"Sorry. I just thought Captain Arton might want to relax a little."
"After all, you spent a lot of energy training Conis earlier."
That was what Robin said.
But there wasn't even a trace of apology on her face. If anything, she was looking at Arton with open anticipation.
"Even if I did want to relax, now's not the time."
"No, scratch that—I wasn't even thinking about relaxing in the first place."
Arton shot back.
"My apologies again. Then I misunderstood."
Robin said it smoothly.
"Anyway, let's hurry up and get over there."
With that, Arton scooped Robin up in a bridal carry.
"So Captain Arton likes taking the lead sometimes."
Robin naturally wrapped both arms around his neck and smiled.
"Sometimes I like taking the lead. Sometimes I like being on the receiving end."
Arton tossed that line out casually, then shot up into the air.
In less than a minute, he had carried Robin to the Poneglyph.
"We're here."
Arton looked down at the woman in his arms.
A moment ago, Robin had been acting like she wanted to tease him to death.
Now, though, she looked completely different.
She was staring blankly at the Poneglyph beneath the Golden Bell, so stunned that she forgot to speak.
Only when Arton gave her shoulder a little shake did Robin snap back to herself.
Then she hurried over to the Poneglyph and reached out, brushing her fingers over the ancient text as gently as if she were caressing a lover.
Unfortunately, just as Arton had said, the words carved into this Poneglyph weren't what Robin had been hoping to find.
So it wasn't long before disappointment showed on her face.
"You don't have to take it that hard. Besides this one, I know where some other Poneglyphs are."
"I'll take you to see them later."
Arton lifted a hand and patted her shoulder.
He had definitely held some opinions about Robin in the past.
But now that he had accepted her as a crewmate, he was perfectly willing to help make her wish come true.
Besides, Robin was willing to give him some very enjoyable "massage" services, and Arton didn't want to leave her too disappointed.
"Thank you, Arton. I feel a lot better now."
Robin smiled again.
If anyone else had said those words to her, Robin would've assumed they were just trying to string her along.
But when Arton said them, it was completely different.
Robin knew very well that Arton understood the direction this world was heading.
So if he said he knew where a lot of Poneglyphs were, then it had to be true.
With that thought in mind, Robin stepped forward again and tightly hugged Arton's arm to her chest.
"Not again."
Arton twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"I want to thank you, Captain."
"This is the only way I can think of to show how grateful I am."
Robin let out a soft sigh as she said it.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Whatever you want to do, save it for back on the ship."
"For now, just enjoy the view."
The moment Arton noticed her movements starting to escalate again, he immediately cut her off.
"Oh, right. If you've got nothing else to do, go ring that golden bell."
Arton pointed at the Golden Bell ahead of them and spoke.
Chapter 615: After All, the Captain Is Delicious
"Ring the bell?"
"Is there really any need to?" Robin glanced at the grand, beautifully crafted bell and asked curiously.
"For us? Not really," Arton said. "But for certain people, it matters a lot."
He went on to tell Robin the story connected to the golden bell.
He had never personally met the descendant of that liar from the story, but now that he had finally found the giant golden bell, he didn't mind lending a hand and granting the wish of that chestnut-headed guy down in the Blue Sea who had spent so long searching for proof that the City of Gold existed.
"All right. Since that's what you want, Captain, I don't mind getting my hands dirty."
With that, Robin walked up to the golden bell and threw a hard punch at it.
In an instant, the clear, resonant peal of the bell spread across the whole sky island.
Then, little by little, the sound passed through the clouds and reached the Blue Sea below.
"There, it's done." Robin turned back to Arton. "Though, come to think of it, Nami would probably be thrilled if we gave her this thing."
"No kidding. The whole damn thing's made of gold," Arton said. "But forget it. This is still a relic with huge historical value to the Shandians. For Raki's sake, let's leave it to them."
"All right. I'm sure Nami can live with that," Robin said. "She'll find plenty of treasure in the City of Gold anyway."
She walked back over to Arton, then looked at him with clear curiosity.
"What is it, Robin?" Arton asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Captain Arton, since you already knew this Poneglyph records the location of an Ancient Weapon… are you interested in the Ancient Weapons at all?" Robin asked.
"I feel like I already answered that one back in Arabasta," Arton said.
He had been talking about Pluton back then, but the point still stood.
"That's true. You did bring it up in Arabasta," Robin said, recalling their earlier conversation and the things Arton had written in his diary about the Ancient Weapons.
Since Arton had access to the pirate diary, there really wasn't much reason for him to scramble after things like Ancient Weapons.
If nothing else, just look at the template Conis got this time.
In terms of value, it might already surpass an Ancient Weapon.
Ancient Weapons were terrifying, yes, but they were still things confined to this world.
Conis's Serval template, on the other hand, had genuinely given her power from a level far beyond this world.
The Path was power opened up by the Aeons themselves.
Even Robin had to admit she felt a certain amount of envy toward Conis.
Compared to the Serval template Conis had received, Robin's own La Signora template suddenly didn't seem quite so extraordinary anymore.
Of course, she knew that was only an illusion.
The ice and flames from her template had been strong enough to force Ace into a miserable spot.
That alone proved how valuable the La Signora template really was.
"Now then, everything here is done," Robin said, placing her hands on Arton's shoulders. "Why don't we head back to the ship now, Captain? We still have a few things we need to do, don't we?"
Even though she had already received a template and, in a sense, no longer needed to use her sex appeal to win Arton over, Robin didn't think doing it another time or two would hurt.
She had already crossed that line before.
At this point, shame was something she had long since thrown away.
And Robin felt that if she deepened her connection with Arton further, he would be even more willing to give her more chances to see other Poneglyphs.
"You really are... pretty damn open," Arton said, catching the meaning behind her words.
"Well, that's because Captain Arton is so delicious," Robin said, licking her lips.
"Thanks for the compliment," Arton replied.
"All right. Let's head back."
He nodded.
Just like Robin had said, there was nothing left to do here. They might as well get back to the ship as soon as possible.