Seawind Harbour carried the distinctive charm of a coastal town. Far off stretched the azure sea; the pointed roofs unique to the Dawn Empire dotted the landscape, interspersed with slender bay trees whose long, ribbon-like leaves released delicate white threads in the autumn light. The air was filled with the salty tang of the sea breeze and a faint, not unpleasant fishy scent.
“This is the sea… it really does stretch forever!” Guni stood on a rock, gazing into the distance, her small face full of wonder. Having grown up in the Buried Sword Land, this was her first chance to marvel at the ocean’s vastness.
“Don’t let its beauty fool you; it’s extremely dangerous. Countless sea magical beasts lurk beneath,” Xiles warned from beside her.
Guni immediately asked, “I wonder what sea magical beasts taste like? Same as fish?”
Xiles: “…”
“You’ll get to find out eventually, but first let’s look around town and buy things we’ll need at sea,” Yechui said with a laugh. “To start with, we need a sea chart and a compass.”
…
A sea chart marked the locations of islands and safe sailing routes across the ocean. A compass provided directional guidance.
The oceans of this world were utterly unlike the seas Yechui remembered. Terrifying numbers of sea magical beasts thrived here. While magical beasts had largely vanished from the continent, suffering near extinction, those in the sea remained as abundant as in ancient times. Most were enormous and could easily cause catastrophe.
Areas frequented by sea magical beasts were strictly avoided, hence the absolute necessity of charts and compasses.
As an insular nation with strict isolationist policies, the Tide Empire rarely traded with outsiders. Yet countless small islands surrounded it, many inhabited by fishermen who produced valuable pearls and rare fish. Merchant fleets regularly visited these islands to buy pearls and exotic seafood while selling their own goods, forming established trade routes.
These routes offered immense profit, and with profit came danger: pirates. Seawind Harbour served as the starting point of these routes. Charts for the trade lanes could be purchased here, and rumour had it some pirate groups operated openly, offering “protection” to merchants. Pay their fee, and they guaranteed safe passage, at least for part of the journey.
Yechui’s group were complete ocean novices. Even Celty, an ancient being over twenty thousand years old, let out a stunned “Holy shit, it’s huge!” upon seeing the sea; as a Dullahan of the land-bound variety, she had never sailed before.
They wandered the town curiously, asking where to buy charts and other nautical supplies.
Their presence quickly attracted attention.
A gang of thuggish men loitering at a street corner noticed them. Their leader was a burly, bearded man whose open jacket revealed thick chest hair and a strange cyan sea-beast tattoo. Seeing the youthful, richly dressed group who screamed “wealthy young masters and misses,” he signalled his lackeys with a jerk of his chin and followed.
…
Inside a maritime supply shop, the owner greeted them warmly. “Honoured guests, how may I serve you?”
“We need a sea chart and compass,” Yechui replied.
“You’re heading out to sea?” The owner looked surprised, sizing up the clearly inexperienced youths.
“That’s right. We’re taking the trade route. Here, try this soap as a gift.” Yechui casually handed over a bar; Eliza had forced an enormous stash of soap and detergent on him before they left.
“You don’t look like seasoned sailors. Why not let me introduce you to a merchant caravan? You could travel with them,” the owner suggested kindly, having taken a liking to them thanks to the soap.
“We have our own ship. Just the chart and compass will do,” Yechui said with a smile, browsing the shop’s wares: nets, rods, compasses, charts, everything a sailor might need.
These compasses did not point north; this world had no magnetic poles. Instead, earth magic and lodestones created devices that pointed toward specific locations, much like permanent pointers from One Piece or magic-ring markers. The shop stocked over a hundred varieties, each labelled with the island it indicated: Dragonbreath Island, Iron Archipelago, Ridge Island, Tusk Island, Kiss of Strt, and countless others.
Prices ranged from fifty coppers to one gold coin depending on the island’s remoteness and value.
Yechui’s group examined the compasses curiously.
“Honoured guests, I’ve run this shop for decades. Take my advice: if this is your first time at sea, join an established caravan. Never sail alone,” the owner urged, recognising novices. He had seen too many eager youths swallowed by the ocean on their maiden voyage.
“Thanks for the concern, but we’re fine,” Yechui replied. “By the way, why isn’t there a compass pointing directly to the Tide Empire?”
“Directly to the Tide Empire?” The owner stared blankly, then looked at them oddly. Total newbies who hadn’t even researched basic sea conditions? With strained patience he explained, “The Tide Empire is closed to outsiders. Compasses pointing straight there are forbidden! Some islands lie near its borders; from them you can even see the empire, but I strongly advise against landing. Tide islanders do not treat uninvited guests kindly.”
“I see,” Yechui said with mild disappointment. He then picked one of every compass on display. “One of each, please. How much?”
The owner was stunned. Most merchants chose a route and bought only the relevant compasses. Buying one for every island? This had to be some lord’s idiot son.
There were hundreds of islands in these waters!
“The most detailed chart too. Oh, and some nets, fishing rods, anything for passing time at sea,” Yechui added thoughtfully. Debbie leaned in. “Do you have any games? I hear Dawn Empire bone tiles are fun. Throw in a set.”
“Boredom… bone tiles…”
Are you lot planning a pleasure cruise on the deadly ocean?!
…
When they left the shop, Yechui had acquired the finest chart, one of every compass, fishing gear, but no games. They headed toward Seawind Harbour’s massive docks, lined with dozens of ships of all sizes. Dockworkers hauled cargo while merchants, mercenaries, and magicians bustled about.
Just as Yechui prepared to release the Black Pearl from its bottle, a rough voice rang out. It was the bearded man from earlier, approaching with his gang.
“If you want to sail, pay protection money first. Otherwise, forget the Seawind Kraken; even regular pirates will bleed you dry,” he sneered coldly at the fat sheep.
Hearing him, Yechui’s group turned curiously. The man bared his chest, revealing the tattoo.
Yechui blinked. “Huh? Mantis shrimp!?”
“…Man-tis shrimp? What the hell?” The man’s face darkened. He slapped his chest. “This is a sea dragon beast! Outsiders, huh? Never heard of it? This is the emblem of the Sea Dragon Pirate Crew! I’m Captain Sea Dragon! Pay us, and we guarantee no other pirates bother you on the first half of the trade route!”
“Sea Dragon Pirates?” Debbie tilted her head. “That’s not one of the five great pirate fleets, is it?”
“The five great fleets?” The man flinched, then snapped irritably, “As if those monsters would show up here!!!”
“Captain Mantis Shrimp, I have a question…” Green began.
“It’s Captain Sea Dragon!” the man corrected.
“Right, got it, Captain Mantis Shrimp. If one of the five great fleets attacks us, will your protection money help?” Green asked with a grin. This area teemed with wannabe pirates; besides the five true fleets, plenty of small-time thugs flew jolly rogers and called themselves pirate kings. The Sea Dragon crew clearly survived by extorting merchants, nothing like the real powers.
The man ground his teeth at the mockery. “You think the five great fleets would bother robbing you, with your…” His gaze swept the docks, then froze. He looked around in confusion. “Where’s your ship? You don’t even have one!?”
“Our ship’s right here.” Yechui happily patted the bottle.
The captain, his lackeys, and everyone nearby stared speechlessly at the palm-sized black ship model inside, then looked at Yechui as if he were insane…
Yechui smiled faintly, walked to the railing, smashed the bottle against it, took out the exquisitely detailed model, and tossed it into the sea.
In the films, the Black Pearl had once been shrunk into a bottle by a curse and later released in the fifth movie. Thus, the version Yechui redeemed came with a miniaturisation feature, perfect for storage when not in use, one of the main reasons he chose it.
As the black model hit the water… it sank straight to the bottom.
The captain and onlookers watched for a moment, then burst into roaring laughter.
“Where did these clowns come from? A ship in a bottle? I’ve gotta tell everyone about this!”
“They don’t look stupid…”
“Maybe they got scammed. I’ve seen magic items that grow, but a full-sized ship? Even the gods couldn’t craft that!”
Whispers spread. Like the shopkeeper, everyone now thought: some noble’s foolish son, surely.
Then, amid the jeering, a swelling, heroic orchestra suddenly erupted. At first muffled, then with triumphant brass, the music surged with heart-pounding exhilaration.
He’s a Pirate blared automatically.
Whoosh!
A massive ship burst from the depths. Black hull, black sails, an ink-dark galleon that smashed aside several nearby merchant vessels just by surfacing!
Everyone: “…!!!”
