The next day, Nero and her party arrived at Drum Kingdom.
"Have we finally arrived? Hmm, why does the atmosphere here feel so strange?"
Jumping off the golden rose, the port was deserted. Nero closed her eyes, and her Observation Haki instantly expanded to cover the entire Drum Kingdom.
"Let me see… Found it! Hathaway, you and Kuina take your time. I'll go find Dorry first."
Nero opened her eyes, her gaze fixed in one direction. Without waiting for Hathaway's reply, she leaped and flew away.
"Oh, may Your Majesty have a smooth journey…" Hathaway's voice came a little late, but she was sure Nero had heard her.
"What an impatient person. Well, Hathaway… ma'am, shall we depart too?"
The carefree Kuina, seeing Nero fly off, wanted to complain a bit, but suddenly felt a chill and immediately quieted down.
"Kuina, you are His Majesty's disciple. When His Majesty is present, I shouldn't overstep, but since I am responsible for your etiquette, I will not allow…"
Hathaway's incessant lecturing successfully made Kuina's face fall.
However, under Hathaway's pressure, she still had to pretend to be listening intently.
Meanwhile, Nero arrived at Dorry's treehouse in about five seconds. Violently pushing open the door, she saw Dorry and a blue-nosed reindeer busy preparing food.
Nero pounced and hugged Dorry: "Hmm, I missed you so much, Dorry!"
"Idiot Your Majesty, don't crash into me all at once!" Kureha felt a momentary loss of consciousness. After seeing the golden figure in front of her clearly, she said in an annoyed tone.
"Hmm, hmm! What does it matter!"
Nero happily rubbed her face, her smile as bright as the sun.
"What is this? Emergency food?"
Releasing Kureha, Nero's gaze was quickly drawn to Chopper nearby.
"He's even wearing a hat. Did he eat a Devil Fruit?" Nero poked Chopper's antlers with her finger, asking curiously.
"Eek—Help! Doctor Hiriluks Wife!"
Chopper was so scared by the aura Nero inadvertently exuded that he could only tremble in place, his eyes welling up with tears as he looked to Kureha for help.
"Dorry?" Nero blinked. Was this young beast also called Dorry?
"That's not emergency food; that's the idiotic disciple I just took in!"
Kureha sat down, pulled out the cork, and opened another bottle of wine.
"Hmm, a disciple? This thing?" Nero turned her head back to Chopper: "Little guy, introduce yourself."
"My name is Tony Tony Chopper, and I am Doctor Hiriluks Wife's disciple." Chopper, who had just managed to stop trembling, was so startled by Nero's turn that his fur stood on end.
"Chopper, huh?" Nero picked up Chopper, her gaze on his blue nose: "I am Nero, the King of the Nicuss Empire. Please take care of me, Chopper!"
"You're a king too?" Chopper was sensitive to the word "king" now, and hearing Nero introduce herself that way made him somewhat resistant.
But then he suddenly remembered something, no longer caring about his fear, and looked directly into Nero's eyes, asking: "Which is more powerful, your country or this country?"
"Chopper!" Kureha suddenly snapped: "Stop! Don't say another word!"
"Hmm, is there something you absolutely must hide from me?" Nero jumped onto the sofa, holding Chopper in her arms.
"Nothing… just a small matter." Kureha tilted her head back and took a gulp of wine, not letting Nero see her expression.
Bang, bang!
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and everyone's attention in the room was drawn to it.
"Hmm, it should be Hathaway and them arriving."
"Why are you still separating!" Kureha stood up and slowly walked towards the entrance.
"Because I wanted to see Dorry sooner!" Nero said with a grin.
"Well, that's an honor…"
"Dorry!"
"What's wrong?"
"You seem sad?"
"…" Kureha's hand rested on the doorknob. She was silent for a moment: "You're mistaken, idiot Your Majesty!"
Opening the door, Hathaway and Kuina stood neatly outside.
"It's been a long time, Dorry ma'am." Hathaway bowed slightly, breaking the somewhat heavy atmosphere.
"Nice to meet you, Dorry ma'am!" Kuina even bent at a ninety-degree angle. On the way there, Hathaway had used the time to give her another crash course in etiquette.
"Nani? Do you want to know the secret to my youth?" Kureha pulled down her sunglasses, saying coolly.
"Eh?" Kuina was a bit flustered by what the old lady in front of her said.
"Well, in any case, come in and warm yourselves up first!" Seeing Kuina's bewildered expression, Kureha smiled before inviting the two into the house.
"Ah? I forgot the souvenir I prepared!"
Before the two could enter, Nero inside shouted.
Kuina instantly felt that the situation was bad. It was snowing heavily outside, not to mention it was freezing and visibility was poor.
Despite being a hundred times unwilling, given Nero's personality, she was definitely going to have to run this errand. Kuina wailed internally.
The next thing she heard was Nero saying: "Hathaway, you go get it. It's in my wardrobe."
"Eh?" Kuina uttered in confusion, blinking. Had Nero changed her ways?
On the other side, Hathaway didn't hesitate at all, directly nodding in agreement: "Then I'll be right back."
"Really, haven't you gotten rid of your habit of being so forgetful?"
Kureha, seeing Hathaway disappear, also complained with some exasperation.
"Mwahaha, that's why it's good to have Hathaway!" Nero scratched her head with an embarrassed smile.
Kureha, feeling something was off, furrowed her brow: "Nero, you…"
"What's wrong?" Nero tilted her head, not understanding.
"…Nothing. By the way, how long are you staying this time?"
"Hmm, I'm out for a change of scenery, so anytime!"
"Anytime? Do you even remember you're an emperor?"
"It's fine! Holio and the others are very capable, and besides, it's not my first time going out to play."
"Sigh~ Have it your way." Kureha took off her sunglasses and rubbed her temples.
"No need to worry. My prestige is well-established, and only occasionally will some idiot make a move."
Nero said nonchalantly, playing with Chopper's antlers with both hands: "Such idiots cannot cause any impact on the current Nicuss Empire."
"Is that so? It seems Nicuss has changed quite a bit over the years."
Kureha had finished a bottle of wine in that short time, without a hint of drunkenness on her face, and chuckled with emotion.
"Hmm, Nicuss has changed a lot over the years. Dorry, do you want to go back and see it this time?"
"For now, I'll pass." Kureha glanced at Chopper in Nero's arms: "I promised an idiot that I would teach his idiotic son well."
"Is that so…" Nero lowered her head and hugged Chopper in her arms a little tighter.
Kureha lifted her eyelids: "You can't take him away!"
"Hmm, I didn't say I was going to take him away!"
"Really?"
"Hmm…"
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