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Going Home Inside the Rhodes Island conference room, the Elite Operators were gathered together—a rare occurrence.
Every person in this room was a seasoned veteran who had weathered countless bloody storms, yet the combat footage playing on the monitor had plunged the room into absolute, stunned silence.
Right now, the other Elites were desperately hoping the restless big cat would say something to break the suffocating tension.
But Blaze was currently slumped in her chair, staring blankly at the ceiling like her soul had left her body.
She was likely recalling the conversation she had with Kai a few days ago, when she had enthusiastically tracked him down and challenged him to a sparring match.
He had agreed immediately.
If the Originium Arts hadn’t completely fried her brain, she vividly remembered Kai saying they could throw down whenever he had free time back on the landship.
Image: Blaze “Amiya!
Dr.
Kal’tsit!” Blaze suddenly sat up, eyes wide.
“Are there any emergency dispatch missions available?!
Preferably the kind where I’m deployed while Kai is here, and I only come back when Kai is out on a mission!” “Blaze?
What’s wrong?” Amiya asked, startled.
“I challenged Kai to a fight!” Blaze groaned in despair.
“Looking at this footage, he could literally swat me into a red mist with a single backhand!” Blaze loved a good fight, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed committing suicide.
She fully believed Kai harbored no ill will toward her, but when an adult roughhouses with a toddler, accidents happen.
If Kai actually got really into the fight and slipped up for even a fraction of a second…
they’d be scraping her off the walls with a spatula.
She was a feline, sure, but she didn’t actually have nine lives, and she certainly wasn’t a cartoon cat named Tom.
“Dr.
Kal’tsit…
what are your thoughts?” Logos rapped his knuckles against the table, dragging the meeting back on track.
After witnessing Kai’s overwhelming power, for the very first time, Logos felt that Theresa’s dream might not just be a dream anymore.
As the Lord of the Banshees and a representative of the Sarkaz Royal Court, the fact that Logos had chosen to join Rhodes Island proved he was an idealist at heart.
And the most important rule of an idealist is absolute honesty, which meant he could be incredibly blunt.
Image: Logos In a situation like this, only he would dare ask Kal’tsit her thoughts so directly.
From his perspective, if Kai accepted the crown of the Demon King, not only would the Ten Royal Courts flock to his banner, but at least half the Sarkaz in the world would rally under his command.
The Sarkaz respected absolute strength above all else.
With Kai leading them, even if they decided to rebuild a new Kazdel right on top of the ruins of the old capital, absolutely no one would dare oppose them.
No nation wanted to make an enemy out of a man who could incinerate a mobile city with a single breath.
In short, the revival of Kazdel was within reach.
“Amiya has already spoken with Kai regarding the Demon King’s crown,” Kal’tsit replied evenly.
“He will not accept it.
However, he has made a promise: he will always stand behind the Doctor.
As long as the Doctor remains with Rhodes Island, his strength is Rhodes Island’s strength.” “…I understand.
That is for the best, then.
I apologize, Amiya.” “It’s alright, Mr.
Logos,” Amiya smiled gently.
“Even I’ve caught myself daydreaming about how wonderful it would be if Mr.
Kai became the Demon King.
But I will absolutely never run from my responsibilities.
I will work hard.” “Alright, alright, enough of that.
Who wants some apple tarts?
I baked them myself.” A cool and dashing older woman broke the tension with a lighthearted, joking tone, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.
Compared to some of the ancient beings in the room, her actual age might have been on the lower end, but she commanded the absolute respect of everyone present.
No one ignored her when she spoke.
“Grandma, I’ll take a piece!” Blaze cheered up instantly.
“Oh, bounced back quickly, didn’t you, Blaze?
Alright, you get a big piece.
Ahahaha.” The elderly Sankta produced an apple tart from seemingly nowhere, passed it to Blaze, and then looked around the table, her tone sobering slightly.
“Everyone, do not let Kai’s sudden appearance go to your heads.
Is Rhodes Island truly prepared to weather the kind of storm that kind of power attracts?
I don’t think we are.
And please, everyone, remember one crucial fact: Rhodes Island is not Kazdel’s government-in-exile.
Yes, securing recognition through overwhelming martial force is incredibly easy, but is that truly the path Rhodes Island wants to take?
We have one goal, and one goal only: to do exactly what we have always done.
To heal the suffering of this land.
Perhaps Mr.
Kai sees that far more clearly than most of us.” Yes, they all needed to remember that critical fact.
Rhodes Island was not the exiled government of Kazdel.
They were a pharmaceutical company dedicated to finding a cure for Oripathy.
However, Kai’s power wasn’t a secret that needed to be kept.
In fact, having that overwhelming deterrence made it much easier for Rhodes Island to operate freely across international borders.
Before long, through various intelligence networks, copies of that combat recording landed on the desks of very important people.
It was a recording destined to give many leaders sleepless, tossing-and-turning nights.
Yet, somewhere far away, a Trailblazer reaching for the stars felt a surge of joy upon seeing it, and a certain figure sitting upon a throne…
….
So, what was their ultimate trump card doing at this exact moment?
He was browsing Closure’s shop, carefully picking out souvenirs for Hestia.
He had hatched this plan back when he was in Lungmen.
Originally, he wanted to buy her a nice set of jewelry, but he quickly discovered that the cheap stuff looked worse than what you could find in Orario, and the stuff that looked better was vastly out of his budget…
No matter what world you were in, money was always a massive headache!
“This is a dessert gift box from Laterano.
It’s the export version with normal sugar levels,” Closure explained, handing him the items.
“These are premium meat sausages and chocolates from Ursus.
They’re a heavy industry nation, but their food sector is actually really solid.
Oh, and here’s a complete vinyl collection from the Dossoles music festival.
I’ll throw in a record player for you too…” “Thanks, Closure.
Must have been a lot of work tracking all this down.” “It’s fine!
Rhodes Island has branch offices in almost every country.
I just asked the operators returning to the landship for debriefing to pick them up on the way.” Ding-ding-pow~ It was a specialized notification chime.
Usually, when this sound rang from a Rhodes Island terminal, it meant you were being deployed on a mission.
It was Kai’s first time hearing it, and it took him a second to register what it was.
However, he wasn’t going on a mission with Rhodes Island this time.
Remember why he was at Closure’s shop to begin with?
He was picking up souvenirs.
In other words, he was finally cleared to return to Orario.
The System had officially determined that the Doctor was no longer in immediate danger, rendering Kai’s protective escort unnecessary.
This condition had been met the moment Kai fired that massive breath attack yesterday.
Naturally, the remaining thirty days of his template duration wouldn’t be forfeit.
The System had banked them like a savings account.
As long as the Doctor gave the word, Kai could teleport over from Orario at any time.
This arrangement had massive benefits for both sides: if the Doctor was ever in danger, Kai could deploy immediately, and if Kai ever ran into a lethal situation in the Dungeon, he could instantly jump to Terra to escape.
“So, you’re really heading back?” The Doctor looked at Kai, who was now loaded down with bags of souvenirs and carrying a custom-forged Rhodes Island longsword strapped to his back.
The Doctor felt a deep pang of reluctance.
In the incredibly dangerous world of Terra, the sense of security Kai provided was simply unparalleled.
With him around, Rhodes Island could sleep with both eyes closed.
“It’s fine.
If you ever run into trouble, just summon me,” Kai smiled.
“Besides, once you complete a few more System missions and the dimensional channel between our worlds stabilizes, you’ll be able to visit Orario yourself.
When that happens, I’ll have Lady Hestia grant you a Falna.” “Be careful when you get back,” the Doctor warned softly.
“You won’t have your Alatreon template to rely on in Orario.” “Don’t worry, I’m not the type to let power go to my head.
Call me if you’re in danger.
Or just call me if you want to chat.” “I know.” And with that…
it was time to say goodbye.