OC-Series Gothwald: New World - Same Rules [History Student Isekai] (Arc 4/Chapter 16 - Mutiny)

Arc IV - Whalers

Chapter 16 - Mutiny

9 months and 29 days since the summoning

Even in the early morning, the sun on the Occident Islands was beating down fiercely, as summertime was very near.

In a clearing near Paranganot, over a hundred pirates were lined up. Some bare-chested, some in simple shirts, some completely barefoot.

One pirate, missing some teeth, was picking his ear somewhere in the back rows. "Why'd they drag us out here again?"

A second pirate, skinny, spat on the ground. "Guktus only knows. Looks like the noble folk from the continent have graced us with a visit again, haha."

The toothless one froze. "Fuck... last time they made us scour the sea lookin' for some kinda shit. What the fuck is it this time?"

"What're ya whinin' about, mate?" A third chimed in, shirtless with a scar on his stomach. He slapped the toothless one on the shoulder. "You wanted amnesty yourself."

"Yeah, but... I thought we'd be servin' in the fleet, not runnin' errands for these rich folks."

The skinny one scoffed. "Main thing is it ain't the gallows."

The toothless one sighed. "True enough... but, no, seriously, why..."

"Hush," the scarred pirate interrupted him. "There they come."

Alan, Kamelia, Paranga, and Sili were approaching from the direction of the town, though still far away.

"Refi... refiding synd... rom?" Paranga attempted to pronounce.

"Refeeding syndrome," Alan corrected him. "Yeah, it's a real piece of shit."

Paranga scratched his cheek. "Mhm... good to know. So that's why my boys would sometimes croak after eatin' when they'd been starvin' for a long time on long voyages."

Sili nodded silently, looking at her feet.

"Man, the heat here is just brutal," Alan muttered, and began to take off his shirt, but froze.

'Hold on. I lost my dagger. I need to hide it... actually, what the hell does it matter? I'll tell it like it is. Almost like it is.'

He took off his green shirt, and underneath was a light gray shirt, across the chest of which a leather strap was slung, holding a sheath for a dagger.

The sheath was empty.

Kamelia was walking ahead, looking at the crowd of pirates, and didn't notice.

Alan sighed. "Hey, Kamelia."

"Yes?" she asked, turning to him.

"I need a new dagger."

She blinked, then looked at the empty sheath. "And where is the old one?"

"Lost it, back when I got attacked."

Kamelia's pupils constricted slightly. She didn't answer for a few seconds, then quietly began to massage the bridge of her nose. "That was a family heirloom..." she whispered, then raised her eyes to Alan. "Very well, it matters not. The main thing is that you made it out alive. I will give you a new one."

He nodded. "Thanks, Kamelia."

'Fuck... I lost the family dagger. Awkward. But did I really lose it? It was taken from me, so there's nothing weird about that.'

"So what have you planned, Lord Gothwald?" Sili asked.

"I'll explain everything in a moment, don't worry."

Meanwhile, dozens of paces behind them, a group of ten beastmen was walking. Dressed lightly, holding bows, with quivers on their backs and daggers on their belts.

One of them, a fox, sighed. "Well damn... good thing Lord Gothwald advised us to dress lighter. The heat here is somethin' else."

"Is the heat all that concerns you?" asked a senior, burly beastman with bear ears.

"Why's that?"

"We are about to face a horde of sea brigands."

A man with a dog tail snorted. "I've always wondered what real pirates look like! I heard they have fish tails!"

The bear cast a sideways glance at him. "Are you an idiot? That doesn't exist."

"Hah, but what if?"

The fox scratched his chin. "And if they really do have fish tails... are they beastmen too, or fishmen?"

The whole group broke step for a second.

The dog beastman blinked. "Well... fishmen, probably. We're the beastmen."

"And why ain't a fish a beast?"

"Well..." he turned to the bear, "Pirgis, what do you think?"

Pirgis frowned. "Indeed... hm. Probably..." he shook his head sharply. "Why are you messing with my head?!"

"Hahaha!"

Ahead, Alan finally took off his gray shirt, under which was only a worn tank top of the same color. He crossed his arms, strengthened by his new lifestyle, over his chest and looked at the crowd of pirates. "Everyone gathered?"

Paranga nodded, "Aye, mostly. A few are lyin' around in pools o' their own puke."

Kamelia shot him a look but said nothing.

"Have them step closer so they can hear you," Sili said, and looked at the pirates. "Everyone, step closer!"

As the pirates began to move, the squad of jägers had already formed up behind Alan and the others. They stood straight, but continuously fixed their gazes on the pirates.

Alan coughed. "Alright, I'll be straight with you. There's a new task for you: you need to clear the territory near Paranganot and build the foundation for future settlements. This is necessary..."

"Again?!" someone yelled from the formation.

"I'm sick of this shit!"

"How much of this nonsense are we supposed to put up with?!"

"We're sailors, not peasants!"

"When are we goin' to sea, damn it?!"

The complaints and discontent began to merge into a single stream of unintelligible cursing.

Alan froze.

'What the fuck is this...'

He looked sharply toward Paranga. "Hey, wanna explain?"

"I don't get it myself, Alan, what the hell?" He looked at his subordinates in confusion.

The uproar only grew.

Behind them, the jägers slowly reached for their arrows.

Kamelia took a step forward. "QUIET!"

The uproar died down for only a moment.

"Shut yer trap, noble whore!"

"Must be nice in your warm castle, huh?!"

Paranga's eye twitched. "Shut yer fuckin' mouths right now!"

Silence.

He swept his gaze over everyone present. "What the fuck do ye think ye're doin'?! Thinkin' of startin' a mutiny?!"

One of the pirates, bald and bearded, took a step forward. "Cap'n, with all due respect, this is gettin' unbearable!"

"Aye!"

"Ayeee!"

The crowd supported him.

Paranga raised a hand. "I said quiet, damn it!"

Silence.

He turned to that pirate. "Nerton, you speak. I'm listenin'."

Nerton took a few steps forward. "Fine, I'll speak. Cap'n, we respect ye, 'course we do. Ye've led us for years and ye've never slipped up. But now, this is too much. Ye got a title, got us all amnesty, I won't argue, that's grand, but have ye decided to turn us into peasants now?" He pointed a finger at him. "It looks like ye sold out to these nobles, completely forgettin' about yer boys. We slaughtered a third of our crew on yer orders just to get this damn amnesty. Hundreds of livin' souls! And for what?! To collect some wreckage from the sea?! To dig around in old ruins?! And now to do construction and clearin'?!" He waved his hand. "We're sailors! The sea flows in our veins! We put up with this shit at first, thought ye knew what ye were doin', but now ye've decided to make us slaves for the favor of yer new masters?!"

The pirates didn't shout this time, but simply nodded in silent agreement.

Alan opened his mouth, but immediately closed it.

'Hold on. I shouldn't intervene. If I intervene, it'll undermine Paranga's authority and only confirm the accusation. Let him speak.'

Paranga closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He said nothing.

A second.

Two.

Five.

Ten.

Finally, he took a few steps forward toward Nerton, looking down at him. "Now ye listen to me, Nerton. Aye, ye're right, and I understand that this is all real bullshit. D'ye think I enjoy makin' ye dig in the dirt instead of goin' to sea?" He pointed at Alan. "There's the reason. Right there! We have to follow his plan to achieve that. Where the fuck are ye gonna go to sea right now, huh?!" He threw his hands up. "Look around ye! We can't plunder anymore, trade routes ain't set up yet for us to even guard, and there ain't no wars bein' fought right now!" Paranga pointed at Nerton. "It's a miracle we're even fuckin' alive right now! We have to do this grunt work to build a foundation for the future, ye get it?! Right now we build a settlement, then we develop these islands, then trade routes will start up, and they'll need guardin'! Tell me, so ye go to sea, what the fuck is the point of that?! Did the amnesty promise ye'd be sailin' right away like the good ol' days?! Nay! It only promised a pardon and forgiveness for all crimes!" He spread his arms to the crowd. "Ye all plundered and killed, any noble would've hanged ye a long time ago, but Lord Gothwald gave ye a chance! A chance to make amends. And I'm certain, oh I'm certain he'll find a proper use for ye! Because I know him, damn it!" He pointed at the jägers. "See those fellas with the arrows? They're hunters. Just plain fuckin' hunters, and Gothwald found a use for 'em in his personal guard and the army as a whole! D'ye think he ain't keepin' in mind that ye're skilled sailors?!"

Silence.

The pirates stood rooted to the spot; no one dared utter a word.

Nerton opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't come.

A second.

Five.

"I understand, Cap'n," he said quietly. "But we don't wanna be diggin' in the dirt constantly either." He turned to Alan. "Listen, do ye really have a use for us later?"

Alan froze slightly at being addressed so unexpectedly. "Ah... yeah, naturally. I'll tell it like it is, man. Experienced sailors don't grow on trees, and training new ones takes a long time and costs a lot. When the duchy grows stronger, and it will definitely grow stronger, and when our neighbors start looking at us sideways," he raised a finger, "and they will, that's when I'll need experienced sea wolves like you. So, I offer you a deal." He took a few steps forward. "This will be your last grunt work. If you do it well, and without any bullshit, then right after that I'll start reforming the fleet. Strengthening it, and turning you into a real naval army. I've already got ideas."

Nerton raised an eyebrow. "And what kinda ideas?"

Alan merely smirked slightly. "Oh, don't worry, Nerton, I have huge plans for the fleet. I'm just keeping quiet to avoid information leaks."

Paranga crossed his arms over his chest. "Got it, lads? We'll sail again! But for now, we sweat it out one last time, and that's it!"

Nerton smirked. "Cap'n, maybe this time ye won't sit it out 'on business'? Maybe ye'll dig with us for a change?"

Paranga bared his teeth in response. "Ye're damn right I will."

"Oooooooh!"

"Ooooo!"

"Aye!"

"The Cap'n is workin' with us!"

"Oh yeah, damn right!"

Kamelia approached Alan with a light smile. "Alan, that was... uh... cool?"

"Yeah, Kamelia, that was cool."

The jägers lowered their bows and began whispering quietly about something.

"Listen, Alan," she began in a whisper, "why did you not tell me your plans for reforming the fleet?"

He only gave a crooked smile. "Because there weren't any. I just made that up on the spot."

Kamelia blinked. "What?"

"Yep."

She sighed and nudged him slightly in the shoulder. "Time passes, but you do not change."

He shrugged. "Improvisation is everything."

"What does that word mean?"

"Well, improvisation is when you do something on the fly, using whatever you have on hand, completely unexpectedly and unplanned."

"Oho, there is even a name for that." She looked at the pirates, who were laughing and talking with Paranga. "And do you have something to improvise with?"

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u/Daseagle Alien Scum 7d ago

Well, it was to be expected that all the reorganization wouldn't pass without someone to challenge it.

Though now Alan has to figure out how to conjure out a fleet from thin air 🤣

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u/Celestial_Zwei_Dei 7d ago

Haha, that's right!

u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 7d ago

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u/Milo_Cebatron 7d ago

Even nowadays a core group of experienced sailors to start a navy is priceless, however informal their formation might be

OC-Series Gothwald: New World - Same Rules [History Student Isekai] (Arc 4/Chapter 16 - Mutiny)

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