She considered this for a moment. What Melas was proposing made sense. Of course it did. And Laxis did have a lot of natural resources, which was why they had survived even in spite of the initial blockade and subsequent trade embargo by the Holy Xan Empire. But still…
"If these guys wanted to come into our country to invest in the first place, they’d have done it long ago."
"Sometimes, people don’t go into places they don’t know," Melas said. "However, if someone they know pushes them in that direction, they might then stay in that path."
Ginah grit her teeth. She was actually considering this offer. This… deal. She didn’t like that she was. But it was something that appealed to both her logic and her desires.
"And if it doesn’t work?" she asked uncertainly. "So far, all of this sounds like empty promises. What if you can’t deliver on any of them?"
"I have no choice," Melas replied without hesitation. "But this is all I can offer you. You just have to trust me."
Trust her? Ginah had no reason to do that. But she never did, did she? She trusted Melas back when she was a masked Goblin capable of magic. However, they were pushed to do so because they were in a difficult position. The situation was different now.
But Melas had revealed everything she had been hiding. She was in a difficult position too now, wasn’t she? That was why she was trusting that this gambit— this deal would come through.
The pirate Captain turned to her sole advisor. "What do you think, Kai?"
"What do I think?" The Quartermaster rubbed his chin in thought. "Personally, I’d say it’s a terrible idea."
Melas didn’t deflate or show any obvious reaction, but Ginah saw the flicker in her eyes. The uncertainty that she was hiding, and the disbelief at what Kai had said.
"So we shouldn’t take it then?" Ginah asked, glad that Kai was being her voice of reason. However, she was immediately taken by surprise by his next response.
"No. I think we should." Kai turned to Ginah, quickly speaking before she could interrupt him. "It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. The chance to not only help those we can, but do good in a way that goes beyond our tiny influence? It’s a risk we should take."
"I…" Ginah trailed off. "But that doesn’t make sense. If we all go to Taw, we’d be leaving behind a city in chaos. A chaos that we helped cause! We’d be abandoning our responsibility!"
"That’s right." Kai nodded. "Which is exactly my problem with this deal as well."
"See? So we should turn it down."
"But we can alter the deal, can’t we?" The Quartermaster turned to Melas. "You’d be willing to make some amendments, right?"
"Yes," Melas said without hesitation. "As long as the plan is the same and we go to the Taw Kingdom."
"Good." Kai turned back to Ginah and spoke to her softly. "Then we just have to split up, Ginah."
"...split up?" The pirate Captain gave him a confused look.
He smiled as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You take anyone who wants to go with you to the Taw Kingdom. Anyone who wants a new life— one where they no longer have to live a life of crime just to get by. And I’ll stay in Luke with those who are willing to stay. We’ll do everything in our power to calm things down for now, while you work in Taw to bring us a better future."
Ginah froze. "But that’s…" she trailed off. "I can’t leave you, Kai. I can’t just—"
"It’s only temporary," Kai said. "We’ve been together for a decade. A year or two apart won’t be anything too bad. And you’ve been fighting so hard all your life. You deserve to rest and relax a little bit, don’t you?"
But still, she protested. "I’m the Captain, aren’t I? I should be the one staying here while you go with them to Taw."
"No. It’s specifically because you’re the Captain that you have to go. You’re the charismatic leader, after all. There’s no way I’ll be able to convince anyone— not even a drunk Dwarf— to come to our backwater country for philanthropy or business. But I can manage logistics. I can hold things down while you’re gone."
Ginah looked between Melas and Kai. The two of them had a determined look in their gaze. Melas with her arms folded, and Kai with a reassuring smile.
"Trust me, Ginah."
She had always trusted him, ever since he agreed to help her take down her father. So why did things have to change now? This deal would solve all the current problems Ginah was faced with… if it worked out.
But if things didn’t work out, it would only serve to cause more problems. But she trusted Kai, didn’t she? So finally, after much internal debates, she gave in.
"I trust you, Kai." She turned back to the waiting Melas and nodded. "Fine. We’ll take your deal."
The young girl released a breath she had been holding in relief. She held a shaky hand out and smiled. "I promise you, you won’t regret it."
"So what now?" Ginah asked after shaking hands with her, still feeling nervous about doing this. She had just made a deal with a child! Anyone would normally think it was ridiculous. But Ginah ignored that thought for the moment.
"Well, first I have to get Jack and Lisa’s help. Lisa said she
