Chapter 12: Hindenbeck Kingdom

After sailing for two days without any disturbance.

" Land straight ahead Law-sama!" Hanzo shouted from the top of the mainmast.

" Ok, Men prepare to dock!" I shouted.

" Hai!" Both Bepo and Mikoto shouted as they started lifting the sails and prepared themselves to anchor the ship.

Once the ship was safely docked, we all walked out of the ship leaving Snow to guard it, we didn't want to scare any of the locals.

" *sniff"sniff* Bleh this city stinks!" Mikoto commented as we walked through what could only be called a slum.

" What happened to these people? They look malnourished." Bepo commented.

" Make sure to not touch anything Bepo, some of them seem to be gravely sick." I warned as I noticed some pretty deadly and contagious diseases.

Bepo palled hearing me say that.

" Especially you Mikoto, I don't want you getting any sexually transmitted diseases. So no flirting with any girls." I said.

" *tsk* It's not like I was going to, I mean look at them. They're practically skeletons." Mikoto said.

" Should we help them?" Hanzo the kindest of all of us asked.

I took a couple of seconds to think about his suggestion but decided against it. If I started helping everyone I encountered there would be no end to things.

" I'll think about it." I replied, even though I had already made up my mind.

We kept walking through the city, and the view wasn't getting any better. Some women tried enticing us into bedding them for money and among them there seemed to be a girl of barely 12 years old. But we just ignored their approach and kept walking.

Well everyone did except Hanzo who stopped next to the 12 years old kid.

"Hey little one, what's your name?" Hanzo asked.

" My name is Mika." She replied shyly.

" Mika-chan, do you realize what you're trying to do?" He asked.

"The big sisters get money by sleeping next to men. So I want to do the same!" The innocent girl replied with a determined look.

" *sigh* Here go buy yourself something to eat, you're too young to be sleeping next to anyone." Hanzo said with a warm smile as he gave the little girl all his portion of the loot.

" *Tsk* " Mikoto exclaimed from next to me, while I just observed Hanzo's good deed.

" Sorry to keep you waiting, Law-sama." Hanzo said as he ran back to us leaving the small little girl in tears of joy.

" Let's go." I said following the stone path leading through the city.

It didn't take us long to leave the slums, and we now found ourselves in some sort of forest area. We could see a closed fort on top of a mountain in the distance.

We kept walking toward it till some armed men wearing iron-plated medieval armour came toward us. They were on horsebacks so it didn't take long for them to reach our position.

" HALT!" The cavalry shouted while pointing their spears at us.

" How can we help you, gentlemen?" I asked.

"State your business in coming to Hindenbeck Kingdom." The guard demanded.

" We're simple travellers, we docked our ship in hopes of restocking some supplies before continuing our journey." I said with a smile.

" Do not lie to us Pirate! We saw your ship!" The guard shouted.

" Pirate or not we're simply here to restock." I said.

" We do not serve your kind in this kingdom, leave this island before we make you!" The guard shouted before turning his horse and running back to the fort.

" *Tsk* What a jerk!" Mikoto exclaimed.

" What should we do Law-sama," Hanzo asked.

" mhm, Bepo how long will it take to reach the next island?" I asked.

" Well the next island is our destination, Fianna, which is pretty close to the Red Line. So around a week," Bepo said.

" And how much food do we have?" I asked.

" We have food for about a day or two at most." Hanzo replied.

" *sigh* The slums we just came from are dirt poor they won't have any food to sell. Let's just wait and see. They said we have to leave or they'll force us. I'd like to see them try." I said with a daring smile.

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We walked back to the small town, and found the little girl Hanzo had helped crying her eyes out.

" Mika-chan? What's wrong?" Hanzo asked as he crouched next to the small girl.

"The big sisters took all of my money!" Mika cried out.

" Really? Would you care to show me which ones?" Hanzo asked as he developed a cold look.

The little girl nodded with a tearfilled determined look.

She started standing up but immediately fell down on her butt, and held her leg in pain. "*AH* It hurts!" The little girl exclaimed.

" *sigh* Bring her to the ship, I'll patch her up." I said as I walked past them.

" But what about the money?" The little girl asked.

" I'm sure Mikoto here can take care of it." I said while placing my hand on Mikoto's back.

Mikoto was about to deny it but once he met the little girl's eyes, he simply *tsked* and left in the direction of the pleasure district.

Hanzo hoisted the little girl on his back and started walking toward our ship.

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Once in the ship, I proceeded to bandage the little girl's swollen foot, while Hanzo cooked us something to eat.

The aroma of his delicious food seemed to have attracted a crowd. Around 20-30 kids all looking malnourished gathered around our ship in hopes of getting something to eat.

Seeing their hungry sad looks as they watched us eat, made my food taste sour. And it seemed I wasn't the only one. Bepo and Hanzo seemed to be playing with their food, not eating anything.

" I'm full, I'll just leave this on the deck and go to sleep!" I exclaimed out loud, loud enough for the kids surrounding our ship to hear.

Bepo and Hanzo quickly picked up on it and did the same. We were obviously hungry but eating while everyone around you has been starving for days left an uneasy feeling in my gut.

" Huh? You barely ate anything Onii-san." The oblivious Mika said while looking at Hanzo's plate.

" Hanzo, she's your responsibility while she's on the ship." I said ignoring whatever excuse Hanzo was telling her and heading out of the kitchen.