Chapter 304: Unsaid Words

As the journey back to Norneau began, Kir stood on the deck of the Riverleaf, safe in his restored disguise as Professor Kiryu Nasumi.

After the battle it had taken hours of tugging on his bond with Stella to summon her to the small island on which he made his landing. She'd arrived with a retinue that included a Chancellor Lumin so furious the old hag had come out the other side to a sort of zen-like patience. One thing Lumin made clear was that their deal still stood, even when he threw down the suitcase at her feet and declared that he was going to break Norneau away from the idea that gold was money.

When she asked "What the Hell does that mean?" the only thing he said was "Watch." Her silence was all the answer Kir wanted, and she gave it. That, or as Kiryu put it, "Why piss off the living nuclear bomb she just hitched her fortunes to?"