A woman wearing a ragged shirt and shorts, her chin clad in iron, strode into the conference room from outside, glaring with eyes full of burning anger, clearly disliking those present yet forced to restrain herself.
"Who is this?"
"She looks like a pirate!"
"Pirates aren't welcome here!"
"Get out!"
"Bodrick! Who have you brought here? Are you in league with pirates?"
The room erupted into chaos as the Bretonnian nobles sensed the fishy smell on her and loudly criticized Duke Boldrick Bodrick for bringing such a lowly person into their noble court.
Dressed in noble attire, Duke Bodrick felt immense pressure.
But this was the will of the Sea God, Manann, and as his chosen champion, Bodrick could not defy the divine oracle. He continued his introduction with trepidation: "Let me introduce her; she is Ireinasalsa, the 'Resentment of Saltwater,' daughter of the Sea God Manann. Ah... She's here seeking the support of Brittany and the Empire because she plans to launch an unprecedented raid on the Norse tribes up north."
"Daughter of Manann?" Ryan squinted his eyes. This pirate woman was the daughter of the Sea God Manann?!
"Bodrick! That's no reason to bring this pirate into my castle!" Francois also grew furious, standing up and shouting at Duke Bodrick, "If anything happens to my family, Bodrick, expect my armies!"
The Empire representatives remained silent as the Bretonnian nobles continued to angrily denounce Duke Bodrick's absurd actions. How could a sacred and noble meeting room be desecrated by a pirate?
The Lake Goddess Witch, Morgiana, was particularly incensed. She stood up, curses ready to spill from her lips, intent on ordering the knights to drag this pirate out and execute her and to capture Duke Bodrick for trial.
Ryan quickly held Morgiana back. As she instinctively tried to break free, he wrapped his arms around her waist: "Let him finish, let's hear Duke Bodrick out."
Held from behind by Ryan, Morgiana felt her body go limp, unable to muster any strength, angrily glaring at him before reluctantly sitting down.
"I know, I know, Francois, gentlemen, please let me finish," Duke Bodrick, aware of the damage this incident was causing his reputation, hurried to explain the context after Ryan stopped Morgiana's rebuke.
The daughter of the Sea God Manann was born in the distant frozen wastelands of the north. Her father was a Norse chieftain who hoped his wife would bear a strong heir, but to his dismay, not only was the baby a girl, but her legs were not human legs but fish fins covered in scales.
Mutations meant death. The baby's fate seemed sealed when the furious chieftain threw her into the sea the following morning, watching as the waters swallowed her.
However, unknown to all, the baby survived. Under the will of Manann, hundreds of fish leaped from the sea to warm her as cradles, and a few sea nymphs took her to a cove, nursing her with seaweed and crab meat, raising her into adulthood.
This baby was the pirate woman, Ireinasalsa - the Resentment of Saltwater, whom Duke Bodrick had introduced.
After a brief explanation of the pirate's origins, the mood in the hall shifted slightly.
It was well known that Duke Bodrick Boldrick held dual allegiances; he worshipped both the Sea God Manann and the Lake Fairy. The first Duke Boldrick, Marcus, was said to have fought alongside the Sea God Manann on the high seas. From the story Bodrick introduced, it seemed this pirate woman was deeply favored by the gods, even possibly a direct daughter of the Sea God, so it was not surprising that Duke Bodrick was compelled to vouch for the divine daughter.
"So, Bodrick, you've brought this pirate here, what do you want us to do? What can we do for the daughter of a deity?" Francois's anger had not fully subsided as Duke Winford spoke gravely: "Fit her with a new set of prosthetics? Or perhaps purchase her shell jewelry?"
Currently, Sulia and Ryan's wedding was of utmost importance, and Francois would not allow any mishaps to affect the big day!
"Ah!" The pirate woman's fierce eyes burst with anger as she instinctively reached for her trident behind her back: "Shut up! Man!"
Her back was empty, and Ireinasalsa then remembered her trident had been removed before she entered. Unperturbed by her fiery temper, she roared and charged toward Francois.
Francois drew his Unicorn Sword, and Ryan also grasped the hilt of the Sword of Vengeance behind him. In an instant, the conference room was on edge.
The deep
blue glow of the Sea God's trident blocked her way, and the pirate woman knew this was a gift her father had given to Bodrick, forcing her to stop her assault.
"Ireinasalsa!!! Are you defying the will of Manann?!" Duke Bodrick, pressured from both sides, also lost his temper.
The conference room finally quieted down, and the Grand Alchemist Baelshaza-Geralt from the Empire spoke in his unique voice: "So, Duke Bodrick, why exactly did you bring her here?"
"Yes, if you cannot provide a reasonable explanation, Bodrick, be prepared for the lady's wrath!" Morgiana impatiently stated.
Duke Bodrick continued with the story.
After growing up, Ireinasalsa knew she would eventually return to human society. So, she gritted her teeth, amputated her finned legs, fitted herself with prosthetics, and began her adventures aboard a small boat. Eventually, she was rescued by a pirate ship from Satusha (a southern city-state of the Kingdom of Tilea) called Swordfish and became a female crew member.
Over a decade later, Manann's daughter learned to curse like a sailor, fight like a pirate, and navigate like a helmsman, eventually becoming the captain and the largest pirate lord in the local Satusha waters.
Now, her father Manann had sent her a dream. It was time for the Sea God's daughter to begin her vengeance against the Norse barbarians! Ireinasalsa - the Resentment of Saltwater would lead the Swordfish and her crew in a terrible revenge against all the northern barbarians who had abandoned her!
"Ireinasalsa needs our help; she hopes to receive permissions to dock and resupply at some ports in the Empire and Brittany," Duke Bodrick finally added.
"What do we get in return? A notorious group of infamous pirates freely entering our ports, staying overnight to perhaps steal some items if they feel like it, or maybe raid and plunder if they don't?" Duke Ivan of the Griffons scoffed: "Do you take us for fools? Pirate woman? What can you and your pirate ship do? Kill a few barbarians and come to us seeking praise? Sorry, we don't need that."
"I killed them all." Ireinasalsa glared. "I killed them all."
"??? What do you mean 'killed them all'?" Francois also found the idea of granting permits ridiculous, especially since his duchy of Winford had no ports.
"Do you remember the Scurlings tribe that raided southward? Their king, 'Red Eye' Egil was killed by this man called Ryan, but you surely recall, several smaller tribes escaped in three hundred dragonships, right?" Ireinasalsa pointed at Ryan and stepped closer: "I killed them all."
"An entire dragonship fleet, three hundred ships, was annihilated by me and my Swordfish. Not a single barbarian returned to the northern wastelands, and my vengeance has just begun!"
"!!!" The Bretonnian dukes and representatives from the Empire all widened their eyes, even Bellegar, King of the Eight Peaks, who had been devouring Winford lamb meat pies and horse sausages, looked up.
No wonder the barbarian fleet that retreated from Leonnathae was missing. An entire ship wiped out a whole Norse dragonship fleet?
"I think we might want to seriously discuss granting you that permit, Miss Ireinasalsa," Duke Ivan of the Griffons was the first to speak.
If this "woman" could deal a devastating blow to the Norse, the Empire would welcome it. Unlike Brittany, the Empire saw any force that could tie down the northern barbarians as beneficial. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The Bretonnian nobles also fell silent. The damage Egil had inflicted on the kingdom was still fresh, and since this pirate woman was indeed the daughter of the Sea God Manann and had Duke Bodrick Boldrick as her guarantor, perhaps there was more room for negotiation.
"The will of my father is everything! It is he who commanded me to seek your help! You are obliged to assist me!"
...
"So, in the end, did they agree?" In Duke Helen Hild's castle, at Ryan's residence, the elegantly dressed lady knight asked from the window.
"The dukes and the people from the Empire said they'd discuss it further while also making preparations," Ryan, sitting shoulder to shoulder with the lady knight, hesitated, "Knights and pirates working together... there's no precedent, right?"
After dinner the previous night, Sulia was released from confinement by Francois, allowing her to visit Ryan. The duke had only ordered his daughter not to stay overnight at Ryan's place and to return to her own room before nine o'clock. Sulia, with her father's permission, came over openly.
"There is precedent, Ryan. Have you heard of privateers?" Sulia gently tapped Ryan
's palm with her delicate finger: "Brittany has been issuing letters of marque since the founding of the kingdom."
"I know that," Ryan nodded repeatedly. Brittany's privateers and pirate ships were famous in the Old World; these vessels were employed by the king of Brittany to maintain the safety of shipping lanes.
During wars, these small ships, equipped with projectile weapons, rapidly expanded the fleet of Barthonian ships. The crew of privateer ships were often scoundrels, many of whom were criminals who served on ships to avoid hanging. Thus, they lacked military discipline and morale, adapting to the seas under the threat of random lashings. However, under the conditions of fight or perish, the condemned always burst forth with terrible combat prowess to earn their letters of pardon.
When there was no war, these privateer ships were required to sustain themselves. They were authorized to plunder ships from enemy nations (Estalia, Tilea, Dark Elves, Norse barbarians, vampires, and other pirates) and were protected by Brittany.
"Since there's precedent, what's the problem with issuing a permit for docking and resupplying for that pirate woman?" Sulia said softly: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"It's not exactly the same," Ryan frowned. "The problem is, Ireinasalsa - the Resentment of Saltwater's crew is a motley crew; not only humans and dwarves, but even elves and undead."
"Undead? Is she a vampire?" Sulia was surprised, whispering in shock, "Then that's a problem."
"No, she herself isn't undead, but she does have some undead underlings... or rather, everything." Ryan complained, "Orcs, undead, humans, dwarves, and elves all serve under Ireinasalsa, and she commands a small pirate fleet."
This was why the nobles were hesitant; although Ireinasalsa assured that neither living nor dead could sway any of her decisions, the nobles still had their reservations.
"So many issues to handle lately," Ryan sighed deeply. "Our plan to attack Blackstone Fortress hasn't yet been proposed to the dwarves, and now the wood elves have arrived."
"Yes, the servants told me that a group of wood elves also arrived at Helen Hild, led by 'Braveheart' Alaros and the Seeress Liff," Sulia, holding Ryan's hand, continued, "They said they wanted to meet you and father, but you were in a meeting, so I arranged for them to stay first."
"It's a lot to deal with," Ryan embraced Sulia's slender waist, "The wood elves are negotiating a ceasefire with Casfane. You know, Duke Casfane of Paravon and the wood elves are at war. Now, with a rare opportunity to attend our wedding, Casfane, after being extorted a ransom by the Empire and greatly weakened, is looking to sign a ceasefire agreement with the wood elves. The discussions are tricky; Casfane demands compensation for damages, while the wood elves in turn demand war reparations from Casfane..."
"Ryan~ you'll manage everything well, I believe in you," Sulia said tenderly: "Because you're the husband I chose."
The engaged couple kissed under the moonlight, their tongues intertwining, a special kind of pleasure in their secrecy.
After a long kiss, the flushed lady knight gently pushed Ryan away, fastened the buttons at her chest, adjusted her lifted skirt, and scurried off: "I... I should go."
Just as the lady knight left, Ryan heard the Lake Fairy's slightly displeased hum: "Ryan, you haven't married Sulia yet, why did you kiss her?"
"..." Ryan thought to himself, we've kissed before, why didn't you say anything then?
"My lady, is there something you need?"
"Now that Alaros has arrived, once you wrap up things here, bring him to my tower to see me. I have a task to assign to you three."
"What task?"
"It's about the 'Crown of Lilith' clue."
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