An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"...How did you find this place?"

"I have magic that can see through the past. I just used that magic to chase after you."

"...I see. It's not healing, but regenerative power."

Ross nodded as if suddenly realizing something, then narrowed his eyes.

"Are you here to surrender? Or are you begging to save your companions' lives? If so, then give up."

"Oh, you're so impatient! It's neither of those things... I'm here to negotiate."

"Then there's no need to discuss this."

Ross flatly refused. Since Mel was alone, deftly casting magic that only Ross could discern, Ross thought it was a trap set for the Knights, so he went alone to investigate. The result was even more boring than he expected, and Ross's fighting spirit began to grow.

"Can I take over as leader of Andica?"

"……What?"

Because the content of the negotiation was different from what he had imagined, Ross couldn't help but ask.

Mei'er explained the benefits of appointing her as leader. These benefits were the benefits that the power of regeneration would bring after the Age of Gods magicians sought cooperation through their own will, such as the fact that the situation where Bahar was unable to deal with the Melkine Pirates would not happen again.

Of course, the condition is to spare the lives of his companions.

And finally, Mei'er said with a confident smile:

"Well, you're attacking us because we're a threat to Andika, right? Then, if I replace Bahar, there won't be any problems. And compared to an ordinary man like Bahar, I'd be a more profitable trading partner, right?"

“…God’s will is absolute.”

"Well, it wasn't anyone else who offered me the opportunity to submit, but you, wasn't it? Because you believed I was worth that much, right? Then I think you could at least consult the Kingdom of God. They'll definitely accept. That way, I can save my companions' lives, and the Church can use my power if needed. It's a win-win situation, right? There's absolutely no downside."

"..."

"Ah, and when you consult me, I want you to tell me this. If this negotiation fails, I will fight to the bitter end. I'm a bit fierce when I abandon my protection, you know?"

Mei'er smiled gently and asked him to convey her message.

Rouse thinks back to his fight with Mel.

In the previous battle, Mei'er used most of her strength to protect her companions, yet she still displayed such fighting power. No matter how many fatal injuries she suffered or the injuries that caused her to lose limbs, she still revived as if she were immortal.

If she made up her mind and decided to fight with the intention of annihilation since they were all going to die... it might not be a good outcome for the Knights.

After a brief consideration, Laws brought up what he cared about most.

"From what you said just now, it seems like you're the only one who uses Age of Gods magic. Then who are those three people?"

"Those three aren't pirates."

"What? Then why did they come to the rescue?"

"They just wanted to recruit me as a companion. I've already distanced myself from them. I don't know the details, but they seem to be part of some kind of organization. They said the church has some knowledge of them."

"...An organization with three Age of Gods magicians?"

Ross had a stern expression on his face, while Mel stared at him with her eyes slightly narrowed.

According to what they themselves said, it's okay to share their story to a certain extent. However, there's one condition: they want the name of the organization, "Liberators," to remain confidential.

Since they've fought against the "Apostles of God," the Church should already be aware of Meredith and the others. Given this situation, Meredith and the others asked Mel to confirm how the Knights would react if they learned of Meredith and the others' situation.

However, surprisingly, from Ross's reaction, it seemed he hadn't yet grasped the information about Meredith and the others. Normally, given his position, he should have known...

"And then? What was the Captain's response?"

"..."

Ross held his chin with his hand and pondered for a while.

"...Well, anyway, I was planning to report everything tomorrow morning."

"Oh, that's great! I look forward to hearing good news."

Mei'er smiled sweetly, feeling relieved that he didn't start fighting without saying anything.

Now she had passed the first hurdle, and now she just had to wait for the result. But as long as she passed this hurdle, the church would probably accept her request, because the magicians of the Age of Gods were of such value.

"Then, I'll come here again tomorrow when the sun reaches the horizon."

After saying this, Mei'er was about to jump into the sea from the water arch bridge, but was unexpectedly stopped by Ross.

"Wait a minute, I want to ask you something."

"Hey, what's going on?"

Ross seemed inexplicably hesitant and asked the surprised Mel.

"Do you know anything else about the girl named Meredith?"

Mei was even more surprised. If he wanted to learn more about the Age of Gods magicians, he should have cared not only about Meredith but also Oscar and the others.

For some reason he seemed to be particularly interested in Meredith.

"For example...does she have any other companions? Female companions?"

"A woman...? No, I don't know. I only know about those three."

"...Is that so? No, then it's fine. Come back tomorrow morning."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ross turned and left, stepping in the air back to the airship.

Looking at his back, Mei thought to herself, what an incredible man. For some reason, he didn't carry the madness typical of church members. The fact that Mei could negotiate with him like this was probably largely due to him being the one she was dealing with.

"...Never mind, let's just go back first."

Mei'er controlled the water flow and left there.

next morning.

In order to listen to the results of Rouse's negotiations with the church, Meier set out before dawn and returned several hours after the sunrise.

The pirates and Meredith were quite confident that the negotiations would succeed and that Mel would return smiling. But when they welcomed Mel back... they were speechless with surprise.

Because Mei'er's face was very pale.

"Mei'er, have you calmed down?"

"Yes, thank you, Chris."

After taking the warm drink from Chris, Mel's complexion recovered a little, and everyone gathered around her.

"Sister Mei'er, what happened? Did the negotiations go wrong?"

Meredy asked with a worried look on her face. Mei'er took a deep breath and then said:

"The negotiation itself has been established. To prevent the Church's collusion with Antica from coming to light, the Church will not provide any assistance to the coup. If, under the Church's supervision, the Melkine Pirates can defeat Bahar solely with their strength, then the Church will acquiesce and transfer Antica's leadership from the Dewat family to the Melkine Pirates... no, to the Melkine family."

"So what's the problem?"

"...The Church has learned of Tine's existence and her abilities."

"! Doesn't that mean..."

Not only Miledy, but Oscar, Naz, Chris and others all gasped.

Mei'er nodded, a twitching smile on her face, as if she was about to cry, but also as if she was suppressing the pain.

"He said he wanted to 'reclaim' Tigne because Andica doesn't need two beings of similar power."

If Tigne were to be caught up in the armed rebellion and die, it would be a serious problem, so Nelaus would take Tigne away in the near future. The armed rebellion must wait until the notice of the recovery is received, which is a condition set by the church.

The church did not make this condition because it knew about Mel's relationship with Tigné.

From the church's perspective, Mei'er is the talent they have been looking for.

If negotiations failed, the Church would have to pay a huge price for Mei'er's complete resistance. They would then have to capture her and, before her regenerative power ran out, spend time brainwashing her, turning her into a devout believer. However, this would still carry the risk of her betrayal. Rather than this, it would be more beneficial to establish a relationship of mutual benefit with Mei'er.

Therefore, the church was not deliberately testing Mel's loyalty, and what happened in Tignes was really just as Rouse said.

However, if that happened... Mei'er's greatest personal wish would not be realized, and it would be putting the cart before the horse.

"We could include the condition of not handing over Tigne in the negotiation... No, that would be a bad move."

Oscar proposed a plan with a serious expression, but then immediately overturned it.

"Yes, if our relationship were exposed, it would become a handle, and the church would use it as a collar to restrain me. Then I wouldn't be able to gain 'freedom' through a relationship based on exchange of benefits. It would be putting the cart before the horse."

But if they didn't make their relationship public, and simply said they wouldn't hand over the inherent magician with inferior abilities, the church would inevitably ask why, and it would only be a matter of time before their relationship was exposed.

In other words, at this point, Mei'er only has two options.

One is that he was caught with the handle of Tigne, compromised with the church, and was content with the freedom restricted by the collar.

The second option is to seize Tigne and live a life of exile where, although he is free, he could die at any time.

However, in reality, Mei'er only has one way to go.

So Mei'er was very distressed, because choosing the latter would mean abandoning the wishes of her companions.

"Then there's only one thing we need to do. How do we retake Tigne?"

Hearing Chris's nonchalant tone, Mei'er suddenly raised her head and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Do you remember the general combat strength of the Devat family?"

"Ned, don't forget. One hundred elite soldiers, including miscellaneous soldiers, have three hundred concentrated in the central area."

"And I remember there were people who could use inherent magic, right? For example, someone whose body part could transform into a beast."

Ned and the others naturally and naturally began to discuss the plan of robbing Tigne and escaping. The other pirates also excitedly discussed, "Robbing the princess and escaping, how exciting!"

Mei'er was stunned with surprise.

"Do you understand...? Just for Tigne alone, you'll lose your safe place to live? You'll always be on the run at sea, okay?"

"Yeah, risking everyone's lives for one person, that's what the Melkine Pirates are, right?"

Chris smiled proudly and replied: Mei'er has always been like this.

I want a safe place to live, a life where I don't have to fear the church or the powerful.

But what if that can only be achieved with the lack of freedom for Mei'er, the head of the family, and the sister that Mei'er longs for?

Then it has no value.

"The Church is definitely going to use Tigne to control you, right? I don't know what methods they'll use, but they won't be good. Your future will only be filled with misfortune."

"That's exactly what's going on. So, Mei'er, no matter how you object or refute, we won't agree. Let's take Tigne and run away to the ends of the earth!"

"Why not travel and explore new lands? Change your job from pirate to adventurer!"

"That's a good idea."

Mel looked up at the sky after hearing Chris and the others speak without hesitation. If she didn't, the tears welling up in her eyes would flow. As the leader of the pirate group, she couldn't let anyone see her like that.

Just then, a very happy laugh was heard.

"Ahaha, ahahahaha! The Melkine Pirates are truly the best! Ahahahaha!"

"Xiao Mi..."

Although she looked happy and joyful, and was clearly laughing, the look in Meredith's eyes when she looked at Mel was very soft and gentle.

Meredi patted his chest and declared:

"We're also involved in this! Rejoice, pirates! I, a genius and beautiful magician, and my cheerful companions will assist you!"

Meredi and his men, who had defeated the Knights with only three men, announced their participation in the war, further boosting the pirates' morale.

Since we were about to clash with the Church anyway, it didn't matter whether we colluded with the Liberator or not.

In fact, it is difficult for the pirate group with reduced combat power to break Bahar's combat power. Having the help of three magicians of the Age of Gods is the best news.

There was a cheer on the boat, and Oscar and Natsu shrugged helplessly.

But looking at their expressions, you can tell that they had no intention of ignoring it from the beginning.

"Xiao Mi...why? I rejected you before?"

"So what? I told you, Sister Mei."

"what?"

"We, the 'Liberators', cannot remain silent when we hear that the imprisoned princess must be liberated!"

"B-but...even if I can recapture Tigne, I..."