As I walked out of the cabin, it was a flurry of activity on board.
　Sailors were running around the deck, hurriedly beginning to prepare for battle.
　I wanted to give them instructions, but I didn't dare give them.
　Because I was ignorant of combat at sea.
　I should have left this to the captain, who is an expert in his field.

　It's not a good idea to ask the captain, who is busy preparing for battle, so I ask Hans instead.

'How does a naval battle take place?'

　The tension of battle must have blown away any seasickness.
　Hans had regained his usual calm tone.

'Normally, fleet-to-fleet combat relies on sorcerers.
I see.

　Then we might be able to cooperate.
　Hans points to a chunk of stone on the edge of the deck.

'Our basic tactic will be to send that chunk of stone flying with magic and blow a huge hole in the enemy's ship.

　I see, I realized for the first time the meaning of the pile of stones that had been piled up.
　This world is a world of swords and magic.
　I'm sure this is why they didn't produce any gunpowder and relied on magic.
　Speaking of naval battles in the prehistoric world, cannons were the mainstay of the war.

　The basic tactic of naval warfare was to fire the cannons installed on the sides of the ships and sink the enemy ships.

''--That's what they supplemented with sorcerers, I see.

　However, it would take a lot of money to get sorcerers together, and a stone crusher wouldn't be very powerful.

　Perhaps we could make a cannon as an export item to Zenobia.

　I thought so, but I should focus on the enemy first.
　I decided to intercept the 'Stone Crush' that the enemy sorcerer had unleashed.

You can use any of the spells to intercept them, but I decided to choose the spell of "Wall of Fire" to protect the ship for sure.

　I'm not going to protect the entire ship, but to pinpoint the crushes that fly at me.

　Normally, I would like to leave the defense to the other sorcerers and join the attack, but this ship has Sati on board.

　I wanted to avoid a contingency.

　The enemy's stone crushers were being crushed one after another in the air, while the stone crushers on our side were being crushed as well. We were lucky enough to hit the enemy's deck with a few shots, but not enough to sink the ship.

　Hans explains.

'The Carossa of Redbeard is also a high-ranking sorcerer.

I see.

　No wonder they were able to plunder a number of Xenovia's ships.　

'So I guess that's a promise of what's to come.

　In a naval battle of this kind, a pirate ship would have an impulse horn, called a ram, attached to its tip.

　They thrust it into the flank of the merchant ship, which was the prize, and the pirates were allowed to board the merchant ship.
　That should be the usual practice.
　As expected, Carossa's ship is approaching us at a tremendous speed.
　If you look at it, the sails of the enemy's ships are swelling at a tremendous rate.
It seems that they are using the magic of the 《storm》 with pinpoint accuracy to speed up the ship's momentum.

''That's quite a feat.''

　I can't help but marvel at the fact that the magic of the storm has such a use.

　I can't help but be impressed that the magic of the storm wind had such a use.

　At first I thought it was just a pirate, but the red-bearded Carossa seems to be quite a person.

　Maybe I'll be dealing with the best sorcerer I've ever encountered.

　With that thought in mind, I prepared for the impact of the enemy ship colliding with me.
　As soon as the tip of the enemy's ship pierced the raggedy ship, the pirates broke in.
　They are all lightly armed and clutching scimitars or shortswords.

'No wonder.'

　It's a battle on the sea, and in the unlikely event that you fall into the sea with heavily armed equipment, you'll have no life.
　There would be no point in wearing armor in a naval battle.
　And not a single person uses a spear on a small boat.
　Nearly everyone is fighting with scimitars or shortswords.
　They are all lightly armed, so if they were to receive a slash, they would be rendered incapable of fighting.
　What's more, we are on the sea, and there is nowhere to run.
　Everyone was fighting desperately.

　This may be the big difference between naval and land battles.
　When I thought that, I looked for the enemy general.

　We can leave the miscellaneous soldiers to the crew and Hans.
　They are brave men of the sea, they will not be late.
　The problem was the red-bearded Carossa.

　From the magic and deftness I've just witnessed, I can guess that he is the source of the Red Beard pirates' strength.

　Besides, in a battle, the winner is the one who defeats the opponent's general.
　As soon as Carossa falls, victory or defeat will be decided.
　That's what I thought, and I looked around the deck.

　I thought it would be difficult to find him due to the melee, but that was not the case.
　The captain was easy to find.

　The guy with the most attitude on the deck of the enemy's ship, that's Carossa.
　She was dressed in a particularly neat outfit and crossed her arms in a pompous manner.

'....but, well...'

　The only thought that comes to mind is.
　I can't help but blurt it out.

"I don't know if there are any other pirates that are that good at it.

　Even in the black-and-white film era, Hollywood films would have more twists and turns.

　Carossa is wearing a pirate hat with a skull symbol on it, a red headband, and a red velvet jacket over a shirt like a nobleman would wear.

''Well if only I had one hand clawed in this, it would be perfect.

　I blurted out, and sure enough, his left hand was clawed.
　What's more, as promised, he had an eye patch wrapped around his left eye.
　I let out a breath, but I wasn't going to let my guard down.

　The red-bearded Carossa looks like a typical pirate, but he also seems to be a pretty, competent commander.

　He doesn't go to the deck of our ship, which is in a state of turmoil, but calmly gives orders to his men from his own ship.

　Occasionally, he would cast the Granting Magic, cover his allies, and fire the Water Ball spell at our sailors.

　He looks like a pirate, but he is an excellent sorcerer and commander in chief.

　He has fought many humans in the past, but he is probably the best sorcerer and commander of them all.

I wouldn't say "otherwise it wouldn't be fun.

　The better the enemy is, the more damage we can do.
　If you look, Hans, the steward, was in a fierce battle with one of the pirates.

　The other sailors were evenly matched at best, and if you look at the entire front, we were clearly at a disadvantage.

'We're not going to lose at this rate,'

　I thought, and I started chanting the spell.
Using the magic of 《transference》, I'm going to get directly onto the opponent's deck.
　This is on the sea, following the pirate's style would not be a bad idea.
　With that thought in mind, I move in front of Carossa with my Transition magic.

　When Carossa sees me, her first words are.

(Laughs)

　It was. The words that followed were.

"I thought you were already using your impressive "Firewall" just now, but there's quite a sorcerer on board!

　Carossa seemed to have assessed my abilities in an instant.
　That alone was proof that I wasn't incompetent.
　I would not be caught off guard, but I would keep my magic power on the circular snake's staff.

　Unlike his appearance, he had an intelligent and gentlemanly manner and expression, but this man is a pirate.

　I didn't know what kind of moves he would use.
　As expected, he would slash at me without any advance warning.
　"Die!" as is characteristic of biting dogs. and "f*ck you! He didn't even say the word "I'm sorry".
　He just silently aimed at my vital point and fired his saber at me.
　I catch it with my circular snake staff, but as soon as I catch it, sparks are created.
　Carossa's expression changes for the first time when she sees that scene.

''........Ho, even though it's imparted with magic power, it's quite a wand. As I thought, you're not just an ordinary person, you.

I'm a brigade commander who is a sorcerer in the Demon King's Army.

　I would have liked to reveal my identity, but there would be no need for that.
　I concentrated on playing the game with the man.
　Repeated sword fights are exchanged, and each time the opponent takes a step back, and I take a step back.
　I knew he was quite a good user.

　Even though he doesn't wear the robe of immortality, I didn't expect him to struggle to this extent.

　In terms of the balance between swordsmanship and magic power, it's something similar to the 3rd Legion's commander Basteo, whom I fought before.

　When you think about it, humans are still terrifying.
　It's because quite a talented person is buried in the field like this.


"--But...


　With that said, I decided to end this battle.
　All magic power is granted to the staff.
　It's 'almost' everything, without thinking about the future.
　The circular serpent's staff emits an even more pale aura.
　I staked everything on that one strike.

　If I wasn't able to break Carossa's saber with this blow, I would lose this duel.

　That was a possibility, but I didn't need to worry about it.
　My biggest strike worked perfectly.


　Pow!


　Carossa's saber snaps off with a sound of "I don't know what to do".
　Seeing this scene, Carossa screams in surprise, but it's only for a moment.
　He quickly regains his cool expression and points his left claw at you.


　Crack open, the crocheted prosthetic hand.


　It was as if the bullets of the "Mithril" were stuffed in there.
　There is no such thing as a gun in this world, but pseudo-guns do exist.

　If you put a bullet of pure silver into an ejection machine made of a metal called "true silver (mithril)" and trigger the magic power, it will be ejected at high speed.

　It is useful for demons, werewolves and vampires, who are said to be weak in silver, but that doesn't mean it is ineffective against humans.

　In fact, its power is not much different than a flintlock gun, right?
　In other words, if I eat it, I'll die.

Well, that's if I bite it.

　I had predicted that beforehand.
　That's why I had left my magic power behind.
　The 《Protective Barrier》 spell was not slipped.
　Carossa's last trump card was thus nullified.

　I entered his bosom at the same time as Carossa's expression was tinted with despair, and plunged my right fist, which was filled with the remaining magic power, into his stomach.


''Gofu.''


　A large amount of gastric juice was spewed out along with a voice saying, "I'm sorry.

　There was no blood, so I don't think it would kill him, but it did take away Carossa's fighting power and consciousness completely.

　I watched it happen and declared to the pirates fighting on the raggedy ship.

'I have taken out your general. It is useless to put up any more resistance. Now lay down your weapons and surrender, and I will guarantee your lives!

　Did those words work?
　Or did the defeat of the strongest captain lower morale?
　One by one, the pirates laid down their weapons and threw up their hands.
　At the same time, a cheer went up from the sailors on the raggedy ship.


'Yes!　We won!
Now, my Zenobia will be safe!　
We, no, Lord Ike, have defeated that most powerful pirate, Carossa!


　The sailors admired me while I tied up the pirates.
　It was comforting to be admired, but there was one thing I was worried about.
　I ask Hans, the steward, who approaches me, out of breath.

　As in my previous life, in this kind of world, it was quoted that pirates would be 'hanged' if they were caught.

　I ask him about that.

"In Zenobia, too, pirates are hanged.
..........

　That's right.
　Pirates are bad guys.

　Pirates are the ones who attack a merchant ship and kill all of its crew or throw the surviving crew out to sea in their little boats.

　If you show mercy here, you won't show it, and other pirates will take advantage.

　However, it pains me to see them turn their backs on us when we told them that we would save their lives if they surrendered.

　It was another sad characteristic of those with memories of their past lives.

　I suggested "Can't you do something about it?" but Hans came up with a suggestion.

"Do you know the word pardon, Lord Ike?
Of course I know.

　I reply.

　When a king ascends the throne, or when a prince or princess is born, a special amnesty is granted to lighten the sins of the guilty.

　It is said that some countries still practiced it in the past, and even Japan still has such a law.

　It was in place until the Taisho era (1912-1926), and it is said to have been considered at the time of Emperor Konjo's accession to the throne.

　However, would a king ascend to the throne, or a prince or princess be born so soon and conveniently?

　First of all, this is not a country, but a city-state and there is no king.
　When I was thinking this, Hans poked me in the face.

I'm going to have a celebration in Zenobia, too, in the near future. If you use that as an excuse, the pirates of the red bearded pirate gang can avoid the firing squad.

　With those words, I realized what Hans was implying.

　He's imploring me to announce my engagement to Julia as soon as I return to Zenobia.

　I sighed heavily and decided to return to Zenobia, anyway.
　For now, I should report to Eltria about the extermination of Red Beard's Carossa.
　With that, I must use it as a bargaining chip for a deal with the Demon King's army.

　Good grief, I thought, as I returned to my cabin.
　There was Sati, who was still praying.
　I reported to her that I had won, and asked her to make me a cup of tea.

　Maybe it was because I was returning from smelling the sweaty sailors and the bloody smell of the battlefield, but it smelled better than usual, even though it was the same tea leaves.