The moment I stepped out of the ship’s hold, another girl, which I assumed was also a pirate, kicked the door shut behind me. A blasting sound echoed through my eardrums, and the sound kept ringing through my mind. But as soon as it ended, I returned my gaze to Françoise, the woman who escorted me out of this place and thumped my shoulder. She gently pushed me forward and told me to follow her lead.

“I’ll tour you later, kid. For now, traverse your way towards the poop deck,” Françoise said.

I hadn’t gone insane. My ears discerned the word “poop deck”. It was the most elevated deck of the ship, and right next to it was the “helm” or the wheel. Even though I knew what it was, my eyes widened in surprise, listening to people using these words.

As I strolled around the place, all parts of the ship appeared before me. The one I had come from was called the brig to house criminals. On regular occasions, the brig also served as the boat’s cargo, where marines placed their stash inside. The forecastle was inside the ship, just a tad right of the brig. It was the quarter of the sailors. Naturally, the floor above it was called the forecastle deck, and the ship’s parts extended through there. My eyes then followed the bowsprit, improving the amount of sail area. It was tilted upwards, just like in the movies. The flat blade sticking at the bottom of the ship was called a Keel. It prohibited the vessel from being blasted at the flank by the gust of wind, and it clenched the ballast - the auxiliary mass added to a boat when it disburdened a cargo -, which also supported the ship right-side up. This vessel also had ratlines. These lines were tied up, forming a ladder the crews could use to fix the sail or a lookout from above and from afar. Needless to say, everyone had an idea of what a sail was. Sails were the ones that propelled the sailboat through the salty ocean by seizing the breeze. If I had to guess the weight of this gargantuan boat, it was around one hundred feet long and could carry roughly one hundred thirty cargos, bigger than the usual pirate ships made from the past where I had come from. 

Did I also mention there were barrels everywhere, and the place was oozing with booze? It was as if juices from grapes were left open, and the scent became a perfume. Still, the odour irritated no one. However, these containers could bring more weight to the ship than they should.

These components built the ship, and I was positive I skipped a few areas. But it didn’t matter. We were cruising the water through a boat, which was more important than anything. Well, until I finally introduced myself to the pirates surrounding me.

How could I miss the people boarding the ship? They were surrounding me. Once my eyes registered the individuals staring at my wonderstruck figure, they all giggled to themselves, while some clicked their tongues in dismay.

Now that I had thought about it, all these pirates were females. A lot of them were hotties, too! I found no male like me. I didn’t see gender as an issue, but perceiving such a pirate ship without a single man on the deck was bizarre. Well, it was what it was. And I didn’t care how the captain ran the entire thing. It was their ship, after all.

“I can see that I am not welcomed here,” I voiced my concerns, enough for Françoise to hear.

The woman who was still escorting me to the poop deck bobbed her and chuckled to herself. Her laugh brimmed with confidence. “Of course. You’re all slaves from the island we’ve liberated from the Kingdom.”

“What’s with the Kingdom, anyway? Why are you singing praises about the Kingdom as if they’re some sort of enemy?”

“That’s because they are, you little maggot.”

A feminine voice akin to an angel caught my attention. The figure came from above. As my head followed the voice’s origin, a lassie stood on top of the crow’s nest, next to the waving flag with the symbol of a golden skull at the centre. A typical pirate resemblance, if someone dared to ask me. The woman had a telescope resting in front of her eyes.

‘This girl is a real pirate!’ I thought, as I focused my sight on the hat covering the woman’s face.

The captain Françoise had talked about was really a captain! She had vermillion hair covering her shoulders, and the woman’s outfit consisted of a blouse, a corset, and a skirt. This woman didn’t have a scarf with her. Although she didn’t have a hook for a hand or a pole to replace her amputated leg. Even so, this lady screamed for the title “master pirate”. My system also described her one, thanks to the passive appraisal I had with me. Oh, by the way, she also had a cloth bag near her belly. 

[Character Name]: {?????}

[Unknown problem! The Player, Arata Kazuto, doesn’t have enough levels to unlock this part! The player must be level 15 and above to unlock the system’s full power.]

[Title(s)]: {Captain}

[Species]: {Human} [Occupation]: {Pirate}

[Level: ?????]

[Age]: {?????}

[Class]: {Marksman} {Tamer of the Ship}

[STR]- ?? [VIT]- ?? [MEN]- ??

[DEX]- ?? [INT]- ?? [LCK]-??

[Equipped item: Map of the Lunar and The Riches of Merlin]

[Contents Unknown!:]

[Contents Unknown!:]

[Contents Unknown!:]

[Contents Unknown!:]

[Contents Unknown!:]

[Warning! Contents Unknown! You need a key to unlock the code and read the two maps!]

[System can analyse the map and unlock it! However, player must open the scroll and analyse the ancient texts!]

Albeit I had my system and the captain’s stats shown on my transparent boxes, her name wasn’t listed in the brackets. It was as if… oh, there it was. I lacked the level of knowing my opponent. It said I had to be level 15 or above to unlock it. And the only way for me to level up was to have a class and do some queer job or kill any living being. WHY THE FUCK DID MY SYSTEM JUST TELL ME RIGHT NOW!? AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NUMBERS, WHICH WERE USUALLY THERE! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT EVEN!?!? QUESTION MARKS?! Ah… never mind. I actually didn’t care, anyway. I just assumed this captain of the pirate ship was a boss.

I met a boss, and I didn’t know why.

Additionally, something caught my eye. And it was the description my system had printed on the transparent floating box, with the words [Equipped Items:]. What was that supposed to mean? I assumed it was supposed to be the weapon of choice or the specialty magic one had, but my power told me otherwise. It was something more—a map, above all things, complementing their pirate existence.

Since my system called it a map, I observed the Captain again. Her body was the same. Maybe this girl was hiding something from plain sight, and my system was the only thing that could magnify what I was looking for.

And, ta-dah! After piloting my scanning capacity, my system led me to her pouch. It was a bag, and inside the box was a folded scroll of some sort. But I couldn’t tell from afar. Maybe this information might be helpful to me soon. Not to mention, these pirates had no idea how to read or open thpse treasure maps. And maybe I was the only one who could unlock it. Possibly. However, I didn't have any means to prove my theory.

After browsing the vast body of water, the lady retracted the scope and slid down the ratlines as if they were nothing but moving escalators or whatnot. And when the captain arrived at the ground, the ship shook but never sank. She afterward met my gaze.

“There is a storm approaching… I can feel it,” the captain mumbled. "We have been here for forty days and forty nights, and yet we can't still find the treasure, or, at least, crack the map open."

Within a second, her figure disappeared. And when I blinked my eyes, the captain was now right in front of me, with a saber’s end pointing at my eyes. The blade was thin but sharp. If the woman in front of me had chosen to thrust the weapon in her hands, the blade would’ve ended my life here and now. I gulped down the saliva obstructing my throat while waiting for the next occurrence to come. But I never showed fear. Despite being in the middle of the fight, I remained calm and stood there like a statue, unfazed. Yet my beating heart gave it away.

“You’re both scared and brave enough to die. Is it because you don’t care about your life… or is there someone you care about?” the captain whispered, and let no one hear her voice.

I gasped after listening to her words. If this woman found out I had a sister, she could use Kirameki as my weakness and foil my plans. She could even force me to do something I wish I wouldn’t. The captain was at an advantage. And it seemed that Francoise, regardless of what we may have conversed, could sell me out.

But she didn’t. Francoise remained true to her words and kept her mouth shut. This woman even had the balls, in spite of having none, though I wished she had, shook her head and claimed that I had a sister not to be touched or messed with.

“This boy has a sister. And since I brought him here, I told him I will protect her sister… We will protect her sister. Apologies, captain. I might have-...”

“Enough. I’ve heard enough. And I see.” The captain leaned toward me, grabbed my chin, and studied me as if I was a defective toy dropped by Santa during Halloween. “So you also took a liking to this man? I supposed that’s alright. We are in dire need of talented people anyway… But this boy… is a slave?” she continued, and remarked.

“That’s what I want to say, and I demand answers… if I may.” Right when I increased the tone of my voice, the remaining women listening at the deck sent daggers in my direction for disrespecting their captain. I commended their loyalty. But… I wanted to tuck my tail and run away from here as fast as possible whilst bringing my sister with me. “I have… no recollection of what had happened. By the time we opened our eyes, we had found ourselves here,” I narrated.

“About that, captain. It appears that we have fifteen slaves liberated from the hundred islands of Sand Trek. However… we also magically gained two individuals, Arata Kazuto, the person right in front of you, and Kirameki Kazuto, his sister.”

“Are you running a gig for me, Françoise?” the captain calmly said. However, her eyes told a different tune.

Françoise shivered while shaking her head. “N-Nay, captain!”

“I see.” After moments of realisation, the captain returned her gaze to me and snickered. “Whatever the hell happened, it has already happened. I am Captain Israel Hands. And I command you to walk the plank!”