Naval Hero
The battle against the kraken became much easier after Selena seized the momentum with her dance and song. By the time they had unloaded all their remaining cannonballs to deal with its eight legs, the creature finally revealed its head.
Since it didn't fully emerge above the water, they had to use depth charges or rely on the most accurate gunners from each ship to land direct hits. The tsunamis came in waves—whoosh! whoosh!—and the vessels rocked violently as they fought to regain balance. But the first-class gunners on every ship treated those waves like nothing, calmly loading their cannons and taking aim at the beast's head.
Bang! Fwooosh!
The shells traced perfect arcs through the air before slamming straight into the kraken's skull.
Kwaaaang!
The impact must have been devastating, because the monster let out a furious roar. In that moment, the ships that had slipped past its flailing tentacles dropped their depth charges.
Thud!
Since the charges detonated underwater, the troublesome tentacles became useless. As if to prove it, the limbs that had been thrashing above the surface went limp and sank out of sight.
“All ships, full attack.”
Selena gave the final order, then sank into her chair to watch the conclusion. Having endured such a crisis, the relief that finally washed over her left her entire body drained of strength. She simply couldn't help it.
In that state, the depth charges exploded. A magnificent resonance rang in her ears, followed by the kraken's final, dying cry.
“Lady Selena. It's over.”
Her ever-loyal subordinate, who always stayed by her side, reported the outcome.
“Tell everyone we're returning to base.”
The thought that it was truly finished and she could finally rest made Selena's mind go completely blank. Her subordinates, knowing her burden, moved quickly. They even secured the kraken's corpse and began towing it back.
As the seven battered ships approached the waters off Fish Island, the personnel guarding the island burst into cheers. Captain Selena stepped ashore and addressed the stationed men.
“Check the damaged sections of the ships and tend to the wounded sailors. Since we've taken down both Leviathan and the kraken, prepare a proper feast for dinner as well.”
The subordinates nodded in acknowledgment and scattered to their respective duties, heading back toward the ships.
“Lady Selena. Are you heading to your quarters?”
The subordinate who had been assisting her followed and asked.
“Ah, Gale. I can manage on my own now. Go help the sailors.”
Gale had been worried. Selena had expended an enormous amount of mental energy blocking the kraken's assaults.
“Even so, I should accompany you. The men can handle things themselves.”
Gale looked at her with pity. She had endured tremendous mental strain facing both Leviathan and the kraken.
“This isn't a request. Vice-captain. You can stop worrying about me. That's an order.”
Selena used her authority as captain to stop Gale, whose concern was reaching mountainous proportions. She had been tired, yes, but it wasn't nearly as dire as he feared.
“Understood. The path down is slippery, so please be careful.”
Selena nodded and, following Gale's advice, carefully descended the underwater cave path that led to the habitable area.
Though the underwater cave was damp with moisture, for some reason it felt comforting.
It's not home, but it's a place I can rest. That's good enough.
At the far end of the deep-sea cave lay a large cavern where all the sailors lived together. The sight of numerous small tents revealed their lifestyle. Since they operated under the name of pirates, everything was built simply so they could pack up and move at a moment's notice.
Deeper inside was Selena's private room. Being the captain granted her far better accommodations than the others. That aside, Selena collapsed onto her bed with a groan.
“Haaa… I wonder when I'll finally be able to return.”
She muttered the complaint and closed her eyes, not caring that the salty sea air clung to her words. Despite being inside a cave, the bed was impossibly soft, and exhaustion crept over her before she knew it.
Just like that, Selena fell fast asleep.
Crash!
“…What was that?”
Selena, who had been sleeping without a care in the world, jolted awake when some kind of commotion grated on her nerves. The successful voyage should have made the outside noisy, but not to this irritating degree. Her subordinates liked to celebrate lavishly, but they weren't so tactless as to let noise reach their captain's resting place.
“Is something going on?”
Thinking they might be overdoing the celebration after such a hard day, Selena stepped out of her room. What she saw was utter chaos—her subordinates were being sent flying in every direction, some slamming into the cave walls. It was a dizzying scene.
Bagan thought the pirates' condition was quite serious. Their captain was nowhere to be seen, and the rest were all small fry. There was one man they called the vice-captain, but even he was nothing special compared to the people Bagan had met before.
The man was too capable for such a lowly title, so Bagan finished him off quickly and then dealt with the swarm of suicidal attackers that followed.
Thud!
One punch sent a man flying. Bagan wasn't even using a weapon. Despite the pirates charging at him with blades, he was fighting them with nothing but his bare fists.
Watching from behind, Sally and Arien occasionally took care of the pirates who slipped past him. They tried their best to block them, but there was a clear limit to what they could stop with their bodies alone. Still, there was no need to worry. Sally was the Spirit King, and Arien was a slime capable of transforming into monsters.
Those who charged at Sally without knowing better were consumed by blue flames and died. Those who rushed Arien were melted by acidic liquid. The remaining pirates, watching from a distance, were horrified. They seemed to think facing Bagan was the safer option and charged him even more fiercely.
The pirates Bagan struck usually ended up with a broken bone or two and lost consciousness. Although he was holding back compared to his true strength, he wasn't being careless, so a few still died from a single blow.
That was when it happened.
“Stop this at once!!”
A electrifying voice rang out from deep within the cave. Bagan felt his mind waver for a split second.
A mental attack through her voice!
If he hadn't instantly fortified his mind with mana, he would have been in trouble. There were many ways to resist mental attacks—wearing protective items or coating oneself with powerful mana. The strongest defense was simply a strong will, but since Bagan lacked that, he had to cover his entire body with mana.
He hadn't fallen to the mental attack, but the voice was so piercing that his body froze instinctively. Bagan carefully scanned the direction the voice had come from. There was a smaller space deeper inside, beyond where the pirates had been swarming. A woman stood there.
He was focusing to get a better look when—
“B-Bagan! Arien!”
Sally cried out urgently. Bagan had no choice but to turn and check on Arien.
“What happened?”
“After she heard the voice, she became like this.”
Arien stood frozen like a doll. No matter how many times Sally called her, there was no response. Sally was clearly panicked.
“Let's move her somewhere safe.”
“Okay.”
Bagan acted calmly for now. He had protected his mind with mana, and Sally was the Spirit King so it hadn't affected her, but Arien had no defenses. She had fallen victim to a mental attack.
The woman who had launched the attack approached and spoke.
“You turn our home into this mess and think you can just walk away unscathed?”
“Huh?”
Bagan was surprised when he saw her face.
Selena?
It was a face he knew.
“Why is the Navy of the Seiros Kingdom here…?”
She was the Navy Commander-in-Chief of the Seiros Kingdom—a position completely opposite to the word “pirate.”
“H-how do you know that?”
Selena looked shocked, as if she hadn't expected to be recognized.
Of course he recognized her. After all, she was a character who would later be called the naval hero.
The one who single-handedly stopped the demons flooding in from the South Sea without suffering any losses…
“Hero.”
“What?”
Selena's face twisted with irritation at Bagan's quiet murmur.
“Enough! You'll pay for turning my subordinates into pulp!”
With that, she drew the scimitar from her waist and pointed it at Bagan. Then she began to dance, swinging it gracefully in every direction.
Watching her, Bagan fell into reminiscence. How had she been able to face an army of demons and their lieutenants without taking any damage? The answer lay in her trait and her lineage.
Selena is a half-human, half-siren and the owner of the A-grade trait, Sword Dance.
Sirens, known as the elves of the sea. Whether male or female, they possessed enchanting voices and outstanding singing ability. They were even described in books as the bards of the ocean. It wasn't just that they sang well—the nature of their songs imbued them with different powers. Sometimes they functioned like dragon speech.
That was why Bagan understood. He understood why the pirates and Arien had suddenly frozen in place. He understood why even he had momentarily fallen under that commanding mental attack.
It was the song of a siren, after all. It made perfect sense.
As he was thinking that, Selena stopped dancing and spoke.
“I assume you're prepared?”
“W-wait!!”
Appreciating the dance was fine. It had been a feast for the eyes. But he hadn't expected her to actually come at him. More precisely, Bagan didn't want to fight Selena.
“I'm sorry! I misunderstood!”
Clack.
Perhaps his sincerity reached her. Selena stopped and laughed as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard.
“They say building sandcastles is pointless because of the tide. Do you think words alone are enough? All I see are my subordinates writhing in pain.”
“I can heal all of them.”
“What about the ones who died?”
“You did things that were easy to misunderstand too.”
“Misunderstand? Ridiculous.”
Selena scoffed and raised her sword again.
“If you have nothing more to say, apologize with your life.”
Faced with a woman who wouldn't listen, Bagan pulled out his trump card.
“I'm on my way back from seeing Razetta. When I asked why she was tolerating pirates, she said it was because they made money.”
It was the kind of statement that would easily lead to being mistaken for a pirate. He explained that he had no choice and used words that Selena couldn't possibly refuse.
“Lady Razetta said that?”
Bagan nodded with a bright smile.
“It was suspicious, so I came here myself to investigate. I'm on my way after cleaning up the underworld of De Meca.”
“The underworld of De Meca?”
“I also heard from them that the underworld of De Marinda is connected to pirates. Naturally, I knew you were those pirates when I came.”
“In that case… Fine. Since there are people in pain, treat them first. As you probably know, we're not the kind of pirates you think we are.”
At Selena's words, Bagan replied,
“The treatment is already done. So release your symphony as well.”
He had already cast Recovery on the entire space midway through their conversation, granting healing to everyone. By now the recovery should be complete. Selena looked puzzled by his words but released her coercive power. Thanks to that, both her subordinates and Arien were freed from their restraints.
“You speak as if you know our race well.”
“I know a bit too much…”
“No matter how I think about it, I don't understand. Explain yourself. What is your purpose in coming here?”
At Selena's question, Bagan thought the opposite.
That's what I want to ask. Why on earth has the Navy Commander-in-Chief become a pirate?
The navy should already be overwhelmed managing the monsters swarming the nearby seas and the occasional illegal foreign ships. Yet here they were, playing pirate. Bagan's head was starting to hurt. He spoke to organize his thoughts.
“Before that, let's make one thing clear.”
“What is it?”
“You're not actually pirates, right?”
“To be precise, we've disguised ourselves as pirates. By order.”
“Why?”
“Do I have an obligation to tell you that? And I believe I asked first why you came here?”
As the conversation grew longer, Selena's subordinates lined up behind her while Sally and Arien stood behind Bagan, creating a tense standoff.
“This seems like it'll be a long story. Shall we sit down somewhere?”
At Bagan's suggestion, Selena's eyebrows twitched. She fidgeted as if suffering from decision paralysis. Then Gale—the man who had introduced himself earlier as vice-captain—stepped forward and whispered to her.
“He is quite skilled. I couldn't detect any lies in his words. It seems what he said about meeting Lady Razetta is true.”
“How is that possible?”
“Perhaps Lady Razetta had her own thoughts on the matter…”
“Even so, to label as pirates the subordinate who slaved for her for months instead of protecting her?”
The two seemed to think their whispers wouldn't be heard, but Bagan—with his unnecessarily sharp senses—heard every word.
There must be some story behind this.