Dante: "Can you tell me the name of the guy you're going to marry?" I said to Isis, again incredulous.
Isis: "Mercedes Topman," she said, returning to her fearful demeanor.
Mercedes Topman is a friend of Ramses, just like him, someone with an ego that goes way over the top. He's the next heir to the family, and so far, at least when I left, he's had eight wives. I say this in the past tense since they're all dead. Not one of them lasts more than three months. I don't know what he does to them, but it's not good news.
And now that that princess is engaged to that guy, it's not good news for her. I'm not going to tell her either. I don't want her to despair right now. But this isn't what worries me most.
This island used to be a place where the world government had no influence. The fact that they make deals with them means they can choose to make a deal with them and belong to the affiliated kingdoms.
Technically, it's not bad, but in the beginning they didn't want to do that because they didn't want to be controlled, but now they're going against their ancestors. It must be for a reason. And that reason isn't right for me. Could it be something related to the disappearances of the journalists?
Dante: "If that's the case, I can't do anything." I saw how her expression showed despair and resignation. "But I can go see the king to convince him not to hand you over." A little hope returned to her.
Isis: "Let's go right away, then." She took me by the arm and tried to drag me. She couldn't move an inch. It was quite adorable.
Dante: "I can't. It would be disconcerting if, in a chapel where you should be alone, you suddenly appear with a guy out of nowhere."
Isis: "Honestly, I was overcome with emotion and didn't think rationally." It must be horrible to be in her position.
Dante: "I'll go ahead to the palace," I said, and quickly left the chapel the same way I entered. The good thing is that no one noticed, so I left without any problems.
As I was walking to the royal palace, I snapped my fingers twice in the air and let my arm rest. Within seconds, Hun landed on my arm.
Dante: "Go meet up with the others and let him know he needs to get back as soon as possible." Hun nodded and flew off to where they had left.
In case you're wondering, Hun has been watching us from a distance the whole time. It's not necessary for him to be by our side at all times; at night, he returns to sleep where we usually stay.
Once in front of the palace, I tried to enter, but they wouldn't let me, at least not right away. They left me in a secluded place waiting.
After waiting a good two hours, I was able to have an audience with the king. I had to walk all over the palace to get there; I feel like they were stalling for something.
Suddenly, we arrived at some large doors where some figures appeared, a person standing at the door. I didn't think anything of it. Once inside, there were three people, one sitting on the throne and the other two on either side of it.
Dante: "Thank you for receiving me, King of Welliston, and sorry for the sudden intrusion," I said, bowing my head slightly.
King: "No way, no way. It's okay. The one who should apologize is me for making you wait so long. I had some problems with my daughter shortly after you arrived," I imagined. "I formally introduce myself. I am Cesar Pentecostal, current King of Welliston. On my left side is my son and heir, Amon Pentecostal, and on my right is the chief of the royal guard, Reed Bejerman."
Just so you know, the guards and royal guards are different; one is commanded by the church and the other by the crown.
Dante: "Don't worry, it's actually because of her that I'm here." He looked at me strangely.
King: "Really? I thought it was a fabrication of hers when she said she got an audience with you along with a way to arrange her marriage."
Amon: "Is that true? That she has a way to avoid her marriage?" Something doesn't add up here.
King: "If so, you can tell us the way to avoid it. We will reward you with a large amount of gold and whatever else we can give you."
Dante: "Not really, but, if you don't want this, why bring her in in the first place?"
Silence. They didn't know how to answer my question. I saw them look at each other. In the end, it was the prince who started it.
Amon: "The truth is, no one from royalty did it."
Dante: "So who?" I asked, but I already have an idea who it could have been. I just wanted to confirm it.
Amon: "Johnny Blade, the current pope." If it wasn't them, then the only one with the power to do so is the church. "About four months ago, he brought a Tenryuubito into the country. He entered the palace as if he owned the place. We couldn't do much, and sadly, he became interested in my sister. Luckily, we managed to stop him from doing anything to her at that moment or take her away."
King: "Sadly, royalty and nobility no longer have the power they once had; that power belongs to the church. They made a deal, and one of those agreements was to marry the princess off to that monster."
Dante: "But they can't do anything. They should still have some authority."
King: "And provoke a civil war. We can't, especially now with the rise of piracy."
Dante: "In other words, they're going to surrender like cowards."
Reed: "Have more respect for His Majesty," he said, unsheathing his sword.
Dante: "Respect is earned as it is lost, and you don't have the will to protect your own family. You don't deserve my respect. I'm leaving." As I was leaving the room, I heard something.
???: "Wait." I turned around to see who had spoken. It was the king.
King: "Tell me, what do you propose to solve this?"
Dante: "It's not that complicated, taking power away from the church."
Amón: "Do you have any idea how to do it?"
Dante: "It's not complicated. You just have to unmask them, and everything they built on faith and lies will crumble."
They stared at each other again.
King: "You have a plan," I smiled at the king.
*Moments later*
While walking with Amon, we met Isis. This was after we decided on the plan we were going to implement to bring down the church. It's not like I want to destroy the church and all that. The only good thing about it, besides the faith it creates in people, is the guard it commands. Beyond that, there's not much to talk about.
The only ones who know about this plan are Amon, King Caesar, the head of the guard, Reed, and me. No one else knows about it. I checked with as much Haki as I could to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
The plan will begin the day after Arthur, Trini, Sulli, and Hun arrive, so they can rest a bit and inform him about the situation. They should arrive tomorrow or the day after, depending on how long it takes to get Arthur out of jail.
Isis: "Brother, Mr. Hero." "Mr. Hero?" She tried to be formal with me.
Dante: "Dante's fine, no honorifics, I don't need them." She nods.
Isis: "And will you be able to do anything?" She addresses her brother more than me.
Amon: "There is a way, but..."
Dante: "It will be dangerous. Maybe I'll provoke the church." She looks worried. "But don't worry. Your father and brother will protect you from anything that happens. Besides, my team, including me, will be there. I'm not being arrogant or anything," I said with a tsundere attitude. I hope that calms him down.
Isis: "But we still have the fruit, right, brother? You could eat it if you need more power in case something happens," she said to her brother, a little calmer.
Dante: "Fruit?" I stared at Amon.
Amon: "Yes, a Devil Fruit. It's been in my family for generations. It's said that the first king of Welliston obtained it and, with its power, founded the country. Now, the fruit is more of a symbolic object. It can only be consumed in the event of an emergency, at most. Otherwise, it will remain stored and protected."
Dante: "No one knows what might happen when we start this. It's best not to keep it too close to your chest."
Amon: "We'll see when it happens."
Dante: "I'll see you then that day. Keep your window open to receive my message. See you later," I waved goodbye to them. There was no need to stay here; I had another place I wanted to go.
*Some moments later*
???: "Come in," said the voice inside the room. As soon as I entered, I was greeted by the sight of a man eating candy while reading a document in a somewhat lazy, resting position. "Oh, I didn't expect you'd be back here so soon, Dante." The man in front of me was the Pope.
I decided to sit down. Since this conversation could be long and very tense, I would take advantage of being comfortable at the beginning.
Dante: "Yeah, well, the thing is, I have some questions for you," I said in the calmest and most indifferent way, so he'd sense I had bad intentions.
Johnny: "Hmm, and what are they?" he asked, still looking at the document and eating candy.
Dante: "Why did you make a deal with a celestial dragon? And where are the journalists who were in the country and mysteriously disappeared?" Absolute silence. I wasn't going to play fast and loose all day. I'll roll all the dice now, period.
I felt the pressure in the room suddenly rise. I didn't stay behind, boosting my own as well.
Johnny: "That's none of your business," I said, looking at me, a colder and more calculating look than before.
Dante: "Of course it's my business. We all have a moral duty to fulfill, and I'm not going to ignore mine like others do." I gave him a cold look as well. "I'm not going to let him hand her over to Mercedes. Unlike some who are capable of caring for their slaves, he has no self-control. He's more spoiled than he should be." He stared at me for a moment.
Johnny: "I see you've had some experience with the Tenryuubito." Shit, I loosened my tongue more than usual. I thought in panic, but I didn't let it show on my expression and face. "Maybe an ex-marine, a member of the government, or something. It doesn't really matter, what's done is done."
It's true, the situation is already bad. Even if we manage to take power away from these guys, Mercedes is still going to come.
Dante: "Even if that's the case, I'd like to know, why did you do it?" We stared at each other for a few moments. He stood up and looked out the window.
Johnny: "It's all because of One Piece." What does that have to do with this situation? "You haven't been in this country long, but ever since Gold Roger revealed his great hidden treasure, piracy has been on the rise. It hasn't slowed down at all. Since then, every so often, pirate groups have tried to invade the country. The last attempt left the guard in very poor condition, so we need more power to deal with these situations."
I looked back at him, and at that moment, the documents on the table rose and moved in the direction of Johnny.
Johnny: "I made a deal with that scum. In exchange for the princess, he gave me a Devil Fruit, the Tere-tere no Mi, the Telekinesis Fruit. With this fruit, I will have the power to repel my enemies," he said. "Enemies, not pirates."
(Note: Tere-tere comes from the Japanese word terekineshisu, which means telekinesis, according to Google.)
Dante: "I think there were other ways to do it, not resort to the devil's power as soon as you have the chance." By devil, I meant Mercedes, not the fruit. "Don't you already take enough from the people here? You ask for compensation, you ask for money, you ask for people to be new guards. Now that you have the fruit, you're going to stop doing it, right?" He didn't answer.
I don't like this guy that much anymore.
Johnny: "I'll do whatever it takes."
Dante: "I'll do whatever it takes, my balls." I stood up from my chair. "You're just looking for more power, and you're just looking for excuses to do it." After a few seconds, he started laughing.
Johnny: "AHHAHAHAHAHAHA," after laughing, he wiped his tears. "Maybe you're right. After all, none of my predecessors surrendered power. They all died without ever relinquishing their positions. Positions caused them to be consumed by greed, but I'm different. I've always been greedy from the beginning, and to have this power, I had to kill the previous pope and his archbishops."
This guy isn't 100% in his right mind. He knows how to hide his emotions.
Dante: "So everything that happens in this country is your fault, trash."
He threw himself at me, grabbed me by the collar, and pushed me against the wall, putting his arm around my neck, squeezing it. The worst part is that I realized his arm was covered in a black metallic coating.
Johnny: "I did what I thought was right, and just so you know, I was the one who killed the journalists. They were peeping into places they shouldn't be peeping. I found them, butchered them, and threw the remains to the spider you killed. And I'd do it again, over and over again, just so they wouldn't mess with my empire. You're going to do something about it, "hero." I remained silent. This wasn't the time for a confrontation, at least not now.
He let me go and returned to his seat.
Johnny: "In all the things you did for the country, I won't do anything to you, because it would reflect badly on the church if something happened to you. All I ask is that you leave the country as soon as possible. Now get out of my sight."
I didn't wait any longer and left here. This only encouraged me to do what I was going to do before.
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Sorry if I miss some spelling mistakes, I try to pay more attention to those details but they still slip through the net, and I don't plan on using an AI to fix it, since I'll never learn to do it myself that way.