Chapter 180: Euleia's Confession
Axel opened his eyes.
For a moment, he had no idea what time it was.
The room around him looked like a bedroom only because there happened to be a bed in it. Everywhere else, wooden tools, half-finished sketches, and ship blueprints were piled together until it looked more like a storage room than a place meant for rest.
His head felt heavy, almost like he had woken up after drinking too much.
Axel shook his head, then propped himself up with one hand.
"You're awake."
A rough voice came from the side.
Tom walked over not long after, his massive frame filling half the room.
Axel rubbed his temple, forcing his thoughts to clear. It was a habit of his. No matter the situation, he preferred to keep his mind sharp when speaking with others.
"Yeah. How long was I asleep?"
"Hmm..." Tom thought for a moment. "About a day, I'd say."
"A day?"
Axel's eyebrow twitched.
It seemed that move was still far from complete.
He had not expected to sleep for so long. For someone who kept himself on guard almost constantly, losing an entire day was far too dangerous. Even if Reflection could remain active while he was unconscious, could it truly withstand a real enemy?
Especially with his current situation.
No one knew what might happen.
Tom noticed Axel's displeasure and could not help saying, "After a fight like that, shouldn't you be happy you recovered after only one day?"
Axel did not answer.
His stomach answered for him.
Grrr...
"..."
For once, Axel looked a little embarrassed.
No matter how far his ability developed, even if one day it could deflect any attack in the world, it still could not replace food, oxygen, or the basic energy the human body needed.
Perhaps one day, the enemy who defeated him would not be a pirate, a Marine, or the World Government.
It would be hunger.
Tom burst into hearty laughter, his wide jaw opening and closing.
For some reason, he seemed pleased by Axel's reaction. This was more like a child. When Axel was always brooding over schemes, danger, and the world's ugly logic, Tom sometimes forgot that the boy in front of him was still physically just a kid.
"Wait here. I'll get you something to eat."
Axel's red eyes shifted slightly.
Good.
Sending Tom away could at least ease some of the awkwardness.
After hastily finishing his meal, Axel fled Tom's room almost immediately.
There was something strange about Tom lately.
The man had prepared a children's meal for him.
A children's meal.
Axel admitted that his body was still that of a child, but his mind was already mature. Seeing delicious food served with a toy on the side had somehow killed part of his appetite.
What was even worse was the change of clothes prepared for him.
Pink.
Cute pink.
Was Tom trying to raise him as a little girl?
Unacceptable.
Absolutely unacceptable.
Unfortunately, it was too petty a matter to settle with violence.
So Axel made an excuse and left at once. If he stayed any longer, he had no idea what other bizarre behavior Tom might reveal.
He headed toward his original office, only to be greeted by devastation.
No, calling it devastation was too polite.
That entire section of the building was simply gone.
Marines were still clearing the ruins. Broken beams, shattered stone, torn documents, and splintered furniture were scattered everywhere.
When the busy Marines saw him, they stopped almost at the same time and saluted with crisp, identical movements.
It was respect for their superior.
It was also respect for strength.
Axel waved lightly in response, then turned away, planning to find somewhere else to rest. Before he got far, however, someone stepped into his path.
Axel frowned slightly and looked up.
The person blocking him was the base's second-in-command, Commander Euleia.
Axel's first thought was simple.
Why is he looking for me?
If there was anyone in the base who wanted to avoid him the most, aside from Barlow, who had already been thrown into prison, it would be Euleia.
After arriving at this base, Axel had found out why Euleia disliked him. His appointment had taken the position Euleia believed should have been his.
"Captain Axel," Euleia said. "I've been waiting for you here for a day."
A day?
That meant he had been waiting since before Axel had fallen unconscious.
Had he predicted Axel would come here? Or was there something urgent enough to make him wait this long?
But judging by the Marines' reactions just now, nothing major had happened in the base. In that case, this was likely a private matter.
But what kind?
Axel's mind began to turn out of habit, but after only a few seconds, his exhausted spirit punished him with a dull throb behind his eyes.
He stopped thinking.
His expression remained calm as he asked directly, "Do you need something?"
Euleia smiled faintly.
There was something different in his expression now, an emotion Axel had not sensed from him before.
Axel stared at him.
Is this guy sick?
It was not strange for Axel to think that. Anyone would.
If you had taken someone's expected promotion, and that person had resented you for it, only for that resentment to vanish overnight, what would you think?
Either there was a ghost involved, or the man had lost his mind.
But the emotions Axel sensed through Observation Haki were not fake.
If something had changed, then the source could only be the incident where he had displayed his strength against Lucci.
Strength.
If Euleia's change came from strength, then it made sense.
Thinking too much in his current condition was a burden. Another pulse of pain struck his head, and Axel pressed a hand to his temple.
Euleia seemed to interpret the gesture as impatience, so he spoke before Axel could dismiss him.
"I came to apologize for what happened before. And also for what happened recently."
"Recently?"
"I gave your information to someone else," Euleia confessed.
His voice dropped slightly, low enough that no one nearby could easily overhear.
Axel's gaze sharpened.
"Who?"
"You'll have to come with me for that."
Perhaps worried that this unusual captain might be wary, Euleia added, "I bear no ill will toward you now. If I did, there would be no reason to tell you this."
Axel understood what he meant.
If Euleia still intended to oppose him, he would never expose himself like this. What he was revealing was not merely an absence of hostility.
It was an attempt to show goodwill.
Or, more accurately, a declaration that he had no intention of becoming Axel's enemy.
Euleia noticed the change in Axel's eyes and sighed softly.
"It really is easier to speak with intelligent people."
There was a strange melancholy in his voice.
He could not help wondering when he had learned to understand these twists and turns. It had taken him more than ten years of struggling through the system, reading faces, weighing interests, and learning when to retreat.
Yet the person before him was still a child.
Was this what people called genius?
A mind suited for politics, paired with astonishing strength.
Intelligence.
Strength.
Background.
The three things needed by someone favored by heaven.
Axel had all of them.
And that was the true reason Euleia had changed his mind.
.....
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