WebNovels

Chapter 2 - Ch: 01

She wiped out the entire gang of kidnappers.

While some of these kinds of people might serve as necessary evils in certain situations, to the girl, they were unquestionably evil. She froze them solid, crushed them into pieces, and took everything they had. There might have been some bounty hunters among them, but it was too late to worry about that now.

"Phew..."

She had killed people. Well, what's done is done. At least there was no smell of blood, that was fortunate.

She believed she had eliminated them all, but there was no guarantee that no one had survived. Considering the possibility that someone might be hiding, the girl decided to search the ship's cabin. If she was going to do it, she would do it thoroughly.

Since she was already there, she decided to take the ship for herself and began by searching the captain's cabin. Given the nature of their work, she wondered if she was likely to be targeted by the navy.

The Tenryu are the supreme rulers of this world. As long as she was in the position of providing them with slaves, neither the World Government nor the navy would take action unless there was a compelling reason.

What a shitty world. If she joined the navy and caught the attention of the Tenryu, she would be doomed. She continued her search, thinking that she wanted to live quietly somewhere.

"...Hmm."

In what appeared to be the captain's quarters, she found a list of slaves. There was also what looked like a logbook.

As expected, there were other slave candidates besides the girl on this ship.

She couldn't tell from where she was, but there were roughly twenty of them. Most were women, and well, you know what they're for. The men were labor slaves.

She decided to check the logbook later and started walking around to check on the other slaves.

The slaves were separated by gender. There were fourteen women in two large rooms and six men in one large room.

The keys had already been collected, so she tried them randomly to see which one opened the doors.

"...Who are you...?"

A woman asked timidly.

That makes sense, she thought. She had an appearance that didn't seem to fit a slave ship. If the Tenryu people saw her, the girl would likely be chosen as a slave.

The girl thought for a moment before answering the woman's question.

(...I was abandoned on that island, so I might as well get rid of this name that I don't even know who gave me.)

I don't need any connections I hate. I'm not the type to cling to things I've discarded.

I need to make sure they don't look down on me just because I'm a girl.

"My name is Kanata. I have taken control of this ship. We will decide the details tomorrow, so for now, you should sleep quietly."

Even if someone like me says it, no one will believe me, but that's how it is, she thought, shrugging it off. At this stage, destroying the handcuffs and shackles might endanger Kanata's life, so she left them as they were, but she did destroy the collar.

She repeated this two more times and returned to the captain's cabin. The ship is small, so it won't take long.

Now, let's take a breath.

What should I do next? I'll need a navigator to move this ship, and crew members who can follow the navigator's orders. If the people on this ship will follow Kanata, then there's no problem with the crew, but even then, I don't know if the people who have been kidnapped as slaves can work as crew members.

It's also troublesome to give the men too much freedom, as they might attack us.

Reliable allies aren't something you can just find easily.

Should I hire mercenaries? But even mercenaries aren't necessarily trustworthy... She pondered these thoughts.

"This is a predicament."

She collapsed onto the bed in the corner of the captain's cabin. It smelled a bit, but she couldn't be too picky.

Maybe I should just sell the ship and use the money to board another ship and travel somewhere.

She has no intention of returning to the island she came from. Going back to the island where she sold herself wouldn't change anything.

Then, maybe traveling freely isn't so bad.

But should she keep the ship as a means of transportation, or sell it... She realizes she doesn't even have the connections to sell it, and sighs as she opens the logbook.

To find clues about the journey of the dead and her own future journey.

She closes the logbook with a thud.

She had been engrossed in reading it on the bed and had forgotten the time. It was now the middle of the night. She had eaten and slept during the day, so she wasn't sleepy. She decided she should do whatever she could think of while she was awake.

From the logbook, she learned that the men on the ship had come from somewhere else, gathered slaves, and planned to sell them in the holy land of Mariejois.

To be precise, they had planned to take them to the Sabaody Archipelago and auction them off there. The Hie Hie no Mi that had been carelessly left in the same room as Kanata was also supposed to be sold, but they had been suspicious about its authenticity, which is why it had been treated so roughly.

In the end, that was what saved her life, so Kanata could only say that she was lucky.

That said,

"This is of no use..."

It's obvious, but if we do the same thing, one wrong move and we'll catch the Navy's attention. Besides, trafficking slaves isn't something Kanata would want to do. On the other hand, asking the Navy for protection isn't something she can do without hesitation, given how untrustworthy they are.

To be honest, since coming to this world, she hasn't had any good experiences with people, so she doesn't trust anyone. She decides to abandon the idea of using them as merchandise.

But that brings her back to square one.

While she was mulling it over, night fell, and she gathered everyone on the deck, slightly sleep-deprived.

They must have been discussing it all night, as they all had dark circles under their eyes.

"Well, then, let me hear your choice. What do you want to do?"

They looked at each other, and everyone, trembling with fear, said they wanted to leave the ship.

"...I see. Then I will respect your choice."

She handed out some money and valuables to everyone, though not enough to be considered sufficient, and let them disembark. They all fled from Kanata as if escaping from a monster.

On the surface, nothing had changed, but Kanata was deeply depressed inside.

She hadn't expected them to be so afraid, and it left her at a loss for how to respond.

(I didn't do anything... I even tried to help them...)

Sighing, she returned to the captain's cabin and took a short nap.

Food and water had already been restocked by the former crew members, so there was plenty. She prepared a simple breakfast, ate, and then disembarked to head into town. She then realized there was no one to watch the ship, which made her feel even more down.

Whether she wanted to move the ship or sell it, she would need to gather information in town.

Fortunately, she had learned to read at the orphanage and could do basic calculations. She had no experience in negotiation, but she decided to walk around with the mindset that she could handle being taken advantage of a little.

Worst case, she could always freeze them to death. Physical language is the first means of communication among humans.

First, she bought some clothes and tidied herself up as much as possible.

She had taken a shower before leaving the ship, so she shouldn't smell bad, but as a young woman, she still felt self-conscious.

(...I've been standing out since I got off the ship, but now I feel even more noticeable...)

Even though she just changed out of her ragged clothes into something ordinary, she feels like people are staring at her more, Kanata narrows her eyes.

If it's just because she's a stranger in this unfamiliar place, she'll ignore it and keep walking through the town.

She didn't need food or water. She could buy more clothes later, but where should she go? She looked around the town.

The ship's captain's room had everything she needed for navigation, like a map and a compass. What she needed now was people or connections. It came down to how much she could trust them, but she had no choice but to compromise.

She'd have to sell herself to some merchant guild and earn some money.

She decided to ask someone nearby, so she approached a man who was standing close by.

"Excuse me, can I ask you something?"

"What's up, kid?"

He looked like he was involved in some shady business, but most of the men on the ship were tough-looking guys like him. The men who had tried to take Kanata as a slave were similar, and she was already used to them.

The man looked at her suspiciously, but since he hadn't seen a girl like her around here before, he met her gaze.

"I have a ship, but I don't have any crew. Is there anywhere I can hire some at a trading company or something?"

"What? You have a ship but no one to operate it? What's going on? Didn't you come here by ship?"

Perhaps because she was unfamiliar, he immediately recognized Kanata as an outsider.

She had come here by ship, yet she had no crew to operate it. Confused by the strange situation, the man tilted his head, and Kanata sighed and said, "The workers ran away."

"Ah... that's bad luck."

The man looked sympathetic, and Kanata shrugged her shoulders.

The man frowned, not knowing where to find laborers. Just as Kanata was beginning to think this was hopeless, a voice called out from behind her.

"Excuse me, may I?"

Turning around, she saw a blond, handsome man with a friendly smile, speaking politely.

"I overheard your conversation. Are you looking for workers?"

"Yes. I need to move the ship. I need at least a navigator and a helmsman."

"In that case, how about our merchant guild?"

"Hey, miss—!"

He glared at him, and the man who had been talking earlier shut his mouth. His face was pale, and he seemed to be sweating, but Kanata didn't notice.

No, perhaps she should say she wasn't interested.

"If you have someone in mind for the workers, I'll take them. I don't want to waste any time."

"Then, this way."

She thanked the man who had spoken to her first and followed the man who was leading the way.

And so.

Upon arriving at their destination, Kanata learned that the men were local mafia and that she had been deceived. She couldn't help but sigh at her bad luck.

However, she had somehow expected it. A girl like her, with a ship and no other crew members, was like a duck with a neck full of onions. It was only a matter of time before she caught the attention of a criminal organization.

She just didn't think it would happen so quickly.

With an opponent who had no intention of letting her escape and Kanata who had no intention of running away, nothing peaceful could possibly happen in a locked room.

The situation unfolded as expected, with half of the mafia members nearly frozen solid and forced to kneel in submission, seemingly bringing the situation to a close.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Sir! This brat did it!"

A man who appeared to be a bodyguard hired by the mafia emerged.

With his red hair and half-naked, well-trained body exposed without hesitation, and wearing Chinese-style clothing rare in this area, Kanata couldn't help but stare.

With a snort, the red-haired man locked eyes with Kanata, glancing at the men who had been nearly frozen solid.

"A Devil Fruit user. Rare."

"There were some circumstances. So, what now?"

"It's decided—let's settle this."

Kanata couldn't follow his first step with her eyes.

Approaching at an incredible speed, a fist that was likely held back to avoid killing her struck her abdomen.

As Kanata was blown away spectacularly, the red-haired man remained vigilant, noticing that the part of his body that had touched Kanata was frozen.

"Tch, rough."

Although she was blown away, she managed to deflect all the impact.

It looked spectacular, but there was no damage.

Seeing the ice shatter and then repair itself, the man muttered in surprise.

"What the hell!"

It was a rare ability, even among the Devil Fruits. Faced with an ability that couldn't be damaged by ordinary means, Kanata took a slight defensive stance.

Judging that he was at a disadvantage, the red-haired man decided to hold back. He relaxed his stance and sat down heavily. Sensing that the bodyguard had given up, the mafia members also fell silent, showing signs of retreat.

When the man's gaze met Kanata's at eye level, Kanata thought for a moment.

"Hm... You seem pretty strong."

"At least, I judged that I couldn't get any stronger if I stayed in my hometown."

"I see. Well, then, would you like to join me?"

His eyebrows twitched.

Kanata told him that she intended to absorb this mafia group anyway, and the man readily agreed.

If he could fight strong opponents, that was good enough. He said he would be satisfied with enough money to eat every day and laughed heartily.

"My name is Junshi. For now, let's get along, little girl."

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