Captain Ching stood up, looking at Rigel without any fear, her face covered by such a thick layer of white that she looked like a clown. "You're very brave, boy!"
"Aye! You think a few stories and some circus tricks can intimidate us?!" Jocard shouted.
The pirates were in an uproar, as if a fight were about to break out at any moment, all the pirate lords, except Jack, who had taken several steps back, hiding behind Gibbs, began to shout.
"Silence!" A fierce roar rang out, but it wasn't Rigel who spoke, but Calypso. The lights in the room dimmed, the wind howled, throwing the pirate lords back into their chairs. Calypso's face took on a brief ghostly appearance as her voice sounded like thunder in that room.
The pirates' eyes widened, all staring at Calypso with evident fear.
"Calypso..." Sao Feng was the first to whisper, admiration and caution clouding the man's face.
"So it's true." Chevalle said with his thick French accent.
The pirates resumed their argument, but this time at the lowest possible level.
Calypso's face returned to normal, glaring at them with fury and disgust, wishing she could kill all those fools.
Rigel wanted to be their king, so be it, they should have knelt the moment they heard his words, no! The moment they saw him!
Rigel glanced briefly at Calypso, then turned his gaze to the pirate captains.
"I'll say this only once, submit or die, you can choose." Rigel spoke as if he were talking about the weather, his wand appearing in his hand at some point, the deadly green mist slowly flowing and forming a huge snake behind him.
The group of pirates looked at Rigel again, seeing Diabolus behind him, they swallowed hard, the growing fear causing the room to fall into a deep, cold silence.
Nobody spoke for a long time, nobody wanted to be the first to say anything now, waiting for someone else to speak.
Of course, except for one person, the one whose pride was lower than that of a bottle of rum.
"If I may speak." Jack stepped forward, swallowing hard, but knowing Rigel and Calypso well enough to know he wouldn't be killed outright. "I believe having such a powerful Wit-Wizard and goddess as patrons would make our... professional activities much easier."
The group of pirates looked at Jack, they all knew Jack, some had even considered beating him up a few times when they were in a bad mood, but although Jack's voice was irritating enough, it was clear that his silver tongue hadn't died.
His words resonated with the group, providing them with a much more practical understanding of the subject.
Rigel is powerful, Calypso is a goddess, she favors Rigel, with Rigel as the figurehead of the Brethren Court... how good that would be for business.
Some pirates had already been convinced by Jack's few words, the first to stand was Ching, who looked first at Calypso, but seeing the woman's indifferent and irritated look, turned to Rigel, who merely maintained a neutral expression.
They had planned several things, including hanging Rigel for his insolence and even, in case of force majeure, agreeing first and betraying him later, but seeing Calypso beside Rigel, in addition to that gigantic snake hissing at them, most had already given up on those plans.
Ching was one of those people.
The pirate, the only woman in that room entitled to speak freely in the same position as the pirate lords, was the first to step forward and kneel on one knee.
For pirates, things like kneeling were laughable, even when Elizabeth became the pirate queen, no one knelt. The title was only useful in cases of force majeure, such as something that threatened the court, but in normal situations, each pirate still stays where they should be, living their own lives, whether they are a common pirate, a Lord, or a King.
However, Rigel's words were clear, he didn't want to be just a pirate king, there was no visible threat. He came here to be their king, in the literal sense of the word.
Ching had been through a lot in her life, but although she couldn't claim to be the wisest, what she was certain of was that going against the current now would only capsize the boat and drown them all.
So she knelt down, showing not only that she was willing to acknowledge Rigel as the Pirate King, but as a true King.
The other pirates viewed Ching's actions with conflicted eyes, some angry, others confused, but in the end, none of them were fools.
Sao Feng was next, he glanced at Rigel only briefly, and when he knelt, his position was in front of Calypso, but no one said anything about it. No one besides Calypso herself and Rigel realized what that meant.
Calypso pursed her lips slightly, finding Sao Feng's attitude laughable, she had no interest in his loyalty. Just as she was about to say something, she felt Rigel's hand on hers. She looked at him, surprised, but Rigel only shook his head slightly.
He didn't care, Sao Feng was looking for openings, but the hat's power held none. The moment he knelt, Rigel felt the hat's power envelop the man.
Calypso smiled, gently squeezing Rigel's hand, very happy, ignoring Sao Feng and easily forgetting about the man.
Sao Feng noticed Rigel and Calypso's joined hands, his eyes narrowing slightly, feeling bitter and irritated inside, but outwardly, he didn't move, maintaining his kneeling position.
The pirate lords, one after another, even against their will, knelt before Rigel. In the end, only Jack remained standing, looking at it as if he were not part of the event, of course, he remembered the effect of the pirate hat.
If it weren't for the fact that Rigel still had to help him with Davy Jones, he would never have gone there of his own accord.
Rigel's narrowed eyes, however, made the man jump. With an artificial smile on his face, he moved with his characteristic sway, making a show of it, before pretending to kneel, but stopping halfway and beginning to speak.
"You know, I just realized that the Pirate Lord position is overrated, Gibbs, you're the new captain!" Jack turned directly to Gibbs, who widened his eyes and ran away as soon as he heard that.
Jack froze, his smile frozen on his face as he mentally cursed Gibbs, turning and looking at Rigel, who still stared at him indifferently, rolling his eyes slightly.
Rigel knew Jack could find a thousand and one reasons to stall, so he made Diabolus float slowly forward, causing Jack's eyes to widen and him to quickly kneel.
The moment he knelt down, the Adventure Book opened again.