Turles returned to the Turles with Tights, who was still shaken.
A red light lit up on Cacao's head.
A scanning beam swept over Tights from head to toe.
Daiz stood up straight and moved aside, clearing half the passage.
Tights lowered her head and hurried between the two of them.
The door to the main control room slid open.
Amond strode out.
Behind him, Reiz and Lakasei poked their heads out.
"Lord Turles! You're finally back!" Amond walked over to meet him.
He spotted Tights behind Turles at a glance.
Amond stopped in his tracks.
"Who's this? A prisoner?"
"Boss, why did you bring a prisoner back?"
Turles ignored his subordinates' curiosity and stepped through the doorway.
Then he announced calmly, "Starting today, just consider her a member of the Turles Crusher Corps for the time being."
Amond and the others could see the confusion in one another's eyes.
They could plainly tell that this woman had no fighting power whatsoever.
Their boss had never done anything like this before.
Naturally, they couldn't understand what he was doing now.
Amond seemed to want to say something else.
He turned and met Daiz's eyes, which told him to stop.
Daiz could also vaguely sense that Turles had plans for the woman he had brought back.
Tights walked among the fierce-looking men, cold sweat pouring down her forehead.
She could tell that, though they looked at her unfavorably, not one of them dared approach her.
As long as the man called Turles didn't give the word, none of them dared do anything to her.
He was the absolute center of the group.
That discovery gave Tights a strange sense of security amid her overwhelming fear.
"Daiz."
Turles's voice rang out again.
"Take her to rest and arrange a room for her."
"The rest of you, don't bother her."
Daiz nodded at once.
"Yes."
He walked up to Tights and gestured for her to follow, his face still largely expressionless.
Tights followed Daiz through the main control room and into a metal corridor inside the ship.
The door closed behind them, shutting out those probing gazes.
Once she reached the room, the feeling of having survived a disaster washed over Tights. She leaned against the door, her legs gave way, and she slowly slid down to the floor.
But the thought that she would be forced to join a group she suspected of being space pirates from now on filled her with worry.
That state didn't last long, though.
Whether it was the nerve she had developed during her years of traveling the universe or her instincts as a novelist,
she found herself wanting to observe and analyze.
She braced herself against the wall, stood up, and began looking around the room.
It was a cage, but also an excellent source of material.
What exactly did this guy Turles want?
He had captured her, yet given her a space of her own and ordered his subordinates not to bother her.
So far, Turles had shown her no real ill will.
That only made her more curious.
She thought back to when they had first met.
Turles had immediately asked about Earth.
For now, could she only assume that Turles treated her this way because they were both from Earth?
Tights's mind raced as she tried to find some logic in his contradictory behavior.
After a while, her mouth and throat felt dry.
There was no drinking water in the room.
She hesitated, then walked over to the door.
It wasn't locked.
She gently pulled it open a crack and poked her head out.
The corridor outside was empty, so quiet that all she could hear was the low hum of the ship's engines.
She tiptoed out, hoping to find some water.
The corridors were like a maze. She relied on her memory and headed toward the main control room.
As she passed a metal door that wasn't fully closed, she stopped instinctively.
Light spilled through the gap.
It was Turles.
His back was to the door, and he seemed to be adjusting his Battle Suit.
Tights's heart leaped into her throat. She was about to quietly back away.
Just then,
a furry, brown thing swung out from behind Turles's waist.
It traced an arc through the air, twitching restlessly as though it had a life of its own.
Tights's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
That was a... tail?
She remembered what Jaco had told her.
"Saiyans."
"The most dangerous warrior race in the universe."
Jaco seemed to have come to Earth back then because of the Saiyans.
And during her years in space, she had often heard people mention Saiyans.
The mere mention of them made people blanch!
They were either invading or on their way to invade.
Bloodthirsty and warlike, they wiped out entire peoples wherever they went!
"They're born Destroyers, villains who kill for pleasure."
Tights's hands and feet went cold.
They weren't fellow Earthlings after all.
From the very beginning, she had been trying to get close to a cold-blooded Saiyan.
She had even revealed to his face that she knew a Galactic Patrolman.
Fear.
After drifting through space for so many years, was this where it would end for her?
The breathing outside the door grew uneven.
Turles fastened the clasps on his Battle Suit.
His tail curled back around his waist on its own.
He turned to look at the half-open metal door.
He had clearly noticed the movement outside.
"I was just about to come find you. Come in."
The door swung open.
Tights stood beside it, one hand still gripping the frame.
She didn't come in; her legs had gone stiff.
Seeing her like that, Turles couldn't help finding it a little funny.
"Only getting scared now? Don't you think it's a little late for that?"
Only then did Tights summon the courage to step forward.
Though her voice trembled a little, she gritted her teeth and asked the question on her mind.
"You're a Saiyan, aren't you?"
Turles didn't turn around.
"Yeah."
"You've been around the universe for so many years. You must have heard plenty about Saiyans."
"I might as well give you some good news."
Turles paused briefly.
Then he slowly turned around.
"I'm not as bloodthirsty as the Saiyans you know about. Of course, that's assuming you don't cause trouble."
He saw that Tights still looked as though she wanted to speak, with a trace of stubbornness on her face.
"You seem to have something to say to me too. Ladies first, go ahead."
"So!"
"You're not helping some general at all!"
Tights raised her voice and demanded,
"You came to invade Planet Karen, didn't you?"
Turles showed no reaction to Tights's question.
"I think I already told you. I'm here to work. Whatever you feel about it, neither you nor I can change what the job entails. That's all there is to it."
"Likewise, you don't have the power to stop anything."
"I've answered your question. Now you need to answer mine truthfully."
Turles changed the subject.
"I need to know how to contact the Galactic Patrol."