"Chomp!"Lily tore off a chunk of meat with a savage bite, glancing over at Kaido across the table.
"By the way, has Dorro talked to you yet?"
"About what?"Kaido gulped down a mug of beer. The Voka Kingdom had no rule about alcohol being for adults only—especially not in the military.
"About tomorrow night. We're invited to a banquet at the royal palace. Didn't Dorro tell you?"Lily casually tossed a bone onto the plate in front of her, then picked up another piece of meat, still clinging to the bone.
"Oh, that. Yeah, he mentioned it. Said it's to celebrate our achievements. They're throwing a banquet in our honor."Kaido grabbed a chunk of meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Still… don't you think it's weird?" Lily muttered with a bone between her teeth, resting her chin in her hands. "There's no war, no festival, and no pirate attacks. So why hold a banquet now—just for us two, even?"
"Who knows? Maybe we're going to war again. Isn't the king always talking about joining the World Government? I heard becoming a member state takes a lot of money. Maybe he wants us to go fight and plunder for it or something. I don't get why we have to listen to a bunch of nobles we've never even met."Kaido waved dismissively.
"Idiot. We are already a member state. What the king keeps ranting about is becoming a member of the World Government's High Council," Lily snapped. Irritated by Kaido's indifference, she reached out and ruffled his hair.
"Hey, hey, hey! Your hands are all greasy, damn musclehead!" Kaido smacked her oily hand away in frustration.
"Musclehead?! You tasteless moron! This is called being fit! Go die, dumbass Kaido!"Lily instantly drew her longsword.
"Oh, so you wanna fight? I'm always ready!"Kaido whipped out his kanabo (spiked club), Hassai Kai, in a flash.
Just as the two were about to go at it—
"You two! If you're going to fight, take it outside! This is the dining hall!"The head chef marched out, wielding a frying pan in one hand and a spatula in the other.
"Tch."Both Lily and Kaido clicked their tongues in unison, sheathing their weapons and getting up to leave the cafeteria.
Seeing the fight averted, everyone in the dining hall let out a sigh of relief.
"Captain Kaido and Captain Lily are terrifying…"
"Seriously, I thought they were gonna blow the place up again."
"Chef Black really is something. He actually managed to stop those two."
"Yeah, amazing job, Black!"
"Totally! A toast to Chef Black!"
"Cheers!" xN
As the cheers rose behind them, Lily leaned over and whispered into Kaido's ear:"Just be careful, Kaido. My gut's telling me something's off."
Kaido glanced at her and gave a subtle nod. He knew all too well how accurate Lily's intuition could be—her uncanny instincts had helped them avoid enemy ambushes in multiple battles. And now, it was telling her something was wrong about tomorrow's banquet. That was more than enough to put Kaido on alert.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Scene Break ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A day passed quickly.Dressed in formal uniforms provided by the kingdom, Kaido and Lily walked toward the royal palace. After showing their invitations to the guards at the gate, they entered.
Along the way, they quietly observed their surroundings. They'd both been to the palace before—as the kingdom's top warriors, the victor of the annual Champion's Duel was always invited to the palace to receive rewards from the king.
But something felt off this time.
In the past, the corridor leading to the banquet hall had always been lined with guards. This time, there were none.
Something abnormal was definitely happening. The two of them instinctively gripped the ceremonial swords at their waists. These weren't real weapons—just ornamental slabs of dull metal—but in their hands, even scrap iron could be lethal.
At the end of the corridor, they finally saw someone familiar.
"Dorro! You're here too," Lily greeted with a smile.
It wasn't surprising—Dorro was a noble and their commanding officer. His presence at a royal event was expected.
"Of course. I was worried you two would end up fighting in here,"Dorro chuckled, dressed in formal attire.
"Let's get inside. I'm starving,"Kaido said, eyeing the doors to the banquet hall.
"Let's go."Dorro nodded, and the three of them pushed open the doors.
Inside the grand banquet hall, round tables were covered in crisp white cloth. Silver candelabras flickered with warm candlelight. Platters of exquisite food were laid out, and well-dressed nobles mingled, champagne glasses in hand.
Most of the guests barely gave the three of them a glance before looking away.
Kaido and Lily didn't care. They checked the head table—no sign of the king yet. All the better: time to eat before the inevitable speech.
While they ate and drank like they hadn't in days, Dorro could only sigh and rub his forehead.
"These two… completely shameless."
Suddenly, the sound of bells echoed through the hall. The guests stopped what they were doing and turned toward the main entrance.
The king of Voka Kingdom—Vodka III—entered the banquet hall.
All eyes were on him. Even Kaido and Lily paused their feast to stand at attention. Though, judging by their eyes, they were more interested in finding the next table of food.
"Ah, my beloved citizens,"Vodka III said as he stepped up to the podium and took the microphone."Apologies for being late. Just moments ago, I had a conversation with a special envoy from the World Government and a rear admiral from the Navy. And they gave me wonderful news. Yes, just now—our great Voka Kingdom has officially become a member of the World Government's High Council!"
Thunderous applause erupted. Every noble in the room had long dreamed of this moment. None expected it to happen so suddenly.
Kaido and Lily clapped along half-heartedly, unmoved.
"But—"Vodka III's tone suddenly shifted."The World Government had conditions."
The applause died instantly.
Lily's heart skipped a beat. She subtly moved beside Kaido. Her intuition was flaring—something was very wrong. She thought back to the Navy warship they saw earlier that morning, the empty corridor tonight, the unfamiliar faces around the king.
Everything pointed to one thing—this wasn't a celebration.
Sure enough, Vodka III's next words confirmed her fears:
"The World Government has decided—Kaido and Rosé Lily will be handed over to the Navy.Guards! Seize them!"
CRASH!A massive iron cage dropped from the ceiling.
(End of Chapter)
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