The Orphans I Sponsored in a Romance Fantasy Became Pirates
Anne Bonny, become my comrade.
The pressure from the male leads was just as I had predicted: the sea.
The heroine who had been acting so well would have immediately come running to plead for help, and those idiots would have refused on the spot.
Yet I had gone out of my way to cause trouble for a reason.
“It’s too valuable of time to waste worrying about some minor territory matter.”
The vassals who were still ecstatic over the lord’s changes would have cried blood tears if they had heard that!
But reality was cruel.
For someone reborn as Read Nelson, handling the territory was just the tip of the iceberg.
When I thought about the disasters waiting to hit, it wasn’t even worth the effort.
“Business failure? Burning everything to the ground by pirates is far better than that.”
A few years from now.
How many infamous pirates would this sea produce to shake the world?
Just from what I could recall right away, there were at least four.
They were called sea demons, disasters, and so on.
First priority was to stop the birth of these pirates.
‘Territory development? Once pirates appear, everything becomes a mess—what’s the point?’
First, make the territory run smoothly for the next one or two years.
Then toss the rest to the vassals to figure out on their own.
‘My job is to quickly find the future pirates and reform them.
I have to focus on finding them even before they’re born.
They weren’t pirates from the start.
It’s a matter for this sea and the whole world.
‘For that reason alone, I have to normalize the territory quickly.’
As expected, these damn game heroines and male leads are driving me crazy.
They must be carrying nothing but their hormones in their heads instead of brains.
I didn’t know how this sea would turn out.
They’re disrupting things by causing chaos and interfering.
“Lord Nelson! The situation is serious. If this drags on, we’ll have problems too…”
That was somewhat fortunate: the shock wouldn’t be too great on me.
“Don’t worry. It was always going to be cleaned up anyway.”
“Huh?”
“Here, business? It’s not making any money.”
Public works in Nelson Estate were generally inefficient.
Few talented people, and an island constantly plagued by pirates—naturally.
Any grand project would be wiped out the moment pirates attacked.
In such a tough situation, even small businesses were the best option.
First-rate industry was important, but it didn’t generate big money.
“It’s actually a good thing. Now I have the perfect excuse to cancel the business.”
It was even grateful that the relationship had been severed.
Later, when they got desperate and asked for help…
I’d have the perfect reason to ignore them.
“But if the work suddenly ends, the laborers will have nowhere to turn. They’re all ordinary citizens…”
“I have other work to do. Turn them over to the territory projects.”
“Paying them a salary would burden the territory budget.”
“That’s fine—handle it with my own funds.”
“Y-Your Excellency?”
“The family fortune is quite substantial.”
Even after all that, it was a house that had ruled an estate for a long time.
Especially as they had ruled half a kingdom on the island.
Separate from the territory budget, the family’s accumulated wealth was substantial.
In the manor warehouse alone, there were even treasure-like items whose origins I didn’t know.
These sorts of things were usually used for noble extravagance and political funds…
“Pulling them out to fill the territory budget would plug the hole for now.”
“Isn’t that all the Nelson family’s accumulated property and treasures? How could we use it on the estate without facing our ancestors?”
“Didn’t our family gather this wealth thanks to the estate and its people? When they suffer, we must help.”
“Y-Your Excellency…”
The vassals’ faces were colored with emotion.
The Nelson family lords had been admirable in many ways, but this level of prioritizing the estate was unprecedented for Read.
“Since the money is covered, gather as many people as possible as quickly as possible. There’s work for them to do.”
“What kind of project are you planning? We’ll roll up our sleeves and help!”
Passion burned in the vassals’ eyes.
Read watched their enthusiasm with delight and answered.
“I need to gather this.”
“Huh? This…?”
The vassals’ eyes widened as they looked at the documents he had handed over.
“Yes. Gather as much of what I mentioned as possible.
This will become an Eldorado that changes the future of our estate.”
I had roughly delegated the necessary work.
What remained was just waiting for the right time.
But before that, there was one problem I faced.
‘There’s a shortage of talent.’
Not slaves… but manpower.
No one to help develop the territory together.
‘This is an extremely rural area. The only things available are fish and wild vegetables.’
I didn’t need high-level talent.
The core issue was escort knights.
‘Nobles with money are nothing but treasure goblins to pirates.’
This world literally swarmed with pirates.
A weak self could not protect itself—escorts were not a choice, but a necessity.
‘In truth, escorts could be found if I tried hard enough…’
The problem was their skill level.
Nelson Estate was a backwater even on the sea.
In game terms, it was the early stage where slimes appeared.
Talented people were as rare as sea treasures.
“Awkward escorts are worse than useless.”
I needed someone strong enough.
Ultimately, it circled back to the talent shortage.
“Especially in a time when pirates are rampant, being reborn here is the worst.”
There was so much to do ahead, and I couldn’t keep trembling every time I crossed the sea.
‘Should I just train hard myself?’
Combining modern martial arts and tactics sounded tempting…
Of course, there might be talent I couldn’t surpass.
But right now, there was no other choice.
“First, I need to check if there’s any promising material.”
Thinking that over, I headed to the training ground.
The instructor spotted Read and was startled.
“Y-Your Excellency! What brings you all the way here…!”
The rough-looking instructor bowed deeply.
The lord was admirable.
One muscular man like this was enough to make him bow ninety degrees.
“Don’t worry about me—focus on training.”
“Yes, understood.”
He said that, but he knew it wouldn’t happen.
If the battalion commander said “Do it like usual~,” it wouldn’t.
The soldiers could feel tension in their bodies.
“Hmmm.”
I slowly examined each soldier one by one.
But they had all grown up on the island and sea.
Their muscles were decent…
“Huh?”
My gaze fixed on one soldier for a while.
The hair was completely different from what I remembered.
The skin had been hidden somehow, but the appearance wasn’t easily concealed.
No, perhaps that was why it stood out so much.
“Instructor.”
“Y-Yes!”
The instructor ran over the moment I called, as if he had been waiting.
“Is there any discomfort?”
“What’s the name of the soldier over there?”
“Huh? Soldier?”
The instructor checked the soldier’s face with a puzzled expression.
“Ah, his name is James Bonny. He only joined recently, but he’s been working very hard.”
As expected.
It was the character I knew.
‘This is also a blessing for a reborn person.’
I had never heard the name James before, but it seemed they couldn’t change the surname given by their parents.
‘Her real name was Anne Bonny.’
The future legendary pirate queen who dominated the sea with a single sword.
Her strength was also infamous even in the game.
‘She was supposed to have worked in one of the male lead’s estates, but it must have been this one.’
At the original time, she was already a pirate, so the information was useless.
Now it was different.
She wasn’t a pirate yet and was living a stable life.
‘I’m puzzled why the monster from the original story is here…’
I also knew her background setting well.
I could guess the circumstances and current situation.
‘This talent must not be missed.’
A lone powerhouse—one of the strongest characters.
And a future pirate queen.
If I recruited Anne Bonny to my side…
‘It’s not just gaining one talent. It’s eliminating a future pirate queen.’
I already needed an escort.
If it were Anne Bonny, she would be the most reliable of all.
I was confident that no sword master beyond this level could be found.
‘Luckily, there’s a good way to persuade her.’
After deciding, Read nodded.
In stock terms, this was the lowest point.
Anne Bonny had to be scouted without fail.
“After training ends, bring that soldier to my office.”
“Huh? Lord, James is a man.”
“?”
The instructor’s face changed strangely.
Only after seeing his reaction did I realize what I was saying.
“Instructor, I like women.”
“Ah, that’s fine. On a ship, one in ten is gay anyway.”
“No.”
A bothersome misunderstanding had arisen.
It didn’t bother me much.
The joy of finding such talent was far greater.
****
I waited in the office reading documents.
Soon Bonny opened the door and entered.
“You called for me, Lord?”
A solemn attitude that didn’t suit a young soldier at all.
As expected of a genius—he handled every movement perfectly.
“Sit here. It’ll be a long story.”
“Yes.”
Bonny sat down on the lord’s seat.
“…Bonny, that is the seat I sit on.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
She seemed still inexperienced.
She moved to another chair.
I sat and slowly began to speak.
“Bonny, do you know why I called you?”
“…Did I make some mistake?”
“If so, I would have scolded the instructor.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
Hmmm, what should I say?
I should have experienced this situation myself.
This kind of frustration was intolerable.
In games, I had been the type who killed villains without listening to their stories.
‘I should just ask straight out.’
I opened my mouth immediately.
“Why did you hide that you’re a woman and join as a soldier?”
Bonny’s face froze for a moment.
It quickly returned to normal, but she couldn’t avoid my eyes that had been watching her since earlier.
“…There seems to be a misunderstanding. I am a man.”
“Really a man?”
“Yes. I passed the physical examination and can have it checked again if you wish.”
“That makes sense. You probably hid it with illusion magic.”
“…”
I waved my hand.
Even so, she was a noble.
She had some knowledge of magic.
These crude disguises couldn’t fool me.
“Your hair was originally pink. This color suits you better.”
Bonny bit her lip tightly.
When the disguise was removed, she was unmistakably a woman.
With flowing pink hair, she was a beauty.
“There must be a reason you hid your gender and joined the army.”
“That’s…”
“Because of your sister?”
“H-How do you know about my sister…”
“I am the lord of this island. There is nothing I don’t know about it.”
It was a lie.
Even a lord couldn’t know the private matters of a soldier’s family.
It was all knowledge from the game.
“So don’t do anything reckless. This is my island, and I have no place to take an ailing sister.”
“…I understand.”
Bonny—rather, Anne—spoke as if cutting something away.
‘The environment for conversation has been prepared now.’
This should be enough; she wouldn’t suddenly swing a sword.
No matter how much of a future pirate queen she was.
She wouldn’t want to commit regicide and wander the sea with an ailing sister.
Now, if I make the scouting offer properly…
“If it is Your Excellency’s wish, I will offer my body…”
Read pressed his hand to his forehead to stop her.
“What are you doing now?”
“Did you not say you would offer your body to protect your sister?”
“What nonsense is that.”
Trying to turn her into a criminal?
Such villainous acts weren’t even the male leads.
…Probably.
“Why do you think that?”
“You said earlier that you like women.”
She covered her eye with one hand.
As expected of a future sword saint.
Had she been listening from afar?
“Anne, the reason I called you is not that.”
I understood her reaction.
A young girl alone had to protect her ailing sister.
How much dirty work must she have endured on this sea?
Moreover, Anne was a beauty that inspired admiration.
Hiding her gender and joining the army was just an extension of that.
‘…If she sees me as trash, it’s a problem.’
I needed real trust between us.
At times like this, I knew a good line.
“I called you because I have a proposal for you.”
“To me…?”
“Yes.”
Nodding, I looked into her pink eyes and said, “Become my comrade.”