"Yes, but that doesn’t matter. You’re still a child."
There was nothing to say to that; the point being made was clear— making a kid take part in life-or-death situations was not the most moral thing to do. That much was obvious.
I still wasn’t prepared to face whatever decision they had come to regarding my deal with them just yet. So I skirted around the issue, choosing to focus on other, pressing topics first.
"What has happened in the city since I passed out?" I asked, turning to Kai.
"Hey, why aren’t you asking me that?" Ginah sputtered. "I’m the Captain here!"
I rolled my eyes. "Because he’s the one who’s actually in charge. That’s what Quartermasters do."
"Rude."
"But true."
"Well, only somewhat," she huffed. "I’ll concede that point, though."
Kai sighed, rubbing his temples; he faced me as he began to explain.
"The portion of the docks we were fighting in was completely burned down. Most of the ships there belonged to the Elise, and considering that their leader is dead, the organization is pretty much just a name at this point. Their fate is something that has yet to become official, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing about the fracturing of what’s left into minor groups soon enough."
My eyes flickered as I picked up on what he tried to glaze over— everything there had been burned down. While it was a good thing the Elise was pretty much inoperative now, it was still a good portion of the port of Luke. That was not something insignificant. And I played a part in causing it.
He must have noticed the look on my face as he took on a softer tone of voice.
"I know you’re worried about the… damages. But from the reports we’ve heard, no innocent civilian died. The area around the docks were mostly for storing equipment and most of the ships there were disused anyhow. So it’s not like too many people will be losing their jobs over this. We did good, Melas."
"I hope so," I muttered under my breath.
Bahr was dead and the Elise could no longer diffuse their drugs in this country. That was good, right?
And yet, I remembered the Half Elf as he tried to recruit me as his ally; he truly believed what he was doing was the right thing. How could he ignore all the suffering his actions caused? He was not like Victor who took pleasure in his atrocious actions— Bahr seemed to almost ignore it entirely.
Was he just ignorant of the consequences of his own actions? Or did he treat it as a means that was justified by the end result? Or rather, should I have even tried to kill him?
As Kai pointed out, with the Elise gone, there would be chaos in the underground of Luke. With dozens of different factions grasping for power, would it even be better than how it was before?
I was still tired. I wasn’t sure why I felt a sense of regret at Bahr’s death— perhaps it was because he tried to ally himself with me; being hunted down by literally everyone had skewed my worldview in the past to accept the help of anyone who wasn’t out to get me. And I almost forgot the important lesson I learned to choose my allies carefully because if I did not, I might find myself amongst monsters.
Bahr was a monster. I was certain he was. A monster that wanted to help me, but a monster nonetheless.
And it was not like I hadn’t already considered the consequences of bringing down the Elise. I turned back to Ginah and looked at her questioningly.
"So, now that the Elise is gone, what are you guys going to do next?"
A flash of uncertainty crossed through Ginah’s face. Perhaps others wouldn’t have noticed it— but I picked up on it a while back. That look went away quickly enough and she gave me an easy grin.
"Didn’t we tell you? We’ll clean up the mess that’s left behind. The Elise had gangs and pirate crews under their control— they’re going to be a bit of trouble, but they already know our reputation. It’s not going to be too hard to rein them in."
"Right," I nodded, but still looking at her curiously. "I just wanted to make sure."
"Yeah," she said, before taking on a more hesitant tone of voice. "That is not an issue. The problem is…" she trailed off, averting her gaze from me.
Sighing, I simply folded my arms. It was time to address the elephant in the room; the reason why Gennady was upset and arguing with them, and the thing I had been most afraid of all this time.
"Just say it already."
The pirate Captain took a deep breath; she met my gaze and held it, opening her mouth to speak. "Listen," she started, "we don’t have anything against you. But this whole business with the Church. We can’t really… get involved."
I had thought I steeled myself for those words but I still found my shoulders slumping upon hearing them. I couldn’t even find the energy within myself to be angry at them for this.
"I’m sorry, Melas." She didn’t once turn away; she clearly didn’t want to say it, but she was forcing herself to. "Perhaps if it were just some Priest from the Church threatening us, we’d brush it off. Or if they even sent a team of Inquisitors. But this is a Saintess we’re talking about. It’s just not…"
"Worth it?" I helpfully put in and she nodded defeatedly.
I wanted to just leave. I was tired. I didn’t want to argue with her. And yet,
