Elemental Cats

Since no one seemed intent on actually starting the official meeting, Toz continued pursuing his curiosity. And he set his sights on Avarin this time.

"You, do the names Amber and Amanda mean something to you?"

Avarin frowned a little at the rude behavior, but she didn't bother too much about it since she didn't have high expectations of a pirate from the beginning.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious about whether all the red-haired ladies with swords have anything in common."

"Not all sword wielders with red hair are related, you know?"

"My bad, then."

"But if it's within our kingdom, it's likely they're part of the Blazeblade family in some way or another. Unfortunately, the family's too big, so I haven't memorized the names of all my distant relatives."

"I see. How about Andar, then?"

Avarin's eyes twitched, and she looked at Toz with eyes threatening to fill up with fire.

"Yeah. I know Andar. He's my cousin. He's also a scout for the delegation that disappeared a few days ago."

"What a coincidence! That's when I kidnapped him!"

Toz's jovial admittance to having kidnapped the cousin of the Firebelt Kingdom's delegate surprised not only the other delegates but also the other pirates.

However, Toz didn't stop there. He grinned widely, revealing a few sharp teeth as he continued.

"How about we finally get this fucking joke on the way with some hostage negotiation."

The kingdoms' attitude had irritated Toz more than he thought it would. First, showing up with a fleet large enough to threaten the Pirate King, and then when the pirates meet the delegates, they pull that stunt with the box.

And then, when everyone's seated, the delegates, who came to Pirate Haven with an objective, refuse to talk. Everything screamed acts of intimidation and psychological warfare stemming from insecurity and fear.

Toz appreciated the opportunity to come in contact with Rick's family, but he didn't like being looked down on by people who were too afraid to take any kind of action. They could choose to be scared, or they could choose to be overconfident and look down on Pirate Haven and Toz. Not both.

Toz looked coldly at the four delegates and their companions, each of them glaring at him after his words.

"I'm guessing you know better how many scouts have gone missing in the last few days than us. There are also a few hostages from the Starsling Kingdom's humiliating defeat."

Toz could see the starry-eyed delegate's prince twitch in anger at openly being ridiculed, but Toz only smiled in response.

"Well, maybe you aren't interested in hostages since human lives are worthless to you all. In that case, I'll happily tell them all that you have abandoned them. The scouts aren't very strong, sure. But a certain admiral and his brother would make a couple of fine pirates."

"Wha-"

Avarin was about to speak up since she couldn't stand the disrespect anymore. She was surprised that the delegate from the Starsling Kingdom hadn't done so yet, considering his usual attitude, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

However, Toz interrupted her as he looked at the delegate from the starry-eyed kingdom.

"What do you think? I'm pretty sure I could convince Dristel to join our side. A ninth level fighter with extensive knowledge regarding the Starsling Kingdom's operations would be pretty annoying to face in the middle of a war with the demons."

Toz and the Starsling Kingdom delegate stared at each other, with Toz smiling coldly and the delegate openly glaring. But the delegate still didn't say anything. Avarin wasn't the only one surprised at that.

Even the delegate from the Redire Kingdom, who had been pretty nonchalant and just enjoyed the spectacle so far, looked at Hama Stellaris, the third prince of the Starsling Kingdom, with surprise.

The only one not looking at Hama in surprise or waiting for an answer was the delegate from the Obsidian Inheritance Kingdom, who looked at Toz with cold irritation.

Eventually, the Starsling Kingdom's prince spoke.

"Fine. Let's assume you speak the truth, you filthy pirate, and that you indeed have the Second Admiral and his brother in custody. What do you want from them?"

Toz could see that the Starsling Kingdom's delegate was barely holding back his anger as he spoke. The sight of it made Toz smile as he responded.

"What are you willing to give for them?"

Hama gritted his teeth in anger. Not only was Toz speaking rudely to him, a prince of the Starsling Kingdom. He was also making him come with an offer as if begging Toz to free Dristel and Stris.

Toz tilted his head back slightly so he could look down on the Starsling Kingdom's delegate, further infuriating him.

Toz's relaxed and condescending attitude served their purpose and made the insecure but hubris-filled prince stand up and slam his palms on the table.

The delegate from the Redire Kingdom and his companion moved a little to the side so that they wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. But unlike their expectations, Hama didn't resort to violence.

During their journey together, all the other delegates had seen for themself how temperamental the Starsling Kingdom's third prince was, so when he brushed his hair back with his hands and sat down again, they all gaped in surprise.

"Two million."

"What's that?"

Hama could feel his anger surge at Toz's taunting and at having to say it again, but he kept his cool as he explained.

"Two million gold for Dristel and Stris. That should be more than enough for mongrels like you."

Toz's smile faded away as he looked at Hama with a frosty gaze. Hama felt a chill run down his spine when he met Toz's eyes for a second before he looked away.

Hama blushed a little in shame when he realized what he had just done. He had felt fear and openly admitted it by not even daring to face Toz's eyes for more than a second. He was about to let his anger flare up again when Toz spoke.

"I guess there's no deal then. I'll keep Dristel and Stris for myself."

Toz turned to the other delegates.

"How about you all? Do you want the scouts back?"

Avarin and the delegate from the Redire Kingdom didn't answer as they instead turned to look at Dyra, the young delegate from the Obsidian Inheritance Kingdom. Dyra didn't look like she had any intentions of answering Toz's question, so Avarin took it upon herself to answer.

"Yes, we would. But we haven't prepared for any hostage negotiations, so we might not be able to meet your demands."

"Then what did you come here for, if not to retrieve Dristel and Stris or any other hostages we might have taken?"

Avarin once again looked at Dyra before answering. And Dyra once again didn't have any intentions of bothering with the proceedings of the meeting, so Avarin responded.

"We came here to negotiate peace on behalf of the Starsling Kingdom."

Avarin looked hesitantly toward Dyra and her protector before continuing.

"To be honest, the four kingdoms can't afford to fight with both Pirate Haven and the demon realm at the same time."

"Yet you still showed up with an entire fleet. You're sending mixed signals here, you know."

"T-that's…."