After dealing with the king, Reid stumbled upon the royal treasury, filled with mountains of gold, jewels, ancient berries, and all kinds of grains.
Some might ask: Reid, why didn't you leave any food behind? Other time travelers usually act heroic, right?
Reid would answer: Then tell me if I hadn't come, would these people have survived on the food left here? This place has always been one where the strong prey on the weak, far worse than even a century from now. Weakness is original sin.
The blood mist surged instantly, enveloping the piles of treasures in the palace.
Mine… all mine!
Reid basked in the satisfaction of claiming these "new collectibles" within the blood mist. He was no longer penniless, and his energy had been greatly restored. Moon fruit, truly a marvelous thing.
Cradling the little girl, he turned and left the palace, which had by now become a ruined shell.
Outside, a massive crowd knelt densely across the grounds. From tattered commoners to the nobles who had trembled moments ago, everyone prostrated, foreheads pressed to the earth.
"Our lord!"
"Thank you for removing the tyrant!"
"Please stay and rule over us!"
"You are our true king!"
Their cries of pleading, cheering, and worship intertwined. In their eyes burned fervor, as if they already glimpsed the "good life" awaiting under the protection of this powerful new ruler at the very least, a life no worse than before.
Perhaps it was just habit. In this world, being ruled by the strong was not considered wrong. Dependence on the powerful was their way to survive.
The grandeur of the scene and the crowd's fervent devotion unsettled the little girl. She instinctively clutched Reid's clothes, her eyes scanning the men worshiped like gods below, then lifting to Reid himself. Her expression was full of confusion, tinged with a subtle… bewilderment. Did they… really see him as a god?
A hollow emptiness spread in her heart, as if everything she had once held had been taken from her. In that moment, a chaotic impulse surged, urging her to kill.
Reid's steps did not falter in the slightest. He had witnessed scenes like this countless times before. When he first arrived and saw ships brimming with soulless slaves, he had been furious. Now, although he still applied the principle of "kill traffickers on sight," his heart had grown numb. He had seen too much.
Enveloped in blood mist, carrying the little girl, he ignored all the cheers and pleas, heading straight for the harbor.
Some bold enough to step forward were immediately repelled when they touched the cold, crimson fog, sensing its unmasked indifference and detachment. They could only watch as the blood-red figures receded into the distance.
"Why… why…" the little girl whispered, looking up. "They… they wanted you to be their king…"
Reid scoffed.
"King?" he repeated. "Who cares about that?"
"Ruling? Governing? That's complicated." He shook his head. The blood mist surged faster, his figure streaking across the island like a crimson meteor. "Besides, I am already the king of the seas. I don't need a second in command."
"I told you," he said, lowering his head, crimson eyes locking onto the young girl in his arms, filled with pure, unrestrained ambition, "we are here to become the freest people in the world, not babysitters or idols molded by others. You are my lieutenant. Follow me."
"Moreover, their gratitude or worship is nothing more than the instinct of the weak seeking shelter. If I leave today and someone more brutal arrives tomorrow, they will still kneel and shout 'Long live!'"
"It's a cycle. Utterly boring. I have been an emperor before, because there I had the ties I deserved. After my brother fell, I needed to rebuild a harbor for my family a fortress that could never be breached. So I became the king of the seas, ruling over the oceans. Some things are not done for love they must be done."
But now, I am here to try a new life, a life truly free. My pirate crew has only one captain that's me and one first mate that's you. A pirate crew of just two.
His gaze swept over the shrinking island below and the still-prostrate people, finally settling on the endless blue sea in the distance.
"What I want is this ocean, the thrill of exploration, and the freedom to come and go as I please."
As for the rest…
His voice carried a cold echo that dissipated in the wind.
"Just passing through. Picking up some pocket money along the way."
"The money's already taken. Time to go."
The blood mist roared, enveloping the two of them as they left the island, a place that had just witnessed both divine punishment and hope, only to be abandoned by a "god." They sped toward Blubru Island.
The little girl looked back, catching one last glimpse of the shrinking island. The sounds of battle echoed the spread of ambition running wild.
She seemed to understand, at least in part, Reid's idea of "freedom" and why he so hated these cycles.
She drew her gaze back, resting her cheek lightly against Reid's chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat. A vague anticipation, and the thought of "just the two of us," stirred in her heart for the first time, pointing toward the vast unknown sea. A warmth spread through her.
The little girl remained quietly in Reid's arms.
She did not realize that when Reid had dragged her from that icy, hopeless cage in the most merciless, absolute way, when all her familiar beliefs and duties had turned to dust in the blood mist, he had already become the foundation and axis of her entire world.
That dependence had changed becoming extreme, possessive, and unyielding.
Instinctively, she found the bows and shouts of the others glaringly intrusive. They seemed to seek her "god's" attention. She wanted to erase those voices and eyes immediately she wanted to kill, plainly put.
Fortunately, he didn't care about them.
He only took her with him.
She might not yet understand love or possessiveness, but she was already keenly aware that she could not leave this power, could not leave the man who had given her a new "purpose."
He was her captain, her salvation, the single blazing scarlet in her monochrome world.
She did not want to share this color with anyone.
"All right, pocket money collected, energy restored. What a wonderful day!" Reid began fooling around again. "Let's go back and check on the shipbuilding progress. I wonder if it's already finished."
"Mm!"
"Little one, hmm? What's this! But fantastic! She's responding actively now. This is huge progress."
She raised her head, then whispered softly, a voice so faint only she could hear:
"Mine…"
Reid sensed something, lowering his gaze to her. She remained quiet, obedient, clinging to him.
"Hm? Little one, what are you saying?"
She shook her head and buried her face back into his chest.
Reid assumed she had drifted off again, smiled indifferently, and accelerated toward Blubru Island.