CHAPTER 3: THE NEWS THAT SHAKES THE ISLAND

The next morning, Ark and Airi arrived at Rebel Island. Meanwhile, Yuki, who had just woken up, looked around.

“Where am I?” she said weakly after waking up behind iron bars. She saw a brown-skinned child stirring a pot of soup. The child looked at her, then ran outside as if to inform someone.

“Oh, Princess, you’re already awake?” said the mother of the child as she approached her.

“Where am I? And where is Kamito-kun?”

The mother looked confused by the name Kamito.

“Kamito? Who do you mean? There is no one by that name here.”

“Then what is this place and why am I here?”

“About that… I cannot answer. What I can say is that you were saved, and the poison in your body has already been removed.”

“Impossible… that poison cannot be removed by anyone.”

Yuki didn’t believe it, her body trembling because no one had ever successfully removed Anti-Magic completely.

Suddenly, her stomach growled.

“Princess, you must be hungry. Please, eat this.”
The mother offered her the bowl of soup.

Yuki began eating eagerly, still remembering everything from last night—being betrayed by her fiancé, and even her own sister. Now, she had decided to search for the man named Kamito Ryuga.

Meanwhile, Ark and Airi met Saitou.

“Ehh? Where is Ark?”

Renji nudged him and said,

“He’s right in front of you. This is Ark, so behave politely.”

“Um… I’m sorry! I truly didn’t know it was you, Ark-sama!”

The other Resistance members looked toward Ark—they were seeing the real form of Ark for the first time.

“Don’t call me that. ‘Ark’ isn’t just a person’s name. It’s the name of a group. Including the girl beside me—she is also Ark.”

Everyone was shocked hearing that Natsume Airi, Ark’s closest ally, was also part of Ark.

“So what do you want to show me, and why are you insisting on joining us?”
Ark—Kamito—asked Saitou.

“Mikail, show him.”

Mikail opened a trailer containing important cargo—revealing a flying motorcycle equipped with missiles.

“This is…?”
Ark couldn’t believe it. A secret military weapon had fallen into Resistance hands.

“You’re right. This is a prototype we stole from the Crossaint military base in Kyoto a few months ago. And I want this to be our alliance gift.”

Ark fell silent.

Airi asked,

“Are you sure this will be alright? You stole a top-secret military project.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve modified it with the help of our android friend, Renji. The job became easier.”
Saitou replied energetically.

Ark remained silent. He already understood the enormous risk.

“I’m sure this isn’t the only thing. What else did you find after attacking the Kyoto Military Base?”
Ark’s serious tone sent shivers even through Mikail, who was far larger than him.

“You’re sharp, Ark-sama.”

“Not only that—we also found human experimentation. Those who went missing… were turned into test subjects.”

They handed Ark photos as evidence.

“Did you find a brown-haired, green-eyed girl around ten years old?”

“We didn’t find any girl matching your description, but she may have been transferred to a facility near Okinawa. The problem is… that facility is heavily guarded. There must be something big they’re hiding there. And the rumors might be true.”

“Rumors?”

“Ark, we didn’t only get that information. We received intel that they are developing nuclear weapons.”

Everyone in the room froze.
Ark immediately accepted the alliance.

“Oh, one more thing, Ark. Something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time.”

“What is it, Saitou?”

“The ultranationalists have shown their fangs. There’s a chance they will attack Tokyo soon. They may share our goal of toppling this foolish regime, but their methods are far different from ours. They want to destroy the regime and replace it with a king of their own choosing.”

In the middle of their discussion, a Resistance member ran in, panicked.

“Ark-sama! Saitou-san! You have to see this!”

On the TV, the news reported that King Sanctus Veridian had been murdered by his own daughter last night after refusing her arranged marriage to Prince Lucard Valen Saint Claire. The public was furious, and Valen claimed the culprit was not royalty—but the Resistance.

A reporter asked,

“Prince Valen, is this also related to the Japanese ultranationalists?”

“I have already stated that the Japanese ultranationalists are not connected to this incident.”
Valen answered.

“And what about the condition of Princess Masahiro Yuki? Is she safe?”

“Don’t worry. She is already safe.”

Valen’s words enraged and shocked Ark.
Valen was lying about Yuki—he had planned to frame her for the murder, but failed because she was still alive.

Then something on the screen shocked Ark even more.

Airi pointed.

“Isn’t that the Princess?”

“No—that’s Yuki’s younger sister, Masahiro Suzuki. She’s disguising herself as her sister.”

Angry, Ark immediately left.

Meanwhile, Yuki—watching the same news—was devastated.

“How could this happen…?”
she whispered as tears fell down her cheeks, the pain worsened by the news of her father’s death.