Silas had to admit, the promise had been completely wiped from his memory, buried under a decade of battles, wine, and weary cynicism.
Ten years ago, he had spun countless tall tales for a crowd of adoring young giants, and among them was the wild-spirited girl now fuming before him. Ripley. At the time, her relentless pleas to join his crew had been a headache for everyone involved, especially the native Giant Warrior Pirates, who felt one of their own should sail under a giant's flag.
To put an end to the trouble, Silas had made a deal. He had promised that once she grew up, he would welcome her aboard his ship.
It was, of course, a lie. He was sixty years old at the time and had no idea if he would even live to see Elbaf again. He had dismissed the words meant to placate a child the moment he had set sail.
And only now did he remember.
"Ah, well, you see… I'm here now, aren't I?" Silas offered lamely, dodging another punch.
The giantess's fists swung with a ferocious wind that howled through the air. With every wild swing, the tavern paid the price, splintering tables and chairs into kindling.
"For giants, ten years shouldn't be that long, right?" Silas reasoned, ducking behind the bar. "If you want to join my pirate crew now, it's not too late, you know."
"Who wants to join your pirate crew now!?" Ripley roared, slamming a fist into the ground and creating a deep crater in the floor. She glared down at him, her voice laced with frustration. "Look at you, you're all old and withered! How are you supposed to take me on adventures like this?"
Ripley was no longer a child. She understood the vast difference between their two races. A seventy-year-old giant was still a youngster, but a seventy-year-old human was an old man. She feared that in a few more years, he would be like the ancient captains in her village, throwing out his back with a single wrong move. How could a man like that take her on an adventure? And how could she let him risk what little life he had left for her sake?
"Alright, alright, stop throwing a tantrum," Silas sighed, a headache blooming behind his eyes. He waved a hand toward the bar. "Can't you see Mado is about to cry?"
The once-tidy tavern was now a complete disaster zone.
"Then let me punch you just once."
"Whoa, whoa, look how old I am! If I take a direct hit from you, something really bad will happen!" Even in his prime, Silas would not have carelessly taken a punch from a giant. At seventy, it could genuinely kill him.
"Hmph, I was just kidding," Ripley muttered, though her expression said otherwise.
Seeing that she was not going to continue her assault, Silas finally breathed a sigh of relief. If Ripley were truly willing to join his crew now, he would welcome her with open arms. A giant, once fully grown, had the fighting power of a Marine Vice Admiral. That was leagues beyond Rocks's current level. But after lying to her once, Silas did not have the gall to extend the invitation himself.
He decided to let things play out naturally. The tantrum had been her way of letting off steam. Now, she was finally calming down.
"I really don't get it," Ripley grumbled, her bandana and gloves now covered in dust as she helped Mado clean up the wreckage. "You're so old. Why are you still out at sea? Wouldn't it be better to just find a nice place to settle down and retire?"
"Haha, of course it's because I refuse to admit I'm old!" Silas laughed from his perch at the bar, the only part of the tavern that remained unscathed. He gestured for Rocks to help with the cleanup.
Over on the side, Rocks rolled his eyes. He did not understand it either. Silas had been ready to retire, then had suddenly changed his mind completely. Still, if the old man had retired, Rocks would never have learned so much.
"Ahem, Rocks, that corner over there too."
"Why do I have to help? You two are the ones who wrecked the place!" Rocks shouted.
"Because I'm the captain. Isn't it natural for a crewmate to follow the captain's orders?"
"Tch." Rocks clicked his tongue in annoyance but obediently started moving the debris. If he were stronger than Silas, he would show the old man what a real pirate captain looked like.
"So this is the new crewmate you took in?" Ripley asked, eyeing Rocks.
"What do you think? He has a lot of potential, right?" Silas laughed, his mind already racing. Mado had confirmed that Mother Carmel was still on the island, which meant Charlotte Linlin was here too. The thought of recruiting another future emperor was intoxicating. Carmel, you can't handle that child! he thought. Let me! With both Rocks and Linlin on his crew, where in the world could they not go?
"Him?" Ripley's gaze fell on Rocks. She leaned in conspiratorially, lowering her voice so the boy could not hear. "Seriously, Silas. Are you really trying to make a comeback, or are you just training your replacement?"
"Is there a difference?"
"Of course there is!" Ripley shot back, a flash of her old fire in her eyes. The crew she wanted to join was the one that belonged to the White Wolf himself. As for Rocks, who was he?
Silas glanced at the boy from across the room and smiled, a strange light in his eyes.
"Even if that day comes, I would only have that brat go out and start his own crew. As for the captain of the White Wolf Pirates, there only needs to be one." He paused, his voice gaining a strength that defied his age. "And that's me."
"White Wolf Silas!"
He made no effort to hide the raw ambition in his voice. He might have aged, but he was not dead yet. His achievements might not compare to Rocks's future legacy, but that was the future of another world. It was not his. Who made the rule that he, a man from another world, could not use the chosen ones of this world as his own stepping stones?
In that moment, Ripley was a little dazed. She felt as if she was once again seeing the spirited, indomitable captain from her childhood memories. The crew only had two people now, but that did not matter.
Silas is the White Wolf.
"Let me join!"
Ripley suddenly leaned down, a brilliant, dazzling smile spreading across her face.
"Old man," she said, her voice full of renewed energy. "Your pirate crew is short on people right now, isn't it?"
"Then count me in!"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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