After dealing with the king, Rhett found himself in the country's treasure vault. Gold, jewels, ancient shells, and all the grain.
Someone might ask: "Rhett, why don't you leave some grain for the people? Other transmigrators would."
Rhett: Would those people have starved if I hadn't come? This is a world far crueler than the one a hundred years later. Weakness is a sin.
The blood mist flooded the vault.
Mine. All mine.
Rhett smiled, feeling the new "collection" in his mist. He wasn't broke anymore. And the life force from the moon people was a good bonus.
He stepped out of the ruined palace, the girl still in his arms.
Outside, a crowd knelt. From ragged beggars to trembling nobles, they bowed to him.
"God!"
"Thank you for killing the tyrant!"
"Rule us!"
"You are our true king!"
Their voices mixed with cheers and prayers. Their eyes burned with hope for a better future under a powerful new ruler.
They were used to being ruled. In this world, following the strong was survival.
The girl was overwhelmed. She gripped Rhett's clothes. She looked at the worshippers, then at him. Confusion and a strange unease filled her. They really saw him as a god?
She felt empty. Like something unique was being taken from her. Her heart felt heavy. She wanted to kill.
Rhett didn't stop. He had seen this too often. When he was younger, he would rage at slavery. Now, he still killed slavers on sight, but the emotion had faded.
He walked toward the harbor, the mist carrying them over the kneeling crowd.
Some tried to follow, to ask him to stay. But the cold mist pushed them back. They could only watch the red figure grow smaller.
"Why..." the girl looked up at him. "They... they wanted you to be king..."
Rhett laughed.
"King?" He repeated. "Who wants that?"
"Ruling? Managing? That's a headache." He shook his head, speeding up. "Besides, I'm already an Emperor of the Seas. I need a strong right hand, not a throne."
"I told you," he looked down at her. "We're here to be the freest people on the seas. Not caretakers or statues. You're my vice captain. Just follow me."
"Besides, their gratitude and worship are just the weak seeking protection. If I leave and someone worse comes, they'll bow just as quickly."
"It's a cycle. Boring. I've already been an Emperor, for my family. After my captain fell, I needed to protect them. I became a ruler. I had to do it."
"But here, I want a new life. True freedom. My pirate crew has only two people. Me, the captain. And you, the vice captain."
He looked at the shrinking island and the kneeling people. His gaze turned to the endless blue sea.
"I want the sea itself. The joy of discovery. The freedom to come and go as I please."
"As for them..."
His voice faded in the wind.
"Just a little pocket money."
"Now, the money's taken. Time to go."
The mist carried them away from the island. Back toward Burubu.
The girl looked back at the shrinking island. She heard the sounds of fighting. Ambition was growing.
She was starting to understand Rhett's "freedom." And why he hated that "cycle."
She turned back, pressing her face against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. For the first time, she felt a vague anticipation for the unknown sea. And the thought — just the two of them — warmed her heart.
She didn't realize how much she had changed. When Rhett had dragged her from her prison, when her old faith was destroyed, he had become her whole world.
Her dependence had grown extreme. She felt a sharp pain when others tried to share his attention.
She just knew that the kneeling people bothered her. They tried to take her "god's" attention.
But he didn't care about them.
He only took her.
She didn't understand love or possession. She only knew she couldn't leave this power, this man.
He was her captain, her savior, the only color in her world.
And she wouldn't share it.
"We got the money, and some life force. A good day," Rhett said cheerfully. "Let's see how the ship's doing. Hope it's done."
"Mm."
"Kid, what's with that 'mm'? But good! You're talking more. Progress."
She looked up and whispered, so quietly only she could hear.
"Mine..."
Rhett felt something and looked down. She seemed calm.
"What was that?"
She shook her head and buried her face in his chest.
He smiled and sped up toward Burubu.