Chapter 58

“……”

I stared blankly at Eleonor’s face.

A moment of silence flowed.

As the time I spent looking at her grew longer, Eleonor flinched.

“Sir Gryph, is there something on my face?”

“Are you asking because you don't know?”

“Is something wrong……”

“Sir Eleonor, isn’t your duty right now to supervise the unloading of supplies at the port, not to be here?”

“That’s right. But if not now, when else can I record this vivid scene?”

Eleonor pointed to the port of Fasa with a shameless face.

The proud mercenary fleet, created after months of hard work, was assembled against the backdrop of the vast sea.

I could say with certainty that it was the best combat fleet in the Golden Sea.

That wasn’t entirely wrong.

In other regions, a fleet of this size had not even been conceived yet.

However, instead of being filled with elation while appreciating that proud sight, I let out a deep sigh.

It was because of Eleonor.

“I’ll give you time to record later, so for now, go and do your work. Think of it as the life and death of the expedition depending on that work. If all we have during the voyage is rotten water and hardtack, you know, right? Then everyone dies.”

“Eh. Understood.”

“I’m not joking. It’s true.”

After being thoroughly scolded, Eleonor left for the port with her shoulders slumped.

Honestly, she was only interested in her records.

On the other hand, I felt sorry for Eleonor.

Compared to when she first appeared, her current state was pitiful.

Who would think that person was a Phoenix Knight?

Just a neighborhood resident.

As I looked at her back with pity, Theo chided me.

“She’s become strange because the Young Master overworks her too much.”

“This is my fault?”

“Of course! Look at how she’s lost her mind. Who would think that person is a knight?”

“……Still, I worked more overtime.”

“Are you saying that as if it’s something to be proud of?”

“……”

Still, it was an undeniable fact that my workload had decreased thanks to Eleonor’s arrival.

If it weren't for Eleonor, it would have been impossible to finish the work on time.

Thanks to her, I was able to build up this mercenary fleet.

Suddenly, I felt a surge of ambition.

“Theo, what do you think? Is this enough to go to the Imperial Capital?”

It meant whether it was possible to defeat Duke Isak and claim the throne.

But Theo shook his head.

“With this much of a stake, wouldn't you just end up occupying a few ports? Smooth supply and a smooth retreat would be possible, but it would be impossible to maintain the occupation. In the end, you would be defeated.”

“Is that so.”

Occupation and rule were completely different stories.

Only when continuous possession was achieved could effective rule be said to be valid.

But the stage in the Empire was too big, and my capital was too small.

If I claimed the throne now, it would melt away like snow in spring.

It was this hard to survive in this world.

But from the moment I decided to oppose Duke Isak, this was a predetermined fate.

Let’s think about that later and focus on the current task for now.

“The situation?”

“Report from Sir Eleonor! Supply loading has been completed on all ships in the fleet!”

“Captain Leandro reports to the flagship! All combat troops have boarded the ships!”

“The small ships that have finished preparations at the pier are departing. All routes are safe.”

“Good. Message from the flagship to the subordinate ships. The Black Company sets sail. The target is the pirate Tospol of the Golden Sea. Depart from the far left, and have the other ships match their movements. Make no mistakes and do not show a disgraceful sight to the citizens.”

“Understood! Fleet, set sail!”

From the crow’s nest, the flagman diligently waved his arms, signaling the fleet's departure.

Soon, a movement arose from the left end of the pier.

A Fasan warship extended its bow towards the open sea.

The warship smoothly exited the pier without colliding with other ships.

Then, other ships followed, matching its pace from the sides.

The citizens of Fasa, who witnessed the training results achieved by the mercenary fleet through blood and sweat, cheered.

“Waaaaah!”

“Long live the mercenary company! Long live Leon Gryph!”

“Glory to the fleet!”

***

The fleet that set sail immediately fell into crisis.

Had Tospol laid a trap?

No!

The cause of the crisis was Admiral Gian.

I looked at Admiral Gian, who was sticking close to my side, with a sense of burden.

The officers, sailors, and even Theo, who was in charge of close protection, were all burdened.

But like an old dwarf, Admiral Gian didn't care about the frozen atmosphere at all.

In the end, I had to step in.

“Admiral Gian, is the Levonan flagship Calcio damaged by any chance?”

“No.”

“Then is there something you’re not satisfied with?”

“No.”

“Then why are you here, leaving a much better ship behind? What about the command of the Levonan fleet?”

That was true.

The Levonan naval flagship, the Calcio, was sailing normally right next to us without any problems.

Naturally, there was no reason for Admiral Gian to be here.

The operational plan had already been shared before departure.

“Don’t worry about the Levonan fleet. My subordinates are competent, so they’ll handle it.”

“Of course, they would be. But still, as an admiral, is it okay for you to be doing this?”

“Don’t mind me and just do your thing. I’ll just watch from the side and see how you do.”

“No.”

“Just do it.”

No one could overcome Admiral Gian’s pressure.

Because the sight of him smashing a pirate ship with a hammer was vivid in everyone’s mind.

Not a pirate.

A pirate ship.

A person who fights people can be treated as a hero, but a person who fights ships is treated as an eccentric.

I sent a look to my subordinates telling them not to mind Admiral Gian.

“Ahem, let’s begin preparations for the operation.”

Since I had diligently watched and learned from the side, using the best naval admiral in Apennia as a teaching aid.

Now it was time to test my abilities.

“The key to this operation is to eliminate Tospol. We must eliminate that man who reigns as the terror of Apennia to gain our freedom.”

In the end, Fasa could only move up once the Tospol problem was solved.

Only then could they achieve their original goal of stabilizing the trade routes and gaining freedom in commerce.

Well, lately, I felt like I had strayed far from the original purpose.

“But how do we find Tospol in this wide sea?”

“Good question.”

How to find a ship in this wide sea?

It's not like we're modern warships with high-performance radars.

No matter how much we use the same routes, encountering another ship is always a coincidence.

It’s not for nothing that we’re spinning the random gacha at the auction house.

But of course, there was a way.

“I have a way in my head to make Tospol come out.”

“How so?”

“It’s to use myself as bait.”

“What kind of crazy talk is that?”

Everyone looked at me as if I were a madman, but only Admiral Gian was interested.

“You mean to lure Tospol by making yourself bait?”

“That’s right. If he’s hard for me to find, I have to make him come find me.”

“Is it possible?”

“It is! As you know, everyone fears that guy because of Tospol’s cruel actions.”

“Right. Tospol is not ordinarily ferocious.”

“In other words, Tospol rules people through the principle of fear. How do you think a guy like that would see me, who burned down his base?”

“He’d want to kill you.”

“That’s right.”

No matter how much it happened while he was away, having his base in Kresven taken away was an event that would leave a huge scratch on Tospol’s pride.

“He will feel that the fear, the means by which he wields his authority, has been damaged. No matter how much he tries to be magnanimous, his pride is bound to be hurt.”

So, naturally, wouldn't he try to get revenge?

“Assuming that’s true, are you sure he’ll really come?”

“Of course. Tospol will gladly take the bait. He may be cruel, but he’s by no means a fool.”

In the first place, if he were just a fool, he wouldn’t have been counted among the five notorious pirates in the Golden Sea and would have been stabbed by his subordinates or killed by other pirates.

However, the mere fact that his base was thrashed by a kid was enough to make Tospol a laughingstock.

Ridicule is the weakness of a person who has used fear as a means of control.

Because if that very foundation collapses, that authority also collapses.

So, whether to regain his fear or to get revenge on the kid, Tospol had no choice but to come out.

After finishing the explanation, Admiral Gian began to virtually stare into my face.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that? You’ll get attached if you keep doing that.”

“I’m trying to remember your face, wondering how long you’ll survive.”

“Hey, what kind of ominous words are those?”

“There weren’t many guys who survived long after angering Tospol.”

“I will live for a very, very long time.”

“I hope you do. Anyway, I understand that Tospol will come out in a frenzy if he knows you’re here. But there’s a problem. Tospol doesn’t know your location either, does he?”

Right.

That’s true.

How would Tospol know that I had left Fasa?

“So we have to let him know now.”

“How?”

“With the power of rumors.”

There’s no need to think complicatedly.

If we go around beating up all the passing pirates we see, won't it eventually reach Tospol's ears?

***

Whenever we found passing pirates, we beat them to a pulp, just to the point of not dying.

Just enough to sail without sinking.

The ship in front of us was like that.

The pirate ship, captured after the battle, was in a precarious state, as if it would sink at any moment.

But our sailors had gained a lot of experience by destroying pirate ships so far.

Thanks to their well-controlled moderation, the pirate ship was somehow floating safely.

I didn’t know when I was playing the game, but the ballista was a better weapon than I thought.

It might not be as explosive as a cannon, but it was quite excellent, from its rate of fire to its power.

“Hey, you crazy bastards! Why are you doing this to us! If you’re going to kill us, just kill us!”

The captured pirate captain shouted with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

But I wasn’t very moved.

It wasn't the first or second time I had heard such words.

“Pirate captain. There’s something you have to do for me.”

“Do what? Why me?”

“You’ll have to if you want to live. Shut up and go tell Tospol. Tell him that I, Leon Gryph of the Black Company, said to meet at the Kresven Archipelago.”

“You attacked me just for that? You crazy bastards! No matter how insane the Black Legion you are, this is too much!”

“Are you wronged? If you’re wronged, you shouldn’t have become a pirate.”

The reason we don't sink the pirate ship?

Simple.

Otherwise, there would be no one to deliver the message to Tospol.

“Tie him up well with a rope. So he can’t get loose.”

“Understood.”

While the sailors were tying the wailing pirate captain to the mast, Ishmael reported the wind direction.

“Kruk, Captain, the wind is starting to blow. The direction is a due east wind.”

“Is that so? It’s time. We should let him go soon. Hey, pirate captain. Go and give my regards to Tospol.”

“You son of a bitch!”

“The sound of the wind is strange today. It sounds just like a scream.”

Although the Golden Sea has fickle sea breezes, it was now a tailwind.

That wind would surely take the pirate captain to Tospol.

As the sailors untied the ropes, the pirate ship began to drift with the wind.

Leon released the pirate captain.

Bye-bye, pirate captain!

I hope my message in a bottle reaches you!

“No, no. Young Master, that’s neither a bottle nor a letter.”

“Whatever it is, as long as the message gets delivered, isn’t that enough?”

Now, that pirate captain’s fate was one of two.

Either he would drift like this and be rescued by chance by another pirate, or he would die of dehydration without being found by anyone.

Still, there was no one to blame.

It was all something that happened because of his own decisions.

He was just paying the price for his choices.

“Young Master, is it really okay to do that?”

“Why? Do you feel sorry for that guy?”

“No way. He’s just a rotten pirate.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“I’m just wondering if this isn’t some kind of ritual to summon a disaster.”

“Haha, you worry about everything. Just turn the bow. We’re going back to Kresven.”

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