“You weak coward. The next time you call upon my power, I’ll be taking more than a single tail.”

Mila opens her eyes to find Glyn and Miller staring down at her as she lies in a bed in a small cabin. She coughed as Miller pushes Glyn out of the way and embracing her in a single motion before helping her up.

            “Mila!”

            “Brother?”

Glyn laughs. “It’s good to see you’re okay.”

            “Oh, Glyn. Did we get out? I only remember falling and then….” She pauses, struggling to remember.

            “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on resting for now until we get back home.”

            “Where are we? This doesn’t look like the usual ship. It’s a lot bigger.”

            “Some handy pirates tried attacking the island and then we made use of them,” Tisha says, entering the cabin. “It’s good to see you’re alive. You guys had me so worried disappearing like that.”

            “Well, it all worked out.” Glyn pulls a large crystal out of his bag. “And we have a new chunk of Dungeon Core. We can use this to improve our Dungeon and make it larger.”

Tisha shakes her head. “Seriously. Your mood brightens when you think about cultivating the Dungeon.”

            “Well, it is the best resource we have on the island. Speaking of resources, you’ve given me quite the headache, Tisha.”

            “How?”

            “The pirates. Now I have to negotiate with them or risk them leaking information. If we let them go, they’re a flight risk if someone else gets their hands on them. Especially another King Candidate.” Glyn shakes his head. “It’s going to take time. But I’m sure I can convince them to work with us. If I’m lucky, I can get them to help us with the uninhabited islands. Maybe set up a supply chain.”

            “Looks like your gears are already turning. But I think you're forgetting about something.”

            “What?”

            “The other King Candidate we pulled out of the ocean.”

Glyn pauses. “Oh yeah. In all the excitement, I forgot about poor Isaac. Best I figure out what to do with him.”

            “Shouldn’t we just kill him?” Miller asks. “I know you don’t want to win this little game. But he already lost his minions and all of his power. He’s easy pickings for someone else. It’s best to get him out of the competition and take what little power he has left.”

            “Logically you're right. But….” Glyn shakes his head. “No, never mind. I need to put more thought into this.”

Mila tries to exit the bed only to stumble as Miller helping her stand. “What. I feel so tired.”

            “You used a lot of Mana back there. You need to rest for a while.”

She nods. “Fine. Glyn I know it may be best to get rid of Isaac. But he and Xia don’t seem like bad people. If we could, I’d like to help them.”

            “I’ll take that suggestion into consideration.” Glyn smiles. “I mean that. I value your opinion, Mila.”

She smiles. “Thank you.”

            “So just rest for now and leave everything else up to us, okay?”

            “Okay.” Mila waves as she takes off the covers as two tails hang off the side of the bed, one covered completely in white fur.

 

Glyn and Tisha walk along the deck as she glares at him.

            “You’re not going to talk about it?”

He sighs. “I was hoping to get further away, so she didn’t hear us. We’ll need to discuss this with everyone when we get back.”

            “Are you sure about what you saw?”

            “I’m more than sure. Back then, when we were about to die and she was falling, Mila exploded and suddenly she had nine tails and all her hair turned white. I have to look into this.”

            “A nine-tailed Beastkin…. Glyn you….”

            “I know. A nine-tailed Beastkin are often called walking calamities. Near monsters who can’t control their vast power and cause destruction in their wake. No better than a Demon. But… Mila….”

            “She has no memories from before she came to the island, and she doesn’t seem to remember or notice the number of her tails. Do you think there’s some seal over her power or something?”

            “I don’t know. But I’m going to figure this out.”

Tisha smiles. “You’d better. Without Mila’s power, we’d be pretty screwed.”

            “Not just for her power!” Glyn yells. “I… I have to make sure she can return to a normal life when I’m gone. I owe her that much for dragging her into my mess.”

Tisha stares at Glyn’s concerned face and feels a sharp pang in her chest. “Hey Glyn….”

            “Boss!” Fiona yells out, rushing towards the pair. “We’ve got trouble!”

            “Trouble?”

 

            “Move!” Xia yells as the pirates surround the lifeboat. “Or I’ll make you move!”

            “We can’t let you steal our last lifeboat. We need that in case…”

            “In case we sink. I doubt we’d sink on waters this calm.” Glyn and Tisha walk up to the group.

Glyn walks past the crowd to see Xia and Isaac in a lifeboat with a bag of stolen supplies. The pirates hold on to the lift, preventing the ship from falling into the waters.

            “Glyn.” Isaac stares up with a smirk. “Do you plan to hold me hostage or as your prisoner forever?”

            “You were never my prisoner. If anything, you were holding me captive.”

Xia leaps forward and holds her spear at Glyn’s neck. “Let us go or I’ll take your throat.”

            “Do it and I fill your boss with arrows.” Tisha aims her bow at Isaac as he stares at her.

            “Let’s put our weapons down,” Glyn says.

            “Xia stand down,” Isaac says.

            “But…” The pair say in unison.

            “I had no intention of stopping Isaac from leaving,” Glyn says.

Xia leaps back to Isaac’s side. “You don’t?”

            “He has no reason to keep us here. Besides, we’d just be a strain on his resources. It would be easier to kill us.”

            “But that’s not how I play things.” Glyn smiles and holds out his hand. “Listen here. I have no plans on becoming King of the country.”

Isaac grabs his hand. “I can tell. You wouldn’t let me go if you wanted to. But why keep playing if you don’t want the prize?”

            “It’s simple. I want to make sure the one who wins isn’t some asshole.”

            “Alright. I can’t make any promises. But I believe I won’t be a complete asshole as King.”

The two shake hands and laugh.

            “Good luck managing your mess, Glyn,” Isaac says.

            “Good luck with your revenge.”

Glyn signals the pirates, who lower the lifeboat into the water. Tisha sighs and turns away from the pair.

            “Oh, Elf! I have to say your friend died with honor, fighting for our cause.” Xia says.

Tisha nods. “I know. All of us are willing to die for what we believe in.”

 

The boat lands in the water and sails away, with Xia and Isaac rowing the boat away from the pirate ship. Glyn and Tisha watch on as Glyn smiles and Tisha shakes her head.

            “So, what’s the plan now?” She asks.

            “For now. Let’s figure out what to do with all these pirates.”

            “Oh right. Also, there are more on the island.”

He sighs, shaking his head. “Of course, there are. But maybe I can use that to help us out. I just have to hope your negotiation skills were good enough before you left the island.”

            “I’ll leave that to you.” She says, walking off. “I’m off to take a nap. You deal with everything else.”

            “Come on. Help me out here!”