Chapter 63: Storm Brewing
After arriving at the Queen of Spring's capital, the fleet's ships dispersed to purchase goods separately.
The temporary fleet leader, Wall, approached Eric and handed him a box. "Thank you all so much. This six million Berries is your commission. The remaining half will be paid after the return trip."
Eric accepted the box with a "Thanks," thinking, 'The system's way more generous… if I had to escort cargo ships to earn money, it'd take me till the year of the monkey to afford a warship.'
"We'll need to trouble you all to stay in the Queen of Spring for two days. During that time, we'll be purchasing and loading cargo." Wall, clearly experienced in dealing with outsiders, was courteous and polite—there was no fault to be found in his behavior.
"Understood. We'll take the time to look around. How about we depart the morning after tomorrow at 9 a.m.?"
"Thank you so much, Captain Eric . Then it's settled—see you at 9 a.m., day after tomorrow." Wall firmly shook Eric 's hand before leaving.
"The last few waves of pirates were all taken down by Chiron's arrows before I could fight. My hands are itching. Do you think we'll run into enemies here?" Esdeath, a battle maniac, hadn't been able to engage in real combat due to being at sea. It was like placing delicious food in front of foodie Akame but forbidding her to eat.
"Ara, if you want to fight so badly, why don't you jump into the ocean and swim to them?"
"You know perfectly well I can't swim because of my Devil Fruit. Are you mocking me, Tokisaki Kurumi?"
"Don't worry. If you drown, I'll burn some paper offerings for you. Maybe I'll even write down all the sweet memories Eric and I share and send them to you~"
"Hoo~! Let's settle this today." Esdeath drew her sword and held it upright behind her.
"Just what I wanted~ I'll turn your whole body into Swiss cheese!" Kurumi crossed her arms in front of her, holding a pistol in her left hand and a rifle in her right.
"Geez~" Polky, frightened by the tense atmosphere, hid behind Chiron.
"They're at it again. Captain-kun, maybe step in?"
"Stop! Tomorrow I'll go on a date with Kurumi, and the day after that with Esdeath. Happy now?"
"Why do I have to go after this woman?" Esdeath, the Ice Queen, was displeased.
"Okay, then tomorrow with Esdeath, and the day after with Kurumi."
"Hmph, I'm not okay with that." Now Kurumi was upset.
Helpless, Eric leaned in and whispered to her. A true first wife has to show composure. Kurumi made a show of sulking and reluctantly agreed, but the upturned corners of her lips revealed her real mood. Tsunderes are so easy to read.
Da Vinci, who had been watching, commented, "Captain-kun has truly embarked on the path of a scumbag~"
Meanwhile, Akame had already taken Polky to a snack stall nearby to start eating.
...
That night, as soon as the fleet arrived at the Queen of Spring's capital, pirate informants around the town caught wind of their numbers and relayed the intel to nearby pirate crews. Knowing that a single group couldn't take on such a large target alone, the pirates began forming an alliance—hoping to clear this 'gold-farming dungeon' together. Though whether they were the players… or the elite mobs… remained to be seen.
A 2.5-meter-tall man entered the secret gathering spot of the pirate alliance. Behind him was another man of similar height, with purple skin and tattoos on his face.
"What's that guy doing here?"
"Even the fallen Marine Gasparde showed up!"
"Gasparde, with a bounty of 85 million Berries, joined too? This raid's a sure win!"
The pirates were both thrilled and terrified by Gasparde's arrival.
Without hesitation, Gasparde walked straight to the central seat.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Gasparde?!" one pirate shouted, unable to bear his arrogance.
Shfft! The purple-skinned Nides dashed forward barefoot, so fast that most couldn't react. Slice—three elongated claw-hooks wrapped around the shouting pirate's neck. Nides grabbed his shoulder with his right hand and gently pierced the skin with three talons—blood beads welled up.
"Hehe. It's fine to be energetic… but don't look down on people too easily. You might lose your life. Nides, let's consider this a pre-raid celebration—let him go."
Nides loosened the hook and released the man.
Huff huff huff—the pirate, who'd apparently forgotten to breathe, gasped desperately.
"Nides, with a 50 million Berries bounty, is ridiculously strong."
"No kidding. He moved so fast we couldn't even see it."
The captains seated around the round table finally spoke.
"Hmph, a little intimidation right out the gate, huh? Gasparde… General."
"This is a joint operation. Don't do anything to ruin cooperation."
Gasparde shrugged. "I prefer strong guys. What do you say—want to join me instead?" He even tried recruiting the other captains.
Soylo Kumas, bounty 63 million Berries, snapped, "Don't be ridiculous! I'd rather rot than work under someone else!"
"That's right. Another word out of line and I'll show you no mercy!" added Artoo Duncan, known as "Vulture," with a bounty of 57 million Berries.
"We're here to figure out how to carve up this fat sheep, not argue." The gathering's organizer, Wode Aziz, known as the "Strategist," took the lead in refocusing the discussion.
Gasparde sat down. Nides stood silently behind him.
The lamplight cast the pirates' shadows on the wall, crisscrossing and overlapping.
...
"So, Esdeath… why are you putting a collar on me? And why is the other end of the chain in your hand?" Eric asked, thoroughly confused.
"Hm? Da Vinci recommended some romance novels to me. This kind of thing happens often in them. There were lots of tying-up scenes too, but they're not suitable right now. According to the books, men seem to like this."
"...Can I ask what kind of books she gave you?"
"The covers were clearly marked 'women's romance novels.'"
"Titles?"
"For example: My Wife Is a Queen, How Empress Wu Tamed Men, Dear Empress, Please Trample Me!—I thought they were great reads."
"..." Eric was speechless. 'Da Vinci! Two of those are clearly aimed at men!'
Nearby, people whispered:
"Didn't expect young people today to be this wild."
"Shh, keep your voice down. Don't let them hear."
"Is this cosplay? Or some kind of performance art?"
Somewhere in the crowd, a strange voice panted: "Haa… haa… Please whip me, my Queen!"
'Who the hell is that guy?!'
"Mom, what are they doing?"
"Don't look, sweetie!" A mother quickly shielded her son's eyes and turned his head away.
The crowd's gazes and murmurs pierced Eric 's soul.
Eric leaned toward Esdeath and whispered, "Could you take the collar off? This is way too embarrassing. Normal people don't do this."
"Eh? You don't like it?" Esdeath tilted her head. She sighed, thinking they were a perfect match. But she still listened to Eric and removed the collar.
Just then, another voice cried out from the crowd: "Nooo, keep the dog collar on me! Trample my head again, Queen!"
'Seriously—who IS this guy?!'
Under his breath, Eric muttered, "If possible… when no one's around, maybe take off your boots… and wear stockings… and gently step on—"
"Hm? What was that?" Esdeath, sharp-eared as ever, hadn't caught it fully and asked again.
"Nothing."
(END CHAPTER)
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