Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: The Die is Cast
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Whoosh!
A small merchant ship sliced through the waves.
In the pirate-infested Southern Sea, sailing alone without even an escort frigate was tantamount to advertising itself as easy pickings. Yet the man aboard lounged leisurely, one leg crossed over the other.
"Jerome von Carviot... Interesting. Very interesting."
The man was Tetsai, vice-captain of the Mermaid Pirates.
In truth, he hadn't come searching for Olivia on Martel's orders.
He had acted on his own judgment.
His master, Martel, despised the current state of the archipelago—a place so rotten it had gone beyond festering.
The brilliant man who had once brimmed with ambition to bring order to what was little more than a jungle of beasts was gone. All that remained was a pig wallowing in boredom.
Martel had once planned to sacrifice her own life to ignite that pig's ennui someday.
She loved the archipelago where she was born and raised more than her own life.
"Foolish thinking."
Tetsai respected her noble heart for the sake of the archipelago. But he didn't respect her methods. Why should such a noble woman die for that wretched pig?
Then, a new wind began to blow. A great wind named Olivia.
Martel had intended to use them to stir fresh winds through the archipelago, but Tetsai thought differently.
Once a man became a pig, he remained a pig forever.
No amount of wind would matter unless the pig at the top was removed.
"Well, for a pig, he's a bit stronger than most."
That was why Tetsai had originally visited Olivia for a different purpose altogether.
To secure a means of freeing Martel from the pig's clutches.
But after visiting Olivia, he changed his mind.
Jerome von Carviot.
The young man he'd met possessed unimaginable power, belying his youthful appearance.
Enough to boldly declare he could sweep away the pig and its followers.
So he revised his plan.
Not to help Martel escape, but to seat her in the pig's place.
Of course, if it failed, he would bear all the responsibility.
Crunch!
He took a big bite from an apple he'd brought back from Olivia.
Sweet juice burst forth, moistening his mouth.
An apple was commonplace on the continent but nonexistent in the archipelago.
The islands' perpetually hot, humid climate, battered by sea winds beyond even the warm southern regions, couldn't grow them.
Thus, the only way for them to taste apples was by plundering passing merchant ships.
"Exchanging goods like this openly, without forcing them away..."
He closed his eyes and imagined it: gifts for his master, born not of others' blood and tears, but of honest sweat.
It wasn't a bad thought.
"Captain, don't be too upset that I acted on my own. Everyone has their own priorities."
Just as Martel—his master, the South Commander—prioritized the archipelago over her life.
Tetsai prioritized her herself over the archipelago she loved.
Swoosh!
"I've served it all up on a platter, Baron. If you're truly a hero born of this era, not some figment of rumor, you won't be foolish enough to stab us in the back at this golden opportunity."
Gazing toward the stern, where Olivia had long since faded from view, Tetsai muttered.
The die had been cast.
After Tetsai departed.
I immediately gathered Olivia's key figures for a meeting.
"I'm against it. Proceeding based on a pirate's word is far too reckless."
Saladin voiced his opposition with clear displeasure.
"I agree with Young Master Saladin. These are pirates who betray as casually as breathing and earn praise for abandoning honor. We can't trust their words."
Even Beskin echoed Saladin's concerns about the matter.
'Well, it's natural they'd think that way.'
Unlike them, I knew Tetsai's words were sincere.
In my past life, during the war with the Empire, the Mermaid Pirates hadn't been among the archipelago fleets rampaging wildly.
They must have risen in rebellion, unable to contain their fury, only to fail in the end.
'But I can't say that outright.'
Masking my thoughts, I slowly opened my mouth.
"I won't trust the inside information completely, of course. But we can't ignore the spring offensive either. We'll prioritize preparations for that."
As my words ended, Dwain spread a map of the southern continent across the conference table.
A map marked chaotically with blue and red terrain.
Most of the seas were red, with blue regions limited to Olivia and a few spots.
Blue denoted kingdoms dominant in the southern continent; red, the archipelago's sway.
"As you see, nearly the entire Southern Sea falls under the archipelago's influence. From their perspective, Olivia's sea—where they can't flex their might—is a thorn in their side. At least the idea of a full assault on Olivia isn't implausible."
"...Seeing it like this, the archipelago really is monstrous."
Most in the room wore stunned expressions.
If seas were land, the archipelago's territory dwarfed even major southern kingdoms.
Their moniker, Maritime Kingdom, was well-earned.
"Tetsai said Pirate King Ballak and all Four Sea Marquises would come charging at Olivia."
"......!!"
The conference room grew heavy with tension.
Ballak sat the Jade Throne; the Four Sea Marquises rivaled the Holy Empire's marquises in strength.
Including their subordinate pirate captains—all master-level warriors—this was no mere battle.
It was war.
A grand war that could redraw the maps of the archipelago and southern continent, staking both sides' fates.
The weight of that word pressed crushingly on shoulders.
"...When it actually comes down to fighting, yeah, it's scary."
"Chickening out?"
I lightly countered Saladin, who yelped in protest.
"Hell yeah, I am! What, you wouldn't be? The outcome of this war could change the fate of everyone in the southern continent!"
"True. I'm scared too."
"Everyone isn't as iron-willed as you! You've overcome everything so far, so you can't relate, but... eh, what?"
Saladin blinked dumbly, sensing something off in my response.
"I'm scared too."
"Wha... what?"
I calmly admitted my fear, drawing all eyes in the room.
Not as blankly as Saladin, but none hid their surprise.
"Why so shocked? I'm human too."
Swoosh!
I rose slowly, leaning on the table with my elbows as I continued.
"Clashing head-on with enemies this strong is a first for me too. But."
I met each person's gaze in turn.
"All of you helping me aren't exactly pushovers, are you?"
"...Puhaha! Spot on, Baron! Since it's come to this, we'll smash them so hard they won't set foot on the seas again!"
Elder Delro, fully reclaiming his old fire, thumped his chest confidently.
"Seriously, the priest stays calm until he suddenly goes wilder than me."
Rampang shook his head from the corner.
"Leave rear support to us. We've got the magic forces covered."
Aria and Princess Seira, now close after joint seasonal research, chimed in.
As the mood lightened slightly, I glanced silently at Dwain.
The strategist who had led victories in countless past battles, Kandarl...
'No.'
Dwain, the advisor who'd succeeded with me through many ventures.
He would surely light the path to victory. That's the man he was.
"...Whew. Worrying's always my burden, huh."
Dwain sighed deeply, lightening the room's air with a casual remark.
"First, let's compare objective forces. General troops won't be an issue with Elder Delro here."
Swoosh!
Dwain drew a line from the kingdoms on the map to Olivia.
"But that's only viable within certain scales. We'll dispatch envoys to each kingdom requesting reinforcements before spring. Elder Delro, train those reinforcements—uh, hem, the landlubber soldiers—into sea battle veterans in the remaining time."
"Leave it to me, Advisor. I'll make 'em swim better than seals."
Dwain nodded faintly at Delro's confident reply, then furrowed his brow.
"The problem is elite forces... Their main strength: the Jade Throne warrior, four top-tier masters equal to the Four Marquises, plus numerous master captains from each pirate crew. That's what we need to counter."
Dwain was right.
Even expecting to overwhelm general forces with Delro's aid, I'd rated our strengths equal because we were hopelessly outnumbered in top experts.
"Rampang handles Ballak; Baron, Young Master Saladin, and Sir Beskin take three of the Four Marquises..."
Dwain trailed off. Three on three Marquises. If the South Commander kept her word, numbers wouldn't be short.
But Dwain wasn't a warrior. He couldn't be certain. Whether we could handle three Marquises. Or if Rampang could manage Ballak.
A single lapse anywhere could cascade, giving the strategist a headache.
Variables didn't end there.
"...Even if we somehow manage that, another issue arises. We're outnumbered in mid-tier masters too."
Unlike the Empire, the archipelago had only one Jade Throne holder. Yet their deployed forces below him nearly matched the Empire's in number.
We had nothing to counter them.
"Can't we request aid from other alliance Throne holders?"
Princess Seira grumbled in frustration.
"Impossible. Duke Padelon of the Five Nations Alliance and my father are tied to the Empire frontlines."
If they moved, the Empire would surge south immediately.
"What about Osiris Kingdom's Black Lions?"
Aria offered another idea.
Osiris boasted overwhelming numbers of low- to mid-tier masters. Their aid could handle the pirate captains.
"...No. Our kingdom's dealing with internal issues; deploying Black Lions externally is tough."
Fair enough, with the pure and turbid factions like a ticking bomb.
"...What about asking Duke Braum of the Sword Family?"
Delro said in a subdued voice. His hatred for the Swords ran deepest; what must it have cost him to suggest this?
I was grateful, but shook my head at Delro's proposal too.
"...That won't work either. It'd be like chasing off wolves only to invite a tiger."
To him now, I was a thorn. In such a grand war, no guarantee he wouldn't strike amid the chaos.
No—with his icy nature, he surely would.
I didn't even mention orcs or cyclopes.
Such a massive war wouldn't stay secret from the continent.
In a conflict the whole continent watched, I couldn't reveal the hidden blade prepared against the Empire.
"Damn. This won't work, that won't work. So what the hell do we do? Got a plan?"
Saladin vented his frustration.
To handle numerous masters, we needed Throne holders or equivalent masters.
Neither was feasible.
Thus, one option remained.
"Sajer, have Sajer handle the masters."
"?!"
All eyes turned to me.
"With Sajer's Heterogenous Power, Sea King, he can wield full strength even at sea. Handle the masters alongside the sirens' sea monsters."
"...Then Ballak? What about Ballak?"
Rampang asked gravely. But I'd planned this from the start.
South Commander Martel would defect as promised. She'd take one Marquis; Saladin and Beskin the other two.
Rampang handles the masters.
Balancing everything.
Excluding me.
To Rampang's question, I replied with resolve.
"The Pirate King... I'll face him."