"I really wish I had Sister Sora's fruit. After truly establishing a kingdom, I've only now realized that there's so much to learn, and too many things without a correct answer. It's far from as simple as I used to think," Otohime sighed, speaking with a tone that carried a bit of complaint.
Before, she had only skimmed the surface; it was only after following Rosse and experiencing some things that she gradually came to understand human nature.
And this time, from selecting people to build the new kingdom, to establishing the kingdom in Punk Hazard, throughout this process, all kinds of natural disasters and human misfortunes had occurred.
It was only then that she deeply realized how naive her earlier thinking had been.
Things like racial harmony…
Just the same-sized piece of land, because another piece of land had coral while the one they were given didn't, two merfolk families could argue with each other, and in the end it would escalate into a brawl.
And that was still within the same race; between different races it was even harder.
Because it involved the redistribution of the new kingdom's land and interests, even though Otohime had already done her best to be fair, there were inevitably still people who were dissatisfied.
The mermaids felt that being treated the same as fish-men meant Otohime was biased.
The fish-men felt that mermaids looked down on them, and in their hearts they were uncomfortable.
Because of Otohime's dream, Rosse also transported nearly a hundred thousand humans to Punk Hazard.
Humans were easy to manage: give them food and a job and they would be happy. But humans just stuck to themselves; not to mention playing together with fish-men and mermaids, they even divided themselves into small separate groups.
It was only when managing them that she realized, everything was a matter that needed attention. This was also the reason Otohime was mentally exhausted.
But because she was in the position of queen, and had dealt with many matters, her temperament had improved a lot, she had matured a lot, and she was no longer as weak and easily bullied as before.
"Saint Rosse, over here at the port there's a direct train to the underwater city. The port here has been named Rosse Town, and in the future it's planned to be developed into the kingdom's largest place for foreign trade."
"Rosse Town?", Rosse stopped in his tracks, looking at Otohime with some surprise, 'She directly named it after me?'
"Is that… not okay?"
Otohime asked a bit nervously. Although the name had not been finalized, it was indeed her own idea.
It wasn't very appropriate to use a Rosse-related name for the royal palace, but for this mermaid kingdom's future most prosperous small town, she still wanted to use Rosse's name to express her gratitude to him.
"Of course it's fine. But this name might not necessarily be a good thing. Right now those pirates have gone crazy wanting to kill the Celestial Dragons, using my name, and in the New World no less, might actually bring danger."
Rosse didn't mind the name itself. Whether Otohime was purely grateful, or wanted to use his name to deter pirates in the New World, that was a small matter.
But some things still had to be made clear.
Being under the protection of the World Government, under the protection of the Jaygarcia family, and under his own personal protection, these looked the same, but there were differences.
Now he was considered somewhat famous, and had made his name by stepping on the remnants of the Roger Pirates.
There were indeed quite a few people who wanted to cause him trouble.
Not that they wanted to avenge the Roger Pirates, but rather that those brainless pirates thought that since he had killed the remnants of the Roger Pirates, he must know where Roger's hidden One Piece was.
And because of that, it was said there were quite a few people looking to cause him trouble.
"It's fine. Wanting to cause trouble for us here is no simple matter," Otohime smiled with confidence.
"Hm? Where's that confidence coming from?"
Rosse raised his eyebrows, looking at Otohime with surprise.
After seeing this world's top combat power, to still have such strong confidence, it seemed that while he had been busy with the World Government these past days, Otohime had also gained something herself.
"I know the mermaid kingdom's strength isn't much, with Jinbe being the strongest, so I thought to spread my ideals and see if there were any like-minded people," Otohime took the opportunity to bring up her own experiences.
After coming to the mermaid kingdom, in both management and combat power, she needed to recruit talent.
And in this recruitment, indeed some very strong people appeared.
"You mean, the first sheriff of Rosse Town is named Issho?", Rosse asked in surprise.
"Yes, Issho is a blind man with a heart full of justice. Although his eyes are impaired, his strength is great, even Jinbe is not his match," Otohime nodded.
She recruited people purely based on loyalty, without fear of what might happen if the person's strength was too great.
Because of her ability, those with ill intent were filtered out at the very start.
And that strong man named Issho, she could clearly feel the fire in his heart for kindness and justice.
Such a person could never be a bad man.
Otohime noticed that Rosse seemed to know Issho, and hurriedly added, "Saint Rosse, do you know Sheriff Issho?"
"I've heard of him, he's a strong fighter. With him plus the stationed marine, defending Rosse Town should be enough," Rosse nodded lightly.
He hadn't expected Issho to actually remain in the mermaid kingdom.
Fujitora, Issho, a future marine admiral.
Although his strength was only about the same level as Zephyr, far below Sakazuki and Borsalino, he was still an admiral-level combat force.
Even if he wasn't at his peak now, he should still be at an A-level standard, and with Jinbe and the navy's support, it would be enough.
"Do you know why he stayed?"
Although Rosse guessed that Issho was most likely drawn by Otohime's ideals, he still couldn't help asking.
"He said he wanted to see whether I could create a miracle of coexistence among the races. But he also said he wouldn't stay for too long. If results come about here, he might leave," Otohime spoke somewhat without confidence. Now she had confidence in other areas. But regarding her ideal of merfolk coexistence, she was a little unsure.
The more she had seen, the more she had managed, the more she realized it truly was a difficult matter.
"Feels difficult?", Rosse instantly saw Otohime's thoughts, smiling as he rubbed her head.
"There's some pressure, but I'll definitely manage it. It's just that, for now, I can't find a clear direction."
Otohime didn't want Rosse to look down on her, but she did want his help.
Her current experiences and ideas were largely influenced by Rosse, so in her heart, Rosse had always been an omnipotent figure. This matter was no exception.
Only, she didn't want to trouble Rosse too much, as that would make her seem useless.
But troubling Rosse was also the fastest and most convenient method for now, which left her conflicted.
"If there's a question, ask. If there's a shortcut, take it. It's not as if it requires any special cost."
Rosse looked at Otohime with amusement, he had already been planning to train her anyway.
Only, the training direction was to shape her according to his mold.
"As always, first you need to understand what it is that you want."
"I want humans, fish-men, and mermaids to coexist, without any prejudice between them. At least first removing the barriers between the races," Almost without hesitation, Otohime voiced her thoughts.
She wasn't so lofty yet as to set her goal at coexistence among all races.
Right now, she clearly understood what she wanted in her heart.
What she wanted now was simply for the three races to coexist and to be able to understand each other.
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