West Blue in Turmoil

"Slow down. You'll choke."

"There's more where that came from, don't worry. We have plenty of fresh water too."

"You, blond kid. Go get some more bread from the kitchen."

Even with Absalom stepping forward to help, it took Noah more than ten minutes to finish handing out food and water to the poor souls.

The former slaves wolfed down their food. Noah watched them quietly for a while, then turned around and was surprised to find Moria by the railing, chatting away with a little girl with pink hair.

Every so often, he pulled a face to amuse her, setting her off in a delighted chorus of "Horo, horo, horo!"

He has this side to him?

...Wait. Why does that laugh sound familiar?

Noah suddenly realized something. He took a closer look at the pink-haired girl's profile. There was no mistaking her...

The "Ghost Princess," Perona.

In the original timeline, she was one of Moria's top officers and one of the three monsters of Thriller Bark.

The timing fit too. He vaguely remembered that Perona and Moria were both from West Blue. Moria had found her when she was little and raised her to adulthood like a treasured daughter.

What are the odds? I happened to be here right when they met?

Something else occurred to him. With a thought, he summoned the system panel, which appeared in a faint blue glow.

He looked at the quest log. Sure enough, it contained this notification:

Side quest "Save the Girl": Stage Two complete.

Stage reward: 200,000 points, 1 random attribute point.

Only the final stage remains. Complete all stages to receive substantial additional rewards. Keep up the good work.

"So it really counted..."

Noah rubbed his chin, not particularly surprised. The quest required him to save three