Pirates: Invincible from the Start

As he spoke, he let go, collapsed to the ground, and burst into tears.

"We really thought... really thought our king, the king of Bass, would never come back!"

"You bastard! Why did you even come back?"

"Ah..."

Bada let the old man vent as he stood there, profound sorrow written across his face.

"Father."

Lia looked at Bada, her eyes lighting up as her mind suddenly cleared. The shadow that had always lurked in the darkness of her memories gradually overlapped with the man before her, until it finally became Bada.

At that moment, scenes of the time she had spent with her father flashed through her mind like a film.

She remembered. She remembered everything. The man before her was the father whose very memory brought tears to her eyes.

Looking at Bada, Lia could no longer contain her emotions. She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. Tears erupted from her eyes like a volcano, quickly soaking a large patch of his chest.

Bada wrapped his arms around Lia, his eyes reddening.

When was a person considered truly dead?

When a bullet pierced their heart?

No!

When they contracted an incurable disease?

No!

When they drank poisonous mushroom soup?

No!

It was when they were forgotten!

Watching Bada, Kuta remembered those words.

Somehow, this man had made the world forget him, creating the illusion that he was truly dead.

Perhaps it was that illusion of being completely forgotten that had allowed him to escape death!

A resolve to die

Bada held Lia for a while in a daze, then remembered that Kuta and the others were still watching from the side!

This was no way for the people of Bass to treat their guests.

"All right."

He gently rubbed Lia's head and eased her out of his embrace.