"Hmm, I hope so."
Gawain waved casually and continued walking forward. He had only taken two steps when he was completely enveloped in shadow.
Seeing this, Gawain turned around as he walked and waved to Shirahoshi, whose face was full of anxiety.
"Come on, little girl. Why do you look so timid? Do you think I'm a little scary?"
"Of course not!"
Upon hearing Gawain's words, Shirahoshi quickly shook her head.
"Gawain doesn't look fierce at all, and he didn't swear at all, so I'm not afraid at all."
I'm just... just a little nervous..
"Ha ha."
Hearing Shirahoshi's explanation, Gawain smiled and raised his hand.
Beside her, Shirahoshi pondered for a moment in confusion as she watched Gawain raise his hand. Then, she tilted her head knowingly and leaned closer to Gawain.
Gawain chuckled and pinched Shirahoshi's cheek until the little girl's eyes welled up with tears, then he continued to speak to her with a smile.
"But you're still scared, aren't you? If you're not scared, why are you nervous?"
Tell me, do you think Vander Decken and Hody Jones are scary?
"They're not scary..."
Shirahoshi blushed and shook her head, not continuing what she was saying.
Looking at the silent Shirahoshi, Gawain smiled and pinched the girl's cheek again.
"They've been throwing weapons at you for five years, forcing you to stay in the Hard-Shell Tower for five whole years."
Another option is to be the real murderer of your mother, and at the same time, to make my wails echo throughout the Fish-Man Island all night long.
You're not afraid of such crazy and evil guys, but you're afraid of me, the good guy who's going to get rid of them.
Shirahoshi, do you only like me more if I become worse?
"No, no, no... no!!!" Shirahoshi's pretty face turned pale with anxiety.
"So that means you still like me even though I haven't gotten any worse?" Gawain said mischievously.
"Yes, I... wait?!?"
Shirahoshi was stunned at first, then her whole body turned red. If you didn't know better, you would think that this cute little seafood had been cooked by Gawain.
"Gawain, how... how could you do this...!"
I'm ignoring you now, boohoo, you're bullying me~."
Shirahoshi let out two shy cries, then turned her head away in protest.
Beside her, Gion and Jinbe couldn't help but laugh.
Hearing everyone's laughter, Gawain smiled and patted Shirahoshi's tail.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Although you haven't been out for long today, you've been through so much, it's time to relax."
Let's go back to the Ufuri Villa.
From now on, you really won't have to go back to Hard-Shell Tower anymore, just like I said, I mean what I say, Shirahoshi."
"Mmm!"
Although Shirahoshi was still a little shy, she nodded heavily. She then carefully leaned closer to Gawain and whispered.
"Gawain, there's something else I haven't told you yet."
"I've always known that Hody Jones killed my mother!"
"What!!!"
Before Gawain could say anything, Jinbe, standing to the side, was utterly astonished.
He suppressed his smile and looked at Shirahoshi in disbelief.
"Your Highness, how is this possible? You... you..."
"Uh, Jinbe, I really know, I don't lie."
Shirahoshi's mood was slightly down. She lowered her head and continued speaking in a very soft voice.
"As you all know, I can chat with fish and Sea King."
About two years ago, my shark, Megalo, told me about what happened back then.
It said that on the day my mother died, it saw Hody Jones firing a shot in the distance.
As for humans, they were targets that Hody Jones had put forward.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jinbe, who was standing to the side, suddenly felt a headache coming on. Luckily, he was Whale Shark Fish-Man, not a pufferfish Fish-Man.
Otherwise, he probably would have exploded from that swell!
Even the wavy beard on his temples stood up.
"Your Highness, since you already knew this news, why didn't you say so sooner? Why didn't you say so sooner?"
"If you had told me sooner, things wouldn't have turned out this way. If I had known this earlier, I would never have forgiven that bastard Hody Jones, absolutely!!!"
Jinbe's voice was almost distorted; who could know how much pressure he had been under today!
Perhaps his words were too harsh, for Shirahoshi was so frightened that she retreated to Gawain's side.
Shirahoshi quickly pressed her tail against Gawain's body, feeling Gawain warmth, before she dared to explain to Jinbe.
"I... back then, my mother... Waaaaaah!!!"
Before she died, my mother made one last promise with me!
She said, "No matter who the prisoner is, I shouldn't hate him!"
Hatred only breeds more hatred, so even if I knew that person was Hody Jones, I wouldn't... I wouldn't hate him, waaaaaah!!!
"This...!"
Hearing Shirahoshi's cries, Jinbe was Jinbe stunned.
He really wanted to say something.
But poor him, he couldn't even utter a "fuck" or type "666".
So he could only look helplessly at Shirahoshi and sigh.
"What pure and kind words these are, Princess Shirahoshi! Perhaps only you and Queen Otohime in this world possess such kind and compassionate hearts!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jinbe took a long breath.
Then, Jinbe raised his hands and bowed respectfully to Gawain.
"Gawain, I am very sorry, Princess Shirahoshi's failure to report the situation led to your previous predicament of being surrounded."
But please don't just punish or blame her alone!
Compared to Princess Shirahoshi, I also have actions that are difficult to explain!
Upon hearing Jinbe's words, Gawain finally stopped in his tracks.
He was just about to say something to Jinbe and Shirahoshi when, before he could even utter a word, he was entangled by Shirahoshi's tail and nearly died on the spot.
Shirahoshi was extremely nervous; she was like a kitten about to be abandoned, desperately trying to get closer to Gawain.
As soon as she got closer, she couldn't resist using her soft tail, which had just touched Gawain, to wrap herself Gawain around him...
At this moment, with amusement, Shirahoshi Gawain her left arm around Gion's tangled tail, while her right hand loosened the little girl's tail slightly.
While making room for Gawain, she lowered her head and said to Gawain, suppressing a laugh.
"The adults need to speed up their training, otherwise it would be really inelegant if they couldn't even handle a hug from a girl!"
"Needless to say, double the training volume!"
Gawain responded fiercely to Gion's teasing.
Meanwhile, Jinbe, with his head down, continued narrating to himself.
"Seven years ago, Brother Fisher Tiger did not die because humans refused to donate blood. At that time, he captured a warship, but he himself was seriously injured by the Rear Admiral on the warship."
Fisher Tiger's blood type is extremely rare, completely different from ours, but there are blood packs left behind by humans on the warship for medical purposes, containing blood of the same type as Tiger's.
But... Fisher Tiger would rather die than use human blood... He has always harbored an intense hatred for humans!
Later, the eldest brother's death affected Arlong, and Arlong, in turn, affected countless children in Fish-Man District.
Seven years ago, Hody Jones was just eighteen years old, and he... was also influenced by this ideology.
If only I could have revealed the truth sooner and worked towards resolving the hatred between Merfolk and humans.
Although they may not give up easily, things might not have turned out this way.
I..."
At this point, Jinbe raised his head dejectedly, intending to continue admitting his mistakes.
But the next second, he stopped talking completely.
Before him, Shirahoshi was huddled up in a ball, nervously, while Gion had her arm around Gawain, both of them wrapped in Shirahoshi's tail...
Even if a hundred Shirahoshi were to exert their strength, they wouldn't be able to contend with Gion, but this scene... this scene is just too rude!
"Princess Shirahoshi!!!"
Jinbe the Sprayer instantly became energetic, and with a sudden leap, he jumped directly onto Shirahoshi's head.
State!
A punch, neither too hard nor too soft, immediately brought tears to Shirahoshi's eyes.
"Release Saint Gawain immediately! What kind of behavior is this? This is absolutely outrageous!"
Princess, you must learn to treat Saint Gawain gently!!!
Be gentle!!!
As Jinbe, everyone still conscious in Gyoncorde Plaza looked at Gawain in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Jinbe's Jinbe loud voice once again drew the attention of the entire Fish-Man Island audience away from Neptune and Mjosgard, who were standing on the podium.
The next second, Fish-Man Island, which had just been filled with pressure, was instantly thrown into an uproar.
"Saint Gawain and the princess... they're so sweet!"
"Suddenly I'm not so afraid of Saint Gawain anymore; he looks so cute when he's being pestered!!!"
"The princess was beaten to tears by Jinbe! As expected of Jinbe, the boss!"
"Saint Gawain... he looks like he rolled his eyes?"
Amidst the murmurs throughout the Ryugu Kingdom, Gawain couldn't help but roll his eyes.
As he helped Gion break free from Shirahoshi's tail, he glared fiercely at Jinbe.
Jinbe!
Gawain was truly losing control of his Conqueror's Haki this time. He clenched his fists and asked, word by word, with fierce intensity.
"Do you really have to shout like that? Can't you just... hey?!?"
Before Gawain could finish speaking, Princess Shirahoshi, who was crying loudly, grabbed him.
While crying, Shirahoshi pressed Gawain to her chest, hugging him and shaking him violently. At the same time, she cried out to Gawain with great grievance.
"Waaaaah, Gawain, Lord Jinbe fierce! Waaaaah!!!"
And Gawain.
He can't see anything now.
He's completely hooked!