Age of the Sea Circle, November 1st, 1477
64 years before the Egghead Incident
Grand Line, Jaya Island, Eastern Coast
Four months had passed since the Loki Birth Event.
This side of Jaya was the future home of Mont Blanc Cricket, but for now it stood empty, visited only occasionally by travelers, like today.
A giant ship was docked along the shore, with ten giants sitting in a circle, chatting casually.
Inside a large tent, Estrid and her brother Regent sat together.
Four maids were standing on the side, waiting for Estrid's instructions.
"I didn't expect Sabaody Archipelago to be such a dangerous place," Regent said, still shaken. "We were lucky we set off right away, or those slave traders would have swarmed us."
"I feel like Paradise is actually more dangerous than the New World," Estrid replied, her voice filled with fear. "The World Government lets them act freely here. We minor races are always in danger."
She cursed Harald a thousand times in her heart for making things so difficult for her.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have spent four long months traveling from Elbaph to Jaya without stopping.
Suddenly, shouts came from the soldiers outside. The siblings stood up and stepped out of the tent to see what was happening.
As Estrid walked outside, she saw black clouds filling the sky.
What shocked her even more was the massive shape moving behind those clouds, a gigantic blue creature.
"What is that?" she asked, her expression turning serious.
Surprisingly, the creature had been planning to keep flying ahead, but when it noticed their group, it stopped.
Its head, arms, and legs slowly descended from the clouds.
"D… Dragon!!!" Regent cried out in shock.
The creature's massive body lowered gradually until its full form became visible, towering even over the giants.
The soldiers quickly moved in front of Estrid, forming a protective circle, though their hands were visibly shaking.
These were the ten soldiers who had entered the palace thanks to Estrid's influence. When she lost her status, they had chosen to follow her into her self-exile.
The same for the four maids in the tent.
"Oh, giants, huh," Finn said as his transformation began to fade and he returned to his human form.
He had spent the last three months training his abilities and was now quite experienced with them.
"Human," Estrid murmured in surprise. For some reason, seeing this man made her heart pound nonstop, and a strange wave of happiness washed over her.
-x-X-x-
Five hours later, inside Estrid's tent.
Finn sat on top of a large fruit plate, facing Estrid, who sat behind the table watching him.
The giants had brought their own fruits, drinks, and food from Elbaph, and it was still fresh even after four months at sea. Finn wondered how much they had loaded onto the ship for it to last this long.
They had even brought seeds to plant later, along with a few pairs of sheep and cows.
Do they think they're on Noah's ship or something?
"So that's how it is. I didn't expect King Harald to be such a person. You suffered a lot, Estrid," Finn said after hearing her full life story and everything that had happened with Harald.
They had spent the last five hours getting to know each other.
Mostly Estrid talked while he listened. In the first hour, it was all "Mr. Ashford this" and "Mr. Ashford that."
By the second hour, it became "Mr. Finn." And by the fifth hour, she was simply calling him "Finn."
"I was blind back then to choose a man like him," Estrid replied, wiping her tears. She looked at Finn with a warm smile and placed more fruit on his plate. "But I'm really happy I met you, Finn."
She felt strangely calm around him. Not only was he extremely handsome and cool, but something about his presence made her emotions settle down.
"Maybe it really is fate," Finn said, taking a bite of the huge apple slice she had cut for him. "I closed my Mock Town bar and flew out to the sea to clear my head. Who would have thought I'd meet you here?"
Finn hadn't returned to Sabaody Archipelago since that day. Instead, he had bought a tavern in Mock Town.
Indeed, Finn's Rip-off Bar number 2 had opened in Jaya's Mock Town three months ago.
It had the same style as his Sabaody bar, and he was already famous here.
Who wouldn't want to have a drink in a dragon's bar?
Most people in Jaya had seen Finn transform into or out of his dragon form when he went out to train or when he brought supplies from Alabasta. The bar was always packed.
Sadly, there were still no face-slapping moments. Even here, people treated him with respect.
But he could understand why. He had already demonstrated his power.
He was thinking of hiring a bartender to run his Sabaody Archipelago bar, but that could wait.
Though he did feel a little sorry for the previous tavern owner, who had sold him the place for just 100,000 berries simply because he was terrified after seeing Finn's transformation.
"Indeed. The moment I saw you, I felt this happiness I can't explain. Maybe it is fate," Estrid said, not hiding her feelings at all.
Regent stared at the two of them in shock. How had their relationship developed so quickly? And why was a man this strong, with such a powerful Devil Fruit, running a simple bar?
Finn knew the real reason for Estrid's affection.
The system had increased his charm in Estrid's eyes and made his aura feel peaceful and comforting to her. That was how the system built affection.
Women would always fall for handsome, rich, and powerful men, and Finn had all of those qualities in abundance.
Well, he wasn't that rich, but he had two bars, and his clothes made him look wealthy.
Adding to his cool entrance this morning in dragon form, everything combined made Estrid's heart flutter every time she looked at him.
"Alabasta isn't safe for you. There are too many government agents hiding there," Finn said. "Why don't you stay on the sky island instead?"
Since Estrid had a marriage fate with him, he naturally wanted to find a safe place for her.
Because of the system, he could see a thin red line on his left hand, connecting him to Estrid through her right hand. Only he could see this thread. Only a destined couple would have such a bond.
He had visited Skypiea a few times and knew the power there was pitiful. It was ruled by a 90-year-old god who was only half a step away from the grave, and his guards and soldiers numbered less than twenty middle-aged men.
The Shandians were in a similar state. Maybe this was the most peaceful period Skypiea had ever seen.
"Since it's your advice, I'll listen," Estrid answered with a soft smile.
"Wait, sister, we don't even know how to get to the sky island, and we didn't plan for any of this," Regent cut in, completely confused by his sister's sudden behavior.
"Of course Finn will show us the way," Estrid replied, shooting her brother an annoyed look.
She had finally fallen in love with someone, not because of his status or wealth, and now her brother was acting like a third wheel.
"Don't worry, I'll use my power to lift your ship up there," Finn said, standing up.
"Then we should get ready," Estrid replied. She gently lifted Finn in her palm and placed him on her shoulder.
Regent could only sigh and walked out to inform Estrid's soldiers about the situation.
It didn't take long for the tents to be packed away and for all the giants to board the ship.
Finn transformed into his hybrid form. Purple clouds poured out from his body, surrounding the ship and slowly lifting it into the air. The ship floated gently toward the sky, and its speed kept increasing.
"Amazing. As expected from a mythical Zoan," Estrid said, gazing at Finn who now sat on her shoulder in his hybrid form.
'He is handsome even like this,' she thought, unable to take her eyes off him.
-x-X-x-
A mistake in the early chapters. I originally set "Affection" as a reward, which would make Estrid fall in love way too magically.
But I heard future readers yelling "brainwashing!"
So I put in extra effort to handle it more naturally from now on.
That's the pain of being a newbie author, I guess. No more Affection rewards from here on.
Don't worry though, I've got a much better alternative ready.
Though I will stick back to my 3 chapters week, since I don't have much time to write...