4
Chapter 4
The atmosphere of the southern sea felt like a fierce cold wind was blowing, despite being in the South.
The Admiral of the South's soldiers.
"...."
My crew members.
"...."
They stood their ground, facing each other without backing down.
Looking at those ready to turn the South into a sea of fire and sacrifice their lives at any moment.
'...Not bad.'
Feeling a certain sense of satisfaction, I slowly walked toward the center with Ines.
—Thud, thud.
"Ines, stay close to me."
"...Yes."
Naturally, as I walked out from the Admiral of the South's palace, countless soldiers stared at me.
"...!"
"Wh-what? Why is that person...?"
Bewilderment or fear.
Such emotions dwelt within their eyes.
"Get lost."
I ignored them and continued forward.
"...Ugh."
However, perhaps due to spending a long time in solitary confinement, Ines was limping and walking slowly.
"...Sigh."
—Swoosh.
"Wh-what...?!"
I immediately swept her up into my arms and turned back toward my fleet, disregarding any stares.
Certainly, if I used Aura, I could reach the ship in an instant.
But there was only one reason why I didn't.
Even if she was a bastard child, my goal was to 'show off' that I had received the daughter of the Admiral of the South and joined forces with him.
"There is nothing left for you to do now."
Only after reaching the castle gate did I shout this to the soldiers.
"Hold on tight."
—Whoosh——!
"Eek...!"
In an instant, I leaped up onto the ship.
"Captain, you've returned!"
"I have."
"Now we just turn it into a sea of fire, right? Shall we fire?"
"First of all, that guy on the wall is mine, Captain."
Master Gunner Lawrence and Boatswain Gidman welcomed me, their eagerness for battle heating up.
"I didn't like the look in his eyes. I'm going to tear him to—"
"—Stop talking nonsense. Gidman, Lawrence. We're finished here."
"...What?"
I stopped them and then gently set down Ines, whom I had been holding.
"As I mentioned before, the deal went smoothly. Now, the place marked on this map is our territory."
"...Oh?"
"...! R-really?"
"Yes."
Seeing their expressions brighten, I felt a fairly good sensation.
Indeed.
Even if they were opportunists, they knew better than anyone how grueling life at sea was.
It was only because of me.
They had followed me silently because I led them and provided a way to make a living.
Deep down in their psychology, they likely harbored a desire to settle down.
"Of course, every single thing will need to be overhauled. There's no way the Admiral of the South gave us a decent estate."
"...Hmm, I suppose that's true."
"And our job won't change much. We'll continue to ruthlessly plunder any ships considered enemies of the South."
"That's music to my ears, Captain."
"Sounds good. At least we won't have to deal with anything complicated."
Once the announcements were finished, the two of them turned their gaze toward Ines.
"...So, who is this lovely princess? The Admiral of the South's daughter?"
Gidman asked me cautiously while looking at Ines.
"Yes. Ines Silva. She is the woman who will become my wife."
"My, hmm... Is such a fragile lady fit for a ship? I feel like she might faint from the smell of fish alone."
At Gidman's banter, the surrounding pirates burst into chuckles.
"...."
Held in my arms, Ines hung her head low with an expression that could have been either shame or unfamiliarity.
Lawrence continued, piggybacking on Gidman's words.
"Heh.... You're our Captain's wife? You're pretty, but can you handle him? I saw the Captain bathing last time and the size of his cock—"
"—That's enough."
I cut them off.
"Let me make this clear: this woman is my wife. I won't ask you to treat her as my equal, but you will show her respect. If you treat her like that, the crew... the pirates and nobles will look down on us even more."
"...Ahem, cough. Uh, well, my apologies. Please forget my rudeness from a moment ago, miss."
"...He's a man who lives by the sword, so his words come out a bit blunt. I'm sorry, sister-in-law."
"N-nice, to meet you...."
Ines answered in a voice that seemed to trail off.
My subordinates might feel it's unfair, but it couldn't be helped.
Even if it was a marriage in name only, she was still my 'wife.'
If she were ignored, it would undermine my own dignity.
Therefore, it was right to establish this discipline from the start.
"Gidman, turn the bow. We're heading to the place marked on the map. First... we'll have our wedding, so let's prepare for a feast for the first time in a while."
"Yes, Captain."
"Ines, let's go to the captain's quarters. The ship will shake, so stay seated safely."
"...Yes."
I gave the order to Gidman and headed to the captain's quarters with Ines.
"Did everyone hear? Set sail——!!!"
""Set sail———!!""
Let's see just how godforsaken a place you gave me.
I can't wait to see it, Leandro Silva.
*
'Morgue Bay.'
The name of the estate the Admiral of the South granted me.
As expected, Morgue Bay is located at the southernmost tip of the South.
The role the Admiral of the South assigned to me is that of a hound.
Thus, he had to give me the most optimal location for hunting down pirates and privateers threatening the southern seas.
Additionally, since he needed to isolate me politically, he couldn't place me in the center of power.
Nor did he have any reason to give me high-quality land that would preserve my wealth.
In that sense, this Morgue Bay was...
"...As I felt before, there doesn't seem to be anything worth looting here."
"Well, the Lord here is quite famous, isn't he? For taking protection money from pirates and letting them pass through unnoticed."
It could be described as a truly horrific place.
To put it bluntly, this is abandoned land.
The kind of place a lower-ranking noble, pushed out from the center or demoted, protects out of sheer desperation.
That's why the owners here ignored whatever nonsense the pirates did in front of them.
In fact, they grew wealthy by taking bribes from those pirates.
As for me...
"...So what do we do now? We've already rained down a few artillery barrages here, haven't we?"
"...."
I'm the type to just smash everything because I hate the idea of bribes.
At this point, I have a moment of contemplation.
If I dock my ship, go ashore, and demand they hand over the estate and leave, would they actually comply?
'Absolutely not.'
Where in the world is there anyone who would say, 'Here, take this!' and hand it over to a former pirate?
They'd throw a tantrum about why a pirate is getting a title.
Then they'd make a scene claiming the Admiral of the South's orders were forged.
Before long, they'd dig their heels in, claiming they'll send a petition directly to the center.
But... who am I?
I am the 'Pirate', Haydam.
"Prepare the naval guns."
"...! Yes, Captain!"
Many underdeveloped countries in the 21st century find that fists are closer than the law.
And in this world, which is mostly like those underdeveloped countries, how close are cannons?
Above all, this isn't the center of the South.
Unlike the southern center where mutual assured destruction could be realized.
Here, we can completely wipe them out.
"First, we intimidate. Just push forward, like we did in the South."
""Yes, Captain!!""
"Personally, I'd like to keep the walls and the village, so I don't want to turn it into a complete wasteland, but..."
Of course, not everything in the world goes according to plan.
"...If they remain stubborn until the end, then fire everything."
"I'm very satisfied, Captain. Let's go with that!"
"Did you all hear? Ready your weapons!! Expect combat!!"
""Yes—!!""
With a very constructive Plan B in place, we moved forward.
*
"Sigh, haah...."
Rubik, the Baron of Morgue Bay, looked at the gold coins on the table, his eyes sparkling.
It was only natural.
It was obvious that the number of pirates running rampant in the South had increased recently.
And since taking bribes from them had become routine, Rubik's pockets had naturally grown heavy.
"Just how much is all this, huh?"
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had accumulated wealth on a record-breaking scale.
'As long as it stays like this, just like this.'
He was extremely satisfied with his current life.
To be honest, the beginning of his appointment here had been incredibly difficult.
But he had made... 'rational' choices to amass this much wealth.
Simply by not attacking them.
Just by allowing them to travel freely, he had generated this level of income.
'Hehehe...! Maybe I should just ditch the South and head across the ocean.'
Happy fantasies naturally began to unfold in his mind.
But it was at that very moment.
"L-Lord Rubik...!"
A mere soldier ruined his moment of bliss in a single instant.
Feeling irritated by the man, Rubik asked cynically.
"What is it?"
"I-it's urgent! I think you need to come out and see for yourself."
The soldier began banging on the locked door, calling for Rubik.
"Whew... what could possibly be so urgent in a place like this...."
Rubik tidied up the gold coins and treasures on the table and hid them under his desk.
—Clack.
As soon as Rubik opened the door and faced the soldier.
"T-they're... they're at the coast right now...!"
The soldier spoke, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"They? Who are you talking about? No one was scheduled to come today—"
Just as Rubik was about to question him.
—Bwaaaaaaa———————!!
...A sound far too familiar.
And therefore terrifying, the blast of a horn echoed in his ears.
"A-ah... ah...!"
An instinctive fear, a feeling that he could not possibly win against them.
Existences so overwhelming that it was better to leave treasure on the shore than to fight them.
"T-they've arrived, Lord Rubik...!"
Rubik tried to climb the wall immediately to confirm if it was them.
—Baron Rubik of Morgue Bay, listen.
As if it were unnecessary to check, 'his' voice, infused with Aura, drifted over.
—The estate and title of Morgue Bay now belong to me, Haydam.
The Pirate King, Haydam.
—Therefore, surrender, bow your head before me, and retreat quietly.
"You fucking...! You absolute, total piece of shit......!!!"
He... was now trying to take his estate as well.