"No, I'm not..."
For the next few minutes, Drake seemed convinced that Xiang En was a Marine. No matter how Xiang En tried to explain, Drake wouldn't believe him, only replying, "Mr. Kizaru wouldn't want anyone outside the Navy to know about his relationship with me."
"You are truly unbelievable..." Xiang En was rendered speechless by his stubbornness. He reluctantly lowered his finger and sighed:
"Alright, think what you want, but you can't back out of my request. You were the one who brought it up!"
"Naturally." Drake immediately nodded, his gaze towards Xiang En now holding the familiar intimacy and trust he'd show a comrade.
"However, I'm curious, what do you need a scale from my transformed body for?" he asked curiously, then quickly added, as if afraid Xiang En thought he was having second thoughts:
"If it's confidential, you don't have to tell me. My body injuries are too severe, and my ability usage is limited. At the current rate of recovery, it will take at least three days before I can sustain my full beast form."
Three days?
Xiang En paused slightly. He summoned his summoning panel in his mind, and after checking the time displayed, his brow furrowed slowly.
[Time until next summon: 1 day (Summoning Cost: 30,000,000 Beli)]
One day. Based on the previous summon's timing, the next summon was actually due tomorrow morning, close to noon. Clearly, Drake's body wouldn't be recovered by then, meaning he would have to wait two more days.
Xiang En felt frustrated. The summoning conditions were almost met, and the cooldown was nearly over, yet he still had to wait.
No, I promised Old Niel I'd set sail for Dressrosa as soon as possible to save his wife and daughter. I can't delay.
It looks like I'll have to put my hopes on the other summoning medium.
They didn't chat for long. To recover quickly, Drake said goodbye to Xiang En and Kagura after breakfast and prepared to return to the bedroom to rest.
Xiang En stopped him, pulling out a large stack of newspapers and magazines from a bubble bag. He had bought them this morning while getting breakfast, originally intending to read them himself to deepen his understanding of this world.
Now that Drake was set to recuperate here for a few days, these items would be perfect to entertain him when bored.
Drake's eyes brightened upon seeing them. He thanked Xiang En twice, grabbed the newspapers and magazines from the table, and hobbled back to the bedroom.
Meanwhile, Xiang En and Kagura also finished their breakfast.
Gazing at the bright weather outside, Xiang En immediately thought about going out. Whether to look for the other summoning medium or just to simply wander, either way, it was better than lying around at home.
In his previous life, he was an office worker who barely left the house except for work. Now, in the New World, he didn't have to work all day and night. He should at least try to make a change and enjoy this beautiful life.
However, just as Xiang En was urging the reluctant Kagura to put on her shoes, a knock sounded at the front door.
"Little brother Xiang En, little Kagura, are you home?"
It was Old Niel's voice.
Hearing a guest meant they couldn't leave immediately.
Kagura's face lit up. Her thoughts were the exact opposite of Xiang En's; no matter how nice the weather was outside, as long as she wasn't starving, she preferred not to go out. If Xiang En hadn't threatened her with the next meal, she wouldn't have gone out with him at all!
Immediately, with a flick and a kick, the small leather shoes (which Xiang En had bought her yesterday) that she had half-put on were kicked off, revealing a pair of pale, soft feet.
Then, padding around barefoot, she tap-tap-tapped back to the living room, flopped down onto the sofa, and started reading a magazine while sipping a drink.
"…"
Her entire sequence of movements was so fast that Xiang En stared blankly for a while. Only when the knocking sounded again did he snap back and go to open the door.
The door opened.
Old Niel, carrying a sack on his back, rushed in anxiously, looking like a thief. His face showed a mix of tension and excitement.
"What are you up to now?" Xiang En asked suspiciously, seeing his state.
"I got the thing you wanted!"
Old Niel smiled mysteriously, then wasted no time in putting down the sack.
The contents of the sack are heavy. That was Xiang En's first sensation.
Even though Old Niel put it down gently, it still made a dull thud as it hit the floor.
Xiang En guessed what it was, and joy flooded his face. Under Old Niel's gesturing hand, he knelt down and personally pulled the sack open.
Sure enough.
It was a bomb!
It was a very large, black, bulging package, almost half the size of a person, estimated to weigh several hundred pounds. If Old Niel wasn't a shipwright accustomed to heavy labor, he probably wouldn't have been able to carry this bomb to his house.
[Found a suitable summoning medium. Absorb and store?]
Seeing the information pop up on the summoning panel, Xiang En was overjoyed.
But despite his excitement, he wasn't going to use his Golden Finger in front of Old Niel. Instead, he motioned for him to help move the bomb to the small house's basement storage room.
"Where did you get this bomb?"
After moving it, the two returned to the living room. Xiang En poured two full glasses of liquor, slapped away a small hand that reached out to snatch one, and handed a glass to Old Niel.
"Aah!"
After a satisfying gulp, Old Niel wiped the sweat from his face and looked at Xiang En, saying without hesitation:
"Right from our shipyard's warehouse."
"Little brother Xiang En, you might not know this, but recently, eleven great pirates, known as the Supernovas, arrived successively on the Sabaody Archipelago. Local merchant ships and various nobles, in order to protect against them, specifically came to the shipyard to reinforce their ship's weaponry."
"So, when I casually asked yesterday afternoon, I found out that there were leftover bombs that hadn't been installed yet in the warehouse. I then bought one at the internal shipwright price for a few million Beli."
Xiang En understood. He was surprised but not overly shocked.
Weapon control in this world was not strictly managed. Pirates with bounties of a few tens of millions of Beli in the East Blue could equip advanced cannons.
In the Sabaody Archipelago, which was the closest entrance to Fish-Man Island in the New World, finding a bomb powerful enough to kill an ordinary Sea King was not too difficult.
Xiang En had originally planned to take Kagura to the chaotic Black Market or an auction house to try their luck, but he never expected Old Niel to deliver the item right to his door.
It truly came without any effort. Wait, didn't I just say that yesterday?
Without dwelling on it, Xiang En pulled out ten million Beli from his Golden Finger space, intending to pay Old Niel back for the bomb. Predictably, Old Niel flatly refused.
"Little brother Xiang En, this is the only way I can offer help. Please don't refuse it."
"Alright then. In that case, stay for a meal and a drink?" Xiang En didn't insist, waving his hand.
"Hehe, I can do that. I heard little brother Xiang En's cooking is very good. Today, I finally have a chance to try it!"