However, when morning sunlight filled the streets and Bata's restaurant opened for business, his mood grew strangely heavy.
Because—
"Hahahaha!!!"
"This country is absolutely ridiculous!"
"Exactly! They actually claim they destroyed the Gambino Family! What a joke. Only the idiots in this country would believe something so absurd."
"Hey, don't say that! Didn't you hear that king's big speech yesterday? He said the Kingdom of Zephir will become the strongest kingdom in the world someday—hahaha!!!"
The restaurant echoed with loud, unrestrained laughter.
Inside, forty to fifty pirates occupied most of the tables.
Empty bottles and leftover food littered the floor.
They were members of the Wave Pirates, a small pirate crew that had recently started gaining some notoriety in the West Blue.
Under normal circumstances, a small crew like them—with fewer than fifty members and no particularly powerful fighters—would struggle to survive in the chaotic waters of the West Blue.
But they had been lucky.
They found themselves near the declining Kingdom of Zephir.
Here, even small pirate crews like them could act as they pleased.
As for the Kingdom Army?
Hmph.
Those fools could barely protect themselves. How could they possibly deal with pirates?
Yesterday, when Arthur declared during his coronation ceremony that the Gambino Family had been destroyed by the Kingdom of Zephir, these pirates had laughed until their stomachs hurt.
Even this morning, they were still mocking the claim while eating, completely ignoring the dark expressions of the surrounding residents.
"Damn it! These pirates dare insult His Majesty like this! I can't stand it anymore!"
Finally, one resident slammed down his chopsticks, paid his bill, and stormed out.
Soon, the others followed one by one, leaving the restaurant in silence.
It wasn't that they didn't want to defend Arthur.
But against pirates who treated human life like dirt—
What could ordinary civilians possibly do?
"Hahaha! Look at them—can't even handle hearing a few truths!"
"Can't blame them. With a king like that, how good can the citizens be?"
"Hahaha! Now that's a good one!"
The pirates laughed even louder as the residents left.
Behind the counter, Bata, his wife, and their daughter stared at the pirates with grim expressions.
Their eyes burned with anger and helplessness.
"Dear… please don't do anything reckless," his wife whispered, gripping his arm tightly.
"Don't worry," Bata replied softly. "I know better than to do something stupid."
Then he glared at the pirates again and muttered through clenched teeth:
"These damn pirates… His Majesty will wipe them out sooner or later."
"Don't talk about the king like that!!!"
"You bad pirates!!!"
A childish but furious voice suddenly rang out.
Bata and his wife turned pale instantly and rushed forward.
Their eight-year-old daughter, Xiao Yu, had somehow run up to the pirates.
Her little face was red with anger as she glared at them.
"Xiao Yu!!"
Both parents shouted at the same time.
Bata rushed over and scooped his daughter into his arms.
Then he bowed repeatedly toward the pirates.
"I'm terribly sorry! My daughter is young and doesn't understand! Please forgive her!"
"I'll pay for everyone's meal today. Just consider it an apology. Please don't take it to heart."
The pirates exchanged glances—
Then burst into laughter.
One particularly large pirate stood up slowly.
He swung his axe.
BANG!
Food and bottles were sent flying off the table, crashing onto the floor.
"Ah!"
Bata's wife screamed in fear.
Bata instinctively shielded his daughter.
"Hmph."
The burly pirate rested the axe on his shoulder, grinning viciously.
"You think I care about your money?"
His eyes fell on the trembling little girl in Bata's arms.
"It's been a while since I've seen such an interesting brat."
"I'll give you a chance."
"Hand the kid over."
"Otherwise I'll smash this worthless restaurant into pieces today."
"Daddy…" Xiao Yu whimpered, terrified.
"Don't be afraid," Bata whispered gently, holding her tighter.
Then he forced himself to stay calm and glared at the pirate.
"You… you can't do this."
"The Kingdom Army won't let you get away with it!"
"The Kingdom Army?"
The burly pirate and his companions burst into laughter again.
"Those useless idiots?"
"If they dare show up, I'll—"
TAP TAP TAP TAP!
Before he could finish—
Rapid footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
Everyone turned toward the entrance.
Then they froze.
A unit of Kingdom soldiers stormed inside.
More than a hundred of them.
They stood in perfect formation, wearing blue-and-white uniforms.
Every soldier was fully armed.
Their rifles gleamed coldly in the light.
Click. Click. Click.
Without saying a word—
Every rifle was raised and aimed directly at the pirates.
The pirates were stunned.
Bata's family stared in disbelief.
The Kingdom Army… actually came?!
Then the pirates finally snapped out of their shock.
"Damn it! It's the Kingdom Army!"
"What the hell is going on?! Don't they usually ignore things in town?!"
"Captain! What do we do now?!"
Even the arrogant burly pirate who had been threatening them moments ago now looked panicked.
He hurriedly grabbed his weapon, his heart filled with disbelief and fear.
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