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Let's turn the timeline back to the present.
"Alright, let's drop this topic!"
Kanae said to everyone with a gentle smile.
"Wahahaha! I won!!!"
Milim, who had been locked in a rock-paper-scissors showdown with Rimuru, suddenly burst out in excitement and shouted at Kaito and the others.
One by one, the players drifted away from the showdown area.
In the end, Milim had seized on a moment when Rimuru got distracted and clinched victory in what had been an hour-long rock-paper-scissors battle.
"Kai-chan! I won, so that turn is mine! I'm the best!"
Kaito looked at Milim's fangs and that unmistakable "I won and I'm amazing, praise me" expression on her face.
Everyone present smiled warmly, and Kaito spoke with a grin:
"Yes, yes, you're the best. That turn is all yours!"
None of them really cared who got to show off anyway. It was just something to do when they were bored.
Swish.
Diablo suddenly appeared before everyone. He placed his right hand over his chest, gave a slight bow toward Kaito and Rimuru, and spoke.
"Kaito-sama! Rimuru-sama! I have an urgent matter to report!"
Rimuru looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"What is it?"
"It concerns the ships that appeared in the outer sea."
Diablo replied respectfully.
"If they're pirates, eliminate them. If they're ordinary ships, leave them alone."
"Kagaya should be able to handle something that small, shouldn't he?"
Kaito asked with a serious look.
"Yes. If it were something minor, I would have handled it myself. However, this time it's a Marine warship."
"I originally intended to deal with it directly, but Mr. Kagaya felt it would be best to consult with you all first."
Hearing that it was the Marines, Kaito felt a jolt of surprise. Logically, the closest country to here was Alabasta. Crocodile should still be a Warlord at this point, which meant there shouldn't be many Marine ships in these waters.
"Where are these Marines now?"
Kaito continued.
"The officer in charge has already been brought to the reception room by Mr. Kagaya."
"As for the other soldiers, they appear to have received orders not to disembark from the warship."
Diablo replied with a respectful nod.
"Then let's go meet them. Anyone want to come along?"
Kaito looked around at the group.
"Me, me, me! I want to go!"
"And me!"
As expected, Rimuru and Milim, the two who never passed up a chance for excitement, immediately jumped forward.
"I'll pass. I want to take my time going through Kaito's earlier work."
Veldora made it clear he had no interest in tagging along.
'Your taste is getting stranger and stranger.' Kaito thought.
"Hehe, I'll come too. I am Kai-chan's secretary, after all!"
"You rascal. I'm not going. The barbecue restaurant is almost open and I have to get to the shop."
Shinobu wanted to go too, but she had no choice but to give it up when she thought about the restaurant.
As for Kanao, she had already decided not to go either.
She was planning to head back and start on some new work. She had seen the look of disappointment on Veldora's face, after all.
"Alright, let's go!"
Reception Room
Kagaya watched the Marine officer seated across from him with a calm expression.
Hina stared back at him just as intently.
The man in front of her had a gentle bearing, but she felt no sense of safety from him whatsoever.
Her gaze drifted briefly to the guards standing behind Kagaya, and the feedback from her Observation Haki sent a chill through her.
It felt as though she would be killed in an instant if any of them made a move.
'What kind of place is this? I've never even heard of it.'
'How could a country this powerful exist in these waters? What exactly has the Marine intelligence department been doing?!'
While Hina was lost in her thoughts, Kagaya, who was seated across from her, spoke up.
"Miss Marine, may I ask what urgent matter brings you to our Jura-Tempest Federation?"
Kagaya's question pulled Hina back to the present. She straightened and replied quickly.
"I apologize for disturbing your country. We are actually in pursuit of a pirate crew known as the Scythe Pirates."
"When we arrived in this area, we found that they had simply vanished. So we entered your territory to search for any trace of them."
Kagaya nodded with understanding.
"I see. In that case, there is no need to search any further, Miss Marine. The pirate crew you are looking for has already been dealt with by us."
"That crew plundered villages and committed all manner of crimes. So your country eliminated them." Hina let out a quiet breath of relief. "Then I can rest easy."
Knowing the Scythe Pirates had been wiped out by these people put her mind at ease somewhat. A country that actively dealt with pirates on its own was unlikely to be one of the thoroughly evil ones.
There were far too many nobles in the world who treated their own citizens worse than any pirate ever would.
"You must be tired after such a long journey. Why not rest here for a short while?"
"You could experience the hospitality of the Jura-Tempest Federation firsthand."
Hina was genuinely surprised.
"Is that truly alright? We are Marines. Most countries not affiliated with the World Government tend to be rather unwelcoming toward us."
"Hehe. That's perfectly fine. Anyone who comes with good intentions is a guest here. Although..."
Kagaya paused briefly before continuing.
"If you intend to do anything that violates the laws of the Jura-Tempest Federation, we will not overlook it."
'They clearly have serious military strength.'
'Just the steel warships at the port alone were enough to tell me this country is no ordinary place.'
'And every guard I passed in the corridors on the way here made me feel on edge.'
'This country might even have someone with Admiral-level combat power.'
With those thoughts in mind, Hina spoke to Kagaya.
"You can rest assured on that point. We are Marines, not pirates."
"You worry too much, Miss Marine. I can tell just by looking at all of you that none of you are bad people."
"After all, no bad person would speak so honestly to a defenseless person like me."
Outside the meeting hall, Kaito and the others had just arrived and caught Kagaya's words. Every single one of them wore the same baffled expression.
How did Kagaya have the nerve to call himself defenseless?
Yes, his strength was admittedly on the lower end within the Jura-Tempest Federation.
But under Kaito's guidance, he had still reached Special A-class strength.
Compared to the world of pirates, that put him at least on par with a Marine Vice Admiral.
With that thought, Kaito pushed open the door and called out with a teasing grin.
"Kagaya, are you complaining that you're too weak? Want me to give you a boost?"