The next day, marking the official commencement of the Reverie, kings from over fifty affiliated nations across the globe gathered early in the conference room within Pangaea Castle.
Most of the remaining royalty and their accompanying guards spent the day much like the previous one, engaging in various forms of purposeful socializing within the plaza.
Sherwin had no need for such networking, but since he and the Felynes had to watch over Princesses Shirahoshi and Vivi, he was forced to tag along...
And was subsequently swarmed by people trying to strike up conversations.
A small portion were acquaintances who hadn't managed to speak with Sherwin the day before, but the majority were strangers eager to get on his good side, along with a few rare idiots attempting to lure the Felynes away from him.
Sherwin didn't even need to lift a finger against that last group; other people and more sensible companions dragged them away before he could act.
What annoyed Sherwin the most was that while he was being badgered by this crowd, he could still feel Cavendish's resentful gaze lingering on him...
If the location weren't so inappropriate, Sherwin really would have gone over to give that moron another beating.
Aside from the irritating social obligations, nothing particularly unusual happened on Sherwin's end. Moreover, with Donquixote Miosgard watching over Shirahoshi, there were hardly any interrupters... as everyone was busy trying to flatter the Celestial Dragons instead.
Consequently, Sherwin eventually decided to just take the Felynes over there to hang out, and his ears finally found some peace...
"Brother Sherwin, it's so boring here... Klee Meow wants to hear a story meow!"
(=`3=)
Well, alright, it wasn't actually that peaceful.
Inside the Reverie, King Cobra, having received Sherwin's warning, did not rush off to the Five Elders to throw his life away as he had in the original timeline.
Although the Five Elders did meet with King Cobra due to his previous request, he managed to brush them off with a different excuse.
As a result, Imu did not appear, and King Cobra returned to the meeting after a brief absence.
Because several countries at this Reverie were secretly backed by the Revolutionary Army—including the nation presiding over the meeting—the proceedings themselves went very smoothly.
They even proactively brought up the subject of the Revolutionary Army, turning the topic into a casual joke...
"I remember during the last meeting, someone said the Revolutionary Army would become our most dangerous enemy. But look at them now. It's been a long time since we've heard any news from them."
"Hahahaha! You're right. Back then, Wapol didn't take it seriously at all. Who would have thought that fool could actually be 'wise' for once... By the way, speaking of him, what happened? I remember when you came last time, you were still Wapol's guard, right?"
A segment of the kings who placed great importance on the concept of "royalty" all turned their gaze toward Dalton.
In the eyes of these people, only those of royal blood could inherit a throne. A "commoner" like Dalton had no right to become a king.
If he could not provide a reasonable explanation, this group of "royalists" would absolutely demand the World Government intervene and strip Dalton of his crown.
Whether they would succeed was one thing, but they had to make their stance clear.
Furthermore, in addition to these bloodline-obsessed "royalists," there were also greedy kings who would cooperate in "impeaching" Dalton.
To those people, who inherited the throne wasn't all that important; what mattered was the act of impeaching Dalton itself.
If Dalton truly lacked a proper explanation, or if the World Government caught him in some blunder and he actually lost his throne, that would be the best-case scenario.
Since Wapol had no suitable heir, they could simply select a "true royal" from among their own lineages to inherit the throne of the Drum Kingdom.
As for how the benefits would be distributed specifically, that would be a matter for them "royals" to decide.
Of course, whether they were "royalists" or "dividers," they all knew the probability of success for this plan was low. Thrones in the pirate world changed hands as frequently as those in small nations; as long as Dalton could provide a somewhat plausible reason, the World Government would not pursue the matter further.
After all, to the Celestial Dragons, it didn't matter who the king of a member nation was, as long as the Heavenly Gold was paid on time for them to squander.
However, for those in the "partition faction," it didn't matter even if the impeachment was unsuccessful.
Their main purpose in cooperating with the "royalists" for the impeachment was actually to intimidate Dalton.
They intended to use the excuse of "helping him speak" to force Dalton to concede territory and resources to "save" his throne.
After all, this kind of "commoner" king lacked experience, and as long as his personality wasn't particularly strong, the probability of him being bluffed was quite high.
These kings had done similar things before... they had experience.
Even the kings in the "royalist" faction weren't all doing this solely because Dalton wasn't of "royal blood."
The "royalists" and the "partition faction" stared intently at Dalton, exerting as much pressure as possible, though a look of greed shifted uncontrollably into their eyes.
However, they had miscalculated. Although Dalton's personality was not aggressive, he was resilient enough that it was impossible for him to agree to such unreasonable conditions.
Moreover, Dalton's ascension to the throne of Drum Kingdom was orchestrated by the Revolutionary Army. Wapol had been dealt with long ago, and Dalton himself didn't even know of the Revolutionary Army's existence yet.
"The previous king of Drum Kingdom, Wapol, was a Munch-Munch Fruit power user," Dalton answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"His ability allowed him to swallow anything and integrate it into his body."
"We already know that; there is no need to repeat yourself!" a king interrupted his explanation with impatience. "You only need to tell us how you snatched the throne from Wapol's hands!"
Dalton glanced at the king and did not fall into his trap, continuing to speak for himself:
"Some time ago, he swallowed something unknown. More than half of his body turned to stone, rendering him completely unable to move.
Most critically, his mouth also turned to stone, making it impossible for him to activate his fruit ability again or even to eat..."
"So he... starved to death?"
King Cobra asked in disbelief.
Dalton pursed his lips and nodded with a serious expression: "The doctors in our country made many attempts, but none were successful in saving Wapol. After that..."
A strange expression appeared on his face, somewhere between a wry smile and suppressed anger.
"After that, our country's Chief of Staff and the Official of Affairs fought each other for the throne until both sides were devastated, leaving me as the only one in the Drum Kingdom qualified to inherit the throne."
"That is truly... well... unexpected."
King Ramen said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "The user of the Munch-Munch Fruit ending up starving to death... that fellow Wapol... hah!"
Regarding Wapol's death, most of the kings harbored feelings of schadenfreude. After all, even the "Royalists" had no good impression of such an ill-mannered and low-IQ individual.
So, upon learning that he had ended his life in such a theatrical manner, the people present felt not even a shred of sympathy; some even felt like laughing.
Seeing that the goal of "weakening the presence of the Revolutionary Army" had been achieved—even accidentally hitting "friendly forces"—the king responsible for presiding over the meeting quickly pulled the topic back.
"Let's end the discussion regarding the Drum Kingdom here and move on to the next agenda ..."
...