Chapter 156: Is This How You All Negotiate (Physically)?!
"Ah, so it was just a misunderstanding? I didn't expect you guys to be teammates with the rookies on my ship—well then, I guess that makes us family!!!"
The woman wearing the pirate hat beamed and spoke with ease.
"Umu, glad you caught on so fast!"
Himiko relaxed her fists and returned a radiant, sunlit smile.
"Eh?!"
Not just the people on both ships, even the audience watching the livestream—who had been expecting a fiery battle—
Who would've thought that after exchanging just one move, the pirate-hat woman would immediately change her tone after getting punched?!
"Big sis, didn't you just say you were gonna punch a few more holes into her?!"
The one-eyed pirate holding a deck-scrubbing brush behind her asked dumbfoundedly.
"Idiot, the pirate code is to steal treasure! Look at that sinking ship—does it look like it's got any wealth on board?!"
The pirate-hat woman snapped angrily at her underlings.
"Who the hell was on guard duty today?!"
"Big sis, we can deal with that later! The fire... the fire's getting out of control!!!"
"We're doomed! My stash of rum under the deck!!!"
On the other side of the deck, a bunch of pirates were running around in panic as the fire consumed the rum barrels.
"Aaahhh, Jeanne Alter-san, please calm down!!!"
Mash was using her shield to block the fire while desperately trying to reason with Jeanne Alter—the one responsible for this whole mess.
"...Hehehe… This is all because of that Beast corrupting you, isn't it? Burn… burn in the flames of hellfire!!!"
Jeanne Alter squinted and glared at Draco, her eyes brimming with killing intent—and the fire... it flared up even stronger?!
"Please come to your senses, Jeanne Alter-san!!!"
"...!?"
On the opposing ship, Ethan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
For some reason, Jeanne Alter—the person he hadn't seen in a long time—was radiating intense hostility toward him.
Moreover... if this keeps up, the Golden Hind over there is going to burn to the ground…
Now that the captain's been "persuaded" by Himiko's fist, they might as well help put out the fire first.
"Heracles, I'm counting on you!"
As Ethan finished speaking, Heracles—standing beside him—gave a slight nod, grabbed his massive bow, and leapt across.
"BOOM————————!!!"
The giant landed on the deck of the Golden Hind!
The impact knocked all the nearby sailors to the ground.
"Uwaaah, there really are giants in the middle of the sea!!!"
"He's from the giant tribe, big sis!!!"
"Mother of god, if we don't run, he'll eat us!!!"
Heracles paid no attention to the panicking pirates.
He took a deep breath, then drew his massive bow—despite no arrow being notched—aiming at the ferocious black flames roaring across the deck!
"WHOOSH————————————!!!"
Even without an arrow, the bowstring unleashed a deafening blast, stirring up a fierce whirlwind around Heracles.
The black flames, which had been blazing wildly on the deck, were suddenly struck by the windstorm—and instantly began to die down!
"Oh?! Not bad at all."
Seeing the fire now under control, the female captain, musket in hand, looked slightly impressed by Heracles—the brawny giant before her.
Then she turned around, scanned the group standing on the other ship, and locked eyes from afar on Ethan, shouting loudly:
"I am the Great Pirate Francis Drake! Hey, kid over there—you're the captain of that ship, right?!"
"Huh???"
Captain?
No way, the one squatting next to him clutching her leg was the actual captain…
Before Ethan could even explain, the other side kept going:
"Now that the misunderstanding's cleared up, as an apology, I'm inviting you all to our Pirate Island—how about it?"
Pirate Island?
Oh right, that must be her base of operations.
Ethan looked down at the "real captain" trembling at his feet.
"They're calling for you over there, captain."
"Envoy… please handle the negotiations for me… just follow the envoy's lead on everything..."
Xu Fu had completely given up.
The ups and downs of this journey had drained both her body and spirit—never meant for combat in the first place.
"So, what do you say, captain on the other side? Do you accept my offer?"
Although it was enemy territory, given their current combat strength, there didn't seem to be anything worth worrying about.
The ship, already rocking unsteadily, now had a massive hole gouged into it by a heavy cannon from the other vessel—Ethan was more concerned about whether they'd even make it back to the village, let alone anything else. If they sank halfway there, that'd be a real disaster.
Since the other side had extended an invitation, this could be seen as a way to peacefully resolve the situation.
Moreover, Mash and Jeanne Alter were still on the enemy ship.
"Alright, let's do that."
Ethan nodded toward the other side.
"Good! Now that we're all friends, first let's head back to our island and celebrate!!!"
Francis Drake, wearing her pirate hat, proclaimed in a booming voice, lifting her musket high.
Hearing her call, the pirates on the Golden Hind—whether on the deck, up the masts, or below in the cabins—immediately broke into jubilant cheers!
"No clue what happened, but it sounds like big sis is throwing a party!"
"Ooooh! Pirates gotta drink rum, obviously!!!"
"This time I'm chugging straight from the barrel! That's the true pirate way!!"
"Hahaha, don't get too drunk or big sis'll toss you into the sea for the sharks!!"
"Ohhh! I'm gonna be the Pirate King!!!"
Watching the pirates suddenly cheer like they were possessed, Ethan felt something was a bit off.
But then again… right, they are pirates—makes sense.
In any case, first they needed to follow Drake to Pirate Island.
Out at sea, with no landmarks for reference, time seemed to dissolve into the waves.
...
...
By the time the Golden Hind towed Xu Fu's ship back to Pirate Island, the sky had already turned to dusk, the light gradually dimming.
As soon as they docked, Drake enthusiastically called for her crew to lead Ethan and the others to her base.
"Senpai!!!"
Mash immediately ran toward Ethan.
Since she couldn't leap from ship to ship like Heracles, she had to wait for the ships to dock before rushing over.
"…Senpai, we finally meet again!"
Seeing Ethan step off the gangplank, Mash was so overwhelmed that for a moment she couldn't speak.
"Mash, it's been a while. Are you alright?"
Ethan smiled again and greeted her.
With them was Jeanne Alter, who approached with a clearly uneasy expression.
"Didn't expect you to still be alive."
"You look well too, Jeanne Alter."
Ethan greeted her cheerfully.
"Hmph. A weak human like you would've surely died a miserable death if no one had helped."
"Don't be like that. I'm just glad everyone's okay."
"——————!!!"
Jeanne Alter had her arms crossed. Faced with Ethan's smile, her expression turned flustered, and she hastily looked away.
"You're saying disgusting things again—are you even human? I'm leaving!!!"
And with that, she hurried off toward the pirate base.
…Well, that probably counted as a greeting?
Ethan didn't really understand what Jeanne Alter was thinking, but judging by how she looked, it seemed she was fine.
"I'm sorry, Senpai!!!"
Mash suddenly bowed and apologized to Ethan.
"I said I'd protect you, Senpai… but I couldn't even manage that simple promise. I've failed completely…"
Mash's voice was filled with self-reproach.
"It's not your fault, Mash."
No one could've predicted there'd be a malfunction during the Rayshift.
"But Mash, what happened to you after the Rayshift?"
How did the two girls end up getting involved with Drake?
"After Rayshifting from Chaldea, I found myself falling into the ocean. I swam to a nearby island, and there I ran into Jeanne Alter-san, who had also been stranded."
"We couldn't contact Chaldea. After a few days, we encountered Captain Drake, who happened to be passing by. Thanks to Jeanne Alter's rather forceful negotiations, they agreed to help us go out to sea to search for you, Senpai."
Mash recalled everything that had happened.
"Thanks so much, both of you…"
Wait—forceful negotiations by Jeanne Alter???
Ethan remembered the fire that had engulfed the deck earlier.
Umu, now he could imagine exactly what that looked like.
"Today, Captain Drake said she'd spotted a strange ship—who'd have thought you'd actually be on it, Senpai!"
Mash said happily.
"Fou——————!!!"
Suddenly, a small, furry creature leapt out from Mash's shield and landed directly on Ethan's shoulder.
"Ah, so Fou came along too this time."
Of course, Beast IV wouldn't miss out on this.
Fou stood on Ethan's shoulder and gently patted his face with its tiny paw.
"Fou!!!"
It seemed to have confirmed Ethan's identity and let out an approving sound.
"You've betrayed our side, Demi-Servant. You're clearly not one to follow rules."
Draco slowly stepped off the gangplank, speaking to Mash.
"Ah, it's you, Beast VI! But I didn't betray anyone—I was just cooperating!!!"
Mash immediately recognized Draco and hurried to explain.
"Hmph, humans are always cunning. Fine, let's go with that."
Draco crossed her arms, standing behind Ethan.
"Thank you, Beast VI, for protecting Senpai!"
Mash immediately expressed her gratitude.
"Protecting him?"
Draco let out a quiet chuckle.
"Why would I let this one die so easily? I still plan to reclaim my power. When my Beast horn grows back—that's when your end begins."
… Ah, right…
Ethan pretended not to hear that and instead continued questioning Mash.
"So, Mash, aside from Jeanne Alter, did you encounter anyone else?"
He wanted to know if she had found anyone else.
"I'm sorry, Senpai…"
Mash shook her head.
"Other than Jeanne Alter-san, I haven't found anyone. I even asked Captain Drake, but she said she hasn't encountered anyone else either."
"…"
Ethan fell into thought.
Mash and Jeanne Alter had been found.
But there was still no sign of Mordred or Johanna. Without support from Chaldea, finding them in the vast open sea would be incredibly difficult.
"But I think those two are probably fine."
After all, one was a DPS, and the other was a support.
Mordred could endure and fight, and Johanna could both attack and provide support.
Together, the two of them were more than capable of handling wild Servants.
"Umu, Mordred and Johanna will definitely be alright."
Mash nodded as well, then turned to look at a tall man approaching them.
"Senpai, is that Servant the one you summoned?"
"Umu, yes. He's Heracles, Class Archer."
"The great hero Heracles?!"
Mash looked at Heracles in surprise.
Heracles also noticed Mash's gaze and looked back at her.
"You're… a Demi-Servant?"
Heracles immediately sensed that Mash wasn't a normal Servant, and he frowned slightly.
"Envoy, Envoy, there you are~~~"
Suddenly, someone came running over, panting.
"Xu Fu? What's going on???"
Ethan asked in surprise.
"Envoy, as you can see, the ship is badly damaged. It might collapse at any moment."
Xu Fu replied with a pitiful expression.
"So what? Don't you have an entire crew of craftsmen and sailors?"
"Exactly, and because of that, we'll need to bring many people ashore. Just starting a cooking fire already takes up a lot of space."
Then Xu Fu snuck closer and whispered:
"Actually, there are quite a few treasures on board that Qin Shi Huang gave me in exchange for the elixir of immortality. I'm afraid the pirates will find them and… get ideas."
Unless their brains are made of rubber, what pirate wouldn't be tempted by treasure?
And with Xu Fu being so mysterious, if Ethan weren't someone who no longer cared for money, even he might've been tempted.
"So you want me to talk to Captain Drake, is that it?"
"Envoy, you truly are sharp!!!"
Xu Fu nodded rapidly.
"Wouldn't it be better if you went and spoke with her yourself?"
"Isn't that exactly why the Envoy has such capable allies? In negotiation, the most important thing is balance of power—otherwise it's just being overpowered. Envoy, as a fellow countryman, please help me just this once!!!"
Xu Fu bowed deeply to thank Ethan.
"Hold on—what makes you think we're countrymen?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow. He had never mentioned anything like that.
"Along the way, I noticed that the Envoy has an excellent understanding of Qin culture. And when I'm near you, I can feel that unique aura only a fellow countryman has. You must be one!!!"
Xu Fu declared confidently.
No, what the hell is a "fellow countryman aura" supposed to be?!
Don't go making correct assumptions based on such ridiculous logic!!!
"Are you two done chatting yet?"
Drake approached the group with her usual commanding presence.
"Come on, join the pirate party. Sure, we drink and celebrate every day here, but a party like this—only I can throw one this grand."
She turned to Ethan.
"You're the captain, right? Don't tell me you don't drink~~~"
"Ah, actually, I'm not really the—"
Suddenly, Ethan felt his sleeve being tugged.
Looking over, he saw Xu Fu standing there, hands clasped together like she was praying.
Ethan sighed.
In the end, it had to be him handling the negotiations.
"…Alright, I'll do my best."