The Pirates Beloved Princess

 

 

 

 

‘How can a child this young have such a gaze?’

 

It wasn’t just me; Ethan also seemed to pick up on the seriousness in the boy’s expression.

 

Sensing the atmosphere between us, Tirkan seemed to decide that we were taking his words seriously. Cautiously, he began to speak.

 

“C-Currently, there are many children being forced to work on the island.”

 

“…….….”

 

“S-Some of the children are from Odlo Island, while others were brought from outside….”

 

Tirkan continued his explanation. Odlo Island often traded with external merchant ships. One day, a new merchant, someone they hadn’t seen before, appeared on the island.

 

This merchant dealt in goods that other traders didn’t, offering them to Odlo Island at attractive prices. Before long, many people became friendly with the merchant.

 

The merchant quickly gained the trust of the adults on Odlo Island, even giving them ‘gifts’ as tokens of gratitude for their hospitality.

 

And then…

 

“Once everyone became accustomed to the gifts, the merchant suddenly disappeared and started visiting less frequently?”

 

“Y-Yes. That’s right. All the adults on our island became desperate for those g-gifts….”

 

“So they handed over children and land just to obtain those gifts?”

 

Ethan’s face darkened. His stiffened expression made it clear how much anger he was suppressing without needing to say a word.

 

‘I guess I’m no different.’

 

The merchant claimed to have no choice due to ‘work’ and gradually reduced the frequency of their visits, as well as the amount of gifts they brought. At the same time, they suggested that Odlo Island could help them provide more gifts by offering their assistance.

 

And that assistance turned out to be labor and land. Specifically, labor from children, which the merchant explicitly requested.

 

The children selected for labor were dressed in Odlo Island’s traditional clothing, while others were made to wear garments from outside.

 

Hearing this far, I became certain. This wasn’t just about ‘distinction.’

 

The children dressed in Odlo Island’s traditional clothing, the ones being handed over, were a way for the adults of Odlo to unconsciously internalize their own enslavement—a psychological act of submission.

 

‘But why specifically children?’

 

How could they justify enslaving their own children for gifts, let alone kidnapping children from across the sea for labor?

 

This question was quickly answered. Tirkan handed me a small pouch containing something, and as soon as I opened it, I immediately recognized it.

 

“This is…!”

 

It wasn’t fully refined yet, but it was unmistakably ‘Angel.’

 

‘No doubt about it. This slippery texture and the faintly sweet, musty scent.’

 

There were many kinds of sweet smells. For example, the sweetness of bananas and chocolate is different, and so is the characteristic scent of drugs. This was the sort of nuance that a novice might miss, but with my level of experience, it was obvious.

 

In the name of regulation, I had studied countless poisons and drugs, researching cures by myself.

 

“This is the gift. The thing all the adults wanted….”

 

“Polaris! Quickly, wipe your hands!”

 

Ethan, who hadn’t immediately recognized what it was, rushed to grab a handkerchief and scrubbed my hands as soon as Tirkan finished speaking.

 

“Just touching it won’t do anything.”

 

“Why are you so relaxed, child? Hm? This is all because of the captain. Growing up in an environment like this has made you careless.”

 

‘No, seriously, I’m fine.’

 

Even so, Ethan’s voice was filled with affection and concern, so I didn’t say much, only smacking my lips in thought.

 

‘So, all of this was because of Angel.’

 

The adults, unable to sleep properly due to its side effects, eventually lost their ability to think clearly and even ended up handing over children.

 

The first children offered were, of course, orphans without proper guardians within Odlo Island. Tirkan was one of them, but because he was a twin, only one of them was taken at a time. They would switch places through a small hole whenever possible.

 

Escaping entirely was impossible since the children’s numbers were checked daily.

 

“So, where do you stay? You can’t return to the village, can you?”

 

“There’s a settlement where only the overseers live. Sometimes, when someone disappears, we hide in the forest and go there to gather supplies.”

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

Judging by his tone, Tirkan wasn’t someone who lacked brains. It was tragic that I even had to consider this, but it couldn’t be helped.

 

Right now, the only people available were Ethan and me. While Ethan had the advantage of being stronger than most, he was still a non-combatant in Caelum.

 

‘And I’m just a kid.’

 

Even if there were two intelligent people here, it wouldn’t matter if neither of us could fight.

 

“We’d like to help, but….”

 

Ethan looked at Tirkan with a regretful expression. Watching the two of them exude such a gloomy atmosphere, I fell deep into thought.

 

“There is a way.”

 

“……….!”

 

“Polaris? What do you mean?”

 

First, we needed more information.

 

“If this powder was the start of everything, what kind of work are you doing now?”

 

“Oh, it’s divided into various tasks, like digging up and drying the roots of Kacho trees….”

 

Ethan’s expression hardened again at Tirkan’s response.

 

‘Why do they specifically use children for this work?’

 

It was unlikely that only children were being exploited. Surely, adults were being taken advantage of somewhere as well.

 

‘The reason they’d try to abduct people from our side is probably to use them for labor or to sell them off to fund Angel’s production.’

 

There were two reasons why children were specifically chosen for labor:

 

First, they served as a source of guilt and as hostages.

 

Even if the adults couldn’t think straight because of Angel, they wouldn’t be irrational 24/7. At some point, they’d regain clarity, but…

 

‘Where would they even turn for help?’

 

The nearest naval branch, Branch 103, was notorious for being unreliable. They couldn’t trust which travelers passing through might be involved in this scheme.

 

Moreover, having handed over their children themselves, asking for help would be an extremely uncomfortable process.

 

The second reason had to do with the properties of Angel’s raw material.

 

The roots of Kacho trees spread widely and often became entangled with the roots of other trees. Uprooting the entire tree would cause supply issues, so only portions of the roots had to be dug out—a tedious process.

 

To extract the roots, they dug tunnels under the trees and sent small children inside. Additionally, children were better at sensing the subtle texture of the Kacho roots than adults were.

 

‘But that doesn’t make any of this acceptable.’

 

There had to be a way to help. I mean, I’d died and come back through time—this was a piece of cake compared to that.

 

“First, I need paper and a pen. If there’s no paper, anything I can write with will do.”

 

I could sort this out within a few days. This was nothing.

 

***

 

“P-Polaris. Do we really have to do this?”

 

Ethan fidgeted nervously, looking at me. Meanwhile, I adjusted the Odlo attire I’d borrowed from Tirkan and brushed myself off.

 

“It’s fine. You mentioned a small hole, right? I’ll escape through there later.”

 

“No, this isn’t about whether you can escape or not….”

 

Ethan looked as if he wanted to stop me immediately, but he couldn’t bring himself to lay a hand on me.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll be out in no time. Ethan, you have to do your part well, too!”

 

“…Ha, I wonder what the captain would say if he found out about this.”

 

Our plan was as follows,

 

First, Ethan would head to the overseers’ settlement, pretending to be someone who had purchased Angel. He’d then distribute ‘tea’ to the overseers.

 

Next, while the resting overseers fell asleep, we would spread a substance to make the Kacho trees wilt.

 

‘It’ll take some time for the effect to kick in, so applying it in advance should make it react at just the right moment.’

 

I’d carried around poisonous herbs that I’d stockpiled from the auction, and this was my victory moment. Ethan’s eyes had widened at the sight of the small sample I’d prepared, but he didn’t ask where I got it.

 

‘He just warned me not to ingest it. Guess that’s a pirate for you. Well, as long as you don’t eat it, it won’t cause any major issues.’

 

Using some of the poisonous herbs I had and combining them with medicinal plants from Odlo Island’s forest, I created a fake death serum—ta-da!

 

To be exact, it was a fake death serum that only worked on plants. For humans, it was just a laxative.

 

‘It’ll make the plants wilt instantly and last for a few days, but after that, they’ll recover as if nothing happened.’

 

This was one of my failed experiments from before my regression. I had secretly conducted experiments using military supplies, so I couldn’t tell anyone about it. Still, seeing it become useful now made me realize that life is full of surprises.

 

‘I mean, who expects to regress in their lifetime?’

 

The regression itself was a shocking event. At this point, nothing surprised me anymore.

 

Ethan eyed the concoction with suspicion. But after I demonstrated its effect on a nearby plant, he accepted it. It was a bit surprising that he didn’t ask where or how I learned to make it, but given his absent-minded nature, I let it slide.

 

‘Whatever his reaction, everyone believes me when I say it’s because I’m a genius.’

 

Anyway, once the Kacho trees wilt, the forced labor for the day will be halted. Everyone will have to take a break. Some of the overseers will likely head to their settlement to report the incident, as high-ranking officials rarely manage individual farms directly.

 

‘But what if they discover that all the overseers have fallen asleep?’

 

That’s something that has never happened before. It would undoubtedly cause panic and chaos.

 

That’s when we’ll take the children and escape. Tirkan, who had been hiding in this forest, knew the terrain better than anyone.

 

If we hide for just a little while, victory will be ours.