Inside the royal palace of Alabasta, Cobra and Vivi had invited Amon in for a grand banquet. It was partly to thank him for bringing the rain back to the kingdom, and partly out of gratitude for saving Vivi's life. As a man who adored his daughter above all else, Vivi was everything to Cobra, and the thought of harm coming to her was something he could not even begin to entertain.
Cobra toasted him again and again with great enthusiasm. If not for Amon's considerable tolerance for alcohol, he might well have ended up face-down on the table before the night was half over.
The toasting, though, was still manageable. What caught Amon off guard was what happened midway through the banquet, when Cobra came walking over with a whole procession of young, strikingly beautiful women trailing behind him.
"Mr. Amon, these are the most charming ladies our kingdom has to offer. When they heard you were the one who brought the rain back to us, they insisted on meeting you in person."
Cobra greeted him politely, nudging the women forward as he spoke. The dignified wrinkles on his face held for about a second before he broke into a sly, knowing grin, the kind of look every man immediately understood.
Old fox through and through.
"Is that really him? He's gorgeous."
"I've never seen anyone that handsome in my life."
"I'm done. My heart is completely lost."
"Listen up, ladies. That man is mine."
"Look at those arms. That is a real man."
The women had been less than thrilled when Cobra first brought them over, having had no idea what Amon looked like. The moment they got a clear view of him, the atmosphere flipped entirely. Every one of them wore a dazed, lovestruck expression, and the bolder ones had already begun drifting toward him, pressing close with a familiarity that left no room for misinterpretation.
The mild buzz Amon had been riding evaporated on the spot.
He glanced at the women gathered behind Cobra, then back at the king's oddly gleeful expression. "Your Majesty..."
"It's like this." Cobra stepped in closer and dropped his voice. "These are all unmarried women of our kingdom, every one of them. They admire you greatly. You must be unattached, yes? I notice you have no companion with you. A man travelling alone can get lonely. So why not choose one, or perhaps a few, to travel alongside you?"
He punctuated the offer with an exaggerated eyebrow raise that communicated everything his words hadn't.
Amon stared at him in silence for a moment. He had suspected where this was heading the instant the women appeared, but hearing "one or perhaps a few" said out loud with that completely straight-faced expression still made him blink. "King Cobra... are you trying to marry me into Alabasta?"
What a rogue. He genuinely could not reconcile this version of the man with the image of a devoted, principled king.
And no, he had absolutely no intention of settling down in Alabasta.
"No, no, you've misunderstood me entirely, Mr. Amon!" Cobra waved his hands hastily when he sensed Amon's displeasure. "We all know you'll be leaving sooner or later, and these ladies understand that too. So no matter who you choose, they'd be willing to sail with you, look after your day-to-day needs, serve as attendants of a sort."
He leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice another notch. "The kind of attendants who can warm a bed."
"Absolutely not."
Before Amon could even open his mouth, Vivi shot to her feet from her seat beside him, hands planted firmly on her hips.
"Mr. Amon still has to teach me magic! He has no time to go playing around with a bunch of older women!"
"That's right, Mr. Amon, you promised you would teach me!" she added, turning to him with a look that reinforced her claim.
After delivering her verdict to the assembled women, Vivi swiveled back to Amon and immediately shifted into a helpless, pleading expression, eyes shimmering with the very convincing beginnings of tears.
"Vivi, don't be difficult. This concerns Mr. Amon's happiness," Cobra said with a tired sigh, giving his daughter a mildly exasperated look.
His plan had been straightforward enough. Send Amon off with some company, earn a little goodwill, and ensure that when Alabasta was in trouble someday, Amon would not simply look the other way. Seeing Vivi derail the whole thing was inconvenient. As a ruler, he had to weigh the kingdom's needs even when his fatherly indulgence wanted to let her have her way.
"Ahem. King Cobra, I'm grateful for the thought, truly." Amon set down his cup and smiled. "But I've lived alone long enough that I'm used to it. I prefer it that way. Besides, I did promise the princess I would stay and train her, so I won't be rushing off anytime soon."
He understood perfectly well what Cobra was angling for. Truthfully, none of these women caught his interest. But he did grasp the underlying intent, the king wanted to forge some kind of bond with him. Offering to teach Vivi gave him a natural way to honour that without accepting anything he didn't want. Becoming her teacher was its own form of connection to Alabasta.
"Hehe. Father, you heard him!" Vivi spun on her heel with a triumphant grin. "Now please send all these ladies away before Mr. Amon changes his mind!"
"Fine, fine." Cobra relented, waving the women off with a hand that carried just a trace of regret. Still, he thought to himself, his real goal had been met. If Amon was willing to become Vivi's teacher, then when the time came and Alabasta needed help, surely he would not stand by and do nothing. That thought was enough to settle him.
...
Once Cobra had drifted off to another part of the hall, Vivi slipped back to Amon's side and leaned in quietly.
"Mr. Amon... do you really mean it? You'll actually teach me?"
She had made the whole thing up on the spot during the commotion, and had spent the next few moments quietly bracing herself for Amon to deny it entirely. The fact that he had simply agreed, without hesitation, filled her with a warmth she hadn't expected.