5 King's mercy
"I think it's enough."
This place is barbaric. Judging by what I have seen so far, they will either put this man in some awful prison or just kill him. I remember history classes. Didn't they used to chop people's heads off? Creepy and unnecessary.
And in the end, it's my fault he's with this dude even in this situation, since he surrendered to me or whatever. Taking bribes is bad, but he didn't even say goodbye to his daughter because he was so rushing to surrender like this. He is a single father, as I understand. Leave her alone? Nope, nightmares until I'm dead. She is probably eight years old. And I don't think children can survive a long time alone in the middle ages or whatever this is supposed to be.
People got quieter. That's nice. In my world, I had to repeat myself over and over to achieve that level. Well, obviously, the crowd doesn't see me as a "Hero" here. Mercenary maybe.
The woman, visibly getting nervous, started to dart her eyes at the sheriff and at me like twenty times a second. The man didn't move a single muscle.
I put my hands in my pockets; it's getting kind of cold. Don't they feel it? Most people here are dressed so lightly. Otherworldly logic, I guess.
She flinched at my movement. Why? I got my polite face.
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Alice POV
He looks pissed off. The angriest person I ever saw. And he even had that relaxed posture, hiding his every muscle. I don't see a gun or a sword, but that doesn't make me feel safe.
The Boss and I prepared this plan to minimize the damage to the authority of Marines on our island.
A very simple plan: blame the Captain for everything; he goes to jail; we take care of his daughter.
My men told me this man, "King", was sent by King Ham Burger(AN: I didn't make this up, it's canon), ruler of Ballywood Kingdom. Our king cares about order more than anything, so jail sentences for Marines are usually very short, especially for the high-ranking ones, because the shortage of new blood in Marine forces is no joke. God damn that Roger bastard, it was fine before. Twenty-two years of pirate swarm!
When I was a child, this island saw a single pirate attack a year, like a damn Santa. Simpler times. Now we have to resort to intimidation tactics.
I don't understand! Does he want to kill him on the spot?
"King", is he from the world government? We don't do that here! Just jail is sufficient.
But I don't think I can say it out loud. Maybe if I was on the roof of the building over there I would've, but for now it's way too close for comfort. His eyes wait for something. Not good.
"Daddy!"
Mary! Oh no. No no no no. This is the worst timing imaginable.
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3rd-person POV
A little girl was running from the back of the wooden podium. Most people were in the front, so it didn't take long for her to get close.
McSheriff had his soul put back into his body. He turned his head in the direction of the voice.
So did King. His face became even more grim, his forehead was tense. People felt uneasy.
"Daddy, what are you doing? Let's go home. I'm hungry!" The girl came up to the stadium and began pulling her father's coat with all the might a normal 8-year old can have.
There were Marines on the platform, but standing next to King they did not dare to.
At this point, King felt a cold breeze and shuddered. This sudden movement caused two pirates in the crowd to have a sudden aneurysm. Unlucky for them.
"Why didn't you stay at home?" asked the sheriff, with very dramatic shadows and tears on his face.
"It was boooring."
McSheriff turned to the King and said:
"Please don't let her see it, I-"
"It's fine. You are good."
"Wait?! Please!"
"Scary uncle, are you a pirate? I heard all pirates are scary."
"Ehm, no. I'm a hero."
Moments after King said that, he facepalmed.
"Cool, are you punching bad guys around?" Her eyes lit up.
"I usually don't."
The little girl's stomach made a loud noise.
King nonchalantly said: "Are you hungry? Me too. Let's go eat somewhere."
"Food! Food! Food! Food!"
King walked off the platform, following the girl, and before the final step, he turned to the rest of the people who stood there perplexed by this interaction.
"Uh, Sheriff, get up."
"Wha-"
"Someone gotta pay, I forgot my wallet. Also, you have a job to do, don't you?"
"I do?"
"You are a Captain, aren't you?"
In this world ruled by the powerful, no one dared to challenge them. They had a case full of evidence, but that's not enough when a person like King casts his judgement.
Alice, the right hand of McSheriff, closed the case full of documents, probably forever.
After the father, daughter, and hero King left, people had different reactions.
The pirates tried to calm down. They felt like they would have a sudden case of brain aneurysm, like the unlucky ones. Their number one task, for the time being, was to get as far as possible from that man.
The people of the town were moved, and the kindness shown truly deserves the title of Hero. Many rumours changed after that, King was no longer some weird being, he was a Hero of Justice.
Later, at the restaurant "Bear Grills".
At first, McSheriff wanted to ask the staff to make everybody leave the building besides the cooks. He still had that kind of authority. King stopped him.
"It's fine, I'm sure they won't bother us much."
And as he said, the usually crowded and loud place became almost serene at the sight of King. That was even more unusual considering the place had an incredibly exotic menu with their special, the "Yellow" was their trump card. Its taste makes you feel like you are the final boss of surviving. That drink was just piss, though.
That evening, King saw Pig God level of gluttony. Mary ate a giant camel steak.
King had a "S O U P". It was nice.
The whole time, Mary asked a barrage of questions about King. But since she had food in her mouth for most of the time, it was highly unintelligible. King went with saying "Yes" over and over.
As a result, a new rumour arose: King is the one who dug up the Grand Line. It all made sense in their heads.
