Chapter 168: Pirates (3)

“This estate’s location isn’t exactly ideal,” Ketal began explaining.

It was situated very close to the border of another kingdom. Naturally, their maritime territories also overlapped, making fishing difficult. The slightest mistake could lead to trespassing in foreign waters, forcing fishermen to navigate cautiously and limiting their catch.

Furthermore, these waters teemed with pirates. Even if a crew managed to catch some fish, getting robbed blind on the way back was a frequent occurrence.

To make matters worse, Lord Bulkan’s father, the previous lord, had shown little interest in revitalizing the suffering estate. Consequently, when Dorban inherited the lordship, the estate was in a deplorable state.

Vagrants filled the streets, and with little else to eat, people often resorted to consuming heavily salted, spoiled fish drenched in fermented sauce—the very dish Ketal and Baker had sampled at the tavern, a remnant of that desperate past. Naturally, this led to widespread illness, and while even such rotten food was scarce, some inevitably died.

“I heard there were even occasional instances where starving people exchanged their own children to eat,” Ketal said.

“What?” Aquaz looked utterly horrified. The estate she had seen was peaceful and bright; she herself had found solace in its apparent prosperity just hours ago. To think that only a few decades prior, it had been so wretched was almost unbelievable.

The lord stammered, equally surprised by Ketal’s knowledge. “Y-you know that well. It’s a past most people try to forget, so they avoid mentioning it...”

“It’s often said that the elderly know much and wish to share their memories with someone,” Ketal remarked simply.

While exploring alone earlier, Ketal had encountered an old, blind woman resting on a park bench. She had shared various stories about the estate’s history with him.

“From here, it would be better if you told the story,” Ketal prompted the lord.

“Ah, yes.” The lord quickly picked up the narrative. “When I became lord, the city was in ruins. Just as Ketal said, it wouldn’t have been strange if it had collapsed entirely at any moment.”

Desperate, the young lord searched frantically for a way to save his territory, but no solution presented itself. As a neglected land, the kingdom offered no support. After much agonizing deliberation, he made a decision.

“At the time, there was a pirate crew that frequently plundered our lands. I went to seek them out myself,” Lord Bulkan continued.

Taking only a small boat, the lord sailed directly into the pirates’ den. Despite the immense risk to his own life, he acted for the sake of his city. There, after desperate negotiations with the pirate captain, he managed to forge a contract.

Miraculously, the deal succeeded, partly because many pirates in the crew longed for life on land. That pirate crew was the Valkran Pirates.

“After that, times were tumultuous,” the lord continued.

He had pushed the deal through against the strong opposition of his retainers, leading to internal resistance. Integrating the pirates wasn’t smooth either; being pirates, they caused numerous minor incidents and conflicts within the territory.

Yet, the lord persevered. He weathered the opposition, eventually gained the kingdom's recognition for his efforts, and worked tirelessly to discipline the pirates, persuading them to abide by the city's laws. At the end of that long struggle, the prosperous city they saw today was finally built.

“To have grown the city to this extent... they must be quite capable pirates,” Ketal commented cheerfully. “The lord is likely telling the truth. Despite the pirates’ presence, the citizens didn’t seem particularly anxious.”

Indeed, while the pirates had confronted Aquaz earlier, they hadn’t been outright violent, relying mostly on intimidation using the Valkran name. Even the group that came after Aquaz subdued the first pirate hadn't drawn weapons and had offered to withdraw if she simply apologized.

Aquaz’s eyes wavered as she stayed silent.

Ketal spoke calmly. “I have no intention of claiming the pirates are good or that they must be protected. They are undoubtedly closer to evil. But Aquaz, gray areas exist in this world.”

Pirates who plundered merchants were surely evil, yet the same people who helped revive a dying territory could not be unequivocally labeled as purely evil.

“Consider the bandits you showed mercy to and saved on your way here. To someone else, they too could be considered evil,” Ketal said.

Those bandits they encountered, fleeing from something, could have easily robbed or killed others for sustenance. Yet Aquaz chose to spare them—not by the church’s command, but by her own will. This contradicted her earlier assertion that only the church’s will mattered and her own judgement was meaningless.

Hearing Ketal’s words, Baker looked utterly dumbfounded.

Is this guy really a Barbarian?

“Good and evil. It would be convenient if the world could be divided so simply, but it’s impossible,” Ketal stated.

Well, maybe it is possible,

Ketal mused inwardly with a strange smile.

Gods and demons. They might represent the absolute, unchangeable good and evil in this world.

What a truly amusing world it was.

“I...” Aquaz finally managed to speak, but the words caught in her throat. “I... am a follower of the Sun God. I must follow the will of the great Sun God. I must erase all darkness from this world.”

“The Sun God could likely do that,” Ketal conceded. A great celestial being could probably draw absolute lines between good and evil. “But you are human, are you not?”

Aquaz’s eyes trembled violently.

“You said you follow the Sun God’s will, that it doesn’t change. But the world is fluid. In such a world, even you could potentially become evil.”

“I... I am...,” Aquaz stammered.

“Well, that’s stretching the point,” Ketal admitted. “You are clearly closer to good. But the world operates in these complex ways.”

Aquaz took a ragged breath, seemingly choked with emotion.

No.

The pirates are evil,

Aquaz thought.

They had to be driven out of the estate and punished. That was what her teachings dictated. But if doing so caused the territory to collapse back into ruin, she would not be able to bear that responsibility. It was impossible—perhaps a god could, but she was merely human.

Confronted by this irresolvable contradiction, the inquisitor of the Sun God helplessly lowered her head.

Seeing her finally relent, the lord let out a sigh of immense relief.

“Th-Thank you,” he stammered, directing his gratitude towards Ketal. He looked at the barbarian with wonder.

What in the world is this barbarian?

Believers followed their gods, making that devotion their purpose. But believers were ultimately human, inherently subject to contradictions. Recognizing these contradictions wasn't particularly difficult; studying theology often began with examining such paradoxes.

Knowing them, however, was entirely different from convincing a believer. The more fervent the worshipper, the more likely they were to ignore contradictions, even when aware of them. And inquisitors were among the most devout worshippers of all. They typically wouldn't be swayed by external criticism; more often, they would react with anger, denouncing the questioner as an unbeliever.

Yet, Aquaz had clearly been deeply shaken by Ketal’s words. This barbarian possessed enough influence to potentially shatter an inquisitor's faith.

It made sense, in a way. Ketal had been personally acknowledged by a god and even granted a holy relic. Though it was not the same god Aquaz worshipped, it was still a divine being. When such a figure, acknowledged by a god, exposed contradictions, it was only natural for Aquaz to be shaken.

Seriously, what is this guy?

Baker wondered.

If not for his appearance, one could easily believe him to be a scholar from some renowned institution.

Baker approached Aquaz with a worried expression. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine,” she replied. But the shock hadn't faded from her face.

“Then, Ketal, what do you propose we do?” she asked Ketal in a mumbled voice. It wasn't an accusatory tone, but rather resembled the plea of a child seeking an answer. “If you were in my position... what would you do?”

“I don’t have the answer either,” Ketal admitted. “But I do know how we can proceed in a way that benefits us.”

“Then please, show us your method,” Aquaz said.

“Alright. But to do that, I believe I’ll need your help.”

“My help...?” Aquaz looked up.

Ketal explained his idea to Aquaz. Her eyes widened. After a moment of contemplation, she nodded slowly.

***

At that very moment, within the Valkran Pirates’ hideout established inside the estate, chaos reigned.

“Damn those idiots!” Valkran, the captain of the Valkran Pirates, ground his teeth in fury.

His men scurried around him frantically. “W-what do we do, Captain?”

“What do you think we do?! We run! Do you think an inquisitor will just let us be, now that she knows we’re here?! Pack your things, now!”

“R-run?” The pirates were bewildered. “Do we really need to run?”

“But we have a deal with the lord, right? Won’t he protect us?” one asked hopefully.

The captain’s face contorted in frustration. “You morons! Don’t you know anything about inquisitors?! You think some contract is going to protect us from

her

?!”

Once they judged something as evil, inquisitors didn’t care about laws, contracts, or borders. They acted solely to punish that evil. No matter how much the lord tried to protect them, it would be futile. Trying to shield them would only result in the entire estate being burned down.

Realizing the truth of his words, the pirates’ faces went pale with terror.

“Just pack your bags, you idiots! Get ready to set sail and get the hell out of here!”

“B-but the sea is...”

“We’ll have to find a way through it! What, you prefer to be burned alive here?”

“N-no, sir!” The pirates scrambled to obey. Just then, another pirate ran toward them through the bustling crowd. The captain’s face fell, already anticipating bad news. The pirate gasped out his report. The captain felt like weeping.

“They’re here! The inquisitor’s party has arrived!”

***

The captain sat grimly in a small reception room, his expression heavy with foreboding. Soon, the inquisitor would enter.

From that moment, the countdown to his death would begin.

Some life,

the captain thought.

He hadn’t wanted to end up as just a pirate. His parents were pirates, so he’d worked on deck since childhood, automatically following their path, but he had always yearned for something more, a bigger stage.

When the lord approached him all those years ago, he saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and seized it immediately. That decision nearly sparked a rebellion, but he held firm, and they had finally reached this point of prosperity.

And now, it was all about to be destroyed because of one inquisitor. He felt overwhelmed by a bleak despair that bordered on tears.

Still...,

the captain thought. If this were the end, he would at least face it with dignity. The captain steeled his resolve.

Creeeak.

The door opened. The captain flinched reflexively but quickly composed himself and opened his mouth. “Greetings, inquisitor of the Sun G—”

“Oh. So you’re the captain of the Valkran Pirates.”

The captain was startled. The first person he saw wasn't the inquisitor, but the barbarian.

Why the barbarian first?

Valkran thought.

What followed surprised him even more. The inquisitor entered the room

after

the barbarian. In situations like this, the one who entered first was typically the leader of the group. It looked as though the barbarian was leading the inquisitor.

Ketal smiled broadly. “A pleasure to meet you. I am Ketal. It seems we have quite a lot to discuss.”