"Achoo!"
Cobra suddenly sneezed hard, then rubbed his nose helplessly.
"I really don't know who's gossiping about me behind my back… Hmph, probably that guy Michael!"
Casually blaming Michael for no reason, Cobra went back to handling the stack of government documents before him.
Although Alabasta had, under his guidance, adopted a so-called "constitutional monarchy," the system hadn't been fully accepted yet.
For instance, the prime minister still brought most of the important paperwork directly to the royal palace.
That was both a sign of respect and of trust toward him.
Even though it was tiring, Cobra felt a small sense of satisfaction deep inside.
...Of course, it would be even better if they stopped sending him documents that forced him to work overtime every night.
"Father! I'm back!"
Eleven-year-old Vivi, her bright blue hair almost identical to Crocodile's, burst into the room like a whirlwind — looking nothing like the dignified princess of Alabasta she was supposed to be.
But in Cobra's eyes, her energy was a sign of life itself.
After all, back in the day, Crocodile had been even more spirited than that.
That was a good thing.
"Vivi, where have you been playing this time?"
"Well, you know how the Revolutionary Army's been running that literacy campaign, right? I had nothing to do, so I went to help them out..." Vivi clasped her hands behind her head — though she was a pretty girl with long hair, her behavior was pure tomboy. "Those people who just moved here from other countries always look so surprised when they see me!"
"Surprised? Of course they are!" Cobra sighed. "Who in their right mind sends an eleven-year-old to teach literacy? Sure, I know you're capable enough to teach people who've never studied before, but did Clover ever consider the subconscious influence that appearance has on others?"
"...Oh, you're right! No wonder they kept staring at me instead of the book when I was teaching!" Vivi suddenly realized, eyes widening. "Crap! That means I was actually holding them back!"
"Princess Vivi worries too much. Those two families you taught have made great progress... they're just curious about you, that's all."
Dr. Clover followed her into the royal palace at a calm pace.
"After all, when someone suddenly finds a princess standing before them teaching literacy, who wouldn't be curious?"
"Really?" Vivi pouted. "Then next time, I'll cover my face so they won't get distracted."
"No, no, don't do that." Dr. Clover chuckled. "Right now, Princess Vivi is our nation's best advertisement... You see, those people who moved here with their families don't really understand what a 'constitutional monarchy' means. Many of them don't even believe in it. They simply came here to try their luck — to move to a place safer and more prosperous than where they came from."
"But when they see that even the princess of this country works in the most basic fields... even if they don't understand politics, they can tell that Alabasta is not like anywhere else."
Listening to Dr. Clover's words, Vivi nodded in innocent understanding.
The phrasing was complicated, but she understood one thing—
What she did today was the right thing to do!
"Vivi, it's lunchtime now... your mother's waiting for you."
"Oh! I'll go right now! I need to tell her all about what I did today!"
Vivi nodded eagerly, then dashed off again like a gust of wind.
Cobra watched his daughter fondly, eyes filled with nostalgia.
"Are all the girls of the Nefertari family like this?"
"Your Majesty Cobra," Dr. Clover's wise eyes gleamed with a hint of amusement, "it sounds like you're seeing someone else through Princess Vivi."
"To be honest, you could always reach out to Lady Crocodile..."
"And say what? 'Hey, it's your useless brother who couldn't even be there when you needed him most'?"
"While it's true that you weren't there for her back then, that doesn't mean you can't help her now. You have a chance to make things right... You didn't see it, but the last time I saw Lady Crocodile standing next to Michael—well, even if she didn't show much expression, her eyes were practically glued to him."
As the kingdom's top scholar, Dr. Clover's gossip was surprisingly sharp.
"And there are wolves circling all around Michael right now... If you helped Lady Crocodile get an advantage, you could mend the awkwardness between you two siblings in the process."
Cobra froze.
Out of everything Clover had said, he only heard one key message—
Crocodile!
And Michael!
Interesting!
"Ahhh! That damned Michael! How dare he try to take my precious sister!"
"Your Majesty, if you're going to pretend to rage and throw your documents in the air... just know I'm not picking them up afterward."
...
"Everyone, listen up! Line up according to your height!"
At Michael's order, the Seraphim — who had finally stopped rolling around — immediately sat in a row before him.
Five pairs of innocent eyes blinked up at him curiously.
"It seems that even though their authority chips were overloaded, they still retain a built-in command hierarchy," Vegapunk observed, watching the Seraphim. "The highest level of command clearly belongs to Michael."
"Then following that, the chain goes down to their genetic donors and the Vegapunks who created them," Shaka nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense... But their intelligence doesn't match that of the adult models we designed. They've mentally regressed to the same age as their physical appearance."
"But that's actually better for complete clones, isn't it?" Michael raised an eyebrow. "This way, when they learn to control their powers, there's no risk of their growth rate causing system malfunctions."
"Honestly, I'm still not sure if the Seraphim project should be considered a success or not."
"Of course it's a success..."
Michael spoke, then suddenly paused, as if sensing something. He turned to glance at the nearby York — the embodiment of 'Desire' — who was sound asleep.
Seeing she didn't move, he didn't bother exposing her.
Instead, he turned back to Vegapunk.
"Vegapunk... you still have that Mother Flame, right?"
"Take me to see it," Michael said after a moment. "Just the two of us."
"Naturally... It's the greatest secret in all of Egghead. Even Stella and Crocodile have only ever guarded its exterior."
Vegapunk finished speaking and led Michael out of the Seraphim test chamber, disappearing around the corner.
And from York's arms, something faintly glimmered in the shadows—
It was a Den Den Mushi, recording everything.
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