In Sanuf

The hastily prepared meal is nothing short of extravagant.

A lavish spread of dishes abundant with seafood unique to the coast fills the long dining table, as is customary in noble residences.

“We request a congratulatory address for our meeting, Your Highness.”

Shakline, seated at the head of the table, proposes a toast to Sophia.

“…To Count Shakline, who protects the empire’s sea.”

The meal begins with vintage wine made from high-quality grapes from the Sanuf region.

Shakline smashes the lobster in front of him with a fork instead of dissecting it with a knife, chewing boisterously.

‘How utterly uncouth.’

Unknown to anyone at the gathering, the fools in the imperial palace had been debating for the past ten years whether to offer her as a bride to Scarl, who had been alone for a decade, or to the pirate lord Shakline.

‘What utter madness. How dare they.’

The sight of Shakline greedily licking the lobster meat from his lips is utterly repulsive.

“Your Highness. And the lady from Aiden. Could I have an introduction once more?”

In the political arena, one must not reveal their displeasure.

She replies with a polite smile.

“Her name is Kasha. She was an elite employee at the imperial bank, but now I believe she is the vice master of the Aiden Guild located in the capital. I don’t know the details… so the rest is up to you, Kasha.”

It’s a relief that at least Kasha is here with her.

If she had come alone, who knows what terrible things might have happened.

“Allow me to introduce myself once more. Count Shakline. I am Kasha, the vice master of Aiden, based in the capital.”

Shakline exclaims with an exaggerated gesture.

“Oh! I’ve heard many rumors. You’ve all heard of the Aiden Guild, haven’t you?”

Some of his subordinates beside him respond.

“Yes! Of course!”

“That’s a given! Bro— Count.”

As a strange sound mixes in, Shakline quickly gestures.

He gags the guy who called him “bro” and drags him away.

Shakline and his subordinates seem unfazed, as if this is an everyday occurrence.

“Hahaha. One of my men is talking nonsense. He hasn’t quite lost his sea legs yet.”

Shakline rubs his hands together, wearing his signature sly expression.

“What does the Aiden vice master think of Sanuf ?”

The pirates’ intentions are obvious.

“It’s a fine city.”

Shakline claps loudly at Kasha’s compliment.

The subordinates standing behind him follow suit, erupting in thunderous applause.

“Enough!”

At Shakline’s word, the room instantly falls silent.

This is clearly a ploy because he knows he pales in comparison to the Second Imperial Princess and the vice master of Aiden.

“You have excellent taste! Hahaha!! That’s right. The city where I, Shakline, who received the title of count from the Emperor, am located cannot stop developing at this level. Don’t you think so, Vice Master Kasha?”

“…”

“Oh! I’m not saying you should start a business here right away. To put it in pirate terms, we need to become brothers first. Aiden will eventually advance into my city, Sanuf, won’t it? You need a backer to do business anywhere.”

“It’s fine, but.”

“…You’ll need one.”

“Then let’s just say that’s the case.”

Despite Kasha’s unique overbearing attitude, Shakline maintains a forced smile.

“Well, that’s that…”

Just then, someone rushes in.

“Boss!”

The face of the subordinate who hurries over looks familiar.

The man with beady eyes and a tattoo on his forearm.

Shakline scowls at the man who suddenly opened the door.

“You bastard! When we have guests— I’ll be right back.”

The count pretends to be mindful of them and leaves.

‘That’s the guy who was hitting on us in front of the station?’

Kasha, who seems to have noticed as well, nods.

The count returns, fuming.

“Which bastard is causing trouble in my territory!”

Shakline, who has returned, slams the untouched food on the table.

Clang—!!

‘And they dare compare him to my brother.’

Even though it’s been ten years since he became a noble, he’s still far from refined.

Kasha asks.

“…What’s going on, Count Shakline?”

“Oh. Such a rookie mistake.”

‘He’s deliberately trying to intimidate us.’

He can’t shake off his pirate habits.

“It’s nothing much. A noble who came for a vacation recently, Baron Brookrudi, couldn’t control his son and got beaten up by a man wearing an academy uniform. How dare they not know whose land this is!”

‘It’s the Emperor’s land. Not yours.’

The expressionless Kasha continues to question.

“Is the culprit an academy student?”

“They say it’s a male student… Well. Flare? They say he’s associated with a female student with that name.”

‘This is my brother’s story.’

He caused a ruckus for Flare in Hati’s form.

‘I’m jealous of Flare.’

Kasha asks again.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I have to catch him. I have to set an example. How dare they? I have to catch the audacious fellow who dared to touch a noble under my protection in Sanuf, which I govern, and see his face.”

He’s showing off to us, boasting about how great he is, but there’s a lot we need to find out.

Kasha winks.

It’s my turn now.

“…What if you can’t catch him?”

“Flare? Shouldn’t I just grab that bitch instead?”

‘Who are you calling a bitch, you pig fish.’

Still, a count is a count.

It became a problem that Kasha couldn’t easily handle.

‘As always, I’ll handle the nobles.’

Her eyes are expressionless, her mouth cold.

She pressures Shakline as if emitting a chilling aura.

“What a coincidence. Flare is the name of my colleague. Count. Who are you calling a bitch right now?”

The count, taken aback by her sudden change, breaks out in a cold sweat.

“W-what did you just say…?”

She seizes the opportunity to pounce on Shakline, who has shown an opening.

“I said it’s my colleague’s name. Count! Tell the baron! I don’t know what happened, but my colleague is not someone who would do something foolish. Tell him to come here and apologize immediately!”

I didn’t become the Emperor’s confidante for nothing.

Shakline hesitates at her commanding words.

“I understand. I’ll bring him here right away and make him kneel.”

‘He’s abandoning him already?’

She puts on an angry expression, different from her true feelings.

She looks at the count with contempt.

“That’s enough. I don’t want to see his face. Tell him it’s best if he doesn’t appear before us again. Count.”

It’s a warning to you too.

“Yes. Your Highness. By the way, you seem to have become even more beautiful in the meantime. I guess it’s because you’re of marriageable age…”

He was just trying to hit on Kasha, but he switched targets to me after talking for a moment. It’s truly disgusting.

But thanks to that, I can create an excuse to leave this place.

“I’m losing my appetite. Count. We’ll be going now.”

“Ah, no. It’s alright. Why don’t you eat more before you leave…”

Kasha quickly attends to her, bowing at a 90-degree angle.

“It was a pleasant experience. Count Shakline.”

And so, the two of them left after meeting Shakline while Scarl was playing in the water with his sisters.

“To make me lose a fish I had already caught! You son of a bitch!”

The thug with beady eyes is beaten by the count.

“S-sorry, Boss.”

“You fucking bastard. I told you not to call me ‘Boss’ on land, didn’t I? Call me ‘Count’!”

“I’m sorry, Count.”

“Hoo- hoo- hoo- Alright! Bring Baron Brookrudi here! Quickly!”

Baron Brookrudi, dragged in late in the evening, doesn’t look pleased.

The arrogant Shakline forcibly offers the baron strong rum.

“Baron. I have one good news and one bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

Shakline gulps down the foul-smelling liquor, while Baron Brookrudi wrinkles his nose at the stench and puts down the glass in his hand.

“The good news, of course. Have you found the fellow who harmed my son?”

“That’s right. The good news is that we found a colleague of the fellow who made your son look like that.”

“Oh! Which bastards dared to—!”

“Princess Sophia. That’s the bad news.”

“What? Count Shakline. That’s absurd…! Why would the Second Imperial Princess, who should be in the imperial palace, be here?”

“She came to Sanuf for a vacation. Perhaps the baron’s son has bad manners? How dare he touch the princess’s party.”

“…That can’t be. No matter how much my son likes to play around, he wouldn’t lie to me. I heard that the people my son bothered were clearly two commoners with no connections.”

“So you don’t deny that he bothered them. Anyway, it seems he was attacked by the princess’s secret guard. An academy uniform, a young man, skills that don’t match his age. Isn’t it obvious? Seeing these ridiculous things mixed together… Will you demand compensation from the princess?”

“…I will discipline my son well.”

Shakline twitches his lips.

“Good. Boys! Escort Baron Brookrudi to a room in the mansion.”

“What? Count. I have my own villa.”

All the subordinates waiting nearby rush over and grab Baron Brookrudi’s arms.

“What are you doing? The baron is tired. Quickly escort him to his room.”

“No, Count Shakline!”

“You raised your son like shit, and I suffered because of it. What good news did you want to hear, huh? If we met at sea, I would have turned you into shark bait, but consider yourself lucky that we’re on land. Baron Brookrudi.”

“You!”

“Drag him away.”

The sound of beatings comes from the direction where the baron is being dragged away.

Shakline, left alone, doesn’t care and mutters as he fills an expensive glass with strong rum.

“Now that I’ve caught Brookrudi, I can call the princess again.”

The bait is ready.

“Hey! It’s an emergency! Order the Sanuf constabulary. If anyone has met a student wearing an academy uniform, arrest them all and put them in jail.”

The shark spreads its net to catch the princess in its grasp.

“Master.”

Kasha, who came to his room late at night, doesn’t look pleased.

“What’s wrong, Kasha.”

“Do you know Count Shakline? I just met him.”

Count Drake Shakline.

One of the pirate lords who had long plagued the empire’s seas, later naturalized at the Emperor’s urging as a privateer captain.

Ghost of the Sea, Master of Treasure Island, Terror of the Ocean, etc.

He was a legendary pirate with over ten titles describing him.

‘But he’ll be no match for the Leviathan, the sea monster that’s about to appear.’

That’s why he’s only briefly mentioned in the game.

‘Is he still alive?’

“So?”

“…He’s in charge of Sanuf’s security. The problem is the bad blood between Baron Brookrudi’s son and Flare. Do you know anything about it?”

‘Did that bastard already snitch?’

I thought he’d be crippled for good, but how is it that those kinds of bastards are so lucky? He’s already recovered.

“Brookrudi.”

“Yes. Baron Brookrudi’s son claims that he was attacked by a thug in an academy uniform who is close to Flare. He went to Count Shakline, the chief of security, first. Could it be that the thug is…”

It’s natural for Kasha, who knows about the transformation ring, to suspect me first.

“It was me. They insulted Flare and Luna. And they tried to kill me, so it was an unavoidable choice.”

“I used Aiden’s name to smooth things over. Please forgive me. And Sophia asked Count Shakline to cover up the incident in the name of the imperial family.”

Sophia did?

“Then isn’t that settled? Tell the guild to send an order to pressure the Brookrudi family tomorrow morning. Use my seal.”

“Understood.”

‘At the very least, that bastard has to kneel and beg in front of Flare.’

I don’t think he’s the only one who’s been bullying Flare at the academy. I need to make an example of him.

‘Shakline, huh…’

I’ll have to find out what kind of guy he is myself tomorrow.