The Developer Reborn As Archmage

Getting the boy off the island was surprisingly easy. It had to do with the optics. The villagers were deathly scared of any pirates. A pirate ship near the shore was enough to make them cower.

Master Lam took a boat with Sarka on his finger. Fominel stayed ready to intervene if help was needed, but to everyone’s relief and surprise, he returned with Lurim in less than ten minutes.

Master Lam’s story had worked wonders on the village elders. He had told them that he was captured by pirates and that they needed him to bring Lurim. To nobody’s surprise, the elders chose the village and their safety over the boy and handed him over right away.

Fominel steered the ship away right after they arrived, and they headed straight to the lighthouse island where the Desert Rose was.

Lurim was even more excited to see Darya than he was to see master Lam. He ran to her on his little legs and hugged her leg with all his might. She brought him to Nerima, who was waiting impatiently in the wardroom.

Bringing them back together felt even better than Darya thought. There was a river of tears and a blazing fast exchange of hand signs. Lurim remained glued to Nerima’s chest with his eyes closed as she tickled his scalp.

Darya and Seris almost became furniture as the three family members had their moment. Seris was in tears. For some reason, Sarka was making noises as well.

Why the heck is he crying with them?

Darya remained flat-faced, unable to decide on the right face to wear. She was never good at these things. She felt warm and cozy when looking at them, which is why she didn’t look away.

She snuck out with Seris when the merfolk family started moving again. She knew there was going to be a lot of gratitude, and she didn’t want to deal with it. She was good with one or two at a time, but three faces at once were over the limit.

They met with Fominel in the navigation room, leaving all the charged emotions behind. The man was smiling ear to ear.

“Thirty-five million!” he sang, looking at Darya. “We can buy cannons. We’re going to need them. Twenty canons!”

Seris let out a quiet gasp, nudging Darya on the side. Fominel was already obsessing over the ship.

“And a pirate banner, with a rose or something,” Darya said. “A skull with a rose stabbed on it, yes. Find someone who can draw.”

“Oh, not you too!” Seris said, dismally.

“You’re serious about piracy, princess?” Fominel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean, taking whatever we want is a good deal, as long as we take from hoarders like that orc. Pays better than killing Dreagans or whatever we were doing before.”

“That wasn’t a paid contract,” Seris sighed. “That was a Goliante Council call to war for all mages against Dreagans. You accepted it in a hurry because you wanted to escape the marriage proposal.”

“Ah, then we have to fund our little hobbies like saving the world somehow,” Darya said. “Piracy it is!”

Fominel and Seris laughed.

They watched the night ocean through the window. The ship swayed and creaked all the way to the lighthouse island, which appeared over the horizon.

“Have to get rid of this ship,” Fominel said as they neared the island.

“Oh yes, what did you do with the pirates?” Darya asked, almost not wanting a detailed answer.

“Stuffed them in the third deck. I figured I had to sink the ship anyway.”

“Th-there are dead bodies under us right now?!” Seris asked shakily.

“Don’t worry. They won’t stink for another day or two,” Fominel said casually.

That’s not the problem!

“How do we get rid of this thing?” Darya asked, deciding to focus on something other than being haunted by dead pirates. “Wouldn’t the island people get in trouble with the RCMF?”

“Well, they weren’t even supposed to be this far out. This is two leagues from their line. They’ll sweep it under the rug, but yes, the villagers may get in trouble if they visit again.”

“I’m guessing they can find out what happened to their ship? with a Seer or something?”

“Ships go missing all the time. They wouldn’t spend money to find them if they weren’t important enough,” Fominel laughed.

“How do we get rid of this then?” Seris asked, stomping lightly on the wooden floor. She seemed spooked by the dead pirates.

“Not that hard. We get off after setting the course towards the center of the crescent. No one’s going there. I can cut a hole in the hull to make it easier to sink.”

“Good plan,” Darya said, nodding along. “Funny you say no one’s going there when we most certainly have to.”

Fominel grinned. “Not without twenty cannons.”

Following the lighthouse, they reached the far side of the island, where the Desert Rose was hidden.

Everyone and everything was loaded into two old boats. They let Fominel send the ship off. He punctured it across with his manablade before flying to the island on his own.

Lurim and Nerima decided this was a good time to swim, and she taught her brother how to push a boat, although with his little legs, it was barely better than a paddle.

They reached the Desert Rose as Fominel was pulling the anchor. Darya let out a sigh of relief after climbing the rope ladder. She was finally home.

Lurim ran around on the weather deck, inspecting everything with great interest.

“This ship is beautiful!” Nerima exclaimed when she finally crawled onto the deck. “I want to see it in the daytime!”

“Welcome aboard; this is my expensive pirate ship,” Darya said, gesturing at everything around. Lurim dashed from somewhere and clung to her leg.

“H-he wanted to say thank you,” Nerima explained. “And he likes you and Lady Seris a lot.”

Darya picked him up like a rag doll. His eyes were glowing in the dark, that luminous blue of the ocean swirling in his irises. She hadn’t thought three-year-olds were conscious enough to feel gratitude. Lurim wrapped his tiny arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder.

Do I just have a merfolk son now?

Master Lam extended his hand with the soulstone ring. “Magus Sarka and Lurim informed me of your many adventures, princess. I’m grateful you protected the boy from pirates on that island. It’s my fault he felt the need to challenge them on his own.”

He was talking about Lurim getting his cheek sliced while trying to fight two pirates with a wooden sword. “Ah yes, that’s where it started,” Darya said. “For a toddler, he’s too crazy.”

Nerima chuckled. “He’s always been that way. It’s really hard to keep him in one place. If he’s angry, he gets really angry. You can’t tell because he’s not making a lot of noise about it.”

Makes sense. He must’ve just plotted things his own way after they took his sister.

It wasn’t too shabby for a three-year-old merfolk heir to the throne.

“Oh, wait, there’s something I need to check,” Darya said, hurrying to the living room. Seris and Fominel had already gone inside with the treasure and other loot.

She was only three steps inside when Seris came up with a pillow, her face alight with a faint glow. She placed it on the living room table gently.

Darya’s heart fluttered when she met her pet again. The baby wisp was sound asleep. She placed Lurim on a chair and touched the wisp gently. It let out a faint squeak and unfurled all four limbs. The oversized head moved mid-air like a flame.

“Oh my, is he taller now?” Darya asked, inspecting Enta as closely as possible.

“Looks the same to me,” Seris said with a smile. “Look at your face. You missed him, huh!”

“Ugh, too bad he wasn't strong enough to take with me!” Darya was all too eager for Enta to grow. She was actually seeing him at least a few centimeters larger.

No way he grew that fast. It’s only been days. I’m coping.

“Eek!” Enta muttered, his tiny mouth opening in a smile.

“How have you been, little bean!” Darya picked him up, feeling the warmth of mana emanating from his skin. She caressed the baby wisp’s soft body.

Lurim leaned over the table with stars in his eyes. He was doing a bunch of hand signs that Darya didn’t need an interpreter for. The boy was captivated by the baby wisp.

Darya put Enta on the table before him. Lurim’s luminous eyes were glowing with excitement.

“Careful, alright.” Darya patted Lurim’s head. The boy nodded eagerly. He set his eyes back on him.

“Enta!” the baby wisp squeaked, walking closer to Lurim. He raised his tiny arm and reached towards Lurim’s nose.

What? Do they have some connection?

Lurim met Enta’s gesture halfway with his tiny finger.

“Whoa, do they have mana transference?” Seris exclaimed.

“Didn’t Nerima say Lurim can talk to fish or something?” 

“But this is a wisp?” Seris asked, raising an eyebrow. “Unless it’s not just fish he can talk to?”

Darya looked at the merfolk boy. There could certainly be more to the story.

Nerima and master Lam arrived in the living room. They had been appreciating the ship along the way. Nerima’s head swiveled towards the mana wisp as soon as she entered. “Ah, how cute!” she said, eagerly leaning on the table.

Enta turned to her as well, but their interaction was brief, although she seemed to know how to handle a wisp better than Darya did. 

“What’s with you guys and mana wisps?” Darya asked curiously.

“Oh, I used to have a lot of wisps!” Nerima said, gently running her finger over Enta’s big forehead. “Not this type, though. This is a dragon one. They’re very rare, and even rarer for us. I had water types.”

“This brings me back to the days when we were with Enrarem!” master Lam said, peeking from above. “We had reefs full of wisps all around us where we lived.”

“Sounds like a nice place to have a house,” Darya said with a smile.

“If you can tolerate living with the Enarem, that is,” Master Lam said with a nod.

“All right, it’s time for all the girls to bathe,” Seris announced with a clap. “I’m itching to wash everything off me.”

Darya handed Enta to Seris. “You should have him restore mana. Everyone could use another round of healing.”

Seris nodded in agreement and let Enta hover above her shoulder. Darya picked up Lurim. He wasn’t old enough to count as a man, and he didn’t look clean even after his swim in the ocean.

Scaly parts look like he needs a brushing or something.

“Come, Nerima. You need to get out of that stupid dress I put you in,” Darya said, following Seris.

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