"Kumo-chii. I hate them..."
"Mm."
"I hate them..."
"I know."
"I hate them!"
"Mhm."
"I hate them so, so much!"
"Me too..."
"That's not enough, Kumo-chii... It's just not enough!"
"What?"
"They just managed to get away with everything they did using a simple slave seal."
"..." Kumo fell silent. He opened his mouth, but didn't know the right words to choose to say.
"If you hate them so much, it's actually simple, just kill them all and problem solved~"
"Who's there!?"
From the window, a bat flew in.
Suddenly, the bat transformed into a beautiful girl who looked like an elf with white hair, pointed ears, and ocean-blue eyes.
"Hello, I'm Rurushi Ru, but you can call me Rurushi." She smiled: "Nice to meet you~"
"Rurushi?" Ginny murmured. She clearly didn't know her.
That said, she became cautious.
'She wasn't sent by the world government, was she?' Ginny raised her guard.
"Rurushi, you're here!"
At the window, there was a blonde woman with short hair and honey-colored eyes.
"Oh, Tia, you're finally here~" Rurushi waved invitingly: "Come in, I'm making new friends."
"There you go again meddling in someone's life." Tia sighed, but still came in.
"..." Ginny and Kuma were speechless.
The little baby in Kuma's arms started laughing, waving her arms toward Tia and Rurushi.
"Look, how cute." Rurushi smiled at Tia: "The husband and Grayfia's child is going to be just as beautiful, don't you think?"
"Well, they are very good-looking. Genetically speaking, it should be beautiful indeed." Tia replied thoughtfully.
Feeling like a stranger in her own home, Ginny called out to them: "Hey, aren't you forgetting about us here?"
"Oh right." Rurushi laughed without the slightest guilt, asking: "Where were we again? I remember! You were saying something about hating a certain group of people very much, right?"
"Rurushi, can't you see they're uncomfortable? Anyway, I'm Tia. Let's say I'm a friend of this thing here." She grabbed Rurushi's arm.
Rurushi didn't like how she was introduced and complained: "Tia, what do you mean by calling me a 'thing'? Wanna fight? I'll show you who's a thing!"
Like a cat baring its fangs, Rurushi's canines grew longer, and her nails too, looking like sharp razors.
"Calm down, you fool, there's a baby here, remember?" Tia smacked her on the head.
"Tsk, you're lucky." Rurushi retracted her fangs and nails.
"Sorry for the confusion, I'll take this troublemaker away." Tia gave a slight bow, grabbing Rurushi by the collar: "Come on, don't cause even more trouble."
"What do you mean trouble? I want to help them!" Rurushi argued.
"Did they ask for your help? No, right? Just follow me and leave them alone." Tia kept dragging her.
"But, nobody asks the husband for help, and he still always does it. Do you have the nerve to say what he does is wrong?" Rurushi shot back.
Tia let go of her and looked at her in silence.
Placing her hands on her hips, she says: "He is him, you are you."
"You know what that's called?" Rurushi wrinkled her nose, and when Tia asked "What?", she replied: "Double standards! You defend him because you love him, admit it!"
"W-What nonsense are you talking about?" Tia turned her face, now red all the way to her neck and ears.
"Kuma-chii, go make popcorn for me~"
"Yes."
"... Wait, seriously?"
"Hahaha!"
"See? We've become clowns for them!" Tia stomped her foot on the ground, not quite measuring her strength, creating a web-shaped crack.
"Look?! Who's causing trouble now, who?" Rurushi smiled provocatively.
"I-It's okay, I'll fix it!" Tia stammered.
"Hahaha, you two are funny~" Ginny said, wiping away tears from laughing so hard: "Seeing you two fight makes me miss my aniki."
Tia laughed awkwardly while rubbing her foot on the now glowing floor, using light to 'heal' even the cracked ground.
Smiling a little, Ginny said: "By the way, I'm Ginny and this big guy beside me is Kuma-chii."
"Kuma-chii? What a weird name..." Rurushi muttered.
"And who are you to talk about someone's name?" Tia nudged her with her elbow.
"Huh? My name isn't weird. The husband loves my name~" Rurushi boasted.
The fact that this gets to her makes Tia feel even more helpless.
"Wait, Kuma... Isn't that the name Zaydas mentioned earlier? The one he admires?" Tia asked quietly.
"It was Bartholomew Kuma, not Kuma-chii." Rurushi refuted.
"You fool, the 'chii' must be the affectionate way she calls him." Tia shook her head, almost giving up.
"Huh? There's such a way to use that in someone's name?" Rurushi, on the other hand, felt like she learned something new.
However, Rurushi's expression changed as she looked at Ginny: "By the way, the real reason I was drawn here wasn't your conversation, but rather, your smell."
Having the finger pointed at her, Ginny pointed to herself, asking: "My smell?"
"More precisely, the smell of my husband's power is soaked into you. At first, I thought you might be a potential lover, but by the way you look at that big guy there and with the daughter in his arms, I presume you're not. So..." She snapped her fingers: "You were saved by him in some way and were injured, so he had to heal you, and it wasn't something simple, that's why you still carry his power's scent."
"Rurushi, I take back what I said before. Sometimes, you really can be quite smart." Tia said, then looked at Ginny: "Sorry to ask this, but... Maybe you're one of the slaves who were freed?"
Now, Ginny and Kuma understood everything.
These two were connected to that person!
"You're allies of 'The Traveler'!" Ginny became animated.
"Hehe, he's my husband~" Rurushi puffed out her chest proudly.
"I'm... his friend." Tia said in a lower tone.
"Oh, come on, the only reason you didn't become the husband's woman is because you didn't make a move. Be brave, woman~!" Rurushi bumped her shoulder into Tia's.
Tia changed the subject by clearing her throat: "So it's those nobles from Mary Geoise that you hate?"
"So his name is Zaydas..." Ginny murmured, and Tia, realizing she had said more than she should, turned pale.
"It's okay, Tia, I just spoke with the husband and he said he doesn't mind." Rurushi said, seeing Tia's expression change, adding: "Join the network, he wants to talk to everyone."
"Okay." Touching the side of her head, she joined the telepathy network.
In moments, everyone was there and they all heard Zaydas say:
"Well, to be brief. Before, I did a few things under the name of 'The Traveler' because I didn't intend to interfere too much in this world, but things have changed, so it doesn't matter if my identity is leaked or not. That said, keep in mind that you can do whatever you want and don't worry if you end up revealing my real identity. That's all."
After hearing that, Tia was visibly relieved.
"Long-distance communication through such a unique means..." Although Ginny didn't know how they did it, she was very interested.
However, she held back her curiosity as she looked at the wife and 'friend' of her savior.
"Bartholomew Kuma."
Rurushi called for him, and that's when a golden letter appeared before her. Rurushi grabbed the letter and threw it in his direction: "This is for you from my husband."
Using one hand to hold Bonney, he used the other to catch the letter.
"Kuma-chii, let me hold her." Ginny extended her arms.
Kuma bent down, letting her take Bonney.
Once in her mother's arms, Bonney began laughing loudly.
Rurushi pressed her lips together and smiled: "What a delightful laugh to hear. I hope to one day hear my child with Zaydas laugh like that~"
Meanwhile, Kuma opened the letter and read it.
"Kuma-chii, what does it say?" Ginny asked, curious, rocking Bonney in her arms.
"It's an invitation to join something called Little Garden." Kuma had a look of astonishment.
"Huh? Why do I feel like it's not that simple?" Ginny asked.
"And it's not. He didn't just invite me, he also said he could literally bring this kingdom, meaning the entire island, into the territory he created and place it under his protection." Kuma replied.
Hearing that, Ginny only let out a "Wow" as she fell silent.
However, thinking about the ability that managed to send all of them in Mary Geoise to a totally different place in a single instant, she believed he might truly have the means to say such grand words.
And as for protection... Just look at the news that say he single-handedly defeated Kaido and his Beast Pirates. That alone makes it easy to understand that he had the power to back up his confidence in saying that.