The Banquet

After about ten days, Bullet and Gaban returned one after the other. Bullet came back first, and his approach had been brutally simple: he had gone straight to the Kingdom of Kolun and kidnapped its king.

Gaban and Shikaru had been relatively gentler. They had "invited" the king of the Kingdom of Biya back with them.

The three kings talked late into the night. No one knew what they discussed, but after the other two kings returned home, they announced that their kingdoms would submit to the Kingdom of Mol.

Although both kingdoms still had a few stubborn factions that refused to accept the new order, the Roger Pirates wiped out everyone who dared to stir up trouble. That was right—they eliminated them, making them disappear from the world completely. It was to prevent them from causing trouble again after the pirates left.

King Caesar eventually learned from the Kingdom of Kolun who the spy lurking in his kingdom was. The answer left them shocked and outraged: it was one of the most powerful ministers in their kingdom.

Fortunately, the Roger Pirates had arrived in time. Otherwise, the king's authority might have been gradually stripped away, and the kingdom would have been on the verge of collapse.

The day after learning the truth, King Caesar ordered the minister's entire clan executed. No matter how desperately the man begged, or how much he pleaded that he had contributed to the country, King Caesar showed him no mercy.

The single crime of plotting against the princess was enough to outweigh all his contributions.

On the day the island was unified, a grand banquet was held. All the island's people joined in, wherever they were, because their island had finally been united. They would no longer have to live through the horrors of war.

"Thank you." At the banquet, King Caesar bowed deeply to Roger. Roger didn't refuse; he knew there was no way he could turn down the man's gratitude.

"I hope you'll treat the people of this island well. If I come back and find that they're living in poor conditions, you know what will happen to you."

"Don't worry. I'll treat the people of the island like my own children." As he spoke, King Caesar broke into a cold sweat. He had just felt an immense pressure radiating from Roger, and the easygoing image he'd had of him vanished in an instant.

"Good." Roger patted him on the shoulder in encouragement, hoping he would become a great king in the years to come.

It was the first time in two months that the Roger Pirates had gathered again. Even the solemn setting of the Royal Palace couldn't dampen their lively spirits.

"Thank you." Princess Kaiser Lynn came over to Shirakawa and raised her glass to him.

Kaiser Lynn wore a magnificent gown that day. Wherever she went, she drew everyone's attention.

"You don't have to thank me." Shirakawa had heard her say those words many times already. One more time made no difference.

"Man, Shirakawa sure is lucky with the ladies," one pirate complained to his companion, probably jealous to see Kaiser Lynn getting so close to him.

"Haha! If you had Shirakawa's face—no, if you were even half as handsome as him, you'd have women flocking to you too."

"Hahahaha!" Everyone around them burst out laughing at his words.

"You're acting like you're not jealous," the pirate who'd been teased shot back.

At that, the laughter stopped abruptly. It would've been a lie to say they weren't jealous.

It wasn't that pirates needed handsome faces, but none of them would turn one down. After all, most pirates had two things they wanted: wealth and women.

With a handsome face, there was no need to worry about attracting beautiful women. Shirakawa was proof enough.

But Shirakawa wasn't as happy as the others imagined. Kaiser Lynn wouldn't stop pressing him.

"Are you really not going to stay?" Shirakawa had lost count of how many times Kaiser Lynn had asked him that.

"I've already told you. My heart isn't in this. You should give up."

"Can't you at least think about me?" For the past few days, Kaiser Lynn had tried to hide her feelings for Shirakawa. But when she heard he was leaving, she could no longer hold them back, and they finally burst forth.

"I'm sorry. Maybe we just weren't meant to be."

Though he hated seeing Kaiser Lynn cry, Shirakawa still rejected her firmly, leaving her no room for hope.

He hadn't explicitly said he was turning her down, but Kaiser Lynn understood what he meant. It was no different from a rejection.

Then Kaiser Lynn ran off in tears. Shirakawa wanted to call after her and comfort her, but in the end, he stopped himself.

"Bah, what a jerk." The pirates who had been watching Shirakawa spat in disgust when they saw Kaiser Lynn run off crying.

They'd already made up a tragic love story in their heads.

Shirakawa had toyed with the princess's feelings, seduced her, then refused to take responsibility. He was abandoning his wife and daughter to pursue his dream.

If Shirakawa had known what story they'd concocted, he would've punched them without hesitation. What a ridiculous tale. Besides, where had they gotten the idea he had a daughter?

King Caesar, who had been keeping a close eye on his daughter, sighed helplessly. He'd hoped she would find happiness, but now it seemed impossible.

Besides, he'd thought Shirakawa was a fine young man.

"Can you really bear to reject her?"

Rayleigh came over to Shirakawa, perhaps hoping to offer him some emotional guidance.

"What does it matter if I can't bear it? We're just not right for each other. Besides, I don't like her. She's the one who's been pursuing me all this time. I'm no jerk."

"Then why are you standing here looking so miserable? Are you pretending to care?"

"I just feel uneasy about it."

Rayleigh gave a cold laugh. "You're still attached to that young woman after all."

"Let me tell you: if you have feelings for someone, you have to suppress them. Don't let them take root and grow. Don't give up an entire forest for the sake of one tree."

"Sounds like you're the real jerk. What would your wife say if she heard you?"

"What wife?"

"Have I got it wrong? I seem to remember there was a woman on the Sabaody Archipelago who couldn't stop thinking about you. Or was it you who couldn't stop thinking about her?"

"How do you know?" Rayleigh exclaimed in surprise, checking to see if anyone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Heh, that's a secret. I'm not telling you." With that, Shirakawa walked away.

"Hey, you little brat! Don't go spreading this around!"

Behind Rayleigh, Shirakawa yelled indignantly.

"Don't worry. I'm not ready to die yet."

Shirakawa was sure that if he spread the news, Rayleigh would torment him without end.