At this point, Cobra looked deeply at the palace dome, gazing at the portraits left by the successive kings of the Nefertari Family, Cobra sighed softly.
"At my age, I no longer fantasize about doing anything earth-shattering."
Furthermore, the Alabasta that my ancestors left me is already one of the most well-established, populous, and expansive countries on this vast ocean.
Although my ancestors didn't leave me any special identity, even that foolish King Wapol of the Drum Kingdom dared to argue with me at the Reverie.
Aside from that one minor conflict, I'm already living a very comfortable life.
All I can do is take good care of the daughter my beloved wife gave me, and also take good care of the country my ancestors left me!
I can see that Gawain is an excellent ruler, but that's not the main reason I value him.
What I admire is not just his art of governance. Aren't the stewards and advisors of every king actually more knowledgeable about how to govern a country than the king himself?
What I value is Gawain's only flaw, hidden behind all his strengths!
He's a very humane person!
At this point, Cobra waved his hand slightly, signaling Chaka to step back.
There are some things he doesn't want to keep to himself, but he also doesn't want others to hear them.
So, after Chaka left, he sat alone in the palace.
A plate of snacks, a pot of tea, a glass of wine—he sipped them slowly, muttering to himself.
"Gawain's character makes him a true ruler; he will bring far more than peace and tranquility."
At best, he might become the new Five Elders, the supreme being of Mary Geoise in some sense.
But I don't know if the legend that has been passed down in the family, the shadow that always stands behind the Five Elders, really exists.
In short, let's hope it doesn't exist. That way, Gawain's path will be smoother, and the waves he faces at sea will be smaller.
But if it exists...
Cobra took another sip of his drink.
"If it exists, I really don't want Gawain to become like the legendary version of it!"
Even its offspring were treated merely as tools, beings devoid of any humanity, using emotions only as instruments to be exploited...
It shouldn't have existed in this world at all!
Chaka, how could you understand? When human sentiment is applied to a ruler, it becomes an inexhaustible flaw.
But a ruler without humanity is absolutely not someone like me who should trust him.
Gawain is adept at using many things; perhaps I have already become his pawn, one of his tools.
But based on my observations of his personality, I know he's destined to be incapable of doing certain things that I find unacceptable.
Isn't that enough?
As soon as he finished speaking, Cobra counted his drinks and took the last sip.
Immediately afterwards, he fell into a deep sleep and never woke up again.
Meanwhile, Alabasta was enthusiastically developing its railway lifeline.
A few people in the Drum Kingdom, the next point on the flight path from Alabasta, encountered a minor problem.
On the edge of a lake in the northern part of Winter Island, in a small house that looks barely habitable.
A reindeer with a blue nose emerged.
After looking around, the reindeer seemed to realize that the person who was watching it was no longer there.
So he started jumping around happily.
After hopping around twice, the reindeer suddenly shrank, eventually becoming the size of a raccoon dog!
"Dr. Kureha must have gone to gather herbs, so I can go for a stroll in the forest~~~."
There must be a lot of animals in the forest that need treatment. I haven't been able to treat them all lately because the doctor has been too strict with me!
As they spoke, the fluffy little reindeer, still walking upright and wearing a hat, hopped and skipped along, carrying its medicine box, into the depths of the forest.
His little hooves made a squelching sound in the snow, accompanied by his childlike gait.
They're so incredibly cute!
However, the little reindeer didn't see that shortly after he left, the woman he called Dr. Kureha quietly emerged from behind the house.
With a cigarette dangling from her lips, Doriel grinned as she gazed in the direction Chopper had disappeared.
"My son Chopper, whom I picked up for free, is a natural-born excellent doctor."
However, even doctors cannot only know the knowledge required of doctors.
He doesn't understand social etiquette at all..."
As they spoke, Dr. Kureha quietly followed Chopper toward the forest.
Soon after, Chopper, carrying his medicine box, arrived near a cave.
He walked into the cave as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
The next second, hundreds of different animals appeared in his eyes, including carnivorous Hiking Bear, herbivorous reindeer, birds in flight, and tiny Mole.
Despite their haphazard composition, these animals somehow managed to coexist peacefully together.
Moreover, when the group of animals saw Chopper, they all let out a variety of excited shouts!
More than twenty animals immediately rushed towards Chopper, but apart from these twenty-odd, all the other animals remained lying on the spot, trembling with excitement.
It wasn't that they didn't want to welcome Chopper, it's just that they were all injured!
Chopper, watching the animals running towards him, Chopper greeted them.
Hi everyone, have you been waiting long?
Oh dear, I've been under a lot of control lately with Dr. Kureha; she won't let me go out at all.
Thankfully, I finally managed to find a chance to come over!
Come on, let's start with you, Hiking Bear. You have a foot injury. Let me see, it's a hunter's trap!
Has the fat started to rot from the wound left for too long?
I guess I'll have to cut it. Sigh, I hope I brought enough medicine today.
As he spoke, Chopper instantly grew into the size of a little giant, bulging his powerful muscles as he pinned the giant Hiking Bear to the ground.
"Hey, stop licking me! Your tongue has so many barbs, it's making me itchy!"
Come on, stretch your legs out, I'll hold them in place!
Bear with me, my knife is about to go in, it hurts, right?
There were simply no anesthetic drugs available. Those medicines were strictly guarded by the Drum Kingdom, and only the Doctor 20 had them!
Let me see. The muscles are okay; the rot isn't too severe. You should still be able to run."
While muttering to himself, Chopper pressed down on Hiking Bear's body with his left hand and used his right leg to hold down Hiking Bear's leg to prevent him from moving around.
Under these circumstances, he actually performed the surgery using only one hand.
At this point, Chopper had no idea just how advanced his medical skills had become!
Meanwhile, outside the distant cave...
Listen to the sounds coming from the cave, the sounds of various animals receiving treatment.
Dr. Kureha stubbed out her cigarette and sat down on a broken tree covered in snow.
"He's so kind, just like me when I first learned medicine, but thankfully he's still closer to animals..."
If he's been secretly treating people all along, then that's troublesome...
As they were talking, Dr. Kureha casually sat down on the tree and fell asleep.
About seven hours later, Chopper emerged from the cave, covered in sweat.
At this moment, his once fluffy fur was now filthy, stained with blood.
As he walked out of the cave, he kept complaining.
"I really shouldn't have done that. I knew that if I hadn't come for so long, many animals would be injured and waiting for me."
It turns out I still didn't bring enough medicine!
Chopper, Chopper~ Chopper!
You're destined to be a panacea!
Forgetting to bring enough medicine is such a basic mistake, it's really so wrong... I should have... Ee-ah~?!!!
Suddenly, Chopper saw Dr. Kureha sitting outside the cave.
In just a moment, Chopper's fur stood on end and he turned into a fluffy little ball!
He bristled and quickly hid towards the cave entrance.
Once he felt he was safely hidden, Chopper finally relaxed.
Meanwhile, outside the cave...
Looking at Chopper across from her, Dr. Kureha found herself unable to suppress a smile.
I wanted to scold the child, but... but the child always manages to make me happy involuntarily!
Chopper never understood that, compared to medical skills, only happiness was truly a panacea in the world!
As she pondered this, Dr. Kureha stood up.
She pointed at Chopper.
"If you want to hide and observe, you should at least hide your body behind the wall and only show half of your head!"
Instead of what you're doing now, clinging to the wall but only hiding half your head behind it, leaving your eyes and body sticking out!
Don't you know?
You're dodging the wrong way!!!
"Ha???"
Upon hearing Dr. Kureha's voice, large beads of sweat instantly appeared on Chopper's forehead. He then sheepishly left the wall by the cave entrance and listlessly hopped over to Dr. Kureha's side.
Standing in front of Kureha, Chopper hung his head dejectedly and said softly.
"The doctor..."
"Why are you calling me? Haven't you already started working as a doctor?"
You can do this perfectly well on your own, so what do you need me for, you brat?
"Alright then, you'll move out of my house tomorrow and become a real doctor on the high seas..."
"Doctor, my lady!!!"
Before Kureha could finish speaking, Chopper pounced on Kureha's lap.
Chopper clung tightly to Dr. Kureha with his furry little hands, wailing and crying his heart out.
"I don't want to leave Winter Island, I don't want to leave you!!!"
I am a reindeer. Reindeer cannot live with humans. You are the only one in my life!
Besides, all I can do right now is treat animals; I still need to learn from you!
I... I haven't fulfilled my dad's dream yet!
I must learn from you until I become a true panacea!
What should we learn?
Hearing Chopper's words, Kureha angrily pulled it off her lap.
Then, Kureha knelt down, pressed one hand on Chopper's head, and whispered to Chopper.
"What you need to learn now is how to be a good person. As for your medical skills, haven't you already found your patients?"
Have you encountered any incurable diseases among your animal friends?
"Well..."
Upon hearing this, Chopper couldn't help but ponder, and then he said softly.
"Gun wounds are the most troublesome; knife wounds, horn wounds, and claw wounds are relatively simpler."
So, apart from... apart from premature death, I have never encountered any incurable diseases in my animal friends.
But animals have a much stronger healing ability than humans. Just because I can heal them doesn't mean I can heal everyone!
I haven't treated anyone yet... Oh dear!!!
Thump!
Suddenly, Kureha delivered a sharp slap to Chopper's head, slamming her fist into him.
"You still want to treat people? Do you know that even treating animals is illegal on Winter Island!"
Fortunately, animals aren't people; they won't report you for money!
Otherwise, you would probably have been captured by Wapol's army long ago, you fool!!!
I just received news that this book will be free for a limited time on the 28th of this month.
So, friends, let's not chase after it for the next few days.
Saving up your purchases until they're free for a limited time and then watching them all at once will save you a lot of money~~~.
Love you all.