Reincarnation of a Hunter Chapter 38.2 - The Pirate King’s Sophistry

I surveyed the surviving pirates. I questioned the one who seemed to hold the highest rank.

“What’s your position?”

“I was Luca’s first mate.”

“Did Luca leave any last words?”

“…He asked someone to look after his son.”

“Marco? Where is he?”

“Cagliari.”

 

‘If left alone, he’ll die.’

Now that the Pirate King Luca’s gang has been completely wiped out, the Count of Sardinia, who rules that region, won’t just sit idle.

He’ll conscript his territorial army and sweep through Cagliari.

‘But if I capture Marco, where could he be useful?’

Even if he’s useless now, he’s still the Pirate King’s son—surely, he’ll come in handy someday. If there’s really no use for him, I can just sell him to the Marquis of Catalonia.

After a brief moment of deliberation, I made an offer to Luca’s first mate.

“I’ll give you a ship. Go bring Marco to me.”

“What? What if I just run away?”

I smirked and replied, “And go where? No matter where you flee, you’ll die.”

Pirates have nothing but enemies swarming around them and not a single ally. Typical for a bunch of thieves.

 

And honestly, I didn’t care if these lowly grunts just ran away. I pressed Luca’s subordinate again, who had kept his mouth shut.

“Cagliari will be overrun soon anyway. Before the Count of Sardinia kills and burns everything, at least get your families out. You lot will become slaves and serve labor sentences, but your families will be settled in a pioneer village.”

 

Luca’s subordinate answered with a shadowed face.

“In exchange for bringing Marco back, is that it? Luca entrusted him to us with his dying words—how can we just sell out Marco’s life?”

“I’ll take care of him. And I’m not interested in weighing Marco’s life against your families.”

Whether they brought Marco or not, their families would be settled.

“…Understood. Give me this ship. Otherwise, no one in Cagliari will believe me.”

“I’ll appoint you as this ship’s captain.”

Since I seized this pirate ship, it’s mine. The authority to appoint its captain lies with me.

“I’ll return.”

“Come to the port of Marseille. And don’t forget to raise my flag on the ship.”

The Baron of Gibraltar, who was holding Luca’s head, along with Martin, Raul, and me, returned to the Benedicta.

The remaining pirate ship, after taking on a few more crew members, set sail for Cagliari.

 

⚔️

 

The Baron of Gibraltar led his navy back to their post.

Before leaving, he assured me that there would be a great reward for helping suppress the pirates.

‘I’m not holding my breath.’

Military rewards are never worth much anyway. Instead, I took all the captured pirates and seized ships.

The Iberian Navy only mobilized their naval knights—most of the operation was led by me, so this outcome was only natural.

I gave instructions to Administrator Ricardo regarding the disposal of the pirates.

 

“Brand them all with slave marks and sentence them to a minimum of ten years of labor. Just like with the bandits, those found guilty of additional crimes will have their sentences extended. Their workplace will be the ships they originally sailed on.”

“Yes, my lord.”

However, Ricardo hesitated instead of leaving.

“Do you have something else to say?”

“Um, what do you think of this flower? It’s a piece created by our North spy.”

I was about to clear away the random flower on my office desk when—I had told Ilsimhoe, an administrative clique, to disband and take up flower arranging instead, but I never actually expected them to do it.

“Didn’t North spy disband?”

“As per your orders, we have devoted ourselves to flower arranging. We would appreciate even a brief evaluation.”

From my perspective, it’s just a flower—nothing particularly impressive.

Still, for some reason, I found it endearing and decided to humor him.

“Hmm. The lines are elegant, and the arrangement has dignity. Good work.”

“Haha! Thank you. We will continue to refine our skills.”

A bunch of rough-looking men arranging flowers. It doesn’t suit them, but since they’re not plotting a coup, I’ll just let them be.

“Ah, and when the pirates’ families arrive, treat them the same as the displaced. I plan to relocate them to a pioneer village.”

“You won’t hold them accountable for the crimes?”

“You can’t punish a child for their father being a bandit. Under my rule, collective punishment does not apply.”

“As expected, my lord is merciful.”

It’s not really mercy—just common sense from someone originally from modern Korea.

In any case, the remaining pirate group and their families arrived in Marseille about a week later.

 

⚔️

 

“My lord! My lord! Something terrible has happened!”

It was Administrator Ricardo again.

“Calm down. What’s the matter?”

“The harbor! Look out the window!”

When I looked outside, dozens of ships, large and small, were docking at the harbor. But every single one of them flew Marseille’s banner.

 

“Must be the pirates and their families. Ricardo, can’t you see that flag? It bears my crest.”

“Ah. I acted too hastily. I thought Marseille was under attack.”

At this point, is there any force that would dare attack Marseille?

Not yet. It’d be better to raid somewhere else instead.

 

In any case, I headed to the harbor to retrieve Marco, the son of the Pirate King Luca.

Since the pirate flagship was the first to dock, I made my way there. Luca’s lieutenant spotted me and dragged Marco, who was tied up with ropes, toward me.

“Here’s Marco. Please keep your promise.”

“Of course. I’ll make arrangements for you to relocate to the pioneer village immediately.”

 

Martin, who had come with me, took custody of Marco. Whether he was in shock from his father Luca’s death or disheartened at being a prisoner again, Marco hung his head and stayed silent.

Luca’s lieutenant asked me another question, “Will you be confiscating all the ships?”

I inspected the vessels. Many of them appeared to be fishing boats.

“Did the fishermen come with you?”

“Yes, we brought everyone we could carry.”

It seemed they had crammed everyone aboard, knowing they’d all be killed if they stayed in Cagliari.

 

“I won’t seize those fishing boats. Instead, they must relocate to nearby fishing ports, join the fishermen’s association, and pay membership fees and taxes. Of course, I can’t provide separate housing. Tell them to figure that out themselves.”

Then, pointing at the pirate ships, I continued, “As for those pirate ships, we’ll refit them all into merchant vessels. The former pirate crew will be sentenced to labor and put to work on their own ships.”

Even this much was already an incredibly lenient judgment.

 

Luca’s lieutenant seemed moved by my decision, his eyes glistening with tears as he replied.

“The people of Cagliari will be grateful for your mercy, Lord.”

“By the way, how many people did you bring? It looks like quite a lot.”

“Around 5,000.”

“Wha—!”

 

This is trouble. Diego, the head of economic affairs, is going to resent me again. The budget was finally starting to look better.

 

‘I’ll have to avoid him for a while.’