That night at 1 AM, communication was made with the Silver Chin pirates.
The captain of the Silver Chin, Liebe said, "I'm Liebe Faust, here to negotiate."
The man on the other end stated, "I'm Zeke Ard Royele, the captain of the Silver Chin Pirates. Have our demands been met, or otherwise, we will kill both the princess and the people of Izuma Island with the Leviathan."
Liebe said, "Your demand was 50,000 gold coins and 5 battleships, correct?"
Zeke said, "Yes."
Liebe said, "Why don't you sweeten the deal a bit more, Mr. Zeke?"
Zeke said, "What do you want?"
Liebe said, "It's simple, really. If I give you what you want, I save the lives of the princess and the people. It's all good; everyone goes home happy. Except, the question is, how does all of this work benefit me in any way? Maybe for ensuring everyone is safe, I will get a promotion. A few more people will respect me. At best, a two-rank promotion. And if I catch you, your crew, and save the princess, then maybe the higher-ups will look at me a bit more kindly and perhaps even promote me to an S-class knight. But that requires too much effort on my part."
Zeke said, "What do you want?"
Liebe said, "A deal, actually."
Zeke said, "What deal?"
Liebe said, "You use the Leviathan to destroy all of the Izuma Islands, so that after the negotiations, I will be the big hero—the one who saved the kingdom from the threat of a beast that could kill them all. In fact, I'm even willing to sweeten my end as well. Will 75,000 gold and 10 battleships help?"
Zeke said, "Why are you asking this?"
Liebe said, "Simple. When all those die, the nation will witness the devastation. And after I rescue the princess from you and subdue the Leviathan, I will become a hero, someone who can't be ignored. Forget the promotion to S-rank; I will easily become a Grand Knight."
Zeke said, "All this for—"
Liebe said, "For my own goals."
Zeke said, "What if—"
Liebe said, "Let me tell you exactly what happens. Since you managed to capture the princess, it means Eldoria has already lost its credibility to the world. But if I get her back safe, it means I will be the hero among the incompetent people here. My reputation in the international field will grow. And I can assure you, this entire connection is safe since everyone here is in on it. And even if you somehow manage to know our conversation, then it's simple, really. I will have to use my power to destroy more than 23 islands. And when I stop that threat, people will be forced to take me back again because the sad reality is that people can't help but cling to power. And I can assure you, I have plenty. But unfortunately, in that regard, I will have to execute all of you for being a nuisance to me."
Zeke said, "How can you—"
Liebe said, "It's hard to let go of power once you obtain it. Humans are like that. Even if it is a power that could destroy themselves. And unfortunately for Eldoria, I am that forbidden power. So here is the deal: in exchange for the princess and the destruction of Izuma Island and its people, I'm offering 75,000 gold and 10 battleships."
Zeke said, "What kind of a man are you? Don't you have any sense of honor?"
Liebe said, "To me, honor is nothing more than an imaginary concept that has kept me chained up so far."
Zeke said, "You really are a complex man, Liebe Faust."
Liebe said, "I am simply showing the best option for everyone. Feel free to decide if you want to live or not."
Zeke said, "How do I know you won't betray us after?"
Liebe said, "Because you will still have the princess by then, and I will personally escort you to international waters until then and hand her over afterwards. You see, my dear friend, I couldn't care less who dies—the princess, the people of Izuma Island. None of them matters to me. They are just unfortunate pawns who ended up as pawns in my game for power."
Zeke said, "You don't have the slightest shred of humanity, now do you?"
Liebe said, "Such concepts are far below me. And after our deal is over, you will be rolling in gold, while I will have the power of a Grand Knight. And even if you kill more than five islands, the more you destroy with the Leviathan, the more strongly and importantly I am presented as after subduing such a great threat. Unfortunately, some people will cry and regret their death, but in less than a week, they will come back to me as the hero who saved the nation. And on top of that, the princess is a sweet bonus. Wouldn't you agree? What more could I possibly ask for? In the end of the day are just nothing more than names in a file that woant amount to anything no matter how large the file may get." "Would you agree, my dear friend?"
Zeke said, "I accept. In one hour, we attack."
Liebe said, "Understood. And thank you for entertaining my thoughts. Good luck."
And the call was cut.