Hearing that, Roz Minian hesitated.
Her gaze shifted—from Is, who was quietly reading the newspaper, to the women around him. At that moment, her heart wavered.
She didn't know whether she should walk out that door… nor what awaited her if she did.
Even if she gained freedom—what then?
She was an orphan. The only place she once cared about, her shop, had already been destroyed. The town itself had been wiped out by pirates.
It could be said… she had nowhere left to go.
"I'm hungry. Go prepare some desserts."
Is spoke without even lifting his head.
"Yes, Master. What would you like to eat?"
Is thought for a moment, unable to decide, and finally said casually, "The usual."
"Understood, Master. Please wait a moment."
With that, one of the maids turned and left.
"I… I'll do it."
Roz Minian spoke up on her own and followed after the maid.
Is didn't respond to her action.
He continued reading the newspaper.
He made it a habit to read it every day—not for leisure, but to stay informed about what was happening in the outside world.
At this point in time, the original storyline hadn't begun yet.
There were no Yonko, no Shichibukai. Sengoku wasn't Fleet Admiral yet, and Roger hadn't become the Pirate King.
Right now, across the seas, only one name truly stood at the peak—
The Rocks Pirates.
After finishing the newspaper, Is casually picked up a bounty poster beside him. He had obtained it back at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Normally, Celestial Dragons paid no attention to the outside world—let alone things like newspapers or bounty posters, which they considered meaningless.
"Captain of the Rocks Pirates, Rocks D. Xebec—bounty: 4 billion Beli."
"Officer, Edward Newgate—2 billion."
"Officer, Shiki—2 billion."
"Officer, Charlotte Linlin—2 billion."
Is read them silently in his mind. (As for why Xebec's poster didn't display the 'D.'—the World Government had deliberately concealed it.)
Not long after, the maid and Roz Minian returned, carrying desserts.
After placing a white napkin on Is, he casually picked one up and tasted it with a spoon.
He had to admit—the host hadn't been exaggerating.
Roz Minian's cooking skills were truly exceptional.
"Well?"
Roz Minian asked softly.
Is glanced at her and replied indifferently, "Not bad. By the way, weren't you planning to run? If you're going to do it, do it sooner. Hesitating will only disturb me."
"I… I won't run anymore."
"Why?"
"Because… you're different from other Celestial Dragons."
She had expected him to say something reassuring in response.
Instead, Is simply said—
"If you're not running, then behave yourself."
With that, he continued eating.
After finishing the desserts, Is removed the napkin and wiped his mouth.
"I'm heading out."
"Yes, Master."
As soon as he spoke, a maid promptly brought over the signature attire of a Celestial Dragon.
Once everything was in order, Is left the castle.
"Activate positioning mode."
"Ding. Positioning mode activated."
As the system's voice fell, a virtual marker appeared before him.
Fortunately, this time the excavation site was still within Mary Geoise—and not far from him.
After walking for about ten minutes, he arrived.
Looking at the small grove before him, Is let out a sigh.
"Good thing this time the excavation point isn't inside another Celestial Dragon's residence. Otherwise, I'd have to wait for the next opportunity."
It was true—if the location had appeared inside someone else's home, it would've been troublesome.
He couldn't exactly dig in someone else's house, could he? (Aside from the host, no one else could see anything—they would only see him digging a hole.)
Of course, if he insisted, he could still do it—but trouble would be unavoidable.
For now, Is had no intention of acting too boldly.
He preferred to proceed cautiously.
After all, within Mary Geoise, it wasn't just ordinary Celestial Dragons who resided there—there could be figures far more dangerous than he realized.
In short—
Better safe than sorry.
"Step… step…"
Is walked forward, pushing through a patch of grass. Soon, he spotted it—
A square patch of ground glowing with a blue light, visible only to him.
"Ding. Host has reached the excavation site. Begin excavation?"
"Yes."
The moment he answered, he felt a weight in his hand—a shovel had appeared.
"Oh? That's quite thoughtful."
Without hesitation, Is stepped onto the glowing ground and began digging.
The process was simple.
It seemed the system had already done some kind of preparation—the moment he dug lightly, the glowing ground collapsed instantly.
[Notice: Obtained Character Card ×1]
[Notice: Gained 10 EXP]
[Notice: Gained 10 EXP]
Looking at the notifications appearing before him, Is paused.
"That… that's it?"
He had expected it to be somewhat difficult—but it turned out to be this easy.
"Let's see… I got a Character Card."
Muttering to himself, Is glanced around.
He had no intention of using it here.
Instead, he planned to return to his castle and study it properly later.
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