Chapter 285: Nico Robin (Part 2)
Robin's worries and unease turned into a single question: "May I ask, the renowned 'Kui Long Eric ' Darren Eric , what does he want with me?"
"Of course." Eric smiled, "I know the truth behind the Ohara incident, and I'm well aware of the fabricated crimes of the 'Demon's Child' Nico Robin. What really happened was that a group of innocent archaeologists were cruelly..."
Suddenly, fear filled Nico Robin's eyes. The blazing fire that engulfed Ohara that day still burned deep inside her heart, leaving indelible scars.
The fire that turned the entire sky red, the flames that consumed the entire island, the heatwaves that could be felt from far away...
Robin hugged her shoulders tightly, breathing in fresh air, but the flames in her heart couldn't be extinguished, nor could the hoarseness in her throat be soothed.
Her pale fingers suddenly clenched, and the veins and blood vessels under her skin were visible. Her black hooded clothes were marked with traces from her fingertips, as if only physical pain could ease the pain in her heart. (Robin's skin has always been white; it's a misrepresentation in the anime, so I wrote her with white skin.)
Eric didn't expect that mentioning the Ohara incident would provoke such painful memories in Robin, and immediately halted his words, scratching his head in frustration.
Several members of the Dawn Pirates exchanged looks, but only Artoria was watching Robin with great interest.
"Sorry, I didn't realize bringing up this matter would hurt you so much." Seeing Robin slowly calming down, Eric gave a glance to the Sweetheart Queen.
On the ship, Sweetheart Queen, who had been trained... no, acting as a maid, immediately handed Robin a glass of lemon water.
"Thank you." Robin took the glass but didn't drink. She just held it with both hands.
Whether it was because she wasn't thirsty or because she feared the water might have something added to it—after all, Devil Fruits come in many varieties, with abilities as strange as they are, and she couldn't be sure that their powers wouldn't be used to control her.
Eric saw her chapped lips but didn't point it out.
Even a cat in a new place might refuse to eat or drink for a while, curling up in a corner, glaring around with fearful eyes. The moment there is any movement, their body will twitch...
"You don't need to worry so much." Eric was somewhat speechless. Facing Robin, who had closed herself off, he could only state the facts. "Your bounty is insignificant to me."
"If I was after your bounty, I'd rather hand Perona over to the Navy. At least she'd be worth 100 million berries."
"Hey, why would you hand me over?!" Perona, who wasn't even here, slipped through the wall as a spirit.
"Because you've been spreading rumors about me, telling all sorts of embarrassing stories that came from your mouth!"
"What rumors? I've only ever seen them with my own eyes!"
"You saw only a part and made wild conclusions! How can you generalize from such a small portion?! The rest of the stories are all just nonsense you've made up!"
"Give me examples of which stories I made up?"
"Well, what about 'He and His Night' and 'That Day, What Happened Between the Two Men'? Who wrote those short stories, huh?! Who wrote them?!"
"Was it Carla or Kana who told you the secret? My novels were only shared among the girls..."
"What?!" Eric shouted in rage. "You're still sharing it among the girls?! Do you want to die?!"
"That... that was..." Perona's spirit quickly retreated into the wall.
"Whoo... whoo..." Eric 's shouting had made him slightly dizzy from lack of blood flow to his brain. He took a couple of deep breaths.
"…Ha, haha…" Nico Robin, who had been running from place to place since she was eight years old, was seeing the captain of her organization and one of his subordinates argue about something so trivial for the first time. Unable to hold it in, she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
Noticing the others' gazes, Robin slowly lowered her head. After all, she was a prisoner now.
"I know your dream." Eric brought up a topic that caught Robin's interest. "I've also seen the historical texts. Look at this—"
Eric pulled out a portion of the historical inscription he had copied from Skypiea. "You recognize this writing, right? This is proof that I've seen the historical texts."
"Historical texts!" Robin set the water cup aside and took the paper with trembling hands. "Where did you see the historical texts?"
"Skypiea."
Robin muttered to herself, "Is there really a Skypiea…"
"Of course, this world is vast and beyond your imagination!"
"Although, it might be a bit shocking to your nerves." Eric continued, "But I must say: Ohara was destroyed because the scholars there researched the one-hundred-year void history, which the World Government strictly forbade anyone from interpreting."
"The second reason is that you didn't have the power to protect yourselves, yet you tried to cross the World Government's red line and do what was forbidden."
Eric 's words struck Robin like a hammer, and at 21, she already understood too much. Seven years later, she would be able to say, "I just wanted to know history, but my dream has so many enemies."
Robin tried to argue, "But they were just a group of scholars…!"
"Words can become weapons, and knowledge can turn into a blade. That blank history could have been a tool to overthrow the World Government! So they killed those who could threaten them from the very beginning."
"Now you should understand how powerful the World Government's influence is, right? It's just words, but when they appear in newspapers and bounty posters, they become ropes to capture you, weapons to attack you."
"…" Robin fell silent. Everything Eric said was right, and she had no way to refute it!
"Let me put it bluntly." Eric continued, "As long as you continue to interpret history and survive, you will bring disaster to those around you, just like the pirate crew you were with, the mafia, or whatever other organization you were part of."
"Ha..." With a deep sigh, Robin bitterly smiled. "I really don't deserve to live in this world, do I?"
"No, everyone has a role in this world." Eric denied her words. "It's just that they didn't have the strength and ability to protect you."
Robin immediately understood what Eric meant, and with a smirk, she responded, "So, you mean, 'Kui Long Eric ' can protect me under the World Government's hostility?"
"Of course." Eric nodded, "At this point, having killed a Celestial Dragon and trampled on the World Government's dignity, they are already very embarrassed. Doing one or two more things to anger them doesn't matter."
"You and I are the same kind of people, both of us are the most vicious criminals the World Government wants to eliminate. You were forced into this position, while I voluntarily stepped into it. Here, I can take you to find those historical texts, and you can continue to achieve your dream—knowing the history."
"But my only requirement is, no betraying your companions."
"It seems I have no other choice." Robin lowered her head, hiding her face from Eric 's view.
"No, I'm giving you a choice." Eric shook his head. "Join us, become one of us; or, I'll let you go, and afterward, I won't do anything to harm you."
Robin, with a mind full of conflicting thoughts, drank the lemon water beside her. It was a bit sour but very refreshing, with a hint of sweetness hidden within.
"From now on, I'll leave it to you, Captain."
(END CHAPTER)
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