Elemental Cats

Toz and Lucy removed their cover as they stepped into the courtyard. Unlike the previous times Toz visited Retsy, the courtyard was in surprisingly good condition. Someone had swept the ground and gotten rid of the leaves.

However, Toz couldn't tell if it was Retsy or one of the four pirates sitting at the newly added table who had done it. Three of the pirates stood behind the crimson-haired woman who sat on one of the three chairs at the table.

The crimson-haired woman was, without a doubt, the leader of the Red Hook Pirate Crew and the reason behind the crew's name, Red Hook. Wulf and Hayar recognized the three pirates behind her as some of her most loyal followers.

The pirate to the left was Avian, a bird type beast mage with two darkness attribute ravens, one of which had delivered the Red Hook Crew's response.

In the middle was a short and stocky pirate with a bald head, Teddy, who was famous for his defense as a shield type fighter.

And to the right of Red Hook was a tall, brown-haired woman who had only looked at Hayar as soon as she arrived. Metra, an old acquaintance of Hayar's. Toz couldn't tell what the gaze meant, but as long as it wasn't hatred strong enough to disrupt the meeting, he didn't care.

"You got here pretty quickly."

Red Hook looked at Toz as he and Wulf sat down at the two available chairs while the others spread out behind them. Joshua hid behind Stitches, only revealing a curious face.

"Since you were already here, I thought, 'why dawdle?'"

Toz reached out a hand to greet Red Hook. She only looked at it before returning her gaze to Toz.

"Well?"

Toz knew what she meant, but he only squinted and smiled faintly without moving a muscle to bring out the object. If Red Hook could disrespect Toz, Toz could show the same attitude toward her. The three pirates behind her didn't like that, but the cats and the Bunglehoppers didn't appreciate how Red Hook disregarded Toz's handshake.

After a few moments, Red Hook sighed when she realized that Toz was the one with the advantage. He had something she wanted, after all. She reached out and grasped Toz's hand.

"Red. Hook. Now, do you have what you promised?"

Toz ignored how Red Hook futilely tried to squeeze his hand as he smiled and responded.

"Toz. I do."

Toz used his free hand to pull the blood attribute grimoire out of one of his pockets. Red Hook immediately let go of Toz's hand as she reached to grab it. She had sensed the authenticity of the grimoire as soon as the edge peeked out of Toz's pockets, and she reacted instantly. Considering her strength, she was confident she would be faster than some medium level mage, even if it was a beast mage.

However, Red Hook was left grasping nothing but air as Toz easily moved the grimoire out of her reach.

Red Hook wasn't the only one who was shocked. The three pirates behind her couldn't quite believe how easily Toz had avoided Red Hook's hand. Avian looked at Retsy, who was sitting on the stairs leading into their house with a relaxed posture. Retsy simply shrugged in response to Avian's stare. It was clear that Avian doubted the information Retsy had given them regarding Toz's strength. Avian couldn't understand how a fifth level mage was faster than Red Hook, a ninth level mage, even if their specialties differed.

However, even if Avian couldn't understand, there was no point in denying reality, and he returned his attention to Toz and the Bunglehoppers on the opposite side of the table. Considering Red Hook's attempt to steal right out of Toz's hand, it wouldn't be surprising if one of them got upset and reacted violently. Of course, Avian didn't doubt that he and his companions would win against Toz and the Bunglehoppers. But they wouldn't be able to do that without causing enough of a ruckus to alert the entire city that the Red Hook Pirate Crew was fighting with the Bunglehoppers.

Red Hook clicked her tongue as she leaned back in her chair.

"Fine. What do you want for it?"

Since Red Hook wasn't able to take the grimoire that easily from Toz, she decided she would at least listen to what he wanted before trying to use force to get it.

Toz hadn't mentioned what he wanted in the message he delivered, only that he had a blood attribute grimoire and that he was interested in making a deal.

Toz looked at Red Hook for a few seconds in contemplation before responding.

"What are you willing to do for it?"

"Kid, watch it."

Red Hook, who had looked pretty relaxed and unserious, glared at Toz with sudden ferocity. Her eyes started shining bright red, and the three pirates behind her also looked angry.

It wasn't until after a few seconds passed that Toz realized the pirates had misunderstood his words. He looked at them in disgust after displaying visible confusion and realization.

"Perverts."

Toz was pretty sure he heard Hayar and Wulf stifle their laughter, but he didn't turn around to check since he was busy watching Red Hook and her followers.

Avian, Teddy, and Red Hook looked even angrier than before at Toz's words, but it seemed like Metra had looked at Hayar at the wrong moment and had to hold back an untimely bout of laughter.

Before Red Hook decided it would be easier to snatch the grimoire, Toz decided to talk and calm them down.

"What I meant was more like, 'How much violence are you willing to do?' Not whatever it was you thought I meant."

Red Hook took a deep breath as she controlled her anger and looked at Toz. His question still didn't really tell her much about what he wanted her to actually do, so she just stared at him.

"Right, pirates. Stupid question, sorry. Then how about this, what do you think about the Blue Lounge League of Pirates?"

"Shittiest excuse of a pirate crew in the history of pirates."