Chapter 14
The Pirate King swiftly drove the navy away.
However, even as Magellan witnessed this, he could not feel at ease.
From their first encounter, Magellan and the Pirate King were entangled in a bad relationship, having attacked one of his subordinates.
Even if it had been a mistake, there was no reason for the Pirate King to see them in a favorable light.
Driving away the navy wasn’t to save them, but rather, a natural consequence of the inherent hostility between pirates and the navy.
Above all, the Pirate King was infamous for showing no mercy to his enemies.
Though they had already faced punishment, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Pirate King crushed them like bugs, having once marked them as enemies.
Yet…
Even knowing all of this…
Even knowing how foolish it was to hope for mercy…
At that moment, Magellan had no choice but to plead.
“Please, O Pirate King! I don’t care what happens to me… Just, please, save this woman… Save Elkana!”
Kneeling and shedding tears, Magellan begged.
His pride and everything else no longer mattered.
He desired only one thing:
To save the one precious person he had left…
The woman whose breath was now fading away.
Desperately pleading, Magellan heard the Pirate King’s voice—a voice cold as steel, commanding, and indifferent.
“How did it come to this?”
“! Th-That’s…”
Time was of the essence, yet this question was his lifeline.
Depending on his answer, the fate of the woman he loved could change.
Thus, Magellan immediately recounted everything that had happened.
The sudden massacre order issued by Duke Oaklean upon their return.
How his subordinates had been annihilated, and even Elkana, the sole survivor, was gravely wounded and dying.
While the account was truthful overall, Magellan added emotional embellishments to try and sway the Pirate King.
“And… And Duke Oaklean said… If anyone displeased him, even the Pirate King himself, he would have their head mounted in the square…”
“…Did he now? He said that…”
The Pirate King showed no change in expression, but there was an unsettling air about him.
After quickly recounting the situation, Magellan once again bowed his head and pleaded with all his might.
“Please… I beg you. If you could show mercy just this once… I will repay the favor no matter what it takes. My life, my everything—I will give it all to you. So please… Please save my comrade.”
“…”
The Pirate King remained silent.
Though brief, the moment felt like an eternity to Magellan, who dared not even breathe, trembling with tension and desperation.
Hoping, praying, that his words had moved the Pirate King’s heart…
And then.
“Remine!”
The Pirate King’s commanding voice boomed.
“You called?”
A reply came, soft and precise, yet clear amidst the reverberating power of his voice.
From the Pirate King’s warship, someone leaped gracefully onto their deck.
A woman in a black uniform, with black hair and green eyes of striking beauty.
Magellan recognized her instantly from wanted posters.
She was the second-in-command of the Pirate King’s fleet.
Remine Migdal.
The Pirate King gave her a calm order.
“There’s an injured person. Heal them.”
“!”
Words that brought hope to the despair-filled Magellan.
“As you command.”
Remine answered with a tone laced with slight annoyance.
Yet despite her demeanor, her hands began to glow with a gentle green aura.
This was no ordinary magic.
It was the divine power used by holy knights and clerics.
A restorative force often referred to as Aura.
The light enveloped Elkana’s body.
And then…
“Haa…”
As the healing power imbued with divine authority flowed into her, Elkana let out a soft, peaceful breath.
The gunshot wound on her chest vanished, her pale face regained its color, her weak breathing steadied, and her once icy body grew warm again.
Even Magellan, who was ignorant of medicine, could see Elkana recovering before his eyes.
Seeing his comrade escape from the brink of death, Magellan felt the despair and worry in his heart melt away.
The comrade he had nearly lost forever was back.
Tears of relief and joy flowed from Magellan’s eyes.
And then…
Remine silently extended a hand toward Magellan.
“Th-Thank you… Truly… Truly, thank you!”
Grasping her hand tightly, Magellan bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
At that moment.
“100 talants.”
“…What?”
Remine’s calm voice cut through the air.
Magellan’s face went blank with confusion.
“I saved a life, didn’t I? That deserves at least that much, right? Only cash is accepted, and the interest is 10% per week, so you’d better pay quickly.”
“…”
“What are you waiting for? Hand over whatever you have first.”
“P-please wait a moment!”
Normally, receiving healing magic from a cleric or a holy knight at a church would cost, at most, 2-3 talants.
Some even offered a 30% discount on holidays or holy days.
In comparison, this price was not just exorbitant; with the insane interest rate, it bordered on outright robbery with a weapon.
It was a stark reminder that she, too, was a pirate.
But Magellan had already declared that he would give up his life or whatever was necessary.
Without a word of protest, he ran toward the shattered cabin to check if he had any cash left.
“This is bad… The account in Marenseu is probably frozen… If it’s not here, I might have to go all the way to Bennessa…”
From being tangled with the Pirate King, someone he never wanted to cross paths with again, to owing a massive debt to one of his subordinates, Magellan found himself in a maddening predicament.
However, even in this situation, a faint smile began to appear on Magellan’s lips.
Debt or piracy, none of that mattered anymore.
Because he had managed to save her…
The one remaining family member he had, the reason for his life…
He had protected her.
***
Shortly after Magellan left, Remine sat the unconscious Elkana on her lap.
Debt aside, as a healer, she was doing her job by taking care of the patient.
Turning her gaze away from Elkana, I looked at the blue glowing status window that only I could see and sighed softly to myself.
“So, it’s come to this…”
<Hidden Quest Complete>
[[You have chosen to save Magellan and his companion. The hidden route has been triggered. The quest will progress upon contact with specific triggers.
The Franz Kingdom has begun to monitor your activities.]]
As expected, fulfilling Magellan’s request cleared the quest.
I could vaguely predict what would happen next.
“So now I’m getting tangled in mainland politics…”
Until now, I had only operated at sea, maintaining distance from the mainland.
I had no desire to get involved in the grueling wars that would start two years into the original storyline.
Even as the ruler of the seas with a mighty fleet, I had no intention of dragging my subordinates into unnecessary conflict.
But this quest had likely made avoiding it far more difficult.
Warnings in the status window were never given without reason.
Especially since the reaction this time seemed even more intense than when I had saved Ambasha.
Through this incident, it was clear I would soon clash with the nations of the continent—particularly the Franz Kingdom.
Despite the risks, I had chosen this path…
Instead of ending Magellan’s life, I had chosen to save him.
Leaving a mark in history didn’t matter to me.
The biggest reason for my choice was the undeniable danger that Magellan had hinted at.
“Duke Oaklean…”
The man who had poured excessive resources into securing Ambasha.
After his failure, he had attempted to kill Magellan on absurd pretexts and even deployed the navy to ensure no loose ends.
Such actions were incomprehensible through ordinary logic.
Ambasha aside, Magellan was a renowned pirate hunter in the Mediterranean.
Having contributed significantly to maintaining security by taking down numerous pirates along the Franz Kingdom’s shores, killing him for petty reasons was not something a sane person would do.
However, I knew of something that explained Duke Oaklean’s irrational behavior.
“Duke Oaklean… That man is likely a transmigrant… or a subordinate of one.”
Ambasha, who would one day become one of the most powerful figures.
Magellan, a volatile presence who could transform into a chaotic force as Marthus in the future.
A transmigrant aware of these facts would have every reason to pursue Ambasha while eliminating Magellan preemptively.
Ambasha’s capture was self-explanatory.
As for Marthus, his propensity to slaughter NPCs indiscriminately made him a potential hindrance to other protagonists’ progress and growth.
Moreover, in the original world, Marthus was notorious for killing even popular NPCs, earning him a significant number of enemies.
Depending on a transmigrant’s inclinations and goals, especially if they were trying to foster other playable characters along the original storylines, Marthus was a ticking time bomb that could be eliminated under any pretext.
Based on this reasoning,
I chose to recruit Magellan, a capable force as one of the original player characters,
and to secure his leash through his companion.
“A formidable opponent has appeared… In that case, I can’t afford to sit idly by.”
Before me loomed the possibility of a transmigrant commanding the Franz Kingdom—or perhaps something even greater.
And given his boast about hanging me in the square, it was safe to say I had crossed a point of no return with him.
At this stage, even if it meant getting caught up in the continent’s wars, I would need to consolidate power by any means necessary.
As the undisputed ruler of the seas, my true threats weren’t the predictable continental conflicts supported by the status window’s guidance.
What I truly needed to guard against were the unpredictable forces beyond my foresight—
other transmigrants who shared my advantages.
To outmaneuver such opponents, the simplest and most effective strategy was to amass as many player characters and unique advantages as possible.
While organizing my next steps, I noticed Magellan approaching with a small pouch of money and an awkward expression.
“In that case… The first destination should be Bennessa, shouldn’t it?”
—
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