Facing Captain Austin's astonished expression, the count continued, "I'm not merely promoting you. I want you to transfer to another branch—the navy."
Austin had only just become the Company Commander of the newly formed Sixth Company and had not even learned all his soldiers' names yet, but now he was being transferred to another unit. Wait—the navy? Did the Alarda Territory even have a navy? A puzzled look appeared on Austin's face.
Paul saw the doubt in Austin's heart and explained, "That's right. Since the threat of pirates still exists, and in consideration of future overseas trade, we're going to establish a new branch: the navy."
Austin understood. The count had probably taken a liking to the fact that he had been familiar with life at sea since childhood, meaning someone must have recommended him. Overseas trade? Not a bad idea. It looks like I'll have plenty of room to make my mark.
Sure enough, Paul continued, "Bryce recommended you to me. He said you come from a family of ship merchants and have lived at sea with your elders since childhood, making you an excellent candidate for the navy."
"Lord Bryce praises me too highly." Though Austin was secretly delighted, he still had to be modest aloud.
Paul changed tack. "However, your position will temporarily have the word 'acting' attached to it. Whether it becomes permanent will depend on your own ability."
Austin puffed out his chest. "Please rest assured, my lord. I won't let you down."
Paul waved his hand. "Everyone says that to me, but what I care about is the final result!"
"Yes, my lord! Where are the sailors now? We can begin training at sea immediately." He had to show his enthusiasm now.
Paul pointed at Austin. "At present, you're the entire navy."
Austin: "..."
So I'm a commander without a single soldier. Is he expecting me to row out alone and fight the pirates?
"Don't rush. Everyone is unfamiliar with the sea, so we haven't acted rashly. I plan to organize the navy into fleets, flotillas, squadrons, and squadrons, and you'll be the acting Commander of the Northwest Bay Fleet. At the same time, you'll serve as the acting commander of the First Detachment of the First Squadron of the First Flotilla of the Northwest Bay Fleet. This is a position where you'll stand on your own, just like Bryce and the others."
"Given your familiarity with maritime affairs, you may draft your own recruitment standards. After I review them, I'll have the recruitment office find qualified soldiers and sailors for you, and you'll personally conduct the assessments. As for the veterans in the two infantry battalions who are skilled swimmers and boatmen, you have my permission to select whoever you wish and add them to your command. Get the navy up and running as quickly as possible."
Only then did Austin relax. This made things much easier. "Yes, my lord. We'll build up our combat strength as quickly as possible."
"As for ships, for now you can only use captured pirate vessels or requisition civilian boats for training. However, I'll order the shipyard to urgently build a batch of warships. You can offer suggestions on the ships' design, structure, and other details."
"I've known Rubin, the shipyard supervisor, since I was a child. I'll go discuss it with him."
Paul nodded in satisfaction. Everything was proceeding smoothly.
"Go back and estimate the expenses you'll need first. Come to my room tonight, and we'll discuss everything in detail."
"Understood, my lord!"
Captain Austin stood and saluted. He turned around and was just about to leave when he suddenly thought of something.
"My lord, I've suddenly thought of an idea. If you agree, it could greatly supplement our combat strength."
Paul immediately became interested. "What idea? Don't waste time—tell me."
Austin carefully considered his words before saying, "I was responsible for interrogating the pirate prisoners. Quite a few of them were forced into joining and had either committed no serious crimes or had only minor offenses. Could you hand these prisoners over to me and let them atone for their crimes by serving in the navy?"
"Hmm, as for that request..."
Paul hesitated. He rested his right hand on the desk and alternately tapped the tabletop with his index and middle fingers, considering whether the proposal was feasible.
"It isn't impossible. Send me their records first, and we'll organize people to carefully screen them together. However, even if we let them join the navy, don't allow them to appear before the public again."
"My lord is wise!" A well-timed compliment was necessary.
But Austin still stood there without moving.
"Is there anything else?"
Austin stammered, "Er... about that pirate leader named Quirk. Perhaps we could consider him as well. His experience commanding naval battles should be extremely rich, and that's precisely what we lack most."
The count seemed to recall something unpleasant. He fixed the captain with a sinister stare.
"That pirate leader? You mean the 'Great Quirk' who wrote me a letter insulting me? Hey, don't push your luck."
"Er... just pretend I didn't say anything." Captain Austin turned to leave.
Paul waved a hand. "Forget it. Bring his records along too. We'll look at them first."
The next morning, Austin carried over a thick stack of notebooks. They contained detailed interrogation records of numerous pirate prisoners whose crimes were relatively minor. The records were written on the New Type Paper invented by Paul. This paper had already spread throughout the Northwest Region and was becoming increasingly popular.
Paul summoned Schroeder, Joyce, Bryce, Claude, Cecil, five other Company Commanders, and Austin to review the records together and select those who could serve in the navy. They had to be strict about this. The navy would be Paul's most cherished project, and he could not allow any rotten apples to slip in.
"This Quirk Gang is rather interesting!"
Flipping through the records of the Quirk Gang pirates who had been captured earlier, Paul turned to Austin and said, "No wonder you wanted a pirate leader like this."
"Yes. I think Quirk and most of his men can be recruited."
Indeed, the Quirk Gang was an oddity among pirates. According to the records, they seemingly had never robbed ordinary civilians. They targeted the wealthy and some minor nobles instead. Oddly enough, they had even aided some impoverished people—though that was merely their own claim. They also did not rely on plundering to make a living year-round. Instead, they were part merchants and part pirates, occasionally concealing their identities to conduct small businesses such as short-distance shipping.
Austin added, "Most members of the Quirk Gang come from bankrupt farmers and runaway slaves. Very few had any black marks against them before joining the pirates. They've never gotten along with other pirates and have fought several clashes with various groups."
Paul nodded inwardly. "They rather resemble those who rob the rich to aid the poor. No wonder 'Loach' slipped away without a word when things turned bad during the battle at Lakeheart Town. He had no sense of camaraderie with his fellow pirates at all."
In reality, Paul was overthinking it. Pirates lived every day with their lives on the line. Where would they find any camaraderie? Internal conflicts among them were far more common.
After everyone carefully examined the records, a total of three hundred prisoners were selected.
Paul thought for a moment before deciding, "It's impossible to recruit all of them. Even if they haven't committed any great evil, they still need to meet our recruitment standards for age and physical fitness. And we absolutely cannot accept troublemakers who refused to obey orders while serving their sentences. Cecil, gather intelligence on the Quirk Gang's activities and see whether they truly never robbed civilians, as they claim."
He then turned to Austin and said, "These people must be recruited into the navy in batches and scattered among different units. They also need to be placed under close supervision. Under no circumstances can we let them band together."
Austin accepted the order. "Yes, my lord."
Before you continue