Chapter 70
“Really? The Pirate King, you say…”
“Admiral Arcroyal, will you be alright? What if it’s a trap…”
Her subordinates voiced their concerns at the Pirate King’s summons.
But Arcroyal slowly shook her head and replied.
“That’s probably not it. He’s a filthy pirate, but he’s not the type to pull something that disgraceful. More importantly, he has a good reason to summon me right now.”
“Hmm…”
In order to deal with the aftermath of the war—
And more importantly, to rescue Ambasha—they absolutely had to meet.
Of course, that didn’t mean they could afford to be careless.
“Let’s go. But stay on high alert, just in case.”
“Yes, Admiral Arcroyal.”
With that, Arcroyal headed toward the place where the Pirate King was waiting.
And then, she suddenly recalled another pirate she had momentarily forgotten.
‘Come to think of it… I never did find out what happened to them. That… White Shark crew…’
With a terrified look on his face, Admiral Gardin was being dragged somewhere by pirates.
Behind him followed Napoleona, walking with an indifferent expression.
At that moment, Gardin’s heart, weighed down by anxiety and unease, was filled with dread as he wore the magic-sealing cuffs.
Just after attempting to escape, they had encountered enemies they could neither resist nor flee from.
Thanks to quickly surrendering instead of resisting, they were still breathing…
But that didn’t mean they were safe.
Their opponent was the Pirate King, infamous for his terrifying reputation.
He could kill a prisoner in a heartbeat if he felt the slightest bit irritated.
Tied to such a figure, Gardin could only think of ways to survive this encounter.
‘Damn it… Even for me, this is some next-level bad luck…’
In the past six months, Gardin had already encountered the Pirate King twice.
At this point, it was like the Goddess of Fate herself had cursed him.
Cursing his wretched luck, Gardin was eventually brought to a rather spacious cabin.
There, waiting for him was…
“We’ve brought them, Pirate King.”
“Good work.”
A man sitting in a chair spoke with an imposing voice.
It was the Pirate King, Ezra Drake.
Standing beside him were the Pirate King’s officers.
Seeing them, Gardin quickly fell to his knees.
If someone says that a navy officer kneeling before a pirate is impossible…
Then that person clearly has never been in a situation like this.
It was only natural to show respect to someone with the power to rip you limb from limb.
Throwing away his pride and decorum, Gardin bowed his head, waiting for the Pirate King to speak.
“Raise your head.”
“Y… Yes, Pirate King!”
At his words, Gardin raised his head stiffly and awkwardly.
Even then, he couldn’t bring himself to meet the monster’s gaze directly,
Instead silently waiting to hear what the Pirate King would say.
‘Oh great and eternal God, creator of all things green and wild! Please deliver this foolish, pitiful soul from the hands of this dreadful demon!! If you save me from this crisis, I’ll offer half my wealth to you and live a life of virtue from now on! Please, just this once!’
Though he appeared calm, Gardin was internally screaming endless prayers to God.
Then, while he trembled in confusion and fear…
“I will now ask you a few questions. If you answer honestly, I may consider sparing your lives.”
“! P… Please, ask me anything! I swear I will only speak the truth!”
He replied in a desperate voice to the Pirate King’s question.
Even while he spoke, he feared what would happen if he was asked something he didn’t know.
But he had no choice but to try to survive.
In a calm yet authoritative tone, the Pirate King asked:
“Who sent you?”
Thankfully, the first question was something easy to answer.
With a trembling voice, Gardin began to answer as expected.
“W… We came under orders from Grand Marshal Raphael…”
“That’s incorrect. We came here under the command of Duke Oaklean.”
“!?”
In that moment, Napoleona cut him off and interjected.
Stunned, Gardin was momentarily at a loss for words, paralyzed by fear.
‘Shit! Why would you say that here!? Now it sounds like I lied to the Pirate King!’
He inwardly cursed his subordinate for ruining everything.
But Napoleona continued, unbothered by his panic.
“Formally, the orders came from Grand Marshal Raphael, but in truth, everything was led by Duke Oaklean. Under his direction, reinforcements were provided, and many, including myself from the army, were temporarily reassigned to the navy.”
“So it’s true… As expected, it was Duke Oaklean again…”
The Pirate King spoke, his voice laced with murderous fury.
Even though that anger wasn’t directed at him, Gardin felt like his heart was shrinking in fear.
Despite that, Napoleona still stood tall and composed, meeting the Pirate King’s eyes without flinching.
At that moment—
“Then, next question. As part of this operation, did you receive any direct orders from the Duke? Surely you didn’t come all the way here just to assist Arcroyal.”
“Of course. The Duke gave orders to the leadership, including myself. Specifically… we were told to kidnap the Pirate King’s adopted daughter.”
“…”
“Ghk!”
The moment Napoleona’s words ended, an overwhelming and terrifying pressure fell over them.
It felt like their lungs were collapsing and every hair on their body stood on end.
Even though it was just Magic Energy radiating outward, it was enough to make one feel like their body would be crushed.
Gardin’s face went pale.
‘Th-This is bad… Something’s seriously going wrong… Dammit… If I knew this would happen, I should’ve stopped Napoleona from opening her damn mouth…’
His mistake had been going quiet from the start, crushed by the sheer pressure.
Now all he could do was lower his head and tremble, full of useless regret.
Toward him—
Or rather, toward both Gardin and Napoleona—
The Pirate King spoke in a voice filled with killing intent.
“I see… So that means you two also came here to kidnap my daughter. You realize there’s no reason for me not to kill you right here, right now.”
At that moment—
“No. While we were given that order, we had no intention of carrying it out. In the first place, we weren’t truly Duke Oaklean’s people.”
“What?”
“!?”
Despite the unbearable pressure in the air, Napoleona remained calm and unshaken.
Hearing her words, the Pirate King seemed momentarily puzzled.
And then, after a short pause—
“…”
“Haaah… Haaah! Haaaah…”
The suffocating pressure gradually dissipated, allowing Gardin to finally breathe again.
But unlike him, gasping desperately for air,
Napoleona didn’t even flinch.
She just continued to look directly at the Pirate King.
“What do you mean by that? Just a moment ago, you clearly said you came under the Duke’s command.”
“Yes, that’s true. But that was only from the military’s perspective. The real mission I was assigned here was to interfere with Duke Oaklean’s plans—”
“—and to establish contact with you, Pirate King.”
As she said this, she pulled a small letter from her inner pocket.
The Pirate King took it and began reading the contents.
Then—
“…Wait… you’re Napoleona?”
“? Yes. That’s correct…”
“…I see… So you are…”
Even though she had never introduced herself by name, the Pirate King immediately recognized her after reading the letter.
Napoleona showed a trace of confusion at that, which implied the letter didn’t contain such information.
From Gardin’s perspective as a third party, the confusion only deepened.
Still, staying quiet, he watched as the Pirate King gently put the letter down.
And then—
“Before I respond to this…”
The Pirate King began walking toward them slowly.
Then, standing before Napoleona and looking down at her—
He spoke.
“I’d like to make you an offer.”
“…What is it, Pirate King?”
Even while standing right before him, Napoleona didn’t flinch or waver in the slightest.
Toward her—just for a moment—the Pirate King showed a gaze that could almost be called kind.
Then, he slowly extended his hand.
“Would you… consider becoming my comrade?”
“…What?”
“…?!”
—
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