The Pirates Beloved Princess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nereus took the child without hesitation. The child had an appearance that clearly showed noble lineage, and normally, when someone like this was found abandoned, people would pretend not to notice. No one wanted to get involved with a child who might be connected to a noble family.

 

However, Nereus was the captain of the Caelum pirate crew, and he didn’t care at all about such social norms or incidents.

 

‘So, you just do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t violate Caelum’s rules.’

 

Caelum’s rules didn’t have anything specifically related to children. However, looking back now, it seemed that the people of Caelum had a particularly soft spot for children.

 

‘Is it because of me?’

 

No, rather, it was probably because they were always kind to children that they couldn’t just leave me behind when I was alone.

 

‘But why was the child abandoned?’

 

I don’t know much about noble disputes or politics. Even during my time in the navy, I was told not to worry about such things, and unless you were in a high-ranking position, you were too busy focusing on your duties to care.

 

It was no secret that the local people knew the orchard was managed by pirates. They knew but didn’t act against it because dealing with the remaining pirates would require more effort, and they could use cheap labor by leaving them alone.

 

‘And besides, they might not even know which pirate group they were associated with.’

 

Caelum was, to begin with, a group that didn’t quite fit the image of pirates, more like a bunch of foolish idiots. People only knew that the orchard nearby belonged to ‘pirates,’ but they didn’t know it specifically belonged to ‘Caelum.’

 

‘If someone knew well about Caelum, they wouldn’t have abandoned a child around here.’

 

If it had been another pirate group, they would have recognized the child as a noble and either drowned them in the sea or sold them at a slave auction, not wanting to get entangled with them.

 

In other words, it’s likely that the child was left there because they didn’t want the child to survive.

 

I don’t know what kind of circumstances were involved with the adults, but the thought of the child being caught up in it didn’t sit well with me.

 

‘Is Nereus planning to bring the child into our pirate crew?’

 

Acting without worrying about the butterfly effect or anything, I couldn’t predict what kind of impact finding this child would have on us.

 

‘Well, at least it shouldn’t be to the extent of destroying the pirate crew.’

 

That would be the worst-case scenario. I nodded to myself. Or rather, my head nodded on its own.

 

‘What is this?’

 

My mind felt heavy, and my eyelids slowly closed and opened even more slowly. I felt like my consciousness was gradually sinking into a dark swamp.

 

I heard laughter nearby.

 

“What? Are you tired?”

 

“…I shouldn’t be.”

 

What have I done to be tired already? I hardly moved at all. As I denied it out of frustration, I heard Nereus laugh again.

 

“You must be tired. If you sleep deeply, you’ll wake up at our destination.”

 

“No… I can’t….”

 

“Why not?”

 

Why? Because…

 

“I need to buy Kacho leaf….”

 

I needed to make medicine. I had already gathered the most important ingredients, but the Kacho leaf were necessary to speed up the process.

 

If you crush and refine Kacho leaf, they become an excellent catalyst. However, the problem was that they were rare and expensive.

 

‘I remember seeing a large merchant ship when we disembarked.’

 

The harbor was bustling with merchant ships, which meant there was a chance that a ship carrying Kacho leaf had arrived.

 

Each leaf cost a ridiculous 180 Wettens, and they were usually bought out by the two medical associations before they even hit the market. Just being able to purchase some was considered a success.

 

I was a doctor affiliated with the superior Wittar Medical Association and had been in the navy, so I could occasionally use Kacho leaf when needed….

 

‘But now, I’m not part of the navy or anything.’

 

I wasn’t even a member of West, the lesser-known medical association. I was just a nobody, a six-year-old kid, and to top it all off, I was a pirate.

 

This wasn’t the time to be leisurely; I needed to go and get those Kacho leaf as soon as possible. But my body felt incredibly heavy.

 

“Why didn’t Dad give me enough time to ask the others….”

 

I should have mentioned it earlier on the ship, but I didn’t expect Nereus to suddenly bring me here. That was a mistake. I shouldn’t have underestimated Nereus’s decisiveness.

 

“Well, how much do you want?”

 

“As much as we can buy….”

 

How’s our ship’s financial situation right now? It didn’t seem too bad, but it was hard to judge. A pirate’s infamy was measured by the weight of their crimes, not their wealth.

 

“Just enough to buy what we can….”

 

So, I thought it would be fine if we could just get a little. Sure, it took about twenty leaves to make a small bottle of a proper catalyst, but I wasn’t making a catalyst right now, so it didn’t matter if it was less.

 

‘Just a little….’

 

Even a small amount would be good. With that thought, I passed out.

 

***

 

I had a strange dream.

 

In the dream, I was receiving naval training when Nereus suddenly appeared. The me in the dream was hostile toward Nereus, but he just smiled nonchalantly and said,

 

‘Is that all that needs to be gone?’

 

Then he drew his sword and in an instant, sliced the building in half.

 

With a loud crash, the first division of the navy collapsed.

 

“You crazy bastard!!”

 

At that moment, I woke up from the dream. Gasping for breath, I finally took in my surroundings.

 

“Oh.”

 

Isaac, Nancy, and Clara were staring at me in shock.

 

“L-Lala? Where did you learn to say that?”

 

Isaac, who rarely stuttered, did so now.

 

“C-Captain? It must have been the captain, right?”

 

Even Clara, who was usually composed, was shaken.

 

“If you think about it, she probably learned it from all of us. It’s not like we all use polite language.”

 

“……….…”

 

Nancy, the only one who remained calm, made a reasonable point, causing Isaac and Clara to exchange troubled glances.

 

‘Why?’

 

Then, they both nodded and left the room, leaving just Nancy and me.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“Nothing. You don’t need to worry, my dear. By the way, would you like to see the thing you asked for? It’s stored in the warehouse.”

 

“What I asked for?”

 

“Yes, the Kacho leaf. Gerard and the first mate went out and bought them.”

 

When I reacted to the Kacho leaf, Nancy smiled brightly and lifted me up.

 

‘It seems like not only Nereus, but everyone else is getting a bit too fond of picking me up.’

 

Hoping this was just my imagination, I headed toward the warehouse where the Kacho leaf were stored. But wait, a warehouse? Did they really need to store them there? It didn’t seem like they would require that much space.

 

‘Oh, maybe because they’re medicinal?’

 

Herbs are ultimately medical supplies, meaning they were items primarily managed by Ethan. Even if I used some, it would be up to Ethan, our ship’s doctor, to check the remaining amount, record it, and report to Nereus or Gilbert.

 

‘That makes sense.’

 

So they stored them in the medicine warehouse. I nodded, understanding. But when the door opened, I couldn’t help but gape like an idiot at what I saw.

 

“What, what is this?”

 

“Huh? These are the Kacho leaf, the ones you wanted.”

 

I know that! But!

 

‘Why are there so many?’

 

As the door opened, I was greeted by—an abundance of Kacho leaf, a mountain of Kacho leaf, Kacho leaf everywhere.

 

‘How much catalyst could I even make with this amount?!’

 

More importantly, is our ship’s finances okay? I swallowed hard as I stared at the pile.

 

“Wasn’t this expensive? With this much, didn’t we have to mortgage the ship at a bank or something?”

 

Of course, who would accept an unknown pirate ship as collateral anyway?

 

“What?”

 

Nancy burst into laughter, her eyes widening, seemingly amused by my genuine concern.

 

“Oh, the captain really should’ve heard you say that! Lala, do we really look that poor?”

 

“Well, but still.”

 

With this amount, even the Wittar Medical Association would have to think twice about buying it, so is my worry really that funny?

 

“We got about a quarter of it as a bonus, so don’t worry. It seems it wasn’t selling well.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Well, the first mate said that only the people of Odlo Island eat this stuff. Who else would buy a food ingredient that isn’t even popular elsewhere? As soon as the captain mentioned it was for you, the first mate’s attitude completely changed. You should’ve seen it.”

 

“What?”

 

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

 

“Did you say First Mate Gilbert did that?”

 

“Yes.”

 

That doesn’t sound right.

 

“Ah, First Mate Gilbert likes you more than you think. If you react like that in front of him, you might hurt his feelings.”

 

Though, it would be a rare sight, so I am a bit curious.

 

Nancy seemed to think I was surprised by Gilbert’s changed attitude, but I was actually surprised by something else.

 

‘Who would buy a food ingredient that isn’t popular elsewhere?’

 

Kacho leaf are a specialty of Odlo Island. This world has many island nations, each with unique climates and environments, and plants that only grow on certain islands often fail when cultivated inland.

 

Due to the medicinal properties of Kacho leaf, Wittar had tried several times to grow them in greenhouses, but all attempts failed, which is why I remember them well.

 

‘Kacho leaf aren’t a food ingredient; they’re a medicinal herb!’

 

“……..…”

 

And then, my mind started racing. Food ingredient, Odlo Island, low price. And suddenly, like a lightning bolt, it struck me.

 

‘Ah!’

 

The true effectiveness of Kacho leaf was revealed later on. The disease caused by the white sun was eventually named ‘White Rot,’ and the early treatments for White Rot were not very effective.

 

As a result, an emergency treatment based on the flavorless liquor called ‘Grace of the Fruit’ became extremely popular, and ‘Grace of the Fruit’ became more symbolically significant than the Kacho leaf.

 

The effectiveness of Kacho leaf was only discovered about a month later, and shortly after the leaves began to be exported, war broke out on Odlo Island.

 

I learned in history lessons that the war started because the people of Odlo Island, who suddenly became wealthier by exporting Kacho leaf, became lazy and arrogant, leading to abusive behavior in their trade dealings.

 

Because of this, Kacho leaf became extremely rare, and the value of Odlo Island’s currency plummeted. It was quite ironic that the very Kacho leaf, once worth their weight in gold, brought about the island’s downfall.

 

‘So that means Kacho leaf were ridiculously cheap at the time.’

 

Catalysts made from Kacho leaf, if properly sealed, could last over five years without issue. In other words, I had practically found a massive black pearl in the ocean.

 

This was a huge deal! With this, I could finally pursue all the research I had always wanted to do in my lifetime. During my time in the navy, personal research for selfish gain was strictly prohibited. Any idea that came to mind had to be notarized by the medical association first, and then reported to my superiors before it could be pursued.

 

‘But now? I’m just a pirate, so I don’t have to worry about that anymore.’

 

This was truly an incredible stroke of luck.