I--Pauli is the most(¦)evil(¦)grandfather child.
　My grandfather's name was Derechrek, and he was a man who left his mark on the history of this kaziu.
　He was notorious, though.
　He was the former head of the Zale Trading Company and the one who steered the party along the lines of the Pirate Trade Association.

　It was before I was born, but it seems that the Zale Chamber of Commerce in my grandfather's time did whatever it wanted to do. They set up hideouts (hiding places) all over Kajuu, organized countless pirate gangs, and used the entirety of the nine seas as their hunting grounds, attacking and plundering merchant ships. Naturally, he hated the marine police (Cagliostro) like a scorpion, and he spent his time in bloody conflicts with them.

　Whenever my grandfather or other old employees would tell me the saga of his days as a pirate, I would get a huge thrill out of it.
　I still remember how I would beg him every day to tell me more stories.

Why did your grandfather decide to go into the piracy business?

　I asked that question innocently enough as a child.

It was because my dream of becoming the Pirate King of the South was cut short.

　My grandfather had a bitter look on his face as he replied.
　He had already handed over the governorship and lived in hiding, and he was only a mild old man with corners, but he had a really bitter expression on his face at that time.

''But isn't that an awful thing to say?''

　I was a cocky kid (is that still the case?) pointed out that.

'You have to make money in a straightforward way to be his successor, right?　You can't be a pirate.
'No, Pauli, it's the opposite. It's just the opposite. When I was young, I used to be passionate about legitimate business, but then I realized it was pointless. One day I realized it was pointless.
Why?
The only way you can be considered the Pirate King's heir apparent is if you are his direct descendent.
Yeah, so?
'The eagles were different. When I went to see Siren, she told me that I - no, none of the Zale Consortium is related to the Southern Pirate King anymore. I - no, no, no one in the Zael Company is related to the Pirate King of the South anymore."
What? Why?

　As a child, I disagreed.
　He was referring to the fact that I, too, was not related to the Pirate King, a fact that was hard to admit.
　My grandfather's face was bitter, but he answered seriously, as a child.

My father, the real pirate king, was a seedless man. My father's father - the real pirate king - was seedless," he said, "and my mother gave birth to the children of illicit men and had my father raise them with a blank stare. And I was his bastard child.

　The meaning of my grandfather's words was difficult for me as a child.
　But they were long enough to make me despair.

'I resented my mother,' he said. "I resented my mother," he said, "and I was tired of working hard at a legitimate business. After all, if I couldn't be his successor, I couldn't allow anyone else to do it. So I raided these waters and dyed them in blood. Call it a youthful indiscretion, but that's about it.

　Those words of my grandfather bind me like a curse.

　　　　◇◆◆◆◆.

　My grandfather, who was a charismatic man of ruffians, was no match for the waves of his age.
　And if he didn't have the energy and stamina to do the pirate business, he wouldn't be able to do it.
　On the contrary, as the years went by, Morak, the former leader of the Zale Chamber of Commerce, rose to prominence.
　He was my grandfather's eldest son and, in my opinion, my uncle.

"Your way of doing things is too tiring," said Morak, "and there are young people who say they can't keep up with you anymore. There are many young people who can no longer keep up with your father's ways.

　With that, Uncle Morak said, he forced his grandfather to go into hiding.
　Outwardly, he pretended that he had killed his grandfather, took the fall for it, and declared that he would now return to the straightforward Zale Trading Company.
　But behind the scenes, he let the ruffians continue their piracy as usual. The reason he didn't really kill his grandfather was because he wanted the ruffians to follow him.

　The difference between Morak's generation and my grandfather's was that Morak's generation did not engage in piracy on a large scale, but rather kept it under the radar, with the entire Zale Chamber of Commerce involved.
　He reduced the size of the pirate organization and reduced the risk of its criminal activities and its relationship with the Zeal Chamber of Commerce to zero as much as possible.

　Morak, the previous leader of the party, was such a cunning man.
　I don't blame my uncle, however. I am the one who is now in charge of the organization behind the scenes.
　That's right, Morak gave the Zale Trading Company to his only daughter to take on the next generation, and left the pirate organization behind the scenes to me. "Pauli," he said. You have a calling.

　I admired the way of life of my grandfather and his old employees, and I happened to be the head of the organization.
　I was entirely behind the scenes, never went to sea, mainly running the organization and scheming, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
　It could have been a vocation.

　However, it was four years ago that I didn't care about the pirate business - I was a pirate.
　I was twenty-two years old.

　　　　◇◆◆◆◆◆◆.

Hey, Pauli. I need to ask you a favor.

　One day four years ago, it was my free-spirited cousin Lord who said so out of the blue.
　The current leader of the Zale Chamber of Commerce, Elise.
　She was only six years old at the time, six months away from me. But she was already a very handsome woman with a bewitching aroma.
　However, I've never been attracted to this cousin because her personality is extremely selfish and her thinking is ephemeral, which is not at all what I like.

　I responded to Ellis, cowering my shoulders in a coy gesture.

'What, our Queen of Zeal?　You're telling me to get the best pastry in the world?　Or would you prefer a diamond bigger than the moon?
'I want that too, but this time it's a much simpler request. I want you to go to Andres Island.
Huh. What kind of business could possibly exist on that deserted island?
I don't care what business you're in. There's a rumor going around that a certain company has the key to the pirate king's token.
Yeah. "I" didn't hear it?
Just go!　Honey, why don't you go and check it out for a minute?
Okay, okay. If the Leader of the Party insists, we can't resist.

　In truth, I have no right to be at the mercy of my cousin-dono.
　I was already in complete control of the backstage organization at the time, a modern-day pirate king, albeit a small one.
　On the other hand, Ellis is just a mere decoration, having inherited the position of party leader.
　Anyone in Zale knows which one is really in control.

　I just want to meet the siren for once. I had such a whim.
　That's why I've decided to do what Cousin-dono asks of me.

　Besides, Cousin-dono is not welcome to go out of the Corsair Island.
　Because she - the current head of the Zale Chamber of Commerce - is considered by the public to be a "strong, piercing, and piercing man, worthy of the Pirate Chamber of Commerce".
　Morak was a ruthless man, but in reaction, he doted on his only daughter, Elise. He died prematurely, not listening to her when he said he would let her take over the party's leadership. It became a will.
　Those around her, including me, did not oppose her succession, thinking that she had no other children and that she would just be a decoration anyway.
　However, it's not like it's a bad idea, or the Pirate Trade Association can't be licked, so they are hiding their cousin-dono's true identity and propagating a false persona. With the plausible excuse of "We have many enemies, so we don't go out in public. It's a desperate measure.


　So I ordered my men to get their sailing in order, and we headed for the island of Andres.
　The men were good, and the voyage went well. But there was no way to get them to do it by themselves.
　That's right, a storm.
　We were about to encounter Andres, and our ship was being tossed about. All we could do was pray for it to pass quickly.
　In vain, the ship was wrecked. The boat capsized and crumbled under the tidal wave.

　We were all swallowed by the sea and there was no way to save ourselves.
　There should have been none.
　But some of us were lucky enough to wake up and find ourselves lying on the beach on Andres Island.

　The first thing I noticed was the pain in my cheek.
　It had been torn wide open by the wood of the shattered ship as it had been swallowed by the sea.
　The next thing I noticed was that someone was gently watching over us as we lay on the beach.

　A mermaid carrying a trident.
　It was the siren of the divine spirit of the sea field.

'Has He saved us?'

　I couldn't help but ask, with an incredible thought.
　She cocked her head from side to side.

'I could only help the people here.

　He said with a sorrowful look on his face.
　That expression, those words alone were too much for him to realize that this supernatural being was a benevolent divine spirit.
　Most of all, her languid face was so beautiful that it was out of this world!

　It was two weeks until Nevis, who had left me on Corsair Island, sent a messenger to pick me up in a replacement ship, concerned about my failure to return.
　My surviving subordinates and I continued to live on the deserted island, receiving generous assistance from the sirens.
　I had the best day of my life, and the best day of my life.
　That's right, I was in love with her, like a young boy in his first love.

　　　　◇◆◇◆◇

"The Three Treasures of the Southern Pirate King.
　There is a verse in the legend that goes like this

　The three treasures are guarded by the spirits of the seafarers.
　The three treasures are still guarded by the spirit of the pirate king, who was once in love with them, along with his grave.
　Siren waits for the day when the Pirate King's successor will appear.
　He has the blood of his former lover, and has handed over the three treasures to a man as great as he once was...
　And once again, we will speak of love with its successor as we once did.
　The sirens are waiting today for that day to come.
　They are waiting forever.

　--And.... Whether this is the truth or a badly made up story is impossible for me or anyone else to tell.
　We won't know until we open the lid, until the Pirate King's successor appears.

　I wanted to talk to the sirens and love.
　I wanted to be the Pirate King's successor.
　But. Aha. But.....
　I have no blood of the Pirate King!

　Now I can understand how my grandfather felt.
　If I can't be his successor, I can't allow anyone else to be.
　The Pirate King's treasure - and most importantly, she will not give it to anyone else.
　A youthful indiscretion?　Laugh if you want.
　I decided to become a Cuzio.
　I decided to become Cuzio, the mythical character who fell in love with a beautiful spirit and even sold his soul to a demon king.

That's why I'm thinking of putting together a little fleet and going to Andres Island to stop Magnus. You don't mind, do you, cousin?　Mr. Leader?
But it's okay. But what if you don't want to die?

　Ellis said meaningfully to me as I went to take token approval from the decorative party leader, Samma.

'You think I'm no match for Magnus and he'll kill me?
It's just that there's so much danger in the sea.

　Cousin-dono only continued with his meaningful words.
　It would be ridiculous to go along with this twenty year old, fickle young lady who still hasn't recovered from her selfishness, to go along with her in a proper manner.

'Fine. I'm not going to live forever in a world where the siren has become someone else's, yet.

　I cowered my shoulders in a frightening gesture and resigned myself to the presence of your party's leader, Sama, to form a fleet.
　I took a decisive step forward.
　Risking my life?　Excellent.