Trecia's expression darkened the moment he saw the four men arrive together.
Of course he knew them.
They were the captains of the island's other four major pirate crews.
As for why four men who usually couldn't even stand being in the same room had suddenly shown up side by side today... the answer was obvious.
The Myriad Worlds Pirates.
They were afraid Trecia might successfully win the Myriad Worlds Pirates over. And if that happened, his strength would surpass theirs in an instant.
Still, with all four of them arriving for the banquet, he couldn't exactly shut the door in their faces. In the end, he had no choice but to welcome them in.
Meanwhile, Kurogane Ren and the others were still on the way.
They should have arrived much earlier, but Martha's weight had crushed one of the horses pulling the carriage halfway through the trip. If Abner hadn't prepared a replacement in advance, they would have ended up walking the rest of the way.
Ren lifted the edge of the carriage curtain and looked outside.
By now, they had already entered Trecia Pirate Crew's territory.
And what he saw completely overturned his expectations.
Instead of chaos and filth, the area was orderly.
More than that, he spotted several distribution points where food was being handed out.
Pirates stood there maintaining order while long lines of island residents waited patiently to receive their portions. Under the pirates' supervision, the starving crowd was surprisingly disciplined.
Seeing that, Ren grew even more curious about Trecia.
Why would a pirate be giving food to civilians?
Earlier that day, Ren had roughly estimated the island's size and population. Conservatively, there had to be more than two hundred thousand people here—and the overwhelming majority were barely surviving.
As far as Ren could tell, most of the pirates on the island didn't care in the slightest whether the natives lived or died. At best, some of them would toss out a little food when they needed labor.
Even then, after working themselves to the bone, the residents only received pitiful scraps. Sometimes they received nothing at all.
And yet countless people still fought for the chance to work.
So if Trecia really was feeding people on a large scale, that was no small matter.
Because there was no way Trecia Pirate Crew alone could sustain hundreds of thousands of starving mouths.
That was why Ren found it strange.
Before long, Ren and the others finally arrived at the banquet grounds.
To his surprise, it wasn't some luxurious hall at all.
It was simply an open-air campsite.
The entire place was easy to take in at a glance. In the middle of the clearing stood one long table, already covered with food.
Beside it were several bonfires, with meat roasting over the flames.
So Trecia wasn't hosting some formal feast.
He was throwing a giant outdoor barbecue.
"Welcome, welcome," a well-dressed man said with a warm smile as he stepped forward. "I am Trecia. It is my honor to welcome the esteemed members of the Myriad Worlds Pirates to my banquet."
Ren gave him a quick once-over.
He couldn't name the style of the clothes Trecia wore, but one look at the material and craftsmanship told him everything he needed to know—they were expensive, carefully tailored, and custom-made.
Ren nodded. "The Myriad Worlds Pirates greet Mr. Trecia."
The other man had shown proper courtesy, so Ren naturally wouldn't embarrass him.
But just then, a man in a white robe suddenly appeared in front of Teresa.
He had waist-length hair, a giant bouquet of roses in his arms, and so much perfume on him that the scent hit like a physical attack.
He threw out his arms dramatically.
"Ah, beautiful Lady Teresa! Your hair shines like gold itself, your silver eyes are more enchanting than the moon, your—"
Bang!
Before he could finish, Teresa had already kicked him clean off his feet.
He flew backward like a sack of trash.
Afterward, Teresa frowned and waved a hand in front of her nose, clearly disgusted by the suffocating perfume.
Ren hadn't expected this kind of nonsense to happen the moment they arrived.
He turned to look at Trecia.
Trecia sighed.
"That man is the captain of the Charlotte Pirates. He's also a swordsman. I won't interfere... but he's notoriously lecherous. And to be clear, he was not invited."
Hearing that, Ren finally understood.
This banquet wasn't just for his crew.
The island's other major pirate crews had also shown up.
And judging from Trecia's tone, they had done so without being asked.
Just then, another burly man stepped forward and jabbed a finger at Trecia.
"Trecia, Captain Charlotte came to attend your banquet, and this is how you treat him? Is this the hospitality of the Trecia Pirates?"
"That's right," another one chimed in. "Your crew may be powerful, but acting so rudely in front of guests is disgraceful."
...
Listening to the two men self-righteously accuse Trecia, Ren almost started to wonder if he'd misseen things.
If he hadn't watched Teresa kick the man himself, he might've thought Trecia had done it.
Trecia didn't waste a breath arguing.
Instead, he calmly introduced them to Ren and the others.
"These two are the captains of the Blood Spear Pirates and the Ghost Claw Pirates."
He then gestured toward the remaining man, who was still seated.
"And that one is the captain of another major crew on the island—the Mackie Pirates."
Ren nearly laughed.
So all five of the island's major pirate captains had gathered here tonight.
Trecia spread a hand toward the table.
"Since everyone is here for my banquet, then you are all guests. Please, take your seats."
He then turned specifically to Ren's group.
"My friends of the Myriad Worlds Pirates—please."
Ren nodded. "We came to a banquet. Naturally, we eat first."
As far as Ren was concerned, everything else could wait.
Nothing outranked food.
So the guests began taking their places.
Trecia personally offered the seat of honor to Ren, while taking a side seat for himself.
Everyone else sat as well—
except for Charlotte, who was still unconscious on the ground.
Once everyone had settled, Trecia raised a glass.
"Today, there was some unpleasantness between my crew and the Myriad Worlds Pirates. On behalf of Trecia Pirate Crew, I would first like to offer my apologies to all of you."
"Especially to Miss Martha and Miss Teresa."
"With this drink, I offer my sincerest apology."
Then he drained his cup in one go.
As a courtesy, Ren and the others also took a drink.
After that, Teresa spoke first.
"I don't care about what happened earlier. The one who offended me is already dead."
Trecia smiled. "Miss Teresa is truly broad-minded. Still, I'd like to show my sincerity. Bring them in."
At his command, several pirates stepped forward carrying heavy chests.
One by one, they opened them.
Inside were piles of gold, silver, and jewels.
Trecia looked directly at Ren.
"This is all the wealth my pirate crew possesses. I offer it all to the Myriad Worlds Pirates as compensation for today's incident."
Ren glanced over the treasure, then looked back at Trecia.
"I doubt you invited us here just to apologize. You probably have something else you want."
Trecia nodded slowly.
"That's right."
As he said that, his gaze shifted toward the other three pirate captains.
The moment they noticed that look, their expressions changed.
They exchanged glances with one another, and every single one of them saw the same ominous thought reflected in the others' eyes.
The moment they'd heard that the Myriad Worlds Pirates had been invited to Trecia Pirate Crew's banquet, they had already met in private.
In the end, they'd decided to come together.
And now?
Trecia had just placed his entire crew's fortune on the table and was asking the Myriad Worlds Pirates for help.
To them, the meaning was obvious.
He wanted them dead.
Ren leaned back slightly and asked, "Mr. Trecia, are you asking us to wipe out the other four pirate crews for you?"
After all, if Trecia was willing to offer up the entire wealth of his pirate crew, what else could he possibly want?
Trading one crew's fortune for the wealth of four others made perfect sense.
And beyond that, Trecia would gain the entire island's future income for himself.
In the long run, it was a bargain.
But Trecia's answer was completely unexpected.
"No."
He looked Ren in the eye and said evenly,
"I will not ask the Myriad Worlds Pirates to fight for me."
"My request is much simpler."
"When I move against them... I ask only that your crew remain uninvolved."
Ren blinked.
That genuinely surprised him.
He'd thought Trecia wanted Teresa to step in and crush the other crews.
Instead, all he wanted was for them to stand aside.
And honestly?
That was no issue at all.
Ren had only come to this island to replenish supplies. He had absolutely no interest in getting involved in power struggles between local pirate crews.
Even if Trecia hadn't said a word, Ren still wouldn't have interfered.