The bastard child becomes the empires royal consort-Chapter 69: Kestrel pirates

The very next day.`

Kahl was in full swing, it was the afternoon as the sun hung high in the sky, basking the seaport in a warm light.

The streets were swarmed with people, being the busiest period of the day, you wouldn't be able to walk a few meters without bumping into someone or move without hearing the overlapped shouts of merchants.

The air was thick and heavy with the scent of roasting meat from the street stalls, paired along with the natural, salty stench of the ocean.

Although it may have been slightly more crowded than usual, the city felt incredibly alive, filled with smiles.

And in the middle of it all, a loud rythmic thump took over the stone streets.

Thump Thump

A group of men walked through the streets with loud, heavy footsteps.

Their bodies were tall and well-defined with functional muscles that only come from labor work, their skins were a shade different, darker from being exposed to the sun for years.

Their appearance already made them seem ferocious, but the numerous scars riddled across the bodies of the men's arms and chests only fueled their image as people up to no good.

However, in the face of such men, the residents of Kahl simply moved aside without a change in expression, resuming their activities as if everything were normal.

And indeed it was, the group of men passing through were recognized as pirates by all the residents of the city.

But they didn't flee in terror or anything of the sort, because in this world, pirates weren't seen as figures of terrorism.

Instead, they were recognized as simple adventurers of the sea, the reckless and essential wanders, people who travel the ocean and go from continent to continent.

"Crowded today, eh?" One of the men at the front remarked, tossing a glance over his shoulder.

His hair was longer than average with tanned skin, though his fashion sense was quite questionable, wearing a weird mix of a tight tank top and ripped-up jacket. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Ain't it just normally like this?" Someone responded, his hands gripping onto a thick rope. "Still, won't this be the last voyage for a long time, isn't it? Once that suspension settles, we'll be stuck."

"True enough." The man at the front muttered. "Isn't that so Morgon?"

At the rear of the walking group of pirates, two men held onto long ropes pulling them along, the ropes were connected to the front of a carriage.

They were leading the carriage through the crowded streets of the city, ensuring it wouldn't accidentally harm anyone.

Also, because it was a massive carriage, not small at the slightest, and it was to be expected, after all, it was a carriage stacked to the brim with crates, barrels, and chests of supplies for the upcoming voyage.

Sitting high on the driver's seat was a man idly watching the stalls pass by viewing the wares being displayed.

His skin was several shades darker than the rest, his messy hair falling in sun-bleached waves like a surfer who had spent too much time in the sea.

"Morgon?" The man called out again, louder this time.

"Huh...huh?" The one sitting on the driver's seat snapped out of his daze, blinking as he looked down with an open frown. "Talking to me?"

"Anyone else named Morgon?"

"Your name is literally Morgan..." Morgon mumbled with a long sigh.

What an unfortunate coincidence to occur between two men that served the same captain and worked within the same ship.

"Well, everyone calls me Gan, so it doesn't count." Morgan shrugged. "But yeah, I'm talking to you."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"...I asked if this would be our last voyage for a while."

"Why would you be asking me?"

Twitch

Morgan's brows twitched, a subtle vein bulging on his forehead. "Because you're the fucking vice-captain!"

"Oh... I am..." Morgon replied dryly, blankly staring at a nearby fruit stall.

Meet Morgan, the vice captain of the Kestrel crew and the second in command to one of the most infamous crews in the continent, as well as the most empty-headed man in the crew.

"Answer my question!"

"Hmm." Morgon tapped his chin. "Yeah, it is, I think?"

"Man, fuck this guy! How's a moron like this a vice-captain?"!

"I don't know." Morgon replied.

"Why are you the one responding?!"

"I don't know."

"Shut up!"

The bickering group continued their slow journey through the streets of the city, the massive carriage wheels groaning against the stone, as they descended towards the lower districts.

The air grew cooler and sharper, with the fresh, salty stench of the open bay, the colorful and busy bazaar faded, replaced by towering silhouettes of enormous masts.

At last, the pirates finally arrived at their destination and reached the concrete piers.

There, anchored against the pier like a dark omen, was their ship, a sleek vessel of dark lines and a figurehead shaped like a lion.

The reinforced wooden material was a dark brown, a color so dark it could've possibly been mistaken as black, still it added to the eerie atmosphere and scenery of the vessel.

Standing at the foot of the gangplank was a woman, impatiently tapping her foot against the ground, looking ahead with a sharp gaze and a coat that billowed in the wind.

"You're late." She said with a frown.

Placed atop her head was a unique hat, the symbol and mark of a ship's captain.

She possessed long, dark blue hair the color of the deep ocean, her eyes were a vibrant hazel.

It's Captain Kestrel, as the name may answer, she was the captain and the first in command of the ship.

She didn't have a last name, as she was born as a commoner rather than a noble, as the status of an individual had major impacts on someone's life and upbringing.

But Kestrel, despite being born into a family of struggle and poverty, alone rose up the ranks of pirates, eventually forming an entire crew filed with pirates she personally selected.

The members of the crew never discriminated against their captain solely due to her being a women, they treated her with proper respect and looked up to her due to her inspirational stories.

"I see you've brought the cargo." Kestrel nodded, she turned around and stepped onto the gangplank, the wood groaned against the sudden increase of weight. "Load it all up, Morgon, I'll leave it to you."

With those words, Kestrel turned around and walked up the gangplank, moving up the board until she disappeared from view.

Even though she gave clear instructions, no one moved from their positions, as if they were waiting for something.

About two minutes passed until Morgan decided he had enough of the awkward silence and spun his head around. "The fuck are you doing?!"

"Huh?" Morgon tilted his head, looking down at Morgan with curious eyes. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You're wrong! What the hell are you doing?"

"What am I supposed to be doing?"

"Oh I don't know, give some fucking orders!" Morgan screamed, staring. "Captain literally told you to get the job done."

"...I thought she was speaking to you."

"Why the fuck would she talk to me?!"

"I don't know..."

"Just shut up and give the fucking orders!"

Leaning into the soft seat, Morgon rubbed his forehead, releasing yet another heavy sigh. "Unload the carriage."

The moment he finished speaking, all the pirates, previously motionless, dispersed, diving into the carriage.

And soon the dock was in fast movement, everyone retrieved every item and supply stored within the large carriage and carried it up the gangplank and into the ship.

Morgan was amongst them, he stepped into the carriage and scanned the interior.

The space was a lot larger than it should be for a transporting vehicle, truly the space would've been enough for a family of four to live comfortably.

Leaving his idle thoughts aside, Morgan moved deeper inside, looking for something suitable he could carry, he passed by crates storing meats, chests holding artifacts, until he stood before barrels.

"Hmm." He rubbed his chin, weighing his choices, then decided on one of the barrels that should have been containing liquid.

Thump

But the moment he picked it up, a hollow sound came back, and the weight distribution felt off.

Confused, Morgan shook the barrel in his hand.

Tup Tup

The inside of the barrel echoed the sound of something hard smacking the wooden walls, he didn't know what it was, but it surely wasn't liquid.

"Maybe they're transporting something weird?" Morgan brushed off any suspicions and walked out of the carriage with the barrel in hand.

It took a long time for everyone to fully unload and transport every item into the ship, even slower with the exclusion of Morgon, who was fully taking a nap.

No one knew how the man became the vice-captain, but everyone gave up questioning how it even happened.

After everything was done, Kestrel stood with her arms crossed, scanning the working crew members before asking. "Is that everything?"

"Yes captain!"

"Alright." Kestrel nodded in satisfaction. "Now we just need to wait for the merchant before we depart."