Evening.
New World, Fortis Kingdom, Royal Palace, 2nd Floor, Dining Room.
It's finally time for dinner. All the higher-ups of the Fortis Kingdom had gathered together with Rayleigh, Shakky, Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold. Rayleigh and Shakky ate together with Ars and the others because Rayleigh could now be said to be a high-ranking officer of the Fortis Kingdom even though the position he held was no higher than the other higher-ups. However, he was already qualified to sit together. As for Shakky himself being Rayleigh's partner, it was natural for him to accompany Rayleigh together.
In addition to the five of them, there was also an addition from the higher-ups present, namely Nakamura Azami who served as the chef at the Fortis Royal Palace. Nakamura has now begun to adapt to his new life in this world and has also begun to learn new things in this world, especially regarding the food ingredients in this world.
"This is really delicious…" Rayleigh muttered with a face full of surprise as he tasted the dishes made by Jouichirou and the others.
"Even the food made by the restaurant chef on Saboundy Island is inferior to this dish" Shakky said calmly but in her heart couldn't help but hide his surprise. The food he ate was very delicious.
"Thanks for the compliment" Gin said with a smile, "Eat. You can eat everything here."
Meanwhile Hancock who was there was also eating with a feeling of joy.
"How was the training process for the two of you before?" Ars suddenly asked as he stopped eating, "Are you able to enter the highest level of spiritual energy control, Rayleigh?"
"Still not, Your Majesty"
Rayleigh's current call to Ars had been changed by him, "Although it sounds pretty straightforward. However, to practice it yourself is quite difficult."
"Take it easy" Ars said with a smile and continued, "Besides, it's not good to learn it too soon. It will make your foundation unstable."
"Yes" Rayleigh nodded and continued, "The Gravity Room we used. It's a really amazing room" Rayleigh paused and continued, "Will every department ever get a room like that?"
"No." Ares shook his head.
"No?" Rayleigh was quite confused about this.
"Any military department won't get a room like that" Ars shook his head and said, "It's not that they won't get one. They will get it. But in another form" Ars paused for a moment and continued, "The Gravity Room in this royal palace itself is a gravity chamber that has a small size. Each Military Department will later get a set of gravity rooms to use as their training ground. However, the gravitational space they will get is in a larger form than the current one."
"I see" Rayleigh nodded and continued, "If such a room exists, it will greatly help improve the training the troops have later. Their development speed will also increase very quickly."
Ares nodded.
"Your Majesty" Shiina suddenly spoke up, "I heard from Iowa that you gave the Dressrosa Kingdom an opportunity to establish cooperation with us. Was it a good decision?"
"I also heard about this" Rin stopped eating, "Although I haven't read much about the conditions of each kingdom. However, according to Shiina, the Dressrosa Kingdom is ruled by a tyrannical and cunning king. Why should you give that person a chance, Your Majesty?"
Everyone immediately stopped what they were eating at this time and their gazes were fixed on Ars. Rayleigh and the others were also quite interested in this conversation.
"You two calm down" Kaguya suddenly said calmly, "Your Majesty must have good reasons for giving the kingdom a chance."
"What Kaguya said is true" Ars suddenly said, "I gave the Dressrosa Kingdom a chance because I have a strong reason to do so" Ars paused and continued, "As you all know that the one who leads the Dressrosa Kingdom is a Shichibukai Doflamingo. He is very famous for his cruelty as well as cunning. Well, even so. Doflamingo had previously called in the morning. He asked me to give him a chance so that his kingdom could establish a cooperative relationship with our kingdom."
"Opportunity?" Isshiki raised his eyebrows.
"Yes. Chance" Ars nodded and continued, "Even Doflamingo is willing to do anything to gain our cooperative relationship. Therefore, I gave him five orders and they must be carried out within a full month. As long as the five orders are successfully carried out by him, his kingdom can establish cooperative relations with our kingdom. Meanwhile, the five orders were not successfully implemented. The desire for a cooperative relationship will be immediately canceled and there will be no third chance for them."
"What are the five orders you gave?" Eina asked with great interest.
Ars immediately informed them of the five commandments. Rayleigh, Shakky, Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold who listened to the five orders were quite surprised especially regarding Kaidou and also the secret of the puppets in the kingdom.
"Well, later in a month from now. I will send a representative from us to investigate in this regard. As long as Doflamingo does everything I'm told. His kingdom will be able to establish a cooperative relationship with our kingdom."
"Who will be sent later? Hashirama?" Nezuko asked curiously.
"No" Ars shook his head, "At that time, Hashirama will be busy with his own department. He won't have time to do the job."
"Not Hashirama? Could it be Ulquiorra?" Megumi asked.
"Ulqiorra?" muttered Rayleigh and the others with faces full of interest.
"Yes. Ulqiorra who will later be ordered by me to carry out a check on Doflamingo's performance." Ars paused for a moment and continued, "Even though Doflamingo himself is classified as a vicious and cunning king himself. However, it could not close that he was a worthy king. Let's look at the comparison between the reign of Doflamingo and the reign of Riku III. During the reign of Riku III, the Dressrosa Kingdom was a poor kingdom and also often received attacks from pirates. Many residents suffer from hunger and various other things. Meanwhile, during the reign of Doflamingo, the kingdom began to rise and is currently a very prosperous country although there are still many dark sides to the kingdom."
"However, the prosperity that the Dressrosa Kingdom is currently gaining is due to the suffering of various citizens from various parts of the world. Just like war and others" Shiina added again.
"Yes. It's true" Ars nodded and continued, "However, can't every human being change?" Ars asked again, "Every human being has the opportunity to change. As long as they are truly going to change, it doesn't matter what past they have. As long as in the future they can change for the better. We don't need to look at that person's past." Ars paused and continued, "Besides, Doflamingo himself is also someone with a very wide network and also has many networks in the four ocean regions. Our current kingdom already has a network in the New World ocean region and the Grand Line. However, our kingdom still doesn't have a network in the region of the four seas."
Ars paused and continued, "If our kingdom establishes a cooperative relationship with the Dressrosa Kingdom led by Doflamingo, the sales range of the products owned by our kingdom will increase and cover the entire ocean area. That is the biggest advantage for us especially for the North Blue and South Blue regions. Even though the ocean area was known to be calm. However, there were many powerful pirates who appeared there. Of course, with the emergence of powerful pirates, the shipyards there needed high quality wood to manufacture ships to order. If we establish a cooperative relationship with the Kingdom of Dressrosa or rather Doflamingo. We can sell our products to that ocean area."
Ars stopped back and continued, "It doesn't matter what attitude Doflamingo had in the past. If he does what I'm told, we can accept it." Ars stopped again and looked at the higher-ups, "However, if anyone has any objections, we can try to discuss this decision made by me again."
"I have no problem with this decision" Hashirama immediately gave his opinion with a smile, "I believe in your decision. Your decision will definitely have a good impact. It has also been seen so far. All the decisions made by you did not have a bad impact and all of them had a good impact on us."
"Hmph!" Rin sniffed discontentedly, "You should have discussed this with us first. However, I think this decision is very good. Don't be happy that I've accepted it, Your Majesty. In the future, you should discuss this matter with us."
"I don't mind this either" Kaguya said calmly, "It's not just us who will have the advantage through this cooperation. Other kingdoms that build cooperative relationships with us will also benefit later." Kaguya's gaze looked at Hancock, "Just like the Amazon Lily Kingdom"
"My kingdom?" Hancock asked with great interest.
Kaguya nodded, "With our kingdom establishing cooperative relations with the Dressrosa Kingdom, the Amazon Lily Kingdom also has the opportunity to establish cooperation with them. As said by, Your Honor. The Dressrosa Kingdom was an empire whose main product was crafts. Currently the Amazon Lily Kingdom has established a shopping center on Saboundy Island. The Amazon Lily Kingdom can try to establish a cooperative relationship with the Dressrosa Kingdom in order to obtain goods from the kingdom to sell in shopping malls. Of course there will be many people who are interested in buying these crafts, especially those who can make them as souvenirs from the New World ocean area. There are many people who do not have the opportunity to be able to come to the New World. It can be used as an alternative for them."
"This can also bring great benefits to the Ryugu Kingdom" Isshiki smiled, "By joining the Dressrosa Kingdom to the Octagon. The area that will later become a place for the citizens of the Ryugu Kingdom to access is bigger than before."
"It's not only His Majesty who's a genius…" Shakky muttered, "However, everyone here has above-average thinking abilities."
"Yes" Rayleigh nodded, "Just one of them is in a kingdom to lead a department. The department headed by them will be a very advanced department…"
"I agree with Your Majesty's decision" Eina suddenly said, "Your Majesty's decision I don't think is wrong. Especially regarding the reasons given by His Majesty earlier, that would suffice for me. In addition, we also have many advantages by establishing cooperative relations with the Dressrosa Kingdom. The potential for us to sell products owned by our kingdom will be very wide open. Also, if we needed something, it would be easier to get it through Doflamingo. With a stronger network compared to Elizabello II, every item we want will be easier to get."
"I guess, I agree too" Shiina after thinking about it for a while then continued, "However, Your Majesty. We also need to send some of our people to monitor it. Don't let that person at one time take action to betray us."
"There's no need to worry about that, Shiina" Ars said with a smile, "I'm sure that person would never dare to betray us"
"I agree with this" Gin suddenly said, "If Doflamingo really follows His Majesty's orders, of course Doflamingo will have to cut off the relationship with Kaidou. As long as Doflamingo broke the relationship, Kaidou would assume Doflamingo had betrayed him. Currently Doflamingo has received the protection of our kingdom. It would cause Kaidou to think twice about attacking him. However, what about after that? What if our kingdom broke off cooperation because Doflamingo betrayed us? Kaidou will definitely not hesitate to directly destroy Doflamingo. Even if we don't make a move, Doflamingo will still be crushed"
"Besides, if the World Government finds out about the Dressrosa Kingdom establishing a cooperative relationship with our kingdom" Kojiro suddenly added, "Doflamingo's Shichibukai status will likely be revoked."
"The Dressrosa Kingdom will also be stripped of its status from the World Government alliance" Jouichirou added.
"Hee~ Rarely do you sound smart enough, Jouichirou" Rin mocked in a teasing tone.
"Hey! Do you think I'm always stupid, Rin?" asked Jouichirou in annoyance.
"If Doflamingo dares to betray our kingdom later. Even though our kingdom made no moves to attack him" Lowellmina said calmly, "However, Doflamingo himself was definitely destroyed. Because he has to withstand attacks from Kaidou as well as the Marines"
"That is as long as Doflamingo betrays us. His status as a King will immediately disappear and his status will return to his previous status of being a pirate. He will be the target of various parties" Kaguya ended.
"Yes. It's like that" Ars nodded, "It's a step he must pay if he dares to betray us"
Rayleigh, Shakky, Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold were quite surprised by the contents of the conversation. They were not surprised because of the content of the conversation. They were surprised because every single one of the higher-ups of the Fortis Kingdom possessed extremely high thinking abilities.
Finally they knew the reason why Ars let them get the right to decide something by using the Fortis Kingdom's name. Because, Ars has confidence in them in the thinking ability of each of them.
"Amazing people…" Shakky complimented.
"Yes" Rayleigh nodded, "I think… This decision of mine was the most appropriate decision to join here. Same thing when I decided to join Roger." Rayleigh grinned and couldn't wait to see the future.
Meanwhile, Hancock is currently thinking about her condition if she dares to betray the Fortis Kingdom. Although he didn't get the target of the pirate group like the Emperor of the Ocean. Hancock will certainly get the target of the Navy and the World Government.
Especially Hancock had mocked the previous World Government several times during the previous meeting.
"Hmph!" Hancock immediately shook her head, "No! Whatever I do and whatever I say. Everyone will surely forgive me. Because why? Because I'm beautiful!" Hancock did not realize that her words were strong enough and were heard by everyone who was there.
"What's the matter with you, Hancock?" Ars asked while raising his brow.
Hancock suddenly came to her senses and saw that everyone was currently staring at her with strange looks. Hancock was silent for a moment.
"Yes. You are indeed beautiful" Ars nodded and continued, "However, don't you ever get tired of saying things like that? Even if you don't say it, many people think you're beautiful. However, there are also some people who don't."
"Not?" Hancock raised her brow then asked, "What about you?"
"I?" Ars asked back, "You are beautiful. I admit it. However, not everyone also sees a woman from her beauty. There are some people who prefer women who have a gentle nature and also have good skills in household matters."
"Meekness and good skill in home matters?" Hancock asked again, "Are you too?"
"Yes" Ars nodded, "I am not someone who looks at women because of their beauty. I prefer women who are good at home dates. I prefer to eat food made by people I know more than food made by other people."
"Well, Your Majesty. If so, which woman here is your type?" Jouichirou immediately asked with a grin.
This question then made all the women nervous except for Shakky, Sandersonia, and Marigold.
"Isn't there a question that makes more sense than that?" asked Ars flatly.
"That is a reasonable question, Your Majesty" Kaijin who was completely silent immediately said, "We are also interested. What kind of woman do you want to marry in the future? This is related to this Royal Queen after all. At least let us know."
"That's right" Hashirama said excitedly, "Come on, Your Majesty. Not bad to say, right?"
"No" Ares said.
"Don't be so cold, Your Majesty" Isshiki smiled and continued, "I thought you could share with us"
"No" Ars said back, "You guys have listened to it, haven't you? I prefer women who are good at cooking. Just that. There's nothing I would add or anything else. I also haven't thought about marriage and other things. I will focus more on my work."
Ars immediately continued eating his food.
"Good in cooking?" Garm muttered and his gaze fell on Tadokoro, "Isn't that Megumi? He is good at cooking. This is also evidenced by the fact that the chocolate she made a few days ago was delicious."
"Ha?" Megumi suddenly choked hearing this.
"But, Rin could also be a possibility" Gin said calmly.
Rin suddenly choked on hearing this and her face turned slightly red.
"Eina can be added too" Jouichirou said "She's also great at cooking"
Eina also immediately choked hearing this.
"Are you guys going to talk about that stupid topic again?" asked Ars flatly, "Rather than discussing about it, it's better to finish the food that is in front of you. The food will be cold soon."
Everyone immediately woke up and immediately resumed their meal. However, their thoughts still remained on the topic of the previous conversation especially the men who thought about it. As for the women, especially Lowellmina, Hancock, Shiina, and Kaguya. The four of them had feelings for Ars had thought of learning cooking skills.
While Rin also likes Ars even though he himself didn't say it directly. Rin was overjoyed that she had the skills that Ars liked. This is also what causes Rin to feel more in front of the others.
Meanwhile for Rayleigh and Shakky, who joined the conversation for the first time. They were quite interested especially they had previously thought that the conversation would be intense and so on. However, they did not expect that the higher-ups of the kingdom also had a sense of humor and they even played games with their own king.
"This is a really interesting kingdom…" Rayleigh mumbled with a smile and started to eat with gusto.