Chapter 10 "A Royal Summon"
The day came that we had to make an appearance in the Emperor's Palace. We got to the front of it and instantly felt a wave of intimidation pass by us. This place was huge, and the guards that were doing patrols when we went in were massive. I'd say they were at least 6'0 tall. One guard that I saw had a spear and a shield and wore gold-plated armor. He was about 6'6 and built like a tank. So, we tried to be at our best behavior.
A guard named Rex approached us and asked if we were the Black Stone pirates who had a scheduled meeting with the emperor and another group of nobles in the throne room. I confirmed his inquiry. He smiled and asked for an autograph; apparently, he had family in Tinwati, which we just liberated. We signed the inside of his helmet. I was glad to see our actions had somewhat of an impact on the people here in the mainland.
After that, he guided us to the throne room where the emperor was waiting for us. He told us to be chill, and when we nodded our heads, he opened the doors to the throne room and announced our arrival. We walked forward a little and knelt down on one knee to show our respects to the emperor. to say we got looks would be an understatement. I can't even blame them; we're a completely separate group from the royal navy, but they couldn't say anything since the emperor decreed our formation, going as far as visiting us in our first successful island liberation.
Just then, the emperor spoke, "Raise your heads, my friends, and stand. We're friends after all, aren't we, Captain Ishikawa?" I couldn't help but let out a giggle. "After that odd conversation back in Tinwati, it'll be hard not to consider us friends." I sign to our crew to stand; the emperor laughs, which is usually a good sign. He then collects himself and speaks up, "Anyway, for the liberation of Tinwati, I'd like to award the Black Stone pirates with the Mythiril Cross and a permit to expand their ship. I saw how many prisoners they captured from their mission to reclaim Tinwati Island from its pirate oppressors. Captain, please come up here and claim the medals and the permit."
To say, I was shocked would be an understatement. I didn't expect to get any medal or permit. I expected a pat on the back and a few free beers on the emperor's tab. However, receiving one of the nation's most highly held medals and a permit to expand the ship to hold more prisoners and crew was very unexpected. But, Emperor's orders, so I walk up to him and claim the medals and present them to each of my crew, followed by the building permit. After we claimed our awards, we were asked to enter a room with the Nobles and the Emperor to plan our next move.