He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 86

“Wow, typical of the Orlant family, it’s enormous. You’re saying there are dozens of places like this, Captain?”

“Yeah, and it seems like that’s not even the full story.”

The pirate captain, a close aide to Blackbeard, smiled contentedly as he recalled the plundered hidden assets of the Orlant family.

Even this small fraction was filled with gold bars, high-value smuggled goods, and treasures of special worth.

“Captain, how about we secretly pocket some for ourselves?”

“Don’t be foolish. Why do you think the Duke sent us alone, keeping it a secret from the others?”

The captain was tempted to embezzle some of the treasure, but he and his crew had already been promised a considerable share.

Instead, the Duke had kept it a secret from the other pirates.

Naturally, this was to reduce the amount to be divided.

“We have a promise to get our fair share, so it’s best not to do anything that could get us in trouble.”

Of course, the captain wanted to skim off a bit without getting caught, but if he were found out, it would only give them a reason to discard him.

Instead, the captain decided that quietly accepting the crumbs under Blackbeard was the key to a long life, and he suppressed his desires.

Think he’s being timid for a pirate? Well, do pirates not have swords at their throats and only one life to live?

“Captain! Ship approaching from the northeast!”

“Who are they? Remnants of the navy?”

“The flag is a pirate flag. The ship doesn’t look like one of the navy’s either.”

Hearing the lookout’s report, the pirate captain immediately raised his spyglass and scanned the area.

As the crewman said, he could see a pirate flag fluttering.

“Strange. Suspicious.”

“Huh? What is it, Captain?”

“Idiot, you’re a pirate, don’t you know? Who flies a pirate flag so openly?”

“Ah…….”

The pirate flag was a symbol of pirates, but it wasn’t something you’d proudly display.

The original purpose of putting a flag on the mast was to indicate affiliation.

Even within the same empire, different flags were used depending on the city or merchant group from the Southern Territory.

Pirates usually preferred to disguise themselves as merchant ships before suddenly attacking.

“Of course, it might not be…….”

Those confident in their ship’s speed might openly attack with the pirate flag, but usually, they used tricks.

Moreover, with pirates running rampant everywhere, it was possible that they were genuinely flying the pirate flag by chance…….

“Can’t hurt to be careful. Signal them not to approach.”

Whether they were pirates or not, there was no reason to let them get close.

Immediately, the crewmen used glass to send a flashing signal as the captain ordered.

The pirates couldn’t use sophisticated or difficult expressions, but they managed to convey a message of ‘get lost.’

“Huh? They’re ignoring us and coming closer?”

“What? Are they after our treasure?”

Ignoring the warning and approaching meant they intended to attack.

Their steering skills seemed considerable, and it seemed impossible to outrun them.

Naturally, the thought occurred to them that they had been targeted, and they suspected that their treasure transport had been discovered.

“The boss wouldn’t be so careless… Fire the cannons first!”

Immediately, the pirates prepared to fire the magic-powered cannons.

As pirates, their cannons were old and few, but they were threatening enough.

Sinking the ship would be impossible, but they thought the opponent would give up unless they were truly determined.

“Ready to fire!”

“Fire!”

As soon as the order was given, a crewman struck the rear of the cannon with a hammer.

The magic circuit engraved on the rear of the cannon was struck, causing an explosion and launching the cannonball.

The experienced captain predicted a hit, even with the first shot.

“Huh?”

But then, something flashed from that ship and soared into the sky.

It bisected the cannonball flying towards the ship.

And it was flying towards their ship at a tremendous speed.

“W-what!”

The pirate captain and crew screamed in horror, but before they knew it, someone with pure white wings landed in the middle of the ship’s deck.

“Hello?”

No sooner had the man with shining, long silver hair said those words than black shadows stretched out in all directions like blades.

“Aaaagh!”

“My leg!”

The crewmen were stabbed or cut, killed or injured, and quickly became unable to fight.

Those who could still fight hurriedly fired magic guns, but he was already darting through the crew at high speed when they aimed.

“Y-you bastard!”

Unable to bear watching his crew being helplessly attacked, the captain drew his cutlass and infused it with aura [magical energy].

Clang, chaeng!

“Ugh! M-my sword…….”

The captain lost his sword in just one exchange.

His hand vibrated as if he had struck a bell, and he couldn’t help it.

Clank.

“Don’t move. Unless you want to die.”

Most of the crew had been subdued, and the remaining ones were frightened, with the enemy ship almost right next to them.

“I-I surrender.”

Although he was a subordinate of the pirate duke, he had no intention of risking his life for him, so the captain immediately surrendered.

Of course, he was concerned about the treasure stored in the hold, but his life was ten thousand times more precious than treasure.

* * *

“So, all these treasures are the Orlant family’s hidden assets?”

“……Just a small part, though.”

Originally, he had intended to capture the pirates and increase the number of ships.

But what was this? The ship was piled high with unidentified treasures?

When he interrogated the former captain, he soon told the truth.

He was a subordinate of the pirate duke, Blackbeard, but he didn’t seem to have any loyalty.

“The Duke seems to have started revealing the treasure locations, which is a bit strange. If he’s doing it to survive, he should never reveal them, right?”

He would be killed the moment he revealed all the information.

But the Orlant Duke I knew couldn’t be ignorant of such a simple fact.

He was skilled in political maneuvering and understood the value of his assets.

“Um, about that. This is just my thought, but could he be deliberately leaking information to us?”

“What?”

At that moment, Sarah offered an unexpected opinion.

“The treasure locations that captain mentioned… They seem too intentional.”

“What do you mean?”

“Only the head of the family knows where the treasures are hidden, but as far as I know, they are carefully hidden throughout the Southern Territory.”

Hidden assets were concealed for various reasons, such as tax evasion and smuggling.

As the Southern Territory was the wealthiest region in the empire, the scale was large, and the assets were widely dispersed.

“Looking at the treasure locations the captain mentioned, it feels like they’re making us wander the sea. It’s as if they’re leading us to find them.”

“Maybe they’re just trying to make the pirates suffer?”

“If that were the case, they would have mentioned the treasures hidden in the most difficult places first. Or not at all.”

That was certainly possible.

Sarah was a naval admiral, so she knew more about navigation than I did, and it was better to trust her words.

“If that’s true, then the Duke must have found out that I’ve arrived.”

“Why would that be the case?”

“Because otherwise, why would he reveal the treasure locations? How else would he rob the pirates without me?”

“……I guess so.”

Sarah frowned slightly, as if she felt ignored, but it was a reasonable judgment.

He must have heard about the commotion in Milania, and it reached the Duke’s ears.

He must have heard about my appearance and actions and made that judgment.

“Then I’ll take the treasures as he wishes.”

Thankfully, I don’t have to search for them myself; I can just rob the pirates who are acting as delivery men.

And it seemed like a smooth plan to use those treasures to replenish the navy and deal with the pirate duke.

Of course, the remaining treasures would go into my pocket.

“I hope you’ll remember that these treasures rightfully belong to our family.”

“They’re treasures that your master has no way of retrieving. Isn’t it finders keepers?”

“That’s sophistry!”

“Yeah, it’s sophistry. But these treasures weren’t exactly collected legitimately, were they? Do you want me to issue an imperial decree to confiscate them if you don’t like it?”

“…….”

They’re black money that hasn’t even been laundered, and you want to claim ownership? Pay your taxes properly if you want to.

“Of course, I’m not a robber either. I’ll return them when it’s all over. After taking a handling fee.”

“……And you get to decide the handling fee as you please?”

“You know it well. The Duke’s bloodline is showing. Did the Duke expect this and hand it over to me?”

“…….”

Sarah’s face turned demonic, but she couldn’t refute it because it was all true.

Anyway, I’ll gratefully use this free money.

* * *

“You got robbed again?”

“……Yes, Boss. I have no excuse.”

“Y-you stupid bastards!”

Enraged by his subordinate’s report, the pirate duke Blackbeard violently assaulted his men.

“Hoo, hoo…… You bastards…… How much is the loss?”

They had lost four ships so far.

Treasures that they just had to bring back.

Of course, they had obtained some without incident, but losing four ships was a significant loss.

At least these men had barely survived and returned to report, but those four ships had been completely taken, along with their crews.

“Heh heh, things aren’t going so well, are they?”

“You bastard…… You were aiming for this, weren’t you?”

“Oh, I don’t know what you mean?”

“Your remnants are only targeting the treasures! You must have planned this!”

“Hahaha, how could I, while being held captive here? You have quite the imagination.”

The Orlant Duke laughed at him even as he was being grabbed by the collar.

He wasn’t being treated well and had been exhausted and tortured, but he was relieved that things seemed to be going according to plan.

It would be great if he could be rescued, but even if he couldn’t, he would be able to give Sarah a chance.

“Tch, don’t mess with me. I might really kill you.”

“Then how would you get my treasures? You need them, don’t you?”

“Kugh…….”

Blackbeard couldn’t kill the Orlant Duke because he hadn’t found all of the Duke’s treasures yet, even though he was seething with anger.

“So, there’s a suspiciously strong guy with silver hair, is that right?”

“Yes, he was an opponent we couldn’t possibly defeat. We barely survived this time by moving as a fleet.”

“Silver hair…….”

Silver hair wasn’t common among the people of the empire, but it wasn’t so rare that it could be a clue.

Rather, it was a fairly common hair color among the nobles. Even the imperial family often had silver hair.

“It doesn’t matter who he is. The problem is how to catch him…….”

His strength was unknown, and the information was too limited.

For now, he had to give it his all, so it seemed like he would have to face him himself, but the problem was that he didn’t know the guy’s location.

“……No, now that I think about it, there’s no need to know his location.”

They were most likely targeting his subordinates who were transporting the treasures.

They probably didn’t know the exact locations either, and they were clearly searching while conducting maritime reconnaissance [exploring the sea] in the areas the Duke was leading them to.

That meant that if he threw out bait, they would definitely take it.

“I need to make them come to me.”

It wasn’t difficult to catch a fish that would bite any bait.

Of course, it might be a waste to use treasure as bait, but wouldn’t he be able to retrieve it once he had eliminated them?

“I’ll turn the tables on you, you arrogant bastards.”

The pirate duke grinned sinisterly at the thought of trapping them.