As everyone was having their crisis, Sora went to Martha, who by far had the worst crisis of them, and tried to comfort her, while Kettei turned towards Fei-Yang:

  “Hey, is she really that scary?” he asked, whispering in his ear

  “How about we speak after everyone has calmed down?” Fei-Yang replied, as Manuela walked towards the panicked crowd and begin to sing a soothing melody, as everyone was starting to calm down and relax its nerves. Once it was finished, everyone, except Martha who was still a bit shaky, got back to where they were

  “Right, I forgot she can do that” Kettei stated, facepalming

  “How? She’s your ally, but mostly… How did she do?” Fei-Yang asked

  “You see, she’s an healer, but she is also a researcher. She found out that singing soothes people’s minds, so she came up with this spell called Anesidora. It’s simple to use, but I’m tone-deaf, so I won’t be able to execute it properly” Kettei explained, before turning to Riku: “Proceed now”

  “Right. As I was about to say, I have a plan to convince her to join us. And I believe we have our key for success here” Riku kept explaining his plan now that everyone was calmer, as he finished speaking and pointed his finger towards Kettei

  “Me?” Kettei asked, confused

  “Come with me, I’ll explain everything” Riku replied, as they both left for his office. Once they had walked in, Kettei begin to speak:

  “So… What’s the plan, Riku?” he asked, as they sat down face-to-face

  “Well, you don’t know her story so, let me start from the beginning. You have to understand, this pirate doesn’t have that much trust on nobles. She actually doesn’t have any. She was put up for adoption by my mom and dad who saved her from the Sakurian wilderness, but she was never adopted, and made two friends who were very dear and near to her. They fled when they were fifteen, but one of the royal guards killed one of her friends. So you kind of know why I’m not going to enroll her myself”

  “You need to know something too, cousin. The Tempestians are marching their troops here. If you wanna gather those people, you better do that, and fast” Kettei retorted, as Riku’s face contorted in a snarl

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner about it?” He asked, furious, as he stood up

  “What would you have done? I haven’t had that much time to speak, you basically told me: “Hey, we need you to find a fucking pirate princess or whatever the fuck she is” and expect me to tell you everything when you decide to do everything on your goddamn own, like usual?” Kettei replied, as he stood up, face to face with Riku, an angry growl in his face.

  “I had another plan, thank you very much!” Riku responded

  “Or you could’ve asked what brought us here, and we would’ve told you” Kettei growled again, which made Riku go silent

  “Yeah, we could’ve done that as well” he admitted as he calmed down: “So what do you say? Wanna join our side?”

  “Sure. Sora and Manuela will too. As long as I can conduct the operations with you, then it’s good” Kettei replied, his growl turning into a smile, as the two left the office, heading to the small stage. Once there, Kettei started to speak up

  “As I explained to Riku, the Tempestian army will begin their march towards the Falkian kingdom. Now, here’s the plan: Riku, go and try to strike a deal with the prime minister of Falkia. Sora will come with you in case things go south. He’s good at mediation and persuasion. Manuela and Martha can train alongside Fei-Yang. All the others, do as you want” He explained, before adding: “Let’s win this. FOR FALKIA!”

  “FOR FALKIA!” Everyone shouted in unison, as they started to do what they needed to do. Before Kettei left, however, Riku stopped him:

  “Before you go” he said, grabbing his shoulder: “Let me describe this woman for you. She’s a 190 cm tall woman with crimson red hair, hazelnut eyes and a tanned skin. She rarely makes her presence known, so there's no chance you'll catch her in a pirate's attire. A Falkian Baron is visiting the harbor tommorow morning, so you can expect her there. She has scouts everywhere, so if this information reached me, it is sure to have reached her. Lay low, and make a good first impression, or else your plan will be over before it ended. Good luck 'cuz, you better not mess it up." He explained, as Kettei nodded and grabbed one of the red cloaks laying around, before heading out.

  At the same time, both Sora and Riku started to walk towards the prime minister’s castle. The journey was uncomfortably quiet, but eventually, Sora broke the silence:

  “So” he spoke up, trying to start a conversation: “How long does it take for us to reach the castle?”

  “At this pace? Thirty minutes” Riku replied, before adding: “Also, I believe we still haven’t introduced ourselves properly. I’m Riku Lawrence, Kettei’s cousin, former Prime Minister heir”

  “Sora Urikita. Student at Tempest University, although my origins are quite unknown themselves” Sora said, introducing himself, as a gust of wind moved his hair away, revealing a skull mark on his neck, to which Riku took notice, but decided not to talk about it for the time being

  “What do you plan on doing after this? I mean, you’re young” Riku asked, curious

  “Well, I wanna be a journalist. Your cousin seems to have the road open for a general career” Sora replied, before adding: “But for me, a nobody… This career is the best choice”

  “Hey, you’re not a nobody. You’re here, helping us. It speaks volumes, don’t you think?” Riku stated, as he placed an hand on Sora’s back: “Even if you have a minor part in this, you may have your chance for a bigger break one day. Don’t give up, okay?”

  “Right, thanks” Sora said, smiling as the pair walked to the prime minister’s castle. The guards escorted the pair to the prime minister’s office, where Riku and Sora were barely containing the urge to commit a murder on the spot, for their reasons

  “Welcome, Riku Lawrence. What brings you here? Is it the royal ball?” the prime minister, an old man with wrinkles and all stated, with a small smirk

  “Cut the crap, you know why I’m here, you old bastard!” Riku shouted, as he was about to grab the man by the throat, before Sora grabbed his wrist firmly and pulled it away from the man

  “Riku, no. We’re here to mediate and negotiate, not fight.” Sora noted, sternly, as he turned to the prime minister: “Let me introduce myself. I’m Sora Urikita from Tempest. We’re here to advise you the king’s brother, general Carl-Johan Yuko, is about to march his army here tomorrow at 10 am”

  “And what do you need me to do? Go and fight them?” the prime minister asked, as Sora’s anger was also starting to grow, but kept his cool

  “No, but… Can you send us some troops? Isn’t your army the strongest in all the kingdoms?” Sora asked on his own

  “No, our cavalry is. Infantry is pretty equal to Tempest’s” the prime minister explained as he walked to the window, his eyes filled with sorrow and remorse: “I’ve taken this role from the boy beside you, Sora. I’ve put him in a bad spot, as well as neglecting the southern part of the kingdom, but most importantly, I stole what was rightfully his. So, as my final act as prime minister, I’ll lend you 15.000 troops: five thousand in cavalry and ten thousand in infantry. Do with them as you want”

  “Wait, last act?” Riku asked, confused

  “Yes. I’ll give up my position so you can reclaim what’s yours, Riku” the prime minister replied

  “There won’t be no need for it. While I appreciate it, you’re no longer young. You might need to instruct me as the next prime minister” Riku commented

  “How about we come to an agreement after the crisis and the ball?” Sora proposed, as both Riku and the prime minister turned towards him, then looked at each other and nodded in agreement

  “Yeah, let’s wait post-crisis, then we’ll see the best outcome” Riku replied as he and the prime minister shook hands

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Yeah, I’ll be seeing you soon, Riku” the prime minister said, as Sora and Riku left his office. While walking through the castle and heading to the exit, outside the city, Fei-Yang, Martha and Manuela went to patrol outside the city, until

  “Hey, look over here” Manuela whispered, as she found out a trapdoor hidden under some leaves a few meters outside the city

  “Where do you think it leads?” Martha asked, as Fei-Yang opened it

  “Possibly underground, at worst a trap” he replied, as they jumped down, with Fei-Yang landing on his feet first, Martha second and Manuela on the ground, with Martha facepalming at the sight. The three of them went further in the tunnel, as they reached what looked like an underground village, populated by a few families. Once spotted, arrows started to fly towards the trio, who, due to the little visibility, had trouble dodging, but eventually got out with little to no harm thanks to Manuela’s healing. Nevertheless, the arrows stopped, as the leader of the underground city walked towards them

  “State your business, foreigners” he said, aiming his crossbow at them

  “Woah, woah, we mean no harm. We just stumbled upon the trapdoor when walking around on patrol” Fei-Yang responded, lifting his hands

  “Well, you do seem honest, so I believe you. Out of curiosity, but why were you patroling?” the leader asked, as Fei-Yang explained what was going on

  “I see. Tempest is about to invade Falkia? Then here, I can’t give you men, but we can forge you new weapons. In exchange, you’ll have to have us reintroduce into society. Due to a little accident, we were unfairly blamed and banished” the leader explained, calmly, as everyone listened

  “If I may, what was the unfortunate event? I’m one of the prime minister’s servants, I can help with it” Martha asked, stepping forward

  “Oh, sure. Let’s talk over a cup of tea” the leader replied, as the trio, alongside him, walked into his house. Once there, the leader and Martha sat on opposite sides, as the tea was served to them by his servants

  “So, what was this unfortunate event?” Martha asked, as she grabbed the cup of tea

  “Well, you see, long ago, about 70 years ago, there was a civil war, who saw Falkia remove entirely the dictatorship of the Krugers, who then fled to Tempest. After the prime ministers were instaurated, we were accused of being traitors. We had to hide, and nothing has been done to fix it” the leader explained, as he sipped the tea

  “I see. Needless to say, I will see what I can do after this ordeal is done” Martha responded, sipping on her tea

  “You’d do that?” the leader asked, placing his tea cup down and standing up in surprise

  “We’ll see what we can do” Martha replied, as she finished her cup of tea and stood up: “We can sort something up”

  “Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts” the leader bowed down as he said that

  “No problem. Let’s go now, guys” Martha replied once more, as the trio walked away. The next day at dawn, Kettei arrived at the docks, having well-rested at a nearby motel in the night. He was wearing a cloak in order to cover himself and not being recognized. Eventually, at around 5:30 am, a boat with three sailors came by, one of which fit the description Riku gave to Kettei. He quickly snuck closer, trying to listen

  “...I'll be back in two hours. Make sure the ship stays anchored.” The taller, crimson-haired woman said, as she walked away with them. Kettei quickly scouted the area, trying to notice a place where to hide, finding one behind some boxes. As the pirates passed by, he snuck on their boat quickly, finding an empty potato bag and hiding in it, closing it thanks to a rope in the inside of it. Soon after, the three pirates arrived with another sack, with inside it a baron. They didn't seem to have noticed him sneak up there, placing the sack down next to the bag he was hiding in, as the two started rowing. Not too long after, the boat stopped, as it got lifted up off the water, getting put back on the main deck. The bag next to him was taken, as he could hear people talking

  "How was your trip, cap?" One of the crewmates asked

  "Flawless! I got us a bag half-full of taters, and half-full of ransom!" the taller, crimson-haired woman replied, as she kicked the sack beside the one Kettei was hiding in

  "You mean, one of the royal landlubbers, aye?" another pirate asked

  "Aye, a Baron. Get him out of the sack, and take him to the brig. Bastard got connections and intel, I'll get it all out of him." The captain replied

  "Aye aye." A few crewmates replied in unison, as they took the baron and the spoils away. There was a short break as many footsteps were heard, taking the spoils away. However soon, someone was close to him:

  "Cap! What's with the other sack?" the second-in-command asked

  "Empty, took it for emergency." The captain replied

  "Uh... it does not look empty..." the second-in-command pointed out

  "Eh? Let me see..." the crimson-haired captain replied. And sure enough, the bag was opened, leaving him face to face with a very shocked Alice, who reacted fast

  "A bloody spy!" she exclaimed, as she quickly tied the bag again, except this time his head was sticking out, the rope of the bag around his neck. Now she looked more angry than anything. Fortunately, though, she wasn't directly attacking: "You filthy landlubber, you're one of the bastard's spies, aye? Came 'ere to spy on us?"

  “Woah woah woah, I’m no royal spy. As a matter of fact, I’m not even from this kingdom! I was sent to seek aid from the so-called lyoness of Falkia, whom I suppose is the red-haired who’s standing in front of me?” Kettei replied, looking around him, before fixating his eyes to the crimson-haired captain

  "You got the right woman, 'ight. Ain't trusting you though. Take him to the brig, I have something else to handle first." The so-called lyoness replied, as she ordered her men to put him to the grib

  "Aye aye!" the men replied, as they took Kettei away, who surprisingly opposed little resistance. Once inside, they removed the bag around him, having left the baron to the captain who was handling it. There were no pleasant noises, from inside the brig it sounded as someone was getting stabbed multiple times, before throwing said baron into a boat and pushing it in direction of the shore. Once dealt with him, the tall woman moved to the brig, and sat at her desk

  “Speak, who are you and why are you here?” she asked, politely

  “Name’s Kettei Izawami, and I’m here because the falkian army will start marching at 10 a.m today. A small gang led by my cousin is enrolling some men, so I was wondering if you could help with some of your men. Like, five to ten thousand?” Kettei explained, calmly

  “Well, I’m Alice. Nice to meet you. So Tempest is marchin’, aye? Well, I have a proposition to join you. Spare with me. If you prove your worth, I’ll join you” Alice replied, as she looked at him dead in the eyes with a smirk: “I haven’t had a fair fight in a while, so you better show me what you got”

  “Deal. Do we fight on the ship? According to my calculations, they should leave Tempest in two hours and an half” Kettei asked, being in a bit of an hurry

  “We can arrange something on a small island, 10 minutes from here. Hold on tight!” Alice replied, leaving and going to the helm, going full speed towards the island. Once there, Kettei and Alice stepped down from the ship, and the two placed themselves at a distance. Their battle was about to begin. Meanwhile, in Tempest university, in the castle’s bathroom, Rosa was staring at her reflection in the mirror, her glare one of hatred:

  “Your family was one of dictators… Your bloodline used to conqueur and be ruthless… Yet you get saved by peasants… But they’ll know… One day soon they’ll all find out about the terror of the Krugers” she said at the mirror, as a terryfing evil laughter echoed through the bathroom, then she grabbed her military gear and went to the soldiers in the castle