You Will Surely Become the King of the Pirates

Ross chuckled, not going out of his way to make things difficult for Stella.

If anything, it was precisely because Stella looked like such a pushover that he wanted to tease her even more.

"Stella!!!"

The sudden shout stood out sharply in the quiet street.

"Tesoro?"

Stella gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared at the green-haired young man running toward her from a distance.

Even though she knew Tesoro could never buy her freedom, the three years of companionship had been real, and she was genuinely grateful to him for that.

"Tesoro, huh..."

Gild Tesoro

Overall Rating: E-Class

Ross glanced at him and immediately lost interest.

Even as a story character, before he'd had a chance to grow, his rating was surprisingly low—even worse than Stella's.

Maybe only characters tied to the main plot could earn a higher evaluation before they made their mark.

"Stella, I'm here! I've saved up enough to buy you!"

Tesoro waved excitedly, completely unaware of what had just happened, his mind solely focused on buying Stella.

Today, he had finally scraped together the money to purchase her.

"Stella, I'm going to go handle the paperwork right now."

Tesoro said excitedly, his head full of nothing but buying Stella. He didn't even notice Ross's presence, nor did he catch the slightly pained look on Stella's face.

"There's no need!"

Stella said abruptly.

"Huh? Stella, what's wrong?"

Only then did Tesoro notice something off about Stella, rushing over to ask with concern.

"I've already been bought by this gentleman. You're too late."

Stella's gaze toward Tesoro was utterly cold, as if she were looking at a stranger.

"Why? Didn't we have an agreement?"

Tesoro froze entirely. He couldn't believe that Stella, who had always been so gentle and encouraging, would say something like this.

Damn it, was I still too late?

For some reason, a flame of anger surged in Tesoro's heart.

Seeing Stella's disdainful expression, he felt like he wanted to strangle her.

He had loved her so much.

Why was she making that face now?

"An agreement? That was just wishful thinking on your part."

Stella deliberately turned her head away in disgust, just in time to meet Ross's amused, encouraging gaze, and her heart began to pound uneasily.

She was a kind person.

Even after being kidnapped by human traffickers, even after being locked in a glass display case and gawked at like an animal for three years, she still wanted to believe in the goodness of human nature.

That Tesoro had turned over a new leaf—she was genuinely happy about that.

But that was enough. Staying away from her was the right and safest choice.

"Stella, are you telling me all of this was a lie?"

"Were you just using me as a tool to get your freedom?"

"Answer me!"

Tesoro didn't realize what Stella was feeling; he just kept firing off accusations one after another.

In his eyes, the only reason Stella's personality had changed so drastically was that now that she was free, he had lost his usefulness.

The more excited he had been before, the more crushed he felt now.

He never imagined Stella could be so calculating.

"That's right."

Stella's eyes held a trace of reluctance, but she still pinned everything on herself.

That way, the Celestial Dragon beside her wouldn't blame Tesoro, would he?

"That's not it."

Ross suddenly cut in, speaking slowly:

"She said that to save you. Otherwise, you'd be leaving here horizontally today."

He spoke, reaching out toward the glass display case where Stella stood.

Zany beside him understood, smashing her fist through the glass wall of the case and pulling Stella out from within.

Zany had been selected from childhood and given the best training; her strength was on a completely different level from Guernica's. Breaking the glass without harming Stella was child's play for her.

Before Stella could even steady herself on the ground, Ross reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Suddenly falling into a warm embrace, Stella's face flushed red.

"You're lying!"

A flicker of malice flashed in Tesoro's eyes as he glared viciously at the blushing Stella.

Seeing Stella held in someone else's arms, wearing such an intimate expression, his heart was utterly dead.

And along with it, the filter he'd once placed over Stella in his heart shattered completely.

"Tch, already pissed off?"

Ross clicked his tongue in boredom, though he hadn't expected much from Tesoro anyway.

He was just a street punk who gambled and stole; before any transformation, what could you really expect from him?

What's more...

Ross silently glanced at Zany standing nearby.

The Succubus-Succubus Fruit didn't just radiate charm after transformation—if Zany wanted, she could turn Tesoro into a lovesick simp in an instant.

She didn't even need to do anything; just standing beside Stella was enough to shatter Tesoro's filter over her and stir up his negative emotions.

"Tesoro, he didn't lie to you. Just go. From now on, when we meet, we're strangers."

Stella bit her lip but didn't dare disobey Ross's words.

She didn't know why Ross was speaking up for her, but Tesoro's furious expression right now genuinely frightened her.

Couldn't they just part on good terms?

"Strangers? Fine, fine, fine! Stella, the Stella I knew, is dead!!!"

Tesoro roared, suddenly pulling a short knife from behind him and lunging at Stella's neck.

The sudden attack completely startled Stella.

She shrank into Ross's arms, her mind blank, never imagining this would happen.

"Slap!"

Zany flashed in front of Stella, grabbing Tesoro's attacking hand and twisting it hard.

"Ahhh!!!"

With a miserable scream, the short knife clattered to the ground, and his right hand was twisted into a pretzel shape by Zany.

"Attempted murder of a Celestial Dragon—capital offense!"

Zany said coldly, about to deliver the killing blow.

"Stop."

Ross's timely shout made Zany halt, though she still kicked Tesoro in the stomach, sending him flying to land heavily on the ground, unable to get up.

"Forget it. For Stella's sake, and since he wasn't trying to kill me, I'll spare him."

Ross glanced at Stella, who was nearly scared senseless, and reached out to pinch her pale cheeks, snapping her back to reality.

But even after coming to, Stella just curled up silently in Ross's arms, not even sparing Tesoro another glance.

"Let's go. A good haul—back to the Holy Land."

Ross had no intention of killing Tesoro anyway; this was just the beginning.

Tesoro would never pose a threat to the Celestial Dragons even in death, so what was the point?

Killing him now would only yield an E-Class reward. Better to fatten him up first, then kill him for an A-Class reward.

Ross was actually looking forward to Tesoro's growth. The faster he grew, the better.

Ignoring Tesoro, who lay like a dead dog, Ross walked out of the market step by step, holding the cat-like, docile Stella in his arms.

No one dared to stop him as he left.

This was a noble Celestial Dragon; it was already a mercy he hadn't killed anyone. No one dared to interfere.

Once Ross was gone, the slave shop's manager came out to clean up the scene, and Tesoro was dragged away to avoid affecting business.

Inside the slave shop, Trebol stood by the window, watching Ross's retreating figure, holding a Den Den Mushi shaped like Doflamingo.

"Master, our best merchandise has been taken by a Celestial Dragon."

"Fufufufu, being taken by a Celestial Dragon is a good thing. Spread the word—say our slaves are valued by the Celestial Dragons."

"Master, there's one more thing. The Marines have shut down the slave auction house, and it's also related to the Celestial Dragons."

"Fufufufu, it was only a matter of time. A bunch of useless fools without Celestial Dragon backing, and they still dared to profit off them. Once things settle down at the slave shop, head back to the North Blue first."

"Don't bother with the slave auction house. Let them fight and scramble. By the time we have the strength to go to the Sabaody Archipelago, the auction house will be renamed Donquixote!"

"Master, you will surely become the King of the Pirates!"

If you find this book enjoyable, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose track.