"Hmm-hm-hmm, hmm-hm-hmm."
Rei stepped out of the pirate ship humming cheerfully.
The Pirates probably couldn't grasp just how unusual a sight that was. Elena and the others, who were always with him, would have understood that Rei was in an even better mood than usual.
A rope trailed from Rei's hand, and at the end of it was a man with his wrists bound.
The Pirates could roughly guess who it was. But even so, not wanting to believe it was the most natural reaction. He was the Boss who led this pirate crew — of course they'd feel that way.
With their Boss captured, the Pirates' plummeting morale was unavoidable.
However, Rei's good mood had nothing to do with capturing the Boss. It came from obtaining the Magic Item the man had been carrying.
Unfortunately, it was a disposable item that couldn't be used repeatedly. But beyond the one the man had tried to use, Rei had discovered nearly fifty similar Magic Items still aboard the ship, and he had already stored them all in his Misty Ring.
The fact that the volume of smoke produced varied depending on the force of impact held enormous significance for Rei — and for Rei when riding on Set.
Even an ordinary person could generate a decent amount of smoke. If Rei struck it with all his strength, it was impossible to imagine just how much smoke would billow out.
Moreover, it was a complete mystery how much smoke would be produced if Rei rode Set and hurled the Magic Item from a hundred meters — or even higher — down to the ground.
Then again, whether he could actually hit a targeted spot from that altitude was a question in itself.
"Boss... we're sorry. It's because we weren't strong enough..."
"Predecessor, forgive us. We failed to protect the Young Boss."
The Pirates stared at the man being led by Rei, each voicing their bitter regret.
Rei stopped humming and shot them an exasperated look.
"If you're a pirate, getting caught eventually comes with the territory. If you hated the idea of being caught that much, you shouldn't have been pirates. You should have been adventurers, or fishermen, or something."
No matter how much the Pirates lamented their own inadequacy or apologized to the Predecessor — the man who had passed the title of Boss to the one Rei now held — it wouldn't erase the fact that they had been pirates.
If being captured was what they dreaded, they simply shouldn't have turned to piracy in the first place. That was Rei's honest take.
Of course, now that they'd been caught, anything they said was too late.
The Pirates seemed to understand this. Between Rei's words and, more importantly, the sight of their Boss in captivity, many wore expressions of pure despair.
"Well, I should be able to store it now."
Rei muttered as he touched the ship — and in the next instant, it vanished.
"Wha—!?"
The man in Rei's grasp could only gape at the sudden spectacle.
The other Pirates captured outside had already witnessed one ship disappear into Rei's Misty Ring, so while the sight still surprised them, it was far less shocking than the first time.
The man Rei had captured, however, was seeing a ship vanish — being stored in the Misty Ring — for the very first time. His eyes went wide, and he could only stand there, dumbfounded.
"Come on, stop gawking and get over here."
Rei tugged the rope binding the man.
Powerless to resist Rei's strength, the man was dragged forward, his face still frozen in shock.
"Grrrrl!"
Set, who had been standing guard over the Pirates, let out a happy cry and bounded toward Rei.
Naturally, this meant the man being dragged along also caught sight of Set — and his astonishment matched, perhaps even exceeded, what he'd felt when the ship disappeared.
"Wh-wh-wha..."
"You can gawk later. Get over here now."
The man, hauled along almost by force, bristled at the treatment.
From his perspective, he'd been relaxing aboard the ship when an attack came out of nowhere. All of his comrades had already been captured. Every last one of his emergency trump card Magic Items had been seized. He'd been bound with rope and hauled outside, only to find the ship he'd just been aboard had vanished — and a High-Rank Monster, a Gryphon, was sitting right there.
And now, on top of all those impossible events, he was being dragged around by force.
Telling him not to feel indignant would have been unreasonable.
Not that it mattered how indignant he felt — Rei paid it no mind whatsoever.
Rei brought the man to where the other Pirates were secured and tied his rope to theirs. Then he turned his thoughts to the next task.
(First, I need to secure whatever treasure they've hidden... the problem is how to get them all to that Fishing Village. Should I have Set carry them? They're tied with rope, so if I have Set hold onto it...)
If the Pirates were hauled through the air while bound, the weight of those at the bottom would bear down on the ones at the top, dangling directly from Set's grip.
With nearly a few dozen people's weight piling on, those at the bottom would almost certainly die.
(But from here to that Fishing Village, at Set's speed, it's practically next door. That short a trip, they might be able to endure... no, they couldn't. But what about a few at a time?)
Even if he transported this many people to the Fishing Village, how would the villagers handle them? Even if they tied the pirates up somewhere, bringing everyone at once would unquestionably throw the village into chaos.
If that was the case, moving them in small groups would definitely keep the confusion to a minimum.
"All right, that'll do. Overthinking it is a pain anyway."
At Rei's offhand murmur, the Pirates flinched.
They understood — he had just decided their fate.
"I was wondering how to haul you all to the mainland, and I've settled on having Set carry you a few at a time, still bound as you are. ...You should be grateful. Flying through the sky isn't an experience most people ever get to have."
Rei's words weren't a lie. They genuinely weren't. But being told to feel lucky about being carried off by a Gryphon under these circumstances — there was no way anyone could feel happy about that.
"Wait! Hold on! You're taking us like this!? If you do that, someone could die!"
"Then try not to die. You'd be surprised what people can pull off when they really try."
The man Rei had captured shouted, but Rei brushed it off without a second thought.
It was no joke — Rei was dead serious, and the man could tell. His cheek twitched as he scrambled for some way to get Rei to compromise.
They had already resigned themselves to slavery. That much was inevitable, given they were pirates.
But not even becoming a slave — dying a completely meaningless death — was something he desperately wanted to avoid.
(There has to be something. Something... I can't let the men who served since my father's time be killed for nothing. There must be a way...)
Racking his brain, the man suddenly recalled how Rei's mood had brightened enormously when he took the Magic Item. He shouted:
"A deal!"
"...A deal? What kind of deal could you possibly offer me now? You're all set to be sold off as slaves, you know."
Going by those words alone, Rei was unmistakably the villain here.
Yet despite the situation, the man squared his shoulders and addressed Rei boldly.
"Since you defeated us, ownership of our hoarded treasure naturally passes to you."
"Well, that's true enough."
Treasure held by Bandits belonged to whoever subjugated them. Naturally, when the original owner of a particular item was known, buyout negotiations were prioritized — but such cases were exceedingly rare.
And since Pirates were a type of Bandit, it went without saying that ownership of their treasure belonged to the one who had taken them down. In this case, Rei.
So what kind of deal could be struck using that treasure? Rei's gaze asked the question, but the man remained completely unfazed.
(Is he the type who's better at negotiation than combat? Well, he was strong enough to lead a pirate crew, at least.)
Rei observed the man while waiting for him to speak.
"I don't know if you've searched already, but we haven't hidden any treasure in the houses we live in."
"That's right. From what I saw, there was nothing there."
Strictly speaking, there had been various everyday supplies, but it was accurate to say there was no treasure.
"We've hidden the goods in various places. Finding them would be difficult — even for someone with a Gryphon at his side. But... if you transport us using a reasonable method instead of the rough one you described, I'll tell you where they're hidden. How about it?"
"Even if you say that... honestly, moving you all by some gentle method is a massive hassle. The more time we waste, the more chance you'll somehow try to escape, right?"
If the man swore they wouldn't run, and Rei was asked whether he could believe that, he would answer no without a moment's hesitation.
"I understand your concern. But if you let us use the ship you stashed away, everyone can reach the mainland without any trouble. Of course, you're welcome to tie a body part with rope to make sure we don't try anything."
"...If I did that, wouldn't you be unable to operate the ship in the first place?"
He said a body part, but if rope was involved, the obvious candidates were arms or legs.
Binding their arms would definitely interfere with operating the ship, and binding their legs would be extremely dangerous given the rocking of the waves.
But the man gave a confident smirk, looking almost smug.
"You think something like that would stop us? I may not look it, but I take pride in my piloting skills."
From Rei's perspective, it didn't sound like a bluff at all.
Of course, Rei wasn't about to take a pirate's word as gospel. But if even half of what the man claimed was true, reaching the Fishing Village shouldn't be all that difficult.
(What do I do? I'd rather recover the treasure now if at all possible. But trusting that... no, looking at the other Pirates, it's not exactly absolute loyalty, but they clearly believe they need to protect this man. In that case...)
Rei quickly organized his thoughts, then smiled and addressed the man.
"Fine. That works. But you'll stay within arm's reach — where I can kill you at any moment. And naturally, if your crew tries anything stupid, you're dead. You understand that?"
Rei delivered those words with a gaze carrying a faint edge of killing intent. The man nodded immediately.
"Understood. That's fine."
Even so, the man's knees trembled so visibly it was impossible to hide — and Rei could see it clearly.
Naturally, the other Pirates could see it just as well...
"Young Boss, don't do it!"
"That's right! You can't hand the Young Boss's life over to a man like that!"
Starting with those cries, the other Pirates shouted, desperately trying to talk the man out of it.
(Watching from the outside, doesn't this make me look like the bad guy? ...I'm pretty sure I just came here to subjugate pirates because the Fishing Village asked me to.)
Viewed objectively, anyone who didn't know the circumstances would almost certainly see him as the villain.
Thinking that, Rei spoke up.
"Well, if you're satisfied with the arrangement, then fine. But don't kid yourself into thinking you can exploit an opening and escape. I'm fairly capable, you know."
Calling Rei "fairly capable" was a laughable understatement.
But since there was no denying he possessed considerable skill, it wasn't technically wrong.
"...Understood. That's fine. The rest of you, stay quiet. I'm the Boss of this crew, and the one leading you. As long as that's the case, if there's something I can do for your sakes, I have to do it. ...Please understand."
At those words, the others fell silent.
And so it was decided. Rei accepted the man's proposal.