I, the Wizard, Magnus, thanked him heartily.

"Well done, Chocolat. Well done.

　The chocolatier kept the sword he'd taken from Lawrence, who was still lying on his back, with a snap of his sword.

'No, by the love of Lord Magnus!
Oh, love!
"Thanks to the enhanced magic of Lord Magnus!
'Hmmm, Chocolat. You have to be precise with your words, don't you?

　Aria peeked out of that back I was protecting and turned into an inorganic smile like a mask. I'm scared, I want you to stop........

　But it only took a moment for me to pull a face. I immediately turned into a straight face and went to the side beside Lawrence, who was still lying on the ground.

''I'm sorry for being so rough on you.

　When I told him that, Lawrence often stared at my expression.
　I think he realized that my apology was not a nonsense and that I meant it.

I'm sure we're the ones who were rough with you, even if it was for the sake of law and order in Qaziou. If your allegations of false accusations are true, Lord Magnus should be more angry. But in spite of that, he's still acting like that. In other words, I'm not an obstacle to be offended, and I don't even have any teeth in my mouth...

　'It's a complete defeat,' sighed Lawrence at the bottom of his lungs.

'If you say I'm alone, well, it's two against one.

　I didn't mean to taunt Lawrence, and in fact, I even greatly appreciate that ability of the highest peak of the Kaziu, so I gave him a comforting word.

　It just helped that Lawrence realized that resistance was futile.
　If he didn't acknowledge the difference in power here, or was a sore loser, I was in trouble. Well, I had to step on it that he wasn't that stupid.
I knew Lawrence was going to try to capture me thanks to the strategy book, but I dared not escape, and it was worth it.

　I told Lawrence, "Now you understand.

I said to Lawrence, "Now you understand.　The Maritime Police, even you, the best individual combatant in the force, are no match for us. If you want to capture us, you'll have to surround us with a team of ships.
What are you planning to do?
How dare you plot against me. I'm advising you.

　He must have realized that this line was just a bunch of crap. Lawrence continued to stare at me, as if to gauge my true intentions.
　But there was no way he could read my inner thoughts. No matter how stupid Lawrence is, he has far less information than I do.

We're going to see the Siren of the Sea now. If you want to capture him, you can come after him.

　Lawrence continued to stare as if to guess whether these words were true or just a bluff.
　Then he concluded.

'Very well, Lord Magnus. Then next time I will surround you with a fleet.
I look forward to it, Mr. Lawrence.

　I used Sleep II to put Lawrence to sleep.
　Since he's not equipped with the Spirit of Repentance and Decree, he's unable to resist my magic.

　I make sure Lawrence is completely unconscious, and ask the Kincolie messenger who came to inform me of the situation to take care of the rest. I asked him to protect the police who were lying in bed and to return the spirit of absolution and decency to Lawrence.
　I'm a man of principle, and I'm willing to use false accusations to gain the Demon King's attention. But I'm not a thief.

　　　　◇◆◇◇◇◇

Aboard the hovering carpet Narsai, Aria, Chocolat and I traveled to the port on the west side of the island of Domon.
　The port is on the opposite side of the island from where our Maria of Hope is docked.
　I didn't need to check, but our ship would be seized by a detachment of the Marine Police (Cagliostro). We can't just walk into an eastern port.

"I've been expecting you, Lady Magnus. Lady Aria. Miss Chocolat.

　When we arrived at the west harbor, Captain Barbas and the rest of the crew of the "Maria of Hope" greeted us.
　We knew the marine police (Cagliostro) were coming, so we used the Maria Maria as bait, and asked them to move us to the area beforehand.

　But with the crew on board, how will they leave the ship without their important ship?
　The answer to this question lies with the Kincolie Chamber of Commerce employees who were waiting for me with Captain Barbas and the others.

'Master Pitre has sent us to prepare your ship for you.

　Then he pointed to one of the ships at anchor.

'A fine ship, eh?　I can't wait to get on it, I'm excited to get on it.

　Captain Barbas and his men, who had been surveying the ship earlier, said with a look of excitement.
"The Maria of Hope is a state-of-the-art ship with considerable specifications, but this Umiwashi is said to be even more advanced than that. It's the only one of its kind in the world, and is said to be an experimental ship for the development of the next generation of ships. If this is Captain Barbas's idea, it's the right one.
　As expected of the Kincolie Corporation, the number one trading company in the marine merchants' paradise of Kajuu. They are willing to lend me their monumental ship.

Thank you for your help. Thank you very much for everything you have done for me," he said.

　We bowed to the employee, who claimed to be a member of Pieter's entourage.
　In fact, I wanted to go and greet Petr himself in person as well, but I'll save that for a later date.
　It's a good thing for Pitre-dono that he doesn't get involved until he's cleaned up, because we are now suspects - or maybe criminals, since we fought off Lawrence and the others - now.
　This boat, even if it is this one, is supposed to be the one that we took by force to get off the island.

"Come on, let's go to Andres.

　At my signal, Captain Barbas and his crew begin preparing to leave the ship in a hurry but with great enthusiasm.
　I go up on deck with Aria and Chocolat and look out to the western waters we're aiming for.

'There's a divine siren on Andres Island, isn't there?
Oh, yes. "There's also the tomb of the Pirate King of the South, which she still guards."
''When I hear that, it sounds kind of healthy. Even though I'm a divine spirit.''
'Yes. It's true that sirens are supernatural beings. But I've heard they're an oddity among divine spirits, right?　He was so worldly, so human, in fact, that he was in love with the Pirate King of the South.
So, a hundred years later, you're still guarding your lover's grave?
Romantic!

　Aria's and Chocolat's eyes, looking out to the western ocean, have turned into the eyes of a maiden, mindlessly.
　I cough apologetically, but I clear my throat.

'I'm sorry to ruin your dreams, but you're probably going to have to do some fancy donkeys before you get to the island.
I know what I'm doing, Mr. Magnus.
I've already made up my mind.

　The women nodded enthusiastically, and I nodded back, saying it was fine.
　Then I rub the bracelet on my left arm.

　This is a magic item that Bazelluf synthesized from the Sea King Stone Bracelet I got in the ruins of Ramsey and the Spirit of Marid I got in the ruins of Morris.
　We didn't need to use it to win the naval battle against Captain Manganese, but we're sure we'll need it this time. But this time, I'm sure I'll need it.