Batia Island.
Hospital.
"Although there was head trauma, strangely, the impact wasn't severe. With some rest, he should recover."
"Understood. Thank you, doctor," Momonga replied flatly with a nod.
The doctor cast him a complicated glance before leaving the room in silence, his expression dark.
In the quiet hospital room, Momonga looked at the unconscious man lying on the bed, lips pressed tight. He exhaled slowly, the breath heavy with frustration.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!"
Not far away, Tokikake was shouting, eyes bloodshot as he slammed his fists into the wall again and again.
Dust rained down from the cracking plaster.
One after another, fist-sized dents—some stained with blood—formed on the pale wall.
"She called me uncle... She called me uncle!!"
Tokikake roared like a wounded beast.
Blood dripped from his knuckles, but he didn't seem to feel a thing.
Gion sat motionless beside the bed, eyes closed, hands clasped tightly against her forehead.
Then, all at once, she stood up.
Her delicate eyes were laced with red. She turned sharply toward the man standing by the window, puffing on a cigarette.
"Daren!!"
"How can you just stand there smoking!?"
A surge of unexplainable rage shot up her throat, making her voice hoarse and cracked.
"Didn't you say you were the overlord of the North Blue!?"
"Didn't you think you were so powerful!?"
Daren said nothing. He finished one cigarette and lit another without pause.
That only made the fury in Gion's chest burn hotter. Her eyes glistened with tears.
"—Say something!!"
She bit down hard on her lip, so hard it left a deep, bleeding gash.
"Haa…"
Daren let out a slow exhale of smoke and flicked the ash from his cigarette like he hadn't heard a word.
The ashtray on the windowsill was already overflowing, a small mountain of cigarette butts.
The room felt like a tomb—silent and suffocating, like it had been built to bury hearts.
Momonga glanced at Gion, who had erupted into a sudden outburst, opened his mouth as if to speak... but in the end, said nothing. His expression was tangled, hard to read.
"What else could I have done?"
The voice of the Marine Captain finally broke the silence.
Gion froze.
She saw the faintest smirk tug at the corner of Daren's mouth—mocking, bitter.
He turned slowly to face them, a cold sneer on his lips.
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
The color drained from Gion's face.
She had nothing to say.
Because what could he have done?
He was just a Captain—just the so-called "overlord" of the North Blue. Even if Admiral Sengoku himself had been standing there...
The result wouldn't have changed.
They were up against a Celestial Dragon.
A world noble, one of the Celestial Dragons who held every privilege imaginable.
If they had dared to resist—if anyone had—then not only the Marines present, but everyone on Batia Island would have paid the price for their recklessness.
"Am I... am I still alive...?"
A frail voice suddenly broke the silence.
Gion and the others were caught off guard, turning quickly toward the sound.
The man was slowly waking, struggling to lift his heavy eyelids.
"Lia... Lia..."
He muttered blankly, then caught sight of Daren standing by the window, cigarette in hand. His whole body trembled.
"Marine... Daren-sama..."
Clenching his teeth, he tried to sit up, but collapsed from the bed to the floor, utterly drained.
"You should rest first..." Gion hurried over to help, but he waved her off.
His eyes were bloodshot, filled with despair as he looked pleadingly at Daren's profile.
"Daren-sama... it was you who saved me..."
The moment he said it, both Gion and Tokikake froze.
They suddenly recalled what the doctor had said.
The impact wasn't severe...
Could it be...
They looked at the man's dirty clothes. The buckle on his belt was clearly made of metal—and they both realized it at once.
"If you're still alive, then live properly."
Daren took a long drag from his cigarette, his gaze calm as he spoke.
"Under my watch, no civilian dies an unnatural death."
"No, Daren-sama..."
The man dropped to his knees, looking up at the Marine Captain, his face contorted with grief.
"Please... save my daughter…"
"Her mother died of illness when she was still a baby…"
"She's such a good kid—always so well-behaved, never cried or fussed... She even helped me sell flowers on the street…"
"Sell flowers..." The words hit him like a thunderclap.
Smack!
He slapped himself hard and burst into tears.
"It's my fault... If only I were stronger... If I hadn't sent her out there to sell flowers... none of this would've happened..."
He sobbed uncontrollably, pressing his forehead to the cold floor with force.
"Please, Daren-sama... save Lia... she's everything I have…"
"I'll do anything—anything if you save her."
"I'll be your servant, I'll kill for you. My garden... my money... take whatever you want..."
"Please... I'm begging you…"
Frantically, he began rummaging through his dirt-stained clothes, pulling out a few crumpled, mud-smeared bills and a handful of coins from his pockets.
His hands trembled from weakness, and the coins slipped from his grip, clattering and scattering across the floor.
The coins spun briefly, surfaces streaked with grime and blood, before slowly coming to a stop.
On their polished faces, the light and shadow of the world reflected faintly—
And the cold, unflinching face of the Marine Captain.
"No. You don't understand what I meant."
Daren's voice was calm.
He glanced at the wall clock again, then snuffed out his cigarette, reached for the white cloak hanging by the coat rack, and draped it over his shoulders.
On his broad back, the bold and imposing word "Justice" unfurled—
Majestic, cold, rising like waves.
A tide of steel and blood waiting to surge.
The man stared at him in a daze, confusion etched across his pale face.
Seeing this, Daren let out a quiet sigh and fixed his gaze firmly on the man's eyes.
"Let me repeat myself... under my command, no civilian dies an unnatural death."
Daren glanced at the crumpled bills in the man's hands and the scattered coins on the floor.
"As for the money..."
He gave a faint smile.
"I already accepted it—long ago."
With that, Daren turned and began walking toward the hospital room's exit.
"W-Where are you going?"
Gion couldn't help but ask. For some reason, a wave of unease washed over her.
Tokikake stared hard at Daren's back, blood still dripping from his clenched fists.
"It's about time."
Daren didn't look back. His voice was calm, almost indifferent.
Time?
Gion and Tokikake were stunned.
They suddenly recalled something.
From the moment they'd entered the room, Daren had been glancing at the wall clock again and again—like he was waiting for something.
Before they could respond, Daren had already stepped out.
His military boots echoed crisply through the long, cold hallway.
His gaze had grown sharp, rebellious, and ice-cold.
"Daren!"
A voice called out from behind.
Daren stopped and turned to see Momonga quickly catching up.
After a moment's hesitation, Momonga said,
"Before the incident... Lieutenant Commander Gion had interacted with that little girl. She bought flowers from her. She didn't mean for any of this to happen..."
"I know,"
Daren cut him off.
He looked at Momonga and smiled faintly.
"Seems you think pretty highly of Gion."
Momonga gave a bitter smile, his eyes flickering with something unspoken.
"There are too few like her on these seas—those who truly uphold justice."
Daren said nothing.
Because it was true.
That was also why he didn't resent Gion.
Her anger had never been directed at him.
She knew, just like he did, that in broad daylight and under so many eyes, there was no changing what happened.
Her rage had been aimed at herself.
At her own helplessness.
At the impotence of justice.
At the cruelty of the world.
"Anything else?" Daren asked.
Momonga paused.
"You're really going?"
"No Marine's ever done something like this."
"You don't have to..."
He trailed off.
Daren suddenly let out a low laugh.
"Momonga, you know what?"
"You're right. I've got plenty of reasons not to go. Dozens, even, off the top of my head."
"This world's full of tragedy. The Celestial Dragons have caused more of it than anyone could count. I'm just a North Blue admiral—I can't fix all of it."
"If I do this, I'll probably get burned. If anyone finds out, no one will be able to protect me."
"As a Marine, I should already know—we serve the World Government. We get angry, sure, but we learn to live with it."
"There's no reason to risk everything for a stranger, for a little girl I've never met. One wrong move, and everything I've built in the North Blue goes up in smoke."
"Yeah... too many reasons not to go."
He smiled.
"But there are two reasons why I will."
"Just two. And they're enough to crush every reason not to."
He spoke each word with icy clarity, voice sharp and unyielding—like cold nails hammered into the air.
"One: the North Blue is my territory. I won't allow something like this to happen here... not even if the one behind it is a Celestial Dragon."
"Two: that bastard's face was so disgusting, I had the urge to kill him."
Daren's smile turned vicious.
"The kind of urge I can't suppress—no matter what."
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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