For the past few days, Cobra had been living with constant pressure hanging over his head.
Kairos was in Alabasta.
That single piece of news was enough to keep the king awake at night.
Reports from all over the capital had been pouring in nonstop. Everywhere Kairos went, people talked about him. Fear spread faster than desert fire.
And the worst part was—
Cobra didn't dare touch him.
Who was Kairos?
A monster who had defeated Admiral Kuzan.
A man who had sent Golden Lion Shiki crashing from the sky.
Trying to eliminate someone like that wasn't law enforcement.
It was suicide.
The frozen rift near Fire Country still existed as proof of what happened when monsters fought seriously.
If Kairos exploded inside Alabasta—
the kingdom might not survive it.
Cobra rubbed his aching forehead.
Ignoring Kairos was dangerous.
Provoking Kairos was even more dangerous.
How was he supposed to deal with someone like that?
At least there was one small comfort.
So far, Kairos hadn't killed anyone in the capital.
The Marines stationed in Alubarna had confirmed it several times.
That alone kept Cobra from completely panicking.
Then—
"Your Majesty!!"
The palace doors burst open.
A soldier rushed inside so quickly he nearly tripped over himself.
"Bad news!"
Cobra's heart immediately sank.
"What happened now?"
The soldier knelt heavily.
"Princess Vivi slipped away from the palace again… and she ran into Kairos!"
Cobra froze.
For a moment, his expression completely blanked.
Then his face changed several times in a row.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Panic.
"WHAT?!"
He shot up from the throne so fast the chair nearly toppled backward.
"And Kairos said he wants to 'spar' with the princess!"
Cobra almost blacked out.
Spar?
With Vivi?!
What kind of lunatic challenges children?!
"Get the guards! Move! NOW!"
Cobra rushed out of the hall without even waiting for the ministers behind him.
Meanwhile—
on the outskirts of Alubarna.
The area was filled with broken ruins and half-buried stone pillars left behind by time and sandstorms.
Children's laughter echoed between the ruins.
"Hehe! Catch me if you can!"
"You're cheating!"
"No fair! Koza ran too fast!"
A little blue-haired girl darted between the stone pillars, laughing brightly.
Princess Vivi.
Running beside her was a green-haired boy.
Koza.
The group of children had apparently invented some kind of kingdom game.
"I'm the vice leader of the Sand Clan!" Koza shouted proudly while running.
Kairos watched them quietly from nearby.
Then he walked over.
"What are you kids playing?"
The children immediately turned toward him.
Kairos looked calm and approachable enough that none of them felt nervous around him.
Especially Vivi.
Children naturally liked people who treated them gently.
Before long, Kairos had smoothly joined their game.
"You don't have a villain yet?" he asked with a faint smile.
The children blinked.
Then Vivi clapped excitedly.
"Brother Kairos can be the villain!"
"Yeah!"
"Then we'll run away!"
Kairos nodded.
"Sounds fair."
The moment the game began, the children scattered in every direction laughing loudly.
At the same time—
not far away—
Igaram's face suddenly changed.
Hidden among the ruins were several royal guards secretly protecting Vivi.
And now every one of them looked horrified.
"That's Kairos!"
One guard nearly screamed.
Igaram felt his scalp go numb.
Of all people—
why did it have to be Kairos?!
His entire back instantly became soaked with cold sweat.
If anything happened to Vivi, he could die ten thousand times and still fail his duty.
"Move!"
Igaram immediately rushed forward.
The guards followed behind him.
Meanwhile—
Kairos moved.
His figure blurred.
In an instant, he crossed the distance between himself and the children.
The wooden sword on his back was suddenly in his hand.
The blunt wooden blade lightly rested against Vivi and Koza's necks.
"Ding! Host defeated Princess Vivi. Reward obtained: Pleasant Goat Card — Knife-Wielding Version 1/1."
"Ding! Host defeated Koza. Reward obtained: Pleasant Goat Card — Knife-Wielding Version 1/1."
Kairos almost sighed out loud.
Again?
Was the system seriously trying to force him into collecting Pleasant Goat cards forever?
Meanwhile—
Vivi's eyes sparkled.
"Whoa!!"
Her little face was full of excitement instead of fear.
"To appear instantly like that… Brother Kairos, you're amazing!"
Koza looked the same.
His eyes were practically glowing with admiration.
But from Igaram's perspective—
the scene looked completely different.
All he saw was Kairos suddenly appear beside Vivi with a weapon at her neck.
And Vivi screamed.
That was enough.
"BASTARD!!"
Igaram's eyes instantly turned red.
His brain nearly exploded from panic and fury.
"LET GO OF THE PRINCESS!"
He charged forward with everything he had, gripping his weapon tightly.
At this moment—
he truly wanted to kill Kairos.
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