CH 5: The Pollo pirates
It was an early morning. The sun was rising, and not knowing in which direction to head for information, the newly named Overlord Ainz ooal Gown, or short "Ainz," had decided to simply use a fly spell and fly towards the West, away from the sun. He was not worried about losing too much mana; it regenerated nearly as quickly as he lost it, and he could always just take a break underneath the ocean given the fact that he could now just chill underwater. Not that he was particularly keen to do so, but an emergency was an emergency. In the end, he probably wouldn't need to do so anyway.
He was in a jovial mood. The ability to fly was something humans could only dream of, yet here he was soaring through the sky. He had been a bit disappointed by the fact that he was seemingly incapable of feeling strong emotions. But no matter how strong his [emotional suppression] was, it did not fully stop him from feeling joy. It seemed to him like a powerful limiter, capable of suppressing what he judged to be around 85% of whatever he was feeling. Whether that number was accurate or not was of no importance to him. He was too busy simply enjoying his high-speed voyage.
He had already been flying for hours now, and time seemed to be nearing noon. The thrill of the flight had worn off, and he was starting to get worried. He had flown so long and still had not encountered an island. He had not bothered to [Boost] [Fly] for speed, not wanting to waste mana in case of future confrontation, but he had grown mentally tired of watching out for islands without a break. He stopped midair, thinking about whether he should try to change directions, when he noticed it. A ship. There was no hesitation with his tiredness seemingly evaporated into nothingness as he simply sped towards the ship, excited to finally meet the inhabitants of the world. He did note the strange fashion of the ship. It seemed modeled after the ancient pirate ships, which many games had tried to recreate. Yggdrasil itself had access to the sea and therefore a few ships as magic items. But they were not very useful outside of special events involving the sea, and no one really bothered to explore their options, with the exception of a few people who had bad collectors' habits, or a special interest in the Sea.
He stopped at a distance to observe. No matter how excited he was, he did not want to risk imaginary Punitto Moe's wrath. He noted that the ship wasn't any model from Yggdrasil. The ships there hadn't been customizable, and the ship in front of him did not fit anything he had ever seen in Yggdrasil's Item Shop. It was a classic ship made out of wood. Not very big in size, but still enough to hold a respectable 40 to 60 people. He could not see the people due to the distance, but he could see their flag and their figurehead.
He cringed at the sight.
The flag bore a chicken.
A chicken with an eyepatch, bearing a pirate hat and a cutlass sword in its beak.
Ainz took a moment to stare at it before shifting his attention to the figurehead... and staring at it as pointedly as at the flag.
It was another Chicken.
With a pirate hat. Its beak open, as it seemed to...cluck... towards the sky.
Its wings spread in a majestic way....
One eye bigger than the other....
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"It looks retarded."
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Meanwhile on the ship, unaware of the harsh critique of the terrifying undead, a celebration was going on in full swing. Rough-looking pirates with scars and forgettable faces were making a toast towards their captain and burying themselves in mountains of food. Every single one of them had the same hairstyle. A red mohawk fashioned into what was known as a cockscomb. (Yes, it really is called cockscomb.)
The food that was being served consisted mostly of meat, bread, and very few vegetables, yet not a single piece of chicken had been served. It was a strict rule made by their captain, after all. Chicken was never to be harmed.
Captain Ken'O'tucky was sitting at the head of the table, drinking what he considered quality wine, taken from the personal office of the mayor, whose town they had last raided. They had taken a few prisoners, for both self-satisfaction and to sell them to... anyone willing. A smirk tugged on his lips. He was going to let his men have some fun before selling them to a noble, no, maybe even a celestial dragon. He would be rich if any of his merchandise aroused the interests of one of those moneybags. That thought alone improved his mood even more, as he broke out in laughter.
"Boooookbookbokbokbokbok!
Come on, men! There is more than enough for everyone! We will leave a little bit for the merchandise! Well-fed merchandise means more money, and more money means more grain! Boooookbokbokbokbokbokbok!"
The mood on the ship improved a lot more as his men heard of their captain's foresight, and the festivities quickly intensified, with more laughter and more food appearing at the table.
"CAPTAIN! A FIGURE SIGHTED ON BOARDSIDE !!! (right side of the ship)"
The jovial mood was quickly interrupted by that exclamation.
Captain Ken O'Tucky immediately got up in a rage.
"Who DARES interrupt my feeding time?"
The crew visibly recoiled at his anger before letting nervous but bloodthirsty grins appear on their faces. They knew that whoever had incurred the wrath of their captain would wish they never messed with the Pollo Pirates. Their captain had a bounty of 9,000,000 bellies after all. They had raided countless villages and even sucessfully attacked a marine outpost, thanks to their captain's powerful Zoan Devil Fruit.
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Ainz had thought long and hard on how to introduce himself to the merchants on the ship. They obviously had dealt with chickens on the ship, given the sheer amount of care that the chickens seemed to receive. He noticed that all of them were seasoned sailors, their tanned skin pointing to exposure to sunlight, and their scars most likely stemming from mishaps when cutting a rope. Ainz did not know much about sailing, but it seemed logical to him for accidents like those to happen at sea. Deciding to introduce himself to them and to try to perhaps buy some information about where he was, he quickly equipped a pair of gloves, giving him a boost of defense and, more importantly, hiding his skeletal hands. He closed the front of his robe as well, hiding his ribcage, and equipped a red mask to cover his face.
"Alright, I'm fully covered. Time to use my marketing abilities to negotiate a fair price for information...about the world... and the chickens..."
[Dimensional Move]
"Greetings, honorable merchants. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, and I have come to bargain."
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The pollo Pirates are going to have a bone to peck with Ainz....