Chapter 1738 - 241 - The Pirate Queen (3)

"Simple enough," I told her. "You just have to help me defend the entire Great Ocean."

"Huh?" she said, staring at me as though I had just said something completely ridiculous. "What? Do you seriously think something as vast as the Great Ocean could actually be conquered that easily for you to be worrying about it like this?"

She laughed after saying that, looking like she had just heard one of the most ridiculous things imaginable. She even scratched the side of her ear with her pinky, almost as though she needed to physically check whether she had heard me correctly.

"I am not underestimating the reach or the power that the Great Ocean possesses," I explained. "In fact, that power is one of the things greatly helping my cause right now. Without it, the countries that we are protecting would be much more vulnerable because of the possibility of a sandwich attack from our enemies. Since the Great Ocean has been greatly hindering that possibility, we have been able to concentrate most of our forces on the areas where they actually matter, which is right at the front. If the Great Ocean were conquered, then that would be an incredible loss for our side, regardless of how strong our forces currently are."

"Kekekeke! You really think the Great Ocean is just going to fall like that?" she said, still looking far too amused by my concern. "You don't have to worry about something like that."

She reached somewhere nearby and grabbed a bottle of rum before taking a drink from it, apparently deciding that drinking was the appropriate response to a conversation about the possible collapse of an entire strategic region.

"Now, let's get to it," she said after lowering the bottle. "Baby-making, I mean."

"You really are determined about that, huh?" I asked, staring at her with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. "Can't that wait for a little while? I'm trying to tell you something really important here."

"What could possibly be more important than this?" she asked, and the fact that she sounded completely serious somehow made the question even more ridiculous.

"Right about now, all of the small countries around the Great Ocean are having a hard time because the Mermaid Kingdom has basically forbidden anyone crossing the Great Ocean from travelling freely," I explained. "Most of the routes those countries used to maintain trade with one another are now being occupied or controlled by the Mermaid Kingdom, and those routes make up a huge portion of their income. If that continues, those countries are eventually going to run into serious economic problems, and I think they may eventually try something against the Mermaid Kingdom because they won't have many other options left."

I paused for a moment before continuing because I wanted to make sure she understood where I was going with the argument.

"I think they're going to try something that could completely destabilize the Mermaid Kingdom's ecosystem, which would in turn greatly reduce the power of the Great Ocean itself. If that happens, the consequences won't be limited to one kingdom or a few trade routes. The entire region could be affected, and that could eventually create the exact opening our enemies would need. That's why I think the Great Ocean needs to be defended as absolutely as possible," I told her.

When I finished explaining everything, she stared at me for a moment without immediately responding. Her earlier amusement seemed to fade little by little as she considered what I had just said, and I could practically see her putting the pieces together in her head.

For a moment, I wondered whether I had completely misjudged her. She had been acting like she couldn't take the conversation seriously a moment ago, but now she looked genuinely thoughtful.

"I don't think there's anything that would be able to accomplish something like that so easily," she finally said. "However, I did see some Imperial Dogs trying to cross the water once. Do you think this has something to do with what you're talking about?"

The Empire was trying to cross the Great Ocean?

That immediately caught my attention.

I had already expected the Empire to eventually try something like that, but knowing that they had actually been spotted attempting to cross the Great Ocean changed the situation considerably. The question was why they had been doing it in the first place.

If they were simply trying to explore another route, then perhaps it wasn't anything particularly important. However, if they were testing the waters, gathering information, or deliberately trying to provoke a response, then the situation could become much more serious.

Considering that they might have been stirring up trouble so they could eventually create a much larger conflict, destroy the things that allowed them to cross the Great Ocean safely, and then use the resulting chaos to launch a massive voyage that could potentially sandwich us from another direction, I couldn't simply dismiss the possibility.

"It's possible," I told her. "They might have been stirring up trouble so that it would eventually escalate into a much larger conflict. If they can create enough chaos around the Great Ocean, they might be able to weaken the region while making it look like someone else caused the damage. That would greatly impact the Great Ocean in the process, and it could also give them an opportunity to attack from a direction we're not properly prepared to defend."

"I see..." she said, becoming noticeably more serious. "Well, I understand the nuance, at least. I do think the Great Ocean needs to be preserved if something really is threatening it."

She looked at me for another moment, seemingly weighing everything I had said before suddenly grinning again.

"You have yourself gained an ally."

"That was faster than I expected," I said, letting out a small breath as I realized that I had actually managed to convince her. "I thought I was going to have to explain the whole thing three more times before you took me seriously."

"Don't underestimate me that much," she replied with a grin. "I may joke around, but I can still understand when something actually matters."

"That is reassuring to hear," I said.

She simply laughed at my expression and took another drink from her bottle.