CH 142

Someone’s nervous steps walked up and down the admiral’s office. 

‘Compared to other galleons the Visha is undeniably the fastest, but with her deep hull she’s noticeably slower than smaller and lighter sloops…’

Sagastar began tearing his hair out at the thought of the Legardon’s sloops being already far ahead of the Visha. Finally, just as he considered transferring to one of those sloops, someone simultaneously knocked and burst into the admiral’s room.

The ill-mannered officer, who seemed to have lost his hat somewhere along the lines, shouted.

“…Commodore! A person has been spotted on one of the sandy islands east of our current location!..”

Roughly two hours later, Sagastar found himself on a small boat heading for said island.

Opposite from him was captain Long ordering the four oarsmen with fierce momentum. Long’s impatience almost tempted him to start whipping the officers. 

Without even having had the time to lower its sails, the sloop that had arrived first already began aiding the Admiral, inspecting the island and guarding the surroundings. The captain’s shout and the sound of oars breaking through the waves could be heard alternately. But even though everyone was in a hurry, the boat that was advancing seemed to go slower and slower.

Sagastar closed his eyes behind his interlocked hands.

‘No matter how much Sir Edgar likes to wander around, he’s rarely been in this much danger as he is now. When Nicola was still around he was incredibly reckless, but compared to those days he’s been more docile. Under Vice Admiral Nicola, Sir Edgar had the habit of vanishing and then reappearing out of nowhere rolling around deck covered in blood. On the contrary, in recent years, he looked mostly relaxed… bored even, as if he had already obtained the thing he had been pursuing with zeal.

Maybe that’s why I was so complacent, even though there was no reason to be. It’s entirely my fault. It’s unthinkable to even consider making excuses. Unlike Nicola, who had stayed up day and night in the Admiral’s room until the day he retired, I’m just a disgustingly indolent person.’

Old memories flooded his mind…

– – – – – – – – – flashback – – – – – – – – –

Shortly after putting a bullet in the pirate who had stabbed Edgar in the back, Sagastar passed out. Even Edgar, who suffered a minor injury, was unable to reawaken him. After Sagastar finally regained consciousness in the recovery room near the bow, he immediately grabbed the jacket of a passing navy surgeon.

“Admiral… What about the Admiral?”

Due to his fatigue, the navy surgeon couldn’t even muster a genuine expression and instead of listening to him, he randomly poured out answers to questions that a just recovered officer would normally ask.

“…Sir Viktor, you’ve awakened? …Thank goodness… The battle is over now… Of course, they’ve been sunk… It’s been half a day…”

“The Admiral…”

The navy surgeon finally accurately responded when he started a series of tests, such as lifting Sagastar’s eyelid one after the other.

“Ah, yes. That’s right. The admiral left you in such a good condition that I didn’t have to do much about you. I hate to say it, but he’s one of the best surgeons in our fleet. So, consider yourself very lucky, Sir Viktor. You would have lost even more blood than you had now. Normally, doctors wait in the infirmary for their patients to be transported, meaning it’s unusual to be treated right on deck. I was impressed when I first saw the sutures, it isn’t just any ordinary skill, haha.”

“…”

“I administered some medicine, so you’ll feel a bit dazed for a while… you won’t have much energy either due to the blood you lost. For the time being, you should rest in bed.”

“How is the admiral?”

“Ah. The Admiral. Well, he was walking all over the place holding onto his side before he got caught by the Vice-Admiral. Fortunately, I heard that the surgery was successful. It wasn’t a major operation, so he should have woken up by now… Uhh! Sir Viktor! You can’t get up…”

Ignoring the doctor who tried to stop him, Sagastar stood up from the bed. He then hurriedly climbed up to the deck with his crutches and left behind the man who kept shouting loudly. When he arrived at the admiral’s office, he saw another doctor just finishing Edgar’s treatment. With a bandage tied around his waist, Edgar muttered expressionlessly after seeing Sagastar.

“So, you’re alive.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate…”

“You’re free to leave now.”

Edgar chinned the doctor away. However, the doctor appeared to want to wrap some more around his patient’s body, but when Edgar made a face, he quickly left the private room in silence. As soon as the door closed, Sagastar bowed his head.

“How can I express my gratitude?”

The point wasn’t simply that Edgar had saved Sagastar’s life. It was an unrepayable favour that Edgar had endured the blade digging into his flesh just to finish stitching Sagastar’s blood vessels. With Isabelle and Leon’s faces fluttering at the feast of grace, Sagastar’s tears full of emotion and gratitude flowed down his cheeks once more. 

Ed sat on the bed and quietly watched Sagastar. He then threw on the shirt the doctor had given him and approached the officer.

“Lieutenant, you’re aware of this, right? You’re alive because of me.”

“Yes, Admiral. Thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t know what to say. Really…”

“That’s right. I’m glad you know. Seriously, I’ve seen a lot of people who have died from being reckless like you. It’s dangerous to pull a foreign object from your body without a doctor. Being alive despite having something lodged into you, means your vital organs are still functioning. When that happens, you need to think about how to preserve your breath. The only thing you will accomplish by removing the object from your body while your heart is still pumping, is dying from massive blood loss. Next time, try preserving your breath rather than fixing the affected side yourself, all right?”

“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind.”

“What did you say your name was? Sagastar…”

“Yes, Lieutenant Viktor Sagastar. I belong to…”

“That’s enough for an introduction. You’ll be under my direct command soon.”

“…What?”

“Well, let’s see, you obviously want to repay this great favour, don’t you?”

Sagastar lifted his forearm and solemnly wiped away his tears.

“Yes! Simply tell me, I’ll do anything!”

“That doctor just told me that my right kidney may no longer function properly in the long run… Do you know what I mean? I’ve suffered permanent damage trying to save you. I have no intention of using this as an excuse and forcing you into anything. I only need to know if you think you can handle it. Think about it carefully.”

“…”

Nowadays, Sagastar would’ve never believed such an obvious exaggeration, but at that time he was far more naïve. He recognized Edgar as someone who had made a revolutionary contribution and risen to a much higher position, despite being the same age. So, he could never imagine such a person committing anything less than correctional misconduct towards a subordinate officer. 

Sagastar turned as white as a sheet when he realised Edgar had suffered permanent organ damage because of him. Looking at Sagastar’s face with satisfaction, Edgar continued.

“Hmm, there are a few things that need to be taken care of…”

“Please! Please tell me. Leave anything to me!”

“Nicola’s going to kill me sooner or later.”

After responding resolutely, Sagastar questioned for a moment whether the ‘Nicola’ Edgar spoke of was the ‘Sir Nicola’ he knew.

“…Pardon?”

“I’ve seen that look in his eyes before, normally it wasn’t anything unusual as he’s probably already stabbed me hundreds of times in his head. However, this time I think he’s really going to kill me… his eyes look so… tired.”

“…”

“Anyway, seeing as you’re so eager, I think you’d be ideal as my deputy.”

“What are you talking about…”

“You have to protect me before Nicola murders me of course.”

Even through Sagastar’s tears, Edgar’s darkly smiling face was seen very clearly…

– – – – – – – end of flashback – – – – – – –

It was the same now. The admiral’s dishevelled face displayed on the sandy beach could be clearly seen this time as well.

Sitting on the boat, Sagastar tightened his grip on the hull he had unknowingly grabbed. His hips restlessly moved up and down in an attempt to look closer.

“Captain, what happened? Is he unconscious?”

“I-I’m not sure.”

The captain handed over the telescope. Looking through it was an useless action in more ways than one, not only were they about to set foot on the island also the fact that from his current spot Sagastar couldn’t do anything but watch, was negatively influencing his patience. The face seen from beyond the eyepiece was terribly miserable. Gasping for breath, Sagastar let go of the telescope and dropped it.

“Alive….”

‘Is he even alive?’ 

The unfinished sentence went down his throat with a gulp. Sagastar seemed to be frozen for a moment before he suddenly pushed off the boat and jumped into the sea.

“…Commodore!..”

“…Commodore!..”

Due to the swaying of the boat, the clearly embarrassed captain stumbled. Immediately after, the accompanying sailors threw their oars and followed their Commodore. Left alone, the captain was unsure whether to jump or not, but when he saw the back of the unstoppable Sagastar, he closed his eyes and moments later his feet sank into the shallow shore. 

“Sir Edgar!”

Sailors who came and went from the sandy beach all turned to Sagastar as he slithered through the sea like a water buffalo.

“Sir Edgar!”

Every time he took a long stride across the sand, his massive chest muscles twitched. The drenched uniform he wore to greet Ed flapped violently, and the medals and insignia on his shoulders and chest collided with each other. Sagastar’s howling face resembled that of a ferocious beast and the sound of his shouts filled the spaces around him…