Chapter 71
The Pirate King’s words, asking if she would become his companion.
At first, Napoleona looked confused for a moment, but soon…
She wiped that expression away and gave a bright, sincere smile.
“Heh… This is quite… sudden, yet it’s a kind gesture. I never imagined a day would come when the Pirate King would send a love call… Even if it’s a joke, I now have something to brag about when I go somewhere.”
“This is no joke. I am asking you seriously. Napoleona, General of the Franz Kingdom. Forget about the past and come join me, as my companion, and let us travel the seas together.”
Though still smiling, the Pirate King’s words carried an unwavering seriousness.
However…
Napoleona slowly shook her head.
“Your words are truly appreciated. But I am still the general of the Franz Kingdom, and I cannot betray my country… nor can I abandon the ‘family’ there.”
“I see… Indeed, it’s still a bit early…”
“Pardon?”
“There is such a thing. Anyway, if that is your decision, I will not force you. But if you change your mind in the future, come find me anytime.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Pirate King.”
“And…”
With those words, the Pirate King handed a letter to his first officer standing nearby.
Immediately after, the first officer quickly examined the contents and began writing something diligently.
“Your… no, your group’s proposal will be reviewed positively.”
The tone of the Pirate King, so gentle and calm compared to earlier, surprised Napoleona. A fleeting blush appeared on her face.
At that moment…
“Of course, this is under the condition that a proper compensation is given.”
“Compensation… did you say?”
“Isn’t that obvious? I may have forgotten for a moment, but right now, you are prisoners. You talk about a common enemy, but the ones in need are you, not us.”
“Mm… You are right…”
Though somewhat bewildered, it was a fact that she had anticipated to some extent.
From the perspective of the Pirate King, who ruled the seas, disregarding someone like Duke Oaklean was no issue.
To borrow his power, it was only natural to pay a fitting price.
“So… what is it you want, Pirate King?”
she asked with a serious tone, wondering just how great his demand would be, though at the same time, with the hope that she might be able to use the mighty strength of the Pirate King.
To this, the Pirate King did not respond directly but gave a light chin gesture towards the woman standing beside him…
The first officer.
Then…
“Here are our terms,” the first officer said, extending what she had been writing down.
Napoleona took it, thinking to herself.
‘No… these people are nothing but sword-wielding robbers… No. They were pirates from the start…’
***
After some deliberation, Napoleona decided to accept their terms as best as she could and turned back, with a nameless lackey following silently behind her.
After they left, Remine smiled lightly and spoke to me.
“I never would have expected that you would take the bait so easily, considering the price they requested. I thought we’d barely get by with a close call.”
“From our perspective, it’s a good deal. Now that it’s done, I can say that we too were in a similar position.”
“Haha… You really are devious. Anyone would think the Pirate King became what he is through such petty tricks.”
“Well… I can’t say that aspect doesn’t matter at all,” I responded.
The letter from General Raphaël that Napoleona had handed me.
Without any of the background or embellishments, their ‘request’ was simple.
They wanted us to help deal with Duke Oaklean, who was plaguing the Franz Kingdom.
And in this situation, we had no reason to refuse.
In fact, strictly speaking, we couldn’t afford to refuse.
We needed to rescue Ambasha as soon as possible, but for pirates like us, venturing inland to handle things was not an easy task.
Though I still had some knowledge from the original story, the world I was seeing now was very different from the one in the game.
What’s more, we didn’t even know where Duke Oaklean was, so our power alone was limited.
Given these circumstances, Raphaël’s request to join forces and deal with the common enemy, Duke Oaklean, was something we could embrace with open arms…
We decided not to mention anything about Ambasha being captured, but instead proposed a deal from the position of the ‘superior’ side.
Though we were fortunate, the results of this ‘bluff’ were undeniably successful.
Then…
“However, Captain, about that earlier proposal… Why did you ask to join them as a companion?” Franklin asked with a hint of concern in her voice.
To this, I replied with a light smile.
“There’s no special reason. I just thought I’d take a shot, seeing as I haven’t seen the great magician in a while and I respect her skill. I thought you’d reject it anyway.”
“Oh… I see… Ha.. I guess, that’s possible. After all, Pirate King, you are always a person with many desires…”
Franklin spoke with a strangely relieved tone, but as she looked at me, I felt a bit guilty for not being able to tell her the truth.
It wasn’t just because she was strong that I said such things.
Even though she was originally from the army, she was, after all, a general of a country.
For someone like her, it was extremely unlikely that she would abandon everything and become a pirate.
But even so, I couldn’t help but feel tempted.
The moment I saw General Raphaël’s letter, I realized who the woman in front of me was…
Even now, she was strong enough to be called a monster.
And I knew just how much stronger she would become in the future.
And how far she might rise in rank…
***
Night fell.
In the darkness, the three of them sat awkwardly on the deck, side by side.
Magellan, Elkana, and Arcroyal.
Once, they were very close friends, but now, there was a slightly awkward tension between them as they silently gazed at the sea.
The night sea of Crete Island, from which they would soon depart.
As they stared in silence, it was Elkana who broke the stillness first.
“…So, in the end, we’ve decided to work with you on this one, right?”
“Yes, officially, it’s just to demand reparations from the Franz Kingdom,” replied Arcroyal.
In truth, the Franz Kingdom Navy had completely ruined the Pirate King subjugation plan that Arcroyal had crafted.
Had they not gotten into a useless dispute with the British Empire’s privateers, the situation wouldn’t have ended in such a disastrous way.
Although, thanks to the luck that followed, the Bennessa side gained some benefits, that was another matter, and this situation was something different.
No matter the background, the fact that they had tarnished the ‘interstate contract’ meant that Bennessa had every right to lodge a formal protest.
Of course, this was just a seemingly legal reason to enter the Franz Kingdom. In reality, there was something else at play.
Arcroyal, along with the two friends who had now become pirates, all shared a common feeling in their hearts.
That feeling was called…
The Desire for Revenge.
They had killed their hunting comrades for nonsensical reasons.
And though they almost killed the two of them, this time, it was Ambasha who was kidnapped by that son of a bitch…
Duke Oaklean.
At a time when the Pirate King had decided to take down that bastard, three people who shared the same hatred set aside their differences between pirates and navy to join forces.
“We’ll make him pay… Mark… Davin… and the others as well…”
“Duke Oaklean… that bastard’s head will be placed on the offering table.”
“And… we will definitely save Ambasha.”
With these words, as if returning to the past, the three of them sharpened their blades, awaiting the moment of vengeance.
***
“What did you say? Mingoshe and his subordinates are missing?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And that’s not all. There have been rumors lately that crew members are disappearing one by one.”
“Apparently, there’s a story going around that a ghost with white fur has been taking people’s lives…”
Bang!
“Do you really believe that? A ghost? There’s no way something like that exists in this world!”
Commander Pierre slammed his fist on the desk in anger.
He then turned to his nervous subordinates and spoke in a cold voice.
“Tomorrow night, we’ll arrive at Marenseu Port. If you have time to worry about rumors, use it to find the culprit before we arrive.”
“Y-Yes.”
“I… I understand, Commander.”
The subordinates quickly scattered.
Watching them leave, Commander Pierre felt a deep frustration and leaned back in his chair.
“A ghost? Is there really anyone who still believes in such nonsense? Disappearances, they’re probably just lazy people hiding somewhere.”
Of course, it was possible that there was something else going on.
Something might really be happening on this ship, and the crew members might be dying one by one.
However, the commander decided not to think about it.
As he had told his subordinates, they would arrive at the port tomorrow anyway.
In such a situation, rummaging through the ship would be a pointless task, just adding more work.
With that, Commander Pierre, feeling unnecessary fatigue, lay back in his cabin.
Then…
“…Hm?”
At that moment, something caught his eye.
Hanging from the ceiling of the cabin…
A small, white-haired something…
—
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