Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Sword-Wielding Bandit... No, Pirate
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The Pirate King had driven off the navy ships in one fell swoop.
However, even watching this unfold, Mazelan couldn't relax.
From their very first encounter, he and the Pirate King were bound by bad blood—the man had gone straight for his crew.
Even if it had been a mistake, there was no reason for the Pirate King to view them favorably.
Chasing away the navy wasn't about saving them; it was simply the natural enmity between pirates and the navy.
Above all, the Pirate King was infamous for showing no mercy to enemies.
They'd already been punished once, but if he'd decided to crush them like bugs now that they were marked as foes, it wouldn't be strange at all.
Yet...
Even knowing all this...
Even knowing how foolish it was to cling to such hope...
Mazelan had no choice but to beg in that moment.
"Please, Pirate King! I don't care what happens to me... just... save her... save Elkana!"
Mazelan knelt, tears streaming down his face.
Pride and such meant nothing anymore.
There was only one thing he wanted.
To save the last precious person he had left...
The woman whose breaths were fading away.
Toward Mazelan, pleading so desperately,
the Pirate King asked in a voice laced with the chill of cold steel—power, dignity, and utter indifference.
"How did this happen?"
"! Th-that's..."
It was an urgent situation,
but this was the question from his one lifeline, the Pirate King.
The answer could decide the life or death of the one he loved.
With that, Mazelan spilled everything that had happened.
The sudden massacre order from Duke Ocleang right after their return.
As a result, his crew had been wiped out, and the sole survivor, Elkana, was dying from severe wounds.
The gist was true to the facts,
but Mazelan added a touch of emotional exaggeration to sway the man's heart, even a little.
"A-and... Duke Ocleang said that anyone who offends him—even the Pirate King—would be strung up in the square..."
"...Is that so? He went that far, huh..."
No change in expression, but the Pirate King began to exude an ominous air.
After rapidly explaining the situation,
Mazelan bowed his head once more and begged with all his might.
"Please... I beg you. Just once... show mercy this one time... I'll repay the favor, no matter what it takes. My life, my soul... everything I have. So please... save my comrade."
"..."
The Pirate King fell silent for a moment.
Though brief, it felt like an eternity, and Mazelan could only tremble in thick tension and desperation, not even daring to breathe.
Praying desperately that his words had moved the Pirate King...
And then.
"Lemain!"
A booming voice erupted from the Pirate King's mouth.
"You called?"
A tiny, precise voice responded clearly to the earth-shaking power.
Following that, a figure leaped lightly from the Pirate King's warship behind them and landed here.
She wore a black uniform with black hair.
And emerald-green eyes—a beautiful woman.
Mazelan knew who she was from the wanted posters.
The Pirate King's second-in-command.
Lemain Migdal.
Toward her, the Pirate King issued a calm order.
"She's injured. Heal her."
"!"
Words that brought hope to Mazelan, drowning in despair and anxiety.
"If it's an order."
Lemain replied with a hint of irritation in her tone.
But regardless of her attitude, a gentle green glow began to ripple from both her hands.
A power different from ordinary mana.
Holy power, wielded by paladins and priests.
The recovery-specialized force, commonly called aura, began enveloping Elkana's body.
And then...
"Haaah..."
As the divine healing power seeped in,
a comfortable sigh escaped Elkana's lips.
The gunshot wound on her chest vanished,
color returning to her pale face.
Her shallow breaths stabilized,
and warmth returned to her once-ice-cold body.
Even Mazelan, ignorant of medicine, could see Elkana recovering.
Watching her escape mortal danger washed away the despair and worry from his heart like mist in the sun.
He'd nearly lost his comrade forever, but now she'd returned.
Tears of joy and relief—different from before—poured from Mazelan's eyes.
And then...
Toward such a Mazelan,
Lemain silently extended her hand.
"Th-thank you... truly... thank you so much!"
Mazelan gripped it tightly and bowed repeatedly.
At that moment.
"100 talents."
"...Pardon?"
Lemain spoke in a casual tone.
Mazelan froze, bewildered.
"Saving a life deserves at least that much, right? Cash only, and interest is 10% per week—so pay up quick."
"..."
"What're you waiting for? Hand over everything you've got first."
"P-please wait a moment!"
A normal healing spell from a church priest or paladin would cost 2-3 talents at most.
Some even offered 30% discounts on holidays or rest days.
Compared to that, this was extortionate pricing plus insane interest—pure highway robbery, beyond shady merchant territory.
It was a stark reminder that these were pirates, after all.
But he'd already pledged his life and soul.
Mazelan didn't complain a word and rushed to the wrecked cabin to check for any remaining cash.
'This is bad... The Marnseu accounts are probably frozen... If nothing's here, I might have to go all the way to Bennetsa...'
Suddenly, he'd ended up under the Pirate King he'd never wanted to tangle with again, and owed his subordinate a fortune.
A ridiculous situation.
Yet even in this mess, a faint smile crept onto Mazelan's lips.
Debt or not.
Piracy ahead or not.
None of it mattered anymore.
Because he'd saved her...
His last remaining family, his reason for living...
He'd protected her in the end.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Right after Mazelan left,
Lemain seated the still-unconscious woman named Elkana on her lap.
Debt was debt, but as a doctor tending a patient, she was doing her job.
Averting my gaze from the sight,
I looked at the blue status window visible only to me and let out a quiet sigh inwardly.
'In the end, it came to this...'
⚙ HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETE ⚙
[You have decided to save Mazelan and his comrade.] [The hidden route begins.] [The quest will proceed upon contact with specific triggers.] [The Franz Kingdom begins to watch you.]
The quest cleared as expected by granting Mazelan's request.
I had a vague inkling of what would follow.
'In the end, dragged into the landlubbers' mess...'
Until now, I'd stuck to the seas, keeping my distance from the continental mainland.
I didn't want to get caught up in the bloody war that would erupt in earnest two years from the original timeline.
No matter how mighty my sea dominion was, I had zero desire to lose valuable subordinates in some unrelated conflict.
However,
this quest marked a point where that became far from easy.
The status window's warnings were never given lightly.
Especially since it had glitched harder than when I saved Ambasha—this incident would stir trouble with continental nations... especially the Franz Kingdom.
But despite the risks, I'd chosen this path...
Sparing Mazelan's neck to save him instead.
Leaving a mark in history? That didn't matter.
The biggest reason was realizing, from his words, an unignorable danger approaching.
'Duke Ocleang... huh.'
The man who'd thrown absurd funds at securing Ambasha.
And right after failing, he'd tried to kill Mazelan for flimsy reasons, even deploying the navy for a clean cleanup.
Normal thinking couldn't justify it.
Ambasha aside, Mazelan was a famed bounty hunter in the Mediterranean.
He'd smashed pirates off the Franz Kingdom coast, bolstering security with great merit. Killing him over petty gripes? No sane person would.
Yet,
I knew one element that explained Duke Ocleang's baffling actions perfectly.
'Duke Ocleang... that man's a reincarnator... or more likely, a regressor.'
Ambasha, who reaches top-tier strength later.
Mazelan, who becomes an uncontrollable slaughterer, creating chaotic variables.
A regressor knowing this would obsess over capturing Ambasha while eliminating the future berserker Mazelan. Plenty of motive.
Ambasha goes without saying,
but Berserker Mazelan massacres NPCs left and right, hindering other protagonists' paths and growth.
Plus, in the original world, he'd butchered popular NPCs, earning heaps of haters.
Depending on the regressor's biases,
especially if they'd already secured multiple player characters and planned to raise them per the original storyline.
Berserker was a ticking bomb worth preemptively snuffing out, excuses be damned.
Weighing all this,
I'd chosen to accept Mazelan—a capable player character asset—and his comrade as a leash to control him.
'A formidable enemy has appeared... time to stop playing nice.'
Right now, a reincarnator—or regressor—might be sitting in the Franz Kingdom... or beyond.
And from his bold threat to hang me in the square,
I'd already crossed an irreversible river with the guy.
In this scenario, even if it meant continental war involvement, I needed to build power ruthlessly, no holds barred—unlike before.
For me, dominating the seas, the real threat wasn't the somewhat predictable continental war, bolstered by status quests.
What to truly fear was the unpredictable, quest-proof entity:
Another reincarnator enjoying my same advantages.
The simplest way to gain edge over such a foe? Collect as many player characters and perks as possible.
As I sorted my immediate priorities,
I watched Mazelan approach, small coin pouch in hand, looking troubled, and pondered briefly.
'So... next stop at this point is Bennetsa...?'