Nami cried for a long time, soaking a large patch of Yami's clothes.
During that time Yami said nothing, gently stroking Nami's head, comforting the girl with soothing head pats.
Carina also said nothing, leaving the moment to the two of them, taking over the helm, gazing at the sea ahead while her thoughts wandered.
After a long while, Nami's sobs turned hoarse and finally subsided.
"Master… thank you."
Leaving Yami's embrace, Nami looked up at him. Her brown eyes were bloodshot, yet gentle, their light returning.
Just as Yami had said.
Those words pierced straight into Nami's heart, sending her favor for Yami soaring—surpassing Carina in an instant.
So long as Yami took down the Arlong Pirates for her, she believed that goodwill bar would fill to the max.
Winning Nami over was just that simple.
Since eight years old, the girl had carried a village's hopes.
For that, right after her adoptive mother was shot dead by the enemy, she had to set aside her vengeance and carve the enemy crew's mark into her arm.
For that, a ten-year-old girl had to put to sea to steal.
Before eighteen, Nami did not live for herself.
To free the girl's true self, the Arlong Pirates—the tumor—had to be cut out.
If this were a game, the Arlong Pirates would be the dungeon boss you had to clear in order to recruit and win Nami over.
Without defeating them, you wouldn't gain her favor, and Nami wouldn't leave the East Blue with you.
"No need to thank me. Just repay me properly later."
As he had with Carina, Yami pinched Nami's cheek and smiled.
"Mm-hm…"
Nami nodded vigorously again and again, fresh tears slipping from her eyes.
Unlike before, this time she cried from joy and gratitude.
Like Carina—who, liking him more and more, had fallen for Yami's charm—Nami, too, acknowledged this Master and accepted the role of maid.
Had Yami produced maid outfits right then, both girls would likely have put them on without hesitation.
…
After Carina and Nami's goodwill toward Yami spiked, the atmosphere of their voyage changed dramatically.
Before Sixis Island, Yami had spoken hardly a word to Nami.
Even with Carina it was mostly answering the girl's questions.
There had been a heavy wall between the three.
It was inevitable.
If Yami had saved them with tender kindness,
then Carina and Nami's goodwill would have surged, and things wouldn't have been so awkward.
Sadly, Yami had intervened as a transaction.
Suddenly becoming someone's maid could only make Nami uneasy.
After all, in this world maids came in two kinds: the contracted sort, like housekeepers.
And the other were low status, only a bit better than slaves, with a sliver of rights.
The former was a job. In the latter case, with a good Master, it could feel like family.
With a bad Master—like a Celestial Dragon or a rotten noble—it was worse than death.
The kind Yami wanted was the latter.
Given how strong he was, it was normal for Nami to be afraid.
Fortunately, that mood was quickly broken by Yami's sincere treatment.
Getting a first read on him, hearing his promises, and seeing him leave food and water to them, the girls warmed to Yami, and things grew less awkward.
After seeing the world's breadth through Yami, Carina was the first to accept the maid role.
Yami's proactive help dissolved Nami's distance too; her goodwill even overtook Carina's.
Once both accepted it, the three had endless topics, chatting with Yami constantly.
Since crossing over, Yami finally ended his lonely solo voyage and began to feel some belonging in this world.
With the girls taking the initiative, Yami showed surprising warmth, confirming what they had guessed.
The reason their Master had seemed so aloof was simply lack of practice talking to people.
His true nature wasn't cold at all—he was straightforward and kind.
If he weren't straightforward, he wouldn't have told world-shaking secrets to people he'd just met.
If he weren't kind, he wouldn't help Nami take down Arlong while chasing powerful Fruits.
Sensing Yami's lack of love, the two responded with even greater warmth.
If at first they'd treated cooking and laundry as perfunctory chores,
now they strove to please him—cooking with care each day, testing dishes and drinks to suit his taste.
Clothes were no longer washed with faint distaste but scrubbed clean, cheeks flushing.
If not for Yami's streak of neat-freak and his dislike of sleeping in others' rooms—not that he slept much at all, keeping watch on the deck or atop the mast—they would have had his cabin spotless every night.
When asking about the Grand Line, they even split duties: one massaging his calves, the other his shoulders.
In spare moments, Yami no longer needed fishing to pass the time.
He had two girls to play cards with!
Feeling the joy of two- and three-person fun again, Yami couldn't help but feel his eyes moisten, and at last the idea sprouted to have a ship of his own.
He wanted to build a court on deck and bring over some past-world games.
Between entertainments, Yami didn't forget his promise; he pushed the two to train daily, hoping they'd meet the conditions to practice the Six Powers.
To motivate them, Yami demonstrated the Marines' Six Powers.
Watching him blur like teleportation, become light as paper, send cutting blades with his kicks, and run through the air, Carina and Nami had their worldviews remade again.
So even without a Devil Fruit, a person could become this strong.
After seeing the Six Powers, Nami's confidence in Yami taking down the Arlong Pirates grew even stronger.
Happy times passed quickly.
Soon, the ship sailed into the waters ruled by Arlong's empire.