"Good morning, Luffy-san~!"
The delicate Kaya stood quietly at the grand entrance of her mansion, basking in the rare freshness of the morning air. Dressed in a pale beige princess gown, she beamed as she spotted Luffy returning from Syrup Village with his companions.
"Good morning, Miss Kaya!"
"I was just on my way to find you," Luffy replied with a bright, sunny smile. As he walked toward her, his voice was gentle and calm, as if afraid to disturb the peacefulness of the morning.
Kaya blinked in surprise. "Looking for me?"
"Is something the matter, Luffy-san?"
Luffy nodded lightly and asked, "Is there someone here named Merry? A butler?"
"Huh?"
Kaya was taken aback for a moment, then answered in confusion, "Yes, but Butler Merry was injured during the attack by Kuro. He's still recovering…"
She tilted her head slightly, still puzzled. "May I ask… why are you looking for him, Luffy-san?"
After all, since Merry had been badly wounded, he had been under the care of several doctors since yesterday. He had only just regained consciousness that morning. As far as Kaya knew, Luffy hadn't even met him yet.
But Luffy simply smiled and smoothly changed the subject without answering her directly.
"My crew… we're still missing one thing. A ship worthy of carrying us on our journey."
"Hmm?"
Kaya's gentle eyes flickered with confusion. She let out a soft hum from her nose, clearly not understanding what he meant.
Seeing her bewilderment, Luffy chuckled and continued,
"Miss Kaya, I wonder if you'd be willing to sponsor us… with a ship? One that could become the vessel of our dreams."
"Ah?! But…"
Kaya hesitated. It wasn't that she was unwilling, she just found it strange. How could such powerful people not already have a ship of their own?
Besides…
Her estate didn't exactly have any fine ships lying around.
Kaya, being pure-hearted and honest, voiced her thoughts directly.
"But Luffy-san… I'm afraid I don't really have any particularly good ships available."
"How about this? If you can wait just a few days, I'll ask the butler to travel to a shipyard on a nearby island and have one specially built for you. How does that sound?"
In her mind, Luffy and his crew were far too impressive to be sailing on a simple delivery boat.
She had already made up her mind, this time, she would spare no expense to have the best ship in the East Blue built for them as thanks for everything they'd done.
After all, though, she owned countless businesses, mansions, and employees, and had ties to merchant guilds across the sea…
Kaya herself had never cared about money.
In fact, she had never once touched money in her entire life.
"No need to go through all that trouble," Luffy replied immediately, shaking his head.
If it were just a normal ship, he could easily get one himself. After all, behind him stood the labor force of an entire nation.
The reason he hadn't activated the ship system in his sailing plan yet…
Was because in his heart, he wanted a ship that could truly join them in reaching the peak of the world.
The Going Merry.
A small sailing ship designed and built by ordinary hands, and yet it had once nurtured something extraordinary, a klabautermann, a ship spirit born of love and care.
It had done things that no other ship ever could.
In the world of One Piece, the ship spirit is a rare and legendary being, formed when a vessel is deeply cherished by its crew and treated like one of them.
Not many ships ever gain such a spirit, but those that do are remembered forever.
And among them, none were like the Going Merry, whose spirit could repair the ship, guide it, and even keep it afloat when all seemed lost.
"I've heard that your butler Merry once designed a ship himself, didn't he?"
Luffy asked Kaya, eyes filled with hope.
"Huh?"
Kaya's eyes still looked confused, but suddenly, she seemed to recall something. She asked tentatively,
"Do you mean… the Going Merry?"
Luffy's words had triggered a memory.
A few years ago, before Kuro had entered her household, Kaya's parents had been alive and healthy, the family business was booming, and everything was peaceful.
As a reward for his loyal service, Kaya's father had once asked Merry if he had any wishes.
Without hesitation, Merry had excitedly brought out a blueprint, his design for a ship. The Going Merry.
He had asked that the ship be built, a long-held dream of his finally made real.
Kaya's father agreed without hesitation. A small ship like that was nothing to their family.
But because it was too small for cargo use, it had been left at the family's private dock, unused ever since.
Only Merry himself, in his free time, would occasionally go and clean the hull.
Luffy nodded, smiling brightly.
"That's right. The Going Merry."
Hearing Luffy's confirmation, Kaya pressed one finger thoughtfully to her chin, her other hand at her side. Her bright eyes looked up as she whispered,
"If I remember correctly, she should still be docked at the western transport port of the island…"
A gleam of excitement flickered in Luffy's eyes.
"If possible, Miss Kaya, I'd like to ask you to gift us the Going Merry!"
He asked without hesitation, but Kaya didn't find it rude at all.
On the contrary, she was thrilled to be of help to them.
But just as excitement rose in her heart, a sudden thought brought hesitation. Her eyes clouded slightly with concern.
"I really want to help you, Luffy-san…"
"But…"
"Although the Going Merry is part of our estate's property… she's also my butler Merry's lifelong dream."
With a small bow, Kaya offered a sincere apology.
"So I'm sorry, Luffy-san… I can't make that decision for him."
"It's all right, Miss Kaya!"
Before Luffy could respond, a gentle male voice spoke up behind them.
"Merry?!"
Kaya quickly rushed over to support him, alarmed by his pale complexion.
"You shouldn't be up! I told you to rest!"
Merry was wrapped in bandages, covering the deep wound across his chest. Despite the pain, he offered a faint smile.
"I'm sorry to worry you, Miss."
"But I'm much better now, I can walk just fine."
With Kaya's help, he slowly approached Luffy.
Having already heard the situation from the other servants, Merry didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and gave Luffy a formal bow.
The movement tugged at his injury, and pain flickered across his face, but he gritted his teeth and continued:
"It's an honor to meet you, Luffy-san."
"Thank you, for saving Miss Kaya."
Luffy waved a hand lightly, signaling Merry not to be so formal.
"No need to be so polite. For us, it was just something we had to do."
"And you don't need to call me 'sir' either. Just call me Luffy-san, like Kaya does."
"Yes, Luffy-san," Merry replied with a respectful bow.
Luffy nodded and asked,
"So… did you hear what we were talking about?"
Merry answered immediately.
"Yes, Luffy-san. I heard everything."
"Then… what do you think?"
Even though Luffy knew what his answer would be, he still asked out of respect.
Merry bowed once more.
"Luffy-san, the Going Merry was a dream I had when I was young. It was my greatest wish to see her built."
"That the master allowed my design to become real… that alone was a miracle for me."
"And now, to think that you, Luffy-san, would choose her… it is the greatest honor I could imagine."
"I only ask that you treat her well. To me… she's like my own child."
He didn't directly say "yes." As a servant, it wasn't his place to make such declarations.
But deep inside, Merry was overjoyed. After all, the thought of his beloved ship finally setting sail… was the very dream he had always held dear.
And for it to sail with someone like Luffy, that was more than he could have ever hoped for.
"Hahahaha!"
Luffy laughed heartily, joy overflowing from him.
"Don't worry! I promise, I'll treat her like one of my crewmates!"
========
By mid-morning, the sun had begun to climb higher in the sky. The coolness of dawn had given way to the gentle warmth of the day.
If morning was the energy of spring, then now was surely the vibrance of summer.
As the saying goes: Spring drowsiness, summer fatigue, autumn weariness, and winter slumber.
Yawning widely, Luffy followed Merry down to the dock where the Going Merry was moored.
There, at the island's western port, sat a small, old-fashioned sailing ship with a distinctive goat-shaped prow.
Though no one had been sailing or maintaining her, the ship's body was impeccably clean.
Looking at the humble vessel, the one that had once moved the hearts of countless fans, Luffy whispered to himself,
"This time, Merry… I'll take you across the whole world."
And perhaps it was just his imagination, but in that moment…
Merry thought he saw the goat figurehead… smile.
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