Rogue Villain-Chapter 186: Fish Guts

Ackster woke up to the gentle sway of the waves gently rocking the ship, occasionally crashing against the hull.

’Did I make it back to the ship?’

Ackster had inevitably passed out during his attempt at escaping the crashing temple and the cliffs it dragged down with it. But he had at least made it back to his ship.

’Footsteps?’

No, it wasn’t his ship. He hadn’t noticed it when he was just coming out of a sleepy daze. But his mind rapidly cleared up, and Ackster noticed that the deck he was using as a bed was much larger than the boat he had bought in Temir.

Ackster also heard and sensed multiple other people around him. The tapping wasn’t just the lapping of waves against hard wood.

’Somebody fished me up. I hope I wasn’t out too long or drifted too far.’

Ackster had all his essentials and then some in his inventory. But he was worried about Mio. He was also a little worried about meeting other people since he had hoped to disappear before disguising himself and taking a roundabout way back to land and getting back in contact with Wilma.

People, regardless of who they were, could spread awareness of his existence and direction. Ackster had started to realize it was unlikely The Hero was tracking him.

But the Guild managed to keep track of him somehow, so he kept his paranoia dialed up.

Before opening his eyes and revealing his awakening, Ackster activated Last Stand to get his overflowing vitality under control. He still couldn’t sense it, but he had a feeling, based on how he felt after his latest stunt, that his life force had surged slightly. So, he pushed Last Stand one notch further than last time.

’Doesn’t seem like there’s anyone strong aboard.’

From what Ackster had gathered, beasts and monsters could innately sense his vitality. But when it came to people, it was first when they started getting strong around A-rank and above they could begin to detect his vitality. Most likely, unless they had certain skills or heightened senses, it would take most adventures reaching S-rank to sense his vitality.

And since he was left lying on the deck without as much as a rope to constrict him, nor anyone watching him with a gaze deeper than one of curiosity, it didn’t seem like anyone had noticed Ackster’s leaking vitality.

"Oh, hey! Look. The mermaid’s waking up."

A young sailor, taking a break from mopping the deck, called out to his nearby companions when he saw Ackster open his eyes, rub his head, and sit up.

Ackster didn’t suffer any lasting damage, but it didn’t hurt to pretend to be weak and shipwrecked. There wasn’t much he could do about his naturally healthy and nourished appearance, though.

"What happened?"

Since the young sailor was the first to speak and notice him waking up, Ackster turned to him to get some information.

"You tell us, mate. We just found you drifting around like a dead fish a while back. Man, you look fine, but you’re clothes are a complete mess!"

Ackster looked down at the sailor’s mention of his clothes. He only had rags that were barely enough to cover the bare minimum, and beneath them, a chiseled, intact body.

"Ha. I guess that’s what I get for not listening when they said the sea is not for partying."

"Partying...?"

"Yeah. Say, you haven’t seen any other ships around here, have you?"

The other sailors didn’t leave their posts, but they had gotten significantly less effective as they focused more on Ackster’s and the young-looking sailor’s conversation.

Ackster’s conversation partner hesitantly shook his head while thinking as he walked over to hand Ackster a water pouch.

"...No, no ships. But, ah! There was this tiny skiff not too far from where we found you, actually."

"I would say it’s a rather distinguished, one-man sailboat."

"It’s a skiff."

"Okay. You don’t think you can bring me back to it?"

The sailor shook his head.

"No way, man. We have a route and a schedule to follow, and it’s a mess to turn around a ship this large unless you’ve got the right wind, which we don’t. And that’s not to mention getting the captain to agree to it."

"I see."

"Besides, we’ve already looted it."

"Looted it?"

"Yeah."

The sailor smiled.

"Unmanned vessels are fair game, you know? They’re also too easy to pass up. It was a shame it was completely empty—"

The sailor halted as he remembered something.

"Almost completely empty."

"That’s a shame."

Ackster’s reaction was the opposite of what the sailor had expected, as the former stood up without any signs of weakness. The sailor’s hints weren’t exactly subtle, and it was clear that Ackster had picked up on what he meant: they were pirates.

The sailor’s expression, which had gotten cocky and tinged with gloating, stiffened when Ackster seemed to get angry or maybe irritated instead of frightened.

"What did you do with the slime?"

Ackster glared at the sailor, who, embarrassed at getting scared, puffed up his posture.

"What’s it to you?"

"Tell me what you did to the slime."

Ackster’s gaze darkened as he slowly, menacingly walked closer to the sailor.

It hadn’t been as prominent before when Ackster sat down. But he towered above the sailor. The sailor wasn’t shorter than average, and he was as fit as one could expect from someone working hard on a ship for a living.

However, he was like a twig compared to Ackster, and he felt like an ant in front of a mountain as Ackster got closer.

"Tell me."

"F-fuck, man! It’s just a slime!"

"So, why aren’t you telling me what you did with it?"

"W-we tossed it in the water! Man, it’s just a slime!"

"Turn around."

"I just told you. We can’t!"

Ackster was right in front of the sailor, breathing down on the top of his head.

"You’re not listening to me, shit-nugget. If you don’t turn this piece of driftwood around, I’ll tie you up, dunk you in fish guts, and toss you overboard."

"You can’t do that!"

The sailor looked around at his crewmates, asking for help with his eyes.

"Sure about that?"

Ackster’s eyes were cold as he grabbed the blond sailor’s throat.