"The world outside is vast, yet we're stuck here fighting each other. Don't you think that's a shame?"
Annan's usual tactic of following a slap with a sweet worked especially well on children.
Mias held out for only a few seconds before shyly taking Cathy's outstretched hand.
With their leader surrendering, the other children stopped resisting.
Having won the battle without a single casualty, Cathy began handing out rewards.
The "Earth Knight" received ten candies. The child who had charged in first and the one with the best aim got five each, while everyone else got three.
Cathy treated them all equally, giving each of the wide-eyed "prisoners" a candy too. She won their loyalty at once.
Their former enemy Mias naturally had no interest in mere candy, so Cathy granted him the rank of "Noble Knight" instead.
In the shadows of the alley, a figure had watched Cathy take the fort and then win over its defenders.
Just as the children were about to leave, the figure emerged from the shadows and approached the noisy group like a patch of darkness.
Peterson, whose eyesight was second only to one other child's, looked over warily. "Who are you?"
The children fell silent. The "Earth Knight" stepped forward and stood in front of Cathy.
Pretending to be curious, Cathy peeked out. "Peterson asked you a question."
The figure's gaze swept over Cathy's hand, hidden behind her back. Then she pulled back her cloak. "I'm a Street Sweeper Centurion."
Peterson didn't know her, but Cathy recognized her—or rather, the ugly, centipede-like scar on her face.
"Daddy Annan told me about you. You knew each other back in Betar City."
The Centurion didn't fall for the trap. "It was Breeze City."
Only then did Cathy relax and step out from behind the Earth