Chapter 219: Conversation with Ain
"If you had doubts, why didn't you tell Instructor Zephyr and let him handle it?"
Axel could not understand.
If Ain and Binz had told Zephyr about their suspicions, they would not have needed to take this risk themselves. Other people could have been assigned to investigate freely, and the results might have been clearer.
Moreover...
"Because you didn't say anything," Ain said calmly.
Axel paused.
"Since you didn't tell Instructor Zephyr, you must have your reasons. As your friends, we chose to believe you."
Her voice was steady.
"But Binz and I are Marines. We have a duty and an obligation to investigate."
Ain's words moved Axel somewhat, but he still could not fully understand.
Were so-called duty and obligation really that important?
Then what about him?
What was his reason for coming to this world?
What should he do?
Did he also have to shoulder those duties and obligations?
Axel did not know.
It was not that he had never thought about these questions. He had.
But day after day, the result he arrived at was always the same.
No result.
All along, he had simply analyzed everything from a rational perspective. His actions were always the best method calculated by his brain.
He did not understand why the righteous protagonists in novels could save others without any reason.
His few acts of reaching out to help others were perhaps only imitation born from admiration.
Or perhaps they were attempts to find a reason for his own existence.
But if he truly encountered something that needed to be protected even at the cost of his life, Axel did not know what he would do.
Because rationality, this brain sharper than anyone else's, would calmly analyze the pros and cons of the situation.
Then it would stop him.
Axel asked Ain in a hoarse, somewhat strange voice.
His voice sounded odd because of both confusion and curiosity.
"Is being a Marine really that important? I don't understand. Is it necessary to risk your life for something as intangible and vague as an ideal?"
Ideals and actions were never quite the same thing.
In class, after a teacher finished lecturing on a passionate article about serving one's country, they might ask whether it was worth it for a soldier to sacrifice themselves to protect their homeland.
The answer would likely be a uniform yes.
Because that answer was the established ideal.
Everyone knew it.
But not everyone could act on it.
Just as a story had a protagonist, it naturally had antagonists as well.
Stories only told of passionate protagonists, but concealed the other side.
Darkness coexisted with light.
Although an ideal could be established, it did not mean action would follow.
No one could say for certain what they would do when crisis truly arrived.
Fear was always the greatest enemy in a person's mind.
And the greatest source of fear was life itself.
Facing Axel's question, Ain answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Yes," she said. "Because I am a Marine."
That answer seemed as natural to her as eating and drinking.
Even Axel had thought she would need to think about the question before answering.
He had not expected her answer to already be there.
It was an answer that seemed no different from saying nothing, yet it revealed Ain's ironclad conviction.
Compared to the immature little girl he had first met, Ain had undoubtedly grown.
Just as Axel had also grown.
Axel could not help recalling a saying.
Fear and hardship could make a child mature faster.
But just as fruit ripened by force lost most of its nourishment, a child who matured too early also lost the childhood that should have belonged to them.
For some reason, Axel did not want to see that happen.
He sighed.
Seeing Ain's resolve, he no longer had the heart to keep hiding everything.
"Vergo is a pirate."
"Mhm."
Ain nodded softly.
She was not surprised.
She had already guessed this answer beforehand.
"It seems you already knew?" Axel asked, somewhat surprised. "What clues about Vergo did you find?"
Logically speaking, Vergo should not have been exposed so easily.
Otherwise, he could not have infiltrated the Marines for so long and eventually become a branch base commander.
It should have been impossible for two children, Ain and Binz, to discover his flaws.
Could he have done it on purpose?
No.
Given Vergo's personality, he would not deliberately expose himself unless he was certain Ain and Binz knew his true identity.
Then...
"We didn't discover it from Vergo," Ain said. "We discovered it from you."
After confirming that Vergo was a pirate, she also set aside the title of Vice Admiral when thinking of him.
"From me?"
Axel's sharp mind short circuited for a moment.
When had he ever revealed that information?
Because he was worried about dragging them into the mire, he had never mentioned it from beginning to end.
How had it been exposed through him instead?
"Because your attitude toward Instructor Zephyr and those senior officers has always been disrespectful from the start," Ain explained. "But you never showed the kind of reaction you showed back then."
That reaction back then?
Axel recalled the somewhat unnatural way he had acted when tricking Vergo, in order to get Ain and Binz to leave.
"Anyway," Axel said, "leave this matter alone for now. Leave it to me. If I need your help, I'll let you know."
No matter what, Ain and Binz's current strength was far too weak.
Ain did not even possess the Devil Fruit ability from the anime yet.
Provoking Vergo too much would only be asking for trouble.
Axel could not protect them every moment.
The effect of his threat against Vergo was also still unknown.
Moreover, he did not believe Doflamingo was someone who would submit to threats.
Back then, Axel had essentially threatened Doflamingo indirectly.
Whether that would lead to retaliation or cooperation would become clear in the coming days.
And if it was retaliation, Axel was not certain he could protect the two of them.
Seeing Axel speak like this, Ain did not object.
She slowly nodded.
After resolving this matter, Axel left the area and returned to the room assigned to him.
Compared to passive defense, he was more suited to proactive offense.
Rather than quietly watching events unfold, Axel felt it was necessary to escalate the situation.
It was a single room.
Since Vergo had arranged it, Axel first checked for any listening devices.
After confirming that the room was clean, he took out the Den Den Mushi given to him by Tesoro and proactively contacted him.
Blah blah blah...
Soon, a voice came from the other side.
It was teasing, mocking, and willful.
"What? Already need help so soon?"
"No," Axel replied calmly. "I'm not seeking help this time."
"Then are you selling information?" Tesoro asked. "Don't worry. As long as the intel is useful, I'll give you suitable compensation."
"Oh, speaking of Berries, I'm not short on them right now," Axel said. "But who would complain about having too much money?"
His voice remained casual.
"Then I'll give you a piece of information."
Tesoro did not speak.
Axel continued.
"Marine Vice Admiral Vergo's true identity is a subordinate of Doflamingo, the highest ranking officer of the Heart seat in the Donquixote Family."
.....
https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]