Watching Pudding tremble like a startled bird, Ronan lifted his gaze slightly and brazenly studied the third eye on her forehead.
"Oh?"
"You have three eyes. Lift your head. Let me get a good look."
At the words "three eyes" and "lift your head," Pudding's body went rigid.
For the past dozen years and more, those words had been like a vicious curse.
Whenever someone made her raise her head and reveal her third eye, what followed was inevitably fear, abuse, and the disgust and slander reserved for a monster!
Even her own mother, BIG MOM, who had given birth to her and raised her, made no attempt to hide her revulsion when she saw that eye, calling her a horrifying monster.
Overwhelming hurt, years of pent-up resentment, and anger and bitterness toward her fate churned together, twisting Pudding's pretty face.
But she did not dare resist.
Before this terrifying god of slaughter, Pudding bit her lower lip in misery and fought back the tears welling in her eyes, like a condemned prisoner awaiting judgment.
Humiliated, she slowly raised her three-eyed face.
She was already prepared to close her eyes and endure Ronan's vicious words, laden with disgust and mockery.
And yet.
The abuse she expected never came.
In the cold sea breeze, what reached Pudding's ears was a sincere chuckle, even tinged with admiration.
"Interesting."
For once, a gleam of appreciation flashed through Ronan's usually indifferent eyes.
He carefully studied Pudding's three eyes, which resembled brown gemstones.
"What beautiful eyes."
"I've heard that when members of the rare Three-Eye Tribe truly awaken, their third eye can not only see through to the essence of all things, but also holds a strange psychic power. They can even decipher Poneglyphs..."
A smile curled Ronan's lips.
"Combined with your Memo-Memo Fruit's ability