Chapter 277

At noon, a surprise event unfolded on the small whaling ship.

“Drum! Drum! Waaah!”

The narrow deck was filled with girls in black combat uniforms cheering.

Today, they wore specially made skull masks that sparkled.

As they waited, the main event of the day made its grand entrance.

“Ugh…!”

“Ahhh! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please let me live!”

The stars of this event were the bloodied men being dragged onto the deck.

Their broken limbs dangled limply, and they were bound with magical restraints—the same kind that had been used on me.

“How dare you! Kidnap us!”

Of course, as you can see, their attempt had failed spectacularly.

Some of the other Violets followed up from the yacht and boarded the ship, but the restraints were poorly made and couldn’t stop the clones from appearing.

Sure, their strength and weapon skills were menacing, but they were up against our Violets, which was their downfall.

It was truly amusing to see the braggarts from just earlier being dragged away in their underwear.

“Please! Let us go! Please!”

“It’s okay! We won’t kill you! You’re just going for a swim in the sea.”

The participants, already excited about the event, yelled out enthusiastically.

“Nooooo!”

“Ahhh! Uwaaaaah!”

The event was hosted by our Violet Marine Corps.

The festival was known as the Deep Sea Drum Fest.

“Okay, okay. See that drum? Get in peacefully!”

The event’s mechanics were simple.

Put the bad pirates in a drum and send them off on a one-way underwater expedition.

They get to ride a submersible that millionaires usually pay tens of thousands of credits for—it’s definitely a form of free welfare.

“Let’s get in the drum and be good people!”

During the deep-sea exploration, the pirates who had previously kidnapped people to feed on would become good people leisurely frolicking with fish in the peaceful tropical ocean.

This is the spirit of becoming one with nature.

Of course, to venture into the sacred depths of the ocean, there would be customs checks.

“You all are pirates, right? Isn’t that correct?”

“Yes! We’re pirates! That’s right!”

Clone 3011 was interrogating these suspicious pirates.

“Why did you engage in piracy? You looked like just a bunch of hunters at the sight of weapons.”

I couldn’t understand it. Why would they do something like this?

Wouldn’t it be more profitable and less risky to hunt monsters and collect relics and resources?

“Well… that is…”

“Are you not going to answer?”

Since they hesitated, I picked up the language enhancement tool.

-Analyzed!

When I shoved a bolt into one pirate’s head, a cheerful explosion rang out.

The expressions of the pirates, covered in their comrade’s blood, stiffened.

“Ugh…Uwaaah!”

“Next?”

“I’ll tell you! Please!”

In a panic, they started mumbling explanations.

“…It’s easier to catch people than monsters? That’s it?”

According to their stuttering explanation, they claimed it was easier to raid ships and kidnap people for ransom than to struggle against monsters in dungeons.

“Is that all? Do resolvers or other hunters not come after you? What about the navy…”

“The sea is vast, so… if we hide appropriately between coastlines or uninhabited islands, we won’t get caught…”

From their manner of speaking, it seemed they only targeted weaklings.

They hadn’t done anything to provoke the federal army or large clans, it seemed.

“How cowardly!”

“What a bad pirate!”

Hmm, these guys were definitely despicable.

“Then you should go in there all the more.”

“But we’ve told you everything! Please let us go! No! Send us to prison!”

“Okay, okay. It’s all over now, so let’s get you into the drum!”

I tied the thrashing guys more securely and stuffed them into the drum.

Folding them properly, only their heads popped out. We were reminded of a pirate game where you stab a sword into the pirate toy.

“Shall we give it a stab? They might pop out!”

“No way. They’ll die if we do that.”

Feeling a bit regretful, I scooped up the cement and water mixture I had prepared. It was special concrete that sets fairly quickly.

“Have fun on your trip~”

“Ugh! Ugh ugh!”

-Splash!

Once it had set appropriately, I rolled the pirates one by one into the water.

The gray silhouettes of the drums slowly dwindled beyond the glimmering surface of the water like jewels.

“All cleaned up! Cleaned the blood, too.”

“Is it over? Bring out the people below.”

The Violets brought out the people who had been trapped in the cabin.

Sadly, we weren’t the only ones kidnapped on this ship.

Their method involved suddenly ambushing tourists or travelers who happened to be around.

Since we had obtained this whaling ship and all the junk, it seemed like there was no need for us to claim any special bounty.

“Wait, what should we say for our cover identity?”

“Let’s say we are a passing clan. The name is…”

After a minute of a marathon meeting, we finalized a vague direction and sent the people outside.

“U-Outside. Who are you?”

“What’s going on…?”

Covered with blankets, the people stepped outside with anxious expressions, scanning their surroundings.

Everyone looked pale, suggesting they had been through quite a lot with the pirates.

“Oh my, how pitiful.”

Among them was a group of bespectacled men who looked slightly more spirited, but they seemed to have been recently captured.

A plump youth standing among them raised his hand cautiously as their representative.

“Excuse me… may I ask who you are?”

I answered the plump man’s question.

“We are Dunhind Security Enforcement. We just eliminated all the pirates moments ago. You are all free now!”

At first, the reluctant people began to gradually understand as we explained the situation, and they were only happy after we returned the belongings the pirates had stolen.

“Thank you! You saved us!”

Amidst it all, a couple of men were gleefully holding a briefcase.

“What about the samples? Are the samples okay?”

“My paper! I’m saved!”

They seemed to rejoice for different reasons than I could comprehend.

In any case, I felt a surge of pride from having done a good deed after a long time.

Thanks to unexpectedly defeating the pirates, my heart felt at ease.

“I’ve brought justice!”

However, just as soon as the joy struck, a small dilemma arose.

“But what do we do now? We need to get these people home.”

“Let’s take the whaling ship to the harbor!”

Proposal 2208 was immediately dismissed.

“No way. We don’t know how to navigate it.”

This whaling ship was a bit larger than the vessels we had previously piloted.

The machinery was also a bit more complicated, making it seem difficult to handle right now.

“Should we take our ship instead?”

“That’s dismissed too, the closest boat is still dozens of kilometers away. It’ll take some time.”

As I pondered how to send the people to land, the plump man who had asked before raised his hand again.

“What is it?”

“I, um, could I borrow your means of communication? Do you have a satellite phone?”

“And why is that?”

“Well, you see, our professor had a negotiation with these pirates yesterday regarding a ransom. I want to inform them that it isn’t necessary to negotiate after all. Is that okay?”

Thinking he was quite the peculiar one, I took out my satellite phone and lent it to him.

After he dialed a few times, it seemed he got through as the graduate student started chatting with someone on the other end of the line.

I could hear joy gradually seeping into his voice.

“What? I understand! Just a moment?”

The graduate student quickly requested that I provide our location coordinates.

“Just in time, our professor was coming directly here on account of the ransom negotiations. How lucky.”

What perfect timing. I wonder if it means he cares for his students.

Thirty minutes later, I could see a vessel and a helicopter making their way toward us.

“Wait a minute, that professor of yours isn’t coming to conduct a ransom negotiation, is he?”

“Um… y-yeah?”

“What the heck?”

Contrary to what the word ‘negotiation’ might imply, the ship approaching us looked to be armed with soldiers.

Moreover, a helicopter was hovering ominously above us.

“It was definitely said to be a negotiation…”

The graduate student’s expression turned vacant as if he couldn’t comprehend, but those weren’t the signs of a negotiation team.

They were a clan mercenary group.

“What kind of person is your professor?”

“Ah, well…”

As the vessel pulled up alongside us, a woman jumped over with a group of hunters.

I had imagined a professor like Professor Albert, but she appeared younger than I expected.

“Is that her?”

“Yes! That’s our professor!”

As I heard the ecstatic words of the man, I faced the guiding professor.

And a chilling sensation traveled up my spine.

“…”

No, why do I get such an unpleasant feeling the moment I looked at her?

For just a moment, the vaguely familiar but ominous aura caused the Violets to whisper among themselves.

“Laplacian?”

The subtle atmosphere radiating from the woman reminded me of our past experiences.

For just an instant, images of the research facility flashed before my eyes. Sharp scalpels, surgical instruments, and a white isolation ward.

No, perhaps it was just a misunderstanding caused by her unusual appearance. Must be her hairstyle.

“Look at that hair. It’s a ponytail!”

“Is it even a proper ponytail? It’s tied to the side.”

A lanky white-haired woman with tied-up hair scanned the ship once before approaching us, flanked by intimidating-looking hunters.

“Professor!”

“So you’re alive, Asel. Don’t smile and grab your gear. We need to leave quickly, there’s much to do.”

The strange atmosphere of the white-haired woman smiled and put on some peculiar sunglasses before she paused upon spotting us, taking them off again.

“It’s you guys? The clan that rescued our student and the others.”

What the heck is she?

“That’s a good deed. A good deed indeed. You managed to finish without spilling blood. Speaking of which, where did you say you were from? Schneider?”

Her serpent-like yellow gaze swept across the Violet squad in an instant.

“We are Dunhind Security Enforcement. So, who are you?”

“Oh, really? We’re from Eckhart University. As you can see, a rescue team. I’ll express my thanks for saving our student once more. We plan to head back to the harbor soon. Oh, those folks? Can we take them along with us? They seem quite unfortunate.”

The woman, who had been rambling for a while, pointed casually at the other hostages who were apprehensively glancing around the deck.

“What’s the purpose?”

When I questioned her with suspicion, the woman grinned. The tips of her red-tipped white hair danced in the air.

“What do you mean by purpose? I’m simply offering to help since I have the time. I don’t know what you arrived on, but it doesn’t seem like it would be faster than our ship. Is that alright?”

“Then do that.”

As the hostages boarded the armed ship along the ladder dropped from our vessel, the woman swiftly turned and disappeared as she had come.

Suddenly, as the woman was ascending, she fiddled with her odd sunglasses once more. For a brief moment, her yellow eyes flickered with a strange light.

“…Do you happen to know the name of your captain over there?”

“I can’t tell you that. Industry regulations.”

“Oh, I get it. Of course. Sorry about that.”

Just as the woman climbing the ladder turned her head and shouted.

“Oh, how could I forget to introduce myself? Dunhind Security members! I’m Bernike. A professor at Eckhart University. See you again!”

As she made her sudden introduction, we tilted our heads in confusion while she boarded the ship, quickly vanishing as before.

What on earth is she?

“Looks like a weird ponytail to me.”

The first thing Professor Bernike Broadman did aboard the ship heading to land was to check on the graduate student’s condition.

It wasn’t because she was fond of the students.

“Asel, the samples? Are they intact? What about the other data? Zize, the things I asked for?”

Now that she could catch her breath, Professor Bernike fired questions at the bumbling graduate students as if a hawk was eyeing a rabbit.

“Yes, everything is intact. The pirates didn’t know what to do since they didn’t touch the data or samples…”

As she examined the belongings handed over by the graduate students, the professor furrowed her brow.

“No, some of it was missing. Even some that shouldn’t have been lost at all. The samples of Servitus’s core nodes, the nerve scan data. Where are those? What about the results of the sample 1A through 3A that I requested?”

“I’m sorry. That is…”

“Forget it. I was wrong to trust you.”

Grumbling about the fact that she had to spend her own funds to bring a mercenary group for such a small gain, the professor adjusted her sunglasses once more.

“So, be sure to thank this professor again. Thanks to the fact that I personally came to save you, you got the chance to write your thesis, right? Next time, be more agile and meticulous in your actions.”

Saying that, Bernike again adjusted her sunglasses and scrutinized the graduate students.

The varieties of emotional colors emanating from the people in front of her were clearly visible.

Embarrassment, agency, gratitude, and a slight annoyance.

The graduate students, aware of what the sunglasses represented, averted their gazes awkwardly.

“Professor, could you not wear those for a while? I know it only shows emotions, but it feels a bit intrusive.”

“Intrusive? It’s an essential part of the necessary processes for emotional development, which you all agreed to, right? No complaints, now go on!”

Inside the room, the professor took off the sunglasses and fiddled with them for a long time. The relics found by the Rumyx Foundation were functioning just fine.

So, she had more questions to grapple with.

“It was definitely functioning well, so why did it…?”

Earlier, she had detected zero emotions from the hunters wearing skull masks.

It was truly baffling and yet an interesting tale. This relic had functioned perfectly well in most situations.

“Is it an unusual constitution?”

For a moment, curiosity surged, but Professor Bernike recalled the many tasks she still had to attend to and decided to set her personal interests aside.

She had many unexplored intellectual territories to delve into.

Who knows when they might meet again.

Meanwhile, following the first hostage rescue, the Violet Marine Corps’ Age of Exploration took a bizarre turn.

“Pirates, huh…”

“Let’s become pirates ourselves!”

Resolving to become good pirates, the Violets sailed once more into the sea.

Now with more violent intentions in their hearts.

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