The smell of the salty sea breeze entered my nose as we walked down the road. It didn’t take long for us to see the blue waters extending towards the horizon.

And in the distance, we saw our destination. It was a seaside town with decent docks. There was even a large ship anchored there and it was well-equipped with cannons while being in excellent condition. However, there was one problem.

On top of that ship’s mast was a black flag. There was a symbol of a heart which had an arrow piercing through it. One side of the heart was white while the other was black.

“Amazing. The ocean didn’t change!” Roboco cheered.

As for why we were heading to a town occupied by pirates, it all happened a few days ago.

###

In the cave where the Legion was stored, we were staring at a large computer screen. I was sitting on a chair while wearing a helmet which had wires connected to a computer. According to Rikka, that device would show us exactly where we were supposed to go.

“That’s an island down south. We need a boat”, Kanata said.

“Does that mean we can ride on those large boats from the Demonic Realm Navy?!!” Ollie asked.

“Yeah.. Sure. We’re on an undercover mission so the Unkindness members won’t set a trap for us. Let’s just command the navy to let us ride a boat. That’s undercover, alright”, Rushia nodded.

“THEN WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO? SWIM?”

“I can make a shadow boat. It won’t be that much trouble”, I offered.

I refuse, Anya said.

How come, Anya? I asked.

It takes a huge amount of mana to do that. The island is probably an Unkindness base. You’ll be tired if you use that method to arrive there.

I can just use the Dark Corruption to regain energy.

That’s what I don’t like!

My heart clenched as my connection with Anya made me feel her sadness. Was the Dark Corruption really troubling her? After I used it, I could easily command the shadows. Making a boat would be easy. Nothing else happened so it wasn’t as dangerous as she thought.

“Then would you want an alternative?” Rikka approached us.

“We’re open for suggestions”, Ayame said.

“Great. All I have is one condition though. If you do that, you can have information from the Core Mind.”

“What is it?”

“Can you please take my little sister along?”

He pointed towards the brown-haired robot who severely injured me. It wasn’t that I had anything against her. Besides, she was looking at us with sparkling eyes so I couldn’t help but think she’s not that bad.

“Very well. We’ve seen her fight so she won’t drag us down”, Ayame nodded.

“That settles it! As for my information, have you ever heard of the Houshou Pirates?”

###

Now, we were walking through the town’s main street. Despite being occupied by pirates, it was peaceful. I even saw some guards patrolling the street and children running around.

“Did you expect something different?” Ayame asked.

“When I found out that Marine is one of the pirates with the highest bounties, I thought she was ruthless. How come this town is peaceful?” I looked around once again to see if there was something wrong.

But it was peaceful. There were no signs of damage and the townspeople were doing their daily routines. An old demon was even happily drinking tea with a tanned and muscular man who definitely looked like a pirate.

“Marine Houshou has a high bounty because she’s reckless and dangerous. She does what she wants and she has the resolve to see it through the end. Thanks to that, she started one incident and had a very high bounty”, Ayame explained.

“She’s a woman who stole one of the All-Seeing Eyes simply because she wanted it”, Rushia added.

Rushia once explained to me the Five Great Abilities. We even fought Vox who had the Silver Tongue that can convince anyone. The All-Seeing Eyes had dominion over another person’s sense of sight such as making illusions. They also gave its user clairvoyance, enhanced vision, and other convenient abilities.

“Wait… She stole an amazing eyeball like that?” Ollie asked.

“Yes. The original user was sailing across the seas when the Houshou Pirates attacked. He managed to escape with one eye and drifted away after an intense battle”, Rushia answered.

“Ever since that day, the Houshou Pirates were more successful in raiding ships. The reports of the survivors said that Marine implanted that eye to herself. A human like her took a demon’s eye that had one of the Five Great Abilities. I’m not sure if she’s brave or idiotic”, Kanata added.

We arrived in front of a tavern. Loud cheers were inside and I could smell booze. However, I felt something different inside.

You’re learning now, huh? Noir asked.

Yeah… There’s a strong person inside, I answered.

Ever since I used the Dark Corruption, I have become stronger. Shadows were more willing to obey me now and I wasn’t tired even though we walked for hours. Another ability I got was to see how powerful someone was based on their shadow.

“Do we really have to do this?” Rushia asked.

“Yeah. We need to sail with them”, Ayame said.

She marched forward and opened the doors. We followed her and were ready for battle. But when we got inside, we saw a loud party.

Men and women from different races were singing and dancing. All of them looked like they were drunk but they were grinning from ear to ear. Food was everywhere and the waitresses were delivering more booze from one table to another.

“Is this one of those ‘parties’? It’s been years since I last saw one!” Roboco asked.

“I like this place!” Ollie shouted and headed towards the nearest table.

A pirate saw her and handed her food. They then laughed and started eating together.

“She fits right in”, Kanata muttered.

“Why am I not surprised?” Rushia sighed.

Ayame walked towards the corner and a red-haired woman was sitting and drinking quietly. Her back was facing us but I could feel that she was the strongest pirate in this tavern.

“Marine Houshou. I’m here to hire your ship”, Ayame said.

Marine took out a piece of paper and wrote on it. Without looking back, she handed it to Ayame. I saw Ayame make a grim expression and when I peeked, I saw an astronomical amount of money written on it.

“If you want us to sail in these dangerous waters, you’d better pay up”, Marine said.

“Can we negotiate?” Ayame asked.

“No way. Those are my terms. My crew’s life is important so if you want them to risk their necks for wherever you want to go, then there should be a proper compensation.”

“Ayame can negotiate with the government. She can ask the government to reconsider your crimes and maybe even a pardon”, I butted in.

Marine laughed and drank from her mug. After that, she laughed again and stood up. She looked at me with her red right eye while she was smirking.

“Do I look like I need the government’s pardon?” she asked.

Mikage, there’s a reason why the government didn’t attack this place even when Marine is staying here, Anya told me.

Yeah. I just figured it out.

If Marine was capable of stealing an All-Seeing Eye, then she must be strong enough to attack a ship of an important demon. The government couldn’t afford to lose more manpower now that the Demon Realm was having these problems.

“But if you don’t have the cash, I can let you give me something of equal value”, Marine said.

“I’m listening”, Ayame replied.

“Being in land is soooo boring. If you can give me some fun equal to that amount of money, I’ll gladly let you guys set sail with me.”

“What do you need us to do?”

“The starting point will be the main gate of this town. Before the sun sets, you must reach me and steal my hat. That’ll give me some fun.”

That sounded too good to be true.

“And if we fail?” Ayame asked.

Marine grinned and pointed at her.

“The student council president of the Underworld Academy will be joining the Houshou Pirates!”