The drama of a legitimate withdrawal... It wasn’t as if the Pirate Guild was some high-tech corporation.
While they had the technical skills to maintain secondhand vessels, they were still a civilian company. They held no patents or proprietary technologies. There was no way they could compete with a regular army backed by major manufacturers.
Standardized specs, genuine parts, and maintenance performed strictly by the book—that was the hallmark of authentic hardware.
Conversely, the Pirate Guild’s expertise lay in Nikoi-chi—cannibalizing parts—and the modification of third-party components. They thrived on the outflow of intellectual property by recruiting subcontracted factory workers into their ranks and the reproduction of obsolete parts that were no longer in production.
In short... first-class corporations and the military's Elite Units wouldn't be particularly inconvenienced. However, for micro-sized private enterprises, this was a death sentence.
Items handled only by Pirate Guild merchants from over half a century ago were still keeping the nation’s manufacturing industry alive. Including all of those niche sectors, we conducted a swift midnight flit.
"Leave the machinery! Leave the technology! Leave the assets!"
That was Parcion's usual MO, but by the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late. They found nothing but an empty shell.
It was simply a case of Parcion being incompetent. To begin with, as soon as I was inaugurated as the Great Leader, I severed all capital ties between the local subsidiaries and the Pirate Guild Headquarters. They were merely separate legal entities sharing a name with no financial connection. Then, I dissolved them all at once.
Members of the Pirate Guild evacuated to Chronos via Ozen. The normal businesses had already conducted their own night flights, families included. They had long since been replaced by locals.
I provided the ladies with severance pay, topped off with an early retirement bonus, and sold the establishments to the locals. Since I had been protecting these women under Chronos and Latarnia international standards, the majority of them migrated to Chronos-controlled territory. No public order issues arose because everything was managed above board. They were treated properly as employees.
...Well, crime is an inevitability, I suppose. Fraud, murder, that sort of thing. I'd say it's roughly on par with industrial accidents in the manufacturing or construction sectors.
Just as accidents are inherent to factories and construction, brawls are inherent to bars, and fraud and murder are inherent to the girls of the nightlife district... Perhaps that's a bit of a clinical way to look at it. It's difficult to judge. That’s why I leave it to the experts.
As for Parcion-kun’s reaction, it seems their initial thought was, 'This bastard actually did it.' They sent protest after protest.
"We strictly protest your country’s actions!"
"It can't be helped, can it? You tried to freeze the assets of a legitimate company. Weren't you even planning to arrest them as spies? It’s only natural to fold the business and run before that happens, right?"
"H-How did you know that...?"
"We are on very intimate terms with Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation. Please assume we have thoroughly investigated your country's methods."
Now then, I had also set a trap, though they didn't seem to notice yet. It took about a month before Parcion-kun realized the reality of the situation.
"D-Do something about these pirates!"
"That's impossible. Those pirates are not under my management."
I say it was a trap, but really, I just didn't tell them anything. A portion of the shipping routes Parcion had relied on became unusable. These were routes that had been safely navigable until now thanks to the Pirate Guild's escorts. I wasn't the one ordering the attacks.
I mean, think about it—since they were pirates descended from the Pirate Guild, of course we were on speaking terms. The Pirate Guild acted as a security company to provide protection. A portion of those fees was then distributed as a toll to the guys still acting as pirates. In other words, we were buying safety. If any company could negotiate with pirates, they’d do the same thing.
That’s where the Pirate Guild came in. Even if we had technically split, they were former comrades, so there was room for negotiation. By paying the toll, ships could sail safely. The escorts were just for show.
These kinds of problems are meant to be solved before an incident occurs. If the security company disappears, of course they're going to attack!
Of course, the military could provide escorts, but that would drain their resources. Tolls? The fees demanded of a military from a country that doesn't keep its promises to its former associates would obviously be several times higher!
Furthermore, they were "Zako Zako♪"!
In fact, when independent pirates attacked, the military escort ships fled at top speed. You can't exactly expect them to risk their lives for this, can you? They don't really care about civilian lives, after all.
We remained bystanders. They weren't my underlings, after all. However, I did pay the ransoms for the captured civilians. It was just pocket change at a "friends and family" discount. Then, under the guise of the Pirate Guild Chronos Headquarters, I’d force them to accept the favor.
It’s a debt, a debt! Plus, it'll all be reimbursed by insurance anyway.
It’s the kind of thing that can be glossed over with a bit of accounting magic. Furthermore, I wouldn't forbid the Pirate Guild from selling weapons to their former comrades. Eventually, those independent pirates will likely meet their end. If Parcion gets serious, it’s over for them.
But when will they get serious? That data alone is worth more than the money I spent.
While I was engaged in such dark machinations—harassment so petty it could hardly be called a plot—I received a contact from Lepsitol. It was Karen-san again. She reaches out quite frequently.
Today, her expression was unusually solemn.
"Your Majesty. May I offer my honest impressions?"
"Go ahead."
"When we first met, you were looking at my chest."
"A beautiful woman was showing off her cleavage, after all."
"That's a lie. Your Majesty was analyzing whether we were lizards or humans, cold-blooded or warm-blooded. You had that look on your face."
"You're mostly correct."
"Furthermore, you tried to calculate our height and build using the Latarnia mineral water bottles for scale. You even tried to estimate our body temperatures using the thermometer in the background."
"You caught me? I suppose I'm still a green youth, then."
So she noticed. Well, it’s not like it causes me any problems.
"No, I only realized it after your line of sight was flagged by an AI video analysis."
"Is that so?"
"It was deeply humiliating. As the granddaughter of the Mike & Hammer Co. Founder, I, who had never once lost, was outmaneuvered. And by a man younger than myself, no less."
"That’s not exactly the kind of information that determines victory or defeat."
She was being dramatic.
"I felt it vaguely during our first meeting: 'I have to kill this man.' Now, that feeling has turned into a conviction."
"Let's resolve this through dialogue. I think that would be the best outcome for everyone involved."
"Yes, I suppose it would. This instinctive fear that I must kill you... that itself is Your Majesty's trap. Parcion was driven by that urge—no, by that fear. And now they are being pushed further and further into a dead end."
"Perish the thought. I am merely a soldier. It’s just that a civilian happened to find me frightening. This is a secret, but I’m actually quite poor at strategy and intrigue. I'm just a dull man of limited caliber, a squad leader at best."
"...You liar."
It was my honest opinion, though. I have the Jester Correction, sure, but that’s not a power I can actually control.
Camila-san let out a sigh.
"...I will try to reason with the parliament. To tell them not to fight Leo Kamishiro Chronos. But please, do not get your hopes up. Our power balance is far more complex than you imagine."
Oh, she’s showing a softer side. That’s a surprise.
"I’m counting on you."
"I’m risking my life here. In the unlikely event of an emergency, please allow me to seek asylum."
What was with that ominous line? Don't say things like that. No, seriously.