North x Northwest

Hi!

We’re Pru and Formidable, the translators of this novel.
We’re glad to see that you’re giving this great story a chance and hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

To ensure a great reading experience, we wrote a small reading legend, in which we explain our different uses of punctuation marks.
That way you know exactly in which setting the sentences are meant to be read!

Also, at the end of this chapter, you will find a picture of a ship with its parts named.
The story takes place in a pirate setting, meaning there will be a lot of different pirate and navy terms used, who might be as unfamiliar to you as it was to us.
The picture will give you a quick overview of the terms that might pass by in the story.
And of course, let us know if parts of the story are still unclear to you, we’re happy to help!

Happy reading and we hope to see you in the comments !

Love,

romPOM and Formidable

– – – – –

Readers’ legend:

“Dialogue”

‘Thoughts’

[ Text or letters ]

“Fading of a sentences/dragging of words or a interruption…”

“…Mumbling/muttering or voices of a crowd…”

{ “Dialogue in the past or a memory” }

— flashback —

– Sound effects (sfx) –

Place/location next scene

*** End scene

Footnote1Footnote added by the original author

Footnote* Footnote added by the translator

Headnote Warning for chapter ahead

TN:Translator notes

– – – – – Border and end of chapter

“We’re under attack!”

The watchman’s cry ripped the sky.
With no time to take out the telescope, Lil lifted her head.

Smoking iron balls were flying through the air.

“Damn it! Get down!”

Lil fell onto the deck, pushing the sailor next to her.

– Boom! –

With a loud noise, the railing was torn off.
The rear deck, which was just two feet away, was also smashed.
Upon impact, Lil rolled side by side with her triangle-shaped hat that almost flew away by the blast.

A fire caused the whole deck to be covered in smoke.
Coughing, Lil pulled herself up by grabbing the wheel of the ship.

“Cesar!”

Due to firing back, the Bell Rock lost its balance and started to swing back and forth.
Lil called Cesar while grasping the remaining railing, but the upper deck between them was in complete chaos, her voice couldn’t reach him.

“Fuck!”

Lil made her way through the mess, ordering everyone she passed to take cover.
However, the sailors were too engrossed and instead of hiding as instructed, they just rushed by.
After repeating this a couple of times, Lil got annoyed and decided to measure the reload speed.

“I can make it.’”

Having made up her mind, she ran down the stairs of the stern1.
The helmsman, who’d caught the wheel, called the captain to stop her.
Yet Lil skilfully stepped on the upper deck, which was littered with split wood and broken ropes.

The cannon fire stopped, but the yells and screams from the sailors struck the eardrums just as loud.
Lil ran towards the bow2 of the ship, going past a few distracted sailors who were still pulling themselves together.
To get them to safety, she pushed a couple of them.

“You, you there, and you! Send the wounded down! It’ll soon be over, so clear the deck.
Get ready!”

After running so frantically, she finally reached Cesar.
Lil slapped the quartermaster’s shoulder who seemed to be busier than the captain herself.

“Cesar! Do I have to leave my seat?”

“Sorry.”

“My head got almost blown away by those 6-nwon cannons!”

“They must be backed by the navy.”

“What? Then is there a navy officer on board?”

“I don’t think so.”

In the meantime, the enemy’s ship opened fire again.
Therefore, even while standing next to her, the words Cesar was trying to say got lost in the outbreak.
Lil took out the long gun she was carrying on her back and shouted something at him.

“The world has changed! 6-nwon cannons are expensive!”

– Boom! –

“How did a tiny merchant ship get them?”

– Boom! –

Cesar muttered while the latest cannonball hit.

“…I can’t believe she thinks this Garni merchant ship is tiny…”

“There’s no navy, right?”

“No, and no other ship has been spotted nearby either.”

“Good.”

Lil raised her loaded gun and waited.
She focused her eyesight on the rudder3 of the enemy’s ship.
As the Bell Rock continued to ride the waves, the gun sight aiming at the rudder went up and down.
She took a deep breath, feeling the flow of the waves.
When the wave goes down, the muzzle points toward the sea, and when it goes up, it faces the stern of the hull4.
The rudder was right in the middle.

Her eye expanded and she reflexively pulled the trigger.

– Bang! –

Her body stirred because of the recoil.
Lil lowered the barrel and verified her target.
Wood splinters broke off and flew through the air.
The target was completely destroyed.
The rudder, which was attached to the stern like a tail to adjust its direction, was shattered, making the surface of the water scattere