Upon entering the room, King Donquixote felt somewhat uneasy.
It wasn't due to the environment, but rather Michael's attitude.
It was just too... how should he put it?
Too approachable?
"Toki! Don't eat so fast... Have you forgotten last month when you gave yourself indigestion? Wasn't it you who had the stomachache then?"
"Have some mutton soup too... You're the one who chose these ingredients!"
"Come now, King Donquixote, don't just sit there. Try my cooking."
King Donquixote could only nod repeatedly.
As a result, not a single word about rebelling against the Great Kingdom was discussed—he ended up stuffing himself first.
There was no helping it...
It really was too delicious.
"Burp..."
After an involuntary belch, King Donquixote finally set down his bowl and chopsticks.
"How did you find the meal?"
"Eight dishes and one soup—absolutely delicious."
"So, can ordinary people in the Great Kingdom eat a meal of this standard even once a month?"
"Forgive my bluntness, but even once a year is rare for most, let alone once a month..." King Donquixote sighed deeply. "Not even the prosperous citizens of Dressrosa can meet the standard you've described."
"Then do you wish for everyone to regularly enjoy such fine meals?" Michael set down his teacup after a calm sip.
"You must know that given this world's abundant resources, feeding this population should be effortless... Yet the vast majority of these resources are monopolized by the upper echelons of the Great Kingdom and self-proclaimed 'divine' beings like the Lunarian Race."
"This... is precisely why I risked being slain by powerful forces to seek your audience," King Donquixote admitted with another sigh.
"Despite the Great Kingdom's tyranny, their might remains overwhelming. Our rebel forces simply lack the strength to pose any substantial threat."
"The reason you can't threaten them," Michael tapped the table deliberately, "is that you revealed yourselves to the Great Kingdom and Lunarians before amassing sufficient strength. Your impatience... your premature exposure gave them the opportunity to crush your uprising before it began."
His gaze shifted meaningfully toward Toki.
The truth was, the deaths of Toki's parents had likely been caused by the rebellion's early exposure—an inevitable sacrifice in any revolution.
"We're painfully aware of this," King Donquixote's eyes darkened. "That's why some comrades voluntarily exposed themselves as decoys, drawing the enemy's attention so the rebellion could go underground again."
"Remember—you owe them your lives." Michael's piercing stare held the king. "For their sacrifice, you must succeed."
"But how? We need... time."
"Time to recruit more allies who share your cause. Tell me, how many vassal states under the Great Kingdom have joined your alliance?"
"You seem certain of this?"
"Naturally. Willing martyrs imply your movement has reached critical mass—most likely among kingdoms exploited as tributary states."
"Ah..." The king exhaled heavily. "Currently six kingdoms stand with us... no, five now. Nefertari of Alabasta chose to reveal herself to protect our covert operations."
Michael stiffened.
"Nefertari of Alabasta? They were... executed?"
"Most of the Nefertari royal family died in their palace..." King Donquixote's fists clenched involuntarily. "
The survivors—mere children—were sent to the Great Kingdom. They'll be enslaved under the Nefertari name, a display of the Great Kingdom's absolute dominion..."
"Is that so?" Michael's lips curved strangely. "In a way... this might be fortunate."
"What do you mean!?" Donquixote suddenly stood up, "Though your strength leaves me in awe... I absolutely won't allow you to insult the widow of a fallen comrade!"
"Calm down... I'm not saying this is a good thing, but rather... the Great Kingdom did this to intimidate people from vassal kingdoms like yours." Michael calmly watched Donquixote's furious expression, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
"Do they not know such methods would plant seeds of hatred in all vassal kingdoms? Of course they know, but they can't afford to care anymore... because they've realized you might actually overthrow their authority and regime. So they... became afraid."
"The Great Kingdom... is afraid?" Donquixote froze in place.
This was... a theory he'd never heard before.
"Brutal and powerful rulers usually possess even stronger paranoia and sense of crisis... after all, they know exactly what kind of scum they truly are."
"So when vassal kingdoms begin showing rebellious intentions... naturally they'd want to make an example to intimidate everyone."
"Then what... should we do?" Donquixote slowly sat back down. "We can't just watch those children be sent to the Great Kingdom, can we?"
"Of course not... that's why we're going to rescue the last Nefertari."
"But wouldn't that... expose the rebel army's existence again?"
"Did I say you should do the rescuing?" Michael rolled his eyes. "Your rebel army only has one mission... to gather all intelligence and report to me, then let me handle the rescue."
"You... will rescue them?"
"A man with no connections to any kingdom, completely untraceable in this world, suddenly appears and rescues the Nefertari widows..." Michael showed a kind smile. "Do you think the Great Kingdom would focus their attention on me?"
"Would they?"
"Absolutely." Michael revealed a confident smile. "To them, no matter how rebellious the army is, it still originates from nations and races they understand... but a completely unknown and overwhelmingly powerful existence would draw their attention more... as long as they still have normal emotional responses, absolute unknown represents the greatest danger."
"Because the unknown..."
"Represents endless fear."