Her Majesty’s Swarm - Volume 3 - Chapter 2

Spoils of the Raid 

“The Albatross is returning to port! That lady pirate Isabelle’s back!” 

A medium-sized ship was sailing into Atlantica, the pirate haven. It was the Albatross—the galleon under the ownership of Isabelle Ismael, a pirate of Atlantica. She’d often used her ship to attack vessels from the Popedom and the Dukedom, stripping them of their riches before hauling the booty back to Atlantica. 

The winds carried the ship through Atlantica’s hidden entrance. It was a small grotto hidden between two reefs—a passage no one would know how to find unless they were familiar with nautical charts of the area. 

After sailing into the small cave, the Albatross dropped anchor beside a secret wharf used only by the pirates. A group of them rushed over to welcome the incoming ship. 

“So, how did things look in Schtraut?!” one of them asked. 

“The place is crawlin’ with goddamn monsters!” a member of the Albatross’ crew shouted back. 

“All right, ya bastards, haul down the goods!” Isabelle exclaimed. 

“Aye aye, ma’am!” 

Her crew began carrying the goods they’d stolen from Schtraut out of the Albatross’ hold and onto the wharf. 

Isabelle was still in her early twenties, but she boasted as many scars as most of her older comrades. Many pirates had eyepatches and artificial limbs, and Isabelle was no exception—she had an eyepatch over her left eye. This wound was proof that she had seen more than a few battles in her lifetime. 

A child of two pirates, Isabelle was orphaned at the age of twelve after her parents had a vicious feud over some loot. Her career as a pirate began with sweeping decks, but she soon learned how to help navigate the ship and became an official member of the crew. 

Since then, she had fought naval forces from both Schtraut and Frantz many times. She’d clawed her way up to the post of captain with her skills and a hearty helping of pluck. Once she’d obtained her own ship, she gathered a crew of dependable subordinates and began mingling with Atlantica’s other pirate captains. 

Female pirates weren’t a common sight in Atlantica, but her short, crimson hair gave her a fiery, masculine impression. Coupled with the savage, uninhibited lust most pirates openly expressed, this made her a worthy match for any male pirate. 

Anyone who did look down on her for being a woman got a good, hard taste of her cutlass. Her list of victims wasn’t limited to foreign naval officers; any one of her fellow pirates were equally liable to die at her hand if they didn’t show her proper respect. 

She may have been a woman, but she was by no means a fair flower. Isabelle was more akin to a savage predator willing to slaughter its prey without mercy. 

“Oooh! Ya got this much after jus’ one raid? Good work!” one pirate exclaimed, surprised by the sheer amount of spoils. 

Among the loot were silver candlesticks and utensils, several different types of coins, and a number of assorted gemstones. The onlooking pirates were abuzz with excitement as they watched the plunder get stuffed into chests and carried off. 

Normally, it would take months of pillaging to gather this much treasure. Piracy wasn’t easy work, as it required long waits between ambushes. Pirates didn’t often attack ports because they were protected by armies, so they usually had to target trade ships sailing solo. 

Learning where and when ships like that might appear was easier said than done. Sometimes the pirates had to spend months out at sea, staving off hunger with hard and rotten food. Evading naval assaults and chasing down ships full of treasure were far from easy. 

“Looks like you made a killing, eh, Isabelle?” 

One man eyed the treasure with lustful eyes: Blasco Bartoli, Achille Alessandri’s right-hand man and second-in-command here in Atlantica. Surrounded by his lackeys, Blasco approached Isabelle’s loot as it was being carried off. Their expressions were all clouded over with greed as they gaped at it like hungry sharks. 

“But, ah, we’ll be claimin’ this half in the name of Atlantica,” Blasco said, prompting his subordinates to shoo away the crew and grab hold of the chests. 

“Huh?! What the hell?! Atlantica’s tax is only supposed to be a tenth of what I find! When did you decide to knock it up to half?!” Isabelle barked. 

“Geronimo ’n’ Mauro went after you,” he replied, inspecting the treasure carefully. “Geronimo’s ship got attacked by a sea serpent, and now he’s at the bottom o’ the sea. Mauro barely got away with his life. Dont’cha feel bad for ’im? Your bright idea of raidin’ got somebody killed.” 

“I don’t give two shits about that! I went through the same kind of danger to pull off this raid, and everyone else knew what they were getting into!” 

“It’s all fer one and one fer all out here, li’l lady. I’m your superior, and if you ignore me orders, you’re gonna have to beat it. Your tax is half o’ what ya got this time. We gotta pay for Geronimo’s funeral and fixin’ Mauro’s ship.” 

“Shit! Who do you think you are?!” 

“C’mon, ma’am, just forget it,” one of Isabelle’s men said coaxingly. “Let them take their half. I’m sure the rest of the crew is angry, too. It’s not like we didn’t get hurt trying to get this loot either.” 

“We don’t have a choice,” another shipmate added. “We can’t keep working as pirates if they kick us out of Atlantica. Frantz’s navy will catch us, and we’ll be fish food before we know it. Better just give up half our loot instead... Curse that bastard!” 

“Listen, we put ourselves in danger for this,” Isabelle huffed. “Schtraut’s navy is kaput, and we can take anything we want, but those freakin’ bugs keep crawling outta the woodwork. A cutlass doesn’t do anything against those things. You need at least a crossbow.” 

Isabelle and her men had encountered and fought Ripper Swarms guarding the port towns. Her crewmates had tried to fend off the attacking Ripper Swarms with their cutlasses, but the blades did nothing to harm them. The pirates had only managed to defeat them with crossbows and a large hammer they’d used to break into the nearby storehouse. Even then, they had lost a few men in the skirmish. 

“It’s gonna be a big race now. All the pirates in this joint are gonna try raidin’ Schtraut’s port towns. Here I thought we’d make it big if we went out there first... But then that bastard Blasco came and pulled this shit on us. I hope those goddamn man-eating bugs tear him to shreds.” 

Now that the pirates knew Schtraut’s port towns were easy pickings, they’d likely rush out in droves to get a piece of the pie. However, the Dukedom only had so many resources. The country was in ruins, and its economy had come to a screeching halt, so the pirates couldn’t keep raiding it indefinitely. This made it a first-come, first-served pillaging race. 

Knowing this would happen, Isabelle had made sure she would be the first to land so she could make a killing in one go, but then Blasco had taken half the loot from her. It was impossible not to get angry. She had gone out there and braved an unknown threat while Blasco stayed behind, safe and sound. How could he get half of what she had? A dark rage swirled in her heart as Blasco’s underlings hauled the treasure away. 

“Hey, Isabelle.” 

“Huh, it’s you, Achille. What, you come to swipe even more booty right from under my nose?” 

“No, I just thought you might be upset. I warned Blasco that if he tried to take that much, you might pull out your cutlass and slice off his head. Yet he still went ahead and took half... Heh, what am I gonna do with him?” 

“Yeah, that’s right. Take that stuff back from him, old man. Geronimo and Mauro might’ve gotten into trouble out there, but we had to stick our necks out for this, too.” 

“No, that’s not possible,” Achille said, shaking his head. “He’s right in that we need to pay for Geronimo’s funeral and Mauro’s ship, and you’re the one who made the most, Isabelle. Atlantica’s pirates stand as one; we survive by helping each other out. If your ship were to get wrecked, we’d pay to have it fixed just the same. Just give it a rest. On this island, we all chip in.” 

“Can’t say I ever saw you or Blasco pay for somebody’s funeral or ship repairs, old pal. It’s only ever the little guys who pay for that—like me. You bigshots are always too busy sittin’ pretty and rakin’ in other people’s profits.” 

Atlantica’s pirate colony was, on the surface, a cooperative organization; the members helped one another pillage and gather resources. However, Achille and Blasco took a cut out of everyone’s earnings while not sharing any of their own. They paid when a pirate got hurt or a ship was damaged, but it all came from the taxes pirates like Isabelle had to pay. On top of that, the money these leaders provided usually wasn’t free of charge; it came in the form of a loan with interest. 

Isabelle certainly wasn’t the only pirate displeased about this. The other pirates all harbored resentment toward this oppressive system. While the quantity of loot was going up, they weren’t actually seeing much more of it. Everyone from the most seasoned captain to the lowest deck scrubber was gradually becoming more bitter about this state of affairs. 

“I’m telling you to just let it go, so do as I say,” Achille said firmly. “I am the leader here.” 

“That right? Fine. Whatever.” Isabelle shrugged. 

“Good, good. Do as you’re told, and you’ll be fine. Work hard for Atlantica, Isabelle.” With a smirk, Achille walked off. 

“Irritatin’ bastard...” she spat. 

“Got a sec, Isabelle?” 

“What do you want, Gilbert? You want to take some of my loot, too?” 

The man who’d walked up to her was another pirate who was roughly her age. 

Gilbert shook his head. “I heard you went to Schtraut. How was it?” 

“Oh, yeah. It was kinda dangerous, but there’s definitely a profit to be made. Assumin’ the people in charge don’t steal it from you, that is.” 

“Dangerous, you say? What, were there sea serpents out there?” 

“Nah, there were monsters on the shore. Spider-like buggers. Never seen anything like ’em. I hate bugs, y’see? They gimme the heebie-jeebies.” 

Isabelle and her pirates didn’t really know anything about the Swarm. They had no idea these creatures were the ones that had destroyed Schtraut or that they were the enemies of the entire world... as well as the owners of the loot they’d stolen. 

Despite being a seasoned veteran, Isabelle had one major weakness: she had always hated bugs. When she was a little girl, she couldn’t even bring herself to touch a wharf roach. Boys her age, like Gilbert, had always teased her for it. 

“Right... That aside, we’ve been losing a lot of men to sea serpents lately. Achille and Blasco are trying to find a solution. It might just be their breeding season, but those sea serpents have been acting differently than usual. Wonder what their deal is.” 

“Hah, bold of you to assume those vultures can solve our problems. The only thing on their minds is taking a cut of our profits.” 

Sea serpents were monsters many considered to be the rulers of the sea. Adult sea serpents could grow up to 30 meters long, and they could easily sink ships by attacking them from underwater. No ship was safe, whether it carried civilians or pirates. 

“Don’t be like that. They lent me money after my ship took a nasty hit. Thanks to that, I can keep working.” 

“Hmph. They take away our money just so they can lend it back to us and earn more off the interest. They’re just a bunch of rotten snakes.” Isabelle was still livid. 

“Well, all I’m saying is they might send you out to help deal with the sea serpents, so keep that in mind. And hey, if we catch a really big one, we’ll have a huge feast. Err, if they get the better of us, we’ll probably end up as dinner instead. Gotta love being a pirate, you know? Won’t find a more dangerous job no matter how hard you look.” 

“Yeah, thanks. Maybe I’ll go get some more stuff from Schtraut before they rope me into slaying the sea serpents. Just hope no one takes a cut of that, too.” 

With that, Isabelle parted ways with Gilbert. With the anger clouding her mind, Isabelle would soon forget Gilbert’s words about the sea serpents altogether. 

“Preparations are complete, Your Majesty.” 

“Thanks, Roland. I leave command of the navy in your hands.” 

I gathered all of the Arachnea’s serviceable vessels on the outskirts of Doris, the Dukedom’s former capital. The ships were operated by Ripper Swarms, and they were chock-full of them. There was one large sailing ship that could weather the open ocean at full speed and two medium-sized ships to accompany it. 

“All right, so we need to figure out which spot’s gonna get attacked next,” I said, rolling out a map on the table. 

There were five large port towns in Schtraut. One spot had already been attacked, but I had still set up my mousetraps along all five. There was also a chance the enemy might attack a small fishing village, but I didn’t care so much about those, as they weren’t housing my resources. 

“You think they’ll fall for it?” Lysa asked anxiously. 

“I sure hope so, since we don’t have any other way,” I replied, looking down at the map. 

All we could do was pray that it worked. There was no telling when or where the pirates or Frantz’s navy might attack. Our strategy involved concentrating the Swarms on the front lines, but Schtraut’s coasts were too vast for us to station all of them effectively. We had been made well aware of the now-obvious fact that mankind could traverse deep waters, and that meant we needed to secure our border with Nyrnal along the Themel River, too. 

Nyrnal could cross the Themel to attack us, while Frantz might sail in from the sea. That would be the worst-case scenario. We’d be forced to retreat and set a defensive perimeter around our base at the elven forest. 

For now, the Empire of Nyrnal wasn’t showing any signs of moving in on us, so our defense of the Themel wasn’t as tight. Having chosen to fight alone, Nyrnal was just as worthy of the alliance’s aggression as we were. I already knew that the Empire’s penchant for dominance created friction between it and the surrounding countries. If the Popedom’s allied army were to change course and begin something like a crusade, it could very well opt to attack Nyrnal. 

They’re just as disliked as we are, I guess, I thought to myself. Or maybe it’s the other way around? 

Still, we prepared ourselves for the worst, however slight the chances. 

“We can’t fall back if we’re to achieve our victory. We have to keep our occupied territory firmly under our control; we must protect both land and sea.” 

Losing territory meant losing resources. The Swarm’s strength lay in numbers, and letting those numbers diminish would be fatal. If I wanted to keep up our production of Swarms, we’d need to keep expanding. Retreat wasn’t an option. 

“If we can just handle the pirates...” 

A part of my operation hinged on the pirates’ movements. I thought we might be able to use them to stop Frantz’s army from mobilizing, which would allow us to focus on our terrestrial efforts and give us the chance we needed to grow. 

Assuming everything goes well, that is. 

“Any plan you come up with is bound to succeed, Your Majesty. We will win this time, just as we have won every other battle so far. We have nothing to worry about.” 

“I hope so, Sérignan. But I’m a worrywart and a coward. Thinking about what’s going to happen next makes me anxious.” 

Would the Swarm grow and grow, eventually enveloping the entire continent? Or would they learn to live in peace with the humans of this land and come to stop expanding of their own volition? 

At present, I couldn’t tell. Even though I was the leader of the Arachnea, I couldn’t see how I would end the war. 

“Your Majesty, a suspicious ship is approaching one of our port towns,” Roland said, whisking me away from my thoughts. 

“All right. Begin the operation.” 

Right. Time to focus on the battle at hand. If we can’t win this battle, conquering the continent is a pipe dream. Glory to the Arachnea. 

The Albatross closed in on yet another port town, intending to clean out its stores. 

“C’mon! Sweep away those bugs, and grab all the treasure!” 

Isabelle’s pirates disembarked the ship and rowed to shore on small boats. Four Ripper Swarms appeared but, being outnumbered, were forced into a hasty retreat. The Worker Swarms had already evacuated. 

The port town was completely deserted, and there was nothing to get in the way of the pirates’ charge. In the past, Schtraut’s soldiers would have rushed to stop them, but the Dukedom of Schtraut had been destroyed. The only ones still in this town were the strange, insectile monsters. Perhaps the bugs had learned to fear people since they were now fleeing the pirates. 

“Hah! The buggers are afraid of us!” 

“Run off and never show yer ugly mugs again!” 

After jeering at the fleeing monsters, the pirates broke open the door to one of the storehouses. They stormed inside, hoping to pick it clean. One man pried off the lid of the crate, peering inside to get a look at its contents... 

“Huh?!” 

It only took a single moment. Something leapt out from within the crate, dove into the unfortunate pirate’s mouth, and latched on to his throat. 

“Hey, did something happen?” asked one of his comrades, running over to check on him. 

“Nothing... happened,” the pirate replied in an awkward, unsteady tone. With stiff movements, he closed the crate’s lid. 

“All right, then let’s take this stuff back. I’m sure Isabelle’s gonna be through the roof when she sees how much we got. I just hope those assholes don’t take half of it away again this time...” 

“Yes. You’re... right.” 

The second pirate eyed his friend suspiciously as he picked up the crate and carried it back to their boat. The loot would then be rowed across the water and onto the pirate vessel, which had already made preparations to depart. 

Just like the Arachnea, the pirates placed importance on speed. They always stole from their foes and quickly retreated before a navy could show up to apprehend them. 

The second pirate loaded the wooden crate onto the boat and pushed off, leaving the stripped storehouse behind. 

None of the other pirates had noticed that there were over 50 Ripper Swarms lying in wait in this town. That the Eyeball Spires were there but, for whatever reason, weren’t attacking them. That one suspicious man in their ranks seemed to be looking around a bit too often. 

And that they had been completely and utterly caught in a trap. 

“All right, I know their position. They should be right about here,” I said, glancing over Schtraut’s sea charts. At the moment, I was speaking with Roland in the late duke’s estate in Doris. 

I had been tracing the pirate ship’s route on the documents. The pirates always went out of their way to make a hasty escape after a raid, but thanks to the Parasite Swarms, I’d been able to track them all this time. I hid Parasite Swarms inside crates in the storehouses, as I knew that the pirates would open them to confirm the spoils of their raids. Now that the Parasite Swarms had infected a couple of pirates, they were constantly updating us on their location via the collective consciousness. 

“Are we ready to attack?” 

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Roland said. He was the commander of our little navy. “They have one ship, while we have three. Our victory is assured.” 

“Okay, just don’t be too hasty and accidentally sink the ship,” I warned him. “And don’t kill the crew either. Our goal here isn’t a straightforward defeat—we need to find their hideout and entice them to negotiate with us.” 

“Understood, Your Majesty.” 

No matter how hard we tried, the most we could accomplish was sink a single pirate ship. However optimistic I might have been, I seriously doubted the pirates had only one ship. Besides, Frantz’s navy was still a looming threat. 

“I’m counting on you, Roland.” 

If Roland sets out right this instant, he should be able to catch up to the enemy before they pass Doris completely. Our biggest ship might be a bit too slow to make it, but the medium-sized vessels should do. He can surround the pirate ship with these two in a pincer maneuver, then ram it with our larger one. 

Admittedly, I was never very good at naval combat in the game, since I seldom had to bother with it. Still, I believe things will go according to plan. 

“Hmm...” 

While I was thinking about the operation, Sérignan was grumbling to herself with a bitter expression on her face. 

“What’s up, sport? Why the long face?” 

“It’s nothing, really... I couldn’t help but think about how useless I am in this battle. Normally, I would charge the pirate ship alongside Roland and help him subdue the enemy.” 

“You wanna hurry over and join him right now?” 

What a responsible lady. I, on the other hand, am thrilled I have a little bit less work to do. 

“May I?” 

“Knock yourself out. Just keep in mind that I didn’t put you on this mission because you can’t swim. Are you gonna be all right on that front?” 

“I will be just fine, Your Majesty!” she chirped, eyes sparkling. 

“Well, okay then. I’ll give Roland the order, so go meet up with him.” 

I contacted Roland through the collective consciousness; thankfully, he and his fleet hadn’t sailed away quite yet. I was already feeling confident about our operation with just Roland and the Ripper Swarms involved, but with Sérignan joining the fray, our victory was set in stone. There was absolutely nothing to worry about! 

However, I secretly hoped Sérignan wouldn’t end up slipping off the deck and drowning. 

“Sis! We got two ships comin’ in hot! Two... No, three of ’em!” cried a member of the Albatross’ crew. 

“What? I thought Schtraut’s navy was gone!” Isabelle hurriedly snatched a pair of binoculars from the lookout’s hands. 

Indeed, two medium-sized sailing ships were tailing the Albatross, followed by a third, larger ship. Onboard all of them were countless giant insects. 

“Well, shit. Those bug things can commandeer ships?” 

Isabelle had thought the bugs were mindless monsters; she never imagined they might be capable of doing something as advanced as handling a ship. If these creatures were somehow responsible for the destruction of the Dukedom, however, it would’ve surely been because of their sheer numbers. 

Despite the fact that the Dukedom of Schtraut was supposed to be deserted, these three ships were giving chase to the Albatross just off Doris’ shores. One of them was even moving ahead to block their path. 

“Are those ships really being operated by bugs? How did they even know we were here?!” shouted one of the pirates. 

“Hell if I know,” Isabelle said bitterly. “But I can tell you one thing. If we don’t fight back, they’ll take the loot we stole, and we’ll be killed, just like everybody else in Schtraut.” 

It was a critical situation. If those ships really were steered by the bug monsters, that meant this incoming navy wasn’t made up of soldiers, but the creatures that had massacred the people of Schtraut. 

The pirates had only barely pushed them back during their encounters in the port towns, and Isabelle didn’t know how things would end if they were to fight them on deck. Naval battles in this world were based on who boarded whose ship. Troops would move from their own ship to take over an enemy vessel. Cannons hadn’t been invented yet, so boarding was the only proper way to fight it out... and the image of those bugs boarding her ship was a nightmarish one. 

“For now, focus on shakin’ ’em off. If that fails, well, get ready to fight ’em on board.” 

“Aye aye, ma’am!” 

The Albatross spread out its sails and picked up speed, trying to evade the vessels behind it. However, it seemed the wind’s bearing wasn’t in the pirates’ favor; the Schtraut ships came in closer and closer. It was only a matter of time until the Albatross would be within the enemy’s reach. 

And soon enough, the Dukedom’s ships caught up. 

“They’re gonna ram into us!” 

“All hands on deck! Prepare for enemy boarding! Make sure you’ve got some crossbows!” Isabelle shouted. 

The pirates grabbed their weapons, with some taking up cutlasses and others picking up hammers and crossbows. 

“Here they come!” 

“Brace for impact!” 

As the enemy ships ran right alongside them, Ripper Swarms leapt from them and landed on the Albatross’ deck. 

“Fight back! Push them away!” Isabelle ordered. 

Heeding their captain’s call, the pirates rushed in to engage the Ripper Swarms. The cutlasses dealt no damage, and the constant undulation of the ship caused many of their blows to miss the mark. Even those wielding crossbows failed to hit their agile opponents and had to waste time reloading. 

“Whoa!” 

As the pirates floundered to right themselves and reload, the Ripper Swarms swooped in. Rather than going in for the kill, they used their paralyzing stingers to attack. They swung their scythes only to fend off attacks, taking care not to deliver lethal blows. Pirates who’d been stung fell to the deck, unable to move, and the Ripper Swarms fired threads to tie them up tight. 

“Don’t fall back! I dunno why, but they’re goin’ easy on us! Go at ’em with all you got!” 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

While the cutlasses didn’t pierce the Swarms, they did keep the creatures occupied. Meanwhile, the pirates wielding hammers and crossbows finally managed to hit their targets. They huddled together in one place, riddling any Swarm that dared to approach them with bolts. 

Just then, however... 

“Haaaah!” 

A woman and a man raised their voices in one terrifying war cry. 

“More enemies?! Aww, crap!” 

“Prepare yourselves, pirates!” 

It was Roland and Sérignan. 

They cut through the cluster of pirates and broke through their formation. Their attacks were precise even on such unsteady ground, and they took care to deal nonlethal blows as they gradually incapacitated the pirate crew. 

“Come forth, pirates! All hail the queen!” Sérignan exclaimed as she knocked out a pirate. 

“All hail the queen!” echoed a Ripper Swarm, tying up another. 

“Dammit!” Isabelle cussed under her breath. 

Before long, there were only five pirates left who could still fight back. The Swarms, on the other end, were mostly unharmed. It was hopeless; there was no way the pirates could win. 

“Keep going, men! Put your backs into it! We ain’t gonna let the Albatross sink that easy!” 

“You got it, ma’am!” 

The remaining pirates gripped their hammers, facing off against the Ripper Swarms closing in around them. 

“You still intend to fight? We are trying not to shed any needless blood,” Sérignan said, stepping forward. 

“Don’t look down on us, monsters!” spat one of the pirates as he raised his hammer. 

“Haaah!” 

Sérignan swung her blade down, striking not at the pirate but at the weapon he was holding. Her sword sliced through the hammer as if it were paper, splitting it in two. 

“Eeek!” 

Rendered impotent, the pirate lost balance and fell on his backside. A Ripper Swarm promptly stung him and tangled him up in a bundle of threads. 

“We can’t beat them, Sis! We should just surrender!” croaked a member of the crew. 

“Do you even hear yourself?!” Isabelle snapped at him. “They’re monsters! They ain’t gonna let us surrender!” 

“We are willing to take prisoners,” Sérignan said. “Our queen is generous and merciful. Her will is for you to kneel before her, and should you do so, she will forgive your raids of our stores. Come, pirates. Cast aside your weapons and submit. Any further resistance is futile.” 

Sérignan held up her blade, and Roland did the same. 

“Stop making fun of me, you... you bugs!” Isabelle bellowed. “You think the great pirate Isabelle would kneel before someone else?! I’ll show you!” 

Isabelle then broke the formation and dashed toward Sérignan, attempting to slash at her. 

“Too slow.” 

Sérignan easily avoided Isabelle’s attack and bashed the handle of her sword against the pirate’s back. Isabelle let out a guttural grunt and sank to the ground, where she lay still. The Ripper Swarms quickly bound her with their threads. 

“They got her!” 

“It’s all over now...” 

The remaining pirates were overcome with despair. 

“Disarm yourselves and surrender,” Roland said, pointing his blade at them. “If you do, we won’t take your lives.” 

“I-I give in!” 

“I surrender!” 

The sight of their leader’s swift defeat had taken all the wind out of their sails, and the pirates scrambled to surrender. They were quickly tied up as well. 

“I believe we’re finished here.” Sérignan looked around and nodded with satisfaction. 

“That we are, Miss Sérignan. We should inform Her Majesty of our victory.” 

They’d successfully taken over the pirate ship without killing a single member of the crew. 

“Her Majesty is already aware of everything. The Swarm is always connected through the collective consciousness.” 

Even as this exchange took place, the Ripper Swarms were changing the ships’ course, setting them to return to Doris. Having learned how to operate the ships through the collective consciousness, their handling of the crafts was perfect, and the ships smoothly made their way back around. 

But just then... 

“Something’s coming,” Sérignan hissed, drawing her sword. 

“Yes, I noticed.” Roland braced himself, his blade at the ready. 

Suddenly, the seawater swelled, and something lunged at one of the medium-sized ships. It was a monster that resembled a colossal sea snake, well over 50 meters long. The beast coiled its body around the ship, constricting it so tightly that the wooden frame groaned and began to break under the strain. Ripper Swarms were thrown off the deck, and they fell helplessly into the ocean. 

Once it had sunk the ship, the monster dove back underwater. 

“What was that?” Sérignan asked in a quivering voice. 

“A sea serpent,” Roland replied, beads of cold sweat sliding down his cheeks. “Though it’s the first time I’ve seen one this large...” 

“I don’t think we’ll be able to resist if that thing attacks us. What shall we do?” 

“We must fight. That is our duty.” 

“A fine answer, Roland. Besides, I don’t think it will be able to sink this one.” 

“Why wouldn’t it be able to?” 

“The Ripper Swarms.” Sérignan jerked her chin in the direction of the surging water, where the sea serpent was once again rising above the surface. 

This time, however, Ripper Swarms were clinging to its body, stabbing it with their paralyzing stingers. Thanks to that, its movements were growing ever more sluggish. 

“It’s coming this way!” 

“Right!” 

The sea serpent encroached upon the Albatross, determined to destroy it. Roland and Sérignan split up and drove their swords into the beast’s body. Tormented by their attacks, the sea serpent screeched in pain and retreated back into the water. 

“We did it,” said Roland. 

“Yes, though I would have liked to finish it off,” Sérignan mumbled. 

Unbeknownst to them, that very sea serpent would go on to become a major nuisance down the line. 

“So, you guys are pirates, huh? Well, I’m sorry my friends had to rough you up like this, but think of it as recompense for the goods you stole from me.” 

I was speaking to the pirates’ leader, Isabelle, as she glared at me with a sullen expression. She was bound tightly by the Ripper Swarms’ threads, so sulking was the only form of resistance she had. 

“Now, there’s something I’d like to ask you. Where exactly is your hideout?” I asked. 

“Tch. You think I’d tell you?” Isabelle spat. 

“Well, aren’t you belligerent? I really want us to get along, too.” I shrugged and beckoned to one of the pirates. “Hey there, Blackbeard. How are you feeling?” 

“I feel... splendid... Your Majesty,” the pirate replied. 

He was infected with a Parasite Swarm, but obviously Isabelle didn’t know that. Eyes wide, she gaped at the man who should have been her loyal subordinate. 

“Wh-What the hell did you do to my crew?!” 

“Oh, don’t worry. I just had him swallow a bug,” I said casually. “Look, I’ll have him cough it up now.” 

I ordered the Parasite Swarm to depart, and the color gradually drained from Isabelle’s face as it crawled out of his mouth. It was pretty funny, actually. 

“I can use these Parasite Swarms to turn anyone into my own little marionette. See, I could put one of these inside you and get you to tell me... Or I could have you order one of your crewmates to do it. You follow?” I smiled viciously. 

“Shit! See, this is why I can’t stand bugs!” Isabelle squeaked, her gaze fixed on the Parasite Swarm squirming around in my hand. 

She was wary of it, as if she feared it might lunge at her at any second. The severity of her reaction gave me a ticklish desire to keep toying with her. 

Oh, no. The Swarm’s will is taking over again. 

“Anyway, spill the beans. You can do it voluntarily, or I can make you talk with my little friend here. Your choice.” I held up the Parasite Swarm. 

“Stop! I’ll talk! I’ll talk, so put that thing away!” 

Huh. A daring pirate is afraid of bugs? 

“Then tell me. I have the sea chart right here, so where’s the hideout?” I asked, undoing the threads around her hands. 

“There,” she replied, pointing. “That’s it right there. It’s called Atlantica.” 

Hmm. This island isn’t on the charts, but it’s off the Popedom’s shores. Awfully convenient... 

“All right, one more question, then. Would you like to join forces with the Arachnea?” 

“Huh? You want to team up with us?” Isabelle looked at me in disbelief. 

“Genuinely. I’m in no mood to joke about something like that. I need naval forces, and unfortunately, my own navy is pretty weak. We can barely keep you pirates at bay, so what are we going to do when we go to war with Frantz? It’s a problem I need to solve.” 

I knew lies and roundabout persuasion wouldn’t work on this savage redhead. I could scare her a bit with the Parasite Swarm, but that wouldn’t buy me her honest cooperation. To earn that, I simply had to be frank with her. 

Besides, I’d only just met her and couldn’t bring myself to hate her. Her men might have killed some of my adorable Swarms, but I believed this person was valuable enough for me to justify mending our relationship. Still, there was the chance I was making a mistake. 

“If I team up with you, I won’t have to worry about any more raids, and I get the naval force I require. Naturally, I’m not the only one who stands to gain from this arrangement. You’ll get a share of anything I pillage from here on out.” 

“Hmm... So, you wanna hire us, eh? And y’know what, it’s not that bad a deal, either. But sorry, lady, I can’t make that decision for everyone else. Atlantica’s a pirate colony, but I’m not one of its head honchos. The guys who are? They’re all conniving, cowardly little bastards. Ain’t no way they’d risk joinin’ up with you.” 

“That’s a shame. Say, if those leaders were gone, your outfit would cooperate with me, though, right?” 

As it turned out, even pirate society had a hierarchy. That meant there was only one solution. 

“Well, yeah, I s’pose. Wait, you don’t mean...?” 

Isabelle caught on quick. 

“Let’s assume—strictly hypothetically, of course—that I were to kill Atlantica’s leaders. And then I hypothetically endorsed you to make sure you took their place. Hypothetically.” 

We could tear down Atlantica’s old system. 

“Not bad... I like it.” Isabelle’s lips curled up in a dastardly smile. “I’ve had it up to here with them, anyway. Even if you hadn’t shown up, this probably would’ve been the right time to stage a coup. And hey, having you guys on our side will be useful. You toppled Maluk and Schtraut, I reckon.” 

The mischievousness of her smile struck me as oddly juvenile. I’d thought she was much older than me, but perhaps the actual age gap between us wasn’t that wide. 

“All right, so it’s decided,” I said with a smile. “Here’s my plan: you take our ships back with you, saying you captured them on your raid. They’ll be full of Swarms, which we’ll use to launch a surprise attack. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll do everything in my power to avoid harming any pirates. Meanwhile, you work on gathering people for your coup.” 

“Yeah, okay. Shouldn’t be a problem. I’m not the only one with a bone to pick with those guys. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of people who’ll wanna pull the rug out from under ’em.” 

“Is there anything that might get in our way?” 

“Huh. Nothin’ comes to mind. With you on our side, we should be able to chop off the head of the snake. After all, the best way to solve your problems is to duke it out with all you’ve got. That’s the pirate way, savvy?” 

Wow. Should I really be counting on this woman? 

“Sounds like a plan, then. I’ll be untying your friends, but don’t do anything hasty, okay? I’m only doing this because I trust you.” 

“Goes both ways. We’ll be countin’ on you, too, so don’t go stabbin’ us in the back.” 

My alliance with the pirates was starting to look like a reality. I also decided I’d join the next operation. I didn’t have sea legs, for sure, but I couldn’t complain.