"Nero! If you're heading out to sea, take me with you!" Ace looked at the golden rose, his eyes sparkling.
"This isn't a nursery. One brat is enough," Nero said, flipping through her copy of "Adventures in the Kingdom of Women." She waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a pest, impatiently refusing him.
"Don't say that! It's just a ride on a fair wind; you can drop me off at the next island!" Ace persisted. At this point, to go to sea, he could only shamelessly beg Nero.
"Impossible! There's no way I'm taking the two of you!"
"Huh? It's just a ride on a fair wind, it won't make a difference, will it?"
"Exactly! Exactly! You cheapskate!"
"Right..."
Wait, two people? And that voice is... Ace's eye twitched, and he stiffly turned around, only to see Luffy, wearing a straw hat, having naturally blended in.
"Yo, Ace!" Seeing Ace look over, Luffy gave him a big smile and waved hello.
"'Yo' your head! When did you follow us, you guy?" Ace rolled his eyes, spitting and sputtering.
"When? Weren't we together from the start?" Luffy picked his nose, flicked his finger, and said matter-of-factly.
"From the start?"
"Ah, since we left the house."
"...Go back, you big idiot!"
"No way! I want to go to sea too!"
"Idiot! How can I let a little brat like you go to sea like this?"
"Huh? Ace, aren't you a little brat yourself?"
"Nani? What did you say?"
As they talked, their heads unknowingly bumped together, and their gazes turned fierce.
"Hmm, by the way, Ace, my reason is the same as yours!"
Nero didn't even lift her head, adding fuel to the fire while flipping through her book.
"Luffy and I are different..."
Ace was cut off mid-sentence by Nero: "How are you different? Do you brats really think you can conquer the seas? Don't underestimate this world too much. As you are now, you wouldn't even survive three days at sea by yourselves!"
Ace was speechless.
"Nani? I can definitely survive three days!" Luffy roared, enraged by the dismissive words.
"Is that so? Then work hard with three days as your goal, you idiot!"
"Then it's a deal! If I can survive three days, you have to take me to sea!"
"When was it a deal? I didn't agree." Nero's eyelids drooped, and she closed her book, speechless: "However, well~ if you can do it, I might agree."
"red bean paste?" x2
"I am the Emperor! My word is law." Tapping the book cover, Nero leaned back and said dismissively.
"Then it's settled, one word is law!" Luffy stuck out his pinky: "Now, pinky promise."
"Hmm, how utterly childish."
Sighing, Nero finally extended her pinky and made a pinky promise with Luffy.
Ace, watching this scene, finally breathed a sigh of relief. First, he had to figure out how to pass the test. As for Luffy, he'd find a way to hold him back later... Hathaway tilted her hands, pouring tea from the teapot into a pristine teacup without spilling a single drop: "Your Majesty, weren't you waiting for those two children?"
"Two children? Who are they?" Nero asked lazily, swaying idly in her rocking chair.
"Those two children from the back mountain of Foosha Village, the ones named Ace and Luffy."
Hathaway picked up a small silver knife and cut a piece of strawberry cake, reminding her.
"Hmm, those two brats! How could I possibly take them? Especially since the next place we're going is the Kingdom of Women. Why would I bring two burdens?"
Nero flopped over like a dead fish, propping herself up with a look of disdain.
"As for the promise? It's just a way to coax children~ Otherwise, those two loudmouths would be too noisy."
"But those two children are currently doing survival training at sea, clinging to barrels, and one of them is a Devil Fruit user."
Despite being words of concern, Hathaway spoke them without emotion, as if reciting from a book.
"Relax! Didn't you also say there's only one Devil Fruit user? If he's killed by such small waves, dying early is also a good option."
"Ah, that's true." Hathaway didn't refute, instead changing the topic: "But that child named Ace, to actually believe he's Roger's child, I've never seen anything like it in all our travels!"
"Oh, that's true!" Nero blinked, saying indifferently.
"..."
"Eh???" x2
"Hmm, the chair shouldn't talk!" Nero said displeasedly, patting the 'rocking chair' beneath her.
"Sorry, that news is too astonishing. Does that Pirate King actually have descendants?"
The 'rocking chair' Kuina said in shock.
And Hathaway, too, uncharacteristically lost control of her expression: "Ma... Masaka, how could that Roger possibly have gotten a wife?"
Kuina also lost her composure, rolling her eyes: "Is that what we should be surprised about?"
"But... the person in question is that Roger! The Roger who only bathes three times a year, whose nose hair hangs down to his chin, and who insists on calling it a beard!"
Hathaway's mouth kept moving, spouting a long string of words like a tongue twister.
"When you put it that way... I'm a bit shocked too. Is the Pirate King really such a messy guy?"
Kuina also somewhat understood Hathaway's reaction. In her perception, it would indeed be very difficult for such a person to get a wife.
"Then is it possible he abducted a woman? Just kidding..." Kuina chuckled. She often heard Hathaway talk about the Roger Pirates' adventures.
At that time, there was a strict rule on the ship: no harming civilians. The one who set this rule was Captain Roger himself. Such a man wouldn't do something like that... would he?
"Hmm, I see. It seems Roger also fell into depravity in the end!"
Nero's expression became serious. After some thought, she agreed with Kuina's statement.
"That's the only possibility. It seems the death penalty was correct."
Hathaway also nodded solemnly, agreeing with this answer.
"Although there are many corrupt individuals, most Marines still aspire to justice. If Roger did something like that, even in Nicuss, I would hang him on the gallows."
"What a pity. Roger, in his life, could be considered a hero, but right before his death... sigh~" Hathaway lamented regretfully.
"Enough already! Is there no possibility that he finally got rid of his slovenly habits?" Kuina, doing another push-up with Nero on her back, offered another possibility.
"Mwahahaha!" Nero, sitting on top, laughed so hard she bent over backward.
Even Hathaway couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, the implication clear.
"Mwahaha, Kuina, you've become quite humorous. It would be more reasonable for you to say that my wallet only has one million Berries."
"..." Kuina's movements stiffened. Now she was genuinely interested in Roger. How deeply ingrained was this impression, exactly?
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!