CHAPTER 328: IN A TIME OF MAGIC AND A WORLD OF MYTH, RIGHT?

[KAWAI]

"Oh, Sanji, you can’t. You should go back to cleaning up. No portals are working in the kingdom because of the decree by the prince. The king made sure to block all the Lycans within and beyond Kawai from creating any;

"... until the situation de-escalates," the Lycans said and Sanji let out an exaggerated growl. He hated what was happening. He despised the royals and he hated them for doing this.

It was not the first time that the royals always had a trick up their sleeves and even worse that the king didn’t have any untrustworthy people around him that Sanji could exploit.

That shit was messing with the Lycan and he wanted to shout at someone, anyone.

It just didn’t make sense for this to be happening.

"Looks like we are going to exercise today before the war actually comes to our door," Sanji said as he walked away. In his mind, the only thing he could think of was to murder the Lycan prince.

He wanted to strangle Tamiko and he wished to do it as soon as possible. The Grealor outcast had bested them in Grealor, and the fact that the kid was within the walls of Kawai threatening to best them again was just unacceptable.

This wasn’t the time to deal with this many mishaps.

"But Sanji!" the Lycans called out.

"Exercise is good for the body!" was all Sanji let out before he bumped into a steel chest, one that wasn’t pleasing and he would have growled, had it not been for the lack of a scent on the person.

There was only one person in the entire kingdom at the moment, with a masked scent as required by the kingdom and Sanji was definitely not looking forward to interacting with him right now.

"Jeez Sanjiro. You want to fall that hard for me, eh? Careful, pup. You might harm yourself in the process. The king said to protect the young Lycans and make sure they were safest in the kingdom," Igor said with a smirk on his face.

Sanji let out a displeased growl.

He hated being referred to as a pup because he was certain that he was way older than even Igor, so it made no sense. But at the same time, the fact that he was always acting like he was under eighteen was a factor that anyone would laugh off one too many times.

Perhaps this was what all was meant to be, and frankly, it was unsettling on a larger scale.

"If it isn’t the ma— hello, chief," Sanji said stiffly.

"You sound constipated, Sanji. Didn’t you hear that all mature Lycans were to be in their warrior uniforms and ready to protect the free lands? Or are you still going to act like you’re five again?" Igor asked casually, ignoring the blatantly hateful eyes from Sanji.

Akila who was beside him stifled a laugh, knowing so well that the Lycan chief was having fun reeling him in. The poor traitor didn’t stand a chance against a masked Igor Konstantin and everyone knew that already.

It wasn’t news.

"Oh... I thought it was the warriors who had enlisted. My apologies, Chief," Sanji said and Kosta stared at the man like he was always stupid. This couldn’t be the leader of the Furfantes, not with this type of intelligence.

But then again, Igor knew Sanjiro so well that this little show wasn’t appalling to him. If anything, the Lycan chief was willing to play the game that Sanji was playing right now. He wanted to see where the ends lay and he was excited, a little too much.

Maybe he had lost his mind too, but the dice had been cast, and regardless of what happened and how shit had gotten the man before him would step up. He would do what was needed for their home even if Kosta had to force him to do it.

Granted, this wasn’t the moment for their full-on war, but they had to be prepared for anything that could happen. It was that easy, yet so hard at the same time. the n again, wasn’t that what life always dished them?

"Well, you’re in luck. We’re headed to the free lands... And you’re coming with me. I’ll take really good care of you," Igor said and Akila stared at his best friend like the man had gone bonkers.

It made no sense whatsoever because Igor already knew how Tamiko was possessive and how he would react to this. Even then, Igor was insistent. He wouldn’t try to do something that would upset the Lycan prince.

It was suicide for him and he knew that so well. But maybe Kosta was hoping that Tamiko would trust him after all they were at war and they had to use every available pawn for them too, right?

"I... I’ve never been to the battlefield, Igor. I don’t know how to fight. I’ve never tried and I can’t handle any weapons. Please," Sanji pleaded.

Igor Konstantin snickered.

He couldn’t believe that this was happening for real. It was like a dumb dream that they wanted nothing to do with but at the same time, it was as if they were getting a chance to make things right.

Of course, Igor was aware that Sanji alone wouldn’t make things better but he was sure he had to try. There was just no other way for him. Because, regardless of what happened or even how it happened they had to get their answers.

Someone had to pay and heads had to roll.

It wasn’t even a question of if anymore.

"Come on, Sanji. Everyone over thirteen is a trained warrior of Kawai. You know that too, because you went through it when you were young. It is the rule for everyone. Even the Lycan lord had to be trained at thirteen.

"Now... How about we stop playing games and get on to the free lands? We need to be there and monitor the place and you, my friend, are the best choice. After all, you’re one of the older Lycans in Kawai.

"It will be fun, I promise you that," Igor said and that got Akila’s attention.

Akila knew damn well how much Igor despised Sanjiro.

He knew about the Furfantes and he knew that there had well to be a reason for this. One thing he could see in Igor’s eyes was pure torture for the Lycans unfortunate enough to have tried to play the long game.

This time the Lycan’s chief couldn’t be manipulated and that made the man scary.

However, at the same time, Akila was sure that justice would be served even if it was vengeance. Something had to be served. That was the best part of the chaos they were involved in and the barbarians, just like Akila, were ready for the day of retribution.

"What about the palace? I have to prepare before lunch time. I have to be there to serve the crown, please chief," Sanji insisted and Igor stared at the man in disbelief.

Audacity was definitely something that the Furfantes had taken the longest course in.

This was just otherworldly, and Kosta was almost impressed.

But even better, he was pissed.