Chapter 4

Ambasha decided to become a pirate.

She wasn’t exactly sure what being a pirate meant, but compared to being a slave, it seemed like a much better option.

Instead of landing a punch on her tear-streaked face, her ‘father’ gently patted her head, and the Vice-Captain who greeted her with a friendly smile instead of kicking her like a football showed her around.

At least the fact that pirates didn’t have to endure pain like slaves did gave her a genuine sense of relief.

However, at that moment, as she stepped into the cabin as the Vice-Captain had instructed, she found herself momentarily dumbfounded by an unexpected sight.

In front of her stood a woman.

She had several butchering knives strapped to her waist, and her long, brown bangs half-covered her face. Dark circles hung heavily under her black eyes, giving her a fierce visage reminiscent of a killer. Holding a dripping knife, she looked down at Ambasha in silence.

Exuding a terrifying presence like a malevolent spirit creeping out from the depths of the sea, she maintained her silence before the dazed Ambasha and quietly directed her gaze to the knife she held.

A sharply honed butchering knife.

With just a flick of this blood-dripping blade, Ambasha could easily be turned into minced meat.

As she slowly caressed the grim weapon with her fingers, the woman known as Franklin thought to herself:

“Somebody, please save me…”

*

Franklin Cook Shadico, an officer of the Golden Beard Pirate Crew.

Her position on the ship was that of Chief Cook. If this were an army, she’d be something like the Cooking Sergeant… or perhaps a Cooking Admiral. Until just moments ago, she had been preparing dinner but was now feeling utterly awkward after being summoned by the Vice-Captain.

The girl staring up at her in a daze was the new recruit who had just arrived. Seeing the youngest member made Franklin want to cry.

It was her duty to handle cabin matters for the day, so she had to manage the fresh recruit and teach her the basics.

However, she fell into a panic at the realization that such a young child had joined their ranks. Now that the child was looking at her with a blank expression, she felt so nervous that she couldn’t even speak, only fiddling with the knife in her hand.

She knew it all too well.

She was terrifying to behold.

Around 80% of those who met her gaze in the back alleys either fainted or sat down and cried.

As a result, she had always been treated like a witch or a malevolent spirit back in her hometown. Even after departing that dreadful place to join the pirate crew by the grace of the captain, she was still known as “Sea Witch Shadico.”

But aside from her terrifying appearance and reputation, she actually possessed a fragile mentality rivaling that of glass… or even a soufflé. When others cried upon seeing her face, she often ended up hurt and crying alongside them.

Especially when witnessing cute little children in tears, the damage was amplified by 200%. In a situation like this, she was completely at a loss on how to respond.

“Ugh… Why did this child have to join while it was my turn? Just looking at her face makes me want to cry; what do I do… No, I don’t want this! Help me, Captain! I can’t handle this!”

As she was engulfed in despair while gazing at the girl who was about to burst into tears, suddenly—

“Pretty…”

“Huh…? Did you just say that?”

The unexpected words came out of the girl’s mouth.

It wasn’t a whiny voice soaked with tears, nor forced words; it was a simple, pure expression of admiration.

In that moment, Franklin, who had been panicking, found herself staring blankly.

“Did I just hear that correctly? Pretty…? Me?”

“Yes, you’re really beautiful, sister!”

“Ah…”

Franklin was momentarily taken aback by the second time someone had said such a thing to her in her life. As the confusion swirling in her heart settled, she felt her face heat up without even realizing it.

Her once frazzled nerves began to stabilize.

And as she witnessed Franklin’s reaction, Ambasha thought to herself:

“She really is beautiful… If it’s this sister, she could surely kindly send many people to heaven.”

A beauty that seemed capable of bringing rest to many souls. She felt pure admiration for the fact and sparkled with shining eyes.

*

“…”

“Ugh…”

“Ah… Alright then? You fix it like this, and it’s normally fixed in place. If someone forgets and unfastens it, make sure to secure it and inform the Vice-Captain or Navigator right away.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

The scene outside the cabin window was an odd one; while it should ordinarily look like this, nobody expected it to actually unfold this way, leaving both me and the Vice-Captain briefly at a loss for words.

Then, suddenly—

“Hand it over. One Talon.”

“… Damn it…”

After making sure to secure what I was due, I observed Ambasha nonchalantly chatting with Franklin, feeling strangely amused.

It wasn’t just that a strikingly scary person was getting along with a little girl.

“I never would’ve expected to see those two laughing and chatting like that…”

Franklin Cook Shadico.

In the original work, she was a side character of extra-field boss caliber who gets killed by the protagonist.

She had originally been mistreated solely because of her appearance and demeanor, but after being subjected to increasing persecution, she lost her mind one day and awakened as a killer.

She massacred the townsfolk who had tormented her and from that moment on became a monster craving human flesh, eventually being killed by the protagonist, which is all known from the original story.

There were no related quests; she was never seen or mentioned before or after.

In other words, she had a fundamentally pitiful background, with no potential for redemption in the original story.

Just before running into her at a port town, I hesitated for a moment before reaching out to her.

At that moment, she was still merely a poor woman being bullied because of her appearance, not yet fallen into the depths of a killer.

Even upon facing her, the status screen showed no response, and since her role in the original work was so minor, I thought that would pose no problem at all.

And now,

Having become a respectable officer of our pirate crew, while feeling a bit awkward, she was wholeheartedly teaching Ambasha various things.

As Franklin smiled bashfully while watching the protagonist she once had to kill, I stood outside and thought once more that my decision was indeed the right one, smiling gently.

*

As befits the infamous title of Pirate King, Ezra Drake wielded tremendous power and fearsome notoriety.

The number of enemies he had eliminated would be enough to build a city, and especially the merciless brutality he showed toward the Nobles sent shivers down the spines of even those who knew him.

However, despite such abilities and fame, he surprisingly displayed a generous side.

He would liberate slaves for free, conduct business legitimately with earnest merchants, and show leniency to worthy foes.

This nuanced aspect of strength won him many people’s support and greatly contributed to his ascent to Pirate King.

But…

At the same time, his actions often led to burdensome troubles.

Just like right now…

“What… What did you say? The ships transporting slaves have been annihilated?”

“Cough… Yes, Your Grace, it was that dirty Pirate King or whatever his name is that did it.”

This was the report from a subordinate who barely managed to escape thanks to disguising as a slave.

Hearing this, the person in charge of the slave trade, a middle-aged man with a massive build and a double chin, was engulfed in rage as he posed the most anticipated question.

“Then… what about Philippe? What happened to that scarred woman he was carrying?”

“P-Phillipe Marquis is dead. A-and I didn’t see closely, but… the woman is probably with the pirate crew now…”

“What do you mean by that! I clearly sent you to retrieve that woman at all costs!”

“I-I couldn’t do anything! What could I do in that situation? He was the Pirate King! If I had acted recklessly, I’d lose my life too… Ugh!!”

In that moment, the subordinate crumpled to the ground with a dagger lodged in his shoulder.

The Duke, witnessing the bleeding man fall, expressed his fury.

“Useless fool! How dare you make excuses? You should have succeeded in your mission at the cost of your life!”

With that, he gestured for the fallen subordinate to be dragged away.

After the one groaning in agony disappeared from his sight, the Duke began to bite his fingernails in growing anxiety.

“I can’t give up like this… How long have I waited for the moment to devour that maiden? I won’t allow a miserable pirate to ruin my delight!”

As the Pirate King, he bore the royal bloodline of the great Frantz kingdom.

He could not simply allow the insult of such lowly beings to go unpunished.

Seething with anger, the Duke rose from his seat and headed somewhere.

“I will retrieve her for sure!… Ambasha. You are mine! I won’t let anyone take you away!”