"Y-you just said that the gentle, kind, and dependable man was that Sunglasses Man?"
"The same Sunglasses Man who beat me into the wall so hard I couldn't even pry myself out?"
"The aloof Sunglasses Man who puts the Celestial Dragons first, himself second, and makes anyone who talks to him kneel?"
After three questions in a row, Axia was at a loss. "Mr. Rono didn't describe him as, as..." Axia didn't know how to put it into words and stomped her feet in frustration.
The sea breeze drifted gently past, lifting the pale-colored dress of the girl. Rono sat on the deck, staring at the girl's exposed backside. "Little Bear."
"You bastard, where do you think you're looking?" A polished leather shoe, shiny enough to reflect the light, planted itself on the back of Rono's head and stomped his face into the wooden planks.
"Axia, lovely weather today." Sunglasses Man—or rather, Mo Luan Dou Bu Luan—ignored Rono and turned around to perform a standard aristocratic bow.
"Uncle Mo, could you move your foot first?" Axia asked timidly.
"Of course." Mo moved his foot off Rono's head, then turned around and lifted Rono from the floor. In a voice only the two of them could hear, he whispered into Rono's ear, "Although I'm grateful that you're willing to talk with Axia, if you dare lay a finger on her, I'll chop you into pieces and feed you to the fish!" Killing intent flashed across Mo's face, then vanished. "Oh, right. You're one of my people too."
"Forget it. I'll just beat you up. No feeding you to the fish." As he spoke, Mo put an arm around Rono's shoulders and smiled at Axia. "Axia, Rono and I still have something to discuss. We'll be going now."
"Mr. Rono doesn't seem very willing." Axia tilted her head and pointed at Rono.
"That's right, that's right. I'm a hundred percent unwilling!" Rono grumbled inwardly.
"He is very willing. See?" Mo forcibly grabbed Rono by the hair and nodded his head twice. His neck was caught, so all Rono could do was make a "heh-heh" sound. Rono felt utterly despairing. Nima, I don't want to be alone with this damn lolicon!
"Oh, I see. I hope you and Mr. Rono can make up, Uncle Mo." The Blue-Haired Girl narrowed her large eyes, looking utterly adorable.
"Don't worry, Axia. Don't you know me?" Mo grinned, revealing a mouthful of bright white teeth.
"Mhm, see you later." Axia didn't think much of it.
"Help..." Rono's feet plowed a scorched trail across the ground as Mo dragged him into the training room.
The moment they entered the training room, Mo's expression changed.
"Kid, you sure got cocky after not seeing me for a few days. Where do you think you're looking? You even dared touch my girl. Are you looking to die?" With his fierce expression and sunglasses, Mo Ge looked every bit the gangster.
"Huh? What did I even do? Damn, I can't even give her a hug? Uncle, are you a lolicon?" Rono looked as though he had discovered a new continent. "Mhm~ No wonder you help Axia. So that's how it is."
Watching Rono sit on the floor and nod repeatedly with an expression that said, I know everything now. You don't have to explain. I understand you, Mo's veins bulged on his forehead. He undid his suit, rolled his neck and flexed his hands, producing a series of crisp cracks. "Little Zha, are you ready to die?"
"Hey! Why such a huge reaction? Damn, why did you just start hitting me?" Before he could finish speaking, a fist slammed into his lower abdomen, followed by an uppercut, a straight punch, a side kick, a spinning kick... Rono felt like nothing more than a target for Mo to test his moves on.
The training room's soundproofing was excellent, so Axia had no idea what was happening inside. At that moment, she was sitting in the ship's library, reading the daily assignment Mo had given her—world history. Every night, Mo would quiz her on several questions. If Axia couldn't answer them, Uncle Mo would be displeased.
Time passed second by second, and before long, it was lunchtime.
Mo opened the training room door, straightened his suit, brushed off the dust, and nodded in satisfaction before heading toward the dining room.
"Food... I want food..." A heap of Rono lay on the floor. Why call him a heap? Because Mo had beaten every bone in his body into pieces. Even with Rono's recovery rate, it would take over ten minutes, by which time the meal would basically be over. Mr. Rono, feeling as though he had missed out on a hundred million, lay on the floor and contemplated life.
What benefits had he gained today? 1. The favor of a cute little lolita. 2. Nothing else, apparently...
Disadvantages: 1. Dislocated his arm once. 2. Got hit by bird droppings twice. 3. Got hit by a light bulb once. 3. Got thoroughly beaten by Mo Williams...
All in all... this trip wasn't a loss! Three years couldn't compare, so what was there to fear? Ahem, no, wait. Caring for little lolitas was everyone's responsibility, wasn't it? Speaking of which, Little Bear's backside sure was cute.
The steady ticking of time echoed in Rono's ears. The Super Regeneration brought by the Self-Healing Factor slowly repaired Rono's body, and he could more or less walk again.
Rono gathered several bone spurs Mo had broken off and muttered, "The Scarlet Armament still can't beat Sunglasses Man. If it weren't for the huge stamina drain, I... hehehe." Rono seemed to imagine himself beating Mo senseless every day, and drool dripped from his mouth.
"Mr. Rono, what's wrong?" The Blue-Haired Girl looked at Rono's lecherous expression in confusion. Although she didn't know what his expression meant, any girl would feel uncomfortable seeing such a lecherous face.
"Slurp." Rono sucked his drool back in and instantly changed his expression. "I was just pondering the meaning of life."
"I-is that so?" Axia chose to change the subject. "Mr. Rono, I noticed you didn't come to eat, so I prepared some food for you. Oh, and I specially prepared a steak for you!" Axia took the lunchbox from behind her back, looking a little excited.
"Uncle Mo said that sparring with him must have made you very tired, so he asked me to prepare some high-energy food. I told you, didn't I? Uncle Mo is a really good person!"
"Mhm, mhm." Rono bobbed his head like a pecking chicken, nodding nonstop. Food was the most important thing, after all. Still, he felt a little touched inside. So Mo Williams wasn't as bad as he had thought. It was decided! From now on, he would only beat him up once.
When he opened the lunchbox, the appetizing aroma of the food made Rono swallow hard. He accepted the chopsticks Axia handed him and entered glutton mode, his chopsticks dancing in a blur.
Meat bone, acquired√ Bone discarded.
Fish, acquired√ Bones discarded.
Huh? What was this black thing? Chomp—ptui, ptui, ptui! Discarded.
Vegetables, acquired√
Rice, acquired√
Why did it feel like something was missing? Right! Where was the fragrant, tender, delicious steak that Axia had specially prepared for him with love?
Rono searched through the entire lunchbox, but it was nowhere to be found.
Rono seemed to realize something. He slowly turned his head toward a blackened lump amid the pile of food scraps, then slowly looked at Axia. Sure enough, the little lolita had her head lowered, tears falling to the floor like a broken string and vanishing as they soaked into the wooden planks.
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