Who could have imagined?
Less than two hours after the report was filed, it had already passed through multiple layers of authority.
"I am a noble of the Goa Kingdom!"
"I demand to report someone!"
"The Marine Colonel of Branch 18!"
"She is acting recklessly within our allied nation, arrogant, tyrannical, disregarding noble authority extorting and threatening lawful citizens!"
The officials receiving the complaint stiffened the moment they heard "Goa Kingdom."
The inspection conducted during the last visit of a Celestial Dragons had been deemed satisfactory. The Celestial Dragon in question had praised the kingdom's cleanliness and order. As a result, Goa maintained a favorable standing among the World Government's affiliated nations.
Still, this was technically a Marine matter.
"It concerns a Marine officer," one administrator muttered. "Forward it to Marine Headquarters. Immediate action requested."
The document was sealed and transmitted without delay.
At Marine Headquarters, the commissioner responsible for liaison affairs reviewed the incoming dispatch.
"Colonel rank… East Blue… Branch 18…"
He organized the complaint into proper format and, noting the urgency tag from the World Government, forwarded it upward.
The file was routed to the office of Tsuru, the Great Staff Officer of the Marines.
When the clerk arrived, he was informed she was currently meeting with Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"Knock. Knock."
"Come in."
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, urgent dispatch from the World Government."
Tsuru, tall and slender despite her advanced age, adjusted the purple Marine coat draped across her shoulders. Her grey hair was tied neatly back; green earrings swayed slightly as she accepted the file. Deep lines marked her face not weakness, but decades of calculation and resolve.
Sengoku remained seated, fingers steepled.
Tsuru scanned the first page.
Her brow furrowed then relaxed.
"Sengoku," she said evenly, "you should see this."
Sengoku adjusted his glasses and took the document.
Before fully focusing on the text, his eyes caught a name.
Saint Roselith Seraphina.
The daughter of a Celestial Dragon who had voluntarily entered Marine service.
He had personally approved her assignment to the East Blue the calmest of the Four Blues, intending to temper both perception and politics.
What now?
He read carefully.
A noble of an allied nation reporting… a World Noble?
For misconduct?
His expression turned complicated.
The report painted Seraphina as every vice imaginable: cruel, power-hungry, corrupt, abusive.
Sengoku exhaled slowly.
"Exaggerated," he muttered.
Tsuru nodded faintly. "Clumsy, too. If one intends to fabricate, one should at least respect plausibility."
The Seraphina they knew was disciplined, sharp, perhaps uncompromising but not irrational.
She had graduated early from the Navy Special Training Camp. Her record was precise, efficient, rarely emotional.
Sengoku tapped the document.
"This involves both the Marines and the World Government," he said quietly.
And beyond that
It involved her lineage.
He signaled for a Den Den Mushi line to be opened.
Far above Marine authority, within the administrative heart of the World Government, the document shifted hands again.
The moment the name "Saint Roselith Seraphina" was recognized, the tone changed.
Her father Saint Roselith Victor was not merely a Celestial Dragon.
He also held the position of Minister of Finance within the World Government's central structure. The Heavenly Tribute collected from affiliated nations passed under his oversight before allocation.
That kind of authority was not ornamental.
Victor maintained his usual detached composure as the report was delivered.
Until he read it.
His fingers tightened almost imperceptibly.
Arrogant?
Extortionist?
Treating human life like grass?
The ink trembled faintly as his grip hardened.
His daughter, disciplined, principled, relentless in pursuit of order being slandered by a provincial noble seeking leverage?
For a fleeting moment, his killing intent surfaced.
But Victor was not a reckless aristocrat.
He was an administrator.
A strategist.
He did not summon Seraphina.
He did not interfere directly with her command.
Instead, he altered the board.
"Effective immediately," he instructed coldly, "Saint Roselith Seraphina will be granted provisional authority as World Government Special Inspector for East Blue operations."
It was subtle.
It did not override Marine command.
It simply ensured that no affiliated nation could obstruct her without consequence.
The machinery of the World Government accelerated instantly.
The order was processed, stamped, transmitted.
Even the Gorosei were notified—not because the matter was grand, but because lineage and authority intersected.
The response to Goa Kingdom was concise:
Exercise restraint in all statements.
Do not defame a duly authorized Marine officer operating under World Government authority.
Back in the royal palace of Goa Kingdom, a Den Den Mushi rang sharply.
The call was transferred to the King without delay.
The King's face darkened as he listened.
"Who initiated this report?" he asked quietly.
The Prime Minister bowed.
"Sir Schmidt, Your Majesty."
A long silence.
"Strip him of title and position," the King ordered. "Immediately."
"And dispatch Aotluk III to manage the situation."
He leaned back, eyes narrowed.
"Inform him clearly whatever the Special Inspector requests, comply."
The Prime Minister hesitated. "Even if it implicates internal affairs?"
The King's voice turned cold.
"We will not jeopardize our standing with the World Government over a disposable noble."
Outside the palace walls, the capital remained beautiful.
Clean streets.
Ordered homes.
Polite smiles.
Yet beneath that beauty, tension tightened like a drawn bowstring.
Far away, in the mountains beyond Mount Colubo, events were already moving toward collision.
And in the harbor below
Saint Roselith Seraphina stood silently on the deck of her warship.
She did not yet know the full extent of what had shifted above her.
But she felt it.
Authority had grown heavier.
Visibility sharper.
✦ [SYSTEM] ✦
Authority Tier Updated: World Government Special Inspector (Provisional)
Influence: Increased
Risk of Political Entanglement: Significantly Elevated
Seraphina's gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon.
Power was never free.
It always demanded repayment.
And she had just been handed a larger debt.