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Chapter 1
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a damn hot brothel.
A muggy room without air conditioning, fans, or anything to cool it down.
And inside, surprisingly, beauties and beasts were entwined, letting out loud moans.
"Oh, Haydam. You're awake? Now that you are, get over here and help."
"...Excuse me?"
A woman, whether she was a prostitute or an employee, grabbed me by the neck, dragged me along, and immediately put me to work serving drinks.
'...Oh, for fuck's sake.'
And as I frantically carried drinks, countless memories began to flood back into my mind.
Right, that woman—who I couldn't tell was a whore or a staff member—was surprisingly my nanny.
As for my biological parents, where were they?
They both held hands and rushed out to sea to commit piracy.
Those crazy bastards left their child abandoned in a brothel-cum-tavern just to enjoy their own romance and thrills.
Those were my biological parents.
Sure, I can almost understand that bit.
I mean... I can just think of them as a dual-income couple with a slightly radical sense of equality.
Even if the only things around me were swarms of bugs, weather that was hot 365 days a year, and the brothel sisters who greeted me with open arms.
The most important thing is what happens after making the money.
So, I silently worked as a tavern employee for quite a while along with my nanny, her daughter, and the brothel sisters.
I checked on my father and mother's survival essentially by watching the bounty amounts on their wanted posters get updated.
Without any particular affection or anything, I'd been working as an employee for about two years since the age of eight.
—I've been wondering, why is it that everything around here is just pirates, brothels, and taverns?
—Hmm? What do you mean? That's because this is Pirate Island, obviously.
—...Ah.
Only then did I realize that this place was roughly similar to the Caribbean waters during the Age of Discovery.
—Well, but there must be nations or governors who want to wipe out the pirates. Where are they?
—Everyone is here specifically so they can't get in.
—...I see.
I realized that the situation was also extremely similar.
But since I'm broad-minded, understanding, and capable of constructive future planning, I can handle it all!
'Once I become an adult, I'll just run away!'
Isn't there something called the Broken Windows Theory?
A new life!
A new land!
A new beginning!
Once I'm capable enough to take care of myself.
Once I've stolen enough slush funds to safely escape from here.
I'm getting out of this godforsaken Pirate Island!
That was the mindset I intended to live by.
"Now! Let's welcome him! It's my son!!"
""Waaaaaah———!!!""
"Welcome, newbie!"
"You can drink, right? You've got to know how to drink when you're at sea."
That was until I turned ten and was forced onto a pirate ship, those fucking bastards.
"Dammit! Haydam, get your head in the game!"
"Why the hell is the deck cleaning like this? Want me to throw you overboard?"
Deck cleaning.
"Are you even a pirate if you don't know how to check the ropes? Try to be more like your mother."
"...Yes."
Rigging and sail management.
"Apply the tar, tar!! Dammit, it's leaking!!!"
Hull maintenance.
"Hey, sharpen these swords. If you don't do it right, both your mom and dad will die."
"Ah, you didn't scrub the rust off the cannons properly. If the shells don't fire right, it's on you, Haydam."
Goddammit! Even weapon maintenance.
I couldn't tell if they were the parents who gave birth to me or if they'd just picked up a young slave.
Escape?
How could I do that in the middle of the ocean?
A mutiny?
How could I manage that in a child's body?
Even if we happened to find a merchant ship.
"Dammit! We missed them again."
"Captain!! It's because we have the kid on board! I told you having a child on the ship is bad luck!!"
"Shut the fuck up! Who was the idiot who turned the ship 30 degrees when I told you 15!"
The sea is vast, and the prey avoid pirates.
With ship performance being mediocre across the board, how well could we even catch them?
Just waiting for days, or even weeks, at a crossroads where merchant ships frequently pass without any result.
That was the godforsaken daily life of a pirate.
'...Ah, I just want to die.'
That's why I'd rather just die.
Staying alive any longer would only be detrimental to my mental health.
Imagine being forced into a group of gamblers who have no clue how to live their lives.
The only thought floating in my head was that I wanted to end it all as soon as possible.
And then, after about a year of thinking that.
"You bastards! Run!!"
A warship.
A warship from the Empire, a Kingdom, or some other place I didn't know.
It was far larger than ours.
And it had way more naval guns than we did.
That massive vessel... was closing in on us.
"Turn the ship! Turn it now!!"
"Everyone move, now, unless you want your lives to end here!!!!!!!"
Naturally, the Captain and Vice Captain—my father and mother—immediately ordered the ship to turn.
"Unfurl the sails!!!!!!"
—Creeeeeak......!
We turned the ship sharply and struggled to increase our speed.
—Whoooooosh——————————!!!!!
But it was too late to shake off the warship that had caught the wind.
—Stop the ship if you do not wish to be buried at sea!
Soon, they finished preparing to fire right next to our ship.
—Clang, clank——!
Then, massive grappling hooks snatched our deck.
"All personnel, surrender!!"
"Anyone who resists will be executed on the spot!!"
Fully equipped Navy soldiers flooded in like a wave.
My father had already collapsed, shot in the shoulder.
My mother was in the corner, spitting with eyes full of malice.
All I could do was stare blankly, letting whatever happen.
Then, an officer in uniform spotted me.
"Wait, hold it! There's a child over there."
Compassion filled his eyes, and the gaze of many soldiers shifted toward me.
In that moment, I glimpsed a possibility.
A possibility of surviving this.
A possibility of escaping this godforsaken pirate world!
"Hic, hic...! Mister! Do you know how long I've been...!"
So, I played the part of a pitiful child and approached him at his signal.
He patted my head and spoke.
"Were you kidnapped by these pirates?"
"Yes...! That's right!"
"Whew... looking at you, you must have suffered greatly. Don't worry, boy. Now the Empire will protect—"
I can survive!
I can get out of here!
I can finally escape from this godforsaken sea!
...Or so I thought.
"—He's our son!!"
My father, who had been crawling on the floor, suddenly lifted his head and screamed.
The officer's expression changed instantly.
His gaze became filled with disgust, as if he had just tasted something foul.
"What?"
"He's our kid! Hey, Haydam! You're just going to leave your parents behind?! You little traitor!!"
Then, my mother joined in to support my father.
"...A pirate's blood, then."
Contempt filled the officer's eyes.
—Click.
The officer drew the pistol from his waist and aimed it right between my eyes.
"The seeds of evil must be cut at the root. Nothing personal."
In that moment, something in my mind snapped.
Ah, right.
I am the child of those wretched pirates.
Born as a pirate's child, raised on a pirate's island.
I had even boarded a ship before I could sever those damn blood ties.
In the end, I cannot escape from this cursed world of pirates.
Actually, it was more that I had been trying to avoid this truth.
Countless thoughts and plans were organized in an instant.
Just as the officer's finger was about to pull the trigger.
—Thwack.
"...Ugh?!"
I slapped the pistol from the unsuspecting officer's hand, sending it clattering onto the deck.
Then, I pulled out the dagger I had hidden—just in case those fucking pirates tried to screw me over.
—Swoosh—Stab.
"Gah... gurg...?!"
I drove it precisely into his throat.
—Thump, thump.
I felt the blood rushing through my heart faster than ever before.
I felt my train of thought flowing more smoothly than ever.
And in the silence that followed the officer's death.
"Prepare for boarding action!!!!!!"
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Let's go!!!"
"Fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"W-what?! You little—Gah...!!"
Stimulated by my cry, the pirates rose with swords and guns.
The bloody battle continued.
Rolling, grabbing guns, firing.
Hiding, throwing daggers, then fleeing.
Driven by sheer malice, I slaughtered the soldiers in my path.
"Waaaah——!! We won!! We won!!!"
Finally, after many sacrifices, we wiped them all out and seized the warship.
Then, I realized.
'Sigh, dammit. I guess I'm meant to be a pirate.'
It seems that...
This is just my life.
*
Time continued to pass in that manner.
The warship from back then seemed to have been a scout ship.
That was why the numbers were relatively low, and it was smaller than other warships.
Still, the fact that mere pirates had completely captured a regular military force was an extraordinary feat.
—He's a devil's child, a devil's child!!
—Dammit, this kid just took that officer's head off...!!
Because of that, despite my young age, my name began to spread far and wide.
—That power of yours, I think it's Aura?
The mysterious power that had surged forth as my heart pounded was identified as 'Aura'.
—So, from now on, you're a combatant on our ship. Got it?
Before long, I continued my life as a combatant.
Five years passed after that.
I slaughtered warships.
I intimidated merchant ships and plundered them as I pleased.
Another five years passed.
My mother and father lost a majority vote on board and were kicked off the ship.
I took down a warship, and on the way back, I decided to take down a privateer I ran into as well.
And then, another five years.
My mother and father returned with another ship to get revenge, only to crash and be buried at sea.
Finally... twenty years had passed since I woke up in this world.
"Captain Haydam! We're ready!"
By now, there was no one in the Southern Sea who didn't know my name.
The hero of pirates and the headache of the Empire.
And the wealthiest pirate, having accumulated immense riches.
"Captain, everything is prepared."
"Right."
...Before I knew it, I had become the Captain of the 'Queen Marianne's Revenge'.
I believed I would never step foot on land, which is why I pushed for even more treasures and plundering.
However... it seemed there are no absolute certainties in life.
Otherwise,
—[Admiral of the South, Leandro Silva.]
—[I will give you a daughter, a title, and a territory.
Instead, serve the Empire.]
...Such an offer would never have come my way.
"Yes, stay the course. Our destination is the South."
Standing on the deck, I gazed in the direction of the Admiral of the South and sank into thought.
The Admiral's daughter?
To be honest, I'm not that interested.
When I think of my parasitic biological mother.
The mere sight of women makes me feel nauseous.
But still, a title and a territory....
'...Not bad.'
Actually, not bad at all.
I could end this tedious life on a ship.
I could have a title and, moreover, my own land.
No more constant maintenance, murderous weather, pests, or the pressure of weapon upkeep.
I could set aside the stress of fruitless ambushes and leading those godforsaken gamblers.
Above all.
'...It's legal.'
The fact that I would no longer see my own wanted posters in the South was a significant benefit.
Besides... wouldn't the Admiral's daughter throw a fit at the sight of a pirate?
Well, I've seen and heard enough in the brothels as a child to keep her in line.
So, I figured it wouldn't be that difficult.
"Arm everyone. If the Admiral of the South tries anything rash... I'll just burn the port down."
"Yes, Captain!!"
And so, I headed south.
Slowly and steadily.
Dreaming of my own land.