Inside the newspaper was a folded bounty poster featuring a young man in a straw hat with a wide smile. Bill frowned but didn't give it much thought; he was more annoyed that it wasn't the "South Blue Times."
Lifting weights, Bill made his way to the main deck, raising a 500-kilogram dumbbell at different angles. He placed the newspaper on the table, securing it with a paperweight, and looked around.
Now that they weren't towing a ship and Fia wasn't preparing two meals a day for fifty people, the only sound was the hammering coming from the medical bay, where Rans was making all the desired modifications for Miyagi.
Mink settled in his office, and Rans was building him a small space for a bed and chest.
Now Miyagi was officially part of the Science Division with the rank of warrant officer, corresponding to his role as the chief physician of the supply department. His exact title was "Surgeon Officer," which pleased the goat greatly when he first heard it.
Sasha thoroughly tested his knowledge, and Miyagi responded so confidently that it ultimately convinced Bill to make him an offer.
Bill wondered if he had rushed the appointment, given the limited number of ranks he could assign without higher approval. But he decided that if Miyagi proved incompetent, he could easily demote him.
With such a small crew, Bill was confident he would quickly notice if Miyagi turned out to be just a theorist. A good sign was that Miyagi immediately requested a variety of medical and botanical texts, which were due to arrive soon.
Of course, he wasn't granted access to the Science Division's secret technologies, but all unclassified knowledge was available.
That suited him just fine, and as Bill strolled along the deck, he looked out at the open horizon.
The Kingdom of Torino was very close to the Calm Belt, and over the next few days, the wind began to die down.
There was no clear boundary where the Calm Belt began, but the sign was when the waves completely ceased—then it was clear that the ship had entered it.
With the sails taken down, the "Border Breaker" glided over the calm water thanks to its sea stone hull. There was not the slightest movement around, and it seemed as if the ship was sailing across a painted ocean.
The journey through the Calm Belt didn't take long, but it was a few quiet days.
Everyone was too tense to make noise, so Bill mostly focused on projects for his lab and a few gadgets for the ship. Rans, hanging from a rope, was practicing the Moon Step, while Ricky and Sasha were slowly honing their fencing techniques. Fia was organizing a catalog of recipes, and Miyagi mostly slept.
During the day, the crew played cards, speaking in whispers, even though there was no evidence that the Sea Kings reacted to noise.
Maybe it was just a psychological state caused by the still surroundings, but regardless, everyone on board was relieved when waves reappeared on the tenth morning.
When it became clear that they had exited the Calm Belt, Fia fired up the grill, and they had a real party. Bill spent most of his time with Rans and Miyagi. Even on an almost empty ship, Rans always found something to do, and for Miyagi, everything was "magnificent!" and "wonderful!"
Fia made the last citrus dessert, and in the midst of their lunch, Sasha noticed an unknown pirate flag on the horizon.
It was lunchtime, and given the distance, the small crew of Sailors didn't show much concern—they calmly finished their meal and occasionally adjusted the course.
Thanks to the speed of the Border Breaker, it took them only a few hours to approach the small pirate vessel.
Bill ordered preparations for an attack. This time, Sasha accompanied him, leaving Ricky at the helm and Miyagi as a lookout. Rans and Fia remained on deck to act as needed.
But all these precautions proved unnecessary—Bill and Sasha struck the pirates like a hurricane.
After the pirates didn't surrender immediately, Sasha cleared the deck while Bill moved like a raging torrent, taking down every pirate he encountered.
He mainly used his battle hammer instead of his fists. Although he sometimes used the bone spikes on his fists, his aim was not to kill the pirates directly.
By the time Rans and Fia threw grappling hooks and connected the two ships, not a single pirate was left standing.
This time, the Sailors were somewhat better at handling the pirates, and having a real doctor certainly helped.
Out of sixty pirates, thirty-five had sword wounds, while the rest had broken or bruised bones.
After the prisoners were transferred to the cell on the "Frontier Breakthrough," Bill, Ricky, and Sasha went aboard the pirate ship to deal with the spoils. The ship was in worse condition than Forker's, which wasn't surprising given the seas it sailed.