PBP 26

chapter 26

“Is puberty already here?”

I really couldn’t understand. Even when Hyperion used to be Leon, he never cared much about his looks. Honestly, I don’t think he ever realized how good-looking he was anyway.

Still, Steve and Hyperion will get close pretty quickly. Because of my request, Steve will bring him delicious food every week—and who doesn’t like someone who feeds them?

“And Steve is weak to kids.”

Navy training was carried out in strict secrecy, and no one was allowed to speak of it.

But none of those secrets applied inside the temple. Navy soldiers who entered the confessional spilled every possible detail.

For those who couldn’t talk about their struggles anywhere else, the confessional was their only mental refuge.

Steve, too, had heard confessions from a few soldiers besides Hyperion, so he must already know how brutal their training was.

“If he knows how hard it is, of course he’ll feel bad thinking a kid is going through that.”

Originally, it was rare for someone that young to join the navy, so worrying was the natural reaction.

“Lala, why are you lying right in the middle of the walkway your dads use? Huh?”

The moment I folded the letter and stuffed it into my pocket, Nereus appeared.

“……”

Why is he picking a fight out of nowhere? I was lying on the deck, in a tucked-away corner by the railing. It wasn’t a passageway for carrying cargo or a place used for storage.

Meaning, Nereus had intentionally come all the way over just to nag me, even though he was supposed to be checking supplies before departure.

“Dad, you’re busy. Why go out of your way to bother me?”

“I’m done checking supplies. We only need to set off.”

It looked like he was about to sit down—then he suddenly scooped me up. He was squinting at me while smiling.

“Hey, princess. I think your dad’s gotten bad at counting money, you know?”

“Hmm?”

“I left behind some gems and coins. Because you get better prices elsewhere than here.”

“……”

“But the numbers don’t quite add up, you know?”

He was beating around the bush, but the meaning was clear:
You took it, right? Where is it? Tell me now and I won’t scold you.

I rolled my eyes away from him.

Hmph.

He already knew the answer—so why was he even asking? Maybe he was actually asking why I took them and what I used them for…

As if I could ever explain that!

Dad, actually I’ve gone back in time. I used to be in the navy. Hyperion—Admiral Parus—was my best friend. But Caelum fell, and I’m trying to prevent that by…

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible. If I said that, I’d instantly become a lunatic, get thrown overboard, or locked in a dark, tiny room.

White lies are healthy.

“I thought the shiny things were pretty… I played with them… and then I lost them.”

Kids my age usually like shiny stuff. And there wasn’t much to play with on a ship.

“That so?”

“Yeah. I can’t play with guns or swords.”

“That’s true.”

Agreeing with me, Nereus nodded vigorously.

“You’re too young to touch weapons. You should play more. Right?”

“Mhm.”

“Good girl—”

Still holding me, he dug around in his pocket.

“What are you doing…?”

Then suddenly—he pulled out a pile of glittering gold coins and a string of pearls.

“All of this is yours.”

“W-What?”

This had to be worth at least tens of thousands of wetns… no, maybe over a hundred thousand combined. Each pearl was high quality—definitely not something you’d casually shove into a pocket with loose coins.

H-He’s just giving this to me?

Is he sane? Even if he’s the captain and we’re a “family,” this was the loot from our last voyage.

Even if they adored me, surely they would complain about giving a child something so valuable.

Or at least… they should.

They should… right?

But behind Nereus, the other crew members were smiling warmly at us.

‘What is this.’

They were all grinning, and one even shouted, “I told him to give it to you!”

This is not normal.

I always thought the Caelum pirates were a bit stupid, but I never expected they were stupid enough to hand high-value loot to a child.

“I’m worried about when you fall in love…”

“What are you talking about?”

“What if you go completely crazy and give everything you own to the person you like?”

If he was like this to me, how much would he give to someone he fell for? Terrifying. Nereus was endlessly generous to the people he liked.

For some reason, he suddenly grinned in a creepy way.

“Dad, what’s with that face?”

“Our Lala—is scared her dad might get a new wife? Hm?”

“No, I’m not worried about that.”

“……”

Well, considering Caelum’s Rule No. 1, that was impossible anyway. Especially for Nereus.

Caelum existed because of Nereus. And he was the one who created Rule No. 1.

“Dad, the most important thing to you is Caelum, right?”

“Of course~”

He flashed a wide smile and rested his forehead against mine.

“You know that well. Don’t forget it, okay?”

This man…

He sounded cool, but essentially he meant:
Anyone who becomes family gets everything from me.

I really have to be careful…

Maybe Caelum fell so easily in the original timeline because someone appeared who abused Nereus’s endless affection and trust.

“Captain! Ready to depart?”

The helmsman shouted from afar.

“No! Wait a little longer!”

Huh?

We were headed for a shipboard auction—a pirate black market that appeared in random places at sea.

Because timing was everything, we had to hurry.

So why was he relaxed?

As I wondered that, a silhouette appeared on the horizon. Nereus saw it too and finally ordered the sails to be raised.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“No Jolly Roger.”

The other ship had no pirate flag.

In any other coastal town, hiding the flag was normal, but not here. Everyone knew about pirates, and no one spoke of it. There was even a thriving market around the secret pirate harbor.

“Hahaha, my daughter is sharp.”

“You can’t help it. Our Jolly Roger stands out too much.”

The Caelum flag had a skull with storms and stars. A weird combination.

“Hahaha, yes. It stands out too much. You’ll see why soon.”

The wind carried us closer, and the figures of rough-looking men became clear. They laughed nastily as they saw our ship.

“Nereus! Is that you?”

“Hey, Vyle. Long time.”

They recognized Caelum. Someone spoke to Nereus in a mocking tone, and our big dumb captain simply waved with a smile.

Vyle noticed our missing Jolly Roger and burst out laughing.

“Judging by your size, it doesn’t look like someone took it from you. Did you hide it because you’re scared of the navy base?”

“Hahaha, right. Life is precious.”

“That’s why other pirates hate you, you coward!”

“Hey now, there’s a kid here.”

Dad, you curse like that in front of me all the time.

I pouted and glared at him.

The pirates behind Vyle muttered, “Kid?” and stared at me. Then Nereus proudly pointed at me and—

“My daughter. Cute, right? And a genius. Amazing, isn’t she?”

—started bragging.

Thinking back, he almost never let me meet other pirates. Only ones he was close to.

So why show me to these guys?

I found out soon enough.

“Well then, goodbye—”

A huge silhouette appeared in the distance. Nereus grinned.

“To the bottom of the sea.”

A massive warship emerged, bearing the navy’s symbol—waves and an anchor.

The navy? Here?

The city’s navy sometimes patrolled the seas, but the exact route was a secret.

Did Nereus know?

He watched calmly as the navy ship fired—not at us, but at Vyle’s ship.

“Vyle Pirates! Surrender immediately!”

“Bwahahaha!”

While Vyle’s pirates panicked, Nereus laughed loudly and pulled out a thick stack of papers, scattering them into the sea.

Th-Those are—!

Blown by the wind, I couldn’t see clearly, but they were navy documents.

About us.

They included Caelum’s bounty details and navy patrol schedules.

With that, it was easy to escape without conflict.

Well, for once.

When did he even infiltrate the navy to steal those?!