<291 - Graduate's Call>
The Jigoku Pirate Group was in a serious tizzy.
“What are you all doing here?”
“Don’t misunderstand. We’re not suspicious pirates.”
“We definitely didn’t sneak into the food container to steal food.”
“There’s absolutely no plan to use Jigoku’s authority to nibble on the Foundation’s supplies and steal expensive items!”
These people have truly become pirates.
Staring in disbelief, Jigoku, the leader of the shabby pirate crew, sauntered out yawning.
“What? Isn’t that Jezel?”
“You’ve got some nerve thinking of robbing the Foundation’s cruise ship. Why attempt to stow away when you could just accept an invitation from Oknodie?”
“Are you stupid? If we just walked in saying thank you for the invitation at the main entrance, we’d be caught in the Foundation’s surveillance, right? That’s an immediate no-go from the start.”
The ruthless pride of pirates who would swoop down on even a friend’s father’s ship without discrimination!
“Well, that’s great. We were just about to start a mutiny on board. Will you join us?”
“What? Why start a mutiny when you’ve already been invited?”
“Because it’s common sense to initiate a mutiny if you’re on a cruise ship.”
“??”
Jigoku’s face showed his utter disbelief as he wondered if a golden age of pirates had spontaneously begun without him knowing.
Both sides felt equally perplexed.
Jigoku eased into accepting the truth only after concluding that none of Oknodie’s friends would be normal.
“If it’s a pirate-like thing, I can’t say no to helping out. That ship is a bit too packed with power for me to plunder easily.”
“Then let me share information on our forces, the enemy’s positions, and the current battle status.”
Jezel quickly got to the point.
“Right now, before the path to the underground food storage narrows, we’re expanding our defenses from the cruise ship’s first, second, and third-floor corridors. The first floor is being defended with Sandkooker’s Earth Magic, the second floor with Irene’s Ice Magic, and the third floor has our combatants securing both corridors.”
“Why are you bothering to block both sides? You could just let one side fall and pile everyone onto the other side.”
“To make sure the control room accessible from the third floor is not taken over by the enemy’s regular troops instead of executives.”
“A trap to lure out the enemy’s executives, is it?”
“On the left, we have the Black Knight Mob and Bikini Armor Warrior Ppyoi, and on the right, under Arcadia’s command, the rest are holding the defense. If you take on the right front, it’ll ease the pressure on our front lines.”
The pirates made no effort to hide their disdain at Jezel’s clear-cut battlefield explanation.
“Take on the front lines? There’s no way we can do that!”
“Right? We’re a bunch of third-rate losers who want to leech off the pirates just to scrape by with credits. How could we possibly handle the Foundation’s crew members?”
“We’re cargo thieves, not frontline combatants on a mutiny!”
The Jigoku Pirate Group, which was already composed of unreliable amateurs!
“Gahaha! Did you see that? Hand the front lines to these guys and they’ll fold like a house of cards!”
“But Jigoku, you’re among the top tier combat powers even in the upper class, aren’t you? I recall you were on par with the Three Great Meritorious Families of the Empire during the final exam practice.”
“I learned something after rolling around for a semester at the academy.”
Jigoku proclaimed confidently.
“It’s a waste of ammo to shoot at riff-raff!”
“Is that an open declaration of a strike…? I wonder if you even intend to cooperate.”
“Your mercenary strategy of using pirates in a full-blown front is fundamentally flawed. Pirates have their own operational methods.”
Weak against the weak.
Pirates only get excited when looting those weaker than them.
It’s the mercenary way of pirates to exploit enemy weaknesses, grab the loot in a flash, and run away.
“So, third-rate loser pirates! Go loot the auditorium filled with non-combat crew members!”
The third-rate apprentice pirates hesitated and stammered.
“Won’t we get in trouble for threatening civilians?”
“This is outside the academy, isn’t it, Captain?”
“Sure, Jigoku was a pirate outside too, so he’s fine, but we also have homes and families to return to…”
Bang!
Jigoku shot a student point-blank with a non-lethal round, then spun the smoking revolver with a nonchalant look.
“Who cares?”
“…”
“If you’re worried about home and family, then quit, or go back loaded with loot to share with everyone. Just figure it out like a man.”
Given the atmosphere that had ‘You’ll end up next to that student who fell first if you say you can’t do it,’ no students dared to declare they were quitting being pirates.
Even the Foundation’s crew was horrified, thinking how crazy this disastrous life was, as they handed over valuables whenever a sack was thrust in front of them.
“Why is it so quiet during a heist? Are you pirates or what?”
“Whoa-oh! This is too easy!”
“Indeed, amongst all forms of robbery, being an unlicensed robber is the best! Pirates are supreme!”
Under Jigoku’s skeptical gaze, the apprentice pirates suddenly claimed to be eager.
“Got everything?”
“Yup!!”
“Let’s go! Get up, c’mon!”
A student who had been lying on the floor said.
“I just got shot, though?”
“That was a rubber bullet.”
“Oh, I see.”
The student, looking awkward, got up and started hauling sacks with the rest of his comrades.
‘Gotcha!’
The crew finally realized they had been fooled by Jigoku’s [Threat][Trick] abilities, but by then, all their valuables had already been stuffed into the sack.
With their loot from the auditorium, the Jigoku Pirate Group swaggered back to the underground storage container.
One of the apprentice pirates suddenly asked a question.
“Captain, how do we take all these spoils back to the academy?”
They couldn’t carry everything off the ship anyway.
“Just sort them out wisely.”
Coincidentally, they had students who had attended the Developing Insight class that would prove useful at a time like this.
“Hey, Titosso, didn’t you attend the Developing Insight class with Oknodie and Isabel?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Come help us sort through the valuables. You’ve got nothing else to do since you’ve been booted from the light stand.”
“Why pick on the poor guy?”
“Who said I was making him do it for free? I’ll give you some leftover gems.”
“Actually, Titosso does look cute when he’s scared.”
“Isabel!?”
Although Isabel and Titosso weren’t trustworthy in terms of combat power, their insight and handiwork were pretty outstanding.
They neatly categorized the piles of loot, which had previously been haphazardly thrown together, separating gems from cards and arranging them in order of value.
[Mana Puzzle – Damage 3%]
[Gold-plated – Fake]
They were sorting things out so adeptly, one might think they were professional appraisers!
However, even the sorted items were overwhelming in quantity.
After all, they had looted the auditorium filled with non-combat personnel among the thousands of crew members, so the amount was bound to be significant.
“We can’t just leave behind these expensive things.”
“Jezel! Let’s borrow a magic backpack.”
“Sorry, but my backpack is all sorted out, so I can’t help. We should think of another way.”
Jezel, who didn’t even get a breather after their ambush, was still struggling to pick out anything of higher value when she noticed a blacksmith wielding a hammer among the students.
“Who’s that guy mingling with our students? His uniform looks like a cruise ship crew member’s.”
A student who had returned after blocking the front lines with Arcadia recognized the blacksmith and provided an introduction.
“Oh, I haven’t introduced him to you yet. He’s our academy’s Class 982 graduate and a senior in the Production Department, Ferguson. He utilizes the Empire’s forbidden technology, Enhancement.”
“… Did I hear that correctly?”
Jezel’s expression turned serious.
Jigoku didn’t understand his reaction.
“Gahaha! Then we can compress the loot with enhancement and take it! You should’ve told me about such a useful method earlier!”
The pirates were thrilled by this perfect idea to enhance liquidity, but Jezel couldn’t share in the joy.
The student who introduced Ferguson gave a sidelong glance and asked.
“Do you happen to dislike enhancement? Are you worried about the Empire’s eyes…?”
“That’s not the issue. I may have been a merchant since the beginning. I’m not someone who fears legalities. But that man has enough to be worried.”
Jezel highlighted a point that everyone had overlooked.
“Do you remember what class we’re in?”
“Er… Isn’t it Class 981?”
“Correct. And that senior claims to be a graduate of Class 982.”
“Uh???”
“That blacksmith, Ferguson, claims to be an unidentified serial enhancer who hasn’t even graduated from the academy yet next year.”
With a relaxed, bored expression, Jigoku let his revolver drop.
