Ginny and Kuma, People Worth Respecting

South Blue, the Sorbeth Kingdom.

This country doesn't seem wealthy; the extremely high taxes are suffocating the lives of its citizens. However, it hasn't yet been split in two by the immense pressure of the Celestial Gold.

In a town in the southern region of the country, Ortolan, draped in the Marines's Justice Cloak, held a map in his hand, occasionally observing the surrounding buildings to determine his direction.

After a short while, he circled two streets and finally saw a somewhat old church that was kept very clean.

Yes, there are many religious beliefs in this world.

Sister Carmel, who has a deep connection with Charlotte Linlin, is a member of the church. On the surface, she is kind and benevolent, but in reality, she is a human trafficker.

Urouge, one of the later Supernovas, was a Buddhist.

Although he had never been there, through cultural classes, Ortolan learned about the Flower Country of the West Blue, which had a tradition of religion.

However, these religious forces are not very powerful, and there's not much to say about them.

Soon, Ortolan put away the newspaper and walked towards the church not far away. The church door was open, and there were quite a few people inside, mostly elderly people.

From afar, Ortolan saw a tall figure sitting in the church courtyard, using his abilities to help the elderly with their physical ailments.

Although the figure appeared very tall, his face looked somewhat youthful, suggesting he was a young man in his early twenties.

That man was none other than Bartholomew Xiong, and if Ortolan remembered correctly, he was twenty-two years old.

In Ortolan's memory, Bartholomew Bear always appeared with a serious expression, rarely showing a smile, and looked extremely dignified.

At this moment, the young Bartholomew Xiong, with a friendly smile on his face, used his abilities to pat out the fatigue, backaches and other pains in the bodies of the elderly, and silently absorbed them.

He was wearing a patched-up priest's robe, giving him a somewhat impoverished appearance, but his face showed no signs of being troubled by poverty; instead, it was a smiling face full of anticipation for the future.

Watching this scene, Ortolan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. This world is beautiful and alluring, but for many unfortunate people, it is inherently cruel and heartless.

Gion previously said that Rosinante was unbelievably kind, almost like a saint. Ortolan didn't want to comment on that; if we're talking about kindness, Ortolan admired Bartholomew Kuma more.

Ortolan did not go into the church, but stood on the street opposite the church, silently watching the heartwarming scene.

About five or six minutes later, Bartholomew Bear raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, saw off an old man, and glanced back, immediately seeing Ortolan who had been staring at him.

The sudden sight of a strange Marines commander startled Bartholomew Kuma, who nearly stood up. However, seeing that Ortolan merely wore a faint smile and showed no intention of approaching, he quickly regained his composure.

Forcing himself not to think about those issues, Bartholomew Xiong continued to relieve the pain of the next old man. In this way, about two hours passed before Bartholomew Xiong saw off the last person who came to the church to pray.

Then, Bartholomew Bear, standing at the church entrance, looked at Ortolan across the street with a puzzled expression.

Only then did Ortolan walk towards the church. After crossing the street, he arrived at the church entrance. As he looked into the churchyard, he asked, "Do you do this every day? Pulling out the pain from those old people and bearing it yourself?"

Bartholomew Kuma recognized Ortolan's identity, after all, he had a habit of reading newspapers, and Ortolan had been a big star in the newspapers before.

Hearing Ortolan's question, Bartholomew Bear scratched the back of his head sheepishly and said, "More or less, but there are a lot more people today than usual..."

"Really?" Ortolan sighed softly, then asked Yu, "Don't you feel uncomfortable doing this?"

"Not at all." Bartholomew Xiong's face broke into a happy smile. "Shouldn't helping others within my capacity be something to be happy about?"

Ortolan paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're right."

"Are you here to arrest me?" Bartholomew Xiong asked, slightly nervous. After a brief pause, he continued, "If so, could we postpone it to the day after tomorrow? An elderly gentleman has an appointment for my treatment tomorrow; he's bedridden, and I need to go to his house to help him..."

Upon hearing this, Ortolan was at a loss for words.

Just then, a woman suddenly rushed out of the church, carrying a long-barreled Fire Pistol. She had short, spiky hair and, compared to the gentle Bartholomew Bear, appeared extremely aggressive and heroic.

Ortolan recognized her at a glance; it was Ginny, a pitiful person with an unfortunate past, just like Bartholomew Bear.

"You damn Marines bastard, what do you want to do to the bear? Get out of the church, you're not welcome here!" Ginny shouted, pointing her gun at Ortolan.

Seeing this, Ortolan laughed and raised his hand, saying, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to arrest you."

With just a few simple words, Bartholomew Bear's face immediately lit up with a smile, "Great, so you weren't here to capture us? That puts my mind at ease..."

Annoyed Ginny kicked Bartholomew Bear's ankle and said sullenly, "Bear, you're too trusting! Who knows what he's really up to? Don't let your guard down!"

"Speaking of which, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Bane Ortolan, Rear Admiral of the Second Division of the Marines. I'm just passing through here on another mission, which has nothing to do with you, so you don't need to be so nervous," Ortolan said with a smile.

Seemingly genuinely sensing that this person meant no harm, Ginny hesitated for a moment before lowering the gun she was pointing at Ortolan, then said with some displeasure, "We don't welcome the Marines or any of the World Government's lackeys here!"

Bartholomew Bear opened his mouth, as if wanting to remind Ginny that such words could be hurtful.

But seeing Ginny's unhappy expression, he ultimately didn't say anything.

Ortolan shrugged and sighed, "Alright, no need to get so worked up, I'll just leave."

Actually, Ortolan didn't really intend to do anything. He came here partly because it was on his way, and partly because he wanted to see Bartholomew Bear and Ginny, who were still living happily ever after.

The time spent in this church was perhaps the happiest period of Bartholomew Bear and Ginny's lives, so not disturbing them or interfering with them was actually the greatest kindness we could show them.

Taking two steps back, Ortolan suddenly said with a serious expression, "You two are people who have been treated cruelly by the world, yet are still willing to treat it with gentleness and expectation. You are people I respect. So please remember, my name is Bane Ortolan. Perhaps in the eyes of many people, including the two of you, the Marines is not a good force. I do not deny that. Our Marines is indeed facing many difficult problems. But there is only one thing I want to correct: I am not a lackey of the World Government. If you two need any help in the future, I am happy to help."

After speaking, Ortolan smiled kindly at the two of them, a flash of lightning streaked beneath his feet, and in an instant, he disappeared from their sight.

After Ortolan suddenly disappeared, Ginny looked at Bartholomew Bear with some curiosity and asked, "What happened to him?"

"I don't know. When I noticed him, he was just across the street, looking at me with a friendly smile..." Bartholomew Kuma replied, somewhat puzzled.

"What a strange Marines... but thankfully he's not here to arrest us. You recognize him, right? That guy... he's the one who was advertised in the newspapers as a very powerful Marines!" Ginny quickly said.

"Yes, I recognize it!" Xiong Hanhan nodded and said.

But after a pause, Bartholomew Bear smiled gently and said, "Although I don't know how he said it, he said he respected us. Is this the first time someone has said 'respect' to us? I'm so happy, Ginny!"

"Your Excellency...?" A complex look flashed in Ginny's eyes. As slaves, they rarely experienced this feeling.

But Ginny quickly swept away her emotions, kicked Bartholomew Bear in the shin, and said with great displeasure, "You stupid Kuma, don't believe what others say so easily, or you'll suffer a great loss one day!"

Bartholomew Xiong rubbed his leg, looking somewhat aggrieved, and whispered, "But if there's no trust, won't we never be able to understand each other?"

Ginny seemed stunned by these words and couldn't refute them for a moment. After a while, she stomped her foot angrily and said, "Don't come crying to me for comfort if you get scammed in the future, you idiot!"