Chapter 105 – The Princess and the Guard Make a Desperate Plan
"And aside from Teacher Kurenai… everyone here actually cares about me."
The more Yakumo spoke, the brighter her smile became.
The sincerity in her voice was impossible to miss.
Izumi and Hikari felt it especially deeply.
Because every word could have come from their own hearts.
Without Aike, one of them would still be sealed in eternal darkness inside a water tank, the other would have died in despair long ago.
Where would the strength, the warmth, the family be?
Their eyes softened as they looked at Aike, full of admiration and something deeper.
"I… I feel the same…"
Hinata mumbled, cheeks permanently pink.
In the worldview Hiashi had drilled into her since childhood, Aike was her future husband. Plain and simple.
So living with her destined partner was perfectly natural, right?
Beyond the shyness, there was only anticipation for the future…
Hinata and Yakumo's answers put Aike in an excellent mood.
He ate enough at the welcome banquet to feed three normal people.
Nami, Carina, Izumi, Hikari, and the rest were all in high spirits too.
The only two with long faces were Vivi and Igaram.
Tom's cooking was heavenly, but every bite came from their carefully hoarded emergency rations.
They ate through tears.
After the feast,
since Aike hadn't explicitly confined them, Vivi and Igaram slipped away to a corner they thought was private and began frantically planning their next move.
Or rather, how to survive the fallout.
If headquarters learned the entire Whiskey Peak branch had been wiped out, their infiltration was over. Crocodile's plot would go unchecked.
"Your Highness, what do we do now…?"
Igaram whispered, panic creeping in.
"Everyone here is dead. When Crocodile finds out, he'll investigate. Our cover will be blown."
Vivi sighed, her punk disguise completely at odds with the grief and determination on her face.
"It's too late for regrets."
"I can't abandon the Miss Wednesday identity."
"I have to uncover what Crocodile is planning."
Her voice shook with stubborn courage and sorrow for her suffering kingdom.
"For Alabasta… I'm not afraid to die!"
Igaram's heart ached at her resolve.
He racked his brain for any way to protect his princess.
Then today's bloodbath flashed through his mind.
The river of blood. The unstoppable sword light. And the man whose bounty surpassed even Crocodile's.
Maybe… just maybe…
"Your Highness, we might be able to use the 'Devil Merchant'."
Igaram's voice was low.
"Crocodile can't ignore an entire branch being slaughtered. He'll send people after them."
"They took the Eternal Pose. Their next stop is almost certainly Alabasta. Conflict is inevitable!"
"We could… borrow their strength."
Vivi fell silent, thinking hard.
The plan had legs.
As Igaram said, Crocodile's pride as a Warlord wouldn't let this slide.
He would retaliate.
But the plan meant using them.
If the Devil Merchant ever found out…
The blades that painted Whiskey Peak red would turn on her and Igaram in a heartbeat.
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