Chapter 12: Lantern Pants Are Cute!
Cannonballs streaked across the sky, falling like meteors toward the granite tower standing on the shore at the port.
And,
it wasn’t just one cannonball, but hundreds.
This was a “meteor shower” filled with the scent of gunpowder smoke.
“Not bad! That’s some accurate cannon fire! Umit really went all out, not only bringing five great pirates with bounties over a hundred million, but also so many elite gunners······ Fran, these things are yours to handle. Remember, don’t go overboard with the fun, or if you scare off my prey, the consequences······ we can try some new tricks!”
Elus held a steaming cup of coffee milk as he stood on the tower’s balcony, gazing at the falling cannonball meteor shower, his smile growing even brighter.
“······In your dreams!”
The blushing maid stammered a retort.
Avoiding looking at Elus’s handsome face, Fran lifted her skirt hem, watching the rapidly approaching cannonballs. She stomped the ground with one foot and shot into the sky like an arrow, confronting the incoming cannonballs head-on. Her black round-toed leather shoes touched the equally black cannonballs.
Then,
the cannonballs flew back.
They flew toward the fleet on the sea at an even faster speed than before.
The maid cleverly borrowed the momentum from each cannonball, hovering in the air and dancing gracefully. Sometimes with her palm, sometimes with her fingers, sometimes with her flying skirt hem, or a mid-air kick—the incoming cannonballs turned into toys in Fran’s hands that she could shape at will, all sent flying back with different techniques.
Once the last cannonball flew back, the maid gracefully returned to the tower.
“Beautiful! The bloomers are cute too! I like it a lot.”
Elus said with a smile.
Then,
the maid’s face, which had finally cooled down, flushed red again, no less intense than her fiery red long hair.
“Your Highness, would you please go die?”
The maid gritted her teeth, tightly pressing down her skirt, and uttered such rebellious words.
“Haha! Fran, I’m not lying to you, they really are very cute!”
Elus burst into laughter. Before the furious maid could do anything rash, he shoved the empty cup into her hands. “One more cup of coffee milk, same temperature.” He gave the maid a perfect excuse to temporarily escape.
Sure enough,
she didn’t get angry again. The girl turned and hurried away as if fleeing with the cup in hand.
“Sure enough······ they really are very cute!”
Elus watched the slender back disappearing at the stairwell entrance, slowly withdrawing his gaze and refocusing his attention on the fleet on the sea. The smile on his face gradually faded as he stared at the massive fleet, a gleam of anticipation bursting from his emerald green pupils. “Mister Ghost Sword, it’s about time you came ashore.”
His right hand unconsciously pressed against his chest again.
The Hogyoku was also craving fresh, alluring souls!
————
On the sea.
The flagship’s deck was very quiet.
Everyone had seen what just happened. The dense barrage not only had no effect but was entirely thrown back by the opponent’s maid. If not for the many pirates on the fleet with strength at the ten million bounty level, they might have lost several ships to their own cannonballs.
Everyone’s gazes turned to the man who was only 179 centimeters tall.
Yes,
Five years ago, Ghost Sword Venkura had a bounty of 150 million Beli, and his height was under 180 centimeters—a proper shorty stature in this world. On this deck, there were several hot-bodied female pirates, each over 190 centimeters tall, with the tallest at 270 centimeters.
Of course, no one would show inappropriate emotions because of Ghost Sword’s height.
Five years ago, Ghost Sword already had a 150 million Beli bounty. If not for Umit’s orders to keep a low profile these past five years, his bounty would have easily doubled. It was precisely through his absolute strength that he could command this group of fierce individuals from varied backgrounds.
“Prepare to land.”
Venkura issued the command coldly.
“Cannon fire is useless, so chop off the heads of all who resist.”
“Clang!”
A long sword as bright as autumn water suddenly appeared in Venkura’s hand. No one on the deck saw where the slender rapier came from; clearly, there was no sword scabbard or similar on Venkura’s body.
This included the man who had been casually playing with colored balls earlier; now he solemnly scrutinized the slender rapier in Venkura’s hand.
Just this one unseen sword-drawing technique alone proved that the name Ghost Sword was well-deserved.
After Venkura showed his hand, the crowd, which had been restless due to the unexpected strong person on the island, immediately quieted down. Warships began approaching the shore one by one, fully armed soldiers stepping onto the island’s land. The dark mass of troops surged toward the solitary tower in the ruins like a tide.
————
On the rooftop terrace of a building behind the port,
Colonel Susa lay on the terrace railing, peering intently through a telescope at the situation at the port.
When the many warships fired all their cannons at the tower where His Highness Elus was, his hairs stood on end, terrified of seeing the tower collapse. If something happened to His Highness Elus on Whale Tail Island, he himself would be in trouble, but wouldn’t his family left in Capital Arabica suffer as well?
He immediately regretted it then—not that he should have been bewitched into agreeing to His Highness Elus’s unreliable plan. What kind of reason was there to not resist when the enemy’s fleet attacked, instead keeping their own fleet far away? War isn’t a game.
But before he could regret too much, he saw the maid by His Highness Elus’s side display her divine power, single-handedly blocking all the attacks. The heart that had been hanging in his throat slowly settled back.
Exactly!
How could the Crown Prince lack expert guards by his side.
He just hadn’t expected that seemingly delicate little maid to be so powerful—really misjudged her!
However, he didn’t dislike this feeling of misjudging.
Or rather, it would be better if this happened more often. The more strong persons His Highness Elus brought, the greater their chances of winning. But there was one thing Colonel Susa never imagined: the His Highness Elus who seemed able to live off his looks forever was actually the strongest among the reinforcements.
He would soon realize his mistaken cognition.
