“Hmm.” Eugene watched as the ship carrying the Holy Empire’s delegation disappeared into the distance.

“You must have mixed feelings, right? Still, I think it’s a relief and that we achieved the best result possible,” Prince Localope said after sneaking up to Eugene’s side.

Eugene glanced at the prince before turning his eyes back to the ship of the Holy Empire.

“That’s not it. I just find it a little strange,” Eugene said.

“Strange? What do you mean?” Localope asked.

Eugene answered, “That ship. It looks too untouched, no matter how I look at it.”

“Hmm?” Prince Localope turned his gaze toward the disappearing ship. He couldn’t make out the details like Eugene could, but it certainly seemed rather pristine.

“Well, it seems like it. But what about it?” Prince Localope asked.

“Are ships usually left like that after being attacked by pirates?” Eugene pointed out.

“That’s…”

“There were no scratches at all. There’s not even a trace of a single arrow hit,” Eugene continued.

“Hmm…” Prince Localope fell into contemplation. It was certainly strange. Even if the pirates had intended to take the delegation hostage, it would have been normal for them to fire harpoons or arrows to intimidate.

“Moreover, you must have seen the holy knights accompanying the high priest and the others, right? What did you think of them?” Eugene asked.

Prince Localope responded, “Judging from their unusual spirit and eyes, they’re truly a group of elite holy knights of the Holy Empire. I’m certain that they’re outstanding knights.”

“That’s right. Meanwhile, the dragon-whatever had many members, but there wasn’t anyone particularly eye-catching or strong among them,” Eugene said. Only a few members of the Dragonborn pirates knew how to properly wield a sword. Those members included several ex-mercenaries and their leader had been the child of a small, unknown family of knights in the countryside. Still, even the Partec of the past could have handled them all.

“So, what I’m saying is that it should have been possible to wipe them out with just three or four of the Holy Empire’s holy knights,” Eugene explained.

“…!” Prince Localope’s eyes slightly widened.

Eugene continued, “And did you see whether any of the holy knights had been injured? Moreover, not even a single pirate had received injuries from the holy knights.”

“Are you saying… that there was no battle at all?” Prince Localope asked.

“I speculate so,” Eugene said in a quiet voice. He then turned before speaking once more, “Sir Edmund. Bring me the leader of the pirates.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Edmund answered. Soon, Ukre approached Eugene with a servile smile unbefitting his ugly appearance.

“Oh, honorable and, uh… great, and… uh… Ah! Intelligent—”

“Never mind. Let me ask you something,” Eugene said after stopping Ukre’s pathetic attempt at imitating a noble’s way of speaking. He then continued with a cold gaze, “What were you thinking when you attacked the delegation of the Holy Empire?”

“What? O-obviously, we were trying to capture them and get some ransom…” Ukre stammered through his answer.

Eugene placed his hand on Wolfslaughter before saying, “No more chances. Speak nonsense one more time, and your head will fly.”

“Y-yes!” Ukre immediately wiped the smile off of his face and straightened his posture.

“Why did you attack the delegation? From the beginning to the end. Tell me everything,” Eugene said.

“Yes! So what happened was…” Ukre quickly gave an accurate, clear account of the events.

After hearing Ukre’s story, Eugene raised his hand from Wolfslaughter’s sheathe and stroked his chin.

“Hmm. So they were loitering around the nearby area for more than fifteen days? And because of what they had done, you were unable to operate, or rather, pirate?” Eugene asked.

“T-that’s right. As I told you, this humble one really, really didn’t want to attack them. However, my subordinates were so angry that… Well, as Your Majesty should know very well, in our line of work, you always have to be careful of the underlings and the possibility of revolt—”

“You dare! His Majesty does not understand the circumstances of a vicious pirate like you!” Edmund angrily interrupted.

Ukre quickly raised his hands and waved while shouting, “No! That’s not what I meant! Please, I made a mistake!”

“Calm down, Sir Edmund,” Eugene said.

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” Edmund said while backing down.

Eugene spoke once more, “Anyway, you had no choice but to attack them because they were interfering with your business, right? You didn’t have any intention of actually capturing them; you only wanted to chase them away?”

“Yes, yes. That’s right. We’re not crazy enough to attack a delegation of the Holy Empire,” Ukre answered.

“Hmm.” Eugene’s curiosity was finally resolved. It would have been natural for the Holy Empire to pay great attention to the security of a delegation containing a high priest of their empire. Eugene had assumed that the pirates had to have a trick up their sleeves to have captured the delegation of the Holy Empire, but he had been mistaken.

‘They had purposely let themselves be captured.’

Eugene finally discovered the truth. He waved to Ukre. “I understand. You can go now.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Oh, wait,” Eugene called out as Ukre walked away with his head drooping.

“Do you… have something else to say?” Ukre asked as he was struck by a feeling of unknown anxiety.

Eugene responded while spreading open a leather pocket, “You may have repented, but it doesn’t mean that the sins you have committed have disappeared. Well, Marquis Archivold will decide what to do with you and your subordinates, but you had been quite a nuisance to me as well. Shouldn’t you pay the price for that?”

“Of course! You’re absolutely right!”

‘Dammit! You were there when the high priest forgave us!’

Unfortunately, the high priest was long gone, and Eugene was now the man in charge. Ukre had no choice but to hide his true feelings and bow in a servile manner.

“I will show you to the safe.”

“Sir Edmund. I’ll leave it to you,” Eugene said.

“Understood, Your Majesty,” Edmund answered.

‘Hehe. Even if you are a member of the Tribe of Darkness, you’ll never find what we hid underground.’

Ukre found some relief in the fact that he wouldn’t lose everything. After all, such feats were only possible for dwarves.

He headed toward his residence with Edmund.

However…

“You should go, too. Make sure you don’t miss a single coin,” Eugene said.

“Kihehe! Leave it to me. Kihohohohoho…” The evil, golden spirit slowly crept out of the leather pocket with a burst of creepy laughter. The spirit was unmatched when it came to sniffing out gold, silver, and treasures. And she excitedly followed after the leader of the pirates.

Localope nodded with a peaceful expression while looking alternatingly between the spirit and Eugene.” Even though you have been blessed, you haven’t changed at all, Your Majesty. I‘m relieved that it’s the case.”

“…”

Eugene wasn’t sure exactly why Localope was relieved, but it somehow annoyed him.

***

Eugene fully robbed the Dragonborn pirates of their possessions, then left the island two days later after confirming that the troops of the three lords had arrived on the island. Unlike how they entered, the ships of the expedition exited the waters near the island without any problems.

The reason was simple…

Boom… Boooom!

Every muffled explosion coming from below the sea caused the remains of the destroyed reefs to float up to the surface before sinking. The water near the island's coast was only five to six meters deep, and the twin-headed ogre was destroying all the reefs in the vicinity. Naturally, the monster couldn’t destroy all the reefs, but it cleared the water near the small cape the pirates had been using as a dock.

“This will stop the pirates from hiding on that island.”

“And with the reefs gone, the current has slightly changed as well. It’s a regular island now. Huh! Anyway, I can’t believe that he actually thought of using a monster to do such a thing…”

Boom!

The twin-headed ogre crawled up to the waiting galley after completing its task.

“Uaah?!”

“Uah…”

The ogre did not harm anyone unless it was ordered to do so by Eugene, but its overwhelming presence still caused the sailors to fall into fear and anxiety. But even that only lasted for a moment. The sailors on board the ship took something out of their pockets before hanging it around their necks.

The objects were holy artifacts made of wood. The sailors had rushed to make the objects after learning that the fearsome monster did not attack believers, then hung the objects around their necks.

The ogre stood tall on the deck as it glanced over the crew with its four red eyes.

The sailors gulped with fear and tension.

The ogre drew the holy symbol in the air toward them.

“…!” The members of the expedition, the foreign nobles in particular, were astonished at the sight. It was something they would never believe something like this if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes.

Eugene watched the scene play out with a pleased expression.

“This is rather good. I will have to keep that order.”

“Kuku! That’s right. It’s a little hard to look at, but it’s definitely effective,” Galfredik responded.

“It is actually pleasing to the eyes. Anyone will consider the ogre to be a warrior of god rather than a monster. Nice and strong. Haa. Haaaaa.” Princess Lilisain responded while revealing her eccentric taste.

“More importantly, the repulsion the foreign nobles felt toward the twin-head ogre has completely disappeared. Even a high priest of the Holy Empire gave her blessings.”

Laerina had blessed the twin-headed ogre as well before departing. However, unlike Eugene, there was no way of knowing the blessing’s effect.

‘Well, that’s not really important. The fact that no one will doubt its existence from now on is a more important fact.’

Eugene was completely satisfied that no one would be able to express their doubts about the twin-headed ogre in the future.

What if someone did talk nonsense about the twin-headed ogre? It would be akin to insulting a high priest of the Holy Empire, and in turn, insulting the Pope and the Holy Empire as well. They would be blatantly denying the three gods and the church.

“Maybe I should have taken care of their travel expenses. I feel sorry to have received so much without giving anything in return,” Eugene said. He was only grateful to Laerina and the delegation of the Holy Empire. Of course, he was still slightly bothered that they had purposely allowed themselves to be captured by the pirates, but he could figure out the reason over time.

‘And I have my suspicions as well...’

A certain individual had come to mind as soon as Eugene heard the truth about the delegation from the leader of the pirates.

‘The yellow bastard.’

He wasn’t sure why, but he had a hunch that Crown Prince Voltaire had some involvement in the issue.

“Hoho…” Eugene chuckled when he thought of Crown Prince Voltaire. For some reason, he had a hunch that the crown prince would become involved with him when he headed to the areas affected by the monster uprising. The crown prince was arrogant enough to kidnap Romari just for the sake of provoking him. And although there was still no clear evidence, the crown prince was a man—violent and dangerous enough to scheme using evil lands.

‘But I have already made him suffer defeat several times.’

The crown prince wouldn’t just stand still. In addition, all of Eugene’s destinations were adjacent to the Roman Empire. Unlike Brantia and the Caylor Kingdom, those kingdoms were under the significant influence of the Roman Empire.

‘I don’t know what you’ve prepared, but it won’t go your way. Why?’

Fwoosh!

Eugene’s hair was scattered by the sea breeze as he stood on the deck of the ship. He gazed at the land in the far distance.

“I don’t need to be invited anymore,” he muttered. Eugene smiled as he looked in the direction of the Roman Empire—the base of Crown Prince Voltaire—as well as the various vampire clans.

***

Eugene’s expedition finally arrived at a place known as Moyna Port after a three-day voyage. Eugene had agreed with Maren’s parliament to prioritize helping the kingdoms that offered the largest compensations, as well as those who had asked for help first. As such, the purpose of the expedition was to go from place to place and uphold their end of the contract, starting with the Dukedom of Viseche.

“Your Majesty. Your mind and body must be tired from the long journey, so why don’t you relax at the banquet today?” The nobles belonging to the delegation from the Dukedom of Viseche suggested.

“No. Thank you for your suggestion, but I think it would be better to head straight to the affected area,” Eugene responded.

“What? But…” The nobles were startled by Eugene’s unexpected response. They had been seeking to pursue their own benefits by introducing Eugene, the princess of Eland, and the prince of the Roman Empire to the others.

Eugene spoke to them in a stern manner, “Even at this very moment, the people of your country must be suffering because of the monsters, right? By now, their size must have grown significantly, so I don’t think we can afford to relax and enjoy a banquet. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Oh…”

“Truly… Truly honorable and generous, Your Majesty!”

The nobles of Viseche were truly touched by Eugene’s concern. He was sincerely worried about them, even though this place wasn’t even a part of his own country.

Of course, Eugene’s true thoughts were somewhat different.

‘If I agree to all of their invitations, I feel like I might play right into a ploy of that yellow bastard. Besides, I have heard that the Dukedom of Viseche is one of the Roman Empire’s lackeys.’

The best strategy in a game wasn’t to play into the opponent’s hand. Eugene was sure of it.

‘If it comes to it, then you should be the one playing into my hands.’