"Huh?" Red-Hair blinked in confusion, then quickly said, "Thank you, Miss Witch."
"Mhm!"
Lilith nodded in satisfaction. She reached into her pendant and took out another item, transformed it into an apple, and ran toward another pirate. "Here, eat an apple!"
Then another. "Here, eat an apple!"
And another…"Here, eat an apple!"
Edward sighed and rubbed his forehead. He couldn't bear to watch.
At that moment, Red-Hair stood cautiously at the door.
"Mr. Sparrow, we just spotted smoke signals on an uninhabited island ahead. It looks like there are some pirates on the beach sending out distress signals. Should we go take a look?"
Edward raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Pirates are this helpful and united now?"
"Of course not," Red-Hair replied honestly. "But in situations like this, no pirate would pass up a potential opportunity to survive."
"Well, fair enough."
Edward walked out of the captain's cabin and took out his monocular to peer at the distant island. A white column of smoke was rising straight into the sky before dispersing. On the beach, about seven or eight people were waving their arms and shouting desperately.
"Well, we're heading that way anyway. Let's take a look—more XP fodder never hurts."
"Understood."
Red-Hair gave the helmsman a signal. The S.S. Knowledge shuddered, then adjusted its course toward the island.
Edward, meanwhile, took out a green crystal and let it hover above his palm.
"Heading to that island is dangerous."
He repeated it seven times.
The green crystal began to spin counterclockwise.
Just as he put the crystal away, screams rang out from the deck.
Startled, Edward turned toward the sound. Over a dozen pirates were clutching their stomachs, writhing on the ground in agony, howling in pain.
He looked over and saw Lilith still handing out apples.
He stared, dumbfounded.
"…Lilith, did you poison the apples?"
Red-Hair, who had just taken a bite, immediately spit it out and silently tucked the apple into his pocket.
Lilith shook her head, utterly confused.
"Nope."
"Then how…"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Lilith casually pick up a stick from the ground—and transform it into another apple.
…Right.
He'd forgotten a very important detail: Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration—
Transfiguration cannot produce edible food. To be precise, you can transfigure something to look like food, but it's just an illusion.
If swallowed, the transfigured item will revert to its original form.
Meaning, those pirates groaning in pain right now likely had wood, glass, rocks, or some other random crap in their stomachs.
What a tragedy.
Edward suddenly remembered the juice Lilith had given him earlier.
"Lilith…the juice we drank earlier…that wasn't transfigured, was it?"
"Nope~ That was from Audrey. She packed it for Miss Lilith before we left."
Thank the gods.
Edward exhaled in relief and waved his wand to knock the moaning pirates unconscious. "Red-Hair, clean them up."
"Understood."
Edward then took Lilith aside by the hand.
"Lilith, from now on, no more transfigured food. Ever."
Her eyes widened. "Why not?"
"Do you know that food created by transfiguration can't be eaten?"
"Huh? Why not?"
Edward thought for a second.
"Let's just call it a…flaw in transfiguration magic."
"But I've transfigured food before. I turned a dried fish into a rat—and then I ate it!"
"…What did you use as the base for the transfiguration?"
"Dried fish."
Hmm. Food to food…that might actually be okay.
"But it didn't taste very good!" Lilith shook her head, her long black hair swaying.
"Anyway, just remember—never transfigure food again, okay?"
"…Okay."
She nodded, but then her face lit up with joy.
"Oh! Edward! I just digested a portion of my potion!"
Edward went silent for a moment.
…Well, happy accidents still count, right?
——
Twenty minutes later.
The S.S. Knowledge reached the waters near the uninhabited island. The people who had been waving for help were gone. Only a messy trail of footprints remained on the beach.
"Mr. Sparrow," Red-Hair asked warily, "those people are clearly suspicious. Should we still dock?"
"It's fine. Take us in."
Soon, the pirate ship reached the shore. Edward jumped down with Lilith, landing gently as he floated to the ground. Red-Hair followed with a dozen armed pirates, climbing down the gangplank behind them.
"The smoke came from the centre of the island."
Edward flipped a coin for divination—again, no danger.
"Let's go see what sort of tricks you pirates have up your sleeves this time."
Red-Hair signalled, and his men took the lead, machetes and sabres in hand, cutting a path through the brush. The group made their way into the dense undergrowth.
A few minutes later, the surrounding shrubs rustled—and out came over a dozen dishevelled figures. Leading them was a young man in a black trench coat, though his face was now caked in blood and dirt, completely obscuring his features.
He crouched low, gesturing quickly to the others behind him.
The group split into three units and sprinted toward the pirate ship.
Each pulled out crude grappling hooks made of vines and sticks and hurled them expertly onto the ship's railings, climbing up like it was flat ground.
The young man in the black coat was the first aboard. As he leapt over the edge, what he saw stopped him in his tracks—
Dozens of pirates sat on the deck in neat rows, straight-backed and alert.
To him…they looked like students?
He couldn't be bothered to analyse the bizarre behaviour of these pirates. The young man in the black coat simply thrust his hand forward and barked, "Speaking is forbidden on this ship!"
Then, with a wave of his hand, his team fanned out and pointed their guns at the seated pirates on the deck.
This sudden development left the pirates momentarily stunned. But then they turned toward their would-be attackers—with strange expressions on their faces.
These idiots...were actually trying to hijack Gehrman Sparrow's ship?
Were they looking to die?
The pirates' eerie calm sent a chill down the black-coated youth's spine. Clearly, the true master of this ship was no ordinary figure—no pirate would remain this unfazed with a gun pointed at them unless their backer was someone terrifying.
But now that things had progressed this far, there was no turning back. He signalled again, and his subordinates quickly raised the sails and took control of the helm. The pirate ship slowly began pulling away from the island.
——
On the island.
Edward and his group had to spend quite some effort traversing the terrain before they reached the island's centre. What they found there made them pause.
A massive object lay crashed among the trees and boulders. The rising white smoke was coming from its burning wreckage.
It was a deep blue airship—or what was left of it. Now, it lay torn apart, scattered across the jungle. The surrounding ground was littered with corpses: some dressed as ragged pirates, others wearing military uniforms.
Through the still-deflating balloon, one could just make out the emblem of the Loen military.
Judging from the uniforms and emblems, it wasn't hard to conclude: this was an airship that had belonged to Loen's armed forces.
"How did something like this fall from the sky?"
Edward looked up at the fading smoke trail above.
Just then, Lilith returned after scouting the area.
"Edward, they're all dead~"
She handed him a small object she had picked up from one of the bodies.
"Look, I found this."
"Hm?"
Edward took it and examined it—a small feathered serpent pendant.
On the Southern Continent, feathered serpents were symbols of divinity, tied to the bloodline of Death and the Eggers family crest, and they were also sacred to the Numinous Episcopate (and the Church of Death).
Pirates, Soldiers and Numinous Episcopate?
Now that was an interesting combination.
Just then, Red-Hair came running from the edge of the forest, panting.
"Mr. Sparrow, someone's taken our ship!"
Edward's expression barely changed.
"Any clue who they are?"
"Judging by their clothes…they don't look like pirates."
——
Aboard the S.S. Knowledge.
Now that the island had shrunk to a black dot on the horizon, the black-coated youth and his team finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He released the silencing spell and turned to face the pirates on deck.
"Who's your captain?"
"No idea!"
One pirate shouted loudly.
Immediately, one of the intruders walked over and slammed the butt of his rifle into the pirate's face.
"Don't play dumb! I'll blow your head off!"
The beaten pirate spat blood and growled, "We really don't know. We weren't part of this crew to begin with—we were kidnapped onto this ship!"
Another chimed in, "But the guy who runs this ship calls himself Gehrman Sparrow."
"Gehrman Sparrow?!"
The black-coated youth—Alfred—shrank back in shock.
Him again?!
Two days ago, Gehrman Sparrow had ruined a carefully laid plan Alfred and his squad had spent weeks preparing. What should've been a glorious victory turned into a joke, and Alfred's boasts among his peers became empty mockery.
He had been stewing over it ever since, silently vowing to one day settle the score.
And now—barely two days later—they crossed paths again.
But… the problem was…Alfred was still no match for him.
He quickly turned and looked back toward the island—now just a speck on the horizon.
That distance…surely Gehrman can't pull the same stunt he did last time, right?
"Why did Gehrman Sparrow kidnap you?" he asked cautiously.
"To attend class!"
This time, the answer came as a chorus of enthusiastic voices.
Alfred froze. "Class…?"
He vaguely remembered hearing something like this before. Gehrman had said he needed to keep some pirates alive—for…"class?"
"That's right! I didn't believe it at first either, that the infamous Gehrman Sparrow was a lunatic—but he really is!"
"The moment he brought us aboard, he started teaching."
"He taught us all kinds of extraordinary knowledge—potion formulas, stuff about the Forsaken Land…everything!"
"Let us go, and we'll pass everything we learned on to you."
Alfred's thoughts churned. He had a theory now.
That Gehrman Sparrow…was likely acting.
And among all the known pathways that required the sharing of knowledge to progress…wasn't that the Reader pathway?
Still, that wasn't his concern. He had more pressing matters—he had to get to Bayam, or everything would fall apart!
He dragged over a chair and sat down in front of the pirates, revolver in hand, and said coldly, "I need five people to work for me. Anyone willing—raise your hand."
Silence.
Not a single hand went up.
Alfred's eyes narrowed, and his expression turned dangerous.
Just then, a small hand shot up from the group—accompanied by a crisp, childlike voice, "I volunteer!"
A little girl, no older than six or seven, stood up with her hand raised high.
"Miss Lilith is willing~"
Alfred's pupils contracted. Without thinking, he pointed his revolver at her.
But in the very next instant, the revolver in his hand transformed into a fresh, crimson rose.
Lilith giggled, "Is this flower…a gift for Miss Lilith?"
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.