"Mmm… I slept so well."
As the sun rose, Katherine stretched comfortably with a contented sigh, basking in the morning light. Her expression was one of pure bliss.
"Hey, what's with those looks? Why are you staring at me like that?"
After enjoying her stretch, she noticed Baichuan, Shanks, and Buggy all staring at her with odd expressions, as if she were some sort of strange creature.
"Are you okay?"
Baichuan stepped up to her and placed his hand on her forehead, checking her temperature.
"What are you doing?"
Feeling the warmth of Baichuan's palm and catching the faint, pleasant scent from him, Katherine's face turned visibly red, either from embarrassment or annoyance.
"No fever… Then why did you sleep for so long? Could your body be mutating?"
Baichuan muttered to himself as his hands started feeling around Katherine's body.
If not for the serious expression on his face, he'd easily be mistaken for a creepy pervert.
"Enough already! What on earth are you doing? What happened while I was asleep?"
Katherine, on the verge of letting out a moan, quickly stopped Baichuan's hands and, flustered and angry, demanded an explanation.
"Do you know how long you slept?"
Baichuan leaned in close to her face.
"How long?"
Katherine instinctively took a step back.
"Fifteen or sixteen hours! You sure can sleep. I think I'll bestow upon you the title of Sleep Goddess."
"Fifteen or sixteen hours?! No way! Am I a pig or something?!"
"But it's true. You really might be an old sow."
Baichuan burst into laughter, and even Shanks and Buggy were infected by his laugh, chuckling along.
"So seriously, what happened? Why did I sleep so long?"
Katherine furrowed her brow in thought. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. Her face turned pale, and she looked horrified.
"What about Roger? Did he kill us? Is this… hell?!"
A flurry of questions tumbled from her mouth before Baichuan could get a single word in.
"Relax. Roger is dead. Someone saved us."
Baichuan placed his hands on her shoulders and patted her gently, trying to calm her down.
"What did you say?"
Katherine acted like she didn't hear, or perhaps couldn't believe what she'd just heard.
"I said, Roger has been killed. We're safe now."
"That's impossible… Roger is the strongest. How could he be killed?"
"The strongest?"
Buggy scoffed. "Give me a break. He's just the strongest on this island. There are plenty of people out there who could wipe the floor with him."
He acknowledged Roger's strength, but that was it; he wasn't Roger. If someone called Roger the strongest in the world, Buggy would never argue.
"Is it true?"
Katherine looked to Baichuan for confirmation, her voice questioning but hopeful.
"It's true. One of our allies saved us. Roger is dead."
Upon hearing that, Katherine covered her face and began to sob.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying? Roger being dead is good news, isn't it?"
The three boys, still inexperienced in matters of the heart, were at a complete loss, especially Shanks and Buggy, who instinctively stepped back to give Baichuan space.
Baichuan stepped forward and hugged her gently, patting her back in comfort.
Feeling his embrace, Katherine hugged him back and buried her face into his chest, crying her heart out.
"There, there… What's wrong? Don't cry, okay?"
But his words had no effect. They only made her cry harder.
Baichuan had no choice but to sacrifice his shirt as a tissue for tears and snot.
After a while, Katherine's crying began to subside.
"So… can you tell me now why you were crying?"
"Roger was the greatest enemy of my family. My favorite brother was killed by him."
"Then we've avenged you. You should be happy."
"I know… That's why I'm crying tears of joy. But when I think of my brother, I just get overwhelmed with sadness. I couldn't control it."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again.
"All right, let's not think about that anymore. Let's think of something happy, like how you'll be home soon."
Baichuan hugged her again in comfort.
"Mhm."
Katherine gave a soft, muffled reply as she stayed curled in his arms.
"Ew… Why does seeing this make my skin crawl? What about you, Shanks?"
Buggy asked, watching the two embrace.
"Same here. Feels kinda inappropriate, don't you think?"
Though they'd stepped back a bit, their voices still reached Katherine loud and clear. Embarrassed, she pushed Baichuan away and turned around shyly, her cheeks flushed.
"Those two know how to ruin the moment," Baichuan muttered.
He didn't plan to get too involved with Katherine emotionally, but if he could take a little advantage, why not?
Just then, Katherine's stomach let out a loud growl, and her already-red face flushed even deeper.
"Hungry, huh? After sleeping fifteen or sixteen hours and crying so much, of course, you're hungry. Time to eat."
"Okay…"
Her voice was so soft it was like a whisper from a mosquito. If Baichuan's hearing hadn't been sharp, he might not have caught it.
After rummaging through the bandit hideout's kitchen, the group managed to cook a big meal and ate until they were full, especially Katherine, who ate three times her usual portion.
"Are we sure this is the same Katherine we knew?"
Shanks and Buggy exchanged glances; they were thinking the same thing.
"All right, let's get ready to head out. Just a few more days and we'll be out of this kingdom's borders."
"Mhm."
Before they left, Baichuan and the others set the bandit stronghold ablaze, burning everything down, including the bodies.
And just like that, the mountain stronghold that had ruled with terror for decades was reduced to ashes.