Chapter 1993: Unorganized Sea Bullies Going Pro
Chapter 1993: Unorganized Sea Bullies Going Pro
The practitioner gulped and nodded slowly.
"Y-Yes… Lord Eren. We don't know what you want us to do now."
Eren chuckled, letting the smoke drift from his lips.
"Why would I stop something that works?" he said simply.
"I'm not here to burn everything to the ground just to build my name.
To be honest, my divinity doesn't rely on pleasing my followers with false promises anyway. If anything, it wants me to punish them.
That being said, punishing someone without proper reason is as foolish as rewarding someone without proper reason. Why would I try to fix something that isn't broken?"
He looked out over the crowd again.
"I know what you've been doing. Some of you protect ships. Some of you rob them. Some of you do both, depending on the day and the weather."
That earned a few awkward chuckles and shuffled feet among the crowd.
"I'm not going to shut down your way of life. You've built it over centuries. It's rough, but it's functional. You don't need to stop anything just because a god is dead."
He raised a hand.
"But things will change—just a bit. From now on, everything you do will be under structure and accountability.
You can still collect protection money, but you'll have to offer real protection in return. I'm not trying to win some justice points here. But a good business is when the customers want to avail of your services out of their own initiative."
He paused before finishing.
"We'll establish a proper naval order. I'm not here to erase your survival. I'm here to control the chaos.
This island isn't going to turn into a temple or a monastery for me. It'll remain what it is—a stronghold and a business hub for all of us."
The crowd slowly started to relax. Some nodded. Some sighed in relief.
Eren exhaled the last drag of his Stellar Sativa Stick and flicked the smoldering stub to the ground, crushing it under his heel. Then, something clicked in his mind as an afterthought of a good smoke.
He squinted and scanned the crowd again until his eyes landed on the same young E-Ranker who had spoken up earlier—the one who had asked about the protection money.
"You," Eren called out, pointing casually at the boy. "Yeah, you. Come a little closer."
The boy flinched, clearly startled to be addressed again by name. But he obeyed, pushing through the crowd and walking up until he was close enough to speak without shouting.
Eren tilted his head and asked, "How do you guys usually charge protection money? What's the standard?"
The boy hesitated, licking his lips nervously before answering.
"Lord Eren… it depends on a lot of things. The size of the ship, the distance of the voyage, the kind of route it takes, and whether it's a merchant ship or a transport vessel."
Eren raised his eyebrows but didn't interrupt.
"For merchant ships," the boy continued, "we usually charge five percent of the total goods and wealth they carry. For transport ships, it's more about passengers.
We take around five percent of the actual fare per head. Sometimes we collect settlement money at the end of the trip too… especially if there was an incident."
"An incident?" Eren asked, one brow rising.
"Yes, my lord," the boy replied quickly.
"If a sea beast attacks or some sea monster tribes lay an ambush– basically when something dangerous happens, we charge extra.
It's like a… post-battle bonus. The currency can be standard continental coins or sometimes we get Menaka's Runes, depending on the trader."
Eren stood still for a second. Then he scoffed and shook his head.
"What a sham," he muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "Five percent?"
The crowd instantly tensed up. Some of the pirates and low-rankers visibly shrunk in place, their faces paling. Whispers broke out again. Many thought this was it—Eren was about to outlaw their entire business.
Eren looked at the people below him, and his expression grew serious. "Five percent?" he repeated, his tone firm. "That's pathetic. Shameful, even."
The silence was thick. Even Reen and Sifrona glanced at Eren with slightly raised eyebrows.
Then Eren suddenly smirked, almost like he was amused by his own words.
"Five percent is way too small," he declared. "Guys, do you think we're running a charity here?"
The crowd blinked in confusion. Some people opened their mouths as if they were about to speak but no words came out.
"From now on," Eren continued, voice clear and commanding, "make it ten percent."
Now there were gasps. Shocked looks. Then confused ones. Eren chuckled.
"Yes, you heard me. Ten percent across the board. Merchant ships, transport ships, fishing boats—if they're sailing in waters we control, they're paying for that privilege."
He started pacing slowly along the edge of the altar.
"And while you're at it, find ways to make our settlement fees more... flexible. You know what I mean. Make use of the sea beasts tactfully. Scare 'em just a little, then show up as the brave heroes who saved the day. If they want peace, they'll pay.
Also, from now on, we will stop dealing in continent currencies. Instead, we'll only accept Menaka's Runes as a form of payment.
It's fine if we lose some customers over it in the short term. It's fine if we face some competition in the market as well. What we will do is kill the competition when it tries to set foot in the seas– quite literally. With an SS-Rank general in the standby, we have the means to act a little bolder.
In fact, we HAVE to act bolder in the coming future if we want to survive. Create manageable conflicts of our own. Otherwise, some temples and cults might get wrong ideas and start to collaborate on a larger scale.
Don't worry. Even though we have lost a major fighting force from the Raashim Temple, the true powerhouses are still with us.
The dragonkin along with my demon army, things will be better than before.
This island hasn't lost anything it can't replace. On the contrary, it will increase its influence by many folds in the near future."