The lab door slid open, revealing Reiju with a pleased expression. She walked over to the sofa and sat down gracefully. Luffy, watching her, immediately asked, "So? Did you meet Vivi?"
"Yes, I met Vivi," Reiju confirmed, a slight smile playing on her lips. "And just as you said, she is an interesting person. It made today much better than the previous ones."
"See? I told you she's really interesting, shishishi!" Luffy said, his trademark grin spreading across his face.
"But are you sure you and Vivi aren't in cahoots to trap me?"
"You really have a hard time trusting people, huh..." Luffy said with a resigned tone, but then he smiled again. "Well, whatever. You'll understand eventually that I'm not a spy."
"Heh," Reiju replied noncommittally. Then, as if noticing something, she smiled. "Luffy, did you touch my chemicals last night?"
Hearing this, Luffy's body jolted slightly, and he stiffened. Sweat dripped from his temples. He let out a stiff laugh, his wide smile clearly suspicious. "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything last night."
Hearing his denial, Reiju stood and walked over to where she stored her chemicals. "You know, this bottle isn't supposed to be here."
'Crap, I've been found out!' Luffy thought in a panic, but on the outside, he whistled stiffly while looking away. "So, what do you mean? I don't understand."
Seeing that Luffy refused to admit it, Reiju proceeded to pummel him until he was bruised all over. After looking at his battered face, she stopped and dusted off her hands as if cleaning off dirt. "So, your answer?"
Luffy, with his bruised face, mumbled, "It's my fault. I'm sorry."
"Hey, Reiju, can you take these cuffs off? At least the ones on my hands? I want to train," he said, showing her the seastone cuffs on his wrists.
"...You want to train now?" she asked, bewildered. "Your injuries are quite significant, you know. You need to recover first... Don't you see the condition your body's in?"
"It's okay, it's okay! I heal very fast. Besides, if I want to become the Pirate King, I should be able to handle this much at least!"
"..." 'Well, at least he recognizes that becoming the Pirate King will be hard,' Reiju thought, having given up trying to understand Luffy at this point. She acquiesced to his request, re-chaining him so that his leg was attached to a chain, but he could walk a few steps away from the desk.
"Thanks!"
Reiju just sighed, wondering why she couldn't say no to him. He was supposed to be a slave, yet he showed not the slightest fear or respect towards her, called her by name as if she were a friend, teased and made fun of her... If it were anyone else in her place, he would have been killed by now.
But she didn't hate it.
Once the cuffs were off his hands, Luffy immediately began checking the wounds all over his body. After his inspection, he decided he was fine and attempted to do push-ups. However, after a few tries, he collapsed onto the floor.
This annoyed him, and he scratched his head in frustration. "Darn it, why can't I do push-ups?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's because the wounds on your body haven't healed yet. You need to rest and let them heal before you can train."
"That's not necessary. Wounds like these heal quickly. Besides, I don't even feel any pain from them anymore."
"You take rest right now, or I'm injecting you with the sleeping agent again."
Luffy slowly crossed his legs while glaring at her with a pout, which looked extremely cute to Reiju. "Now, that's a good boy," she said, patting his head. He swatted her hand away, glaring even more, which only made her giggle. Luffy grumbled something, but Reiju didn't care, as she was having fun seeing his reactions.
"Now hush," she said, taking a seat. "I need to concoct some stuff."
Luffy watched as she began taking all sorts of chemicals from the cabinets, measuring them out, mixing and heating some liquids over a Bunsen burner. He lay down on the floor and stared at the lab ceiling. Bored because he couldn't train, his gaze eventually drifted back to Reiju mixing chemicals. Curiosity got the better of him, and he walked over, resting his head on her shoulder.
Reiju could feel Luffy's curious gaze and flinched slightly when he put his head on her shoulder. A few seconds later, his head moved closer to her face until it was touching her cheek, and she didn't know what the hell he was doing. 'Does he have no concept of personal space?'
"What are you doing?" she asked, pausing her experiment.
"Nee... is this fun?" Luffy asked, ignoring her question.
Seeing him answer her question with another question, she could only sigh. "What I meant was... what are you doing resting your head on my shoulder?"
"Ahh... sorry. I did it so I could see what you were doing better," Luffy said, moving his head away from her shoulder. "So, is what you're doing fun?"
"Yeah, I think it's fun," Reiju said, resuming her experiment. "Why?"
"Nenene... Let me try it too!" Luffy said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"No."
"Come on, let me try it just once!" Luffy pleaded, shaking her shoulder.
Reiju stopped her experiment and looked at Luffy. "No means no."
"Stingy," Luffy said, pouting and turning his face away.
Seeing Luffy's childlike reaction made Reiju want to pinch his cheeks; she found him utterly adorable, but she restrained herself. "Don't act like a child. You need to rest if you want to train sooner."
"Yeah, I know, but I'm bored!"
Reiju could only sigh. "If you're bored, you can read some of the books over there," she said, pointing to a bookshelf nearby.
"Ehh... but that's not fun," Luffy complained, his tone dissatisfied.
"Just do it. Or should I give you a sedative to calm you down?"
Hearing the threat, Luffy reluctantly gave in. "Fine, I'll look for something fun to read."
For about thirty minutes, Reiju enjoyed the silence, thinking she had found peace. But then she heard the sound of a book falling from the shelf. Curious, she looked over to see Luffy rummaging through the bookcase, inspecting each book one by one as if searching for something specific.
Seeing the messy bookshelf, she could only sigh. "What are you looking for?"
Hearing her voice, Luffy turned. "A world map. Do you have a world map?"
"A world map? Why are you looking for something like that?"
"No reason. I just want to see if this world map is the same as the one Kevin saw."
"Kevin? Who's Kevin?" Reiju asked, her face puzzled, as this was the first time she'd heard that name from Luffy.
As if realizing something, he explained, "Ahh... Kevin is my friend. He's from a country very far away from here. He was a singer. He's the one who taught me how to play the guitar and piano..."
"Wait, you actually know how to play an instrument? I thought you were just bragging when you first said that!" Reiju interrupted, surprised that Luffy could play music. From her observations, he seemed like a brute who only knew how to fight.
Hearing Reiju's words, Luffy felt a little offended. "How rude... Even though I look like this, I know how to play instruments, and I also understand a little about politics."
Seeing Luffy was slightly offended, Reiju apologized. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Continue your explanation."
Seeing her apology, Luffy continued. "Okay, where was I... Ahh, Kevin is the one who taught me guitar and piano. Kevin was a great guy; he never gave up on his dream of becoming a musician, even when people around him didn't support him. After a long struggle, he finally achieved his dream. Even so, he had a small flaw—he was a playboy who had slept with many women."
After hearing this explanation, Reiju was even more confused and wanted to ask something but didn't know where to start.
"So, Rei, do you have a world map?"
"Rei?"
"Yeah, your name is Reiju, right? I shortened it to Rei."
"Fine, I'll get you a world map," Reiju said, leaving the lab.
Five minutes later, she returned with a world map and tossed it to Luffy.
He spread it out on the floor and studied it carefully. "This is indeed the same as the one Kevin saw, but I was hoping this map would be a bit more detailed."
Hearing this, Reiju was confused because she thought the map was detailed enough. "What do you mean it's not detailed enough?"
"This map doesn't show the location of Skypiea."
Hearing Luffy mention Skypiea, Reiju laughed. "Skypiea doesn't exist. It's just a fantasy story made up by pirates."
"No, Skypiea is real, and I'll go there later with my crew! And we'll find the City of Gold from Noland the Liar's story!" Luffy declared with full confidence, as he had seen from Kevin's memories that Skypiea was real, and he wanted to go there.
Seeing Reiju still laughing and dismissing his words gave him an idea. "If you don't believe me, do you want to make a bet? If I find Skypiea, you have to grant me one wish. If I don't find it, I'll grant you one wish. How about it?"
Hearing Luffy's bet idea, she was slightly intrigued. "Why should I bet with you? If I want you to obey my orders, you're practically my slave right now."
"I'm not anyone's slave!" Luffy stated firmly. Seeing that Reiju wasn't biting, he added, "What, are you scared of losing a bet to me?"
"I know what you're trying to do, but fine, I'll bet with you."
Hearing Reiju agree to the bet, Luffy was thrilled because he felt he had already won.
Seeing Luffy's joy, Reiju felt something was off. She added a condition for victory. "But there's a condition. You can't just say you found Skypiea; you have to provide proof. Also, you mentioned finding the City of Gold from Noland the Liar's story... In that case, prove it by taking a photo with the golden bell from that story!"
"Alright!" Hearing Reiju's condition, Luffy immediately agreed, sure he was the winner. "Then let's celebrate this bet with a party! Rei, can you bring food and drinks here? Also, if possible, bring a guitar because we're going to party!"
"You're just looking for an excuse to party, aren't you?"
But Luffy wasn't listening. "Party! Party! Party!"
Seeing Luffy ignoring her, she could only sigh softly. "Hah... Fine, I'll bring food, drinks, and a guitar."
Hearing this, Luffy was overjoyed and raised both hands in the air. "Yahoo!!... We're going to have an amazing party!"
...
The Next Morning
Reiju slowly opened her eyes, stretched, and let out a soft 'Hmm'. She looked around and found herself not in her room but still in the lab, with bottles and plates scattered everywhere. She realized she had fallen asleep next to Luffy.
She couldn't believe it. How could she have let her guard down around Luffy? Even though last night's party had been incredibly fun—she hadn't laughed or felt that happy in a long time—that was no excuse to lower her vigilance.
Luffy was someone she had initially suspected of being a spy. Even though she was now fairly sure he wasn't, based on her observations, he was still a stranger she had known for only a few days. She found it strange how being with Luffy made her show more expressions and emotions than ever before. For some reason, she felt incredibly calm and happy in his presence.
As Reiju was lost in thought, Luffy woke up, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He sensed someone next to him, saw it was Rei, and smiled at her. "Good morning, Rei. Yah... last night was really fun, wasn't it?"
Startled by his greeting, Reiju answered spontaneously, "Ah... Good morning..." Then, suddenly, she smiled, hugged one of her knees, and looked at Luffy. "Nee, Luffy... you didn't do anything weird to me last night, did you?"
Luffy, with an innocent expression, asked, "Hmm? What did I do to you?"
Seeing that Luffy wasn't reacting the way she expected—he should be blushing and acting shy—she could only scream internally, "Nothing... forget what I said."
Seeing Reiju's reaction, Luffy found it a bit strange, but then, as if realizing what she meant, he grinned. "Wasn't that my line... because you're the pervert here."
Hearing that, Reiju's face turned red with embarrassment, and she hit him again. "I am not a pervert!"
Luffy fell to the floor, laughing hysterically while holding his stomach. "Hahahhaha, your face! You should see your face! Hahahha!"
Seeing Luffy laugh made Reiju want to get back at him. She injected him with a poison. Luffy, unaware he had been injected, began to lose consciousness and collapsed, his body starting to convulse as if having a seizure.
After two seconds of watching Luffy's condition, she realized what she had just done. She had injected him with an unfinished poison she was working on last night. Panicking, she instinctively brought her lips to his and began sucking the poison from his body.
After drawing out all the poison, Reiju came to a stark realization. 'Shit! I've grown very attached to the idiot…'
During the Reverie, Reiju didn't feel as bored as before because she now had a friend in Vivi to talk to.
After the Reverie concluded, she bid farewell to Vivi and headed back to her lab. As she approached, she heard the sound of someone singing. When she opened the door, she found Luffy playing the guitar and singing.
While Luffy was busy singing and playing, he heard the door open and looked up to see Rei walking in. "Yo... Pervert," Luffy said, smiling at her.
Hearing that, a vein bulged on Reiju's forehead, and she hit Luffy. "Listen, if you call me that again, I'll hit you," she warned.
Luffy protested, "But you already hit me..." His voice trailed off as Rei glared at him.
"Your answer?"
"Hi... I'm sorry."
Seeing Luffy apologize, Reiju calmed down. "So, what did you do while I was gone? Did you just sing and play the guitar all day?"
"Yeah, that's all I can do right now since I can't train yet. By the way..." Luffy grabbed his rumbling stomach. "Can you get me some food? I'm really hungry."
Hearing this, Reiju remembered she hadn't brought Luffy any food today because she had been in a hurry to get to the Reverie after oversleeping due to last night's party with Luffy. She went to the kitchen to get food for him.
Seeing the large sack of food Reiju brought, Luffy's eyes sparkled. "Wuhu... Food!!" He immediately began devouring the food.
Within thirty seconds, the food was gone. Luffy patted his slightly bulging stomach. "Ahh... I'm full, I'm full. By the way, Rei, is the Reverie over?"
"Yes, the Reverie is over... Why? Do you want to report to your boss?"
"It's not that! Hah... Do you still not trust me?"
"Yeah, I still don't fully trust you because I feel you're still hiding something. I want you to tell me the complete truth."
Hearing this, Luffy fell silent for a moment, as if thinking. His face turned serious. "Alright, I'll tell you the truth... Actually, I..."
Seeing Luffy's extremely serious expression, Reiju prepared herself, thinking he was about to reveal something important.
"...Actually, I have a fetish. For legs, to be precise. Thighs. I have a thigh fetish," Luffy said with a dead-serious expression before bursting out laughing. "Pfft... Hahaha! Your face! You should see your face! Hahahha!"
Hearing this, veins bulged on Reiju's forehead, and she hit Luffy until he was bruised again. "You...! I'm being serious here, you know! I'm not playing around!"
"What are you talking about? I'm serious too. I'm not playing around."
"Are you telling the truth?"
"I'm absolutely telling the truth. If necessary, I'll swear an oath." Luffy raised one hand into the air. "I, Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King, swear that I am not lying to Rei and that everything I've said before is the truth!"
Seeing Luffy take an oath dispelled the last bit of suspicion in Reiju's heart. She took out a key and unlocked the cuff on Luffy's leg.
Seeing the cuff removed, Luffy was overjoyed. "Wuhu... I'm free!"
Watching Luffy run around the lab, Reiju could only shake her head and return to her chemical experiments.
Three hours later, Reiju felt a slight tremor. She assumed they had descended from the Red Line.
Feeling the tremor, Luffy grew curious and a bit bored of being in the lab. He went over to Reiju. "Rei, what was that? I felt a little shake."
"Ah... that's probably because we've descended from the Red Line and are out at sea now. Why? Do you want to see outside?"
Hearing this, Luffy became excited and nodded vigorously. He wanted to see the Red Line for himself. Even though he'd seen it in Kevin's memories, it was different experiencing it firsthand.
Seeing Luffy's enthusiasm, Reiju stopped her experiment, went to the bookshelf, and pushed it. It swung open like a door to the outside.
Seeing the door, Luffy exclaimed, "Whoa, a secret door!"
"No, you idiot. You do realize this is a lab, right? What if there's a major explosion or something? There are vents, sure, but it's better to have a door to the outside for emergencies."
"Ah, I see." Luffy peeked outside, and the wind blew against him, nearly snatching his hat. He stretched out his arm, caught it, and pressed it firmly onto his head, smiling. "Shishishi."
The first thing he saw was the massive wall of red stretching out in either direction, its height rising well above the clouds. "Whoa, awesome..."
Seeing Luffy's reaction reminded Reiju of the first time she saw the Red Line—a truly massive wall of red towering over the clouds. She fell silent for a moment before speaking softly. "Hey, Luffy... can you tell me about how Sanji is doing?"
"Sure, but I don't know his current situation that well. From what I heard, he's a great chef, and he's kind to everyone—more to women than men, obviously," he chuckled, "but still, he's turned out great. He's also found a father figure in the owner of the restaurant he works at."
"…Is he happy?"
"Yeah, he's happy. But once he joins my crew, he'll be even happier!"
Reiju nodded with a small smile. "I see…"
The two stared out at the sea, feeling the wind rush past them, enjoying the comfortable silence…
…and then Reiju frowned. "The hell do you mean he'll be more happy when he joins your crew? You haven't even talked to him yet! Stop deciding things for him!"
"Shishishi, don't worry. He'll join me."
"What if he refuses?"
"Then I'll refuse his refusal!"
"It doesn't work like that, you idiot!"
Sounds of "shishishi," bickering, and chiding continued in Reiju's lab as the Germa ship sailed away from Mariejois.