The pirate were very enthusiastic.
So the victory celebration seemed to develop in the direction of a welcome banquet...
"Come over here, little rookie! Since you joined us, you must know how to sing. Let us teach you how pirates sing!"
A pirate with a big nose excitedly squeezed to the front, pulling Takumi towards his seat.
"But I can't sing..."
"Hah, it's because you can't that I need to teach you. Don't worry; pirate songs are very easy to remember!"
"Is it possible that I don't like singing either..."
Takumi looked troubled; he had never sung in front of others.
"Oh oh, you heard it too. The little rookie doesn't like singing!"
Another pirate with a bushy beard brightened his eyes and immediately grabbed Takumi's other arm.
"Since you don't like singing, and it's a banquet right now, better learn pirate dances with me! How can a banquet proceed without dancing to liven things up?"
Saying this, the bushy-bearded pirate even performed a few steps on the spot.
"Bullshit! What's there to learn about your boring dance? Shoo, shoo, shoo, don't block me from bonding with the rookie!"
The big-nosed pirate widened his eyes and slapped the bushy-bearded pirate's hand grabbing Takumi.
Signaling him to go back where he came from.
"Hah? You still have the face to call my dance boring? Which of our brothers doesn't say I dance well? And I haven't even mentioned your broken gong voice yet!"
The bushy-bearded pirate instantly got angry, pointing at the big-nosed pirate's face and criticizing him.
"That's because the brothers are embarrassed to tell you! You dance stinkier than my grandma's boots!"
The big-nosed pirate also flew into a rage upon hearing this.
"Hey~ yah~, looks like you don't know how formidable I am! Let's go, step outside and practice with your bro!"
"Practice then! Who's afraid of whom!"
The two obviously got carried away, released Takumi's hands, and walked outside while pushing and shoving each other.
"Oh oh oh! Fight! Fight!"
The pirates watching the fun clapped their hands excitedly.
"Hehe, since you guys don't care about the rookie anymore, I'll take the rookie to play finger-guessing games!"
A pirate with a big gold tooth suddenly laughed strangely and grabbed Takumi, running towards his seat without a word.
"You little rascal! To actually have such an idea—Shall we beat him first?"
The bushy-bearded pirate, who had good hearing, turned his head sharply, saw this scene, and his anger shifted instantly.
Then he turned to try to reach cooperation with the big-nosed pirate.
"Beat him first!"
The big-nosed pirate chose to form a united front with the bushy-bearded pirate without hesitation.
After reaching an agreement, the two's eyes seemed to light up. After a run-up, they pounced like tigers, pinning the big gold-toothed pirate, who hadn't run far, to the ground.
"Stop! You can't do this!"
The pinned big gold-toothed pirate looked terrified, clawing at the ground with both hands, trying to escape from the two's restraints.
"Hehe! You can't escape. To actually think of stealing credit behind our backs?"
"Not that easy!"
"No, even if you catch me, it's useless. There are so many brothers!"
"There must be others who think like me!"
To ensure his moral integrity wouldn't be damaged, the big gold-toothed pirate decisively sold out the other brothers.
The two realized it belatedly and turned to look.
Good heavens! That brat Bessie was already holding a small notebook and dragging Takumi to say something.
Looking at that excited appearance, he seemed really intent on writing something based on Takumi's experiences!
"Audacious!"
"Good job, Bessie! You've got guts!"
The two leaped up from the big gold-toothed pirate, rushing back like hungry wolves that hadn't eaten for three days.
The big gold-toothed pirate at the bottom also quickly rejoined the battlefield after the two left.
Obviously, the group of pirates all liked Takumi, this little rookie, wishing they could teach Takumi everything they liked.
However...
Takumi, being pulled and tugged by a large group of people, already had a face full of despair.
Facing their enthusiasm, even Takumi was clearly a bit unable to bear it.
After all, everyone was welcoming him, and no one had malicious intent. Takumi couldn't rely on his Servant-level strength to wave his arm and throw everyone away, right?
Finally, Drake couldn't stand it anymore, stepped forward to reprimand her little brothers, and told them to do whatever they were supposed to do.
Only then did Takumi escape from the sea of suffering.
—Although later Takumi was still forced to sing and dance with them for a while.
Finally escaping from the enthusiastic pirate seniors, Takumi sat in his seat and sighed with relief.
Takumi was also familiar with this seat; it happened to be the chair directly below the hole he smashed open after the Spiritron Transfer.
After buffering for a while, Takumi cast his gaze back to this somewhat tattered house gathered with many pirates.
Pirates were always full of zest and acted on impulse.
After being scolded by Drake and forbidden from harassing the rookie, they weren't annoyed but started playing happily instead.
Some ate meat in big mouthfuls, liking to clink cups with people.
Some held dice dug out from who knows where, gambling heaven and earth with people at the same table.
Many people also gathered in the open space in the middle of the room, dancing pirate dances happily.
The pirates watching from the side accompanied them by clapping tables and whistling.
"He sets sail in the storm, thunder, and ghost carnival~"
"Crossing the wind and waves, breaking the dawn..."
Of course, there were also those singing along to their beat.
Taking all this into his eyes, the impatience and uneasiness in Takumi's heart gradually disappeared.
Almost unconsciously.
Takumi leaned on the table with one hand supporting his cheek, while the other hand lightly tapped on the table, mimicking the seniors' tune.
The corners of his mouth gradually curled up.
A long-lost warmth filled Takumi's heart.
'It seems... this is what I want the most?'
Takumi thought in a trance.
After experiencing so many things.
If asked what wish Takumi had now, it might not be defeating Goetia and saving the world, which seemed unreachable and almost impossible to achieve in his eyes.
But rather, like now.
Under the warm light, in a comfortable wooden house, surrounded by a large group of people, everyone chatting and laughing happily, bragging and joking, playing with each other...
—Actually, they don't necessarily have to surround me. Just give me a seat in the corner, let me sit there watching the lively scene, and chime in occasionally.
Just like now.
"I really wish this time could be a little longer..."
Takumi savored this rare warmth, his eyes gradually glazing over.
Who knows how long passed.
"Yo! Time to come back to reality."
A slightly familiar voice sounded beside him, and his shoulder was patted at the same time.
Takumi's wandering thoughts were pulled back, discovering that a wooden wine cup with rolling liquid had been placed in front of him at some point.
Turning his head, the owner of that voice was already standing beside him.
"How is it? My crew members?"
Seeing Takumi recover, Drake grinned, raising her chin towards her crew members.
"They are all very interesting, very nice people, and... take good care of me..."
Takumi blurted out the first part without thinking, but when it came to the end, he hesitated, and his expression was tinged with a bit of awkwardness.
After all, the way they took care of him was a bit weird...
"Hahaha, that's good! I said you would get along with them!"
Drake laughed heartily, patting Takumi on the back.
"In your words, I also think you are a very interesting guy; otherwise, I wouldn't have let you join us."
"After all, if we are going on an adventure, but the people on the same boat don't like each other, what adventure is there to speak of?"
"Might as well go home and burrow into mom's arms!"
Takumi nodded in agreement.
To accomplish big things, one indeed needed to find like-minded people with compatible personalities. If there were constant internal disputes, probably nothing could be done.
Let alone having a lively atmosphere like now.
"By the way, why put this here for me?"
Takumi suddenly picked up the wine cup at hand and looked at Drake in confusion.
"Rum. Of course, it's for you to drink. What else?"
Drake looked at Takumi as if looking at an idiot.
Isn't wine for drinking? What else can it be used for?
"But I don't like drinking..."
"Oh? So you are the good baby type? Don't drink until of age?"
Drake looked at Takumi with a teasing look.
Hearing this, Takumi rolled his eyes.
"How is that possible? I just simply don't like drinking. Compared to wine, which doesn't taste good at all, I prefer sweeter juice types."
After speaking, Takumi moved the wine cup towards Drake.
Takumi wasn't lying; he really felt that way.
To him, wine wasn't even as tasty as a cup of plain water.
After all, who would really strictly adhere to the age for drinking these days? As long as the adults felt the age was about right, drink or not as you please.
"Yeah, yeah, argue however you want. Anyway, that cup of wine stays with you..."
Drake chuckled, obviously not believing Takumi's explanation.
After waving her hand with her back to Takumi, she returned to her seat.
Drake walked very fast and had no intention of looking back, leaving Takumi holding the wine cup, unsure whether to put it down or not.
"Sigh..."
After a brief internal struggle, Takumi sighed and put the cup back in front of him.
Looking at the liquid emitting a crystalline luster under the faint light, Takumi shook his head.
"Anyway, I'm not drinking it. Whoever loves to drink it can drink it."