Beautiful Souls

"Tch... You can't even handle that much psychological pressure?"

Duen watched Buggy's pirate ship flee under pursuit from the Marine warship, feeling rather regretful.

"With you looking like that, who could possibly handle it?!"

The merchants and sailors some distance away had been so frightened throughout the whole ordeal that their legs had gone weak. They stood far off at the boundary between the port and Border Town, not daring to come closer or even breathe too loudly, terrified that the great pirate Buggy would truly charge ashore under Duen's verbal assault and begin looting and killing. Upon hearing Duen's lament, they all roared in outrage.

Negative Emotion Points from Sydney +...

Negative Emotion Points from Nelson +...

Negative Emotion Points from ...

Sensing the words flashing through his mind, Duen turned back to look at them. Aside from those people, the kingdom's military police had also arrived at a leisurely pace, helping disperse the crowd and deal with the aftermath. Of course, the matter was already over... and their timing could not have been more perfect.

"Losses like this are unavoidable at sea." "Rest assured, we will handle this matter properly." The military police tirelessly offered such slick reassurances.

While lowering the merchants' expectations, they also shirked their own responsibility, lest those merchants band together later and make a great fuss before the king, negatively affecting their work.

With the military police's remedial efforts and the sailors' help, the merchant ships docked at the port began making rough repairs to the cannon-damaged sections of their hulls with planks and iron nails. Meanwhile, the merchants sent accountants to tally the losses of cargo aboard the ships.

Seeing this situation, Duen knew things were becoming troublesome. Without three to five days of repairs, these damaged ships would have a hard time putting out to sea. Even those with only minor hull damage would probably be too afraid to sail for the time being because of the terrible impact Buggy had caused...

Before the kingdom's military police could focus their attention on him and bring him a heap of trouble, Duen vanished into the crowd. If they noticed him, he might have to spend several days in an interrogation room, a filthy den of corruption. He did not want to go there. Someone might die if things went wrong...

In the end, Duen still went to a shipyard near Border Town and paid one hundred thousand Beli for a fishing boat that looked capable of weathering rough seas.

The fishing boat was extremely simple. Aside from its mast and sail, it had a rectangular makeshift cabin in the middle, meant for resting and sheltering from the fierce sunlight.

Though it was only a small boat, it had its advantages. Riding on someone else's ship inevitably meant holding oneself back, but on his own boat, he had nothing to worry about.

After leaving the Goa Kingdom, the sea was calm, with just the right humidity and temperature. Duen and Nami sat on opposite sides, leaning against the back wall of the simple cabin and lazily basking in the sun.

"Nami, are you really that good at navigation?"

"Of course."

Hearing Duen's lazy tone beside her, Nami showed no humility at all. "But isn't it a little slow to ask something like that only after setting sail?"

"I was simply willing to trust you without conditions."

"What a smooth talker. You only decided to head out to sea on a whim, didn't you?"

"Don't say that." Duen turned to look at Nami, his expression growing slightly serious. "Anyway, I've entrusted my life to you now. If you think I'm merely acting on impulse, then I have nothing to say."

"Entrusted your life to me..."

Nami's heart fluttered uneasily. She shot Duen a sidelong glance, then quickly turned away and muttered in a low voice, "Who would believe that kind of nonsense... Entrusting your life to me, huh..." Her voice gradually faded, and in the end, she merely gave an awkward snort.

After a brief silence, seeing that Duen did not speak again, she could not help asking softly, "Were you telling the truth?"

When no answer came, Nami looked toward Duen beside her, and her face immediately darkened. This guy... he had actually fallen asleep already. He made it sound so nice, but he clearly just wanted to use me as a steering laborer!!

Negative Emotion Points from Nami +144...

Setting out from the Goa Kingdom on the edge of the East Blue, they found the sea calm most of the time, with only occasional swells. Yet thanks to Nami's navigational skill, even those waves could not touch the fishing boat's edges.

Watching from afar as nature unleashed its might in the form of tsunamis, Duen dearly wanted to go up and profane them a little. But after some thought, he gave up on the ridiculous idea. He did not want to be smashed into nothing by the rising waves.

At night, one person slept soundly in the cabin while the other leaned against the deck to keep watch. They took turns standing guard through the night to prevent unexpected incidents.

Nami was not delicate or spoiled. She agreed without hesitation, and when she stood watch, she remained diligent and never careless. Having drifted across the sea for years, she understood better than anyone how quickly the sea could turn hostile and how rampant pirates were. If she was not vigilant enough... she would sooner or later die an unnatural death.

Before going to sleep, Duen lay in the cabin and habitually opened the system's main interface to check his current status. The Negative Emotion Points in the income records had reached a whopping 10,086. Rounded off, that was quite an enormous number!

Since the Super Lucky Roulette required thirty thousand Emotion Points for a single draw, Duen had no thoughts about it at all. Compared with the costly guaranteed prize, the cheaper option with its low random drop rate was more cost-effective and more appealing to him.

After all, aside from "Thanks for Participating," there seemed to be plenty of entries to collect and achievements to complete.

He first opened [Abilities and Enhancements] for a look. After giving some thought to how he should allocate his Emotion Points, he entered the Draw Center.

Symbolically, he spat into his hands twice and began drawing.

[Congratulations, you obtained: Thanks for Participating x1]...

Hearing that notification, Duen did not even think about it. He skipped it directly and pressed the red button again.

The roulette began to spin, then finally stopped. On only the second try, it seemed his luck had already arrived.

[Congratulations, you obtained: Kokoro's Pin-up Photo]

Note: When she was young, she was a breathtaking mermaid.

[Would you like to retrieve it?]

Bad luck was luck too...

"Mm... Take it out."

Though it was Kokoro's Pin-up Photo, the note piqued Duen's interest. He had heard that Kokoro had been an incredibly beautiful mermaid in her youth.

A photograph suddenly appeared in his hand. Duen raised it before his eyes for a look, then violently threw it onto the floor. Why was it still a pin-up photo from her old age?! What did that have to do with the note?!

Duen absolutely refused to admit that this wrinkled old woman with a thick waist and broad face was a mermaid.

But then, the interface in his mind switched to [Collection]. The three icons—"Alvida's Pin-up Photo," "Dadan's Pin-up Photo," and "Kokoro's Pin-up Photo"—all emitted seven-colored radiance, and the system issued several different prompts.

[Congratulations, achievement unlocked: Beauty and Ugliness Are but a Moment Apart]

Note: Beautiful souls are all alike; interesting skins are terrifying indeed.

[Skill available to learn: Sin Shatter]

[Learn?]