"Goodbye, Caelan-sama!"
The mermaids bid farewell to Caelan and reluctantly left. Before going, they didn't forget to toss a few flirtatious glances his way.
"They used to come at you one by one, but now it's more than ten all at once. Caelan, you're really something."
Nami said sourly as she watched the mermaids leave and saw Madam Shyarly sitting at the bar.
The other girls wore similarly jealous expressions as they looked at Caelan.
Shirahoshi was fine—she was only fourteen. No one was jealous of her coming aboard.
Even Hancock, who was usually the most possessive, said nothing this time.
But those mermaids were all gorgeous and had stunning figures. And Madam Shyarly had a distinctive, intellectual charm.
Bringing them all onboard at once was a bold move. Even though they were used to Caelan's fickle ways, it still surprised them.
"Caelan, you've invited so many people… that means less time for me."
Hancock stared at Caelan with obsession in her eyes, looking wronged.
She was fine with the girls who came earlier. But now that a dozen more were suddenly joining, it was bound to cut into her time with him.
Nearby, Gion, Uta, Nojiko, and Shyarly watched the whole "battlefield of love" unfold with interest.
They hadn't been fully won over by Caelan yet, so they naturally felt free to watch the chaos unfold.
Shirahoshi also widened her eyes in curiosity. Her youthful nature couldn't resist some juicy drama.
Faced with this Caelan remained completely unfazed.
First, he turned to Hancock, the one most prone to jealousy.
"Have you heard of Pure Gold? If we can find it, we'll all live forever. That way, we can be together forever and ever."
Caelan gently took Hancock's hand and said this tenderly.
It wasn't a lie. With a complete Heroic Spirit Template, he already had eternal life. As long as he found Pure Gold, he could keep them young forever and stay with them for eternity.
"Together… forever!?"
Hancock's face turned bright red as she murmured in bliss.
She didn't doubt Caelan's promise for a second and immediately forgot her earlier frustration.
It was the first time he'd said something so romantic to her.
"She's way too easy…"
The other girls covered their foreheads as they watched Hancock melt.
After settling Hancock, Caelan turned his attention to Nami.
I'm not that easy to please!
Nami lifted her chin defiantly and met his gaze head-on.
"Nami, here's 30 million Berries. Spend it however you like."
Caelan handed over 30 million Berries from his system inventory.
His panel always held a spare 60 million Berries, but due to his compulsive habits, he never included it in his official tally.
Now was a good time to spend 30 million to calm Nami down. He could save the other half for next time.
"Marvelous!"
Nami clutched the Berries to her chest and squealed in joy.
All of her jealousy and frustration vanished in an instant.
Even though she had her own stash, who didn't want more money?
"There goes another one~"
The other girls sighed again, covering their faces.
Nami, who'd been so proud and unyielding a moment ago, gave in just like that.
Her performance wasn't even as dignified as Hancock's.
"Come on, let's go shopping!"
Nami held up the Berries and excitedly pulled the girls along.
You get what you pay for. After accepting Caelan's bribe, she couldn't let his "backyard" catch fire.
"I can't do anything about you."
The girls all sighed and followed behind her.
In the blink of an eye, only Caelan and Madam Shyarly were left in the Mermaid Café.
"You're quite the romantic."
Madam Shyarly looked at him with a teasing smile.
Caelan's behavior just now could definitely be called top-tier scumbag material.
Meanwhile, Caelan was staring at Madam Shyarly's mouth, momentarily stunned.
The sharp shark teeth she showed when she was angry had a strange appeal.
"I feel like you're thinking something inappropriate."
Madam Shyarly locked eyes with him, a glint of insight flashing in her pupils.
"No…"
"I was just thinking about your fortune-telling."
Caelan said seriously.
He truly was intrigued by Madam Shyarly's ability.
He had sent Nami and the others away because he wanted to talk to her privately.
Logically speaking, he, someone from another world with a system, shouldn't appear in any of her prophecies.
But not only had he appeared, her predictions were remarkably accurate.
It was like she could foresee his every move.
That piqued his curiosity.
"My predictions? They're not accurate at all when it comes to you."
Madam Shyarly chuckled at herself.
"But your performance just now made it seem like you completely saw through me."
Caelan frowned slightly. He was puzzled.
If he wasn't in her prophecy, how had she reacted so confidently?
Could she have seen through him just from two brief meetings?
Understood him that well, so as to predict his actions?
"In fact, the prophecies related to you keep changing. I can't even tell if they're real or not anymore."
"For example, your killing of the Golden Lion and the Demon King of the East Blue. Those were never in my visions."
"According to my original prophecy, you couldn't defeat them."
"You wouldn't be able to catch the Golden Lion, and you didn't have the power to destroy the Demon King. But in the end, you killed them both."
Madam Shyarly took a long drag on her cigarette and exhaled, speaking with a touch of bewilderment.
She truly didn't understand how that could have happened.
In all her previous prophecies, people developed in predictable ways. But Caelan was the only anomaly—always taking actions that were completely outside of what she foresaw.
"Is that so?"
Caelan stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Madam Shyarly had predicted events involving him, but they turned out to be wrong.
If he hadn't acquired Karna's template, based on his previously shown abilities, it was true that he couldn't have caught the Golden Lion or defeated the Demon King of Sound.
So her prediction had been correct—up to that point.
Which meant the new template he received from the system hadn't been accounted for in her visions.
But then, how did she predict his words and behavior so precisely?
After a moment of silence, Caelan asked again, "Did you predict my battle at the Sabaody Archipelago with the two admirals and Garp? What was the result?"
"I did. In that vision… you died in that battle."
"But now, you're standing right in front of me."
Madam Shyarly spread her hands and smiled helplessly.
After so many failed prophecies involving Caelan, she no longer took them seriously.
She now treated prophecy more like entertainment.
"I see."
Caelan nodded. The doubts in his mind were resolved.
Madam Shyarly's predictions were based on existing information from this world. For a transmigrator like him, who possessed a system cheat, she could only base her visions on what he had already revealed.
Before Sabaody, he'd never demonstrated the ability to resurrect or stand up to Akainu and his companions.
So her vision had shown his death.
The same applied to his battles in the East Blue. Without prior knowledge of the Karna Template, her prophecy naturally saw him losing.
As for her ability to read his behavior and personality so accurately…
Caelan could understand that, too. After being in this world for almost a year, his personality and preferences had been laid bare.
It was no wonder Shyarly could make such spot-on predictions.
(To be continued.)
***
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