Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: Raine's Resolve
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"Whoa, they're here!"
The young folks atop the walls gulped dryly as they gazed at the ships anchored off the coast of Raine Village.
They'd heard rumors that the Neptune Pirates had a massive crew, but seeing the fleet in person exceeded even those tales.
It was like they'd gathered every pirate in the area.
"Hmm..."
Even Elder Delro, standing on the wall with a harpoon for hurling, swallowed a groan.
He'd boldly declared to the new lord, Baron Jerome, that they'd hold out until he arrived. But with a fleet that size, this tiny rural barony might vanish before they could even finish a meal.
"Have the kids and women all been evacuated?"
"Yes, sir. We've already sent them to the hideouts. Even those pirates won't find them easily."
"Good."
Elder Delro gave a small nod at the young villager's reply.
That was enough. Even if they died here, as long as the children grew up safe under a capable lord's protection, it would all be worth it.
'Regrettable, but this must be where my duty ends.'
His life had its ups and downs, but an ending with real meaning wasn't so bad.
As Elder Delro consoled himself like this...
"Huh...? Something's off."
A young man scouting the people disembarking from the anchored ships through a spyglass spoke up.
"What is it?!"
For a moment, he wondered if the Neptune Pirates' captain had shown up in person.
"No... the pirates are coming ashore, but..."
Despite Elder Delro's urging, the young man just kept repeating that something was strange, his face twisted oddly.
"...They're tying each other up?"
"...What?"
At the young man's utterly unexpected answer, it didn't take long for Elder Delro to lose his composure either.
"Uwaaaah! Land!"
The moment they anchored at the shore, a pale-faced Saladin scrambled off the ship in a hurry.
He'd been seasick from the start and hadn't overcome it until the very end, making solid ground feel like a godsend.
Starting with Saladin from the Cimarria, people began disembarking from the other ships one by one.
Soon, after everyone was off, the sheer number of pirates filling the beach drew involuntary whistles.
"Were there really this many? Seeing them all together, the count is insane."
"With numbers like this... it'll be a chore to send them to Merka in chains. We'll probably need to ask King Peter to use a teleportation circle."
"Hmm, yeah."
Stepping forward, Beskin bellowed at the disorganized pirates.
"Tie each other up now! Anyone slacking or trying funny business gets executed on the spot!"
Since so many pirates had been subdued after getting beaten by Beskin and the Blizzard Knight Order, they feared his words the most.
And sure enough, the moment Beskin shouted, the pirates hurriedly started binding one another.
Of course, strong ones like Samuel were personally tied tight by Nana, Set, Beskin, and the like, with mana restraints added for good measure.
About an hour later, after securing all the pirates, I asked Dwayne.
"So, where to now?"
"Just a short walk from the coast, and you'll hit Raine Village right away. The lord's castle isn't far either, so maybe rest a bit nearby before heading there."
"Raine Village... you mean that one over there?"
A small village visible even to the naked eye in the distance. Unlike Dwayne, who hadn't mastered aura, I could clearly see inside it.
"Skip it and head straight to the lord's castle. It's a waste of time."
"Pardon? Why...?"
"No one's there. Already empty."
Whether they'd fled at the sight of the approaching warships, there wasn't a soul in the village.
"Sheesh, they all ran off already? The territory folk have no attachment to their land. We've got our work cut out for us."
Lampang grumbled in disbelief, but Dwayne and I saw it differently.
Pirates made their living raiding merchant ships and villages. That meant their ships had to be fast enough for the job.
By the time the villagers spotted the sails, we were almost at the beach.
And in that short window, everyone evacuated in perfect order? From a sleepy rural hamlet? Was that even possible?
'Sure, they might've just bolted...'
Maybe this barony was more interesting than I'd thought.
Letting the sirens—who hated coming ashore—rest near the beach for now, we marched the bound pirates toward the territory's heart, where Olivia's lord's castle came into view.
Toy-sized compared to Banten Castle, but the tidy brickwork and well-maintained walls gave it a sense of history.
But before the castle's shape or scale caught my eye, I noticed the figures on the walls nocking arrows at us.
"Who goes there?!"
A gravelly but strong voice demanded our identity boldly.
"This land belongs to the famed young hero, Baron Jerome von Carviot! Turn back now if you value your lives!"
A decent threat against small-time pirates, but against the real Neptune Pirates, it would've backfired spectacularly—not that it mattered.
Did I just hear something weird?
"......"
"Pfft! Come on, Baron. Young hero, right?"
Dwayne prodded me, barely holding back laughter.
I hadn't turned, but I could feel everyone else stifling their chuckles too.
Damn it. It was praise, a high compliment even. But embarrassing as hell.
"...I'm Jerome von Carviot, the new lord assigned here. Open the gates."
"......!!"
I spoke softly but infused my words with aura, making them crystal clear to those on the wall.
Pheeeew!
What came back wasn't open gates, but a merciless hail of arrows.
"You scum!! Official word came ages ago that the Baron is sailing south with five ships! You bandit trash flying pirate flags dare impersonate our Baron?!"
"......"
Fine, message received—they hadn't just fled.
They thought highly of me and were eagerly awaiting my arrival. Got it.
"Our Baron is a hero etched not just in the kingdom's pride, but in the continent's history! If you're gonna impersonate him, at least make it convincing..."
My legs, mimicking the Moonlight Steps from Pankration, vaulted the moat, scaled the wall, and landed atop it.
I unfurled Julius's signed scroll before the old man who'd been shouting while crouched.
"Here, this proves it's an official royal writ. The tortoise emblem on this brooch is the Shield Family crest. That enough for you?"
"......!!"
After checking the evidence and scrutinizing my face up close, they finally grasped the situation and dropped to their knees in shock.
"The continent's hero and kingdom's pride, our noble lord...!!"
"Enough. Everyone, stand up."
Please, just don't.
"S-So, you really captured all those pirates?"
After the little mishap blew over, Elder Delro—the man who'd introduced himself as Raine Village chief—asked again, unable to hide his astonishment.
"Yes, Chief. As you see, we crushed the Neptune Pirates, freed the sirens they'd captured, and seized some minor pirate ships besides."
Dwayne explained our journey to Olivia in my stead, but Elder Delro still looked skeptical.
"Ah, even for Baron Jerome... the Neptune Pirates aren't something the navy handles lightly."
"Well, the results are right there, plain as day."
"Ah! Forgive me. I didn't mean to doubt you, Baron."
"That's fine, Chief. More importantly, I have questions."
Elder Delro apologized profusely, worried he'd offended me, but that wasn't my focus.
"When you spotted the sails approaching Raine, they were nearly at the beach. How'd you react so fast?"
"Ah, some kids playing on the cliffs saw them first. Gave us a head start."
Elder Delro brushed it off lightly, but still—the response was swift.
"The castle had more people inside than Raine's population alone. What's the story there?"
"Folks from neighboring Byri and Colmar villages evacuated with us. More hands make a siege easier to hold."
"Where are the kids and women?"
"Sent to prearranged spots. Ten sites total..."
"How'd you alert the other villages?"
"We have signal bells in the village center. Three types..."
The more Elder Delro explained, the stranger Dwayne and I looked.
Pirate raids might be common here, but this level of organization and efficiency? Hard to believe it came from simple fishermen.
'Who the hell is this old man?'
Come to think of it, he'd been holding a hurling harpoon on the wall earlier. A sign of readiness to fight, sure, but not a weapon for a frail old fisherman on a rowboat.
And ordinary folk wielding weapons against pirates without hesitation? Not everyday stuff.
Clap!
'We'll figure it out step by step. Plenty of time ahead.'
I slapped my knee, cutting off his long explanation.
"Alright, Chief. There was a small misunderstanding this time, but it was all for the territory, so I'll overlook any rudeness."
Swish!
I extended my hand not just to Elder Delro, but to the chiefs of Byri and Colmar too.
"Let me introduce myself properly once more. I'm Baron Jerome von Carviot, the lord assigned to Olivia from the capital. Let's make this work."
"Oh my! We're the unworthy ones here. We'll do our utmost to keep the villages trouble-free."
Olivia, which I'd seen as a rural exile posting, chosen for geographic and strategic reasons.
Somehow, the start didn't feel half bad.
An isolated island in southwestern Ikenia. Until recently the stronghold of a massive pirate crew, this nameless isle now lay silent, ownerless.
Where no signs of life should be, a single ship appeared—its sail emblazoned with a young mermaid carrying a water jug.
Thud!
Several figures leaped gracefully from the ornate vessel.
Despite the drop from bow to beach, not even a single footprint marred the sand.
That alone marked them as far from ordinary. Normal people wouldn't even attempt such a jump.
"Hmm, nothing here?"
A woman with blue hair like the mermaid on the sail tilted her head as she scanned the surroundings.
"Search every inch. Report even the tiniest trace—don't miss a thing."
"Understood."
At her command, the crew scattered across the island.
"Nothing at all... nothing..."
Arms crossed, the woman—Martel—fell deep in thought.
How much time passed?
Sensing her subordinates' return, she opened her eyes.
"Anything unusual?"
"Nothing inside the island."
"Beach is clean too."
As reports of emptiness poured in, one man held something out to Martel.
"Scales from the cliffs. Could pass for fish, but these are definitely siren scales."
"Hmm?"
Martel's eyes gleamed as she examined them.
"Sirens, huh..."
Killing intent flickered in her subordinates' gazes.
"Captain Samuel must've gone blind with greed over the sirens. We'll form a pursuit team right—"
Her men seemed convinced Samuel had fled with the sirens, but Martel's expression remained unchanged.
After a brief pause, she spoke again.
"Send word to our spies in southern continent. Have them report every recent change in detail. We move after."
Martel boarded the ship as if there was nothing more to see.
'Samuel fled with sirens? No.'
That greedy bastard, if he'd truly bolted with them, the island wouldn't be 'empty' like this.
Logic dictated only his ship and a few cronies missing.
Otherwise, he'd have to share the treasure with his underlings.
'Not his style.'
Yet the island mocked that logic—utterly barren, no pirates, no ships.
A more credible theory: the Neptune Pirates had been wiped out.
Smirk!
One less crew in the archipelago, and Martel just smiled.
Her main base had plenty of reserves. Losing Neptune wouldn't hurt.
"Interesting. Won't be bored for a while."
A fresh wind stirring her dull routine brought a genuine grin to her face.