Such was Brynlee's life for the following seven months or so. She did odd jobs to help out around the village, developed a close-knit friendship with Nami and Nojiko, and continued on completing minor subquest whenever they popped up – which wasn't all that often, all things considered.

And one day, the first piece of the puzzle finally fell into place.

"Pirates! Pirates are attacking!"

Brynlee was in the middle of the marketplace, conversing with Genzo, when the alert was given, and everyone started running. She barely had the time to register what was happening before Genzo grabbed her and pushed her inside his home, urging her to escape to the woods and keep on hiding there until the threat had passed.

But if I leave now, then Bellemere and countless others will…

[SUBQUEST]

Hero of the People

The people of Cocoyashi are in danger! Will you be able to save them all?

Save ALL of the villagers of Cocoyashi.

Reward: One (1) Title

ACCEPT/REFUSE

.

[SUBQUEST]

The Winning Side

The people of Cocoyashi are doomed. Might as well join the winning side, right?

Convince Arlong to take you into his crew.

Reward: One (1) FEAT

ACCEPT/REFUSE

Brynlee was momentarily taken aback by the windows opening before her. Two opposing subquests? Looking at rewards alone, the second option was definitely more interesting – as far as she knew, Titles didn't have any impact or power, but another feat could definitely prove useful. However, Brynlee hadn't decided to be reborn only to live out a life of regrets, and there was no way in hell that she was giving up the lives of these kind people for the sake of power.

When she selected the first subquest, however, a second window appeared.

[WARNING]

Failure to complete the subquest Hero of the People will have the following consequences:

Bellemere's Death

Nami's [ERROR]

[ERROR]

ACCEPT/REFUSE

Brynlee hesitated for a brief second. Not only was this the first time potential consequences were involved, but it was also the first time she'd ever noticed missing information. However, even if she couldn't fully grasp the extent of what a failure would entail, she didn't care – she'd save them all, no matter what.

And she wouldn't even have to fight for it.

Ignoring Genzo's pleas and protests, Brynlee ran out of hiding and stood right in the Fishmen's path, just as they began entering the village, with Arlong in the lead. It took a moment for them to even notice her but, once they did, they all came to a halt. Brynlee gulped a bit as Arlong narrowed his eyes at her. He was stupidly tall, and there was no denying the bloodlust emanating from him.

Still, she knew one thing for certain: to Arlong, money spoke louder than blood.

"Girl. You dare stand in my way? I'll crush you," he warned, showing off his serrated teeth.

"Are you planning on killing everyone here?" she replied evenly. "Because if you do, I sincerely doubt it'll go unnoticed. And no matter how strong you and your crew are, I don't think you'll be able to withstand the might of a Buster Call."

That made Arlong take a serious pause, his eyes growing a little more cautious. Buster Calls were barely even a myth back on the Grand Line, so a random little girl in the boonies of the East Blue definitely shouldn't know of them.

"… and who might you be?"

"My name is Lucky D. Brynlee, and this village is my safe haven. So let me ask again: are you here to kill everyone? Or do you seek something else?"

"Well, looks like we've got a smart one right here, boys," he chortled, though she could tell he was trying to hide how troubled he was by her assessment. "Well, I'll give you that: you're right. Killing everyone, as easy as it'd be, would only attract unnecessary attention. So, I've not come here to kill you all, but to begin the Fishmen's rightful ascension to the top of the food chain: from here on out, Cocoyashi and every single village on these islands belong to me. If you all want to survive, you'll have to pay the tribute: 100 000 berries per adult, 50 000 berries per child – every month. If you want to live, just pay the fee, and don't try to cause trouble."

"I see. In that case, I suppose you've managed to acquire a ledger of all registered inhabitants, have you not? From that useless marine base, I'd guess."

"Right again." He gestured to one of his men to step forward. The Fishman was holding a thick leather book. "I know for a fact that there are fifty-two inhabitants in this village alone – 37 adults, and 15 children. Your village owes me 4,450,000 berries."

"Ok. I've got the money at my house. If you give me ten minutes, I'll bring it here."

Arlong started laughing, and the rest of his crew did the same. At that point, Genzo had built up his courage and rushed to her side, pulling her back a little.

"Bryn, don't provoke them, I don't know what you're planning but you can't pay—"

"But I really have the money!" she insisted. "Just trust me on this, Mister Genzo."

"Girl are you trying to make me believe you possess over four million berries?" snorted Arlong. "I wasn't born yesterday – I know a scam when I see one. So what, you're gonna take that chance to make a run for it? I'm not gonna fall for that."

"Then you can follow me. I swear I'm telling the truth."

She met his eyes, determined. After a few seconds, Arlong offered a twisted grin.

"Alright, I'll play along."

[FEAT UPDATE]

Silver Tongue

Level: 3/20

+ 1 bonus (Will of D.)

"But know this, girl: if you're lying, I'll tear you to shreds and set this entire village aflame as an example. I'm not the kind of guy you wanna trifle with."

"Understood. Come on, it's this way."

Still, Arlong wasn't an imbecile. He quickly instructed all of his men to surround the village and round up all of the villagers – one word from him and everyone would die. As they walked past Genzo, she offered the older man a small smile she hoped was reassuring, and then she left the village with Arlong and the Fishman holding the ledger.

After a few minutes, they reached her cabin. Despite the time and effort she'd put into repairing it and decorating it, it still looked positively shabby. She could tell Arlong was growing more and more impatient, so she quickly went to fetch the money inside. She quickly took out the extra and placed it somewhere safe before heading back out with the required amount. She handed the heavy pouch to Arlong, and the Fishman's eyes almost bulged out of his head when he saw all of the bills neatly folded inside.

Once he checked to make sure they were real bills, he handed the bag over to his subordinate so he could count and match the ledger. Meanwhile, Brynlee stayed silent, trying her best not to acknowledge how Arlong was now regarding her – with blatant curiosity, and also something akin to recognition.

"Everything's there," finally announced Kuroobi, a bit aghast. "With 150 000 over."

"No, that's the exact number," she corrected. "The ledger doesn't account for unregistered orphans – meaning me and two others."

"How unexpectedly honest," snorted Arlong, before narrowing his eyes at her. "… you're a Lunarian, aren't you?"

Surprised he'd figured it out this quickly, Brynlee offered Arlong a thin smile. "I am."

"How did you even get here?"

"With lots of determination," she shrugged. "And to be fair, most civilians wouldn't know what a Lunarian is to begin with – what with the World Government hunting us 'til near extinction and all that."

"Yet you're giving up millions of berries to protect these humans," he spat. "Humans are the ones hunting you, forcing you to live your life in hiding… Humans are the reason you're an orphan in the first place! And yet you dare choose their side!?"

"I don't think there's a side when it comes to species, Mister Arlong – there's only one when it comes to ideals. Humans aren't responsible for what's happened to my species or yours – the World Government is. There are good and bad humans, just as there are good and bad Fishmen, and good and bad giants, etc, etc… And right here, in Cocoyashi, these are good humans. That's why I'm helping them."

Arlong scoffed. "You're delusional."

"And you're blinded by scorn. But we're not here to debate our political opinions, are we? You demanded money, I delivered. That was the deal, wasn't it?"

"Tche. You're good – for this month. I'll be expecting the same amount in four weeks."

"I'll see what I can do."

On which Arlong turned on his heels and began heading back to the village along with Kuroobi. Once they were gone, Brynlee heaved out a small sigh. She'd just avoided a great deal of pain to a great deal of people, but she had a feeling things weren't going to get any easier from here on out.

[SUBQUEST COMPLETE!]

Hero of the People

Congratulations! You've managed to save ALL of the villagers of Cocoyashi.

Reward: One (1) Title

.

[TITLE ACQUIRED]

Protector of Cocoyashi

So... Arlong's here! Now, before anyone comes for my head saying he'd never indulge a kid like that because he's too cruel for it... Well, there's no denying he's a racist, bloodthirsty asshole. But! He's also insanely greedy as well as Grand Line savyy - in other words, a random girl name dropping a Buster Call is bound to make him pause, at the very least.

I also believe that Arlong would be the type of person to believe "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", kind of. Knowing Brynlee's kind and their history of discrimination akin to that of the Fishmen, he's bound to treat her a little differently. And if nothing else, Arlong has an eye for potential - just like how he forcibly "recruited" Nami for her mapmaking talents, he knows Brynlee can become incredibly strong and might make a powerful addition to his crew in the long run, and what kind of pirate would he be to pass up that kind of opportunity, right?

Anyway that's all I have to say on the matter. If you're unhappy with this turn of event, feel free to NOT share it!

Later!