Coral Hill, located in the southeast of Fish-Man Island, was home to countless shops and one of the most prosperous areas in the country.
A little over a year ago, a new café had opened in Coral Hill and quickly made a name for itself, becoming a famous landmark shop across all of Fish-Man Island.
The reason was simple. Just as its name suggested, Mermaid Cafe employed only young and beautiful mermaid ladies as waitresses. That alone had brought the café extraordinary popularity.
By the time Bright arrived outside the café, it was already late. The doors were closed, but light still shone through the windows. There should still have been someone inside.
He raised a hand and knocked on the café door.
Very soon, a familiar voice came from within. "We're closed. Come back tomorrow."
Bright felt his troubled mood settle down. He smiled. "Shyarly, it's me."
There was a moment of silence behind the door, then the voice inside said, "Sorry, customer, but I don't know anyone named 'me.' If you don't leave, I'm calling the guards."
The corner of Bright's eye twitched. "It's me, Bright. I'm back, Shyarly."
"Customer, if you keep pestering me, I really will call the guards. The Bright I know is an arrogant, conceited, unreasonable bastard who never listened to advice, and he ran off to some unknown corner of the sea ages ago."
Did she have to put it so harshly?
Bright was a little helpless. Did their parting four years ago still weigh so heavily on her mind?
"Yes, but that bastard is back now. So, Miss Shyarly, can you open the door?"
Finally, after another stretch of silence, the café door opened with a creak.
The beautiful girl swept her gaze up and down Bright's body. Her skin was nearly as pale as Bright's, and she had short black hair. Her delicate features carried a cold beauty, while beneath her slender waist was a dark blue fish tail.
The girl's name was Shyarly, Bright's true childhood sweetheart.
She was Arlong's younger sister, so she and Bright had grown up playing together.
"I thought you'd died out there."
Shyarly's voice was barbed.
She floated in midair.
It was not that Shyarly could fly. Mermaids simply found moving on land far less convenient than fish-men did.
They usually moved by placing bubbles around themselves and floating through the air.
Right now, Shyarly had a bubble swim ring around her waist.
"Almost, but I got lucky." Bright smiled.
His encounter with Kizaru and that jailbreak on Punk Hazard had both been perilous beyond words.
"Hmph."
Shyarly snorted, but the sharpness in her eyes softened slightly. She turned and floated deeper into the café.
Bright followed her inside and casually shut the door.
The tables and chairs inside the café had already been neatly arranged. Though the space was not particularly large, its orderly layout kept it from feeling crowded. Together with the refined decorations, the place exuded elegance at a glance.
"Not bad at all."
Bright casually pulled out a chair and sat down, looking around.
Shyarly went behind the counter and soon brought over a steaming cup of coffee, setting it before Bright.
"So, Bright," she said as she sat opposite him, lightly tapping the tabletop with the long, slender index finger of her right hand, "how did it feel to recklessly sail out to sea on an adventure and then get thrown into prison?"
Bright picked up the coffee and took a sip. It was rich and fragrant, with an excellent taste.
Setting the cup down, he corrected her. "It wasn't a prison. It was a Marine research base."
Shyarly rolled her eyes.
The girl was clearly not as indifferent as she pretended to be.
"But speaking of this journey..." Bright said with a sigh, "I lost a lot, and I gained a lot too."
"Shyarly." He looked at her. "Do you want to hear it? The story of these past four years."
The girl leaned forward, resting her right elbow on the table and supporting her chin with her hand. "The night is still long."
So Bright began telling Shyarly about what had happened after he ignored her objections and sailed out with Brother Fisher Tiger and the others four years earlier.
Their adventures on the sea, the sights they had seen, and the people they had met.
From the time they set sail, to meeting a girl named Koala, to Fisher Tiger's death, then Bright being captured and sent to Punk Hazard, followed by the jailbreak and his deal with Vegapunk, and finally killing Marines and escaping back to Fish-Man Island.
He shared every laugh and every tear with the girl before him.
It was already deep into the night by the time the story ended.
Bright yawned, then turned his head and saw a glimmer of tears in Shyarly's eyes.
"Shyarly..."
"Idiot. I told you long ago, didn't I? The human world is dangerous." Shyarly casually wiped at her eyes.
This idiot... had he gone through so much pain and terror?
Bright smiled. "So I probably won't be leaving again anytime soon. Boss Shyarly, please take care of me."
"Perfect. The kitchen is short a dish washer. You should be up to the job." A smile appeared on Shyarly's face.
When the normally expressionless girl smiled, she became even more breathtaking.
Bright could not help laughing as well. "That's too cruel. I thought you'd at least feed and house me for free or something. But fine."
Then his expression turned serious. "Next, let's talk about Brother Arlong."
"..."
At the mention of her half-brother, Shyarly fell silent for a moment. She had lived with Arlong since she was three years old. "You know too, then? That idiot wants to form a pirate crew to take revenge on humans."
Bright nodded. "Brother Jinbe hopes I can make him abandon the idea, but—"
"Words won't work on him anymore."
Shyarly said coldly, "You can use more forceful methods if you have to, Bright."
Bright raised an eyebrow.
Was that something a younger sister should say?
"If Arlong is allowed to do whatever he wants, many innocent humans will die because of him."
Shyarly said, "Human lives have nothing to do with us, but won't that idiot eventually bring ruin upon himself?"
Bright would have been surprised to hear anyone else say that, because Arlong's fate had indeed turned out that way in the original story.
But Shyarly was different.
"Is that a prophecy?"
Bright asked.
Shyarly was a famous prophet on Fish-Man Island, and every one of her prophecies came true.
Fifteen years ago, when she was only three, she had already prophesied the birth of the Fish-woman Princess to the Pirate King.
Bright, who had been two at the time, had happened to witness that moment.
"This doesn't need a prophecy at all. Anyone could guess it. That idiot Arlong is even more extreme than before."
Shyarly said with certainty, "What good could he possibly do if he went to the human world? Once his actions are exposed, what good ending could humans possibly give him?"
"Go ahead and do it, Bright. You're saving him. No matter what, he's still my brother, and I don't want to see him suffer misfortune."
Bright chuckled.
Suddenly, it felt completely justified.
"I'll stop him."
He nodded.
Then Bright hesitated. At last, he said, "There's another matter, Shyarly. I'm a little unsure."
"I understand."
Shyarly nodded knowingly. "It's been a while. Let's do a reading."
"A reading?"
Bright was slightly startled, then nodded. "Sure."
Shyarly floated up and took out the crystal ball she used for divination from behind the counter, placing it on the table.
The girl took a deep breath and spread her hands around the crystal ball.
Her eyes became somewhat vacant.
Bright knew that she had entered her divination state.
Although he could not see anything on the crystal ball himself, Shyarly must have already seen scenes from the future.
Bright noticed a smile appear on Shyarly's face.
Had she seen some interesting future?
Bright wondered.
Shyarly's eyes regained their light. She sat back down in her chair, lifted her beautiful gaze, and looked directly into Bright's eyes.
She said, "There's no need to hesitate or waver. Just do what you want to do, Bright. I saw a wonderful future." She emphasized, "A wonderful future brought about by you."
Bright froze for a moment, then a smile began to bloom across his face. "Is that so?"
Shyarly could not deliberately choose a specific time for her prophecies, but the future she saw would certainly come to pass.
If she said there would be a wonderful future, then there would definitely be a wonderful future.
What Shyarly saw was only a fragment of the future. A wonderful future would arrive, but what came afterward remained unknown.
But at the very least, it meant that his actions would bring about a good outcome, right?
In that case, there really was no need to keep struggling.
Just as Shyarly had said, he only needed to do what he wanted. There was no need to shrink back.
What did he want to do?
Probably become stronger.
As long as he possessed the strength of an Emperor of the Sea, none of his problems would be problems anymore.
Almost no one would be able to threaten his safety, Fish-Man Island could be protected, and even taking revenge on the Marines who had killed Brother Fisher Tiger would not be difficult.
And for his current self, gaining that kind of strength was not particularly difficult.
Bright was very confident.
As long as he became stronger than anyone else, even if the future truly headed in a bad direction, he would have the power to turn everything around, right?
He would make that wonderful future truly arrive, and ensure it would not vanish in an instant.
Bright made up his mind.
From now on, he would work hard to become stronger.
It would no longer be enough merely to have the strength to save his own life. He would strive to become the strongest.
As for everything else, he would adapt as circumstances required. For now, he did not know what else he should do.
"Looks like you don't have any worries left."
Shyarly floated up and gave a small yawn. "It's very late. Stay here tonight. There's an empty guest room upstairs."
"Yeah."
Bright nodded.
There was no particular reaction from him.
He followed Shyarly to the second floor of the café. She opened the guest room door. "Everything you need is here. The waitresses occasionally rest here."
She turned to look at Bright. "Don't do anything strange."
Bright rolled his eyes. "Who would?"
"Hmph."
The girl snorted and floated toward the other end of the corridor, where her bedroom was.
As her hand gripped the doorknob, she heard Bright's voice from behind her. "No matter what, I'm back, Shyarly."
Shyarly paused, then turned around. Under the corridor lights, Bright clearly saw the gentle smile on her face.
"Welcome back, Bright."
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