Chapter 57: Flower on the Sea

For an entire month, we never even caught a shadow of Kelsey. What could be confirmed was that she was indeed a famous figure along the coast of the Comet Sea. Almost everyone knew her name. As soon as we asked about her, people would ask us warily: “What do you want with her?” This was truly a difficult question to answer. Our experiences proved that no matter how we answered, it was always wrong:

“We’re here to take revenge on her,” Little Phil said indignantly.

“Someone, throw them out! They dare to seek revenge against the Red Scarf Pirate Queen! These villains, scoundrels, pests, trash…”

Then came a chase with the whole town pouring into the streets, and we were out in front.

…

“We’re her friends,” I said amiably.

“Her friends wouldn’t know where she is? Who do you think you can fool? These liars, murderers, butchers, profiteers…”

Pots and pans flew over our heads as we fled with our heads tucked down.

…

“We’ve come to join the pirates,” Poirot said, brazening it out.

“I’m sorry, I’m a police officer…”

Brave patrols flooded the streets, and a thousand fingers pointed at us.

…

Not everyone came back empty-handed during that month. After witnessing the fight between Red Flame and Storm Dirk, Little Phil asked Red Flame to teach him fighting techniques. The child’s sincerity and determination, along with his tragic background, made it impossible for Red Flame to refuse his request, especially since the Dark Elf was also putting in a good word for him. Because of this, Red Flame fell into an awkward agony: his student was the mortal enemy of his beloved.

However, to be fair, Little Phil was a good student. He was diligent, hardworking, and deeply interested in all kinds of fighting techniques. It was clear that his father, a Knight, had laid a solid foundation for him. Despite his inner conflict, Red Flame still devoted himself wholeheartedly to the teaching, passing on everything Little Phil could grasp at his age without holding anything back. I could see my friend’s feelings toward Little Phil growing deeper day by day. He treated his student like a father—both strict and loving, pointing out the child’s mistakes without hesitation while always encouraging him to correct them. It seemed this Ranger had placed some kind of belief in Little Phil. I thought this had something to do with Phil’s blood feud with Kelsey over his father’s death. Perhaps my Elf friend was trying to compensate this child in another way.

Similarly, Phil’s feelings toward Red Flame were also deepening day by day. He respected him, admired him, worshiped him, and never found the time spent with him too long. He loved sharing his secrets with Red Flame and finding joy in Red Flame’s experiences. If not for his father’s death, I believed these two would be the most harmonious teacher-student pair in the world.

But I couldn’t keep waiting like this any longer. Searching for Kelsey this way was simply a waste of time. Little Phil might be able to spend his whole life searching for his father’s murderer, but the war situation in Delanmaya couldn’t stay deadlocked forever. I felt we should complete our mission as soon as possible, so I made a suggestion…

“That’s not a good idea,” Red Flame said.

“I don’t think it’s reliable either. After all, the Comet Sea is so vast,” Poirot also objected.

“And there are dangers at sea,” Eliot said.

“But we truly have no better options, my friends. Almost everyone at the docks knows us by now, yet we still haven’t gotten any information. We can only go to sea and try our luck. If that doesn’t work, we need to head back as soon as possible—I’m worried something might have changed on Fred’s side.” I didn’t have much confidence myself, so I could only bolster my own courage with my words: “When there’s no other way, trusting to luck might just be the best way.”

After hearing my words, no one could object any longer. Before long, we boarded a merchant ship called the Baby Mary that was heading out to sea to deliver goods. We chose it because Poirot said the ship had an unlucky look about it, so the chances of running into pirates were high.

Within just three short days of setting sail, those of us who had grown up in inland regions suffered greatly from the torment of the waves. Unlike any body of water we had ever seen, the sea was so vast that even the most violent waves looked like mere ripples in a clear spring pond—calm and gentle, showing none of their power at all. Only when you rose and fell with the deck, barely able to keep your footing, would you realize that your eyes had been deceived by the sea. Any single wave beneath your feet would be lethally destructive if it appeared in a river.

The Dark Elf, who had never even sat in a small boat, had completely lost her composed demeanor. Without a teacher, she had instinctively mastered a combo attack skill: kicking us aside with one foot, then snatching our washbasins and vomiting into them. The fishy, salty smell of the sea tormented us, keeping us awake all night and robbing us of our appetite for piles of fresh lobster and crab. We could only rely on some dried stored vegetables to get by. The misery of seasickness was something I would never forget for the rest of my life, so from now on, if any lady ever asks me for weight-loss advice, I’ll suggest she take a little broken boat out to sea for a few days. Poor Miss Eliot’s haggard face would prove how effective my advice truly is.

At noon on the fifth day, the sea suddenly became unusually calm. The merchant ship we were on didn’t even sway slightly anymore. We managed to rest peacefully in the cabin for once, until crying and wailing from the cabin woke us up:

“A storm! A storm is coming!”

“Help!”

“I don’t want to die…”

“Great God Daremoth, the all-good one, protect your child…”

“God of the Sea, let us survive this disaster, I am willing to…”

…

“What’s going on?” I rubbed my sleepy eyes and asked softly.

“Mr. Red Flame!” Little Phil burst through our cabin door, standing pale-faced in the doorway, his voice trembling: “We’re in big trouble.”

When we stepped onto the deck, an awe-inspiring spectacle was unfolding between sea and sky: storm clouds of immeasurable vastness had merged into one mass, covering nearly the entire sky, leaving only a few small gaps through which the only remaining sunlight slanted down. The color of the sea had turned dim and black, gloomy like a single thick slab, only occasionally turning up a few bubbles, like a marsh with no visible end. In the farther distance, all light had completely vanished, leaving only deathly silence.

Silence. Terrible silence. The prelude to a storm.

The merchant ship, driven entirely by its sails, could barely move an inch, like a poor wretch whose feet had been cut off, watching helplessly as a boulder rolled down from above with no strength to dodge. The passengers on deck panicked into chaos, not knowing what to do. Even the young captain was filled with despair, weakly directing the sailors.

“You were right, Poirot. This is an unlucky ship—but it’s unlucky to an excessive degree.” Red Flame’s face was pale. I remembered that he couldn’t swim.

No one felt more remorseful than me. I had come up with the worst possible idea, dragging my friends into trouble with me, facing a dangerous storm in this unfamiliar place. If anything happened to them, I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life—if I was lucky enough that the rest of my life hadn’t already come to an end.

Just as I was lost in my dark thoughts, someone suddenly shouted loudly: “A ship is coming! They can move!”

“Hurry! Ask for help!”

“Take us away from here!”

In the distance, a large ship appeared. Its hull wasn’t very tall, somewhat long and narrow, looking a little strange. Its sails had been furled, and a row of oars extended from each side of the hull, rowing it forward at a not-so-slow pace.

This ship had clearly spotted us too and gradually approached. Finally, the lookout reported loudly: “Captain, it’s pirates. The Golden Rose.”

What a small world. My companions and I exchanged looks of surprise and helplessness.

Contrary to my expectations, the passengers and sailors didn’t panic at meeting pirates. Instead, they were as happy as if they had seen their savior. They took off their hats, shouted loudly, and prayed that the pirates would come before the storm did.

Finally, the two ships came alongside each other, and I had the chance to see this strange pirate ship in full: of course, it wasn’t the old Golden Rose anymore. The new ship didn’t draw very much water—the part above the waterline was only about three stories tall, a whole section shorter than most sea vessels. On the front of its starboard side, the words “Golden Rose” were painted in gold and pink. Beneath the bow ram was carved a statue of a woman. She wore a headscarf, was dressed in full sailor gear, and held a sharp sword thrust forward, her expression brave and resolute. It was unmistakably… Kelsey’s likeness.

She actually used her own statue as a figurehead. This girl’s style really was…

“Which idiot would dare to set sail at a time like this? Don’t they want to live?” A familiar voice came from the other side of the deck. Red Flame and Little Phil beside me both jolted at the same time, looking toward the source of the voice. Red Flame saw the beautiful face he had been longing for all these days, while Little Phil, for the first time in his life, saw his father’s murderer.

Her bright headscarf stole the pride of the sun, her beautiful face stole the charm of flowers. That was Kelsey Ragg, the Red Scarf Pirate Queen, the most dazzling flower blooming on the Comet Sea. Kelsey, whom we hadn’t seen for nearly a year, had a much darker complexion, and her skin had become somewhat rough. But the naive and impetuous air of her former self had been completely wiped away, replaced by experience and steadiness. As she boarded the ship, the panicked and despairing atmosphere on deck gradually faded. The legendary reputation of the female pirate captivated everyone.

“Who’s the captain?” Her voice was still clear and crisp, but full of authority.

“I am.” The young captain of the Baby Mary cowered as he squeezed out of the crowd.

Kelsey immediately covered her forehead in despair, complaining dejectedly: “A crummy merchant ship, bad weather, a young captain—every piece of bad luck has found me.”

She asked the captain: “So, Captain, what have you done so far?”

“I… tried to control the situation, calm the chaos, and then…”

“That’s enough, that’s enough. I’m sorry to inform you that your ship has been plundered by pirates. You are now a prisoner. Please return to the cabin with the passengers and tie yourselves down with a rope wherever you can secure yourselves. Who is the cargo owner?”

As if trained for this, several merchants stepped out at her call.

“Tad, Halber, Nelson, why is it always you three? Why is it that every time I see you, you’re always in trouble? How many times have I told you: rent a better ship, find an experienced captain, don’t fuss over the extra money. Aren’t you afraid of running into pirates?”

A tall, thin merchant said with a cheeky grin: “We couldn’t even invite a pirate like Miss Kelsey to come to us, so why would we be afraid?”

“Alright, alright, cut the nonsense. Hook, take the men to unload the cargo. Leave them as much as you can. Remember to toss it off the bow and stern so the ship doesn’t rock. Anchor, cut down all the masts. Move quickly—don’t embarrass me.”

“As for the rest of you…” Kelsey pointed at our group of passengers. Suddenly, her whole body froze, her eyes fixed on Red Flame beside me. If there were eyes in this world that could speak, Kelsey’s eyes were undoubtedly that kind. In that instant, her eyes told us many things: surprise, joy, love, longing, and a hint of reproach.

“Everyone, go do what you need to do…” Her following words were as quiet as sleep-talking.

The unhappiness Red Flame had been carrying these past days because of Little Phil’s ordeal temporarily vanished. He playfully made an encouraging gesture to Kelsey, signaling her to continue her work. This intimate gesture between lovers made Kelsey burst with joy. She turned around and called out the names of her pirate subordinates one by one, showing off her cleverness in front of her beloved. Under her command, the pirates and the merchant sailors linked the two ships together as much as possible and moved some of the passengers onto the pirate ship to achieve the best weight distribution.

Kelsey didn’t see Little Phil’s gaze, but I did. If I hadn’t grabbed him with both arms, he might already have charged out to challenge the beautiful female pirate.

“She’s saving everyone on this ship,” I whispered into Little Phil’s ear. “What she’s doing right now is a good thing. You can’t let your own hatred bury everyone on this ship along with your father. That’s not the righteousness your father taught you.”

I persuaded Little Phil to give up his revenge for the moment. But this couldn’t ease the hatred in his heart. If Phil’s gaze were a sharp dagger, Kelsey might already have been sliced into pieces.

Once everything was ready, we helped the pirates throw about two-thirds of the cargo overboard, leaving only the heavier one-third (which, of course, was also more valuable) as ballast, bringing the waterline to a relatively stable level. Little Phil and Eliot, who couldn’t help with anything, were tied to the beds in the cabin. Red Flame, Poirot, Kelsey, and I tied ourselves to the deck of the Baby Mary.

The first gust of wind blew past. It was light, slightly cool, like a breeze from a summer lakeside brushing against your face, making one feel pleasant.

It was the last trace of pleasantness before destruction.

Then came the rain. It didn’t grow from small to large—instead, it seemed to fall in massive chunks straight from the sky, immediately suffocating. When the rain had joined heaven and earth into one chaotic, sodden mass where almost nothing could be seen, the waves came.

Towering waves, like a giant hand, lifted the two ships high into the air, then instantly pulled away from beneath them, hurling them down with brutal force. The deck beneath my feet let out a pained groan, as if one more such blow would shatter it to pieces, flinging everyone on board into the bottomless abyss.

The waves were like a giant dragon’s extended tongue, rolling onto the deck and licking away everything exposed on it. Every time the bow struggled out of the waves, something on the deck would go missing. Some sailors were swept into the water along with the fixtures they were tied to. Their chances of survival were extremely slim. Once, a giant wave piled up to five or six times the height of the ships, its crest rolling directly over both vessels and crashing heavily into the water ahead. For a single moment, the two ships rested in a hollow waterway formed by the giant wave, with a waterfall of seawater cascading directly above our heads. Before this natural wonder could even delight our eyes, the waterfall slammed down upon us, nearly capsizing us.

Once, twice, three times… I didn’t know how I managed to survive this boundary between life and death. My earlier seasickness had completely disappeared. When you couldn’t even tell the sky from the sea, and knew only that the sole support beneath your feet was being tossed about like dust by an irresistible force, everything seemed still. A few times, I couldn’t even hear the roar of the waves, the sound of the wind and rain, or the shrieking of the deck. I could only hear my own heartbeat, and the faint sound of blood flowing through my veins. This sound made me feel as though I had left this fragile body behind and was examining my own soul from a higher vantage point.

At times like this, you feel nothing at all.

“Ah!” Kelsey’s startled cry woke me from my hazy delusions. I saw a massive wooden plank flying sideways toward Kelsey, driven by the wind and waves. It had originally been a section of railing on the Baby Mary, but now it had been snapped off by the giant waves, becoming a massive deadly weapon. Kelsey, tied to a pillar, couldn’t dodge and could only raise her hands in front of her face. Before this sudden danger, the brave and proud flower of the sea looked so small and helpless.

“Thud!” A faint impact sound came through the curtain of rain, followed by Red Flame’s shout:

“Are you okay!” I vaguely saw that Red Flame had broken free of his ropes and was holding Kelsey face to face, blocking the blow with his back. A trace of blood lingered at the corner of his mouth, but fortunately the injury was on his back, and since he had braced himself, it wasn’t serious.

“You’re being so reckless again!” Kelsey’s voice came, tinged with tears. She wrapped her arms around Red Flame’s back as best she could, pulling him into her embrace, terrified that he might be swept away by the giant waves.

“It hurts a little, but it’s fine. As long as you’re okay!” These love words, which would normally sound cheesy, were shouted out loud at this rocking, turbulent moment, stirring my emotions.

“I have something very important to tell you!” Red Flame kept shouting. “I’m afraid if I wait any longer, I won’t get the chance!”

“No, you will! There will definitely be a chance!”

The world’s most unbeatable cheesy love talk was about to unfold before us in an unprecedentedly spectacular way. I exchanged a glance with Poirot, who was tied up not far away, and we watched this once-in-a-lifetime romantic drama with great interest. If we were lucky, we might even witness the legendary restricted scene—a maiden’s first kiss. At this critical moment between life and death, we still held beautiful hopes for this world. I felt that if we could witness a life-committing kiss at the very moment we were heading to the underworld, then this world might not be such a bad place after all…

“I say, hold me tighter. Don’t let me get swept away. I can’t swim. I’m scared…” Red Flame’s face was pale, his lips blue, wishing he could wrap his legs around Kelsey’s as well.

“Red Flame, you bastard—get swept away!” Poirot and I both shouted angrily at the same time.