Cute Kunoichis:Volume2 Chapter2

Status: Incomplete

1/6 parts completed

   

Chapter 2

1: The Stonewall Girls

It was already dusk.

However, the quiet of the late hour was obliterated by deafening sirens and the tremor of army boots marching in perfect unison.

The commotion had spread beyond just the castle. Trucks and large transport helicopters loaded with fully-equipped armored samurai had been deployed to set up two or even three layers of blockades.

The moat was always lit up once the sun set and the tourists outside of that aimed their phone cameras toward the vehicles and samurai, but they all tilted their heads once they did. Their screens were covered by secret preservation AR, special markers that said “Recording Not Allowed”. Mobile devices these days did not even come with a paper user’s manual, so most of them probably had no idea their phones did that.

Meanwhile…

“So you only managed to drag some filthy guy out of there? Really? That was honestly all you managed to accomplish???”

Hanasawa Bara spoke in a disinterested way from the driver’s seat of a food truck designed to cook crepes, just like you could find at any tourist destination in any part of the world. Needless to say, that was the mobile base she was using to pick up Sugiyado Souha and the others after they left the castle.

She had changed into her casual clothing to blend into her surrounding, but with her, that still meant a fancy red dress. She almost looked like a princess, but that worked well when combined with the mistaken assumption that she was a tourist destination vendor. In fact, with her sexy body and red ringlet curls, she would have looked more conspicuous in a plain track suit or jumpsuit.

She even shared that benefit with Shizukuma Asagao who wore her baggy-sleeved and short-skirt white military uniform in the passenger seat. When the two of them sat side by side, their clothing seemed to match.

The black bob cut girl let out an exasperated sigh.

“Stop lashing out because we all got to enjoy a secret date while you were stuck back at the base. That was an important job.”

“Hmph.”

When the younger girl in the passenger seat out-argued her, Bara could only puff her cheeks out like a child.

However, they remained within the blockade.

They were only just outside the illuminated moat, leaving them in the tourist area that was like a walking path and viewing platform in one. Lines of New Sapporo Domain armored trucks were roughly driving past just a few meters away even now. The castle’s soldiers and bodyguards were shouting angrily at the people that photography was banned. The enemy never expected their quarry to be right under their nose, but certain preparations were still needed when making a surprise attack like this.

When blessed with the opportunity to work in a group, you always needed to keep one of your people “outside” if at all possible.

Sugiyado Souha had driven that rule into their heads because he wanted to raise them into ninjas who could return from missions alive, not just act as artillery shells that only made one-way trips. But being stuck with that job was never fun. Just when you thought you could go on a mission with your beloved teacher and enjoy a secret date that would end the instant you were found, you had to stay behind. Having to wait all on your own until sunset felt like having part of your one and only adolescence sold off against your will. Bara really wanted to curse her own rock-paper-scissors luck.

“Anyway, drive slow and safe.”

“I know that.”

Speeding out of there would give them away immediately. Bara even kept the headlights on the gentle low beams for the benefit of the oncoming traffic. She drove the crepe food truck calmly and slowly away from the park in front of the moat.

“You got that data out from the depths of New Sapporo Castle, didn’t you? Did you get any details on those Stonewalls?”

Bara had performed her own interrogation while they were gone, but she had not found anything more than the group’s name.

“I was planning to reveal this once Sensei rejoined us, but whatever.”

Asagao attached her phone (which she had so thoroughly modified on the inside that it was close to being a cyber war weapon) to the food truck’s navigation system.

“The Stonewalls have around 300 combat members, but these are the main four. And Princess Karin is of course at the very top.”

“…”

Kairou Amamo.

Age: 16. Female.

An expert at terrain-effect attacks made using pure excavation techniques. Brings confusion to the entire battlefield with almost any type of terrain changes, including quicksand, marshes, pitfalls, falling rocks, landslides, and even volcanic activity and water vapor explosions. One of the few survivors of her attacks said “a dragon is hidden in the earth”.

Taganuma Yukizasa.

Age: 13. Female.

An expert at combat in enclosed and dark places. Shows the true value of her short height and limbs while fighting in complex indoor environments filled with countless obstacles. The way she persistently sticks with her target has earned her the nickname of Enemy Stalker.

Horisato Oume.

Age: 18. Female.

An expert at chemical reactions, including explosions. That includes the obvious like guns and explosives, but also includes the use of incomplete combustion to create smokescreens or poison gas. Her skills also give her a specialty in medicines and treating wounds.

And.

Shirahama Karin.

Age: 20. Female.

The princess of a domain who chose to master the “etiquette” of a ninja in order to survive in the Machiavellian world of politics. Has mastered every technique of the Stonewall school, but also possesses the strategic mindset needed to view the big picture of the outside world. A next-generation leader who can freely use the light and dark – the clean and the unclean.

(Not that we can trust the ages and photos given here.)

As an expert in disguises and flirtation, Hanasawa Bara told herself to not accept this data at face value.

Were all the others girls because that was more comfortable for Princess Karin at the top? No, she had apparently convinced that young Murakami man to join her forces, so maybe it was her subordinates who had decided to surround her with girls.

Bara was normally one of the ninjas who worked to preserve the public order, so she knew what conditions would be used to choose checkpoint locations at times like this. She accurately drove the crepe food truck around while making an exasperated comment.

“Quite the distinguished group.”

“Right?”

“I can’t believe that’s what you spent your secret date on. Sensei has to learn not to talk about other girls all the time.”

“Right!? Ouka is sulking pretty hard, so be on your guard around her.”

With the talk of terrain and explosives, that group sounded even more flashy than Bara’s group. This northern land was one of the few places in the country that was flat all the way to the horizon. Those skills were likely what they had honed to push back any large armies the Cyrillic Empire sent in. And in addition to the largescale attacks and high firepower, they had the assassin types who could use the confusion to pinpoint strike the enemy commander or armory. The knights would be preparing to tear into the enemy formation while the rooks and bishops were making a mess of the board, so you could not let your guard down.

Asagao gave a fearless smile in her white military uniform.

“The documents call them High Ninjas, but it’s possible they intentionally held back during their advancement exams so they wouldn’t stand out.”

“They seem to fight under completely different rules and on a completely different scale from us.”

“That just means we can’t let our guard down no matter what.”

And.

As we change focuses, the vehicle shook slightly.

There was no way to tell the time of day in the enclosed back of the truck. Sugiyado Souha and the Murakami youth were confronting each other in there. However, the young man had his iron flute and other weapons taken from him and he was tied to a chair.

Sugiyado’s eyes fell on a different weapon than the main iron flute.

It was a cross shuriken given a sharkskin surface.

(Old man.)

But letting his feelings show would accomplish nothing as a ninja. He hardened his heart so he could get down to business before the young man noticed.

Just to be safe, he had Ouka and Hoozuki with him here.

“(Boo. Why’d he have to invite another guy onto our secret date?)”

“(Don’t complain, Ouka. If you refuse to wait, you’ll never get your reward.)”

At 5kg, his back felt funny. At 10kg, it exploded with pain.

No matter how much of an advantage he seemed to have, he could not forget that. In shogi terms, Sugiyado Souha was like the lance. He might seem specialized for this field, but that illusion vanished as soon as his weakness was discovered. And he had no way of fighting back even if he noticed it had been discovered.

So if he had help, it was safest to accept it.

“If there’s something you want to talk about, then go ahead and talk.”

Sugiyado pulled a chair across from the young man and sat in it. Ouka and Hoozuki changed positions to lean on the back of that chair.

“But we have nothing we really want to talk about. To be honest, I’m not interested in some large conspiracy. I achieve my goal as long as you’re removed from all that danger. The simplest solution there would be to knock you out with an anesthetic and then dump you in some remote village no one’s ever heard of. If you don’t do anything, that’s what will happen. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Who are you? And those two aren’t your average girls.”

Ouka looked miffed the young man had singled out her and Hoozuki. It was true they were Elite Ninjas, but she must have felt like Sugiyado deserved that sort of praise too.

At any rate, the young man’s confusion was understandable. Everyone knew a captured ninja was not going to have a good time, so he must not have expected them to have a little chat like this.

The scarf boy relaxed his shoulders and spoke a certain name.

But not the young man’s.

“Murakami Shouzou.”

“Kh.”

“Do you see how I got involved in this now? Princess Karin wasn’t bluffing. She really did do it.”

For a while, the young man said nothing.

Sugiyado simply waited.

He could have told the young man that a professional ninja needed to suppress his emotions and remain coldly logical to survive, but he chose not to.

“I see.” The young man who had inherited the Murakami name eventually got some words out. “I see.”

“Let’s set aside our positions as professionals for a moment.” Sugiyado started again with his voice low. “I’m not working myself to the bone for the state or the Shogunate here. I’m a prisoner from Abashiri, just like that blunt but caring old man, so don’t think I’m some stickler for the rules. Let’s keep this short. If you waste my time, I’ll go with the ‘anesthetize you and dump you on the side of the road’ option.”

“…”

“Ouka, prepare the halothane tank and calculate out the right amount for a standard body weight of 68kg. And really, if we’re going to recommend retiring from this dangerous line of work and living a leisurely second life, we should probably gift him with some mild lasting effects.”

“Understood, Sensei. I’ll add 10 to the normal number. That should give him some chronic tingling in the limbs.”

“O-okay, okay!”

The young man must have thought there was nothing he could do while bound to the chair. And with enough of a lasting effect to take him out of the fight, he would forever lose his chance to rush in and solve the problem here in New Sapporo Domain. Or the problem related to his grandfather’s death. But his pride still had him sounding reluctant as he opened his mouth.

“I am Murakami Michihiko. I was sent from Edo as an external observer for the entire Hokkaido Area!”

“Observer?”

“Hokkaido isn’t the only place with one. Ever since the Doshusei Reform split the archipelago into 8 Areas, observers are occasionally sent in from the central government to keep an eye on things. The idea is to make sure none of the regional governments try to rebel using the very autonomy granted them by the Shogun.”

Hoozuki waved something in her hand. It looked like a silver flute, but it was actually the ninja weapon that young man trusted with his life.

That old man had said he created ninja weapons for his grandson and they were from the Song school, so that iron flute may have contained something of the old man in its design.

Sugiyado Souha made sure not to let his emotions show on his face as he spoke.

“So you are a step removed from the Stonewall hole-digging experts with deep roots in the Hokkaido Area.”

“You’d be wrong there,” said Murakami Michihiko with self-deprecation in his voice. “The Stonewalls were the contact point for my observer duties in the Hokkaido Area. They acted as an intermediary, so we did interact.”

His job was to arrive from outside and determine any deficiencies in the local system. That meant detecting this oddity in New Sapporo Domain was a major success for him, but the conversation in the castle’s server room suggested they had not been enemies to begin with.

He had likely planned to use Princess Karin’s support as a foothold while he began to investigate the rest of the Hokkaido Area. He never would have imagined that the safe zone he had discovered was in fact rotten to the core.

No.

Maybe it was more like he had stumbled across a truth he would have much rather remained ignorant of.

“It’s all about sharing,” said Michihiko while still bound to the chair. “All sorts of technology were introduced to fight back against the Cyrillic Empire, including the slow-melting artificial snow, the two strategic anti-air laser beam cannons, and the four large-caliber railguns at the princess’s New Sapporo Castle, but this land is simply too vast. That method of protecting the island costs too much. The Empire doesn’t even have to cross the ocean now. They can just sit back and wait for New Sapporo Domain to economically collapse and for the rest of the Hokkaido Area’s domains to follow suit.”

“…”

The truck must have made a turn at an intersection because they felt a powerful force from the right.

They were using this food truck because New Sapporo Domain and the rest of the Hokkaido Area were now “car cities”. Why was that? Because the underground linear motor train meant to connect the six domains had been shut down for defense reasons.

Or so it was said, but was that really true? Linear motor trains used electromagnets to move at speeds greater than 500km/h, so they of course required a massive amount of power. That lower-priority guzzler of power had been eliminated in a way that would not concern the people too much.

“Everything requires power, but there is only so much they can produce themselves and Honshu still refuses to allow the installation of an undersea power cable. Maybe they don’t want even more of the country’s nuclear power to be focused on Tsugaru Domain, but the prevailing rumor within the castle is that Honshu fears giving the north enough power to isolate themselves.”

So had opinions differed on how to secure the power they needed?

“That left only one option. Or so Domain Lord Hatsunaga believed,” said Michihiko. “The importation of core infrastructure. It isn’t that uncommon on the continent. It’s the same as having a neighboring country dispose of your trash or having two countries share water and sewer services when a major river runs through them both.”

“Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

“Yes.” Michihiko’s ropes strained. “The Karafuto Route. You heard talk about the northern Wakkanai Domain expanding into a Dejima, right? The idea was to lay out an undersea power cable from there to gain the needed power.”

Instead of Sugiyado, it was twintailed Ouka who was leaning on the boy’s chair from behind who frowned at that. But Sugiyado was the one in charge of this interrogation, so she seemed reluctant to interrupt.

The young man let out a self-deprecating sigh.

“Yeah, it’s completely backwards, isn’t it? They would be relying on the Empire to power the equipment they need to protect themselves from the Empire. They would be helpless as soon as the Empire shut off the power, so they would essentially be presenting their Achilles’ heel to the enemy.”

“…”

Sugiyado thought for a bit.

This was all about deciding who to sell themselves off to: the Shogunate, the Cyrillic Empire, a corporation such as a power company, or an academic institution like a university. Whoever they asked to supply the power they needed would then hold the lifeline to the entire Hokkaido Area. That was a big enough deal to bring down the balance between the Four Occupations.

The Shogunate had refused, so who was their next best bet?

Had they arrived at that choice through the process of elimination, or had they intentionally steered toward the Shogunate’s enemy out of simple spite.

“But you said that was the Domain Lord’s idea, right? Do you mean the Princess ruling in his place sees things differently?”

“I imagine she poisoned him. I just hope she still has enough of a heart left that it was something nonfatal.”

Poisoning your own father even nonfatally did not sound like the act of someone “with a heart”.

They had not seen inside New Sapporo Castle’s tower, but had people’s sensibilities really grown so warped in there?

Murakami Michihiko continued with a bitter look on his face.

“I don’t know where she intends to get it, but Princess Karin apparently plans to acquire a massive amount of power from a different route. But energy is energy – it can be used for good or evil. We’re talking about a power source large enough to run the defense system covering the entire Hokkaido Area, so is there any way it can’t be used for the wrong things? As seen with nuclear power, energy can as easily bring peace as it can bring destruction.”

Ouka and Hoozuki’s eyes wandered a bit at the mention of nuclear power.

The incident they had once caused had begun with the theft of an ultra-small modular nuclear reactor being carried by a freight train.

But Sugiyado did not touch on their past wounds.

“That isn’t the crux of the issue, is it?”

“No. There is a hurdle beyond how the power is used. Even if this power source is perfectly safe and peaceful, they still have to prove that somehow. What if people mistakenly believe it could explode when used incorrectly? If people start to think they’re hiding a massive bomb, it could lead to war between the Hokkaido Area and the Empire, or even a civil war between the Hokkaido Area and Honshu.”

“I see,” said Sugiyado.

Princess Karin, leader of the Stonewalls, was also a risk here.

People were never free of their own minds.

The greatest risk of a revolution or uprising was when the thread of tension went slack. As soon as they were freed from having to figure out some way to fix their power problem, she might just reach for a fearsome switch.

She might not just use that power for defense.

What if she decided they could win if they went on the offensive and launched a needless attack on the Cyrillic Empire? Once the Empire had a justification for retaliation, they would be more than happy to attack. That could lead to a long, drawn-out war fought with overwhelming numbers.

And…

“Okay, I can see the flaw in the Lord and the Princess’s plans, but how were you planning to safely escape this situation?”

“I think the supposed threat of the Empire is overblown. Whenever he ran into trouble with the ordinary finances, Domain Lord Hatsunaga would work up some extra funding in the name of military expansion. He started talking up the threat of the Empire as no more than a way to get the funding he needed, but that eventually grew into an actual concrete fear that is now draining money from the entire Hokkaido Area.”

“…”

“I have no intention of supporting the Empire or taking them lightly. I am a Shogunate ninja tasked with protecting this nation, after all. But if we can accurately assess the threat, we should be able to better defend ourselves with less waste.”

Sugiyado doubted the young man was lying.

At the very least, the ninja named Murakami Michihiko believed that to be true and was willing to bet his life on it.

The young man said more while Sugiyado pondered the matter.

“I must stop Princess Karin’s project no matter what. I am willing to offer up my own life to do so! I won’t ask you to help me, but at least drop me off somewhere in New Sapporo Domain. I won’t cause you any trouble, so let me clean up this problem!!”

“Is that so?” said Sugiyado.

Silence fell for a while.

But the former Hidden One appeared to have already made up his mind.

The crepe food truck’s brakes squealed as it came to a stop. They must have been at some sort of destination.

Sugiyado rapped on the thin metal door and called outside.

“You heard him, Ekaterina. The rest is in your Imperial hands.”

Michihiko stared blankly at the boy.

He probably honestly had no idea what those words meant. But this was all very real. The metal door was roughly thrown open from the outside and fully-equipped soldiers with identities hidden by masks, helmets, and goggles stormed onto the truck.

The words they exchanged were not even in Japanese.

This entire place had suddenly started to feel awfully Cyrillic.

“What? Eh!? What’s going on here!?”

Sugiyado waved a hand dismissively and said one thing more.

“You can take him away if you want, but leave the chair and rope.”

Murakami Michihiko’s mouth was covered now and he was helplessly carried outside.

To reiterate, Sugiyado Souha’s objective was to fulfill his promise with that dead old man: take care of that kid. So why would he ever give “that kid” any freedom to act if he was only going to recklessly run into danger?

He would not let the young man die.

Even if the young man resented him for it.

“…”

The crepe food truck was empty now, but it creaked as someone new stepped inside.

She wore an imbalanced outfit of a thick coat worn over a sheer camisole. Her skin was far too white to be Asian and her ankle-length hair was a very light platinum blonde. She had a slim outline all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes, so she would have fit right in as a ballerina or figure skater. She seemed something like a rose scattering excessive sex appeal through the simple act of walking, but she was more mechanical and precise than that.

“(I can’t believe this is happening on our date.)”

“(Hold your tongue, Ouka. You’ll lose points.)”

Ouka and Hoozuki looked somewhat exasperated.

Simply walking around looking like that was a big deal given the archipelago’s current isolationist policies.

The blonde beauty giggled in a bewitching way.

“It has been too long, Comrade Souha.”

“I am aware that not even the Empire addresses people that way anymore, you know? Where did you swim in from this time? Through a snowmelt pipe? You don’t smell like a sewer, at least.”

“That intel is the Neva River Nymphs’ lifeline, so it is of course a secret. …Until you take a liking to the title of comrade, anyway.”

Simply put, Ekaterina’s Neva River Nymphs were a group of frogmen. Their actions in New Sapporo Domain went undetected because they wore highly-insulated suits and used caustic soda breath purification devices that would function for a maximum of 48 hours straight. That allowed them to move freely around large cities by hiding below the surface of a river or another body of water, including water pipes, sewers, snowmelt pipes, agricultural and industrial waterways, hot spring pipes, and more. They even claimed they could relax more in a rooftop water tank than in a café heated by a fireplace.

“We haven’t spoken directly since the sunken submarine incident, have we? I am glad we can finally repay you for what you did back then, comrade.”

“You didn’t owe me anything. International law says you should work to assist a sunken or beached ship even if it belongs to another country or group.”

“Everyone might know they should do that, but you were the only person the world who did do it.”

She giggled.

The lady had the sweet atmosphere of the female proprietor of a secret salon, but she did not carelessly invade the boy’s personal space. She was like a bouquet of flowers meant to match one’s outfit. She was intentionally dimming her light to avoid clashing with the sex appeal of the less mature kunoichis behind the boy.

Then again, she was also showing off how much she was holding back.

“That was a delicate region of ocean. Our HQ could not let it get out that we were transporting a treaty-violating weapon through that region, so they pretended not to pick up on our SOS and even jammed our signal while disguising it as interference from thunderclouds. If you hadn’t shown up, 103 Neva members would have perished in that chilly, cramped space. Including me, of course.”

Sugiyado softly sighed.

Murakami Michihiko had said New Sapporo Domain was suffering from the tensions they themselves had created out of fear brought on by the country’s isolationist policies. And to rid themselves of that unease, they were growing into “external threat junkies” who endlessly expanded their military. Sugiyado was pretty sure that was accurate.

At the same time, it was looking like the outside world was full of even more conspiracies and misdeeds than the people in the archipelago imagined.

But for now…

“Babysit him for us.”

“Understood. I won’t even ask what this about.”

“And if you can, I would like to learn what the Empire is doing right now. How pressing do they see the situation with Japan?”

“Why even ask me when you know any answer I give will be designed to benefit the Empire? Just so you know, I am a descendant of the maids who served the very nobles who feared for the country’s future and chose to serve Rasputin cakes laced with cyanide.” She sounded exasperated and shrugged. “There is nothing I can tell you, so you can make your own guesses based on the circumstantial evidence.”

(Well, if they really were preparing for a war on the level of lava bursting up from the earth, Ekaterina’s team wouldn’t still be here in New Sapporo Domain.)

He had guessed that much from the moment she responded to his message.

That meant the question at hand was what to do about Princess Karin, New Sapporo Domain, and the Stonewalls who were getting worked up over nothing.

“What are your immediate plans, Comrade Souha?” Ekaterina giggled in a way that slightly strengthened her sweet aura. “I take it things in the castle are not going well. But the Shogunate as a whole does not appear to be making a move to crush them, so do you maybe need someone to work behind the scenes here?”

“Ekaterina, I will decide what needs to be done here.”

“And I am offering you materiel or personnel if you need them. The Stonewalls have deep roots in New Sapporo Castle, which makes them problem, does it not? If you know what needs doing, then why not go ahead and do it?”

She had just said she would not ask what this was about, and now this.

Never underestimate the intelligence-gathering ability of spies who could hide in any body of water.

“I am not working for the Empire’s benefit here. And another thing, Ekaterina. When trying to get closer to someone, it’s best to let yourself appear more vulnerable.”

“Oh? So you aren’t the type to drown in motherly displays of acceptance?”

Whatever form it took, New Sapporo Domain had indeed managed to maintain a dangerous balance for this long. And just like every other country and group out there, the Cyrillic Empire was not the big bad wolf from a children’s book, but they were also not selfless saints. They would snatch up every opportunity that came along. Even if they did not use their trump card right away, you had to assume it was still there in their deck.

A severe power shortage could cause a blackout in the entire defense system.

If that led to revolution or uprising, another country could possibly use the chaos to attack, but that was an amateurish idea. The Empire was more likely to play the role of cooperative ally from beginning to end and then ask for something equivalent in exchange after the fact. And with a friendly smile on their face all the while.

In her combination of a thick coat and a form-fitting camisole, Ekaterina did not push the issue any further. That lady was an experienced negotiator, so she chose to take a step back here.

“When you have decided what to do, make sure to call the Neva River Nymphs. Whisper the magic word and we will surface from any body of water.”

“I might not be doing anything. Murakami Michihiko is safe now, so I might just decide to leave.”

“No, you will choose to act once you learn what is happening here. This is no different from that submarine. You are not one to weigh the pros and cons before acting, Comrade Souha. That selfless spirit of service is a lovely thing. You would fit in very well with us.”

“…”

“Also.” Just before leaving the crepe food truck, the bewitching woman spoke as if to a child left behind at an amusement park. “I really do want to repay you for your help. As does everyone up on the surface who heard our SOS signal from the submarine but were only allowed to bite their lips and jam it. I won’t deny we have our own plans at play here, but do not forget how I feel.”

That was all.

Once Ekaterina was gone, Sugiyado sighed.

He knew there would be no sign of those river nymphs no matter where you looked on the surface. They had dived underwater.

(Didn’t take her long to incorporate my advice about vulnerability. She always has been quick to follow people’s advice. Although that cute side of her is probably another act meant to draw people in.)

And.

That encounter seemed to have lowered the temperature within the food truck.

Specifically for Ouka and Hoozuki.

“Sensei.”

“First the Kingdom’s queen and now the Empire’s river nymph? You don’t have mistresses in every country around the world, do you?”

They could not hide their exasperation. It was often said you needed to watch out for jealousy and envy when kunoichis gathered, but since ninjas were supposed to use Machiavellianism as a weapon, they really needed to stop letting their own suspicions get the better of them.

The best medicine here would be to firmly deny it.

He had to put them at ease by showing he was confident in his denial. It was a basic but crucial tactic.

“Don’t be dumb, you two. I don’t have a single person you could call a mistress.”

But…

“So you’re saying you do have women all around the world; it’s just that you keep them just distant enough that you can’t call them mistresses?”

“Sensei, there’s such a thing as being too passionate about your work.”

Evidently, he had phrased his denial poorly.

Even on a pirate ship full of outlaws, it was supposedly best to avoid a mixed-gender crew if you wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble.

6

Back to Chapter 1

Return to Main Page

Forward to Chapter 3