"Mhm, it looks like they brought this entirely upon themselves," Milim said nonchalantly from the side. In her view, giving away all one's possessions just because of someone's beauty meant that going hungry now was simply their own doing.
"Ha! What would a short little girl like you know about the charm of mature older women?"
"Sorry, my mistake. You're probably not even an adult, so you wouldn't understand that well-endowed older sisters are the type that both men and women like, right?"
"Besides, you're just a little girl, aren't you?"
Hearing Milim's words, the old man was very displeased and immediately started to mock her.
Shut up! Shut up!
Al, at the side, had cold sweat all over his forehead, screaming internally. It's over, this old man is definitely going to die.
These few sentences completely stepped on all of Milim's triggers.
"Ha! What are you saying, old man?!" Milim's face darkened, and a faint red glow seemed to emanate from her eyes.
She then swung her fist and smashed a nearby house, causing the entire building to collapse instantly.
Seeing this scene, the old man now also had cold sweat on his forehead. He very skillfully knelt on the ground.
"I'm sorry, I was just talking nonsense earlier. A beautiful young lady like you is the type everyone likes."
"Weren't you being pretty arrogant just now? Who were you calling a little girl?" Milim kicked the old man a few times, but it was clear she wasn't using much force, just venting her anger.
"I'm very sorry, I meant to say that you are very cute."
At this moment, Al finally played his part, stepping in front of Milim. "Boss, they will be citizens of Totto Land in the future. As the guardian deity, there's no need to get angry with them over such a small matter."
After venting her anger, Milim heard Al's words and reluctantly nodded. "Then hurry up and take them to Totto Land. This place is not interesting at all. I don't want to stay on this island for a second longer."
Milim turned and ran back to the ship in a huff. Al could only watch helplessly before finally pulling the kneeling old man up.
"Lord Milim didn't scare you, did she? She's actually just a bit childish and willful in character, but Lord Milim is actually an incredibly good person."
The old man sat back down on the ground, his previous fear long gone. Now, there was even a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"I can see that. If I had said that to some pirates, they would have definitely killed me."
"But that lady only kicked me a few times, and without any force. What a kind-hearted child!"
Kind-hearted? The image of the pirate fleet sunk by one of Milim's cannon blasts suddenly appeared in Al's mind.
Shaking his head, Al pushed those thoughts out of his mind. It was time to get down to business.
Because of what had just happened, the relationship between Al and the old man had clearly become closer. Naturally, he told the old man about Totto Land.
After learning about Totto Land's various policies, the old man unhesitatingly chose to join and brought a large group of people to the pirate ships.
After all, living is living, no matter where. If there's a place to live a better life, why not go?
The old man had lived on Bell Island for most of his life; there was basically no one on the island he didn't know. With his help, almost half the city's population chose to go to Totto Land.
The few ships Milim had brought were not nearly enough to hold so many people, but fortunately, Al had already notified Charlotte Linlin in advance.
Reinforcement ships would arrive soon. It didn't take long to transport everyone on Bell Island who was willing to leave to Spring Island.
This action naturally couldn't be hidden from the nation on Bell Island, but because the kingdom of Bell Island was just a small country, it had neither the courage nor the strength to attack Totto Land.
In the end, all they could do was fiercely condemn Totto Land in the next day's newspaper for not abiding by the rules between nations.
And Totto Land's act of "stealing" people also alerted other countries. Naturally, the name "Totto Land" spread throughout the seas!
However, because Totto Land was still just a small country, it didn't attract the attention of the great pirates or the World Government. Even if they saw it, they would only treat it as a joke over afternoon tea.
With the arrival of a large population, Totto Land's development became even more rapid. Almost everyone had a job.
In this era, having a job was a good thing. A job meant wages, and wages meant you could buy food and eat your fill.
And having work every day with pay was something unimaginable in other places.
At this time, Totto Land was at the peak of its development. There was a shortage of people everywhere. Even with the addition of the people from Bell Island, it was not enough to fill all the job positions.
Charlotte Linlin paced back and forth in her office. She really couldn't think of a good solution.
She had originally thought she could continue to recruit people like she did on Bell Island, but after the newspaper incident, all the small countries around Totto Land knew there was a country here that liked to "steal" people.
Naturally, they were all on guard against Totto Land, which left Totto Land with no opportunity to bring more people in.
"What a pain! Why do we have to look for people? Can't they come to us on their own?" Milim complained with a sigh.
That one sentence was like a sudden epiphany for Linlin.
"That's right! Instead of us looking for people, we should have people come looking for us."
Linlin excitedly rushed in front of Milim, suddenly picked her up, and lifted her high into the air.
"You're brilliant, Milim!"
"Hmph! Of course! I'm very amazing, you know. But... since you have such good judgment, you should buy me more little cakes. Otherwise, I won't let you hold me next time!" Although she didn't know why she was being praised, Milim accepted Linlin's compliment without hesitation.
"No problem!" Linlin put Milim down and turned towards the Den Den Mushi.
"Hello, is that Al?"
Al's voice came from the other side: "Queen Linlin, I'm here. Is there something you need me to do?"
"Help me find a news agency. I want to publicize the message that Totto Land welcomes people of any race who want to survive, and that here, people will never feel hunger."
Al's voice turned serious. "If we do this, we will attract a lot of attention, including from those great pirates."
Charlotte Linlin looked down and smiled. "We have Milim, don't we?"
"She's the guardian deity of Totto Land, after all."
That one sentence instantly reassured Al. Milim's invincible image was already deeply ingrained in everyone's mind.
Even a monster like Charlotte Linlin couldn't compare to Milim.
"Understood. I will look for a news agency immediately."
As the Den Den Mushi was hung up, Linlin turned her gaze to Milim, who was lying on the sofa quietly reading a manga, and couldn't help but smile.
"Milim, you really put one at ease!"