Elemental Cats

Dristel asked a question before he actually began explaining.

"First of all. How badly did we lose?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the Starsling Kingdom's fleet lost against Pirate Haven and the pirates. But Dristel had no way to get an actual battle report, so he had no idea how the battle had gone. And in order to make a proper guess as to what the kingdoms were going to do, he needed to know the results of the battle in more detail.

Toz and the others looked at each other before answering. It felt a little strange having to explain to Dristel how his fleet got completely demolished now that he was willingly helping them.

However, there wasn't a lot they could do about that, and Toz answered Dristel's question.

"Total defeat."

"..."

"..."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Can I ask what happened?"

"I guess you could say it's the power of grudges."

Toz gave a vague answer to the question Dristel asked with some heartache. But Dristel understood what Toz meant, even if he didn't get a detailed answer.

The attitude of most individuals of power in the Starsling Kingdom was no secret to Dristel, and he wouldn't be surprised if one or two pirates didn't like the kingdom. And if they finally got a chance to take revenge, there was no way they would hold back. The Starsling Kingdom and everyone involved in the operation had underestimated the pirates of Pirate Haven. It was as simple as that.

Dristel looked at Toz again as he continued talking.

"Honestly, that sucks. But I can't say I blame you."

"Eh, it's the kind of thing that happens. But deal with whatever sadness you feel right now later. I want to know what the kingdoms are planning."

Dristel suppressed his emotions and began explaining.

"Although I was an admiral, I wasn't in a position to weigh in on decisions. I just followed orders. So my knowledge is limited. But considering my fleet's overwhelming defeat, the kingdoms are probably planning to first investigate the situation in more detail before possibly sending a delegation to try and pacify Pirate Haven."

"Why would they want to pacify us?"

"The goal of the mission was to obtain more fighting resources because we're on the losing side. The kingdoms won't have the leeway to fight against you and the demons at the same time."

"So, no attempts to try and hire us?"

"I wouldn't think so. Some might think about trying to bring you into the war using more friendly methods, but most decision-makers are elitists. They won't consider allying with pirates as a viable option."

"Hmm. So after keeping us satisfied during the war, the kingdoms will immediately turn on us with a force greater than your fleet since they won't have to worry about the demons anymore?"

"Probably. The other kingdoms might not interfere too much after the war, but the Starsling Kingdom definitely won't let this go until they've defeated you. The war is the only thing that's stopping them, but as soon as it's over, they'll come for Pirate Haven."

"But is that such a big deal, though? We defeated you. Won't we be able to defeat whatever other army or fleet they can send?"

"Do you have any transcendents?"

The others looked a little shocked at Dristel's response to Toz's question. Asking if they had any transcendents indicated that the Starsling Kingdom would likely send one out to get rid of Pirate Haven after the war.

"From your reactions, I'm going to guess you don't. The Starsling Kingdom has three transcendents, but the King or the Grand Guardian almost definitely won't move just to get rid of some pirates, so it'll be the First Admiral. He's every bit the selfish, arrogant noble as every other person in the Starsling Kingdom, but his strength is the real deal."

"Alright, that doesn't sound too good. What's stopping this First Admiral from moving at once to get rid of us instead of letting the other kingdoms pacify us?"

Dristel hesitated a little before answering Toz's question.

"I don't know."

"Elaborate."

Toz didn't have the patience to try and coax the answer out of Dristel. And Dristel noticed Toz's change in attitude, so he tried to do his best when answering.

"I don't know what's stopping him, but if I had to guess, he's probably on the frontlines, ready to respond in case one of the Demon Lords or their direct subordinates attack. But the war is ever-changing, and if it enters a lull, there might be an opening for him to slink away and come to Pirate Haven."

"..."

Toz decided to separate Dristel and Stris from the latest captive and wait until the red-haired man woke up to see if there was any truth to Dristel's words. Since he couldn't trust Dristel, Toz didn't want him to message the young man secretly.

Thankfully, Toz didn't have to wait long until the red-haired man woke up after he moved Dristel and Stris to a corner and gagged and tied them up.

The young captive's head was leaning forward, and his fiery bangs hid his eyes, but he couldn't escape Toz and the others' perception. Though, it wasn't like he was trying to hide he had woken up or anything.

"I-I'm alive?"

"Yep!"

Lucy responded to the red-haired young man's expression of disbelief with an enthusiastic smile. However, to the captive, who had fainted in response to Lucy's jumpscare, the smile was far from as endearing and cute as Toz found it to be.

Lucy startled the young man, and it looked like he was on the verge of fainting again, so Toz grabbed Lucy before he could jump toward the young man and scare him again.

"Relax. We're not going to kill you. We just want some answers."

The young man barely reacted to Toz's words as his panicked gaze was still stuck on Lucy. Toz didn't mind and grabbed a chair of his own as he sat down in front of the young man while letting Lucy go somewhere else so that the young man could relax a little.

Toz wasn't sure if it was because Lucy had disappeared from view or because he sat down right in front of him, but the young man finally looked at Toz.

"How about some introductions?"

"Y-y-y-y-e… O-o-okay."

The young man was still barely able to talk due to the fear he felt, but he managed to stutter out an answer.

"I am Toz. The little rascal who greeted you earlier was Lucy. Everyone here has their own names, but I won't bore you with all that. How about you? What's your name?"

"A-a-andar. Sir."

Andar seemed to have calmed down slightly as he got his jaw under control halfway through his answer. He even managed to show some respect by adding a 'Sir' to the end of his sentence.

"Andar, right. Mind telling us what you were up to?"

"Y-yes, of course, sir. I was following my lieutenant's orders to investigate the area, and then I noticed an abnormality in the mana flow, so I came here to find out what it was. My deepest apologies. I haven't seen anything, so please spare my life."