Chapter 67
Ambasha had been taken away in vain.
At that, Franklin and Arcroyal, though on separate ships, were advancing almost side by side and turned to face each other at the same time.
“What on earth is that? Was this part of your plan as well?”
“That… That’s not quite it… But isn’t it better this way? Rather than staying with pirates like you, going to the Franz Kingdom is—”
“Did you just say it’s better? Do you truly not understand anything? What that child has been through! What the Franz Kingdom means to her!”
“Th-that’s…”
Arcroyal found herself at a loss for words for a moment, struck by Franklin’s unrestrained and intense display of anger.
Then.
“Arcroyal!”
“?!”
At last, unable to endure any longer, two people threw off their robes.
Elkana and Magellan.
Already confused, Arcroyal was instantly caught off guard at the sight of them.
“W-what? Elkana and… Magellan too? No way… Why are you two here…”
“I seriously can’t listen to you anymore. You really are…”
“Elkana.”
At that moment, Magellan interrupted Elkana with a stern voice.
Then, with a calm tone, he turned to Arcroyal and spoke.
“First, let’s explain the situation. If we keep going like this, not only will we fail to resolve things, but the misunderstandings will just get worse.”
“…”
“Kuh…”
Confusion from the incomprehensible situation.
And on top of that, old friends suddenly appearing.
Thus, Arcroyal had no choice but to suppress her hostility toward pirates for the moment and listen to what they had to say.
It began with the past that Magellan and Elkana had experienced.
And why they ended up siding with the Pirate King.
***
“H-how… how could such a thing happen…”
“…It’s true. The fact that we’ve become pirates and are here now is proof enough.”
The story that came from Magellan’s lips was beyond imagination.
The request to kidnap the girl Ambasha, who had been enslaved.
And when they failed, Duke Oaklean, enraged simply by the failed request, committed a massacre—slaughtering Magellan’s entire Pirate Hunter squad.
Even Arcroyal, who held unwavering hatred toward pirates, couldn’t help but be shocked and understand the gravity of the act.
To make matters worse, most of the comrades who were unjustly killed were people Arcroyal had known personally.
The fact that they had all been completely wiped out was enough to stir fury within Arcroyal as well.
And more importantly, it revealed how grave the current situation truly was.
“You mean… if things continue as they are, Ambasha will…”
“She’s originally a Slave from the Franz Kingdom. If she returns, she’ll undoubtedly face the same—if not worse—torments.”
“Kuh…”
Franklin spoke coldly.
Arcroyal furrowed her brow and remained silent for a moment.
Considering what happened in Bennessa, she still had a lot she wanted to say.
After all, they had used her to further their plans.
But…
“You can blame us if you want. In the end, we did deceive you. But even if we were in the same situation again, we’d make the same choice. Right now, we don’t have any other option.”
“…”
It still upset her that the friends she trusted had lied to her.
But in truth, Arcroyal had been the one to set the trap first, so it was practically tit-for-tat.
Moreover, when viewed from the perspective that everything was done to repay the Pirate King’s kindness… and to avenge their fallen comrades, their actions were understandable.
If Arcroyal herself had been in the same situation…
She likely would have made the same choice as them.
And above all, as things stood now, the life of the young girl who had barely escaped from her torment could very well be dragged back into the abyss.
And as someone who believed that children must always be protected no matter the circumstances, Arcroyal could never allow such a thing to happen.
“Hoo…”
Having finally reached a conclusion on how to act in this situation,
Arcroyal let out a deep sigh and made her decision.
***
“Cease fire! Cease fire!”
“Everyone, stop! Suspend the battle!”
Franklin and Arcroyal both rushed back to their respective fleets to order a halt to the battle.
In Franklin’s case, it was already clear—ever since Ambasha, the Pirate King’s adoptive daughter, had been kidnapped, there was no point continuing the fight.
And from Arcroyal’s side, now that rescuing Elkana and Ambasha—her top priority—had been halfway achieved, she needed to focus her efforts on resolving the remaining half.
‘Besides… with this much, I could say we’ve landed quite a blow to the Pirate King.’
They had launched a surprise cannon barrage, and just when it was about to reach its peak, the battle had been suspended by mutual agreement.
In the early phase of the battle, Bennessa had the upper hand thanks to the surprise attack from behind.
As a result, they managed to inflict a significant blow to the Pirates, damaging about 20% of the enemy fleet—while not completely sunk, they were incapacitated enough to be rendered unable to fight for the time being.
Though they had an advantageous start, the tide of battle quickly began to shift due to the Pirates’ countermeasures and Bennessa’s general inferiority in strength…
At that moment, thanks to the decision of both Franklin and Arcroyal Warspite, the battle was suspended with perfect timing.
It wasn’t intentional, but considering their lack of military strength, it could be said that this was the optimal outcome they could achieve.
After all, this was Plan B, which had begun by sacrificing all their allied forces.
It was practically a game of chess from the start, with the Queen and Knight already given up—victory in the battle had been half-abandoned, and they had even prepared for significant losses.
In such unfavorable conditions, this could be considered a lucky technical victory.
Feeling a bit satisfied that she had managed to maintain at least some dignity while unleashing her pent-up frustration in such a major event,
Arcroyal decided to focus first on rescuing Ambasha.
According to her personal convictions…
And, at this point, in order to assist the Pirate King to end the battle in a draw—and if possible, settle the debt while she could.
***
Montfort, a proud naval officer of the glorious Franz Kingdom, was thinking to himself.
That life never goes according to plan.
Originally an Army officer, he had boarded a ship for the first time in search of glorious battle—but just three hours later, he came to realize what a fool he had been.
A dizziness and nausea he had never experienced on land—
It was his first encounter with the hell that is known as seasickness.
Regretting with every fiber of his being the decision to accept Duke Oaklean’s offer, he was already full of remorse.
Even after that, as he continued meaningless battles with privateer Pirates—not the Pirate King—he started to sense that something was going terribly wrong.
Montfort was overwhelmed with the certainty and regret that his decision had been a mistake.
But now, at this very moment—
Having barely escaped by following behind Commander-in-Chief Pierre, Montfort now truly and painfully realized—
That there’s no bottom to the depth of human regret.
Just when you think things can’t get any worse…
They can.
Gulp…
He unconsciously swallowed his dry saliva.
His whole body was trembling, yet he managed to barely hold on to the sword in his hand.
Then—
Screech… screeech… screeech…
Footsteps echoed near his ear.
Normally, he might’ve thought it was just someone walking by…
But Montfort knew better.
He had seen with his own eyes what happened to the comrades who thought that way.
“…”
He held his breath as much as possible.
He forced his trembling body still.
Sweat was pouring down his entire body, and his heart was pounding uncontrollably.
Even so, Montfort desperately tried not to make a sound.
Then—
“He’s not here.”
A girl’s voice came from beyond the door.
It was a small and graceful voice, but it sent a chilling fear down Montfort’s spine, like a blade grazing the back of his neck.
And moments later—
Scree… screech… screech…
The footsteps gradually faded away.
And once they were completely gone,
Montfort unknowingly let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Hoo…”
She’s gone.
To be honest, he had already thought this was the end for him, but in the end, he survived.
Relieved by that fact,
His legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground.
Then—
Thud! Thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud!
“!!!”
Suddenly, fast footsteps echoed again.
The relief he had just felt turned into fear in an instant.
Montfort reflexively covered his mouth with both hands.
However—
Crash! Crack!! CRASH!!!
The door was smashed with a loud noise.
Through the splintered wood, he saw a blade infused with Condensation Technique.
Montfort’s face turned pale.
Then—
As the blade retreated, what came into view through the gap was—
“Shaaaa…”
“Hiiiieeek!!!”
A small beast covered in snow-white fur with bright red eyes—
Its mouth smeared with crimson blood, it turned its head toward him through the hole.
And—
Behind it, the red eyes of a young girl began to appear.
That child, with a smiling face,
Looked in his direction and said,
“Here’s Jeppy~”
—
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