Top Secret Mission
Bagan and Selena sat facing each other in an awkward silence, each wondering who should speak first.
“Ahem. I’ll introduce myself first. As you already know, I am Selena, Navy Commander-in-Chief of De Marinda in the Seiros Kingdom. Right now I’m operating undercover, disguised as a pirate to carry out a top-secret mission.”
“You’re on a top-secret mission and you’re just going to tell me that?”
“If your claim about meeting Lady Razetta isn’t a lie, then it doesn’t matter if you know.”
Selena looked half-resigned. It was as if the axe she had trusted had just chopped into her own foot. Seeing her like that, Bagan pulled out his adventurer registration card from inside his coat and spoke.
“I’m Bagan, a Titanium-rank adventurer from De Meca. Behind me are my contracted spirit Sally and Arien, a companion I picked up along the way.”
“What kind of half-assed introduction is that?”
“It’s exactly what I said. We met on the road and decided to keep traveling together.”
“You really are a carefree one. So the great Titanium-rank adventurer who crushed De Meca’s underworld has now decided to grace De Marinda with his presence?”
Her tone carried a strangely teasing edge. Bagan wondered if this was her real personality, but he had no way of knowing for sure, so he didn’t bother arguing. He simply nodded.
“That’s how I got here. But I couldn’t understand why a city with a powerful navy like De Marinda would leave pirates alone, so I went to Razetta first.”
“And I suppose she told you straight out that she leaves them alone because they’re profitable.”
Selena spoke as though she should be grateful he still used the honorific “Lady.”
“What the hell is going on? Are there actually no pirates? Then who has been trading with De Meca’s underworld nonstop until recently?”
Bagan brought this up for a simple reason: the facts didn’t match what he had learned from Caliban. According to the information the man had confessed in the Hall of Condemnation, De Marinda’s underworld had been receiving funds through black-market deals, primarily trading in weapons. Bagan had been relieved there were no slaves involved, but weapons changed everything. It meant they were moving goods that weren’t traded through normal channels.
Selena answered immediately.
“That was us.”
“What? You’re sure? You traded weapons?”
“We didn’t have a choice. A top-secret mission is exactly that—top secret. We couldn’t let rumors spread that De Marinda was supplying arms to pirates.”
When he thought about it, her explanation made sense.
“Still, there must have been other ways.”
Bagan felt uneasy knowing he had inadvertently helped the underworld.
“We didn’t buy anything illegal. They were just weapons.”
“Stolen weapons, you mean.”
Bagan knew exactly which weapons had changed hands.
“If the dwarves ever find out, it could escalate into an international incident. As Navy Commander-in-Chief, I’d appreciate it if you showed a little more caution.”
“You’re right, but… Lady Razetta will handle it!”
He could see now that Selena was the type who simply followed orders without question. That stubborn streak showed clearly as she pressed on with her next question.
“So why are you so obsessed with dismantling the underworld?”
It wasn’t strange for her to wonder. Not everyone followed the path of a hero, and in reality, the obvious often wasn’t so obvious. Still, Bagan could answer with certainty.
“I just want to use the power I have for good. I’ve been given the mission of condemnation, after all.”
“Condemnation?”
At her puzzled reply, Bagan glanced at Sally.
“She is the Spirit King of Condemnation. We’ve formed a contract, and she’s been punishing sinners with me.”
“She sounds terrifying. I won’t be punished, will I?”
“Only if everything you’ve said so far is a lie and you really are a pirate.”
“What a relief. Everything I’ve told you is the truth.”
Selena thrust out her chest as if to say he should read her heart if he didn’t believe her. Of course it wouldn’t reveal anything, and the way her generous curves strained against her clothes made it difficult to know where to look. Flustered, Bagan waved his hand dismissively.
“Never mind that! So why exactly are you pretending to be pirates? For months at a time?”
This was the question that had been festering inside him since before he even reached De Marinda. It had grown so rotten he was desperate for any plausible explanation.
What Selena said next only deepened the mystery.
“That’s because… Lady Razetta is being threatened.”
He had never expected to hear the word “threatened.” In the Seiros Kingdom, how many people could possibly threaten a Dragonian royal?
As he thought about it, one possibility came to mind immediately.
“Don’t tell me it’s her siblings—using the fact that Razetta can’t fully wield Dragonian power against her?”
It made sense. As Razetta herself had said, among the three princes and one princess, she possessed the thinnest Dragonian blood. That went against Seiros Kingdom’s traditions, weakening the people’s trust in her. It was only natural her siblings would begin to harass her.
If the threat was coming from them, and if there was some hidden reason behind it, then becoming pirates to carry out secret operations would fit.
This might be connected to a civil war.
Bagan felt a thrill at the thought that he might have stumbled upon the prelude to the Seiros Kingdom civil war—an event that had never occurred even once in the game.
However—
“What are you talking about? It’s not that at all. One day, someone suddenly showed up saying he liked Lady Razetta.”
“Huh?”
Bagan’s grand theory evaporated like smoke. Her next words plunged him even deeper into confusion, making him wonder if this was all a dream.
“How does that have anything to do with being threatened?”
“Because! Lady Razetta has no interest in romance!”
“Then how does that connect to the pirates?”
“Because! The one who showed up—well, not a person. The guy who appeared was the Lord of the Oceans, the Blue Dragon Cyron.”
Bagan’s jaw dropped. He was so stunned he couldn’t even swallow.
“So what you’re telling me is that the Blue Dragon Cyron came declaring his love for Razetta, and you people are playing pirates to interfere with him?”
“Mm. Forcefully. You understood perfectly.”
Selena smiled with satisfaction, clearly pleased they were finally on the same page.
Bagan, however, could not accept it.
“Uh… if there’s a novel with that plot, I’ll be sure to read it. Now will you please tell me the real reason you’re acting as pirates?”
“I’m telling the truth! Why won’t you believe me!”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes! Have you only ever been lied to your whole life?!”
Selena shouted, sounding genuinely aggrieved.
But the one who felt truly wronged was Bagan.
She wants me to believe that?
“Sally, is she telling the truth?”
With no one else to turn to, Bagan asked his spirit. Since Sally could discern the sin of falsehood, her confirmation would settle the matter once and for all.
“It is not a lie.”
At Sally’s calm reply, Bagan felt the world crumbling around him.
What the hell have I been chasing all this time?
It felt as if his very reason for existing had vanished.
“Fine. At this point, believing or not believing isn’t even the issue anymore.”
“So you finally understand.”
After that, neither of them spoke for a long time. Both needed space to process everything.
Drip. Drip.
The only sound was water droplets falling into a puddle somewhere in the cave. Beyond that, Bagan could only sense Selena’s subordinates holding their breath outside.
Eventually Selena spoke again, as if something had just occurred to her.
“Why did Lady Razetta insist on calling us pirates?”
It sounded less like a question and more like a primal curiosity slipping out.
But after thinking it over, Bagan could see the logic.
“Because it’s a top-secret mission.”
“What?”
“Even though I showed up with Montihall’s invitation, she still called it a top-secret mission. She wouldn’t even tell her own blood relatives.”
“That’s true. She didn’t inform any of the other royals either.”
“And since I kept digging, she had no choice but to label the pirates as pirates.”
“You’re saying Lady Razetta simply did the best she could with the situation?”
Bagan nodded cautiously.
“If that’s not it, nothing makes sense. It can’t really be about the money. I don’t see what benefit she’d gain from it.”
That last comment was a mistake.
“No, Lady Razetta might genuinely think this is better! She could have decided that having us act as pirates would bring more benefit!”
She flared up again.
She wasn’t like this in the game.
The Selena he remembered from the game had been a steadfast, reliable Navy Commander-in-Chief—a true hero who inspired heroic ideals in countless players. Some even preferred her over the seven strongest heroes. The woman before him now was the complete opposite, so Bagan could only assume one thing.
Has this long-term secret mission worn down both her body and mind?
Thinking that, he tried to comfort her.
“Surely it isn’t that bad.”
Even as he said it, he wasn’t convinced. After all, Razetta was a workaholic who considered making money the greatest joy in life.
I have no idea anymore.
The more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Bagan decided he would refrain from judging until he learned the full details of Selena’s mission and Razetta’s true intentions.