Alkan of the Black Eyepatch Pirates.

Miriel of the Waterfall Beard Pirates.

And Louis of the Night Sea Pirates.

These pirates, who roamed the archipelago and the ocean plundering at will, had originally had nothing to do with one another. Not until a Demon King named Vivian set foot in the archipelago, and the three pirates, intoxicated by her beauty, became her servants.

Pirates had no prejudices. Leading harsh lives with death always at their heels, they divided even demons into two categories: useful and useless.

They had been drawn purely by the succubus queen's beauty and fallen under her spell. Now that they were her servants, they could never escape her unless she died.

But that alone was not what had driven them out onto the open sea.

There was the kidnapping of the dwarven princess, perpetrated by the Demon King of Carnal Desire—or, as had since come to light, the Demon King of Hellfire.

The dwarves had been desperate to recover their princess and artisans, but when the Tower of Carnal Desire suddenly vanished, they turned their sights on the pirates.

Unable to withstand their fierce offensive, the pirates had resorted to one final measure: throwing the three crews associated with the succubus queen to the wolves.

Those crews had to flee to survive. And if they were fleeing anyway, they decided to head for their mistress.

That was why they were being hunted across this vast ocean.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Mana shells struck the sea, sending up sprays of water. The ships rocked as they raced precariously across the waves.

"Damn it, those dwarf-made mana cannons have a fucking ridiculous range."

"Aren't those Akan bastards? What the hell are they doing all the way out here?"

"If only that were all! Hessen's Southern Fleet was there too!"

"Fuck, what the hell is going on?"

"Maybe they're planning to fight each other! Fucking bastards!"

"They looked a little too friendly for that!"

The long pursuit ended only after one ship sank.

"... They're not still following us, are they? Tell me they aren't."

"They're gone."

"First Dormund, and now Hessen and Akan. Are they actually planning a war or what?"

"Who cares? Maybe they're gathering to wipe something out."

"Not us?"

"They chased us like their lives depended on it, sure, but why us specifically? Maybe they're gathering to invade the archipelago again, and we were unlucky enough to sail right into them."

"That does sound the most plausible."

"Or maybe the others have already told everyone we're the culprits."

"At least we shook them off! Even if we lost three ships. Damn it!"

The pirates grumbled.

"Goddamn it, we've run into monsters, storms, and now the navy! Where the hell is our mistress?"

Alkan, captain of the Black Eyepatch Pirates, ground his teeth.

Their journey had been arduous beyond measure.

They had shed blood fighting the comrades of yesterday who tried to prevent their escape, endured attacks by sea monsters, and weathered a storm.

After struggling for so long on the boundary between life and death, they had found themselves in a death trap.

First Dormund, then Akan. With the kingdoms' navies venturing far out to sea, they were no longer searching for Vivian. They were desperately fighting to stay alive.

"What if Lady Vivian really is dead already? What if we're just chasing a pipe dream?"

"I'd rather we were actually dreaming. Lady Vivian could be showing us a dream."

"I like that. It would mean dying of thirst and hunger out here in the middle of nowhere with no supplies is just a dream."

Being pursued had prevented them from properly resupplying. The storm had taken what little they had left.

Everyone was starving to death. It would have been no surprise if a mutiny broke out demanding they turn the ships around immediately.

The only thing preventing it was the bond they shared as Vivian's servants. Although she treated them differently, she had bound every member of their crews to her service.

It was ironic that, having been driven into this situation because of Vivian, their status as her servants was keeping serious trouble from breaking out even under such extreme conditions.

But even that had its limits. Exhausted by hunger, the pirates were on the verge of tearing each other apart.

"Maybe we could catch a monster and eat it."

"Are you insane?"

"How am I supposed to stay sane at this point?"

It happened then.

RUMBLE!

The sea heaved. The ships shook.

"Keep your balance!"

"Helmsman!"

"What is it?"

Cries weakened by hunger overlapped.

"Don't tell me it's another monster."

"Damn it, we don't even have the strength to fight."

"Let's catch it and eat it."

But what rose amid the spray was not what they expected. It was the very person they had so desperately hoped to see.

"... My lady?"

"My lady!"

"It's our mistress!"

A woman of unsurpassed allure and enchantment. Overflowing with sensuality and ominous demonic energy, she was dangerous, yet utterly familiar to them.

It was Vivian, the Demon King of Carnal Desire everyone had believed dead.

The absence of one of her horns was strange, but perhaps because of the mood, no one mentioned it.

"You lot."

Vivian flapped her wings, looking down at them.

"Did you come all this way looking for me?"

There were eleven pirate ships in all, filled with close to seven hundred signs of life.

"Of course!"

"We knew you were still alive!"

"My lady! We love you!"

The pirates cheered, scraping together strength they did not have to shout themselves hoarse.

The three captains were especially fervent. Having enjoyed Vivian's favor, they were all the more infatuated with her.

Which was why they were furious.

"How touching. Pirates crossing the sea in search of a Demon King."

There was some loafer beside their beloved Vivian, casually resting a hand on her shoulder.

His handsome face only made them angrier.

"Who the fuck is that?"

"Who does that bastard think he's laying his hand on?"

"I'll cut off every last one of those fingers!"

"Load the mana cannons!"

Berge gave a short laugh at their furious shouting. They were beneath contempt.

"... They're good boys."

"I think your definition of good differs from mine."

"They came all this way to find me, didn't they?"

"And now they're swearing at me and trying to fire mana cannons."

"They'll still be useful."

"Well, I won't deny that."

Berge was not foolish enough to turn away servants who had delivered themselves to his doorstep, especially ones who had brought a dozen or so ships.

"They really might fire at this rate. You're not going to use that as an excuse to kill them all, are you?"

"They're your servants."

"They're yours now too."

They simply had not realized it because Berge was concealing his presence completely.

"All of you, stop."

Unable to watch any longer, Vivian stepped forward. The pirates loading shells into the mana cannons froze.

"But Lady Vivian, who the hell is that loafer?"

"Are you abandoning us after we came all this way to find you?"

"Milky-white Vivian!"

"We love you!"

It was utter chaos. Vivian sighed deeply and released her demonic energy.

"Silence."

The pirates shut their mouths.

"Berge is not someone you can treat so disrespectfully. No, it's not even a matter of disrespect..."

"It means every last one of you must obey me absolutely."

Berge drew Vivian back and stepped forward.

"What?"

"What nonsense is that?"

"Lady Vivian?"

"Who are you to spout that bull...that most gracious pronouncement, sir?"

Alkan, who had been bellowing in outrage, promptly prostrated himself. Terrifying demonic energy pressed down on every pirate.

Their eyes met. Goosebumps rose on his skin. But most astonishing of all was the resonance in his soul.

He could feel a connection running from himself and the pirates to Vivian, and from Vivian to the demon before them.

That loafer—no, that man—no, that exalted person was their lord.

Their souls understood instinctively.

The pirates slammed their foreheads against the decks.

"... These lowly beings beg to know your esteemed name."

"My name is Berge Deias."

The world calls me the Demon King of Hellfire.

"And I am the Demon King you will obey for all eternity."

Seven hundred pirates had delivered themselves to him, fleet and all.

* * *

First, Berge brought all the bedraggled pirates into the tower and fed them their fill.

"Ahhh, that's better."

"Yes, that's the stuff."

Food was no problem. He always kept enormous quantities in his storage dimension for the princesses and dwarves.

"Humans this time. Pirates, no less."

"That was lucky. Who would have thought pirates would come looking for us after I moved the tower into the sea?"

"Don't forget this is all thanks to me."

"Are you going to take them all in?"

"There's no reason not to. You don't seem pleased."

"... No, that's not it."

Reina shook her head. The haughty frost demon presumably disliked the very idea of taking humans as servants.

But she knew how to exercise sound judgment. She was no longer a Demon King, but Berge's servant. She did not go out of her way to question his decisions.

Besides, with dwarves and elves already accepted, what difference would adding humans make?

"Now, how should we put them to work so everyone will say we've made good use of them?"

"Must everyone hear about it?"

"It's a figure of speech. Does our rigid ice demon not understand a joke?"

"A succubus's mouth truly never rests. I would dearly like to give yours a rest myself."

Ignoring the two snarling Demon Kings, Berge turned his attention to Gordon.

"Pirates are most useful when roaming the seas as pirates."

"We'll need to fix those wretched ships, then."

"Fortunately, we have dwarves. The problem is their base."

"A base."

"We're in the deep sea, and they cannot bring their ships into the tower. They need a harbor where they can dock and resupply."

"Are there any islands nearby?"

"There is a fairly large island about two hundred kilometers northwest of here."

"How did you discover that?"

"Lavinia has brought several sea monsters under her control and is sending them out to scout."

"..."

"Good?"

"Yes, well done."

He tossed Lavinia a chocolate.

The island was far from the continent and so barren that scarcely any living creatures inhabited it. It lacked everything needed for a pirate base.

"Hmm."

After considering it briefly, Berge summoned Charlotte.

"Can you make barren land fertile?"

"May I ask how barren it is?"

"How bad is it?"

"It isn't a desert, but there are few trees and almost no living creatures. It's woefully unsuitable for farming."

"What you want, my lord, is to make it possible for those humans to live there, correct?"

"Correct."

"Then there is a way. We elves can grow flowers and trees in even the most barren places. We need only plant fruit-tree saplings to supplement their food supply and revive the ecosystem."

"Where will we get the saplings?"

"Our floor is already full of them."

"Weren't those just imitations made with spirits?"

"When we went out with you, my lord, Lady Ernyan procured a variety of saplings for us."

Berge had noticed Ernyan buying all sorts of things and thought nothing of it. So there had been saplings among them.

"Not bad."

"The difficulty is that we will have to remain there and tend the trees until they take root properly."

"Then do so."

"Will that be all right?"

"Heroes won't be coming to the tower anyway."

"That is true."

"Then go downstairs and prepare with the other elves."

"Yes, my lord."

Charlotte left. Berge shrugged.

"That's settled."

"While we're at it, I think we should send dwarves along to build a harbor there."

"Agreed."

Fortunately, his storage dimension still overflowed with materials collected to build golems and the false tower.

And so the arrangements for the pirates were decided.

* * *

"That's definitely an elf, right?"

"That's a dwarf."

"She's a princess?"

"That one's an imperial princess, apparently."

"I heard they're Four Heavenly Kings."

"Am I dreaming?"

"Probably."

With their bellies full, the pirates finally had the leisure to look around. They were astonished by a tower utterly unlike anything they had imagined.

Dwarves were making mana cannons, and elves were commanding spirits.

Princesses and imperial princesses called themselves Four Heavenly Kings.

"... This isn't the Demon King's tower I imagined."

"Me neither."

"I've been to another tower before. It wasn't anything like this."

Alkan, who had once joined a raiding party as a hero, laughed hollowly.

"And the tower's in the deep sea, of all places. How does that make any sense?"

An unseen force had plunged them forcibly beneath the sea. At first, they had thought they were all going to die. Yet they felt neither the cold of the water nor its pressure, and at the end of the gradually fading light stood an enormous tower.

"... I'm glad I became Lady Vivian's servant. No one could ever conquer this place. How would you even find it in the deep sea?"

"Me too."

"Milky-white Vivian."

"Shut up, Louis. Not that Lady Vivian isn't milky-white, but read the room before you open your mouth."

Having seen part of the tower, the pirates quietly waited to learn what would become of them.

The Demon King of Hellfire's overwhelming power and the tower's grandeur left them unable to contemplate doing anything rash.

And then...

"... Uh, so you're saying you'll have the dwarves repair our ships—and improve them, too?"

"And fit them with dwarf-made mana cannons?"

"You'll even have the elves make us an island where we can be self-sufficient?"

"And the dwarves will build a harbor?"

"We're already your faithful servants, my lord, yet you're doing all this for us..."