Meruem sat motionless for a long time after Keisha's question, crimson eyes flickering between confusion and pain.
The glass in his hand emptied and filled again, over and over, his thoughts as tangled as the rising vapors of the wine.
In the reflection of the bottle, he saw her again—Komugi.
Fragile. Lost. Trembling.
Each memory scraped against his heart like claws, dragging up something he had never truly possessed before—humanity.
For the first time, the Chimera Ant King's heart ached.
The tavern grew silent. Only the faint crack of burning candles filled the void.
And then, his low voice—unsteady, but certain—broke the quiet.
"I want to win against her…"
"But I don't want her to die."
His gaze sank into the amber swirl of his drink.
"In her, I saw something I'd never seen in humans—a kind of resolve…
a purity that doesn't belong to strength."
He paused, breath trembling.
"When I saw her wounded—pecked and bleeding from a hawk's claws—
I didn't know what to do… not with her, not with myself."
The king's words quivered between beast and man.
His power could crush mountains, yet he was powerless before kindness.
That was the moment Meruem understood—strength was not destruction.
It was protection.
When he saw Komugi's fragile body, all instincts screamed for blood—
but something deeper whispered instead: Protect her.
Keisha tilted her head slightly.
"So the spark of humanity finally burned through the beast," she said softly.
"That girl… she warmed you."
Ronn nodded.
"He's pure, in the truest sense. Pure enough to see the light in someone as weak as Komugi—and to cherish it."
His voice dropped, calm and heavy with meaning.
"And Komugi, in turn, was the only one who ever saw the light inside him."
Perhaps Meruem had never been meant to be a king at all.
But that role had been written into his very birth.
From the moment he opened his eyes, the thought was planted in his mind: I am the king of this world.
"Light…" Meruem whispered, his expression dazed.
"My name means 'the light that illuminates everything,' yet I've never seen any light myself."
"I am a king… but who am I really? For what reason was I born?"
His voice carried none of the arrogance of the monster he once was.
The tavern's quiet air reflected his sincerity back at him—unanswered, raw, human.
Keisha regarded him with a faint, contemplative smile.
"From the perspective of your kind," she said, "you are the light.
You were born when the ants were steeped in darkness.
You are the one to lead them out."
Ronn picked up her thread without missing a beat.
"You don't need to be anything else," he said.
"You are Meruem. Nothing more, nothing less."
The name seemed to land deep within him.
For a moment, Meruem just sat there—eyes unfocused, then clearing, like fog lifting from the sea.
And with it, the confusion on his face faded.
Keisha and Ronn exchanged a quiet glance.
A small, knowing smile passed between them—two beings who, without speaking, understood the weight of the same truth.
From the kitchen, Rem and Ram noticed the exchange and exchanged wary looks.
Lucoa chuckled softly from her corner.
"Oh dear~ keep staring like that, and someone's going to run out of ammunition soon~"
Tohru planted her hands on her hips.
"Please. He's not interested in ancient grandmas who've lived a thousand lifetimes."
That made the maids giggle despite themselves—
and Lucoa froze mid-sip.
Ancient… grandma?
There it was. The world's most polite insult.
Even dragons weren't immune.
The tavern soon returned to its gentle rhythm.
Glass against glass, laughter in the background, the wind outside whispering through the cracks of the door.
Then Meruem spoke again.
"Tell me, bartender… do you think humans and Chimera Ants could ever coexist?"
He looked almost hopeful.
"I want to build a world that is fair. Perfect."
Ronn shook his head slowly.
"That's a child's dream, and this world is not kind to children."
He set down the cloth he'd been drying glasses with, eyes calm but firm.
"Remember this: any species that threatens humans will never be tolerated.
Unless it's tamed—kept on a leash—they will try to destroy it.
That's not hatred. It's instinct."
The Holy Master and his son exchanged a look, lips curling in disdain.
A beast who believed in fairness—how absurd.
To demons like them, Meruem's idea of equality was laughable.
Power was meant to rule, not to shelter.
But Ronn's final words lingered, soft yet heavy:
"The world itself is tainted. It cannot bear a light that tries to illuminate everything."
"I understand," Meruem said quietly, setting down his empty glass.
"But even so… I want to try."
He placed a small pouch of coins on the counter and stood.
The glow of the setting sun traced his silhouette in gold.
"Thank you, bartender." His voice steadied. "You and that girl—you both taught me something I'll never forget."
Ronn smiled faintly.
"Come again," he said. "You'll always be welcome here."
As Meruem turned to leave, Ronn watched him go with a quiet sigh.
Thirty-eight days of life.
And yet… how full those days became.
He was both the most unfortunate and most blessed of kings—
unfortunate to have lived so briefly,
and blessed to have met Komugi, the blind girl who gave him a soul.
Outside, the battlefield raged on—Rayleigh and Akainu still locked in a blur of fists and fire.
Meruem passed by them without a glance, his eyes fixed on the sunlight ahead.
In that blinding light, he saw her again—Komugi, smiling softly, snot and drool glistening in the glow.
"Welcome back, my lord."
"Mm. Set up the board. It's time to play again."
"Oh, and remember my name… it's Meruem."
He smiled—truly smiled—for the first and last time.
And then his figure dissolved into the light.
Back inside, Keisha's voice broke the silence.
"I wonder… how did his story end?"
"What became of his kind?"
Ronn answered quietly, "Perhaps it ended with death."
"As for the ants… maybe a few survived. But their hunger—their growth—was built on devouring others.
A race that thrives through conquest will always consume itself in the end."
Keisha nodded thoughtfully, falling into silence again.
Just then—
the door burst open with a thunderous bang!
Akainu's battered body came skidding across the floor, landing in a heap.
Rayleigh strolled in right after, tossing two talismans back to the Holy Master.
"Thanks for the charms, old boy! I'm out of here!"
He vanished in a flash, no doubt before the approaching marines could close in.
Everyone's gaze turned toward Akainu.
The once-mighty admiral lay sprawled on the floor, bruised from head to toe.
His face was swollen, his uniform torn, and—
well, both kidneys looked like they'd been used as punching bags.
"Rayleigh really is the king of body blows," Ronn muttered.
Everyone nodded in solemn agreement.
Somewhere in the corner, Lucoa whispered under her breath,
"Men are so funny. When they can't be strong… they'd rather break what is."
The tavern fell silent for a moment.
And then—
Ding-ling…
The doorbell rang again.
Another visitor had arrived.
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