The moon is bright in the sky and the cool night breeze blows.
At this time, the banquet in the palace had ended.
Many guests who attended the banquet also left one after another...
Royal palace, side hall.
As soon as Alan sat down on the sofa, he found that Kake, who was absent-minded, was slowly walking towards him.
"Hey! Captain Kake, did you have fun tonight?"
Kake: "…"
Alan lay on the sofa with his head thrown back, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but fall into memories.
It shouldn't be.
Wasn't there a noble lady who was taken away by this kid Kake?
Could it be that the lady had a change of heart just as she was about to do something and just walked away?!
Or was the affair discovered and the matter was left unresolved?
"Captain Kake?! What are you doing..."
At this moment, Kake, who had lowered his head, slowly raised it, revealing a face full of vicissitudes and vulgarity, with dull eyes, as if he had just experienced the separation of life and death.
He collapsed next to Alan, and in his eyes the world seemed to have turned gray.
Kake looked around and found that Alan was the only one around.
The next second, a doubtful, puzzled, and questioning voice sounded in Alan's ears:
"Isn't 5 seconds a long time?"
Alan frowned slightly, looking at the dejected Kake in disbelief, and said uncertainly:
"5, 5 seconds…?!"
hiss--
Alan immediately gasped.
Did I know that five seconds?!
I even suspect that the noble lady was too loyal and had a change of heart, and never suspected that it was you who was the problem, Kake!
Looking at Kake at this moment, Alan sighed and patted Kake's shoulder.
"Five seconds!...That's not short!"
Kake looked up with some surprise and said:
"...Then how long can you do this?"
Looking at Kake's eyes (✪ω✪), Alan helplessly made a "1" with his fingers.
Kake: "One, one minute!?"
Alan shook his head.
Kake: "One hour!?"
Alan shook his head. He didn't want to discourage you, but you asked it yourself.
"Always."
Ouch!! His eyes popped out of his head, his jaw dropped, and Kake was petrified instantly.
At this moment, the air seemed to be quiet.
His eyes widened, a few drops of sweat oozed from his forehead, and he began to stutter when speaking.
"I. What do you mean by always?!"
No, that can't be!
How could there be such a monster? Not only is its strength ridiculously strong, but how could it also be so strong in that aspect!
It's obvious that I already have both good looks and strength.
How could this guy be a hexagonal warrior?
"That's what it means literally."
"Captain Kake, you seem a little weak."
Alan looked at Kake in front of him and gave his evaluation.
"How is this possible!!"
"Kake me! Super brave, okay."
Alan raised the corner of his mouth indifferently and said:
"I know a professional in this field~"
Next second!
A black shadow flashed by and rushed straight towards Alan. It was so fast that even Alan couldn't react. When he saw it clearly, the scene in front of him made his mouth twitch.
Right now.
Kake was kneeling on the ground, hugging Alan's thighs tightly, tears streaming down his face.
"Please help me! I'd be so grateful!"
Good job.
If this guy had this speed during our previous sparring session, I would probably have been hit a few times.
Sure enough, if you don't push yourself, you will never know how good you are!
"Kake...actually, I think 5 seconds is not a short time!" Alan looked at the sincere Kake below with a teasing look on his face.
At this moment, a sweet voice sounded from behind them:
"What 5 seconds!?"
Gion poked her head out from behind and looked at the two people in front of her with strange postures in confusion.
Seeing Gion's arrival, Kake instantly put away his sincere attitude.
He coughed lightly, stood up slowly, and tidied his clothes seriously.
"Haha!! Nothing much. I was just chatting with Captain Alan~"
Kake turned his head and looked at Alan earnestly and said, "Right, Alan!!"
Alan also saw his pleading look and tried hard to suppress his smile.
"Yeah…that's right!!"
Be one thing in front of people and another behind their backs.
Can't lose face in front of Gion?!
Bang!
The ornately decorated door of the side hall was suddenly pushed open.
Then a group of soldiers wearing the standard military uniforms of the Kingdom of Navia carried large wooden boxes into the side hall one by one.
A few minutes later, dozens of large wooden boxes were piled up like a mountain on the marble slabs of the side hall.
"Alan...what are these?"
Gion looked at the wooden boxes in front of her and suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart.
At this time, a man in a black tuxedo walked in, with a flattering look on his face. He came to Alan respectfully and said:
"Lord Alan, I am the Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Navia... His Majesty the King is very grateful for your help."
He pointed to the wooden box behind him.
"This is a small gift from our Majesty. Please accept it, Lord Alan."
Then he signaled the soldiers behind him to open the wooden boxes one by one.
The next second, the originally ordinary wooden box suddenly became dazzling, and all kinds of gold, jewels and diamonds came into view.
Gion and Kake opened their eyes wide and looked in disbelief at the dozen or so boxes full of gold, silver and jewelry in front of them.
"This…this…"
Kake stared at the mountain of treasure in front of him in amazement, as if the sadness he had felt for the previous 5 seconds had disappeared without a trace, and he began to stutter.
How much are these worth?
Why are these shiny things so reassuring?!
For Kake, who had always been receiving a meager salary in the navy, he had never seen such a huge wealth in his life!
Alan looked at it with satisfaction and smiled:
"Your Majesty is truly too polite. Protecting the stability of one's own jurisdiction is the navy's duty."
The Chancellor of the Exchequer immediately echoed this:
"...Everyone in the West Blue knows that Lord Alan is selfless, upright, and works diligently every day."
"In order to protect our lives, they repeatedly put themselves in danger."
"Of course, we can't let so many navy officers make this trip in vain. These are just a small token of our appreciation. Please don't refuse."
hiss!
You speak very nicely...If you hadn't added my name, I would have suspected that you were talking about someone else.
Alan smiled and was about to nod to accept the king's kindness.
Unexpectedly, Gion stepped forward and stood in front of the two of them, her pretty face full of anger, and she gritted her teeth and said:
"No! We can't accept the money!!"
She turned around and glared at Alan fiercely, her words filled with anger that was difficult to conceal.
"We are the navy of justice. We must not accept money from the masses. This is bribery! Alan!!"
"If you dare to accept this money, I will definitely report you!!"
Alan rubbed his temples helplessly, sighed softly, and it came again.
How does the navy's military funding come from? Isn't it collected from member states by the World Government?
In that case, since it's all military expenses anyway, I can just collect it myself. Wouldn't that save me the trouble of the middleman making a profit?
At this time, Kake...(✪ω✪)
When Gion noticed Kake next to her, he was staring at the small coins in front of him with stars in his eyes.
"Kake!!"
Kake came back to his senses and quickly wiped his saliva, saying seriously:
"Ah...yes! That's right! I'll definitely report you!!"
After hearing what the two said, the smile on the Finance Minister's face froze.
"Lord Alan, what is this...?"
"They are Captain Gion and Captain Kake from the headquarters of Marineford... It's okay, I accept the gift!"
The Finance Minister's frozen smile reappeared, and he said respectfully:
"Then I will arrange for people to move them onto your warship~"
Afterwards, the Minister of Finance bowed and took his leave, of course not forgetting to bow to Gion and Kake.
call!!
"Alan! You actually accepted bribes in front of the inspection team!!"