Shirou's Thirty Million Avatars

Shirou just smiled, not taking it to heart.

Then, his gaze shifted to the two girls across from him, and he spoke seriously:

"Hancock, Irene, what do you think an adventurer is?"

"A job? No, an adventurer is freedom!"

"Once you take a quest, you have to finish it. But even if you don't, there's no penalty."

"After registering as an adventurer, you can go without taking any quests at all—just have your name on the list, and that's fine."

"If you're in trouble, you can post a quest at the guild. That has nothing to do with being an adventurer."

"Does becoming an adventurer mean you're stuck in one place? No, an adventurer is free—go wherever you want."

"Of course, right now the Adventurer's Guild only has this one headquarters. But in the future, it'll spread across the world, just like Marine Bases."

"When that happens, every adventurer can take quests at any branch, travel the world, and go wherever they please."

"After your first quest is done, you're free now too!"

"So if you want to leave, just set sail normally. No need to hold back."

"An adventurer is the symbol of freedom."

Borsalino from the next table suddenly cut in:

"Complete freedom—doesn't that make them the same as pirates?"

"Of course not! Pirates do evil. Adventurers have basic human principles." Shirou paused. "And those principles are carved on the Adventurer's Guild's front gate."

"Well, that's..."

Borsalino chuckled lightly, not finishing the sentence.

That's basically stealing the Marines' job.

Freer than the Marines, but not as lawless as pirates—so this is what an adventurer is?

If it really works, the Marines will take a huge hit. Fleet Admiral Sora's worries were right.

But the Gorosei must see that too. Why did they agree?

Just because the proposer was a Celestial Dragon?

"Didn't you say you were going on the Four Seas Pilgrimage? Looks like you're planning to stay on Sabaody long-term?"

"No, this place is on track. I'll set sail tomorrow and start the Four Seas Pilgrimage."

Leaving a clone with a one-year shelf life is enough.

"Oh...? Where to?"

"Jaya Island, Mock Town."

Back then, Shirou had hesitated for a long time between the Snow-Snow Fruit and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

But in the end, he chose the Snow-Snow Fruit, which might unlock the ability to freeze time.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power goes without saying—whether developed toward electromagnetism or natural lightning, it could become incredibly strong.

He might not use the Rumble-Rumble Fruit himself, but he couldn't afford not to have it.

Chapter 37: Go Study, Tohsaka

Section 37, Chapter 37: Go Study, Tohsaka

He was leaving?

And from the sound of it, he didn't plan to take her and Irene along.

Realizing this, Hancock's heart began to waver.

According to him, an adventurer was freedom.

That meant she was no longer a slave—she was free to go anywhere.

Even going home, no one would stop her.

But what about her two sisters? They were still suffering in Mary Geoise.

"I... I can't leave."

Shirou looked at her in surprise, then smiled.

"Like I said, an adventurer is the symbol of freedom. Whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go, that's your freedom."

"I... please help me."

Hancock lowered her head, her voice incredibly low, tears streaming uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?"

"Please save my two sisters."

So that's it!

Shirou suddenly understood. No wonder she hadn't left.

"Where is your sister?"

"I was wagered and lost before, but my sister is still over there."

"Didn't you leave with Fisher Tiger and the others?"

"No."

"I could help you, but what do you have as payment? Don't expect me to do it for free."

"I..."

Hancock fell silent for a moment.

If the other party were ten years older, even just fourteen or fifteen, she could try offering her body as a trade.

But he was only an eight-year-old child, not yet at an age interested in women.

Armament Haki? The secret arts of Amazon Lily?

As a Celestial Dragon, he surely lacked nothing she could offer.

"How about I trade with work? You want to expand the Adventurer's Guild, so you must be short on hands. Besides being an adventurer, I can also handle some management duties."

"Deal!"

Shirou chuckled softly, took out a Den Den Mushi, and began contacting Butler Hyman.

"Young master, your orders."

"Do you know Hancock?"

"I'll look into it immediately."

Hearing this, Hancock quickly said, "I usually go by the name Hannie."

"So it's you!" Butler Hyman on the other end of the Den Den Mushi muttered her name. "Hannie, I remember you. The master won you in a bet not long ago."

"Hyman, since you still remember, that makes things easy." Shirou mused, "She has two younger sisters still over there. Find a way to buy them back."

"Yes, young master!"

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Shirou looked at Hancock again.

From the memories of the original story, she seemed to care deeply about the slave tattoo on her back.

"Hancock, now that you're free, do you want me to remove that tattoo on your back?"

In that instant, Hancock suddenly felt like crying.

"Can you? How?"

"Simple, with my secret technique." Shirou smiled faintly. "You don't seem to have an appetite anyway. Let's go straight back. I'll remove the tattoo for you, and Irene too."

The technique was simple: use an ice blade to painlessly shave off the skin on her back, then apply his own Recovery Potion from the slime.

Undiluted Recovery Potion was extremely effective—it could even reattach severed limbs, and healing wounds without scars was trivial.

"Yes! Thank you so much." Irene quickly stood up.

"Thank you..."

This time, Hancock's tears truly wouldn't stop.

Another night, as soon as Celestial Dragon Shirou entered the White Mist Space, he found a petite blue-haired beauty staring intently at him.

"A newcomer? Why did you change gender? To avoid mental contamination, stay a bit farther from me."

The blue-haired beauty was clearly stunned for a moment, then puffed her cheeks in annoyance:

"It's me! It's me!"

As she spoke, her body suddenly shrank, turning into a slime.

"Huh... huh...!? How did you become female?"

"I didn't! Slimes are always neutral, no gender! You should know that from the original story, right?"

"It's been nearly twenty years, who can remember that clearly? Besides, you're not the original Rimuru, are you? Haven't you made any changes?"

"I wanted to, but after swallowing Shizue, I lost consciousness. Everything was led by Great Sage, and I couldn't control it."

"A skill with that much autonomy—just discard it. What's the use?"

"If it were you, would you discard Great Sage?"

"No!" Celestial Dragon Shirou answered without hesitation.

"Then why say that?"

"Why do you seem so girlish in your mannerisms now?"

"Do I? Maybe it's the looks and figure giving you that illusion."

"Shizue's foundation is really good. Come on, shake hands!"

"Oh... you're doing pretty well over there, huh? At this rate, the Adventurer's Guild will spread across the Four Seas in no time."

"Still early, still early."

As he spoke, Celestial Dragon Shirou let go and activated a skill—

"Mimicry—Blue-Haired Beauty!"

In an instant, he transformed from an eight-year-old boy into a blue-haired beauty form.

"That's not a beauty! It's androgynous, androgynous. At least call it the Slime King form, okay?"

"Next time for sure, haha..."

While they were talking, several other Shirous filed in one after another, joining the daily gathering.

"Whoa... how did two beauties show up! Aqua?"

"No way? Don't just shout Aqua whenever you see blue hair! It's me, me, the slime."

"You didn't save Shizue?"

"Couldn't. I'll keep her inside my body for now. When more newcomers arrive later, I'll see if there's a chance."

After a round of bickering, Celestial Dragon Shirou turned his gaze to Tohsaka Shirou and said with a grin:

"Tohsaka, do me a favor."

"What favor?" Tohsaka Shirou flinched at the smile on his face and instinctively stepped back.

But the Slime King's form was too cute; after calming down, it didn't feel so threatening.

"I'm planning to overthrow the World Government, and the most important second step is to build my own Revolutionary Army."

"Oh... that's great. Go for it."

"But..."