Newgate City. Miko left the hotel he was staying with his group and headed for Kaido’s home.

“Good morning!”

Miko shouted cheerfully with his hand up when the door opened.

“Huh?”

However, he froze when he saw who opened the door. He slowly brought his hand down and put on a cold expression.

“Who are you?”

Standing at the door was an unfamiliar woman. She had dark blue hair and eyes, a beautiful face, and a cute mole under her lip. She was dressed casually in a blue top and denim jeans, and heels.

“Oh, you must be Miko. I’m Sapphire, one of Bloom’s friends.”

She stretched her hand out.

“Sapphire?”

Miko recalled the name among the list of Bloom’s subordinates that Lucio had given him. The look on his face became friendly as well as his tone.

“I see. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hahaha! You change mood really quickly.”

Sapphire placed her hand by her mouth while she laughed.

“Just now you looked like you were ready kill me if I was an enemy but now you’re all friendly.”

“What can I say? I’m pretty adaptable.”

Miko smiled.

“Ah, come in. Hana is in the kitchen preparing breakfast for you all. She apparently knew that you were coming.”

“Well, we come here almost everyday.”

Miko and the girls entered the house and closed the door.

“Is Kaido still asleep?”

“Yeah, But he should be getting up pretty soon.”

“Hana, I’ve come for food!”

Ishma ran past Miko and the others and went straight into the kitchen.

“How cute.”

“I wouldn’t say that to her face if I were you?”

Sapphire laughed.

“I would’ve never thought that she was a sword by how she acted.”

They entered the kitchen and saw Hana wearing an apron and Ishma jumping up and down beside her.

“Yeah, forget sword if you didn’t know better you would think she’s a dog.”

Regis said.

“Well, I admit that Hana is a pretty good cook, so I can see where she’s coming from.”

Sapphire said. Hana handed Ishma a plate of food which is immediately started eating.

“Hm!”

Ishma’s face brighten while she ate the food.

“Well, What do you know. You’re here again, Miko.”

Kaido walked into the kitchen with a sleepy expression.

“Hm?”

That’s when he looked at Sapphire.

“Yo, Kaido. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Oh, Sapphire! How it’s been.”

Kaido walked up to Sapphire and the two clasped their hands in a firm and manly handshake while their arms intertwined.

“Hahaha! It’s good to see you! Why didn’t you come visit earlier?”

“Well, I’ve been busy so I couldn’t. But what about you? You could’ve visited me yourself.”

“Well, I’ve been kinda busy myself. Plus you know how things are.”

The two unlocked their arms while grinning at each other.

“You two seem close. I must say that I’m surprised. I thought Kaido was the type to only get along with Hana.”

Miko said.

“Huh? I have friends beside Hana. I was even popular at the academy.”

“Those people weren’t your friends but only people who admired your strength. However, Sapphire seems like a good friend of yours which I find surprising.”

“Hahaha. I can see why you’d say that, Miko. Kaido does come off as a distant person doesn’t he?”

Miko nodded at Hana’s words.

“Like a guy who’d only socialize with people for appearances but is always scheming and is actually really aggressive. You know, like those scumbags villains you find in manga.”

“You’re more of a villain than me.”

“Why, thank you. I try.”

“I like you, Miko. You seem like a fun guy.”

Sapphire started patting Miko on the shoulder.

“Kaido and Sapphire are pretty similar in terms of personality so they get along well.”

Hana explained.

“Similar?”

Miko looked at the frowning Kaido and grinning Sapphire.

“I don’t see it.”

“It’s the personality he had before going to the academy. Although Sapphire wasn’t as aggressive or confrontational as Kaido was, they both were pretty straight forward and honest. So they got along.”

“I see.”

Miko nodded. Hana clapped her hands together and spoke with a smile.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

With everyone eating together Miko turned his attention on Sapphire.

“Sapphire, were you born in this country?”

“I was. I’m from a town called Kitson. It’s a small town that can’t compare to the capital.”

“I see. So a small town girl is working directly under the queen? You must be something special.”

Sapphire shook her head.

“Compare to someone like Bloom, I’m just normal. I just got lucky I guess. I get to be around plenty of amazing people while working to protect my queen and friend. If that’s not lucky then I don’t know what is.”

Miko looked at Sapphire’s expression and saw genuine happiness from it. He couldn’t help but to smile.

“I see.”

Miko stood up.

“Well, I think we should get going.”

“Where to?”

“The Red Light District.”

“My, I didn’t think you were the type to visit that type of place.”

“Hm?”

Miko burst out in laughter and didn’t even bother to tell Sapphire that she was mistaken.

“Well, I gotta go. See you tomorrow.”

Miko and the girls left after saying their farewells.

“He seems like a fun guy.”

Sapphire said to Kaido and Hana.

“Yeah. It’s exhilarating when he comes to your home and eat your food.”

“Don’t be like that. Miko mostly come here because of you. I think he considers you a friend.”

“A friend huh? I don’t know about that. You can never tell what he’s truly thinking. I doubt even his closest allies knows the real him that well. Even if they know him, I doubt that they can understand him.”

“The real Miko?”

Sapphire looked confused but Hana seemed to understand what Kaido meant.

“Sapphire, I’m about to ask you a serious question.”

The moment she heard that Sapphire’s eyes widen a bit before all expression dropped from her face. She looked cold like a completely different person. The atmosphere around her was a great contrast from moments before.

“Go ahead.”

“I heard that Miko signed a Non-aggression pact with Bloom. Knowing her, she would still have him and his party monitored regardless of the pact. So what I want to know is “He” the one observing Miko?”

Sapphire nodded.

“Other yourself, he’s the best option.”

“I see.”

Kaido remembered the talk he had with Miko at the academy’s graduation, and what he said to him.

“I’m a very dangerous entity. I’m currently unstable, so much that I might try to slit your throat for no reason at all. It’s not that I hate you or anything it’s just that I’m suffering from some…mental issues? Anyway, there are times that I feel the need to carry out my darkest and evil desires and thoughts, and there are times that I’m extremely whimsical and will create chaos for no reason at all.”

This was a warning from Miko, one that Kaido couldn’t forget.

“I hate to say this, but you’re right. He’s the best one to keep a beast like that under control.”

**********

Back at the Dragna Empire. Alexis Dragna was walking around in the capital city. His face lacked emotions as he navigated through the crowded streets. He walked for a while before turning down a dark alley.

“…….”

A group of people stopped and looked in the direction he went before entering the alley themselves.

“?!”

The moment they stepped into the alley they found themselves standing in a snowy mountain area.

“Teleportation?! Did we step on an array?! Did he set up one?!”

The people were flustered.

“Yo.”

They heard a voice and quickly turned around to find Alexis looking at them with cold eyes.

“Prepare for battle!”

The man at the forefront shouted and he and the others took out all kinds of weapons and took a fighting stance.

“Hm? So your first instinct after stepping into a trap is to fight? Interesting.”

“Where the hell are we?”

The leader of the group asked.

“Does it matter? You all know who I am. Do you think I would bring you in a trap that you can escape alive from.”

Alexis pointed at them.

“It’s pointless. You’re already dead.”

“…….”

The faces of the people showed desperation and hopelessness.

“I see, so you really know what kind of person I am.”

“?!”

Alexis’s words caused them to become tense and their eyes to widen.

“Y-You….You weren’t sure if we were citizens of this empire or ignorant assassins for hire….”

“Oh, I knew. Or rather I had a hunch, but I just wanted to be 100% sure.”

Alexis coldly narrowed his eyes.

“There’s a lot of information you can obtain about someone from their body language and facial expression alone. For example, when you saw me you felt immediate despair. That means you know that you can’t defeat me. Considering that I’m not known across the globe for my strength but instead for my intelligence, it’s obvious that you’re from this empire since only a few knows of my strength.”

They didn’t know if it was the environment or the fear they felt but the group couldn’t stop themselves from trembling.

“Now I’ll be honest here. You’re all gonna die but depending on how well you can cooperate, the level torment you’ll endure before death may vary from painless to hellish agony. It’s all up to you.”

“Don’t let his words get to you! We were prepared for this from the start!”

The leader shouted. However, his trembling voice didn’t help inspire his comrades.

“Very well.”

Alexis started approaching them.

“Allow me to demonstrate the countless ways the human body can be destroyed, reconstructed, and destroyed again.”

After some time, Alexis was standing alone in the snowy mountains with the surrounding snow the color of blood.

“So, someone in the empire is trying to monitor me….It would seem that my cover has been blown.”

A small smile appeared on Alexis’s face.

“Things are getting interesting.”