He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 85

The quiet, small port village would have been peaceful as always under normal circumstances.

But now, under the control of pirates, the atmosphere of the village was more desolate than ever.

“Tch, this place is boring as hell.”

“It’s so poor, there’s nothing to plunder.”

While the Southern Territory had many wealthy port cities, even the small villages weren’t particularly rich.

The pirates occupied this place to use it as a supply base or to find any resistance forces that were still putting up minor resistance.

“There’s nothing more to see here. Should we move on to another place? There are still some areas controlled by Orlant remnants, right?”

“Other guys are already sniffing around and heading there.”

“Eh. Still, there should be one or two decent places left… Huh? What’s that?”

As the idle pirates were engaged in pointless chatter, a ship slowly appeared on the horizon.

It was clearly approaching this village.

“What is it? Doesn’t look like the navy.”

A pirate sailor, who was idly watching the sea, checked the flag with a spyglass.

Sure enough, it was flying a pirate flag, proving they were allies.

Of course, it would normally be hasty to assume they were allies based solely on the pirate flag.

However, the Orlant nobles had been virtually crushed, so the idea that a pirate flag meant they were allies was ingrained in their minds.

“Still, just in case, someone go check it out.”

Soon, a speedboat was launched and approached the ship.

Even as they exchanged light signals and approached, no magic cannonballs or magic bullets were fired.

And those on the deck were all in scruffy pirate attire.

“What, I was suspicious for nothing. But I’ve never seen you guys before?”

“We could say the same about you.”

A man in equally scruffy clothes replied to the pirate’s grumbling.

But even though his attire was undoubtedly that of a pirate, there was something strange about him.

Although he was wearing a hood, the hair that stuck out was clean silver, and his face was quite handsome compared to his dirty appearance.

“Are you interested in me? Why are you staring so intently? I’m not interested in men.”

“Ahem, neither am I. But are you the captain?”

“Are your eyes just for show? That’s the captain over there.”

The man spoke in a somewhat sarcastic tone, but that made him seem more like a pirate, which reduced suspicion.

Meanwhile, turning to where he pointed, there was indeed someone wearing a tricorn hat [a three-cornered hat], which captains usually wore.

“A woman? The captain is a woman?”

But the pirate sailor frowned reflexively, as he didn’t expect the captain to be a woman.

The pirates, who were born criminals, were particularly superstitious and considered it unlucky to have a woman on board.

“Hey, watch your mouth. Or do you want to get shot?”

“…Well, it’s not my ship, so it’s none of my business. More importantly, what’s your purpose here? Did the Duke send you?”

Even though they were just pirates, he didn’t want to get shot for causing trouble with unnecessary meddling, so he got straight to the point.

His suspicion had mostly faded, but he was still slightly doubtful.

He had to ask more questions and refuse entry if there were any suspicious aspects.

“The purpose is to resupply and transport slaves. Of course, it’s something the Pirate Duke ordered.”

“Resupply is one thing… but slaves?”

The pirate showed curiosity at the word ‘slaves.’ Then the silver-haired man replied lightly, as if it were nothing.

“Of course, they’re very expensive, high-class slaves. Nobles. Although they’re no better than beggars now.”

“Nobles? So, maybe Orlant remnants?”

“Correct. You can check if you’re really suspicious.”

The pirate sailor nodded at his words.

Of course, the pirate wasn’t just doing it for the purpose of honestly checking.

“Indeed. Especially since there are many women, right?”

“That’s right. It’s easier to get money from the women, so it was quite a jackpot, you know?”

“…I’m so jealous.”

To the point where he wanted to take them.

The pirates, who were second to none when it came to wanting what they saw, drooled inwardly as they looked at the noble prisoners locked up on one side of the ship.

If they forcibly took them, the price or whatever would be enormous.

Although they were pirates gathered under the Pirate Duke, they weren’t united by loyalty, and they could stab each other in the back at any time for profit.

The pirate sailor, whose thoughts had reached that point, soon changed to a fawning attitude.

“I’m sorry for suspecting you. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if you were real allies.”

“You’re so suspicious. Well, it’s understandable since you and we seem to be seeing each other for the first time.”

“Well, does it matter? What’s important is that we get along from now on. So, are you going to enter the port?”

The pirate quickly formulated a plan to lure them into the port, kill them when they were off guard, and take everything.

Of course, he was worried about whether the other party would willingly enter the port…

“Of course. Why else would we have come all this way?”

“Oh my, we need to prepare to welcome guests. We’ll treat you well, so don’t worry and come on in.”

The pirate sailor greeted them with a friendly impression and immediately left on his ship.

After they left… everyone on the ship breathed a sigh of relief.

Sarah also approached me with a slightly relieved expression and said.

“Fortunately, we deceived them well. It seems like you’ve scammed people more than once or twice?”

“The line between a skilled ruler and a con artist is just a piece of paper.”

It wasn’t a joke, but when I looked back on what I had done since possessing this world, it seemed like I had only been scamming people.

Of course, I did it according to my intentions, but at this rate, I’ll really have no excuse even if I’m called a con artist.

Well, the nobles who acted as slave prisoners seemed dissatisfied, but what could they do if they were dissatisfied?

“As planned, we’ll quietly ambush them and take the ship.”

The goal was to completely block the variables that would allow them to escape and take the ship intact.

The guys stationed in the small village weren’t that great in terms of the number or size of their ships.

But right now, we were desperate for even one ship.

At this rate, we wouldn’t know when the Pirate Duke might try to flee.

“The ship is approaching the port!”

“Prepare to attack as soon as I signal.”

The friendly pirates greeted our ship with smiles as it approached the port.

…It was a very obvious ploy.

Friendly pirates in the world, unless they’re the Straw Hat Pirates [protagonists of the One Piece manga and anime series], there’s no way such a thing exists.

“Haha, it’s fate that we met like this, let’s have a drink of rum, friend. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Luffy.”

“Huh?”

“The man who will become the Pirate King.”

Thud!

“Uh…?”

“Ah, it’ll be the Pirate Emperor, not the Pirate King, though.”

The expression of the pirate, who had a holy sword stuck in his ship before he knew it, slowly crumbled.

“Now’s the time! Everyone, fire!”

At the same time, Sarah ordered the attack from the ship.

They began firing with the magic pistols they had seized, though not many.

The range of the pistols was poor, so almost no one was hit, but the firing itself could be threatening.

Thanks to that, the ambushed pirates were frightened and panicked.

Among them, running wild was as easy as a wolf running wild among sheep.

“Y-You’re too fast!”

“T-The gun- Keuh!”

Moreover, the guys who were holding onto a small village weren’t as elite as the ones in Milania.

The pirates in Milania often had magic pistols, even though they were too expensive compared to ordinary weapons, but these guys didn’t.

Bang!

“Keuh! Why, me…”

“Aaaagh!”

Slash!

Even the few gunshots were blocked by using the pirates as shields, and then they were quickly approached and cut down.

The pirates, who couldn’t even put up a proper resistance, soon began to flee.

Clang, bang!

“Don’t let them get away! We have to kill as many as possible!”

Sarah began to snipe at them with a pistol as they began to flee.

The bullets she fired miraculously followed and hit the target as if chasing them.

“Is that a magic bullet?”

I muttered quietly as I watched her mysterious shooting.

Meanwhile, the pirates were still scattering in all directions, trying to escape.

Of course, we had taken control of the port, so they couldn’t get on a ship.

They had to hide among the villages or flee inland.

But a pirate can’t survive crawling on land instead of the sea.

Those they had a lot of grudges against were waiting for them inland.

“Let’s kill the pirates!”

“You bastards! This is revenge for my daughter!”

The pirates began to be killed by the villagers who had been resented for their looting, without us having to do anything more.

“It’s over. Well, it’s just the beginning. Sarah, you know what to do now, right?”

“Of course.”

“I hope those guys will be useful as much as they guaranteed.”

The ones I was pointing at were the nobles, who were close to being burdens so far, as they hadn’t even participated in the battle.

“Well, even if there are untrustworthy parts, they’re still nobles. They’re somewhat skilled at using people in their own way.”

“I don’t have high expectations, but I hope they can take care of themselves.”

It was necessary to replenish sailors and supplies to drive the ship, using this place as a base.

Naturally, such things had to be done by someone with some knowledge or authority, and for now, we had to use those nobles.

It’s easy to have prejudices that nobles only live in luxury, but most of the intellectuals in this era are nobles.

Well, there are probably some truly incompetent guys, but we have no choice but to roll them around while giving them appropriate rewards and punishments.

“What are we going to do now?”

“Why are you asking the obvious? We have to repeat the same thing and build a fleet.”

The first goal was to steal ships little by little and create a fleet.

So, the primary goal is to prevent the Pirate Duke from running away on a ship.

Ultimately, it’s to thwart that possibility itself.

“Then let’s start with reconnaissance first.”

“We need to launch a reconnaissance ship.”

“There’s that, but I have a special method.”

Sarah, who said that, immediately concentrated and began to use magic.

Soon, clear magic circuits appeared on her forehead, face, and hands.

I saw her using magic bullets, but I didn’t know she could use full-fledged magic.

Soon, the wind swirled around her, and she opened her eyes, which shone blue with magic.

“There’s a pirate fleet 3km southwest. I can also see them moving around intermittently.”

“Is that a magic that sees long distances?”

“Besides that, I can also create tailwinds or stop the waves for a moment.”

“With magic? Amazing? I didn’t know you were a magician.”

“I’m not a full-fledged magician. I just received the blessing of Prospera. If I had to say, I’m closer to a priestess or shaman.”

Prospera of Prosperity… one of the five guardian deities of the Empire.

If she received the blessing of that goddess, Sarah would have a lot of talent in governance, commerce, and navigation.

It was natural that she had talent in the navy.

“Anyway, we’ve officially become real pirates.”

Sarah, who said she was a navy, not a pirate, seemed to have a special impression of becoming a pirate, but of course, there was no time to be immersed in impressions.

We immediately replenished the sailors in the village, launched a scout ship, and began to look for pirates who would be the next prey.

And after a while, we learned unexpected news.

“Duke Orlant is alive? And he’s telling the location of the treasure?”

No, it’s amazing that he’s alive, but he’s handing over the treasure willingly. Is this guy crazy?