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“So… they’re working together?” As soon as he finished speaking, King Collard rubbed his temples and let out a heavy sigh.

“Yeah. Turns out the pirates and the officials in Quito have been in cahoots for quite some time now.”

King Collard’s frown deepened as I continued, offering a slight shrug.

I repeated all the details I’d gotten from the pirate—it wasn’t through torture, just a simple application of «Evil Eye». Before that, though, Kagerou and a group of fanatics had dragged out things like the «Phalaris Bull», «Abacus Board», «Iron Maiden», «Skull Grinder», «Pear of Anguish», «The Judas Cradle», and «Alligator’s Pliers»—seriously, where did they even get those creepy tools?!—all in preparation for interrogation. But that’s beside the point.

Anyway, to get to the point, the pirate group with the odd name «Shrinkus» originally operated out of the Colme Kingdom in the northern part of the western region. They had one large flagship at the center, surrounded by several smaller, more agile ships, making them quite a significant pirate fleet (though the guy I captured was just a low-ranking grunt).

Their operations were actually pretty cunning. Instead of mindlessly attacking merchant or cargo ships, they bribed local officials to turn a blind eye. The officials would ignore the victims’ complaints, underreport the damages, and in exchange, they’d get a hefty cut of the pirates’ loot as bribes.

They also extorted money from wealthy merchants and fishing groups, offering protection in exchange for a fee: “Pay up, and your village or ship won’t be touched.”

This alliance had been going strong for years, but recently, things started to shift.

The trade boom that started when Amitia and Cres joined the patronage of Imperial Crimson played a big part in this. With more foreign ships sailing in, it became impossible to cover up the pirate attacks, especially outside of Quito’s usual jurisdiction.

At the same time, the rise of pirates sailing that ‘magic ship with the crimson sail’ pushed other pirates out of the northern region, forcing them to flood into this area. Once their numbers passed a certain threshold, the chaos got out of control, and the old strategy stopped working.

“What an unforgivable crime! How dare the supposed protectors of the law make backroom deals with pirates and accept bribes!”

Revan clenched his right hand into a fist and slammed it into his open palm, his face full of indignation.

“It’s truly deplorable. But it’s also my failure for allowing this to happen under my watch. —Your Highness, I deeply apologize for my incompetence.” King Collard stood from his seat, his face lined with regret, and bowed his head to Revan.

“Oh, no! I’m not blaming you, King Collard. That was just a figure of speech…” Revan waved his hands quickly, trying to calm King Collard down.

I casually shook my head as well, saying, “Don’t worry about what’s already happened. It’s not your fault. The blame falls squarely on those pirates and the corrupt officials. If we’re talking accountability, I’m sure I share some of it as well.”

“But accountability aside, we need to launch an emergency investigation in Quito and bring everyone involved to justice.” After bowing, King Collard returned to his seat and declared with determination.

Well, it’s going to be a massive overhaul, but dealing with them thoroughly is the best course of action.

“Yeah, that should help the situation. Oh, and by the way, ‘Shrinkus’ was wiped out that same night. We recovered their hoarded treasure, so use it to compensate the victims as much as you can. You can get more details from the pirate boss and his crew—they’re being held in the basement of Quito’s villa. Right now, some of our ‘enthusiasts’ are… questioning them. …It’s just a shame it can’t bring back the dead.”

Feeling my throat dry, I picked up the glass of fresh blood and downed it in one go. Tengai, who had been standing by, silently stepped forward to refill it.

“…Your Majesty, you seem unusually irritated today. Did something happen?”

Imperial Princess Oliana asked, peering at my face while neatly slicing into her strudel and sachertorte—today’s snacks. It was supposed to be a simple debriefing, yet she had cleared her schedule to be here. I had to admit, her sharp observation never missed a beat.

I had considered playing dumb, but with their eyes fixed on me, I reluctantly decided to speak. “Not annoyed… just cursing my own stupidity—or rather, my naïve perspective.”

“What do you mean by that?” She pressed on, taking a bite of sachertorte. Her eyes lit up the moment the taste hit her, and she quickly devoured another bite, still keeping her gaze fixed on me. …You’re really serious, huh?

“The restaurant I told you about faced the usual harassment. After two or three days, they had to shut down, and the owner and his wife disappeared. Then, the collusion between the officials and the pirates started coming to light. Since the officials were in bed with the pirates seeking protection… well, you can imagine what happened, right?”

“…Another unfortunate incident,” Revan muttered darkly.

“I mean… it’s just hearsay, but apparently some passersby saw the proprietress and her husband leaving with all their belongings in the dead of night. So maybe the worst didn’t happen—or at least, that’s what I hope.”

“Should we launch a search on our end and increase security?” King Collard suggested.

I appreciated the offer, but I shook my head.

“No, this was my mistake for not considering the situation better, but I don’t want to interfere in their lives. They have their own way of handling things.”

“That’s true. As rulers, our duty is to ensure peace for all our citizens, but policies should be for the good of the nation as a whole. Using authority for one person, even with good intentions, creates inequality. It may sound harsh, but individuals must take responsibility for their own lives.”

It was a pragmatic statement from Oliana—so very like her. But Revan wasn’t finished.

“This is the arrogance of the privileged, clinging to logic as if it’s the ultimate truth, ignoring the struggles of those beneath them. It’s easy to say when you’ve never had to worry about where your next meal is coming from.”

“No, that’s what I call arrogance.” Oliana placed her fork on her plate with a bit more force than usual. “Do you take responsibility for every life in your nation? Haven’t your people continued on, even through hardship? Do you know why? Because deep down, they have hope—the hope that one day, things will change. Our job is to make sure that hope never dies.”

As the two began to argue, I glanced at King Collard, a bit taken aback.