The pier that The Shoebill is docked at overflows with players and NPCs alike wishing to congratulate the crew on their victory. Some of them just want to get an up-close look at the ship that brought them to winning the tournament.

Cassiel, Serra, Corwin, and Rock all seem bothered by the sudden surge of popularity. Corwin places himself behind Oleander as if to hide despite being much taller while the other three more or less all try to squeeze behind Fenrir.

This sort of popularity is no big deal to Fenrir, Oleander, and Bonekraka. They are used to having in-game popularity, and while Fenrir doesn’t want to get popular again, he can at least handle it when he is.

While Tabitha may not be used to this sort of reception, it doesn’t stop her from proudly standing next to her ballista and taking in all of the awed cheers.

Fenrir worries about what Alexander may be plotting, but for now, it’s time to relax and enjoy their victory. Even Nell agrees with him as he can sense how happy he is and responds with her own elated feelings. They may not be able to exchange thoughts nor words, but with what day it is and how happy he is, she knows that it could only mean one thing.

…

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” Ull says while Liz runs her hands through the hair aback his head.

“How the hell did he pull that off? Nobody ever tried working with the serpents before, and I’m pretty sure they would’ve killed anybody who tried,” Blackstache says.

Ull looks down at his flagship. “I have a theory. Seems like more happened than I thought during her latest little breakout.”

Liz notices Ull tensing his fists and stiffening shoulders, so she rests her chin on his left shoulder to rub the side of her head against his own as her fingers gently wrap around his hands. “Remember what you said about taking it easy,” she whispers into his ear.

“I know you don’t like him, but try not to frown too much when you give him his reward,” Blackstache tells Ull.

“I am supposed to give them the reward I brought, aren’t I?” Ull says and sighs. “There is going to be no shortage of drama in rewarding him after stealing a branch and killing my champions. I don’t suppose you could make sure my room is stocked with alcohol? I’m really, really not looking forward to the comments and subscriber loss I get from this.”

“Don’t worry about that. Who cares if you lose a few subscribers? Between your streaming and the company paying you, I doubt that you’re going to lose more than enough to buy a few burgers. Besides, it’s the viewers who stay with you through the good and bad that matter the most.”

“I’m a vegetarian, so I suppose that would be alright.”

“In that case, you won’t lose more than enough to buy a few… I don’t know, what do you hippies eat? Kale chips?” Blackstache asks while his hands idly twirl his mustache.

Ull looks ready to give an in-depth answer about the diet of a vegetarian but gets interrupted by Rachel returning to the room.

Behind her are four men chained by their necks to each other and getting dragged along the floor. Each one of them is bloodied and bruised.

“They were found hiding by the cannons. My men reported a few patches of disturbed dirt and found these men buried with breathing tubes. As for how they were able to get into position in the first place, we found the corpses of several guards and emptied bottles of rum with them,” Rachel explains.

Ull raises an eyebrow and looks at Blackstache whom looks embarrassed from his second failure at security. “Well, at least we got them—” Blackstache realizes he’s still talking normally. Now that they are around regular players again, he switches back into his pirate accent. Liz also resumes her act of being an obedient slave girl by standing next to Ull with her head bowed at all times. “Alright, ya bastards, the hell did ya think ya were doin’ over there?”

None of the men answer nor even look up at him.

“I bet you’re happy that you gave in to my demands for heightened security. The last thing we needed was for our city’s defenses to be turned against us, again, and the four batteries that they were found at are all capable of shooting into the city,” Rachel says.

“Are you four the same who commandeered that first cannon?” Ull asks.

Only Rachel knows the truth about who hijacked the cannon during the second round. She has yet to tell Blackstache that it was none other than their old guild leader.

The chained man in front shakes his head.

“Do you know who did?” Ull asks.

Another refusal.

“Then tell us, who do you work for and what was your purpose?”

“We’ll get tha information outta ‘em,” Blackstache says. “Unless yer feelin’ up ta doin’ what ya did ta yer boy who jumped tha wolf to these bastards. Bet that’d make ‘em talk quickly.”

“My viewers seem to be in a bad mood, so I am sure they would love to watch some more punishment. Would you mind if I handle them?” Ull asks.

Appreciative of being informed that Ull has resumed streaming, Blackstache nods and tells Rachel to hand the chain over to Ull. “Let us know if ya find anythin’ out,” Blackstache says.

Rising up from his cushions, Ull takes the prisoners’ chain in one hand while grabbing his partner by her horns. She may not have her usual chains on as she dressed well for this occasion, but being so roughly handled by her horns is still pleasurable enough for her while allowing Ull to keep up his dominant act.

…

While Fenrir may be used to being popular, something he is not used to his controlling a crowd with means other than by killing everybody in it. Were this the old days, he could just use magic, explosives, or guns to disperse the crowd in one way or another. That isn’t an option here, sadly.

He gets an idea. It isn’t a useful idea by any means, nor is it at all relevant to the current situation much to his girlfriends’ dismay, but it is an idea that matters greatly to his inner weeaboo.

“Tabitha, if you can make golems, couldn’t you make like a giant mecha golem?” Fenrir asks.

“I’ve already got schematics for one!” Tabitha answers with a proud smile and thumbs-up. “They’re somewhere in my backpack.”

“The hell are you talking about that weird stuff right now for, you bastard?” Cassiel asks, pulling on Fenrir’s good ear.

“Just a random thought. Another random thought is Rod being able to turn into a giant mecha.”

Rod pulses twice without any hesitation.

“Don’t be so boring, Rod,” Fenrir says.

Fortunately for the crew of The Shoebill, some of the city’s guards arrive to help break up the crowd and make space for the crew to walk.

…

“What?” Alexander asks a casually-dressed man in an alley.

“They found us. Our men waiting for the signal were dug up and dragged away by the witch herself. I’m sorry, sir,” the man apologizes with his eyes unable to look Alexander straight on.

Alexander’s enraged expression only grows more twisted as he smashes a fist into the stone wall of a building behind him.

“They’re supposed to have shitty security! The fuck happened?” he asks, though it sounds more like he is demanding an answer from a man incapable of giving one satisfactory enough.

“It – it was like they were specifically looking for any disturbed ground. I guess the cannon from the second round was highjacked in the same way we were going to do it,” the man explains. “They already knew what to look for.”

“Damn it! Who the hell pulled that off, and why did it just have to happen now?”

“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t—” the man’s words are cut off by Alexander grabbing him by his neck and lifting him up off the ground, forcing him against the wall.

“Your respawn is still set in the north, right?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Alexander drops the man in his hands, draws his sword, and slashes at the man’s neck.

“Make your report and tell her that I’ll be on my way back soon. The plan might be ruined, but I still have something to take care of. I am not going to return emptyhanded,” Alexander explains to the man bleeding out just moments before life leaves his eyes.

Alexander returns to The Steel Tiger where repairs are already underway. The surviving crewmembers know that the plan is off going by his expression, so they work even faster to prepare for departure.

“I have something to take care of. I want this piece of shit ready to leave the moment I’m back,” Alexander orders his crew before entering the captain’s quarters.

Inside is a large chest full of exotic gear far better than what he is currently wearing.

One of the items is a necklace that, when he slips it around his neck, causes him to vanish from sight.

His crewmembers don’t see him leave, but they hear him as the heavy metal of his plated boots steps along the wooden deck.