Pirate: It’s not a phantom beast, it’s a phantom god!

Chapter 376 Teaching

"Envious of...the teacher and...me?"

"Yes."

"Dant, in your opinion, who holds the second most power in the Beasts Pirates right now?"

"Uh……"

Dante blinked, wondering why the other person had suddenly changed the subject and asked about this.
To be honest, he had never thought about this question before.

"If we're talking about who has the most power, it should be the Governor."

"As for the second largest... is it Lord Jin? Or... Miss Ossie?"

Seeing Willie standing there with his hands behind his back, just smiling and staring at him, Dante rested his chin on his hand and said a few names uncertainly.

Sure enough, Willie's smile widened even more upon hearing Dante's reply.

"I'm sorry, none of these are true."

"Whether it's the most senior and highest-ranking member, Lord Jin... or Miss Ossie, who is favored and even indulged by the Governor, neither of them can actually be considered the second most powerful person in the pirate crew."

"In the current pirate crew, the one who can truly be called the second-in-command is actually your teacher—Light."

"Eh?!"

Upon hearing this answer, Dante's mouth gaped open, almost unable to close.

"What, is it weird?"

Seeing the other person's expression, Willie asked in a relaxed tone:

"This……"

"Think about it carefully. In the pirate crew, which of all the big and small matters doesn't need to be approved by your teacher's general affairs department?"

"Does Lord Jin need to get a permit from your teacher if he wants to refurbish the warship? Does Miss Obey also need to get a permit to build a new laboratory?"

"Even Governor Kaido has to write an application and submit it to him if he wants to drink the wine in the warehouse..."

"Fund allocation, personnel deployment, arms distribution, material procurement... every single matter has to pass through his hands. Doesn't that qualify him as the second-in-command?"

"Uh... this... ouch~"

With each word Willie uttered, Dante's eyes widened a little more.

"You, what you say makes sense."

He lowered his head, carefully considering Willie's words.

My impression of my teacher has always been that of a miserable-looking person with dark circles under their eyes.

He'd either be frantically scratching his head at the reports on his desk that were taller than him, or he'd be furtively glancing around the newly formed team.
If someone catches their eye, they'll simply say, "This kid is destined for my General Affairs Department," and then, regardless of whether the person wants it or not, they'll put him in a sack and carry him to the General Affairs Department building.

Dante has been involved in this matter at least ten times.

I heard that my teacher has recently developed a hobby of naming her hair... It seems she's still young at heart, a true example of someone who's getting old despite her age!
But upon closer examination, this seemingly ordinary middle-aged man actually wielded such immense power.

This gave Dante a strange sense of unreality.
"Is the teacher... really that amazing?"

"No, that's not it. Your teacher's level is just average."

"Uh……"

How to say~
Dante felt like a donkey, always being led around by Mr. Willie.
“I’ve spoken with your teacher a few times. He’s essentially a scholar, and dealing with these domestic affairs isn’t his forte…”

"The reason he is in his current position is largely because he was forced into it."

According to him, he was tricked into becoming an assistant, thinking it would just be helping to organize documents... and then somehow, he ended up like this today.

"Whoo~"

Willie sighed, reflecting on the stark contrast in their circumstances.

All these years, they have worked diligently and racked their brains to try to advance further; this is almost an instinct ingrained in the children of these families.

The other party, who is in the position he has always dreamed of, always thinks of taking a step back and then shutting himself in to study.

……

"In a pirate crew where brute force reigns supreme, your teacher, a scholar who only knows how to write, has actually risen to the de facto second-in-command position, and no one can shake his position."

"That's what you should find strange."

When Willie first came into contact with the Beasts, he actually had a long time of doubt about this issue...

According to the intelligence he had gathered, the Beasts Pirates was a place where power was distributed solely based on individual strength.

But why is it that Wright, a scholar who might not even be able to defeat the lowest-ranking soldiers, can sit in such a high position?
His keen sense of smell, honed by a century-old family background, allowed him to immediately detect the discord within the Beasts pirate crew.

In a world where violence reigns supreme, a management team like Wright's, which resembles a 'civil servant,' should be completely relegated to a subordinate position.

Even setting aside low-ranking soldiers, at least officers should have the right to order them around.

But the truth is—everyone, even Kaido, the governor, sometimes obediently follows their set of operating rules.

Orders issued by the General Affairs Department are almost second only to Kaido's 'Captain's Orders' in terms of authority.

Willie was completely baffled by this at the time.

As he delved deeper into the matter, he discovered that none of the personnel in the 'General Affairs Department' were appointed by Kaido himself, who was the captain!
This means that the Beasts Pirates actually have a second core member besides the captain!

Willie was increasingly curious about the source of Wright's power, how he could have made his general affairs department an almost entirely independent new department.

In his view, if things were to proceed according to normal logic, a violent and chaotic pirate crew like the Beasts would never have such a dedicated 'administrative body'... at least Kaido would never have thought of that on his own initiative.

In fact, even if you count all the pirate crews on the seas to date, none of them have such an independent and powerful administrative body.

It's as if some being forcibly crowned a ferocious beast that only knows how to kill with the title of 'rationality'.

When a wild beast possesses 'reason', it acquires the qualities to become 'king'.

Who exactly is this person?!
[We absolutely must find him!]
Like a drowning person grasping at a straw... Willie was almost hysterical at the time, trying to find the existence he had speculated about, and then desperately grabbed the golden thread hanging from the other's hand.

He understood that only by holding tightly to the thread of power hanging from the top, like Wright, could he avoid becoming a disposable pawn.

Fortunately, Willie didn't have to wait long.

After he fully integrated the military-industrial complex of several major families and became the head of Beasts' external arms sales... when Wright took him to participate in Beasts' internal meeting for the first time, he saw the golden figure sitting next to Kaido.

[......]
[must……]
[It must be her!]
There can't be any other answer!

Almost instinctively, he was convinced that the other party was that 'being'... the being who crowned the 'Beasts' with the 'Crown of Reason', the second core hidden deep within the pirate crew!
Willie was almost overjoyed at that moment!
Once I'm in their sights, I won't have to live like I'm walking on thin ice anymore, and I won't have to worry about following in that kid Kaspar's footsteps every day.

He could even go further and reach a height he never dared to dream of when he was the head of a smuggling family!

Become a true "Arms King"!
……

"Your teacher is such a lucky guy!"

"Eh? Mr. Willie, why do you say that?"

“Dant…” Willie didn’t answer the other person’s question directly, but instead asked him a question in return:
Do you know anything about our Beasts Pirates?

"Uh... I guess I know it fairly well~"

"Over the years I've been by my teacher's side, I have a general idea of ​​the basic information about the pirate crew, such as the number of people, territory, annual profits, and how many warships they have."

Dante spoke with a hint of pride, and aside from Wright, almost no one else in the entire group could truly grasp what he was saying.

But Willie shook his head.

"I'm not talking about these figures on paper."

"What I wanted to ask was... never mind, I'll just say it directly."

"Dent, did you know that our pirate crew is actually divided into two factions?"

"Two factions...? Ah!"

Dante suddenly slammed his fist into his palm.

"So you knew about this too?"

"Hmm~"

Seeing the other party's reaction, Willie nodded.

This child isn't so slow-witted as to be beyond redemption.

"So, Mr. Willie, are you a sweet or savory person?"

"..."

"what?"

"Eh? Weren't you talking about that tofu pudding 'war' back then? The sugar faction and the braised sauce faction fought like mad, even the main road..."

"enough!"

Even with Willie's remarkable composure, his defenses were breached by the blockhead-like Dante.

He loudly stopped the other party from exaggerating the fighting process he had heard from Ossie.

"I'm talking about Governor Kaido and that Miss Ra! I'm even more stupid than that zebra on Barba Island for having any expectations of you!"

"hu~hu~"

The intense emotional turmoil caused Willie's chest to heave uncontrollably... Seeing this, the butler quickly stepped forward to pat his master on the back to help him catch his breath.

"Eh?!"

Dante was also startled by the other party's sudden outburst of anger.
"You, you mean the Governor and Miss La?"

"Haven't they always gotten along well? Why do you say they're two factions?"

Dante remembered that at the time, Lara favored sweet tofu pudding, savory tofu pudding, and even spicy tofu pudding, and had no conflict with Governor Kaido, who preferred strong liquor and tofu pudding.

"Phew~ I'm not saying there's any conflict between them, but I just want you to know that our pirate crew is actually composed of two independent parts."

"One faction is the military faction, led by the governor and composed mainly of the officers, which includes the vast majority of members of the pirate crew."

"The other faction is Miss La's subordinates, currently led by your teacher, the 'General Affairs Faction'... You and I are both currently in this faction."

"Why are you telling me all this? We're all in the same pirate crew, is it really necessary to be so particular?"

Dante felt uncomfortable after hearing Willie's words. He didn't understand why Willie would artificially split a perfectly good pirate crew in two.

"Whoo~"

“I have no intention of splitting up the pirate crew. The current operating model of Beasts is one of the most perfect among pirates. Miss Ra doesn’t seem to have much interest in power either, so this is actually the best.”

"But you'll most likely be taking over Wright's job in the future, so you can't keep being so clueless."

“All the power that we, who use our brains, currently enjoy comes from that Miss La.”

"Without her, we would be nothing more than vassals of those who 'use their fists' in the Beasts Pirates."

I'm saying this so that you can keep it in mind.

“Ah~~~~”

Willie sighed deeply. Teaching Dante was really exhausting for him.

If it weren't for forging this good connection so that he could reach that lifeline sooner, why would he bother with all this effort?
Seeing Dante's furrowed brow, and knowing that his words might have caused some resentment in the other's heart, Willie comforted him again:

"You don't need to worry about the Beasts splitting in two one day. That Miss Ra is not the kind of person who would actively provoke conflict. Governor Kaido is not as stubborn as he appears on the surface."

"Their relationship... well, it's like the moon and the sea, maintaining a sufficient distance from each other, yet influencing each other."

"...or rather, Miss Ra is unilaterally influencing Governor Kaido."

"Ok?"

"'Huh' what? Aren't your teacher and the 'General Affairs Department' the best examples?"

“Governor Kaido is someone who only focuses on results and not so much on the process. He noticed that the existence of the General Affairs Department established by Miss Ra did indeed make the Beasts stronger, so he tacitly accepted the General Affairs Department’s superior status.”

"This is the influence Miss Ra had on the governor, making him tacitly agree that the rule of 'ability first' is more suitable in a pirate crew than the one-sided and extreme 'force first'."

"Those of us who use our brains may be just as useful as those who use their fists."

Of course, what truly convinced Kaido was Rana's unfathomable strength, something Willie hadn't anticipated.

However, in terms of results, Ra's existence did make Kaido less extreme and stubborn.

After all, it's easy for someone to become abnormal if they stay at a high place for too long, but having someone to talk to makes things much better.

……

"Your teacher is lucky; he doesn't have to rack his brains and climb up step by step like I did."

"From the very beginning, he was already standing high in the sky, the one closest to the sun..."

"You're pretty much the same. As your teacher's student, all you need to do in the future is to take over his current position step by step."

"Tsk~"

Willie clicked his tongue; he was both envious and jealous of the lucky master and apprentice.

"If you don't understand what I'm teaching you today, then think about it slowly in your spare time. But don't go around talking about it; just keep it to yourself."

"If you really can't figure it out, then don't think about it anymore, and don't come back to ask me again."

"For the rest of this time, you should obediently follow behind me and witness the methods and ways of businessmen we use, so that you won't be completely clueless later."

"Do you understand?"

“Ah…okay, okay, Mr. Willie.”

……

(End of this chapter)