The Thomasian navy assembled on the beach refused to bow. They glared as Gin stopped in front of them, and the ryuu who guarded them began to kick them in the backs to force them to bend in respect.

Gin raised a hand and shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. And let them stand.”

His ryuu grumbled but obeyed.

When the prisoners were all on their feet, Gin put on a kind smile, one without a trace of arrogance or condescension.

“Honorable sailors of Thoma, you have fought valiantly, and I respect that. I visited your kingdom with my father when I was a child, and I remember the grand spectacle of your ships sailing in formation to welcome us and escort us to your beautiful island. From then on, I admired your navy and your people, and I always hoped to return some day.”

The prisoners’ expressions were still stiff. Gin had to soften them more.

“I understand that today may feel like a defeat,” he said, pacing before them. “But I urge you to think of it differently. You are not familiar with our gods, but one of them has promised us the Evermore—a paradise on earth—if I can unite Kichona and the entire mainland. Therefore, I do not come here as a conqueror”—this part was a lie, of course—“but as an equal to your Tsarina Austine, seeking a partnership for our two kingdoms.”

Most of the sailors’ faces remained hard with skepticism, but some of the younger ones had begun to soften, their fists no longer clenched, eyes less narrow.

“To prove this to you, I have dispatched an invitation to Tsarina Austine for a summit, in which she and I—and our brightest advisers—will discuss our kingdoms’ futures together.”

One of the older sailors, whose skin was as rough as hide from a lifetime in the biting wind of the sea, said, “How do we know you won’t kill her as soon as she agrees to meet you?”

Gin let his eyes and entire countenance droop, as if he were saddened by the accusation. “I suppose the cynical answer is that, if I wanted Tsarina Austine dead, it would have already happened. You’ve seen what my ryuu can do. It is no easy feat to win a battle against the world-famous Thomasian navy, and yet here we stand.

“But I reiterate: I want our kingdoms to work together. You’ll have autonomy to keep running your crews as you are accustomed, and the people of Thoma will continue their lives as they’ve known them. The only difference is you will have the benefit of Kichona as a partner, and we will have the benefit of Thoma. What say you?”

“Are we allowed to discuss it?” a young sailor asked.