TPBP Chapter 64

 64

'That's right. It really was.'

I finally understood why things had grown distant between Nereus and me in the past. Why I had found him so hard to deal with.

Even before I returned to the past, something similar had happened once.

A pirate crew had attacked our ship. That kind of thing was common among pirates, fighting over treasures, supplies, Eternal Compasses, or even people.

But Caelum was rarely attacked. Despite being an oddball group with no allies, or even acquaintances, to speak of, the reason was simple.

There were few in number, but each one of them was powerful. There weren’t many pirate crews that could rival Caelum. And since pirates were enemies of the navy as it was, no one wanted to waste energy on a losing battle. Caelum, troublesome to deal with, was just left alone.

But I must’ve been around eight or nine years old—definitely not ten yet—when it happened. A reckless pirate crew launched a surprise attack on Caelum in the middle of the night.

Of course, they were no match for Caelum but I happened to come across one of the stragglers. And it wasn’t by chance. He had clearly infiltrated with the intention of kidnapping me.

It wasn’t exactly common knowledge that there was a child aboard Caelum’s pirate ship.

Still, the one who attacked our ship managed to slip inside amidst the chaos. He had access to decent intel. Thinking back, he probably bought information about Caelum from Barkinfo.

'Spending money on something like that... must’ve had nothing better to do.'

Not that it mattered, he was going to lose anyway.

Wait, no. That’s not the point right now.

What matters is Nereus.

Nereus killed the man who tried to abduct me with a single, clean stab.

And the problem was, I saw it all happen.

Even though I may still look young now, back then I was just a little kid. A child pampered and raised by Caelum. Even as a pirate, I hadn’t witnessed anything too brutal.

Maybe some threats here and there, but that was about it.

Even Nereus, for all his harsh words, had never carried out violence right in front of me.

That day was the first time in my life I ever witnessed someone being killed.

I had a weak constitution even before my regression, so that incident must have traumatized me deeply.

'Well, now I’m used to seeing corpses, thanks to everything that happened before I returned.'

I’d encountered so many bodies during my time in the navy. I even lost comrades and juniors I had grown close to. Something like this doesn’t shock me anymore.

'I’m just glad I finally realized it.'

Nereus had no idea about my regression. And I had no intention of telling him.

Even if I had been acting more composed lately, in his eyes I was still just a six-year-old.

'Of course he’d think I’d be scared.'

I looked down at my hand. I hadn’t even realized it, but it was trembling pitifully. So I took hold of Nereus’s hand again, firmly this time, determined not to shake anymore.

“Dad, look at me.”

“…….”

“Do I look like I’m scared of you right now, Dad?”

This must be another turning point, a different path from what happened before I returned. Is it the right choice?

Even before the regression, I had never truly feared Nereus.

That fear came only after misunderstandings piled up.

“Who in the world would hate their family? There’s no one I hate. No one I’m afraid of.”

Well, maybe such people do exist—perhaps they’re even quite common.

But not in Caelum.

Everyone here had lost their families for their own reasons. And then, we became family again. We chose one another.

So how could we hate each other?

How could we be afraid—when in this vast world, we’re the ones who will always be on each other’s side?

That’s why I always wanted to be of help to Caelum.

If I become more useful in the future, everyone in Caelum will continue to love me—just like they do now.

'Because that’s what I was taught.'

I learned so much during my time in the navy. There were painful, horrifying memories, but they made me a capable person.

In the navy, they taught us this.

If you become useless, you’ll be discarded.

'But I’m lucky.'

Because Caelum, and Nereus, will always care for me.

The things that happened before the regression were just misunderstandings. That’s a relief.

But if I don’t want to be abandoned for real this time, I need to become even more capable, more than I am now, more than how much they like me now.

“Commander! We still have comrades who haven’t been rescued! Please give the order to save them!”

“Request denied.”

“Commander!”

“Mare Akera, are you questioning a superior’s decision?”

“If we go now, we can still save them.”

“They’re not worth that much.”

“…….”

“Spending that time relocating could allow us to save even more people.”

Zing. A memory from before the regression jolted through me.

“Lala? What’s wrong?”

Nereus’s worried voice reached my ears. I pressed my temple and shook my head.

“Keep questioning higher-up decisions like that, and acting based on personal feelings….”

“…….”

“You’ll need to go back for retraining when we return.”

***

Nereus gently laid Polaris on the bed, who was suddenly complaining of a headache. There was something unsettling about the child today.

What on earth could a six-year-old possibly be remembering?

Nereus could only hope it wasn’t the memory of their very first meeting.

The first time they met was on a cruise ship.

Or… could that even be called a cruise ship?

The vessel, barely staying afloat after being wrecked, was nearly empty.

There were no lifeboats left. Everyone who remained onboard and perished were either elderly or commoners. There were no signs of survivors.

Even without seeing it directly, one could imagine how horrific the scene must have been.

Polaris was the only survivor.

A four-year-old child, cradled in an old man's arms. She was so small that if it weren’t for Ethan’s sharp eyes, she might have been missed entirely.

After rescuing her, Polaris showed no sign of remembering what had happened.

Considering how horrific the experience must have been, perhaps it was for the better that she didn’t.

If someone had told his teenage self about what he was doing now, he would’ve never believed it. Nereus let out a short sigh, and finally stepped out after watching over the now deeply asleep Polaris.

In the shared lounge, Gilbert, Dexter, and Clara were gathered.

“You said something unnecessary again.”

“Only because you were being useless. Why were you avoiding her? Do you have any idea how crushed she looked? Huh?”

“……”

Nereus had seen how Polaris’s face darkened more and more while he avoided her. A stark contrast to the confident girl she’d been recently.

Still, he’d hoped it would get better over time.

“You were thinking weird thoughts again, weren’t you?”

“…Shut it, idiot.”

Nereus glared at Gilbert, who always had something to say. These blunt, silly exchanges were common aboard the Caelum pirate ship.

Dexter and Clara calmly tended to their weapons with practiced ease.

“By the way, Dexter—weren’t weapons banned here? How did you even bring a gun?”

“I-I didn’t bring it. It was just… in a storage room, so I….”

“Ah, so you stole it?”

“N-no! I borrowed it… I guess…?”

He mumbled in a weak voice. The gun had been pretty decent, though clearly neglected. He’d figured he’d clean it while using it…

His muttering continued gloomily. Around close friends, his true self always peeked through.

“So, yeah, you stole it.”

Clara smirked with a pout.

“W-well, if I hadn’t, it would’ve just rusted away into junk, so… s-so this is better.”

In the end, he admitted it. Clara laughed heartily at her timid friend.

“Clara, lower your voice. The kid just fell asleep.”

“Yeah. Do you have any idea how hard it was to put a child to sleep who insisted she wasn’t tired? Both of you, quiet down.”

“Yessir.”

Clara widened her eyes and obediently fell silent. 

Dexter rolled his eyes and muttered.

“U-uh, by the way…”

“Yeah?”

“T-The head of House Terminus… said she’d like to meet with the captain….”

“Huh? When?”

“T-Today. She said she’d like to see you. Asked you to come to the medical room on the 4th floor.”

“And you're only telling me this now?! You slowpoke idiot!!”

Bang! A massive hand slammed down on the table in the lounge. At the same time, Gilbert’s fist landed squarely on Nereus’s head.

“You’ll wake the kid.”

“Oww.”

Rubbing his throbbing head, Nereus got up from his seat.

“I’ll be back soon.”

He made his way toward the medical room. Behind him, someone muttered, “That damned temper…”

Not long after—

Bang!

The door burst open with a loud crash. His manner was rougher and more irritated than usual.

Ekati, calmly sipping her tea inside the infirmary, didn’t flinch at the sudden noise and received him with composure.

“The youngest one, huh.”

The moment Nereus saw her, he commented.

“Even though we haven’t met often, you recognized me.”

He was referring to her personality—her distinct identity. She gestured to the empty chair across from her.

“I don’t maintain my reception room. Will this place do?”

“I’ve never had the patience for lounging around like some fancy noble. This is more my style.”

His brash attitude would have been unacceptable elsewhere, but neither of them seemed to mind here in the infirmary.

“I called you because I thought I should share the results of interrogating the castle’s attacker and Adelin.”

“Oh? And you're just telling that to some random pirate?”

“I’m aware that the pirate crew you lead isn’t like the others.”

Caelum did engage in raids. But what made them different was that they were selective in who they targeted.

It couldn’t exactly be called 'righteous,' but if someone had their own set of principles, they could be a potential negotiating partner.

And after observing them for several days, the head of House Terminus had gotten a general sense of Caelum’s internal code.

They figured they could reason with Caelum, perhaps even strike more than just a simple deal.

“Besides, there’s also that little girl.”

Above all, the presence of Polaris had given that hope weight and credibility.

“So you did a background check?”

“Background check? Hardly. The information was all outdated.”

Clearly, Caelum had taken measures to keep their records from being updated. That’s why they had remained relatively unnoticed by the navy.

And that, in turn, made them the perfect trading partner now.

Pouring tea into the cup beside Nereus, Ekati said.

“The navy is involved in the production and distribution of Angel.”