The sun was mild, but the humidity was unbearable today. For the third time since she rode that carriage with Pantu this morning, Natsu damped a scarf with water and wiped her face with it. "Couldn't we just postpone that meeting until nightfall?" she complained. "Or dusk at least?"

"Just a precautionary measure. My eyes are scouting the meeting venue for any possible ambushes, so I want to make their job easier." Pantu tilted his head, adding, "Besides, a little sunlight won't harm."

Contemplating the Skandivians escorting her carriage on foot, she said, "They won't dare to ambush me; not after they heard about what I had done to Qianfan. All gangs do fear the Murderous Widow now."

"Sometimes fear makes men act stupidly."

"Let them act stupidly, then." Truth be told, Natsu was itching to find an excuse to punish all those cravens who had surrendered themselves once to her rival.

The Fishermen's Village was on the horizon when Jirou, their coachman on this ride, steered the carriage off the southern road and headed east toward the mountains, the western coast behind them now. In half an hour, they should reach their destination.

"I've been thinking how we should answer the masked mage if he contacts us again," Pantu began.

Natsu hoped the masked mage would just forget about her after she had failed to meet him as agreed. "Most probably, he is seeking an alternative partner for his operation." His huge operation, she thought bitterly. Nobody in the history of smuggling had earned, or would earn, that titanic amount of gold in their whole life. "If he hasn't found one already."

"What if he is looking for us to punish us?"

"Punish us for what?" Natsu swallowed, a picture of Shnakar's gigantic hands crossing her mind. "I wasn't able to meet him because of personal matters, and that's it."

Pantu raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "So, you don't mind to undertake his big job? What about your new ally who brought your son back to you? You gave him your word."

"I did." Akira, that young mage from Sun Castle, would surely be disappointed if he learned that she was helping the masked mage again. But what options would she have if that powerful mage found her again? "But it's on him if that happens. He told me he was connected to important people in Sun Castle; he would take care of that masked mage."

Pantu pressed his lips together, obviously giving her words a thought. "I don't think our young friend will approve of this justification."

"You saw what one mage could do, Pantu. Imagine a war between two armies of mages." Voicing the thought out loud was enough to scare her. "That's something greater than our capabilities. Better we stay aside while they lay waste to each other lest they crush us in the middle."

Natsu's convoy halted when they reached the meeting venue Pantu himself had picked. Like he had described it to her before; a barren plain with no buildings or hilltops nearby. No hidden shooting spots for archers. If anyone set an ambush here, it would be spotted from miles away. Natsu had nothing to hide, though. On the contrary, she wanted her counterparts to be well aware of the Skandivian band guarding her. That should let their imagination go wild about the rest of her army that had not come.

Natsu led the way as she clambered down the carriage, her eyes scanning the small crowd waiting for her. Who are these clowns? she wondered, both disapprovingly and quizzically. According to Pantu, she was supposed to be meeting with a bunch of 'bosses,' but all the men she recognized so far were a bunch of nobodies. Most of the faces here were unfamiliar in the first place. Did Pantu bring me to meet with some lowly pickpockets?

She heaved a sigh when she found Diachi, the man who had called for this gathering. He was the oldest 'boss' here. Though it was no secret that he was nothing more than a small-time smuggler, the gray-haired man had everybody's respect. Most of them, to say the least, she thought, curling her lips in disdain when her eyes and Diachi's met. Respected or not, that wrinkled coward had shaken hands with the bastard who had murdered her mother and kidnapped her son. The proper way to greet Diachi and the likes of his was to spit in their faces. Maybe she would have the chance to do this soon enough.

An eerie silence fell over the place for a moment as Natsu stood facing those jokes of bosses, her hands on her waist, the fearsome Skandivian warriors behind her and Pantu by some distance. Of the bosses attending this meeting, she had brought the largest single retinue. Only if those bosses joined forces would they outnumber her.

And yet, they all seemed wary.

Diachi was the first boss who found the courage to approach her. "Natsu Sen." He bowed to her. "I'm grateful for your coming here."

Some respect at last. Natsu gave him an acknowledging nod, still wearing her stern face. "Now I'm here; may I ask: Why am I summoned to this place?" She glanced at the other bosses behind him. "Why are they?"

Diachi managed a smile. "To write a new page. Enough blood has been spilled already."

Natsu couldn't help snarling, "You should have considered that when my mother's blood was spilled."

"I lost dear ones in that bloodshed too, you know?" growled a stout man as he advanced to stand on Diachi's right. "All of these men did." He gestured toward the remaining bosses behind him, then he pointed accusingly at Natsu. "Because of you."

More bosses voiced their approval as they stepped forward to join the conversation. Those pigs! They helped Qianfan destroy my family, and yet they have audacity to blame me for rescuing my son! "I'm not the one who started that war, to begin with."

"You started the war with your greed," stated a boss with a thin mustache.

"Call it as you like," Natsu retorted. "If you consider making a stand for your right greed, I will consider abandoning me an act of cowardness."

The insult aggravated the bosses, that was for sure, and she didn't care. "Quiet!" Diachi bellowed at the protesting men, then turned to Natsu. "I want to make this work, Natsu Sen, but you are not helping."

"I didn't ask for your 'peace' anyway," she said nonchalantly.

"Natsu." Pantu's jaws clenched when he gripped her wrist. "Diachi Sen is trying to do something good with his initiative." Her deputy's voice was intentionally loud enough for the old boss to hear, it was plain. "Let him speak first."

Natsu had thought she would be able to have a conversation with those traitors, but obviously, she had overestimated her patience. The sight of their horrendous faces had been boiling the blood in her veins since her arrival. Had it not been for the glorious name of peace, under which this meeting was held, she would have given her Skandivian warriors another bloody task to accomplish.

Pantu took Natsu aside and whispered into her ear, "We need this peace, Natsu. It's good for the business."

For sure, it was. But what about her heart's peace? Didn't it matter as well? "Anything for the good of the business, right?" She feigned a smile. "I'm listening."

Diachi seemed more relieved now. "Good, Natsu Sen." He glanced at the other bosses flanking him. "Because I believe that we all need to move on and think of the future. A better future, where we can all get richer. Does anything else matter to any of you?"

Some of Diachi's clowns chuckled, others didn't react at all, a few peering at Natsu who wasn't amused at all.

"Very well," Diachi went on. "Qianfan's fall has left a lot to split between us all. Let everybody here walk away with a fair share that shall suffice each and every one of us."

The clowns cheered for the old man who had gathered them. Actually, Natsu wouldn't be surprised if all of this was nothing more than some staged farce.

Diachi lifted a hand to silence his folks. He is enjoying it, Natsu thought, taking note of the faint smile that hadn't lasted on his face more than a second.

"Before we split anything, we all must swear an oath." Diachi glanced at Natsu as he added, "That none of us shall ever dishonor the peace we all have agreed upon here, in these abandoned lands." He looked at his clowns. "Do all you swear on that?"

Unable to hear any more of this nonsense, Natsu whispered into Pantu's ear, "I will be waiting in the carriage to hear the conclusion from you."

Natsu was about to leave him behind when Pantu caught her by the elbow. "Wait," he demanded, his voice low. "You can't walk away now. It will be disrespectful to all of these men, especially to Diachi."

"This meeting is disrespectful to me," she said firmly, pushing his hand away. "You shouldn't be attending it either."

No sooner had Natsu left her deputy behind her than Diachi called out, "Natsu Sen, where are you going?" As she didn't reply, she heard his hurried steps after her. "Did something upset you?"

"Are you serious?" she snapped as she turned to him. "Half of these men used to work for me, the other for Qianfan. What was on your mind when you thought that I would be glad to deal with them as equals?"

"I promise I had no ill-intentions," Diachi explained. "I was just buying their peace, nothing more."

"You think I need to buy their peace?"

"I think it's better for all of us to conduct our businesses without having to watch our backs."

Natsu squinted at him. "Is that a sort of threat, Diachi Sen?"

"Many of the men behind me think you are the threat, Natsu Sen," the gray-haired smuggler said grimly. "What I'm trying to do here is prove them wrong. But I can't do this alone without your help."

Natsu couldn't help chuckling in contempt. "By 'my help' you mean: accepting your terms."

"Fair terms."

And the nonsense continues. "I'm sure they are to you and your friends."

"Just think of it, Natsu Sen." Somehow Diachi sounded pleading yet commanding. "A few days ago, you had nothing but enemies. Now I'm giving you a chance to be back to business without worrying about your safety or your child's."

The bastard dared to threaten here blatantly this time.

"You are wrong, Diachi Sen," came Pantu's voice, before Natsu might bluster at the old bastard. When the latter turned to her deputy, Pantu went on, "Until this current moment, the entire Mankol coast still belongs to us."

Diachi stammered, rubbed the nape of his neck, then said, "Let me make sure I understand this right. You want to take over the whole business with Mankol merchants?"

"The Mankol business has always been ours; that was the deal with Qianfan," Pantu stated, looking Diachi in the eye. "As an act of generosity from our side, we will let you divide his business among you all."

Diachi smiled nervously. "Pantu Sen, you are a reasonable man."

"I guess my boss disagrees." Pantu nodded his chin toward Natsu, a crooked smile on his face. "Because I'm offering you much more than you should dream of."

Satisfied by her deputy's quick-witted interference, Natsu remained silent as she observed the grim look on Diachi's face. What were you think when you summoned us here, old man? A bunch of gullible fools?

"Very well," Diachi muttered, nodding. "Maybe I should have mentioned this earlier." He paused, looking from Pantu to Natsu, his hands clasped behind his back. "While you were assaulting Qianfan's warehouses to lay waste to his men, I took over his ships. And I must tell you, not all of them were empty." He leaned forward to Pantu. "You see? I don't need to dream of what you offer."

The old bastard was in a better position than Natsu and Pantu had estimated. "So, all you said about everyone getting their fair share was just some farce?" Natsu glared at Diachi.

"They are no sailors, so they have nothing to do with Qianfan's small fleet." The old man gestured toward the nobodies he had gathered today. "I was talking about his many unclaimed warehouses."

Qianfan's warehouses were not that many. Unless...

"What you call 'unclaimed warehouses' doesn't include the ones Qianfan took from me last week," Natsu said gruffly.

"You need men to run those abandoned warehouses."

Natsu smirked, glancing at the Skandivians behind her. "You see that I lack them?"

"I see you have warriors who do not understand our business."

"For now. Until I'm done teaching them, they will make sure nobody will dare to come close to my warehouses."

Diachi scowled. "Is that it? I call for peace, and in return, you threaten me?"

Natsu kept her calm as she said, "I'm just stating the facts that should help us all realize the peace you have called for."

Diachi opened his mouth as if to say something, but Pantu was faster than him when he suggested, "Don't rush into a decision now, good man. Take all the time you need to think about it."

Daichi swept an arm toward the crowd behind him. "I gave these men my word. They are expecting a future of more coins to each and every one of them."

Hells and demons! The demented rascal does believe he is a real boss now. "Then it's your fault that you promised them what you don't own." Natsu gritted her teeth.

Pantu harrumphed. "There is still enough coin in the arrangement we are proposing, Diachi Sen. And more importantly, there will be peace. I'm quite sure you can convince them that peace with us is not a cheap item."

"A peace with the Murderous Widow." Diachi nodded. "I guess they will appreciate it."

Pantu exchanged a quick look with Natsu before he asked Daichi, "So, we have an agreement?"

"No doubt, we will." Diachi gave him a toothy grin. "Let's meet in three days after I'm done convincing everybody."

"They are here already, so let's finish this today," Pantu said. "Go talk to them now, and we shall wait."

"I need to talk to everybody, I said." Diachi kept his irksome smile. "Those are barely half the bosses I could invite."

Bosses. And now he is the boss of bosses, Natsu thought, suppressing a mocking laugh. "Understood," she said. "Three days, it is."

Diachi took his leave, Natsu's eyes following him on his way back to his clowns. "Find Manshik now," she ordered Pantu. "Tell him to take his men away from this place before we attack."

Pantu's eyes widened. "Attack? Wait, Natsu, we just—"

"Were you even listening?" she put in, snarling. "The old clown has amassed a crowd to intimidate me. Now he is going to amass more men to fight us."

Pantu still looked astounded. "All he was talking about was peace."

Peace with the Murderous Widow. "Diachi will turn into another Qianfan, only if we let him."

"This was a call for peace." Pantu gnashed his teeth. "If we attack anybody today, we will be everybody's enemy forever."

"We are everybody's enemy already," Natsu countered. "If we don't strike first, we will just be giving them a chance to take us off guard."

"You can't just kill everybody, Natsu. This can't be the way to conduct business."

After all she had been through, Pantu still couldn't understand. This was not about conducting business. This was about protecting the little boy she had promised he would always be safe. "I don't need to kill everybody. Killing those will keep the rest who didn't come in line."

Pantu puffed, shaking his head, his hands on his waist. "I'm sorry, Natsu, but this is absolute madness. I can't allow you to hurt as all, including yourself."

Diachi was already among his people while she and her deputy were still arguing. "You are wasting my time, Pantu." She turned to her burly subaltern, who was standing with the captain of the Skandivian band. "Jirou!" She whistled, beckoning him over. As her brawny man hurried to her, she added, "I have an urgent task for you."

"No, Natsu!" Pantu protested. "Stop it!"

Ignoring her disgruntled deputy, Natsu ordered Jirou to find Manshik, the only 'boss' who had stood on her side when everybody else had abandoned her. As he always did, Jirou didn't argue with his boss, and at once, he hurried to the crowd to get the job done.

"Natsu!" Pantu called out as she headed back to her Skandivian band. "I can't be part of your crew if you give that order!"

That made her halt right in front of the mercenaries' leader. It's just a hollow threat, isn't it? she wondered, staring at the ground, unable to imagine the notion of losing her trustworthy deputy. Yes, they had their differences sometimes, especially when it came to matters that required assertive measures, but she couldn't deny that he had always been for her since Botan's death. He was the one who had introduced her to the world her late husband had been keeping her away from.

"Something wrong?" the towering Skandivian asked in Goranian, rousing her with his gruff voice.

He wouldn't dare to abandon me. Not now. Not after all we have endured together.

"My deputy doesn't believe you can defeat these..." Pointing to Diachi's crowd, Natsu groped for the word 'clowns' in Goranian, but she couldn't recall it. "These men."

The Skandivian leader made a few steps forward, his eyes scanning his foes like a hawk eyeing its prey. Waiting for him to weigh the odds, Natsu stood next to him with sealed lips.

"We won harder battles than this one," the Skandivian said nonchalantly, then peered at Natsu. "But my men will demand more coin for it."

Natsu had already let them keep all they had looted from Qianfan's quarters and warehouses to themselves. But as Bilguun had warned her once, those Skandivians never had enough. "Don't ever worry about silver with me."

The burly Skandivian grinned. "Then consider your enemy dead," he said, before he signaled his muscular fellows to advance.

"Wait for my mark," Natsu demanded, her eyes seeking Jirou and Manshik's gang who were yet to walk away from the party that was about to be slaughtered. After she finally spotted Jirou leading Manshik and his men away as agreed, she ordered the Skandivians to attack.

The instant the mercenaries advanced toward Diachi's folks, Pantu walked the other way, toward the main road. "Where do you think you are going?" she called to her deputy, harshly.

"Anywhere far from here," Pantu answered, and not so warmly, without stopping or looking at her. "Far from you."