This Isn't Taking Advantage

"Mm, I slept so well." When Kaiser Lynn woke up early that morning, she stretched languidly toward the rising sun, looking utterly blissful.

"Hey, what's with those looks? Why are you staring at me like that?" After savoring the moment, Kaiser Lynn noticed that Shirakawa and the others were all looking at her strangely, as if she were some kind of oddity.

"Are you all right?" Shirakawa walked up to her and placed a hand on her forehead to see if she had a fever.

"What are you doing?" Feeling the enticing scent coming from Shirakawa and the warmth of his hand on her forehead, Kaiser Lynn's cheeks visibly flushed. It was hard to tell whether she was embarrassed or annoyed.

"No fever. So why did you sleep for so long? Could your body have mutated?"

Shirakawa mused aloud as his hand continued to roam over Kaiser Lynn's body. If he hadn't looked so serious, he could easily have been mistaken for a lecherous pervert.

"That's enough! What are you doing? What happened?"

Kaiser Lynn felt like she was about to moan despite herself, so she quickly stopped Shirakawa and demanded an answer, mortified and furious.

"Do you know how long you were asleep?" Shirakawa leaned in close to Kaiser Lynn.

"How long?" Kaiser Lynn instinctively took a step back.

"Fifteen or sixteen hours. You sure can sleep. I think I'll bestow upon you the title of God of Sleep."

"Fifteen or sixteen hours? How could I sleep that long? Am I a pig?"

"But that's what happened. You might really be an old sow. Haha."

Even Shirakawa found himself laughing at his own joke, and his laughter infected Buggy and Shanks as well.

"So what happened, then? Why did I sleep so long?"

Kaiser Lynn lowered her head in thought. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and jerked her head up, her face turning terrified. In a voice full of shock, she asked, "Where's Rogue? Did he kill us? Is this place hell?"

A string of questions spilled out of Kaiser Lynn's mouth, leaving Shirakawa no chance to answer.

"Don't worry. Rogue is dead. Someone rescued us."

Shirakawa held Kaiser Lynn by the shoulders and gave them a couple of firm pats, trying to ease her tension.

"What did you just say?" Kaiser Lynn acted as if she hadn't heard him—or perhaps she simply couldn't believe what he'd said.

"I said Rogue was killed. We're safe now."

"How is that possible? How could Rogue be killed? He was the strongest man."

"The strongest man? Don't make me laugh. He was only the strongest on this island. There are plenty of people stronger than him beyond it."

Buggy said this to her. Hearing Kaiser Lynn call Rogue the strongest, Buggy was thoroughly disdainful.

He admitted that Rogue was powerful, but Rogue was only Rogue, not Roger. If she'd called Roger the World's Strongest, he wouldn't have argued.

"Really?" Kaiser Lynn still found it hard to believe. She looked at Shirakawa and asked him, though her tone made it clear she hoped he would confirm it.

"Of course. Our companion rescued us. Rogue really is dead."

At those words, Kaiser Lynn suddenly covered her face and began sobbing.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying? Isn't Rogue's death a good thing?" When Kaiser Lynn started to cry, the three inexperienced young men were at a loss. Shanks and Buggy in particular had no idea how to comfort a girl, so they instinctively took a step back and left Shirakawa some room.

Shirakawa held her and gently patted her back to comfort her.

Feeling Shirakawa's embrace, Kaiser Lynn hugged him back and buried her face in his chest, breaking into loud sobs.

"All right, all right. What happened? Don't cry, okay?"

"Waaah..." But Shirakawa's words did nothing to help. If anything, Kaiser Lynn only cried harder.

There was nothing Shirakawa could do in that situation, so he had to use his clothes to wipe her tears and blow her nose.

After quite a while, Kaiser Lynn's sobs finally began to quiet down.

"So, can you tell me why you were crying?"

"Rogue was our family's greatest enemy. My best brother died at his hands."

"Then we avenged you. You should be happy."

"I know. I was crying tears of joy, but whenever I think about my brother being killed by Rogue, I get so sad that I can't hold back my tears."

As she spoke, Kaiser Lynn's eyes grew wet again.

"All right, all right. Then let's not think about that. Think about something happy instead. Think about how you'll be home soon."

Shirakawa hugged Kaiser Lynn again and comforted her.

"Mm." Lying against Shirakawa's chest, Kaiser Lynn gave a muffled reply.

"Ugh, I don't know why, but watching this makes my skin crawl. What about you, Shanks?"

Watching the two embrace, Shanks broke out in goose bumps.

"Same here. This feels seriously inappropriate for kids."

The two hadn't gone far, so Kaiser Lynn heard every word. Without hesitation, she pushed Shirakawa away, turned around, and stood there awkwardly, looking embarrassed.

"Those two sure know how to ruin a moment."

Although Shirakawa had no intention of taking things much further with Kaiser Lynn, he didn't mind getting a little something out of it.

"Grrr..." Just then, Kaiser Lynn's stomach suddenly growled, making her already flushed cheeks turn even redder.

"You're hungry, aren't you? You slept for fifteen or sixteen hours, so of course you're hungry. And you've been crying for ages, too. Let's get something to eat."

"Mm."

Kaiser Lynn's reply was so quiet it was like the buzzing of a mosquito. If Shirakawa hadn't had such good hearing, he might not have made out what she said.

After working up a meal in the hideout's kitchen, they all ate their fill. Kaiser Lynn, in particular, ate more than three times as much as she usually did.

"Seriously, is this really the Kaiser Lynn we know?"

Shanks and Buggy exchanged a glance, thinking the same thing.

"All right, let's get going. We'll reach the country's border in a few days."

"Mm."

Before leaving, Shirakawa and the others set fire to the hideout, burning the bodies along with it. The stronghold that had terrorized the area for decades vanished in flames.