Ch.291291 – Graduate Advocate

# 291 – Graduate’s Appeal

The Zigoku Pirates were extremely flustered.

“What are you all doing here?”

“Don’t misunderstand. We’re not suspicious pirates.”

“And we definitely didn’t sneak into the food container to steal food.”

“We absolutely have no plans to use Zigoku’s influence to extort the foundation’s supplies and steal expensive items!”

These people have truly become pirates.

I stared blankly in disbelief as Zigoku, who reigned as the leader of these pathetic pirate underlings, came walking out lazily while yawning.

“What? Isn’t it Giselle.”

“How bold of you. Planning to rob the foundation’s cruise ship. Why attempt to stow away when you could have just accepted Oknodie’s invitation?”

“Are you stupid? If we accept an invitation and walk through the front door saying ‘thank you,’ we’d immediately get caught in the foundation’s surveillance network. That would end our pirating before it even begins.”

The ruthless pride of a pirate willing to rob even a friend’s father’s ship without exception!

“This actually works out well. I was just about to start a mutiny on the ship. Would you care to join?”

“What? Why would you start a mutiny when you were properly invited?”

“Because starting a mutiny when aboard a cruise ship is common sense.”

“??”

Zigoku’s face showed bewilderment, as if wondering if a great age of piracy had begun without his knowledge.

Both parties were equally perplexed by each other.

Zigoku only found peace of mind after reaching the conclusion that, being friends of Oknodie, they naturally wouldn’t have any normal people among them.

“If it’s such a pirate-like endeavor, I can’t refuse to help. The ship seemed too powerful to rob completely anyway.”

“Then I’ll share information about our forces, enemy positions, and the current battle situation.”

Giselle quickly got to the point.

“Currently, we’re expanding our defensive line from the first, second, and third floor corridors before the path to the underground food storage narrows. The first floor is secured with Sandcooker’s earth magic, the second floor with Irene’s ice magic, and the third floor has combat personnel guarding both passages.”

“Why bother blocking both sides? You could just break through one side and focus everything on the other.”

“We’re preventing a multi-directional siege to keep the control room accessible from the third floor from falling into the hands of regular enemy forces rather than their officers.”

“So it’s a trap to draw out the enemy officers.”

“The left side is defended by the Black Knight Morb and Bikini Armor Warrior Ppyoi, while the right side is fortified under Arcadia’s command with the rest. If your group could take the third floor right flank, it would ease the burden on our lines.”

The pirates openly showed their displeasure at Giselle’s clear battlefield explanation.

“How could we possibly handle a frontline battle!”

“That’s right. How could third-rate pirate lackeys like us, who cling to pirates just to earn credits because we’re weak, possibly handle the foundation’s crew?”

“We’re cruise-ship-container-cargo-thieves, not frontline-mutiny-combat-personnel!”

The pathetic reality of Zigoku’s pirate crew, which was made up of unreliable weaklings from the start!

“Gyahaha! See? If you entrust the frontline to guys like these, they’ll collapse instantly.”

“Zigoku, weren’t you among the top fighters in the advanced class? I recall you holding your own against the Empire’s Three Great Merit Families during the final exams.”

“I learned something after grinding through a semester at the Academy.”

Zigoku proudly declared:

“It’s a waste of bullets to shoot at weaklings!”

“Are you openly declaring a strike… I wonder if you have any intention to cooperate.”

“Your mercenary tactics are flawed from the start, trying to use pirates in a frontal assault. Pirates have their own way of operating.”

Strong against weak, weak against strong.

Pirates are a species that only gets motivated when robbing those weaker than themselves.

The mercenary art of piracy is to identify the enemy’s weaknesses, swoop in to grab the loot, and make a quick escape.

“Now, third-rate underling pirates. Go rob the auditorium where the non-combat crew is gathered!”

The third-rate apprentice pirate students hesitated and asked reluctantly:

“Won’t we get in trouble for threatening civilians?”

“We’re outside the Academy, Captain.”

“You might be fine outside since you were a pirate before, but we have homes and families to return to…”

—BANG!

Zigoku shot one of the students without hesitation and replied nonchalantly while twirling his smoking revolver:

“Do I look like I care?”

“…”

“If you’re worried about your home and family, either quit or steal enough treasure for everyone’s share. Make that decision like a man.”

In an atmosphere where saying “I can’t do it” would likely result in ending up next to the fallen student, no one dared to quit being a pirate.

Even the foundation’s crew members, terrified by this lunatic, readily handed over their valuables and money whenever a sack was presented to them.

“Why are you so quiet while pirating? Are you really pirates?”

“Woohoo! This is too easy!”

“Robbery is the best, and armed robbery is the best of all! Pirates rule!”

The apprentice pirate students frantically put on an act when Zigoku gave them a suspicious look.

“Got everything?”

“Yes sir!!”

“Let’s go. Get up quickly, you idiot.”

The student lying on the floor said:

“But I was shot?”

“That was a rubber bullet.”

“Oh, I see.”

The student got up awkwardly and joined his comrades in carrying the sacks.

‘We’ve been tricked!’

The crew members belatedly realized they had completely fallen for Zigoku’s [Intimidation][Deception] skills, but by then all their valuables had long been cleaned out into the sacks.

The Zigoku Pirates proudly returned to the container in the underground storage after leaving the auditorium.

One apprentice pirate crew member suddenly asked a question:

“Captain. How are we going to take all this loot back to the Academy?”

It’s not like they could take everything off the ship.

“You’ll have to sort through it carefully.”

Fortunately, they had students who had taken the useful <Developing an Eye> course for situations like this.

“Hey, Titosoga. Didn’t you take the Developing an Eye course with Oknodie and Isabelle?”

“Y-yes…”

“Come help us sort out the valuable items from our treasure. You’re not doing anything since you lost your spotlight anyway.”

“Why are you scaring the poor kid?”

“Who said I’m making him work for free? I’ll give him some of the leftover gems.”

“Actually, Titosoga is cute when he’s scared.”

“Isabeeelle!?”

Though Isabelle and Titosoga weren’t reliable in combat, their discerning eyes and dexterity were quite remarkable.

They sorted the haphazardly collected pile of loot spread on the floor, grouping gems with gems, cards with cards, categorizing by type and arranging by value.

[Mana Puzzle – Damage 3%]

[Gold Plating – Fake]

Isabelle and Titosoga sorted with such precision they could pass for professional appraisers!

But even after sorting, there was still too much.

Having robbed an auditorium full of non-combat personnel from among thousands of crew members, the quantity was inevitably large.

“There are too many expensive items to leave behind.”

“Giselle! Let us borrow your magic backpack.”

“I’m sorry, but all the space in my backpack is already allocated, so I can’t help you. Let’s think of another solution.”

Giselle, who had returned from repelling the attack without even taking a rest, noticed a blacksmith with a hammer among the students.

“Who is that person mixed in with our students? The uniform looks like a cruise ship crew member.”

A student who had returned from defending the frontline with Arcadia recognized the blacksmith and introduced him:

“Ah. We haven’t introduced him to you yet, Giselle. This is Senior Ferguson, a 982nd batch graduate of our Academy and a senior from the Production Department. He’s someone who uses the Empire’s forbidden technology <Reinforcement>.”

“…Did I hear that correctly?”

Giselle turned serious.

Zigoku didn’t understand his reaction.

“Gyahaha! We can compress the loot with reinforcement and take it with us. You guys should have told me about this good method earlier.”

While the pirates were excited about this idea that would increase the liquidity of their loot, Giselle couldn’t share their joy.

The student who had introduced Ferguson asked cautiously:

“Do you dislike reinforcement? Because of the Empire’s watchful eye…?”

“That’s not the issue. I was originally a black market dealer, so I’m not one to fear the law. But that man is someone I can’t help but fear.”

Giselle pointed out what everyone had failed to notice:

“Do you remember which batch we are?”

“Um… the 981st batch, right?”

“Correct. And that senior claims to be a 982nd batch graduate.”

“Huh???”

“That blacksmith called Ferguson is claiming to be a senior who will graduate from the Academy next year—an unidentified serial reinforcement maniac.”

Even the ever-calm Zigoku, who had been nonchalantly twirling his revolver, dropped it in shock.