Can You Not... Kill them?

In a short time, the big ship with the black flag caught up and intercepted the old man's ship. And without any warning, the man with the dreadlocks just jumped into the dilapidated ship followed by several of his crew.

"Hoo… Did my little shot hurt him?" He sneered while looking at Aria who was sitting beside Rei, who seemed to have fainted with a cloth tied around his head. "He's a noble, isn't he?"

Aria didn't look scared, but she didn't answer anything at all. So finally the captain had to interrupt. "Oh, Mr. Pirate, please let us go. There is absolutely nothing on this ship. I only have a few gold coins that noble had just given--"

Without listening to it any further, the pirate immediately kicked the old man and took the money bag. "Well, even if it's just trash, there should be at least some items to sell." Replied the pirate who then beckoned on crew to look after the captain and the others while the rest started taking all they could from that ship.

"Boss, they have wine!" Said one of them happily.

"Plus 2 women. We are very lucky today!" The others replied laughing. "Or, well, one and a half." He added while laughing mockingly at Feny.

Then the dreadlocked man approached Aria and pointed his sword at her neck. "And you also seem to be a magician. Are you his servant or something?" He asked, but Aria did not answer.

"Ha! Sure, sure! Instead of fighting against me alone--which is definitely useless, it's better if you just stay on the floor, like most women. I like a woman who knows her place."

"..." Having nothing to do because the swords were pointed at their necks, Aria and the father-daughter pair could only stay silent while their ship was robbed.

It was only after transferring all the trash onto their own ship that one of the crew spoke again. "Boss, what are we going to do with them?"

"Hm, throw the old man and the kid to the sea. And that noble too." He ordered. Only then did he pull Aria to her feet by force. "Let's just take the pretty one." He said which was followed by the laughter of all the crew.

"Wait, please. At least let Feny go too!" Aria replied. "She's like my little sister. Please."

But the pirate captain brandished his sword again. "Are you trying to trick me? I saw you and that noble tried to leave them."

"That's because he forced me to go with him even though I didn't want to!" She explained. "Please. Not Feny!" She said again. The pirate still looked doubtful, but he seemed to be starting to believe her a bit.

'Well, the kid doesn't seem like a wizard, so it shouldn't matter, right? I could make her mop or something…' He thought.

Although when he started to pull Feny, he immediately moved his sword to Feny's neck. "But if you dare to mess around, I'll cut her throat right away." He threatened Aria.

"...Then is it okay if I'm the one messing things up?" There was a low voice from the kid who was still clutched.

"Ha? Can a brat like you even--Gah?!"

With the dagger she had hidden in her pants, Feny managed to stab the dreadlocked man's stomach.

"What--Damn it!" The dreadlocked man immediately tried to swing his sword at Feny. But because his handle was trembling, Feny easily avoided it. Even when he attempted to throw a fireball at her, his magic also wouldn't come out the way he wanted it to.

Faintly but surely, he could tell the magic in his body was starting to disappear. "What is…"

"You stupids! Don't just stand there! Kill them all!" He shouted again at his crew. But neither of them seemed to move a single step. "What are you doing? Quickly kill them!" He repeated

"…B-Boss, I can't move my body!" Said one of them.

"What…?" It took a while, but finally the pirates realized there was a strange thing that's happening on the floor. Their shadows to be more precise, seemed to be faintly connected to Aria's.

'That woman!'

"Ha!" Exclaimed the old man who happily hit the pirates one by one who were nearby. Without them being able to move, he no longer felt scared to go against them.

Though it didn't last long because Aria who looked depressed ended up collapsing onto the floor.

Aria didn't have too much trouble when she rushed to study the shadow magic earlier. She even tried it on Rei. But holding back nearly 20 people at once--who were struggling with all their might--was really taxing on both her magic and her body, even though the sun was still shining brightly above. She barely lasted for several seconds!

Thump! Bang! But before the pirates could move as they pleased, suddenly a large wooden block flew into a rage and hit their heads. Turned out it was Rei's doing. Even Feny, who didn't quite know how to use her new magic yet, managed to grab all their swords and throw them into the sea.

"You! You were pretending to faint?!" Grumbled the pirate.

"Of course. Do you think this small scratch could knock me out?" He replied while helping Aria to sit leaning on one of the boxes. She didn't faint, but her face turned pale again like last night. Even her hands were red as if someone had just squeezed them with all their might.

"Good job. Now leave the rest to me." Rei said softly.

But Aria held his hand. "B-But, can you not… Kill them?"

Rei was silent for a moment, but it turned out that his smile widened with happiness. "Of course, I can. After all, they're more useful alive."