Chapter 29

When the captain's life was threatened by the Kobold, the crew members, though flustered, began to stop fighting.

Seeing the tide of battle turning against them, I clicked my tongue, and Theo was bewildered.

“Why are those people doing that? Why aren't they fighting anymore?”

“This is the sea.”

“So?”

“It means there's nowhere to run. And if the ship gets damaged or catches fire while fighting, we'll all die. It's customary to surrender when the captain is captured.”

Theo, who had lived his whole life as an inlander, did not understand.

“That's foolish. What's better about being a slave than dying?”

No.

That's something only a warrior can say.

It's something that can be said because he has the soul of a warrior with passion and will.

Indeed, Theo did not know how to give up.

“Young Master, follow me.”

“What, do you have a good idea?”

“If we take that small boat back there, we can escape from here.”

Theo gestured with his eyes to the small boat attached to the side of the merchant ship.

It's a boat used to transport goods or to rescue people who have fallen into the sea.

“Do you think that's even a possibility?”

“We have to try what we can. Maybe luck will be on our side.”

Theo didn't know how to give up, but he also didn't know the sea well.

It was a plan that was so fantastic it was unrealistic.

Even if we seize the small boat, this area is a vast ocean without a single island.

Even if we escape, we'll be caught by the pirate speedboats in an instant or be swept away by the waves and become fish food.

That was the problem with the sea environment.

It's not for nothing that the crew is surrendering.

But that's absolutely not going to happen.

I can't let that happen.

If this were a game, I could just quit and start over, but this is reality, not a game.

When you die, there's no such thing as a restart.

So, there was only one thing I had to do.

“Theo, is there a warrior who entrusts his fate to the enemy? Only a novice agonizes within the choices forced upon him by the enemy.”

“Then what will you do?”

“I must forge my own destiny and seize a third option. Watch carefully what I do from now on.”

Now was the time for me to step up.

I walked out in front of the demoralized crew.

Questioning gazes poured in.

They were gazes that could be summarized as, 'What's he suddenly doing?'

I had already received many such gazes in the Imperial Capital.

I was used to it, so it didn't matter.

“Do not back down, sons of the sea, sailors of Fasa! It is better to die with freedom than to be reduced to the state of a slave!”

I stepped forward and shouted to the crew.

“Fight for your freedom and your lives, and for yourselves!”

In truth, I am just an outsider on this merchant ship.

However, my disguised identity was known through the grapevine, so the crew members roughly knew me as someone important.

Now was the time for that fabricated authority to take effect.

As if in response to my wish, a familiar alarm sound rang in my ears.

「Trait Activated: Descendant of a Demon People only hear what they want to hear. ─That's how I persuaded them.」

The eyes of the crew, whose morale was wavering, turned hazy, and then they regained their fighting spirit.

The atmosphere, which had been leaning towards surrender just a moment ago, was completely reversed.

“He's right! It's better to die fighting than to be taken away as a slave!”

“I have an old mother back home! I can't die here!”

“I have a fiancée waiting for me!”

“Let's fight! Let's rather die fighting!”

A sudden change.

The Kobold pirates, who had been confident of victory, were flustered and didn't know what to do.

A few Kobolds who couldn't keep up with the change and were just standing there blankly were knocked to the ground by the crew.

The pirate captain was flustered and didn't know what to do.

He must not have thought that the hostage situation wouldn't work.

“Krr-k, you crazy bastards! Your leader is in my hands! Do you want him to die!”

“Go ahead and kill him!”

I glanced at Captain Leandro, who was pinned down by the pirate captain.

Things were going as I wanted, but Captain Leandro's expression was not so good.

I'm sorry.

If you die, I'll make sure to give you a proper funeral.

According to maritime customs, you'll become fish food, but it's still better than being taken away as a slave.

When things didn't go his way, the pirate captain found me.

His eyes were filled with resentment towards me.

“Krr-k, you damned bastard! You ruined everything with your tricks! You with the cunning tongue! I will kill you here today!”

The pirate captain's voice was murderous.

He seemed angry that I had ruined things, but I puffed out my chest and met his gaze confidently.

Now, even without the Heart of Iron and Blood trait activating, I'm not scared of trivial things.

In fact, it feels thrilling.

Of course, I had no intention of facing the pirate captain meekly.

Even Captain Leandro would be much stronger than me, and a Kobold who defeated him?

Wow.

Leon Gryph is scared of Kobolds.

I don't like fights with no chance of winning.

Instead, there was someone here to face the pirate captain.

“Go, Theomon! Take down the pirate captain with an axe attack!”

“Of course, I knew you'd tell me to do it. But why are you calling me by a weird name?”

Theo grumbled a lot but still stepped forward.

The pirate captain, who suddenly had to face a giant, was terrified.

Even without that, Snow Elves are a larger race than Kobolds, and Theo is much taller than average.

The Kobold probably feels like he's facing a giant.

“Coward! Krr-k, don't you even know the word 'duel'!”

“If you think it's unfair, you shouldn't have attacked in the first place!”

Theo walked forward and swung his axe wide.

The pirate captain seemed to feel the temptation to block it.

He held out his sword to block.

A foolish thought.

The moment they collided, the sword in the pirate captain's hand flew far away in a semicircle.

Theo did not leave the disarmed pirate captain alone.

As he rained down a series of attacks, the pirate captain rolled on the floor like a madman, dodging the attacks.

Before long, everyone had stopped fighting and was watching the duel.

Everything was at stake in this fight.

I deliberately spoke to stimulate the pirate captain's nerves.

“You speak Common fluently, where did you learn it?”

“Krr-k, from you human slaves!”

“Is that why you have no manners?”

“Kuk! You're the ones with no manners!”

Suddenly, the pirate captain dropped to one knee.

It looked as if he was about to surrender.

But he wasn't surrendering.

A dagger hidden by his boot was revealed.

“Hey, you vile bastard.”

“Krr-k! Piracy is a vile profession by nature! What's wrong with a pirate being vile!”

“Why are you so logical? Be honest, you're not a Kobold, are you?”

“We are an intelligent race too, human!”

The pirate captain stabbed at Theo with the dagger.

Due to the height difference, the place the pirate captain aimed for was naturally low.

But Theo was wearing shin guards on his legs.

Clang!

The dagger seemed to be of poor quality, as it simply broke as soon as it hit Theo's shin.

Or maybe Theo's legs were too hard.

The pirate captain screamed as he looked at the broken dagger.

“Krr-k, damn it!”

“Is that all your petty tricks!”

“Keek!”

Thwack!

Theo kicked the pirate captain, and the pirate captain rolled across the deck like a ball.

“Now! Everyone, attack!”

The crew did not miss the opportunity and immediately rushed in to beat up the pirate captain.

And with that, the battle was over.

It was almost anticlimactic considering what had just happened.

“The pirate leader is down! We won!”

“Ughh! Kill them all! Kill them all!”

“Kraaak!”

***

When the situation was reversed, the pirates' morale completely collapsed.

The surviving pirates began to flee in a hurry.

The crew, of course, did not just let them go.

Due to decades of maritime accidents at sea, the relationship between the human crew and the Kobold pirates was very close.

The humans wanted to throw the pirates into the sea as fish food, and the pirates wanted to exchange the humans for gold at the slave market in Halifa.

A tragedy occurred from that difference in perception.

After a lot of blood had flowed, not a single pirate ship managed to escape and they were all captured.

In that chaos, Captain Leandro was safely rescued.

Perhaps because he had died and come back to life, his attitude towards me was much more polite.

“Thank you for your help, Mr. Gryph. If it weren't for you, we would all be slaves or dead.”

“Don't mention it. By the way, what will you do with the captured Kobolds?”

At the mention of the Kobolds, Captain Leandro's eyes glistened with murderous intent.

“Well. They are very hot-tempered fellows. No one would want them as slaves.”

“What about selling them at the slave market? They should be worth some money.”

“The slave market in Halifa? Even if we sell them, they'll be freed soon and return to being pirates. They're poor, so no one will pay their ransom either.”

“They're useless.”

“Yes. The fish will feast today. Everyone wants that. It's rare to find a sailor in Apennia who hasn't lost a colleague or a friend to pirates.”

Looking at the Kobold prisoners kneeling on the deck, Captain Leandro could not hide his anger.

The expressions of the crew looking at the pirates were just as fierce.

The atmosphere was such that they would throw them into the sea as soon as the order was given.

Just then, a good idea popped into my head.

“If you're alright with it, Captain, would you entrust the Kobolds to me?”

“The Kobolds?”

Captain Leandro was puzzled but did not object.

“Of course, it's not a difficult matter. But what do you plan to do?”

“I'm thinking of getting an investment from the pirates.”

“Pardon?”

I grinned at his bewildered face.

The reason the Kresven pirates were notorious was because they plundered ships passing through the sea lanes at any time.

Therefore, a considerable amount of treasure is accumulated in the pirates' den.

I remember earning a pretty handsome profit when I wiped out the Kresven pirates in the game.

Especially now, I desperately need money.

Starting a business requires a lot of initial capital.

Moreover, founding a mercenary company is a money-eating hippo.

To put my plan into action, I need a lot of money, more money.

But now an opportunity to earn that initial capital has appeared right in front of me?

I can't just let it go.

“Ah, so that's what you were thinking. If that's the case, give it up. The pirates will never open their mouths.”

“You've tried it already?”

“Yes. I don't know about the Empire's side, but in Apennia, there are more than a few people who are after the Kresven pirates. But these guys wouldn't open their mouths even if they were about to die.”

“For what reason?”

“It seems their pirate leader is scarier than the knife at their throat. They say if their leader finds out they talked, he'll flay them alive and take out their heart. They all chose the gallows on their own.”

“You mean Tospol.”

“You've heard of him too, guest. The Sultan of Kresven.”

“Sultan my ass. Just a pirate leader.”

The pirate leader Tospol, who calls himself the master of the Kresven Archipelago, has a very cruel and harsh personality.

He's a truly crazy, violent, and insane guy.

Among the rumors that follow Tospol, there's even an unpleasant rumor that he made the sails of his ship out of the skin of his prisoners.

In fact, if you wipe out the pirate den and capture Tospol's ship, you can confirm that the rumor is true.

I have an extreme hatred for pirates except when I'm playing as a pirate, and that's probably because I met Tospol first in my first merchant playthrough.

“The pirate leader of Kresven is a well-known villain in the Golden Sea. The Imperial Navy tried so hard but couldn't wipe them out in the end. It's a real shame. If only we could find out their location.”

“If you find out?”

“All the nations of Apennia, the trading companies, and the shipowners' unions will gladly give that person a reward and a letter of appreciation. There are more than a few people who have suffered at the hands of these pirates.”

Money talk is always welcome unless someone is asking to borrow it, but hearing that made me really want to do it.

Especially since there are many small but wealthy nations in Apennia, I can look forward to the amount I can get my hands on.

“Captain, what if I interrogate the pirates and find out their location?”

“I swear on my honor, I will raid their den immediately.”

“Then please give me some time. I will try to persuade the pirates. If that doesn't work, it won't be too late to throw them into the sea then.”

The look in Captain Leandro's eyes as he looked at me was suspicious.

It was a look that said, 'Will that even work?'

But he seemed to have judged that there was nothing to lose and agreed.

“Alright. The crew can wait that long. If it weren't for you, we would all be dead.”

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