Chapter 277: Reiju Boards the Ship, New Mission
"What… what are you talking about?" Reiju still wore the same hidden smile, which made Eric feel a pang of sympathy.
"I said, I won't let you cry secretly in your heart anymore." Eric said seriously, "So, you don't need to keep pretending to smile. If you want to cry, then cry."
"..." For a moment, Reiju really wanted to throw herself into his arms and cry her heart out, but she forced herself to hold it in and regained her elegant and refined demeanor. "Is this how the 'Emperor of the Sea' Eric -sama flirts?"
"..."
Reiju raised her delicate right hand, placing it in front of her full lips, and said in a cute tone, "This flirting method is a little outdated~"
"..." Eric , stunned by a young girl commenting on his flirting method as outdated, was suddenly too embarrassed to speak. He snorted, "I know you have a kind heart, but you've been living with a family of 'monsters.' I also know that you hate the name Germa, but you must live under the Vinsmoke family name. So, there's no need to pretend to be so mature in front of me."
"It must be painful, right? Your three younger brothers have no human emotions. Your father treats you like a tool, and you have to hide your feelings. You don't want to kill, but you're forced into killing training by your father."
"...Ugh!" At that point, Reiju's defense finally broke. She pressed both hands tightly over her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes as transparent droplets ran down her smooth cheeks.
"You're just a fifteen-year-old girl. The burden on your shoulders is far too heavy…"
"Bang!" Reiju suddenly threw herself into Eric 's embrace, tears soaking his chest in an instant.
If she hadn't had that exoskeleton, it would have felt so warm to be in her embrace.
'Why the sudden rush?!' Eric 's [Heartnet] sensed Reiju's movement, but he didn't expect her impact to be so strong, causing him to falter for a moment.
However, when he saw the pinkish hue in front of him, Eric 's expression softened.
"Sorry, Eric -sama." Seeing the wet spot before him, Reiju blushed and turned her face to wipe away the remaining tears.
"This is the first time I've been so rude in front of others." Reiju explained.
"Is that so?" Eric said indifferently. "You're not that old, yet you try to act like a mature, composed lady…"
"A composed lady?" Reiju quietly repeated the words.
"Ahem, anyway, you have to follow your father's orders, so I want to ask you—" Eric asked seriously, "Do you want to join the Dawn Pirates?"
"..." This was the first time someone asked Reiju what she actually wanted to do.
She remembered how her three younger brothers had teamed up to bully the half-dead Sanji, and she had to go with the flow. She remembered her father's eyes when he gave her orders—those eyes devoid of any familial love. This was the first person who didn't treat her like an object…
Reiju performed the appropriate medieval noble etiquette, lifting her fluffy princess dress with her delicate hand, bending her knee, and bowing. "I am happy to serve you, Eric -sama."
"This etiquette is just for show. Between real family members, there's no need for such formalities."
"Family…" Reiju had once found the word both laughable and tragic, as there was no familial affection between her and her real family.
But today, a person she had just met a few days ago had spoken that word.
Still, she truly felt the long-lost familial affection from Eric and quietly thought, 'Mother…'
"Ara, Eric -." A shadow in the corner suddenly grew larger, and a red-black figure emerged. "You're quick~"
"Quick at what… don't say strange things. I was just sitting calmly."
The poised Reiju's face suddenly flushed red.
"Really…" Kurumi smiled lightly. "You still have pink lipstick on your chest."
"No way…" Eric looked down and then realized, "You're messing with me!"
With a playful smile, Kurumi turned to Reiju and lifted her skirt. "I'm Kurumi Tokisaki. Please take care of me in the future."
"You only give that 'skirt-lifting' salute to your enemies, Kurumi," Eric remarked.
"That's right, Miss Reiju, you're my future enemy, right? A rival in love~"
Reiju, the composed and social noblewoman, smoothly replied, "I really envy the relationship you two have."
Kurumi raised an eyebrow, "You'll experience it soon enough."
"Mm."
The proud, noble Kurumi and the cat-like, composed Reiju locked eyes and smiled.
◇
In the brief yet long ten days, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji had challenged the Dawn Pirates' crew. Unafraid of anything, the three of them were beaten up repeatedly by Scáthach , Kurumi, Chiron, Deidara, and others.
Judge also learned about these events from the scientists and, after acknowledging it, continued developing new equipment with Da Vinci.
On the day of their departure, Judge led his three children to see them off.
Judge, nearly three meters tall, looked at Reiju in front of him. Her image slowly morphed into that of his late wife, Sora, the woman who had lived with him for 15 years, now seeing their daughter leaving him…
'The great Judge actually had tears in his eyes…!' Reiju looked at the scene, incredulous.
Judge, who had never shown affection in front of her, suddenly apologized, "Sorry, Reiju."
"...!" Reiju's eyes welled up with tears, her vision blurring.
At that moment, an out-of-place laugh echoed.
"Hahaha…" Cold-blooded red-haired Ichiji, arrogant blue-haired Niji, and reckless green-haired Yonji, three punk-looking youths, were holding their stomachs, laughing.
"Hahaha, my sister is crying." Niji mocked. "More childish than Yonji!"
"Hey, don't say I'm childish!" Yonji angrily retorted. "I've never cried!"
"It's just a parting, Reiju. You're overreacting," Ichiji said, spreading his hands. There was not a shred of familial affection in his words.
The three of them couldn't see their father's back as they continued mocking their sister.
"..." The Dawn Pirates crew, who were watching from the other side, were shocked.
"Heh, so this is what happens when you lose normal human emotions…" Esdeath shook her head.
"A fool who has lost respect for life and doesn't know what's truly important," Scáthach said coldly. "Even if their lower limit of strength is high, their upper limit will never reach the peak of the world."
"These are unqualified warriors." Scáthach told Judge bluntly, "What you call a 'perfect creation,' we see as 'a defective product.'"
"Hey!" Yonji shouted, raising his fist. "You're older, but you're still so arrogant. We'll fight again!"
"I'm waiting for your challenge anytime," Scáthach said, not turning her head as she walked away. "You'll never reach the realm of gods."
"Damn…!" Yonji, even with his fist clenched, couldn't defy his father's orders or defeat Scáthach .
The originally emotional farewell became a sour one, disturbed by the three punks.
At the farewell, Reiju bowed deeply to Judge.
Even though she resented her father and hated the name Germa, the 15 years of raising her made it impossible for her to say anything harsh to Judge.
"Father, I'm… leaving."
"Go ahead." Judge, holding a spear, waved his hand impatiently.
The massive ship of the Dawn Pirates, under Wendy's control, flew away from the giant floating island of the Germa Kingdom.
Judge stared at the vanishing ship for a long time in silence before turning and saying, "Let's go, follow me to the training room—let's test the new combat suit Da Vinci and I developed."
"Yes, Father." His three sons answered in unison.
◇
"This is the combat suit you and Judge spent ten days developing?" Almost everyone gathered around Da Vinci, looking at the pink canister she was holding.
"That's right, but unfortunately, it can only be used by the Vinsmoke family," Da Vinci shrugged. "Judge had already completed most of it and set up the activation program. I just helped him finish the remaining part. Also, the main material inside is [Da Vinci Memory Alloy]."
'Ah, my Kamen Rider…' Eric silently cried in his heart. "It can only be used by the Vinsmoke family… I'll sue for racial discrimination!"
"Did he really freeload for ten days? Did he even pay you?!" Eric suddenly remembered the more serious issue.
"Captain, what are you talking about…" Da Vinci rolled her eyes and handed the pink canister to Reiju. "Try it. Just hold it horizontally in front of your abdomen to activate it."
Reiju carefully moved the canister to her abdomen.
"Poof!"
The canister emitted dazzling sparks from both ends and started spinning rapidly. Reiju's casual clothes immediately vanished, and yellow light enveloped her body. A daring pink outfit wrapped around her tempting figure, with purple cloak-like butterfly wings on her back and a skirt that barely reached the top of her thighs…
Wendy covered her eyes with her hands, peeking through her fingers.
"It's a shame there's no BGM…" Eric mumbled quietly.
Reiju carefully moved her hands, and the pink gloves adhered tightly to her skin.
Da Vinci introduced, "The combat suit has hover devices in the soles, allowing you to walk or hover freely in the air."
As soon as Da Vinci finished Speaking, Reiju activated the hover devices under her feet and slowly floated up.
"Oh!"
Everyone gasped in amazement.
"There are acceleration devices in the heels that increase speed, allow for takeoff, or increase kicking power."
"The cape behind you is a shield that can block physical close-range attacks, gunfire, and flames."
"So impressive!" Hearing Da Vinci's explanation and watching Reiju's demonstration, many people couldn't help but think two words: "I want it!"
"The combat suit is just an external object. To truly increase your strength, you must work on yourself," Scáthach said to the bright-eyed Kuina, who was nearby. "Stay true to your heart."
"Hey, Master!" Kuina quickly abandoned her earlier thoughts and responded loudly.
"Good." Scáthach grabbed Eric by the collar and said, "It seems you need an intense battle to understand the importance of improving your own strength."
"Wait…!" Eric tried to explain. "I just wanted to be a Kamen Rider…"
"Losing focus on your goals!" Scáthach dragged Eric away forcefully. "Your height has been changing lower. Were you trying to peek under Reiju's skirt? I'll make you so tired you won't want anything!"
"Please, no!"
◇
Knock knock
"Come in," a gentle female voice called from inside.
"How are you feeling after three days on the ship?" Eric opened the door and entered.
"The people on the ship are all very friendly, but some of them… um, seem a bit hard to get along with."
"Oh, they're not targeting you. They just don't care about anything that doesn't interest them." Eric asked, "But have you thought carefully about what you want to do these past few days?"
Reiju moved a chair for Eric to sit, while she sat on the bed, smiling bitterly. "I used to hate the name Germa, hate all the training my father made me do. Suddenly, with no one around to control me, I feel a bit lost… What do I have, besides this superhuman body?"
"No dreams of your own?"
"Dreams? They feel so distant to me."
"Hobbies?"
"Hobbies?" Reiju shrugged. "'Hobbies' are such a rare word…" She suddenly thought of her third younger brother, Sanji, who always loved to read cookbooks and cook.
"Right now, I just want to find one person… I don't even know if he's alive or dead," Reiju said with a sudden loss of will.
That was the only family member who resembled her, but he was never acknowledged by the rest of the family until he ran away from home, and she hadn't heard from him since.
"..." Eric thought of this. "What? You actually have something you want to do, Reiju."
"I've seen him."
"Eh?" Reiju widened her eyes, the left one being bright blue and beautiful, her left eyebrow twitching twice.
"You're talking about Sanji, right?" Eric made a gesture. "Yellow hair, with eyebrows like yours."
"Where is he?" Reiju grabbed Eric 's shoulders tightly, her face full of urgency. "Is he okay?!"
"Don't get too worked up." Eric patted her hands, though the feeling was far from soft—more like steel, and in his heart, he shouted angrily: 'Judge, return my soft, tender, fragrant Reiju!!'
"He's in the East Blue, learning cooking from a chef. He's been through some hardships, but he's probably fine now… He's opening a restaurant with that pirate."
"With a pirate?"
"If he hears you say that, he'll be mad. That pirate is Sanji's savior and his mentor."
"I see." Reiju finally relaxed. "Then my life has no regrets."
"Your life seems quite cheap."
Reiju smiled slightly, not replying.
"You're not doubting me?" Eric shouted. "What if what I said is a lie?"
"You don't lie, Eric -sama," Reiju said confidently. "At least not about this."
"Don't you want to know what he'll grow up to be like? Handsome? Just? Or evil?"
"Is this concern for your younger brother?" Reiju crossed her legs, supporting her chin with one hand. Despite only being fifteen, her mature, composed demeanor was overwhelming.
"Maybe?" Eric , who had grown from a boy to a man, wasn't embarrassed by such small gestures.
"I…"
Ding… you have a new email
(END CHAPTER)
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