CH 201

It’s strange……. even though I took many human lives, my heart is strangely calm. It’s not like I saw them killing each other up close in hand-to-hand combat. I didn’t cut down and kill them with my own hands. But without a doubt, all these sailors moved according to my instructions and caused the death of many enemy sailors. As for me, I used magic directly with this hand to kill a lot of people. Yet my heart is strangely calm. I thought that if I killed someone, my heart would be more disturbed.

It’s not like you’re facing a monster or a heinous criminal. Even though they are pirates, they are soldiers from the Kingdom of Hollant who came under the orders of their superiors. I killed them knowing that. Despite this, I am calm and not particularly disturbed.

Or maybe I didn’t have a human heart from the beginning. I can see that from the fact that I was calm until now, even though I was reincarnated in such a brutal world.

You don’t just get attacked by monsters. You may be attacked by bandits or criminals. You may be attacked by assassins. I knew that time would come. And yet, I took it for granted without worrying about it. And even if I bloody my hands, my heart will remain quiet.

I have to do it. I just brushed off the falling sparks because the other party was the first to strike. Even so… I guess I’m a cold person to not feel anything. But now it’s convenient. I have no time to cry in a place like this. If you say I’m a monster without a human heart, let’s go and settle it accordingly.

“Oh my? Then you believe I need an escort, Schwartz?” I said.

“Ah… you’ve got a point… I don’t think the young lady needs an escort…” Schwartz said.

He looked frightened as he shook his head. Above all, it seems they all understood.

From now on, I have to land with only some sailors and clean up after the barrage. Of course, I can’t bring my parents, my cute girlfriends, and Schwartz. I do not know what will happen even if I land. It’s only natural that women can’t be taken with us even if their safety hasn’t been ensured beforehand, and I can’t let my parents get involved. The same goes for Schwartz, who will take over the command if something happens to me.

Only one caravel towing the remaining unsinkable pirate ships is allowed in the bay. After that, I will land in a dinghy. You wouldn’t need to take anyone with you other than the sailors rowing the boat. I got on the dinghy and headed for Goslant Island.

When we landed on Goslant Island, there was not a single person around. Of course, there are signs of inhabitants. They just go inside the buildings and hide. Some of the pirates who remained on land, or who were thrown into the sea when we fought at the entrance of the bay earlier, or who jumped overboard into it, are also still in this port. However, even the pirates hid, and no one appeared openly.

“Huh…” I muttered, “then you and you, please follow me.”

“Uh…”

“Ma’am!”

I randomly choose two sailors who have paddled this far in a dinghy. It’s okay for me to wander around by myself, but there’s also the possibility that I’ll be looked down upon and cause an unnecessary fight because I look vulnerable. For the time being, if I have an escort, even if it’s just for appearances, the chances of my opponent thinking of doing something stupid will decrease.

Looking behind me, I could see a caravel ship entering the bay with two pirate ships in tow. Those two ships carry the pirates who survived the previous naval battle. It’s just a threat from the outside, but the fleet outside the bay is showing their Caan cannons, so they won’t do anything bad.

Considering the accuracy of the Caan cannons, it is unlikely that any fleet outside the bay would fire in this arrangement. After all, the possibility of hitting a friendly caravel ship that is towing two ships is extremely high. That’s why they don’t usually shoot in such close quarters. The opponent can realize that. But I’ll never let them.

If the pirates behaved erratically and the caravel they were towing was about to be destroyed or stolen, they would not hesitate to rain down their cannonballs and take them both out. The enemy knows that too, so they don’t anything bad. They should be quietly waiting for the result of the discussion between me and the enemy admiral.

“Now then… where should I go? Please guide me to wherever the Lord of this island or city and the Kingdom of Hollant’s Admiral are.”

After advancing a little from the port, I called out to the surroundings. We know people are hiding in nearby buildings. Someone will guide us

“…………This way,” a man who came out of a harbor building said.

He looks like a man of the sea, a rogue, a pirate. These guys are sailors from the Kingdom of Hollant, but they’re acting like pirates, so they’re not that different from pirates. It is the same as the police are not so different from the gangsters they police. ……Hmm? It’s a little different, don’t you think?

Well, it’s fine. The man who came out said he would guide me, so I followed him obediently. The two escorts I chose have confused expressions, but I don’t mind. The two may be worried about what to do if it’s an enemy trap, or if they might be killed, but there’s no such worry.

If you kill us, negotiations will be hopeless. Even though the naval battle is over and I came here as a messenger to negotiate, you know that if you try to kill me or take me hostage, you will earn our side’s ire. If that happens, the Caan cannons that had shown their power earlier will spew fire once more.

The town will be ruined and many innocent residents will be sacrificed. There’s no point in going that far and killing the messenger for negotiations. If you were going to put up a thorough fight, you would have done it from the beginning. The fact that the pirates have surrendered and the fighting is now stopped is not what the enemy wants. So the chances of us being harmed are extremely low.

“Excuse me. I brought a messenger,” the man said as he knocked on a door.

It was for a splendid building in this neighborhood, which was a short walk from the town, and the guide opened the door and urged me in. From here on, I’ll be the only one to enter.

“Good day to you,” I said. “My name is Sir Floto von Caan of the Kingdom of Ploiss. Am I correct to assume you are the negotiation partners for the end of this war?”

Two people were sitting in the building. One of them looks like an aristocrat. The other is dressed like a noble and probably is one, but he’s tanned and looks like a soldier. I spoke to the two of them a little rougher than usual so as not to be too polite.

This time it’s different from the usual lady talking to the gentlemen. This time, I am on the winning side, I should not be humbled by the two who are on the losing side. It’s not like it’s okay to be bossy, but it’s no good to yield or humble yourself too much.

“I am Ramor Egmont, the ‘Pirate’s Boss’ if you will,” the tanned, soldier-like man said. “I will negotiate with you.”

The other man hasn’t named himself, but he’s probably the magistrate of this town or the Lord of the island. In other words, Ramor said that the town was unrelated and that the “pirates” were operating on their own.

“Umm… I am Gustav Knutson Hond, the Lord of Goslant Island.”

DOHN!

“Hii…!”

As I made my way to them, I smashed the table they were sitting behind. We have to make our position known to the other party who’s taking us so lightly. Especially since I look like this now, it’s easy for me to be mocked. If they think these negotiations are going to go easily in their favor, negotiations will only become troublesome.

“Since the ‘Fleet dispatched from the Kingdom of Hollant’ acted without the island’s sanction, ‘we have nothing to do with any of the countries,’ is it?” I asked.

““…………””

When I pointed it out, Ramor and Gustav looked at each other. These guys will say that Ramor and the others were pirates who were only anchored in this port and that the pirates were just marauding and pillaging here and there on their own accord, and neither Visvy nor Goslant Island had anything to do with the piracy. I guess they were trying to weasel out of this by saying that there was no reason to blame Goslant Island for this incident.

However, I accurately pointed out that the soldiers dispatched from the Kingdom of Hollant carried out piracy against the Kingdom of Ploiss under the direction of the Kingdom of Hollant, and that Goslant Island was cooperating with Hollant.

“You were on one side of a war between nations,” I said. “If you were complicit with the enemy, you wouldn’t be able to complain even if you were also recognized as an enemy as well. Of course, Goslant Island was prepared for this since it agreed to help the Kingdom of Hollant, yes?”

“It’s a strange thing to claim this is a war between nations,” Ramor said. “We are just pirates. Wherever we attack…”

“I don’t need this farce,” I said. “I know that you are regular soldiers of Hollant. Let’s stop wasting time like this,” I said. “You’re hiding 6 men in here, but it’s also a waste of time. Go ahead and try to capture me, but I have no value as a hostage, nor can you capture me in the first place.”

I thought I wouldn’t admit it so frankly, but to be involved in such a farce…

“Wait a moment… what are you talking about…?” Ramor asked.

It seems they’re going to play dumb. Then, fine by me.

“Is that so?” I said. “In short, you’re saying all these people lurking here have nothing to do with you, either? Then I’ll get rid of them myself. They are eavesdropping in the negotiating room without permission, aren’t they? … Earth.”

“Hii!”

“Woah!”

When I shot small stone bullets here and there, the people who were hiding jumped out in a hurry. Of course, I didn’t hit them directly. Depending on how it unfolds, I might have to interrogate them from now on. It would be useless if I wounded them first and they bled to death.

“Wait! Wait a moment!” the soldiers who jumped out cried. “We were undercover at the behest of Admiral Ramor! We had nothing to do with this! Don’t kill us!”

Too little discipline and loyalty both. You can’t entrust them with this kind of mission if a threat makes them confess so quickly.

Still, there were no other people to use anymore. Most of the main force left on ships and are now our prisoners. What remains here is proof that they only have soldiers of this caliber left.

“Are you still going to play me for a fool?” I asked. “I don’t like wasting time. If you’re going to insist this escalate into total war, so be it. Earth…”

I activate my magic again. This time it’s different from the small pebbles from earlier. It’s as big as a human head now.

“Didn’t you all see that one ship that sank in the open sea just now? That was my magic. If you keep delaying, I can directly shoot Visvy this time. If you think you can take shelter against it, I hope you find a very sturdy building. Well, that still won’t be enough to escape my magic…”

8 human-head-sized masses are crafted and float around me. 8 is the same number as these guys. 2 nobles and 6 people who were hiding. You probably understand the meaning of me going out of my way to create 8 of them.

“You’re right, we are ‘former members of the Hollant Royal Navy,’” Ramor said. “But we are no longer in the navy. We are no longer affiliated with the Kingdom of Hollant.”

So that’s it……. are they going to insist that they quit the navy and came here on their own? Surely everyone will say so in public. In the Pacific War, even the United States did not declare war on Japan, but joined the war as “volunteer soldiers” and attacked Japan. However, since they are freelance mercenaries who have nothing to do with the U.S. military, the US has no responsibility for them. and are not committing military assets without a formal declaration of war. 1

“I should have told you already,” I said. “I don’t like wasting time. I don’t need this kind of pretense. Don’t waste time anymore like this and speak frankly.”

““…………””

Most of them look at each other. But only Ramor was staring at me. He seems to be a person with a lot of guts.

Usually, pirates are punished as criminals. If you are a soldier or a knight in a war, your status as a prisoner of war is guaranteed to some extent, and you also have honor. But pirates have no honor as soldiers or knights, and are only exposed as criminals and executed. To suffer that same inglorious death would be more intolerable for a proud soldier or knight.

Even so, Ramor remains unmoved and does not speak at all. For a person like this, threatening to execute him would be counterproductive, let alone useless. Ramor is going to be executed in silence for his country, even if he is dishonored after death.

I think he is a miserable person. There aren’t many people who are so determined and loyal. I don’t think he’s a good person to die in a place like this… why did Hollant make such a person so disposable? And why is Ramor still stubbornly trying to protect his loyalty to his homeland?

If we get other people to speak up, we can expose the evil deeds of the Kingdom of Hollant. But that’s no good. To clearly show that we have won, we need to make Ramor admit defeat and speak as the “Admiral” of these sailors, as he was called.

I was lost in thought as to how I could get someone of this determination to speak.