<402 - What Awaits Beyond Prejudice>
The Jigoku Pirate Group was originally the weakest bunch among the Class 981 Lower Class students, crawling at the very bottom.
“Wow, how can you have 0 points? Do you even eat?”
“Well, uh… if you do dishwashing part-time in the kitchen, they give you free food…”
“I, I don’t have time to study, so instead, I bought a 10-day supply of 1-point black bread when it was 10% off…”
Even a pirate named Jigoku wouldn’t want to rob these pathetic kids!
“You all, become pirates!”
Jigoku took in this motley crew as members. At first, they were utterly useless. Jigoku alone did all the work, barely keeping up with this ragtag bunch.
There was no reason for someone like Jigoku, a member of the Upper Class, to spend time and energy nurturing such rookies. However, Jigoku’s perspective was different from others.
“Each student entering the Gift Academy is someone who has triumphed over the competition from the world’s top talents. Even if they’re lagging in rank, that doesn’t mean they’re devoid of potential.”
In other words, even the weakest rookie one could find in the Academy had talent far superior to the pirates one could find outside.
Moreover, talent does not blossom at the same pace under the same training and testing conditions. Those aligned with the right path bloom faster, but those whose talents diverge from the training policies require a longer trial-and-error process.
“Little Pirate, if you want to survive at sea, there’s something more important than getting stronger. It’s not giving up on surviving.”
Back when she was still a weak little pirate, even more fragile than the current Oknodie. She started as a lowly grunt doing a pirate’s chores and stealthily learned all the knowledge needed to be a pirate.
If she had settled there and given up on further growth, she would have died a lowly pirate all her life. But she stubbornly persevered. Finally, she found the opportunity to become a combat member.
When her superior, who handled the gun in her stead, fell to enemy fire, she grabbed the gun and aimed it at the enemy. At the moment she hit the enemy with the bullet, she realized it.
This was her talent. She had finally discovered the “right path to growth.”
“Scholarly fools, today is not the day to reveal your true potential. However, if it’s just about firing a cannon, even your lacking talent can do just fine!”
For pirates who knew how to handle even magic, which required much more precise aiming in a short span of time, observing and aiming at the enemy was simple.
“Left side, fire three cannons at three-second intervals!”
As the deafening sounds blasted through the air, they began firing according to the precise commands, enduring the noise not with earplugs but with the Mana Flow Technique. The cannons controlled by the Jigoku Pirate Group hit the enemy ship in no time, bombarding it and turning it into rags.
“The cannon’s gotten hot!”
“Then douse it with Mana to cool it down!”
“We can only remove the heat from the cannon without detonating the nearby shells. If we mess up, every member around that cannon is immediately disqualified!”
Even though it was enough to make anyone tense, the members of the Jigoku Pirate Group were not afraid.
“Hah, that’s easy-peasy!”
“We’re not fighting some monster-like Foundation Executive on a cruise ship.”
“Who cares if we mess up a bit? If just disqualified, that’s sweet! Seriously, something as trivial as a test of this sort is nothing compared to the real battles we’ve faced!”
Other students, intending to earn points with a light heart and avoid grade competition on the weekend lecture, were completely overwhelmed by the Jigoku Pirate Group’s audacity.
“Are they insane?”
“If they fail the exam, they can’t earn points!”
“This isn’t just cooling the cannon with ice magic, and they’re trying to cool down heat magic. Are they planning to mess up the exam!?”
But nothing exploded. In fact, just when a student on the verge of failing maneuvering was in crisis, Jigoku placed a hand on their shoulder.
“Don’t panic. Think about the distance to the ammunition box. Even if heat manipulation fails and heat leaks out, just blow it away before it reaches the shells!”
[Heat Manipulation]
[Fireball]
Concentrating uncontrollable energy into magic, she forcibly expelled it into the sea. The Jigoku Pirate Group reloaded their cannons much faster than the enemy fleet could.
Boom! Boom!
“We did it.”
“We blew up their cannon!”
“Points earned before entering the boarding battle are our overwhelming victory.”
“Yay!”
“Long live the Jigoku Pirate Group!”
“Long live!”
The under-talented rookies gained the composure to endure until they could bloom their own abilities through experience. It was fine to run away if it became unfavorable and act cowardly, solely seeking merits.
On Jigoku’s path, there was a definite promise and an assurance that they wouldn’t be abandoned.
“Truly, the captain is amazing.”
“I’m glad I joined the Jigoku Pirate Group!”
The Jigoku Pirate Group clearly held the upper hand.
“Eh? Why is the ship heading towards the enemy ship?”
“Instructor, steer straight!”
Until a clear anomaly occurred on board.
Jigoku immediately pointed out two subordinates and stepped forward.
“Nancy. Brodo. You two follow me. If we don’t secure the firing angle, no matter how great our firing skills are, an opportunity to gain merits won’t come by.”
An entirely unexpected change had occurred. The professor seemed intent on creating variables that wouldn’t allow them to achieve results so smoothly. Surely, if they had such confidence in the bombardment, it would be passing the opportunity to students to take charge of steering.
Woosh…
From the helm where the helmsman should be steering, white smoke continuously flowed out.
Jigoku immediately took out a handkerchief and poured rum into it.
“There’s a gas of unknown composition inside. It doesn’t seem to be a fatal toxin since I can hear groans from inside. However, there’s a risk of explosion, so let’s cover our noses and mouths and enter inside without causing any magical reactions.”
Inside the captain’s room, one instructor was slumped against the wall while another was rolling on the floor.
“Ugh…”
“Aaah…”
Quickly checking the bodies of the moaning instructors, the subordinates assessed their conditions.
“They’ve been hit! Their jaws are dislocated.”
“One was stabbed in the side by a dagger. The mark of the smashed shelf remains from the protective magic, but even that was destroyed in a single blow, and there’s a handprint on their chest.”
“How big’s the hit?”
“Quite small. About the size of a child’s palm.”
“A child…?”
What child could do something like this on a ship?
Jigoku felt a chill.
“Use the fallen instructors as shields!”
The only child capable of doing this kind of thing immediately came to mind, despite how hard she tried.
Before Jigoku’s warning could hit them, a cabinet lid in the bridge flew off and crushed one of the members.
“Gyaaah!”
Despite using the instructor as a shield, the member couldn’t withstand the force of the lid and went down.
Another member quickly threw a bag filled with powder and burst it.
[Paralysis Powder]
A powder with properties different from gas.
In an environment filled with gas, the spread of the paralysis powder would accelerate even further.
As the member delighted in this brief moment of thought, Jigoku sprinted towards them at full speed.
“Duck!”
“Huh!?”
The shadow sprinting forward appeared untouched by the paralysis powder.
The two-meter-three-centimeter tall huge figure momentarily overwhelmed the stunned member, but Jigoku used the basic magic [Light] to create backlighting, casting a large shadow, and with [Mirror] magic, misled the figure’s sense of direction.
Bam!
A powerful kick, rivaling the explosive force of a cannon, shattered the wall of the bridge while expelling smoke outside.
In the open indoor space, the identity of the one who had launched the sudden ambush finally became clear.
“Oknodie. Isn’t this taking things a bit too far?”
“Too far? I’m being serious too, you know?”
“What’s the benefit of doing this?”
“The flower of pirates is, of course, a mutiny on board! If I seize the command over the instructors from the pirates, I can earn bonus points for the challenge!”
“Hah! You’re truly a remarkable pirate. But if you’re going to get in the way of our achievements, I won’t hold back, even if you become the enemy!”
“Hehe, but it’s already too late.”
Snap.
As the members realized what Oknodie had broken with her hands, they gasped.
“The wheel is broken!”
“The course is… Oh no, it’s heading straight for the enemy ship!”
This ship was about to collide with the enemy’s vessel by force.
“Why are you so determined to gather points?”
“To be honest, I don’t really need points. I already have plenty!”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Well, um…”
Oknodie wore a difficult expression to say something but then laughed it off.
“For fun?”
“…!”
This child.
Did they really intend to jeopardize all students’ grades for just a bit of fun in an exam that involved everyone’s scores?
In response to that unimaginably cruel answer, Jigoku considered the figure before her not as a child but compared their cruelty to notorious sea rogues.
*
If Jigoku openly said they would infiltrate the Student Dormitory Zone, it could create a basis for being accused as an accomplice by the professor, resulting in punishment. I’m being overly kind to Jigoku while considering the aftermath!
With that much consideration, wouldn’t my [Good Child] level rise?
[Your pure evil nature has shocked the instructors, students, and Jigoku.]
[Fear Inducing Experience Points +3]
[Scary Child Experience Points +1]
So mean.
I genuinely thought this was a good child act!
