Sister Carmelo was a good person.
Even using a word like "good" to describe her felt blasphemous.
She was a Holy Mother!
A great woman who had devoted her life to saving homeless children, regardless of their background or race.
But that was only the surface.
Mongge still remembered the first time he'd met the old woman.
Fifty years ago.
He was twenty, and had been at sea for only two years.
As a Pirate Hunter, he'd scraped together a little money and was full of hopes and dreams for the future.
Then he got scammed.
A con woman posing as a ship sales company had swindled him out of every last Beli he had—one million Beli.
That was one million Beli fifty years ago!
The con woman was none other than the old nun, Garumoro.
Who would've thought?
More than ten years later, that con woman had transformed into the "Holy Mother" everyone talked about, and had become a bridge between ordinary people and the Giants.
When Mongge heard the news, he was so furious he nearly ran straight to Elbaf to expose her.
As far as Sister Carmelo was concerned, Mongge was like a piece of dog-skin plaster she couldn't shake off.
So what if she'd swindled him out of a million Beli when they were young?
She hadn't forgotten how he'd chased her for three years and forced her to pay him back.
Everyone said she'd turned over a new leaf.
But Mongge flat-out refused to believe it, and even warned her not to collude with the World Government.
Damn it.
If she didn't send those homeless children to the World Government, was she supposed to raise them for the rest of their lives? Even if they ended up doing dirty, exhausting work, it was still better than becoming pirates, wasn't it?
Besides, the World Government paid her for it.
So when Sister Carmelo heard Mongge's words, she smiled right back at him.
"How could I? How would I dare disappoint the great Mongge, the Great Pirate whose name resounds throughout the world? It's not as if Lord Mongge would care if the children and I starved to death because we ran out of money, right?"
At Sister Carmelo's sarcastic retort, Mongge's mouth twitched.
"I remember leaving you plenty of money."
"How far do you think that money goes? You don't think these are the only children I have to support, do you?"
The Home of Lambs wasn't just in Giant Country. It had many other branches elsewhere. This one was simply a convenient place to care for the most troublesome children.
"That still doesn't mean you should become the Celestial Dragons' dog!"
"The Celestial Dragons pay the most!"
"You old hag!"
"You old geezer!"
They glared at each other, and the air seemed to crackle with lightning.
"Geruz, is Mother arguing with that old man?"
A chubby little girl standing nearby asked, looking utterly bewildered.
"I don't think so?"
The little Giant girl in a headscarf tilted her head.
"My mom and dad argue like this all the time. I think it means they're close, right?"
"Really?"
The chubby little girl's eyes lit up at the Giant girl's words.
"Mom and dad..."
"No!" x2
Mongge and Sister Carmelo turned around at the same time and said in unison.
"Huh?"
The two little girls jumped in surprise.
Only then did Mongge notice the plump girl, who was quite a bit taller than him—almost as big as an ordinary Giant pirate.
Charlotte Linlin!
She was just an ordinary person, yet she had the same stature as a Giant.
That was true natural talent.
Unlike Rocks's kind of talent, which couldn't be realized without hard work.
Charlotte Linlin.
As long as she grew up normally, she was destined to become a future ruler!
"Tch, you noticed her?"
Seeing Mongge's gaze, Sister Carmelo lit a cigarette with an annoyed look and motioned for him to step aside.
"What, taken a liking to the child?"
Sister Carmelo looked at Mongge and scoffed. "She's a true genius, unlike an 'ordinary person' like you, who had to work your way up. If Linlin joins the Marines, she'll be a future Admiral candidate."
Sister Carmelo had known Mongge for so many years, and had watched him grow from a weak Pirate Hunter into the Great Pirate he was now.
So she knew perfectly well that Mongge had a little talent, but at most, he was only as gifted as an ordinary person.
"Mongge, you've sailed the seas for so many years. You should know there are geniuses in this world."
"Neither you nor I are one of them."
"You're already this old. Do you still plan to keep chasing your pirate dream?"
Two months ago, Sister Carmelo's words would have left Mongge speechless.
But now—
"Why not?"
Mongge snorted, turned toward the sea, and stood tall with his chest out.
"If the World Government couldn't make me submit, the Marines couldn't bring me down, and the sea couldn't swallow me, then what makes time think it can?"
"Then die out there."
Sister Carmelo sneered. She'd never expected to convince Mongge. Old men his age were as stubborn as mules. If he died, he died. She and Mongge weren't even close—why bother doing something thankless?
Mongge knew that too, so he got straight to the point.
"Give that child to me. You can't take proper care of her."
"Impossible!"
Sister Carmelo refused without a moment's thought. She looked at Mongge with scorn. "If I can't take care of Linlin, what makes you think you can? Don't forget, you're a pirate. Do you want Linlin to follow you and become a pirate, living in constant danger for the rest of her life?"
"Ten million Beli!"
"Twenty million!"
"Deal!"
Only after Mongge finished speaking did Sister Carmelo come to her senses. She'd instinctively haggled—and actually sold Linlin for twenty million Beli?
"Mongge!!!"
"Shut up. I'll give you at most thirty million Beli as a donation, and another ten million every year after that. That's all."
Thinking of how he'd spent a fifth of his bounty on Farrell before even collecting it made Mongge wince. He shot Sister Carmelo a hostile look.
"Don't let me find out you've actually gotten involved with the Celestial Dragons. Do you know how much trouble I went to back then to get your superior replaced?"
"Tch, I should've reported you to Kong. He's about to become a Marine Admiral, while you're still a useless pirate."
Sister Carmelo blew out a cloud of smoke.
"Don't worry. I've kept records of all the children I've sent to the Marines. I did my best to find suitable parents for the ordinary children, but it's impossible to make everything perfect."
Just thinking about it made Sister Carmelo angry. She'd thought it was best to work with the World Government and enjoy the protection of a powerful ally. But the World Government wasn't any good either, and she'd been forced to contact Mongge—the first time in her life she'd ever had to bow her head to him.
It had also turned Mongge from a proper adventurer into the captain of a notorious pirate crew, branded by the World Government as one of the most heinous criminals.
That was when he made a name for himself as the White Wolf.
Sister Carmelo didn't know that without Mongge, she would have gone from being a con artist to a scumbag who made a living selling children.
She was still doing business with the World Government, but her trading partner was the Marines—and one of the current Marine Admirals.
Sister Carmelo had one thing right: joining the Marines was better than becoming a pirate, wasn't it?
"I'll leave Linlin in your hands."
The Home of Lambs had been short on funds lately. Mongge was a pirate, but when it came to character, Sister Carmelo felt she was worse than he was.
"He just can't become the Celestial Dragons' dog."
That was Mongge's bottom line. It was simple and clear. You got used to it.
What a weirdo.
That was Sister Carmelo's opinion of Mongge.
"Even though I've agreed to let you take Linlin, whether she wants to go with you is up to you."
An underhanded smile appeared on Sister Carmelo's aged face.
"If you fail to take her, I'll sell her to the Marines. I'm sure that boy Kong would be delighted to have another future Admiral as a disciple."
"Hmph. Don't underestimate me!"
Mongge sneered. "Don't forget who cooked for you on that deserted island after the ship we were on together sank."
"Who do you think wrecked my ship in the first place?"
The mere mention of it made Sister Carmelo furious. It was only a million Beli!
Was that really necessary?
Mongge couldn't be bothered with Sister Carmelo. The two of them always fought the moment they met. If they didn't have a reason to see each other, it was better for them to never cross paths again.
Charlotte Linlin.
Just as Mongge walked over to Charlotte Linlin, intending to slowly build a rapport with her before luring her onto his ship—
The system appeared right on cue.
[Marine Era, June 3, 1480. This is your 65th day as a pirate. Unfortunately, not long after setting sail as a pirate, you've run into one of the future Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin.]
[At twenty-five, she will possess a beauty that outshines all others on the sea. She will be the Pirate Empress praised by all.]
[There's no way you can beat her. Perhaps you could develop a tumultuous romance with her?]
Beauty? Pirate Empress?
Mongge looked at the system's description of Charlotte Linlin—the Pirate Empress, twenty-five years old, whose beauty would outshine all others on the sea—then at the five-year-old chubby girl in front of him, who was staring at him with a runny nose and a vacant expression.
System.
You really are the worst!
Before you continue