NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

After telling the Black Pearl's location, the pirates immediately dove underwater to search for the treasure. When the pirates were all underwater, Wolf chanted a magic circle. He summoned a stone resting on the ocean floor, creating an illusion of some sort. Despite being buried in the deep ocean, my system described the rock as a "Black Pearl". It was the prize that the pirates talked about.

Ryoshi rested his head on his extended palm and shook it at each side. Wolf also got him surprised by these peculiar shenanigans, despite being his best friend.

"How come you could create such stones when you literally said before these were rare materials?" I asked, while pointing out the Black Pearl below us.

"I did?" Wolf replied, as if he already forgot the lines he mentioned earlier. "Did I say that? I don't know. Or did I know it?"

"Quit it with those elementary riddles, Wolf. Why the hell did you even keep it a secret from me? Those Black Pearls you claimed as treasure were-."

Before Ryoshi could even finish his sentence, Wolf placed his finger in front of his mouth. "Shh. Don't let the pirates know, or else they'd kill us."

After saying his fill, Wolf winked at us and watched the pirates swim underwater, despite the pressure they felt. It took those pirates a few minutes before rising from the ocean, bringing with them the Black Pearl they worked hard dancing underwater.

"We finally got it!" screamed all the pirates as soon as they reached the deck.

"I know, mateys! Just as I promised, I know all the locations of these Black Pearl you seek! There are also things you've yet known if you team up with me," Wolf continued, while chuckling up a storm.

All those pirates bought his story and resumed partying to themselves as if there was no tomorrow. They even drowned themselves with the ale they had, claiming that they found the treasure.

Wolf stole a glance in Ryoshi and my direction, motioning his hands to zip the information from the pirates. The two of us had no other choice but to go with the flow, considering that would finish the conflict.

"That pesky Okami. I'm intelligent, but he's more nuts than I am!" claimed Ryoshi.

But I did not want to even stay near him. So I left his side and went to Match, ranting everything I felt about this situation.

"I felt like Wolf cheated me, you know!? After all this time, I believed all of his stories. And guess what! It was all just a detailed lie!"

Those were the words I narrated to Match. The little mage girl listened to every word I mentioned, while nodding her head.

"I don't care! As long as we finish the topic, everything's good!" Match replied, while agreeing to her thoughts.

"You're okay with this?"

"Yeah! Wolf laid out the plan perfectly! As soon as I saw the Black Pearl, I knew it was just made of stone!"

"Then why didn't you tell us anything?" I asked. "You could have at least told us something, Match! Or even to me! You could have told me about it!"

"You didn't ask. And there was no point in ruining the fun. I don't want to make an enemy out of the pirates again. I mean, look at them, Red! They're having so much fun with that…. stone."

It was what Match had explained. Those pirates fought us and each other for that rock without powers. Fortunately, none of them had a system. They cannot check if that stone had value, compared to the real rocks found in the ocean.

Those pirates had no opportunities to ask anyone, since the soldiers nearly genocide every NPC in this world. It was all up to us to fend them off, and we'd need these pirate's help to stop them.

"So, Wolf, are you going to give us as many Black Pearls as we want as long as we help you fight…. an army?" Captain Hook asked, while gazing at Wolf's eyes.

"Yes. But have all the help that we could get from the dark elves and other NP…. I mean, warriors and adventurers," Wolf replied, while scratching his face. "Have you ever noticed something different around the islands lately?"

"We haven't! What's happening around these islands, anyway? We travelled the entire sea and witnessed nothing but these peaceful waves!" screamed another pirate, who raised his mug and chugged it all down to his throat.

The other pirates chanted the same thing, but with different voices and sounds. The next thing we knew, most pirates stomped their feet, claiming that they ventured into the blue ocean. Since their pride was on the line, none of them wanted to admit defeat.

All but one pirate shook his head upon hearing that question.

"I saw one when we raided our last village," claimed a skinny man at the back of the pack.

The pirates moved to the side, giving some space from the man speaking to us. All of our eyes widened as we listened to the story of this little pirate.

"Those people wore different clothes and wielded peculiar guns! We were just stealing the gold from the village when this group of adventurers appeared. And when our boat left the village, these soldiers unleashed something that annihilated the town," the boy continued, while motioning his hands to add more tension to his story.

All the pirates bought the narration with their eyes glued on the young lad. Their pride sank deeper than the stone got thrown off to the shore. After a few seconds, I finally broke the silence.

"The kid saw it was not a joke. All those things that this pirate mentioned were all true to the flesh! The gods of this world wanted us dead! And we're the remaining hope that this world has! And we can't just fight them without numbers, right?!" Wolf shouted, while raising his mug of ale. "Regardless of our enemies, we shall fight them using our friendship and experiences! If there was one thing I knew, pirates were the fiercest people among other adventurers when voyaging on a ship!"

The pirates seconded Wolf's speech and raised their mugs once again. Within a few minutes, those pirates drank all of their alcohol and partied all night long. Since these players cannot get drunk, they offered the pirates to take the wheel.

"What a dishonest speech, Okami! I've never seen you lie like that, except the time when you played without asking Himari's permission," Ryoshi said, while shaking his head.

"Cut me some slack, Ryoshi. That memory is all gone to its very existence! And all of this is for the benefit of our team," Wolf confessed, as he stared at the crowd of pirates. "But before that, one of them is a traitor. That kid who told the story of the soldiers…. He's not a pirate."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Wolf's accusation got my interest. Since I did not know how he came up with that idea, his sentence surprised me.

"Can you guys recall how pirates talk with each other? They add ye, yer, and some weird words, right?" Wolf asked. "Well, that kid gave us the ticket. I've never known that the game developers added a pirate class in this game before. Maybe it's an Easter egg that I'm not aware of."

"A traitor…. hmm. Now that I think about it, that's some sick observation skills you got there, Okami…. But the question is...how are we going to take him out? And what if you're wrong? Those pirates won't back down without a fight, Okami."

"I've already made a counterplan for that. Let me send Kouran a message, and she'd be on her way…. eventually," Wolf said, while fiddling with his system. "As soon as she meets with the pirates, I will have her monitor the traitor and use their knowledge against them."

"However, we're talking about Warner Asimov here, who is by no means an idiot. So that's where you, Ryoshi, would join in," Wolf continued, while pointing his forefinger at him.

"Why do you have to give me those responsibilities when I totally hate it!" Ryoshi retorted

"Because you're the smartest person around here! If you let Red or me take it, we'll all doom to fail," Wolf said.

"Hey! I am not an idiot! I started this war and used every resource that I could to create this war!" I replied, while gritting my teeth.

"Yes. And look at where it brought you," Wolf answered, glaring at Red's eyes. "Anyway, can you think of something to use that spy while proceeding with the plan, Red? I am all ears for you."

As soon as Wolf said that, my brain froze. Although I was not a brainless NPC, I did not have the mind of Ryoshi. He had been the brain of these schemes. If there was one person capable of doing this job, it had to be Ryoshi.

"Fine….. But I still plan on killing him," I said, while sending daggers at the bow and arrow man.