The Growth of the First Members

"It looks like we're going to have a real father."

Perospero lay outside the door, listening closely to their conversation.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Compote seemed relieved. From what they could tell, Carl might not be a good person, but he wasn't cruel, either.

"Yeah. Then we'll be kids who have a dad."

As someone who had always been responsible for protecting his younger siblings, Katakuri thought that having a father meant people would stop calling them bastards.

Ever since they were born, pirates all over the crew had called them bastards, children without fathers.

They hadn't wanted that.

But they couldn't change the facts, and they weren't strong enough to beat those pirates, so they could only silently endure their scorn and jeers.

While Carl and Charlotte Linlin were getting to know each other better, elsewhere...

"Ugh!"

"My head hurts."

Clay staggered to his feet, still dazed.

"Where's Lord Carl?"

"Did he go back without me?"

Clay only remembered helping Lord Carl walk this far. The next moment, his memory went blank.

He hurriedly shook his foggy head and ran toward their base. As far as he was concerned, failing to personally escort Lord Carl back to his room was already a major mistake.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Lord Carl, are you there?"

"Bam!"

When no one answered, Clay immediately charged through the door. He looked inside, but the room was empty. There was no sign that anyone had returned.

"Did I lose Lord Carl?"

Clay scratched his head. But they were on the island, and even if Lord Carl had drunk too much, no one should be able to put his life in danger.

Still, since Lord Carl had gone missing while in his care, his first priority was to find him.

He hurried to the room next door and woke Long Yi and Long Er.

"You two, did either of you see Lord Carl come back last night?"

Clay asked them anxiously.

Long Er got up first and rubbed his eyes.

"No, I didn't see him."

"Yeah, Brother Clay, didn't you just get back, too?"

Long Yi got up as well and looked at Clay in confusion.

After all, they'd thought Clay was with Lord Carl.

"Could it be...?"

Long Yi furrowed his brows, thinking of something troubling.

"Is Lord Carl missing?"

Long Yi was more awake now. Seeing Clay's anxious expression and hearing his question, he realized Lord Carl's whereabouts were unknown.

"We probably don't need to worry. With Lord Carl's strength, there shouldn't be anything dangerous on this island."

Long Yi's little face tensed.

"Right, maybe he went to Uncle Newgate's room."

"After all, they're close."

Long Er said, sounding more awake. He couldn't imagine anyone on the island trying to hurt Lord Carl.

"Maybe. At least Lord Carl isn't in any danger, so let's wait for him to come back."

The anxiety on Clay's face eased. Even if Lord Carl was in Newgate's room, Clay wouldn't dare go there.

After all, waking Lord Carl and waking Newgate were two very different things.

Besides, he had Lord Carl's Vivre Card on him. It showed no signs of trouble, which meant Lord Carl wasn't in any danger.

He had no idea that Carl was currently locked in an intense tussle with Charlotte Linlin. Who had time to worry about them?

The next morning, Carl came out of Charlotte Linlin's room.

"Remember what we are to each other. Don't tell anyone, all right?"

Carl still looked a little uneasy as he left, reminding her again.

"Don't worry, Carl. I won't tell anyone."

Charlotte Linlin felt that she could barely handle Carl on her own. She couldn't imagine handling anyone else.

She also understood what Carl meant. Since the Rocks Pirates would fall apart sooner or later, there was no need to reveal their relationship.

Instead, it could be kept as a trump card.

"You little rascal. You've got the stamina of a bull."

After Carl left the room, she muttered under her breath. She hadn't expected the young man to have such incredible stamina. He hadn't stopped for an entire day and night.

"Perospero, bring me some food."

"No desserts."

Charlotte Linlin asked Perospero to bring her a meal. She hadn't eaten for a day and a night and was hungry, but she remembered Carl's warning, so this time she didn't ask for sweets.

"Yes, Mom."

Perospero was a little surprised that Mom wasn't having dessert today, but he hurried off to tell the kitchen to prepare some food.

While talking with Charlotte Linlin, Carl had already learned that the Golden Lion had helped bring about what happened the night before. But he didn't care anymore. Since it had happened, he couldn't just turn his back on it.

"Hey, good morning, Clay!"

Everyone knew that after doing that, you felt refreshed all over. Carl felt better than he ever had.

"Lord Carl, you're back!"

"Lord Carl, where did you go yesterday?"

"I was so worried about you!"

Clay wanted to know where Lord Carl had gone, but he also felt guilty for failing to get him safely back to his room.

"Yesterday?"

"There was something I had to take care of myself."

"Don't worry. It's nothing serious."

From Clay's questions, Carl learned that he'd been gone for a whole day and night, leaving Clay and the others worried.

But he also remembered that wonderful day and night, and found himself reluctant to leave the memory behind.

After all, back on Blue Star, he'd been nothing but a poor loser who'd never even gotten close to a woman. He hadn't expected it to feel so incredible.

"Take me to see how their training is going."

"No problem, Lord Carl. You'll be amazed."

Clay led Carl to the forest at the back of the island. It wasn't particularly large or small, but the sounds coming from inside made it clear that plenty of wild beasts lived there.

A large number of buildings had been built in the forest. One of them was particularly tall, like a massive fortress standing in its center.

Carl knew at a glance that it was Heir Joseph's room.

"Lord Carl, you're back!"

As soon as they reached the room, more than a hundred boys and girls gathered around Carl, greeting him happily.

If not for Carl, they might have been sold off to who knew where. They were deeply grateful to him.

"You should know why I'm training you."

"I'm going to build a force of my own, and you'll be its first members."

"I hope every one of you makes it to the end."

Carl spoke to the group with heartfelt conviction.

"Yes!"

The youths answered firmly. They were still young, but they'd already experienced the pain of war and the bitterness of being enslaved and picked over by others. Those experiences had taught them what freedom meant.

They understood how precious freedom was. To win it, they would give everything they had.

"Good. Now let's see how well you've mastered your martial arts!"