened, then immediately narrowed in confusion.

“Wait, hold on. Let me get this straight. Kirghos told us to retrieve the item, but you’re saying *he* also instigated the theft?”

“Yes.”

“Proof?”

“Even if we assume the net was cast wide, the intel we received was too precise. Naively, you’d think someone was planted inside. But Kirghos isn’t a fool who’d let Bilti run wild right under his nose without intervening.”

“…….”

“Bilti, that idiot, has been playing right on the board Kirghos laid out from the start. If he cleverly disposes of the item, great. If things go wrong, he can just be handed over as a sacrificial lamb to the higher-ups.”

And while at it, maybe even plant some trauma in the next admiral. Ro swallowed the unspoken words with a bitter taste. The face of the one who’d be happiest if Montrosa’s young duke became a sea-sick fool came to mind instantly. That cunning old man. Nick tilted his head, bewildered, and whispered.

“Just how big a fish did we hook for Kirghos to be so cautious?”

Ro pulled out a pocket watch, checked the time, and waved her hand dismissively.

“That’s enough explanation. Now get out.”

“What? Hey……”

“They’ll think we just had sex. Stay one more minute and see what happens. That suspicious old man will sure as hell believe I told you nothing. Out, out.”

“Hey, don’t push!”

Ro opened the door and shoved Nick out. Conscious of Kirghos’s eyes possibly watching from somewhere, she even blew a dramatic kiss at him. Then she slammed the door shut, leaving Nick with a baffled expression.

* * *

‘Red Dawn’ was the second most famous pirate in Billbron Strait after Kirghos—and that meant she was one of the most recognizable pirates in appearance. Fiery red hair like sunset, deep blue eyes, tall and lean with sun-kissed skin—she drew attention wherever she went. Which meant, of course, that acting ‘undetected’ or ‘alone’ was practically impossible from the start.

“So that’s why you came to Calypso?”

The witch’s table at the inn was in utter disarray, as if she’d just finished a casual card game. Ro casually picked up the nearest card and replied.

“Yes.”

“I’ve told you countless times—every deal demands a price.”

“I’ve got enough money, so drop the worrying.”

Scratching her neck, Ro casually propped her left ankle over her right thigh. Then she began ticking off fingers.

“Let’s see. Two bottles of East Wind, one bottle of West Wind, one seaweed remover, two bottles of Sleep, and one curse.”

“A curse?”

“I want to change my appearance a bit. For about… ten days, say?”

“Oh.”

The witch pursed her parched lips.

“We’re not sure you can afford the price of a curse.”

In short: damn expensive. Ro grumbled and pulled out a worn leather pouch from her coat.

“How’s that?”

The pouch was packed with unpolished pearls. Calypso lifted one and held it up to the dim lantern light. Soon, the crone’s wrinkled lips curled into a satisfied smile.

“This would cover the magic fee and even grant two days of curse.”

“What? What did you say? There are how many pearls in that pouch, and only two days?”

“Then don’t take it.”

Ro snarled, nose flaring. Those pearls alone could equal four or five months’ income for an average pirate. The nerve to demand such a raw price was infuriating. But clearly, Calypso held the knife here. Without the curse, even quietly leaving the port would be impossible. In the end, Rosetta was the one who surrendered.

“……Fine. Fine.”

“The deal is sealed.”

The witch grinned and snapped her fingers. Behind her, a canopy lowered. That was all—but instantly, it felt as if they’d stepped into a silent tent miles away from the noisy inn.

“Now then, where shall we begin?”

Calypso placed a large brass bowl on the table. It looked thoroughly unclean, as if it hadn’t touched water in over a decade. As she dripped several drops from dusty glass vials into the bowl, a sinister pale green smoke began to rise. The next steps proceeded swiftly.

“Tarantula legs, one dried salamander tail, a handful of harpy claws, and three secret drops. Hmm, hmm, one white crow feather too, and…….”

Ro stared, mesmerized, as the witch stirred the cauldron with a large ladle. Suddenly, a thin finger thrust toward her, making her stammer.

“W-what?”

“One strand of your hair.”

The witch’s hand plucked a single red strand that had fallen on Rosetta’s shoulder. After adding it and mixing thoroughly, the substance inside the bowl gradually turned into a thick, grotesque liquid.

The crone added a few more ingredients, then scooped the mixture into a glass bottle with the ladle. It was so viscous that it made a sloshing sound as it dripped into the bottle.

“There. All done.”

Ro took the bottle with a sour expression and held it up to the lantern. Unidentifiable lumps floated in the ominous liquid. Instead of touching it directly, she asked cautiously.

“Any precautions?”

“Oh, there are side effects, of course. But they’re minor. It’s not a curse meant to harm others. Even in the worst case, Calypso guarantees it will wear off naturally after about a month.”

“What kind?”

“Varies by person. Boils on the buttocks, styes on the eyelids…”

“……You should’ve mentioned such side effects from the start.”

“Ultimately, Rosetta, you have no choice, do you?”

“…….”

It wasn’t wrong—but somehow, it felt utterly unpleasant.